Eating in Season - Summer Edition
Eating food that is in season is not only good for the planet but biologically good for you as well...
While it may seem like a trendy health fad, eating in harmony with the season is something our ancestors have been saavy to for thousands of years. Relational living (ie living in harmony with our nature) can be challenging to slow into with the fast pace and convience of our modern reality.
Seasonal eating has many benefits. It’s fresh aka more flavorful, it has higher nutritional value, it’s often more affordable and if you dive in, it can open a door to your community and local farmers.
Being intentional with our food consumption is an ode to something bigger than us. There is a relational harmony that is so foreign to our capitalistic ideology that we often forget the simplicity of Nature's hegemony…. Between planting a seed and reaping it’s harvest there is a magnificent process that happens in which no matter the amount of control we want over the action we cannot affect. No amount of money, words, or will power will change the force in which that plant grows with. It does not request or have conditions of any outsider including it’s gardener. The relationship is one of nurture, love and attention. If you have ever grown your own food you know, there is a joy and a connection that is inexplicable.
Question: How much nutrients are lost after harvest?
Answer: That depends on the food, some produce—such as spinach and broccoli begin to lose nutrients within hours of picking, while others such as apples, carrots, and potatoes—stay fresher longer.
Produce that’s not in season is picked, stored, and often transported, which affects the quality. Green beans, for example, will lose 77 percent of their vitamin C after a week of storage, according to the Department of Food Science and Technology at University of California, Davis. (According to BRITTANY DOOHAN of HealthiNation)
Summer Season
Shopping List
Apples Apricots Avocados Bananas Beets Bell Peppers Blackberries
Blueberries Cantaloupe Carrots Celery Cherries Corn Cucumbers Eggplant
Garlic Green Beans Herbs Honeydew Melon Lemons Lima Beans Limes
Mangos Okra Peaches Plums Raspberries Strawberries Summer Squash
Tomatillos Tomatoes Watermelon Zucchini
Grow. Eat. Repeat.
Ask around today to find a local farmer, a community farm, or ask your grocer if they carry local produce.
Simple Summer Watermelon Salad
ingredients
1/8th large watermelon (2-3cups)
3 cups Arugula
1 cup feta cheese
1busshel fresh mint (1/3 of a cup)
*Optional- salt to bring out a little more flavor
Directions
Remove rind on watermelon and cut into cubes of desired size. Place in a bowl
Wash, spin and DRY arugula.Remove long stem ends if needed. Add to watermelon
Crumble feta and add to watermelon & arugula
Tear mint leaves off the stem and tear or chop into small strips. Add to salad.
Gently toss ingredients together making sure not to mash watermelon
Salt to taste
Refrigerate for 30 mins and serve as an appetizer or side.
Whenever possible buy organic, from a local farmer or even better grow yourself.
Be Clever.
Avoid plastic produce bags, instead grab a few of those mini paper bags to the checkout bagging area or bring your own reusable product bags from home. See quickstep below. And remember a reusable bag or basket to put all your nutritious yummy items in!
If buying, remember to buy bulk items when available and bring your own glass or reusable containers, they will tear (aka weigh the jar/container so you don’t pay extra weight cost associated with the commodity you are buying).
Simply write the weight on the bottom of the jar so they know what to subtract at checkout.
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