Seasonal eating goes along with my feelings on slow-living, reducing meat consumption and trying to eat as organically as possible. But besides those factors, there are a lot of other reasons to eat seasonally.
Why eat seasonally?
Pragmatically, fresh fruit and veg is cheaper to buy if bought in season. It also tends to be fresher, sweeter and have more flavour and nutrients. Eating seasonally also forces you to cook more and experiment with more recipes.
Eating seasonally is also better for the environment. It’s more likely to be local because it doesn’t have to be brought in from a warmer climate. It helps reduce the carbon-footprint of what you eat. (And if you’re supporting small business that’s an excellent benefit!) It’s easy to start to conflate seasonal with local.
Overall, it helps you develop and strengthen a connection to where food comes from.
Tips on eating seasonally:
- Head to your local farmer’s market (or co-op). They are more likely to sell seasonally.
- Pay attention to food prices. If it’s super expensive it’s probably not in season. If it’s on sale/offer it probably is. (Although large supermarkets try to substitute produce grown in other places around the world to try to keep the price steady.)
- You can always preserve some of your favourite foods for when they aren’t in season.
Food that is in season in the UK in the Autumn (September, October & November):
Fruit: apples, bananas, apricots, blackberries, figs, damsons, plums, pears, pomegranates, peaches, tomatoes, quinces, blueberries, gooseberries, dates, cranberries
Vegetables: carrots, garlic, peas, sweetcorn, pumpkins, turnips, cabbage, lettuce, marrow, peppers, cabbage, kale, sweet potatoes, beetroot, artichoke, Swiss chard, pak choi, radishes, leeks
Food to eat in the UK in September:
Bramley apples, blackberries, blueberries, Brussels sprouts (slightly early), runner beans, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, courgettes (end of courgette season!), cucumber (also end of cucumber season), kale, leeks, cos lettuce, iceberg lettuce, marrow, peas, plums, spinach, squash, sweetcorn, artichokes, aubergine, beetroot, broccoli, celeriac, fennel, kohlrabi, mangetout, mushrooms, peppers, potatoes, pumpkin, radishes, rocket, shallots, spring onions, tomatoes, turnips
Do you eat seasonally? If so, share your tips in the comments for other readers!
And as a special bonus, anyone who signs up to my newsletter will receive a monthly email about what food is in season and some recipe suggestions!
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If you liked this post you might also enjoy my posts on :
Local Veg Box
An introduction to Slow-living
Reducing meat consumption
Blogging with Intent
