farmer_marketI am a big believer in eating seasonal foods for a variety of reasons.
Freshness, taste, nutritional value, cost and transport all play a factor.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in the country and to this day I maintain that the food we ate back then was much tastier than anything I get today at the local supermarket.
Large food chains are all about volume and cost. They will source suppliers thousands of miles away if they can get their produce at a cheaper rate. This means that harvested food can be on the road for days or weeks before it finally arrives at the store. All the while your food is losing it’s nutritional value.

A few years back I had a conversation with a large vegetable supplier who sold potatoes and a variety of other produce to a big supermarket chain. He took me around the back of his house and showed me his personal vegetable patch. It was organic and everything looked absolutely gorgeous. I asked why he didn’t just use the vegetables he grew for the supermarkets and he replied, I wouldn’t eat that stuff if you paid me! The amount of chemicals he had to use to keep the volume up and unblemished appearance made him wary of eating the food he was growing.

Out of season food can be shipped from anywhere in the world or kept in storage to maintain outer appearance and taste. The problem is the nutritional value and taste just aren’t as good as when they were first harvested.
A recent article found that some varieties of apples sold in a fairly well known Australian supermarket chain were up to 10 months old. You really do have to wonder what is being done to keep it for so long!

As demand has risen for fresh produce, farmers markets and local fares have started to pop up everywhere.

Produce is sourced from local growers and is usually harvested closer to selling as they do not have the means to keep in storage for long periods of time.
Seasonal fruit and vegetables taste amazing. Their nutritional value is high and costs are low.

When we go shopping I always buy in season and will use this to form my menu for the week ahead.

In Australia winter greens are in season so the majority of foods I cook will contain these nutrient rich vegetables.

I would highly recommend making yourself aware of what is in season at the moment and cooking some lovely fresh meals!

Better still, if you have the room and a bit of time why not consider growing your own vegetables and fruit? There really is nothing quite like it!

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