Seasonal Eating

I've been working on a lot of areas in our lives and sharing them with you. Today I want to talk about our food. Do you know where the food you eat comes from? Are you eating something in a plastic bag that is filled with yucky chemicals? I really hope that you aren't.
We started on this crazy journey by eliminating High Fructose Corn Syrup from our diets, then I eliminated palm oil (We only had one slip up there, DH bought PB with palm oil in it. I talked to him about it and he understands.) I'm not going to go into why these are bad for your body and there is conflicting thoughts here, but I think that the less processed food we eat, as a whole, we are better off.
Then I starting doing a whole foods diet. Where everything was whole before I processed it in my kitchen. For example, if we want potato fries I use a potato, chop it up and bake it in the oven in some oil. Sometimes I make them spicy or add a flavoring to them to change it up. Sort of at the same time we began making the switch from boxed foods that were being marketed as healthy, to foods that I make from scratch. They are always fresher and taste much better, in our opinion anyways.
I realize that not everyone has the time to do all of these things, but if you could just do a little bit to make your diet better you would feel better, sleep better, even have better sex because your body will be getting energy and oxygen to the blood that you can use. (Trust me...)


Now the next thing that I want to tackle in our kitchen is seasonal eating.

Here is a link to a site that explains a little bit about why you should eat seasonally.

Below, this is taken from the site mentioned above and I did NOT create this list, but it is a good starting point to think about. Just because something isn't on this list doesn't mean you can't eat it. But you will figure out what is in season in your area and what isn't as you go along. I've been trying to do this a little bit, but DH doesn't want to give up certain things. I'm working on alternatives for things right now. Since we are no longer by the ocean, sea food is old and really expensive by the time it gets to us. That's not acceptable in my book. So, I'm purchasing lake fish that are native to the area, like crappie, bass, catfish, perch, sunfish, walleye and trout.For replacing something like oysters I'm growing salsify, which tastes like oysters but doesn't have the texture or consistency so it's good in soups and stews.

On to the list!

• In spring, focus on tender, leafy vegetables that represent the fresh new growth of this season. The greening that occurs in springtime should be represented by greens on your plate, including Swiss chard, spinach, Romaine lettuce, fresh parsley, and basil.
• In summer, stick with light, cooling foods in the tradition of traditional Chinese medicine. These foods include fruits like strawberries, apple, pear, and plum; vegetables like summer squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and corn; and spices and seasonings like peppermint and cilantro.
• In fall, turn toward the more warming, autumn harvest foods, including carrot, sweet potato, onions, and garlic. Also emphasize the more warming spices and seasonings including ginger, peppercorns, and mustard seeds.
• In winter, turn even more exclusively toward warming foods. Remember the principle that foods taking longer to grow are generally more warming than foods that grow quickly. All of the animal foods fall into the warming category including fish, chicken, beef, and lamb. So do most of the root vegetables, including carrot, potato, onions and garlic. Eggs also fit in here, as do corn and nuts.

This is a helpful list, but not all inclusive as I stated. But if you start growing your own garden you will soon learn when the seasons are around you. There are different regions and zones within the United States. So whats in season in the South isn't in season in the upper midwest. So, I've learned to adjust my eating. Certain things are never going to be in season in your location though. For example,  rice isn't grown in my area. Wild rice is and I try to eat that in the fall, winter and early spring as it is gathered in the fall. But, I buy a large bag of rice from the store in town when I need it. I'm still looking for someone local who collects it. 

For me I love being able to walk out to my garden and pick my salad greens in early May before most people have even started planting yet. 

It's a journey, but one I would love for you to join me on.