SEASONAL EATING | SPRING
Spring is here. Ready for the next episode of “The Fresh & The Seasonal”?
In your quest to become a more sustainable eater, one of the low-hanging “fruits” is buying seasonal produce. A few minutes -- every few months -- is all it takes to raise awareness on the fruits and vegetables that are ripe for the picking at a particular time of the year.
Benefits
Eating seasonal foods has three main benefits:
Many of the compounds our taste buds crave diminish over time, as do textures. Nothing worse than a rubbery stick of celery. The nutrients in food are affected by time and how they are stored and transported. Many nutrients are negatively affected by temperature, light, and exposure to water. And finally, getting that strawberry to you in the blazing heat of July likely involves a lot of transportation and cold storage...which eats up fossil fuels and money.
Oh – and you’ll generally find in-season produce to be cheaper. Sustainability pays!
Spring | What’s in season?
From April - June, keep your eyes out for these seasonal fruits and vegetables:
- Bell Peppers
- Blueberries
- Cabbage
- Celery
- Cucumber
- Mushroom
- Squash
- Sweet Corn
- Tomato
Fun Facts | Red Bell Peppers
A red bell pepper (0.5 cups) contains 95 milligrams of Vitamin C, well over the RDA. Move over oranges; let’s pepper this nutrient-rich fruit (yes – peppers are a fruit) into our diets.