Eating for the Seasons
Our bodies have different needs for different times of the year depending on where we live and our climate, it is important to eat seasonally, having a variety of foods at our fingertips is a nice luxury, but understanding your body and it's needs is important, not only to your physical health, but your mental health as well.
Here are some examples of seasonal foods, (also visit your local farmers market for a fresh variety of seasonal produce local to your region and adapted to your climate)
In Spring you'll want to focus on eating leafy green vegetables- which makes sense when you think Spring, you think Green New Life.
Vegetables such as- Asparagus, Beets, Celery, Spring Onions, Peas, Peppers, Turnips, Rhubarb, Swiss chard, Spinach, Parsley, Basil, Romaine lettuce, Brussels sprouts, Dandelion greens, Arugula, things of that nature
Fruit such as- Grapefruits, Kumquats, Mandarins and Strawberries
In summer months when it’s hot outside you want cooling Foods ( also make sure and drink lots of water to stay hydrated your body needs more water in these months), you also want to go for Bitter, Sweet or Astringent flavors (we will get to flavor profiles later on in this article) cooling foods are things such as:
Vegetables- like broccoli cauliflower corn cilantro mint asparagus cucumbers zucchini green beans summer squash okra eggplant
Fruits- like strawberries apples, peaches, cherries, nectarines, pears plums grapes pineapples mangoes Tomatoes and avocado (yes they're fruits!)
In Fall it's time for harvest, Autumn Harvest Foods (are warmer )
Vegetables- broccoli carrots cabbage pumpkin gourds green beans potatoes winter squash and onions
Fruits- apples pears plums
In Winter we need warming foods it is said that foods that take longer to grow are generally more warming than foods that grow quickly it also usually takes your body more time to break down thus keeping you warmer. Foods in the warming category would be things like
Vegetables- Root vegetables, Carrots, Potatoes, Onions, Leeks, Radishes, Turnips, also Cabbage, Winter Squash, Garlic, Corn
Fruits- Nuts, Citrus fruits, Apples
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