Being A Seasonal Detective

Welcome to Day 15! Yesterday, we took a good look at some of our trigger foods and habits, and today I’d like us to look at some of our earliest connections to the food we eat. Our ancestors were hunters, gathers, and eventually farmers, once we learned how to manipulate the soil to grow food in one place. They were connected to their food in a deep way, and knew which things were available during each season of the year; they even traveled long distances with their food to ensure they’d always have enough to eat. Over time however, as farming became more widespread and mechanized, they didn’t have to focus all of their attention on growing, hunting or gathering our food. This has, in part, allowed the human species to focus on other amazing things like math, philosophy, art, and inventions, for example, but it also means that we are so far removed from our food supply today that we’ve forgotten how to eat seasonally, and listen to what our bodies need throughout the changing year. 

Think about it: do you regularly stop to think about what’s in season at any given time of the year when you go to shop for your produce? Most of us just go to the grocery store and buy blueberries and tomatoes whenever we want, even if they don’t happen to be naturally in season in our parts of the world at that particular time of year.  

But what’s the big deal, you ask? Isn’t it super cool and modern that we get blueberries and tomatoes whenever we want? Well, no. We put a lot of undue pressure on the land when we produce out-of-season foods in high quantities simply to satisfy popular demand. In addition, if you live in a snowy place, for example, that means warmer weather foods have to be picked BEFORE they’re ripe (meaning before they get their full nutrients) and transported across the country (sometimes even across the globe) to get to you by the time they’re ripe. Not only are you not getting the maximum nutrient benefits from that food because it’s simply not in season, but you’re also contributing to the added environmental pollution of all that additional transportation effort. Boy oh boy!

Bottom line alert: nature knows what your body needs throughout the year. In the colder seasons when you need more warmth, Vitamin C and minerals to fight off flu season, for example, you’ll find the fruits and veggies that are in-season at that time just happen to be higher in those particular vitamins and minerals! 
Let’s be seasonal detectives, too, shall we? For this next activity, do a little research to find what’s in-season right now where YOU live. I created a chart below with some general ideas for where to begin, but every geological location varies slightly. Get to know where you live a bit better by paying attention to what you buy and when.

Hint: when prices increase on a particular food, it’s likely OUT of season; if it’s cheap, it’s likely IN season. How awesome is that? Eating the foods you should be eating at the right times of year also helps you save some pennies too! Also, visiting a local farmer’s market will also give you a good sense of what’s in season. Happy shopping!

Today’s Activity: 

Reference the comprehensive list of seasonal winter foods in the Master Document, and try choosing these at the store for an extra dose of nutrients this season.