Eat Seasonal. Eat Local.

One of the comments I got from my giveaway was to write more about foods that are in season. Thank you Lisa for asking about that because it is definitely a topic I can believe in.

I believe that eating seasonally goes hand in hand with eating locally. And those are both very important to eating well.

Here are the pluses to eating seasonally:

-it is cheaper- which means traveled less miles, which means local, which means better flavor because it wasn't picked too soon
-the food tastes better
-it is better for the environment- again less travel
-it helps support local economies

How to find the food and eat more seasonally:

1. look for the cheap produce. chances are if the produce is cheap it is in season.

2. shop at farmers markets or local stores, which will have local produce

3. join a co-op. i would love to do this but haven't found one yet, but I know a couple people who have. if you don't know what it is- basically you pay a weekly amount, put a basket on your doorstep that is replaced with a basket full of random produce. it is local and I can only imagine in season.

4. buy what grows in your garden. if you garden at all you know cold seasons and warm seasons. things like tomatoes and peppers in the summer, greens and roots in the winter.

5. i found this website and I really think it gives good guidelines, and it shows what is in season in different locations.

Remember, what is in season in california is not necessarily in season in new york.

This week I would suggest strawberries (their season is at its peak), cucumbers, tomatoes are on their way in, oranges, berries are coming in, radishes....