The One Thing They DON’T Tell You About Eating Seasonally and Why It’s So Important
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Everyone should eat seasonally. You’ve heard that before.
Yeah…seasonal produce is generally grown closer to where you are so it doesn’t have to use all the gas and pollutants to travel to you.
Yeah…it may be “fresher” and FOR SURE taste better…
It may even be cheaper!
But out of all the research you’ve done about what it means to eat “seasonally,” I bet you haven’t come across the most IMPORTANT thing about it.
So let me let you in on the “secret.”
Table of Contents
What Does “Eating Seasonally” REALLY Mean??
It means eating the vegetables that grow during that type of weather and season that you are in where you live.
Tomatoes love the warm summer…
Does that mean they grow in winter??
NOOOOO!!!
If there is snow on the ground where you live…
Unless they’re grown in a greenhouse…
Tomatoes are NOT growing! Don’t eat them! They are not “in season!”
They may be “in season” in Mexico, but not where you live.
Why is Eating Seasonally so Important?
Vegetables are designed for your body at the time of the year you need it.
In the Ancient Indian practice of Ayurveda, which according to The Ayurvedic Institute, “places great emphasis on prevention and encourages the maintenance of health through close attention to balance in one’s life, right thinking, diet, lifestyle and the use of herbs,” there is a term called ritucharya. (1)
The US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health states that ritucharya is the term used to describe how lifestyle disorders, which are common for most people these days, stem from the lack of eating seasonally and participating in other “seasonal” regimes!! (2)
I mean think about it…
You work in an office all year round, you’re not out gathering nuts and berries in the summer, you’re eating tomatoes in the winter…
It’s kind of all out of whack!
Your body doesn’t know what to do with itself because it’s missing the things it needs at that time of the year!
Therefore, you get sick…either with a seasonal cold or with an autoimmune disease.
How Vegetables Grow Differently in Texas Than Other Parts of the States
Farms in the northern regions of the US produce all the goodies, all in one shot…
Talk about having your full cob salad! Tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, and lettuce greens! All at one time!!!
Texas is a whole other beast!
Up north, the veggies all grow at the same time of the year because that’s when people are the most active.
Then they hunker down during the cold, winter months…doing mostly hunting.
The meat they get lasts them through the winter and the veggies get them through the summer.
Our climate is so mild here in Texas that we are active THROUGHOUT the year!
Therefore, veggies grow all year long!!!
We’ve been eating salad for a while now…come on squash!!!
But that’s what our bodies need…RIGHT NOW!
In the winter, your body craves more heartier foods…heavy meats, stews…
Um…who loves themselves some Texas chili???
Leafy greens grow during these months and help cleanse your body of toxins to be able to support a heartier diet with less activity!
They come back in the spring to do the same thing for the summer crops that are full of sugar, i.e. watermelon.
Cucumbers are 95% water and grow in the summer…
Guess why??
Yep…you got it…because you NEED MORE WATER in the summer!
When you start eating seasonally, your body will crave it. It will also know when you eat out of season stuff.
Instinctively, your body will say “I don’t feel right…this isn’t what I’m supposed to be eating.”
And it’s because you’re not supposed to be eating that! And you WILL feel it!
What Can You Expect to Find In Season in Central Texas: Month by Month
- December – February: Salad, lettuce, carrots, turnips, beets, radishes, spinach, kale, broccoli, Swiss chard, collards, bok choy, arugula
- March – May: kale, turnips, salad, radishes, lettuce, spinach, arugula, bok choy, beets, carrots, broccoli, onions, cucumbers, summer squash, beans, tomatoes, eggplant, ground cherries, peppers
- June – August: winter squash, beans, okra, summer squash, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, ground cherries, cucumbers, melons
- Sept – Nov: cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, summer squash, arugula, bok choy, beans, winter squash, turnips, salad, radishes, beets, broccoli, kale, carrots, broccoli
If you’re ready to commit to eating seasonally and healing your body, connect with your local farmer.
We’ll help you along your way to eating seasonally!
