Fruit & Vegetables In Season

19^th Jan 2015

It's worth re-thinking those discounted packets of died-last-week herbs and brown-tinged, wilting salads, plus poly-wrapped veg. We may be grateful for ready-wrapped stuff when in a hurry, but after a couple of weeks of indulging in it over the festive period, along with its hidden nasties to make it last longer, taste better and look more colourful, are anybody's intestines, skin and energy levels wilting along with the salad leaves?

How about a new year’s resolution to buy fruit and veg from the market, not the supermarket. The market always has produce in season, and much cheaper and tastier than the fruit and veg that crosses the globe to reach our supermarket shelves. Also, they are abundant in vitamins and minerals, whereas the globe-trotting produce is lower in nutrients and taste, and higher in chemicals.

Many of us don’t know what’s in season because we’re used to seeing everything that exists around the world sitting on our supermarket shelves. Read the labels on the wrapped stuff. Did it come from Chile, South Africa, Argentina, Israel or other far-away countries? Do we want to pay for nasty chemicals as well as their transport? Plus all that plastic?

These January and February foods (England) are delicious: apples, pears, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, beetroot, leeks, potatoes, parsnips, turnips, swede, kale and more. There’s nothing to beat swede mashed with butter, stewed apples and custard, cauliflower cheese, hearty cabbage soup……. Recipe books at the ready! Here’s to happy and healthy eating.