Well it’s official – Six More Weeks of Winter! Stupid Groundhog!
As you’ve made your way through this winter season you may have felt your body slow down and your cravings for hearty comfort foods increase. You may have also found that you can indeed have too much of a good thing. A certain amount of comfort eating can help your spirits up when days are short but it can also contribute to feeling groggy and listless.
The current sustainable/seasonal eating movement isn’t completely driven by the radical “hippy” fringe of this country. It actually carries with it some merit. The Japanese not only have been eating seasonally for centuries they also change their indoor environment to celebrate the outdoor changes. They not only do this by changing wall coverings and knick knacks but they also are known to change the actual dishes that they eat from.
People are often unaware that their diets should change according to the season, so take a look at a few tips for eating well while keep back those winter blues!
1. Be colorful!
The more color that is in your diet, the better. Head to the grocery store and look for bright colors that catch your eye – beets, sweet potatoes, citrus fruits, etc. Remember we eat with all of our senses so our food needs to not only taste good it should look good as well. Choose produce high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C these are vitamins that your body sorely needs during this season.
2. Figure out what’s in season.
There’s a good chance that at one point or another you were happy to eat a vegetable during winter, only to find that it was almost tasteless. This is what comes of eating vegetables that are out of season and have been grown in the hothouses or shipped over a long distance, and it can make eating vegetables during winter very difficult. Google winter fruit or winter vegetables and see what things are currently in season (start with what is in season locally first – see tip #4)
3. Sugar
Believe it or not, a bit of sugar can be worth the calories when it spurs you towards more energy and getting things done. But we’re not talking extra added heavily refined sugars that are found in candy and chocolate. Instead see what you can find in the dried fruit area. This is again a great way to integrate some color into your diet, so look for dried papaya, dried pineapple, and other sugary goodies.
4. Buy locally
Support your local farmers and buy your food locally. Chances are, there’s a farmer’s market somewhere near you and you can take a look at exactly what is in season and what has recently come up. This is a great way to make sure that any food that you get tastes great and has the added bonus of helping out small farmers as well. After a very small amount of time, you’ll be ale to taste the difference between food that is grown locally and food that has been preserved and treated to be sent over long distances.
As you can see, the advent of winter doesn’t call for bad food practices or a retreat from vegetables. Simply take a look around and make some carefully considered choices before you buy.
