“A Reason for the Season”
(Seasonal Cooking)

by Trusan

Not everyone is conscious of seasonal cooking.  At first, the phrase may conjure up an obligation to throw in a pinch of oregano, a dash of thyme and a sprig of rosemary.  While seasonings augment the flavor and aroma of a dish, the seasons I am referring to are spring, summer, autumn and winter.  Here are some commonly asked questions in regards to seasonal cooking:

Q. What exactly is seasonal cooking?

Q. What do the foods of different seasons offer nutritionally?  Why do summer foods help keep us cool and winter foods help keep us warm?

Q. What are the benefits of eating seasonally grown food? 

Q. Aren’t spring and autumn just transition seasons?

Cooking with Seasonal foods is the most natural, holistic and healthy way anyone could eat.  Let me explain…

Generations ago, food was grown locally on nearby farms or in the family garden.  People grew and ate foods that flourished in any particular season.  There were some packaged foods such as Crisco and Corn Flakes, but the nation was relatively healthy.  The big boom in the packaged food and corporate farming industry came after World War II with the attitude of “better living through chemistry.”  We've gotten sicker and sicker since that time and now we're looking at the first generation of kids who are predicted to live shorter lives than their parents.  According to a 2006 American Cancer Society statistics report, cancer is second only to that of heart disease for a combined total of over 50% mortality rate due to these ailments.  Obesity is at its highest rate ever, especially with teenagers.  This is alarming!

Susan Barendregt, NT (Nutrition Therapist) of Holistic Health Center in Viroqua, WI discusses the benefits of seasonal cooking: “Different foods have different energetic qualities and these qualities more often than not reflect 'phases' that we humans go through during the seasonal cycle.  i.e. in the winter we tend to go inward and need more warming, grounding foods such as the root vegetables that are available then to us.  In the hot summer we need more cooling foods such as fresh greens and fruits to help us keep in balance, etc.”

Let’s take a look at how to reverse the ill effects of commercial farming, packaged, and fast foods. .You and your family can take steps towards eating seasonally and holistically in order to reap the benefits of this lifestyle.

In the spring look for delicate asparagus, artichokes, peas, fennel, tender sprouts of leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach breaking through the ground and are excellent sources of vitamins and fiber.  Spring’s fruits include apricots, blueberries and cherries and the seasonal herbs incorporate such as watercress, chives and dill.

Summer surrenders cooling, or expansive, vegetables that grow above the ground and fruits that seem to touch the sky.  In the summer, look for vegetable such as summer squash, broccoli, corn, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini as well as luscious juice-laden fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, melons, mangos, plums, peaches, grapes and nectarines.  Herbs include mint, basil and cilantro.  These summer foods are high in antioxidants and tend to have a high water content to counteract the blistering heat of summer and keep us cool.  Try a cool and refreshing avocado, orange and fennel salad that is bursting with flavor.

In autumn, as the temperature starts to fall, more warming foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, pumpkins and herbs such as ginger and peppercorns proliferate and prepare us for the chilling months of winter. 

In winter turn to the warming, or contractive, foods that grow slowly, close to and under the ground.  Void of sunlight, root vegetables contain less moisture are more dense, storing condensed energy to get us through the bitter cold of winter.  Winter warming foods include root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, turnips, potatoes, yams, beets, radishes and dense squashes in addition to nuts, cranberries, legumes and dried beans.  Try some roasted winter veggies with a balsamic reduction or nice hearty bean soup or stew with fresh baked bread on a cold winter’s day to warm up the body, soul and kitchen.

According to Lisa Turner (Chef, Nutritionist and Author) of Inspired Eating in Boulder, CO, “Seasonal cooking is working with nature, and gearing your diet toward what's naturally fresh, ripe and locally available. Our bodies were designed to eat the foods that were most readily available to us at any point in time; while it's just fine to occasionally have fruits or vegetables that aren't in season, it makes more sense (environmentally, as well as nutritionally) to stick to foods that are at their peak in our general region”.

General steps you can take to incorporate seasonal cooking in your dietary lifestyle are really simple:

• In the warmer months, cook with and eat foods that grow above the ground and closer to the sun and contain more moisture and vibrant colors. 
• In the cooler months, cook with and eat foods that grow close to and below the ground.  These are denser and include more energy producing foods such as nuts, legumes and dried beans. 
• Spring and fall are transition seasons, so cut down on the winter foods in the spring and start eating more summer type foods to get ready for summer and visa versa for autumn. 
• A wonderful and fun thing to do is buy fruits and vegetables that are seasonal in your area from local, organic farmers at farmer’s markets or from grocery stores that support them. They will be at their peak flavor, freshness and full of nutrition. 
• Start a family garden and grow foods throughout the different seasons.  This is also an awesome way to connect with your family and friends.

 

There are few culinary things that please more than fresh foods from the garden to the kitchen.  Cooking seasonally will ensure that your body is getting the proper nourishment it needs at each time of year. 

Our relatives just several generations before us lived this natural, holistic and healthy lifestyle.  I encourage you to follow suite and pass on the tradition down to our children and assure health for generations to come.