Seasonal eats – environmental treats
- By Hannah Mahony -
- Oct 12, 2012
With food prices set to rise after a some-what soggy British summer, you might be forced to re-consider your weekly food shop – but fear not!
Whilst planning your week in food, be sure to take into account seasonal produce. It’s easy to fall into the pretence that pineapples and cherries are accessible all year round (they are in Sainsburys, I hear you cry) – but double check their origin and you’re tallying up the air miles it’s taken for your carbon-foot-printed strawberries to reach your porridge.
So what’s on the menu for October? Apples, pumpkins, broccoli, kale and beetroot, despite all being overly healthy and part of the super-food frenzy – are all within season, and relatively priced.
Apples in particular, who have faced a hard summer, blemishes and all - are being pushed into the limelight as the perfect winter snack. With over 200 varieties grown in the UK, keeping the doctor at bay has never been simpler really.
It’s not just fruit either – mussels, although maybe more associated with exotic holidays abroad come into their own in October along with sea bass, winkles, venison and pheasant.
Reducing your food shop to season-only produce not only cuts down on carbon emissions, but cuts down on costs too whilst supporting your local economy. Not to mention being able to put the pennies toward all important Halloween costumes, bonfire night treats and (dare I say it), Christmas presents.
And as Innocent rightly mentioned in their top September seasonal foods: “The best things come to those who wait… the excitement at tasting the first strawberry of summer – it’s all about delayed gratification.”
By Hannah Mahony. Social engagement executive, Virgin Group Digital. Tweets @hannahmahony
