Adapting the Perfect Diet: Seasonal Eating

Is there such a thing as a “perfect” or “ideal diet”? The simple answer is no. Our nutritional requirements are ever changing based on our stage of life, environment, stress level, activity level, our current state of health, where we live, the time of year and even the weather. 

There is no one-stop-shop diet that is good for everyone, all the time. When choosing foods we need to keep all these factors in mind and try to avoid eating the same things over and over again out of habit. 

It is very easy to get stuck into eating the same meals because we find something that tastes good, that our family also likes, that fits into our time schedule and budget. However, when we can get trapped into this convenience based eating habit, we miss out on a variety of foods and the nutrients that go along with them. As a result we can become deficient of some vital vitamins and minerals.

To help ensure we are getting “enough” and to address our ever changing nutritional requirements, I recommend introducing seasonal eating.

Seasonal eating is the concept of eating foods at their peak of freshness. The types of food in season will change month-by-month depending on the area you live in. These types of foods are usually found at local markets, CSA (community supported agriculture) programs, farms and home gardens. You can find seasonal food at grocery stores too but it can be difficult to decipher between imported food and fresh sometimes. 

 

Benefits of seasonal eating from a local source:

• The harvest is picked at the peak of freshness – when the food is at its highest nutrient density
• It is geographically appropriate to your body’s needs (grown in the same environment you are, the food adapts to its environment and it is better for you)
• You save money by skipping transport and storage
• We reduce our carbon footprint from transporting food to us
• The taste is more vibrant and delicious
• You support local agriculture
• More sustainable: You can reuse seeds and plant your own garden
• Digestion is amplified with variety, fresh enzymes, fibre, colour, etc

 

Resources:

• Eat Well Guide (a guide of hand-picked restaurants, farms, markets and other sources of local, sustainable food)
• Eat The Seasons (a guide to seasonal eating month-by-month)
• Local Harvest  (a directory to help locate a CSA near you)
• Kingstonist: Community Supported Agriculture in Kingston  (Kingston’s directory of CSAs)

 

 

Read more about Courtney’s approach to healthy eating, here. 

And more from our team about healthy eating, here.