This post is about seasonal spring foods and their benefits.
Seasonal Spring Foods And Their Benefits
You Don’t Want to Miss Out On
With the seasons changing, the world waking up, and starting to blossom again, we should adjust what’s on our plates as well.
We get into spring cleaning, we switch our wardrobe into lighter clothes, maybe we even adjust the decor in our home. Spring is here and we crave colors, fresh air, flowers, and more sunlight. We should extend this excitement and flow with nature to our plates, to the foods we put on them. Fortunately, in the past several years, peoples’ mindsets started to shift again and we’re slowly going back to a more natural, aware way of living and dining. The focus is shifting towards supporting local businesses, eating local produce, and also eating seasonal foods.
Let’s check out some top delicious seasonal spring foods and their benefits. You don’t want to miss adding them to your dinner plates this season.
What are seasonal foods and what does seasonal eating mean?
Simply put it means eating what naturally grows during a certain period of the year in a certain area. Just because something is available at our local grocery store doesn’t mean it was grown organically in your geographic area or even harvested this season.
Even though it sure is a luxury to be able to taste all sorts of fruits and vegetables all year long, it doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for our health or our wallet.
To live a more sustainable and healthier life we can practice seasonal eating and therefore try to eat what’s in season, at least most of the time.
Fruits and vegetables grown in their natural season are richer in flavor and nutrients.
Springtime offers a wide range of delicious fresh produce that’s full of colors, rich in flavor, and packed with vitamins and minerals.
Seasonal foods will be different for you depending on the geographic area you live in.
Benefits of seasonal eating
#1 It’s healthier
The fresher the produce the healthier it is. Foods that are grown naturally, organically in your area, and freshly harvested are packed with nutrients that will support your health.
Food that doesn’t grow locally or seasonally is usually modified, it has to be stored for long periods of time plus it needs to be transported. Therefore it is oftentimes also picked prematurely. All of those actions cost the produce its flavor, freshness, and nutritional value.
Being in sync with nature will make your body, mind, and soul thrive. Nature is designed to help and support our bodies’ needs. Fruits and vegetables that grow best in a particular season contain vitamins and minerals that our bodies need most during a certain season.
#2 It tastes better
Obviously, we want our food to taste good. Eating seasonally will ensure just that. You can’t beat the freshness and richness of flavor in produce grown naturally in the season it was designed to grow best in. The fruits and vegetables grown naturally, locally are crispier, juicier, more flavor and colorful than those transported to us from across the world.
#3 It’s more sustainable
It certainly takes a lot of water and energy to store and transport foods across the globe. That is not environmentally friendly or sustainable.
#4 Exposure to more variety
When you eat what’s in season you’re automatically exposing yourself to a bigger variety of fruits and vegetables. It’s absolutely fine to have your favorites, but eating tomatoes and cucumber all year long and forgetting other fresh foods exist surely doesn’t benefit your tastebuds or your health. It’s also so exciting to have your favorites in each season and look forward to your go-to as well as new recipes incorporating those.
#5 You can save money
Healthy, fresh produce it’s said to be expensive, and yes, it sure can be at times. However, if you buy locally, what’s in season, you can definitely save some money. Moreover, in many countries, farmers have different initiatives you can benefit from. For example, you can order weekly boxes of a variety of fruits and veggies straight from the farmer to your door. That can save you time and money.
#6 Supporting local farmers
After all that we’ve mentioned before, that’s a no-brainer, but a great point nonetheless. By eating what’s in season you’ll be buying produce grown in your geographic area and therefore support local farmers.
Not much to choose from where you live? Opt for frozen fruit and veggies
Contrary to popular belief, frozen fruit and veggies are actually healthy. This is because they are usually picked and packaged at their peak ripeness and the process of freezing them does not destroy their nutrients.
Seasonal Spring Foods And Their Benefits
The following are seasonal spring foods, however, keep in mind that different foods grow best in different areas.
Asparagus
One of my absolute favorites that I always associate with spring is asparagus. My mom always grew asparagus in her garden and I remember vividly that we always only ate it in the springtime.
Asparagus grows best from February to June, with April being the peak month. Although I must say, in my mom’s garden May was the prime month.
There are lots of types of asparagus with green, white, and purple asparagus being probably the most popular ones that you’ll easily find at your grocery store.
Health benefits of asparagus:
Great for digestion, rich in vitamins A and K, folate, and fiber. It can prevent UTIs, help with weight loss as well as help with libido.
Radish
Radish is a cool-season vegetable that’s rather easy to grow. Radish is often added to salads and sandwiches for that fresh crunchy bit of flavor.
Health benefits of radish:
Great for blood cells, controlling blood pressure, a healthy heart, your immunity as well as your skin. Radish is high in vitamins A, C, E, B6, and K as well as in fiber, zinc, antioxidants, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and iron.
Broad beans
You might know them as fava beans. They are usually picked from late spring to mid-summer.
Health benefits of broad beans/fava beans:
Excellent source of fiber and protein, as well as rich in vitamins B and folate. Moreover, broad beans are a good source of potassium, zinc, iron, copper, magnesium, and calcium. They are great for weight loss as well as cognitive function and energy.
Rhubarb
April is when the rhubarb season begins.
It’s supposed to be a vegetable but maybe like me, you know it from recipes that call for fruits. I do not like raw rhubarb but I absolutely love rhubarb in cakes or kompots and I definitely encourage you to try some this spring season.
Health benefits of rhubarb:
Great source of antioxidants and fiber as well as vitamin K1, therefore it’s great for bone health and brain health. It may also lower cholesterol and help with constipation.
Spring onion
Who doesn’t love the extra flavor and sweetness of spring onions? Whether added while cooking and frying or at the end as a topping on soups, sandwiches or salads spring onions are simply a springtime must-eat.
Health benefits of spring onions:
Amazing source of vitamins K, A, C as well as folate. They can lower blood sugar levels, aid digestion, and prevent you from getting a cold.
Strawberries
Many people’s absolute favorite fruit, strawberries, have their prime time in June, late spring, the beginning of summer.
Before we talk about the health benefits let’s talk about the taste benefits, the making our life so much sweeter and tastier part.
When it’s strawberry season all the strawberry lovers forget about all the other fruit out there and fully enjoy the yummy red berry. Raw, with whipped cream or chocolate, as an ice-cream topping, in smoothies, cakes, and salads. The options are endless and one sounds more mouth-watering than the other, if you like strawberries that is, maybe you’re a raspberry type and absolutely don’t get the strawberry hype.
Health benefits of strawberries:
There seem to be countless health benefits when it comes to strawberries. They’re great for your memory, your immune system, your eyes, and your heart and they can even help you whiten your teeth. Strawberries can help with weight loss, help lower depression, as well as promote prenatal health.
Strawberries are a great source of fiber, potassium, vitamin C, and antioxidants.
Leek
Even though you can easily find leek in your grocery store all year long, and their peak season will depend on the area you live in, they’re mostly known as a classic spring vegetable.
If you weren’t a fan of leek before, maybe Emily in Paris has convinced you to give this spring veggie another chance. In the Netflix show, they make a “magic” leek soup and promote fresh-pressed leek juice, if I remember correctly. You can easily find the “magic leek soup” recipe online.
Health benefits of leek:
Can improve your digestion, reduce inflammation, regulate optimal blood flow, improve your eye health, boost your immunity and detoxify your body. Leeks are rich in magnesium as well as vitamins A, E, and K.
These are just a few of the most popular, delicious, and nutritious seasonal spring foods that you should definitely incorporate into your diet this season. Embrace nature’s rhythm and let it serve you and your well-being.
Happy Spring & Happy Seasonal Eating!
This post was all about seasonal eating and seasonal spring foods.
