Salad, as a friend of mine lamented once, is more than just lettuce and salad dressing. For this week’s #winewellnesswednesday, I want to talk about salads and seasonal eating.
Almost as soon as the weather shifts and it’s nice enough to open the windows and turn off the furnace, I’m so very much more than ready for fresh foods. I start seriously craving lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, asparagus, peas, green beans, carrots, peppers, and so on, and so forth. The list could be endless. And, yes, it’s true that we can get many (all) of these things all year at the grocery store. To me, they’re better fresh out of the garden, and if I can’t (don’t) grow them myself, I’ll get them from the farmers’ market, or, if I’m lucky, from a friend’s garden.
Seasonal eating is about several things for me. It’s more than just salads. It’s about what my body wants and needs, as well as what’s better for the environment.
I always enjoy eating fresh, colorful veggies. In spring and summer, I’m more inclined to the fresh vegetables with fewer heavy foods such as cheeses or some potato dishes or certain meat dishes. In fall and winter, I want heavier, richer dishes with potatoes and other root vegetables, roasted vegetables, soups, stews, and heartier meat & cheese meals. It’s always felt as if my body craves fat-building foods in colder weather to add insulation. We have clothes and electric blankets and furnaces for insulation, and changing those winter cravings is a work in progress! In the spring and summer as I’m ready to shed the insulation and open the windows, I look for more lighter, fresher foods. And as I said at the beginning, a salad isn’t just lettuce and salad dressing. One of my all-time favorites is our family’s big salad, which is lettuce (and sometimes spinach), a meat of some kind, cheeses, and lots of vegetables, including bell pepper, carrot, sweet pickles, cucumbers, peas, radishes; basically, anything and everything I want to include! (Notice I didn’t say anything about salad dressing; with all of the flavors, who needs it? Normally I don’t!) Salads also don’t have to include any lettuce at all, for example, cooked chicken, red bell pepper, red onion, apples, carrots, cashews, and a light dressing of barbecue sauce (gluten free!) and mayonnaise. Easy, filling, and delicious!
Eating seasonally and locally helps cut down on transportation costs and pollution. What you’ll get is fresher, because you’re closer to the producers. If you go to a farmers’ market, you can ask the vendors whether they’re chemical free (or organic) and you’ll usually see only what’s ripe and harvested NOW, instead of two weeks ago. You’ll get foods with better nutrition content, as they’ve been allowed to ripen longer before being harvested. Should you eat only what’s available seasonally near you? It’s a great theory, but not completely applicable or sustainable. After all, the best possible diet is one that’s well-balanced and contains everything you need. And sometimes, you simply must have that strawberry – or that salad – in January. (ALSO! I’m so excited to start going to the local farmers’ market starting this coming weekend!)
What’s your favorite seasonal fruit or vegetable? What are you looking forward to most about the spring & summer season of peas, asparagus, & strawberries (to name a few)?
Cheers! Here’s to your health!