Eating Seasonally: Winter Foods
I've always heard about eating seasonally, but I never thought much about it. Lately, I've been reading more and more on the subject. For now, let's talk about the basics.
Winter time is upon us. It's a season where we tend to hibernate (and eat!) a bit more; for comfort, for warmth, and for energy. Winter foods tend to be heartier, and we replace salads and lighter fare with soups, stews and roasted veggies.
With the odd exception, when you eat seasonally, you are also (hopefully) eating locally. The fewer miles a vegetable has to travel, the fresher it will be. Fresh veggies have more nutrients (and generally, better flavour). Non-organic foods that need to travel great distances are also more likely to be treated with higher levels of chemicals so that they will survive the trip to your shopping bag.
Vitamins and nutrients are even more important in the winter - not just for physical health, but for mental well being as well. When you don't have enough vitamins (especially from the vitamin B family), you are more prone to depression and lethargy.
By eating locally, you are also supporting the local farmers and economy - a very big issue for everyone right now.
So what's in season? Let me start with local foods grown in Ontario (where I am). I encourage you to search online to see what is being grown in your area, as there may be a few additions not listed here (such as citrus fruits).
- Apples
- Beets
- Cabbages
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Leeks
- Lettuce (greenhouse)
- Mushrooms (not great if you're following a strict diet to fight candidiasis)
- Onions
- Parsnips
- Potatoes (a naughty nightshade for some)
- Rhubarb
- Sprouts
- Squash
In the winter, many people (like myself) tend to turn into carbohydrate addicts. While eating whole grains like brown rice (which, by the way, contains tryptophan that could boost your serotonin, possibly leading to a happier outlook - not to mention it's rumoured to help people with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia) is good for you, eating ONLY grains is hard on the body.
All across the board, diet gurus agree balancing starches and meats with with fresh vegetables and fruits will help balance your system - in Traditional Chinese Medicine/Macrobiotics, it's said to balance the yin and yang; Raw Foodists (and other groups) say alkalizing vegetables and fruits help balance your body's pH.
My point is that no matter what food camp you belong to, no one will argue the importance of eating fresh, seasonal vegetables.
In a research study conducted in 1997 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in London, England, significant differences were found in the nutrient content of pasteurized milk in summer versus winter. Iodine was higher in the winter; beta-carotene was higher in the summer. The Ministry discovered that these differences in milk composition were primarily due to differences in the diets of the cows. With more salt-preserved foods in winter and more fresh plants in the summer, cows ended up producing nutritionally different milks during the two seasons and milk is really necessary for healthy hair high lights Similarly, researchers in Japan found three-fold differences in the vitamin C content of spinach harvested in summer versus winter.
No topo do que era para ser a casa de força de emergência, foi construído um pequeno parque de diversões. O teto dessa construção foi feito para resistir a um impacto direto de uma bomba. Alguns amigos tomaram coragem e enfrentaram brain dumps o disco! In the top of where it was supposed to be the emergency power facility, it was built this small park for kids. The ceiling was made in order to 642-902 resist a direct bomb impact. Some friends of mine had guts to face the disc!
Existe um parque de diversões em Kalkar, Alemanha, onde se pode fazer um racha HP0-D07 em condições controladas. Os carros correm sobre trilhos, mas o rugido do V8 e a cantada de pneus é real!!! There is an amusement park in Kalkar, Germany, 1K0-002 where you can ride wildly in controlled conditions. The cars run over tracks, but the V8 roar and the tires spinning on the asphalt were real!