Seasonal Grocery Shopping!
If you’re new to this health and fitness idea then you’re probably not familiar with seasonal grocery shopping. When I first started working on eating more fruits and veggies, I looked up random recipes online and bought whatever they called for. This was a HUGE mistake for two reasons. I bought a bunch of random food to make a single recipe and I didn’t check to see if everything was in season. Knowing what’s readily available in your area and utilizing seasonal foods is a major benefit!
Why Seasonal Grocery Shopping?
Here’s the deal, not everyone reading this blog is a green thumb and has a huge garden full of food. I live in the city and I can barely keep a plant alive. I also don’t like paying a ridiculous amount for groceries. Knowing what’s in season with a simple web search saves me money! Using websites like these you know when to expect your favorite fruit or veggie to be affordable. You may not pay attention to the price of produce throughout the year but I would recommend you do. I LOVE cherries but those are like $7 A POUND if you don’t buy them at the right time of year. If that doesn’t seem expensive to you, can you buy my groceries? But forreal, I will steal a cherry or two because I’m not trying to pay that much for fruit. Sorry mom!
Summer time is around the corner and that usually means cookouts. Wouldn’t you know it that corn happens to be in season and readily available where I live? That usually means you’ll find good specials at the grocery store for corn in the summer time! I will usually stock up and use it many different ways. When I could get away with the canned substitute throughout the year, this gives me the option to use it in its’ fresh form. Not only do I save money but it actually tastes better too!
Whenever you buy seasonal produce, you’re getting a better tasting product. Obviously this depends on where you live and what’s readily available around you. If something is in season, it will be harvested and will mostly likely make it’s way straight to the grocery store. You won’t have to deal with something that has been sitting in a freezer somewhere for weeks at a time. When you buy out of season you may notice that it’s not that pretty, tastes a bit off, and it may have been frozen at one point. The logistics of it all is a whole ‘nother post but eating seasonal is a better bet when it comes to the lifetime of your produce.
Seasonal Grocery Shopping: Final Verdict
Take the extra time to double check and see what’s in season. If you get to the grocery store and you’re unsure, check the store’s weekly ad. Whatever is in season and on sale will usually be on the front page! Give it a try and you’ll be surprised as to how much of a different it makes in your meals too.
Do you make a conscience effort to shop for seasonal produce?
