44°
Editor's note: Sleepy Hollow native Linda Soper-Kolton is the owner and chef of GreenGourmetToGo. Below, she shares some of her insights about eating locally.
What a concept, to eat food that is grown close to where you live. It's called, "eating local," and when you eat locally you are actually eating "in season." Seasonal foods grown close to the source provide powerful and important benefits, to you, your local economy and the world. And even as cold weather closes in, it's easy to find locally grown and healthy food.
For centuries, Ayurvedic practitioners have eaten in harmony with the seasons. They believed that when you eat what is harvested in that season you are aligning yourself with nature, an act that goes a long way toward supporting your health and wellness. Before the industrialization of agriculture, which made it possible for us to eat whatever we wanted, whenever we felt like it, we ate what came from local farms or from our backyards.
You benefit from eating fruit and veggies that are actually fresh. It makes sense that seasonal foods grown locally would provide your body with more nutrients, since so many are lost in a long journey from across the country or from the other side of the world. Many believe that bodies function best when they eat what they're meant to eat and when they're meant to eat it. It also means choosing foods that are locally grown and that support a sustainable, dynamic food system where farmers can thrive and prosper by receiving a fair price for their goods. This decreases our dependence on the unsustainable, centralized industrial agricultural model.
When you eat seasonally you help to reduce the environmental impact of your food choices. Food that travels 1,500 miles to get to your plate pollutes the environment a lot more than food you buy at your local farm or farmers' market.
Here are a few suggestions on how to eat seasonally and locally. Get to know your local farmer. Plant a garden. Or think about joining a CSA (community supported agriculture), where you buy a share of the farm in exchange for weekly boxes of produce. Shop your local farmers' markets or participate in a Farm-to-Chef program, which allows you to choose a month in which you receive a weekly box of produce, a quart of fresh, seasonal soup and health-supportive baked goods -- all for about $50 per week.
Finally, by choosing to eat seasonally you make a choice to be a healthier human being. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are the core of a seasonal diet and are easily digestible. If you need to, you can add in the occasional local, organic piece of meat or cheese, but you can get what you need from in-season fruit and vegetables. Your body will thank you for it.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Armonk and receive free news updates.
