Going seasonal could help keep you healthy.
If you're still looking to be healthier, cutting down on every day
costs or doing your bit for the environment then ‘going seasonal’ could be a great way to make a few small, but
beneficial, changes to your lifestyle.
Adding seasonal produce into your meals is better for
your health and for the environment as shorter journeys mean less time spent on
a boat, plane or lorry, which in turn means that more nutrients and vitamins
are likely to have retained since picking. What’s more, seasonal food is often
cheaper than out of season produce because it doesn't require anywhere near as
much effort to produce. For example, you can pay a small fortune for
blackberries and strawberries when they are out of season, yet for three months
of the year, you can pick them for free. Why not buy them when they’re in
season and freeze them for the winter months? They’ll also taste a lot better -
food that's allowed to grow and ripen properly is far tastier than artificially
produced food that's travelled thousands of miles to reach the supermarket
shelves.
So, what do you need to put in your shopping basket or
think about making at home, to start the year as you mean to go on? Karen Burns-Booth, food writer and
creator of top food blog Lavender
and Lovage, has some top tips to inspire you.
Fresh veg
For quick and simple, yet healthy, mid-week meals,
stir-fry leftover locally sourced veg, such as cauliflower, Brussels sprouts
and carrots, or add veggies to a frittata, made with free-range eggs.
Kale seems to be all the rage at the moment and for
good reason, it is packed with vitamins, has a low cost and can be used in all
sorts of great recipes, from crisps to soups, stews and salads. Add it to
bubble and squeak, alongside other mashed up vegetables like cabbage and swede.
Healthy snacks
If you’re trying to cut down on chocolate, keep
seasonal fruit and nuts on hand. Fill up your fruit bowl with apples, pears and
oranges. Nuts are a great slow-release energy snack on the go, and you’ll find
chestnuts, almonds and walnuts amongst the seasonal varieties available.
Home-made marmalade is delicious and will keep for
weeks, so make a big batch and decant it into jam jars – this also makes a
great gift for birthdays.
Meat savings
Pick a larger, big bird or joint of meat for your
Sunday roast that can feed your household for a couple of days afterwards, so
you can enjoy a whole range of slap-up meals from that one purchase. Remember
that poultry bones can be boiled up to make stock, so nothing goes to waste;
you can then freeze the stock if the meat is fresh.
There are loads of ways to use up leftover roast lamb.
For shepherd’s pie chop up the lamb and cook it with gravy and herbs, topped
with mashed potato for a simple, frugal meal. You can then add in any other
vegetables you may have. Alternatively, make a delicious curry or a pasta
topping.
Bake away
Bread making is seeing a huge revival, with all sorts
of interesting dough types and flavours, such as rosemary. Bread freezes well, so you can make batches and then
freeze what you don’t need, taking it out to defrost on the counter in just an
hour and a half.
If you like to bake, try healthy alternatives with
seasonal produce, like adding beetroot to your brownies for a delicious rich
slice.
To share more healthy and hearty
inspiration, Karen teamed up with CSMA
Club to create this handy seasonal food calendar that you can pin up
in your kitchen. A new one is released at the start of each month – it’s the
perfect cheat sheet to keep you on the right track when it comes to shopping,
cooking and eating seasonally.
Kimberly Button
CSMA Club has been established since 1923 and provides exclusive
member benefits, discounts, holidays and events to over 300,000 members
drawn from civil servants, public sector company employees and their families.
The Club is run by its members for its members with the aim to help them get
more for their money and more enjoyment out of life. For useful everyday
advice, plus handy hints and expert tips for making your money go further visit
the Smart
Spending hub.
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