We caught up with Liv from @livnutritious an accredited nutritionist who knows a thing about food and how best to love your body. Our chat quickly landed on eating seasonally, why its so bloody awesome and something we all need to tune into a bit more.
This is what the beautiful Liv had to say....
Just as the seasons change, so does our body’s needs and seemingly so too our palate. For our bodies to thrive throughout the year we should be flowing with the seasonal cycle which naturally provides variety and balance. Eating and appreciating a varied array of beautiful produce provides a number of benefits for not only you, but also your community, our delicate ecosystem and also your wallet.
Supporting your body’s needs
This connection of earth to our bodies is pure magic to me. The natural environmental cycle of produce is designed to organically support human health. On a general note, seasonal produce picked on ripe and fully developed contains a richer source of antioxidants. Coming into the cooler months our bodies have higher requirement for vitamin C to support and build our immune system, where autumn is the time to fall in love with plums, limes, kiwifruits, eggplants, broccoli and Asian greens. Likewise, in summer, seasonal stone fruit provides beta-carotene to provide additional protection against the harsh Australian UV rays.
Flavour & food relationship
Food is an essential part of life fulfilment and daily enjoyment. It is so important to me that people develop a deep love for all they eat. The notion that many people are constantly trying to avoid eating is just so unsettling. A great way to rebuild a loving food relationship and spark the senses is by eating produce that actually bursts with flavour and colour. Freshly picked, packed and shipped means crisp, fragrant, juicy and ultra-colourful produce. By eating seasonal we are naturally in tune with our surroundings giving us a more harmonious relationship with our environment. I think we can all agree that produce that has been allowed to fully ripen in the sun really does taste so much more amazing.
Economy
This simply comes down to supply and demand, for when produce is in bloom and in abundance the cost naturally drops down. This supporting your local farmers and your bank account, which really is just so important now more than ever.
Environment
Seasonal produce can grow without an extensive need for added assistance i.e. pesticides and genetic modification, so by choosing seasonal you are more likely to be consuming cleaner produce. It’s important to recognise that many small farms cannot afford to go through the very expensive organic certification yet through shear passion still follow a natural, healthy and traditional growing practice. A knock-on effect of reduced pesticide usage means cleaner table lands, reduced run-off contamination and a healthier ecology. Further to this a lesser need for long haul transport and storage. This all contributing to reducing Australia’s carbon footprint.
Community support
Getting to know where your food is coming from, who is growing your food and how they do it naturally drives a deeper connection to the entire process, this embedding a deeper level of appreciation behind your produce. Both farm-to-you services and farmers markets create communities around food that encourage us to engage, ask questions and share knowledge.
Home cooking with whole foods
By having this connection, you will naturally be motivated to get it the kitchen more which organically adapts into a wholefoods approach. By doing this you are instinctively choosing what goes into your body therefor constantly making better health choices. Cooking is also a great family/house hold activity which continues familiar traditions and generational education. So much better than sitting on the couch and ordering food from an app right! …Well 98% of the time anyway ;)
Creativity and Variety
Eating seasonal keeps challenging your inner chief to invent new and delicious dishes based on the produce you have. Variety is also essential for our physical and mental health; by changing your menu according to what’s available you are naturally providing a wider scope of nutrients.
We can all be forgiven for buying into the illusion that seasons no longer matter. Large chain supermarkets are not limited by lack of availability by way of dragging produce across oceans for a year-round supply, which in many ways has disrupted the delicate holistic cycle of nature.
For seasonal produce the greatest advice for picking seasonal is to be open minded to the natural state of the produce, flaws and all. Imperfect perfections of light bruising and bumps make each pick delightfully unique. I encourage you to view these physical traits as a sign of integrity and caution the flawless as perhaps false, flavourless and nutrient poor.
At Your Food Collective we're making seasonal eating the norm by connecting you directly to local producers. If it's not in season we're not selling it. It's food the way it should be, grown by mother nature and picked to order!
‘Liv is an accredited nutritionist, you can learn more about her work by visiting her website www.livnutritious.com.au or Instagram @livnutritious’
