Seasonal Cooking

In this current financial health aware climate everybody wants tasty, healthy ingredients that go easy on the wallet. One way to achieve this would be to try seasonal cooking. This means to cook with appropriate fruit and vegetables that are in season in the country you are in. It can help boost the economy, improve your health and help stop supermarkets being so dominant effectively destroying small independent grocers or stalls. This positive, guilt-free consumerism can be gained all in a change of habit, to source local seasonal produce.

There are tonnes of reasons for buying seasonal produce but there is a prominent commonality that most of us just don’t know what to buy and when. Admittedly it is not easy to eat the healthy balance that we are driven to do, so here are some simple ways to help this: –

Buy local – find a good fruit and veg shop that know their produce and can give you sound, informed advice. Supermarkets are the worst for chemically treating items and flying them in from areas across the globe decreasing the goodness in the product and increasing your carbon footprint dramatically.

Check out your local farmers market. They may seem like a new trend but have existed a lot longer than the supermarket; they have after all been around as long as farming has! It’s often a fab day out with more than just quality food to get involved with, you will also be in support of your local community and its economy.

If you can’t buy it fresh then buy it frozen, the majority of frozen veg is picked in season then frozen immediately to be effectively stored retaining all the freshness, flavour and nutrients.

If you have to get an ingredient that is not available in this country then find out if and where it is in season in order to try to be selective in where it is imported from to minimize shipping time and subsequent damage to produce.

Grow your own! Which is easy to advise but a little trickier in practise, especially with this current weather as often it feels like you are just fattening up all the snails and the slugs, but it is good fun, good exercise and kids love it!!

Try a local box scheme. You are supporting local business and reducing your shopping time, you just need to get the hang of ordering the right box to suit you and your needs.

Non-seasonal fruit and vegetables have to be brought to you over long distances if not from across the globe. In fact, some statistics suggest that fruit and vegetables at your local supermarket travel up to 2500 miles before they get to you!

This “fresh” produce is often picked while still immature, to ensure they don’t spoil on the potentially mammoth trek. Not only does this affect the freshness, flavour or aroma of your fruit and veg, it causes vitamin degradation and nutrient loss.

Researches from the Austrian Consumers Association have confirmed that vegetables picked and frozen while in season are actually higher in nutrients than the same ones that were transported off season from abroad. When we consider also that shipping fruit and veg over long distances has a huge impact on our planet it increases greenhouse gas emissions, atmosphere pollution, and depletion of the earth’s energy resources, seasonal buying is a no brainer.

Figure out what is in season and go for it. If you change what you eat and your shopping habits inevitably you will be rewarded with quality produce packed with nutrition at a lower cost, you and your taste buds will be truly chuffed!

Vote with your feet buy seasonal. Save nutrients save flavour save the planet.

Chakra Balance through food.

We know what we should be eating to improve our physical body. Whether it’s for weight-loss or muscle gain, the term “you are what you eat” is more accepted, we understand food we’re eating now will create our future selves, which is great……but are we aware that our energy systems need replenishing? Our energy systems or our chakras need nutrition in order to be balanced and open.

Chakras are believed to be wheel like vortices which exist in the surface of the subtle body of living beings. The name derives from the Sanskrit word for “wheel” or” turning”, theses force centres are situated at major areas of the nervous system and are considered to be vocal points for the reception or transmission of energies.

Root Chakra: – coccyx area for grounding, security and health.

• Root vegetables – carrots, potatoes, parsnips, beetroot, onion, garlic, radishes
• Protein – eggs, meats, fish, beans, tofu.
• Spices – horse radish, hot paprika, cayenne pepper.

Sacral Chakra: – lower abdomen, ovaries or prostate area for emotions and sexuality.

• Nuts
• Seeds
• Sweet fruits – strawberries, oranges, melons.
• Spices – cinnamon, vanilla, carob, sweet paprika.

Solar Plexus Chakra: – navel area for power and will.

• Dairy – cheese, yogurt
• Grains – breads, cereals, rice.
• Spices – ginger, turmeric, cumin, fennel, peppermint.

Heart Chakra: – chest/heart area for love and balance.

• Leafy veg – spinach, kale, greens
• Air vegetable – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, celery
• Herbs – parsley, basil, thyme.

Throat Chakra: – throat/neck area for communication and creativity.

• Tree growing fruits apples, pears, plums, peaches
• Tart/ tangy fruits lemons, limes, grapefruits
• Spices – salt, lemon grass.

Third Eye: – brow or pineal gland area for intuition and imagination.

• Dark coloured fruits -blueberries, red grapes, raspberries blackberries
• Spices – poppy seed, mugwort, lavender

Crown Chakra: – top of the head area for knowledge and understanding.

• Cleanse the crown chakra by fasting and detoxing.
• Incense is an aid to this; use herbs – sage, myrrh, frankincense, juniper.

Have a glimpse at the scrummy recipes we can indulge in to assist our bodies gaining fluidity of life.

Quinoa Salad – serves 4

Red peppers x 1

Cherry tomato x8 cut in half

Rocket x handful each

Carrot x2 grated

Apple x1 grated

Sesame seeds x1 big handful

Water – 1 cup of quinoa needs 1 ½ cups of water.

Quinoa (½ cup per person) Place grain in medium sized saucepan with measured amount of water cover and simmer at medium heat until grain starts to turn transparent approximately 10-12 minutes. Leave to cool with lid on.

Raisins (optional) x big handful

Avocado x 1 chopped cider vinegar and olive oil.

• Cook the quinoa and put to one side to cool.
• Grate the carrot and apple.
• Cut the red pepper and tomato.
• Put altogether in a bowl with rocket, oil, vinegar, oregano.
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Season with Himalayan salt and pepper.

Roast Veg – serves 4

Sweet potato x2

Butternut x1

Beetroot x2 (cooked or raw)

Carrot x2

Pumpkin seeds x 1 big handful

Feta x 200g

Coconut oil x 1 big tablespoon

Himalayan salt

Ground black pepper

• Heat oven to 200 C.
• Wash and roughly chop all veg.
• Place all veg in a roasting dish with the coconut oil.
• Put in oven and cook at 200 C for first 20 minutes then 180 C for next 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and gently squish veg with a fork
• Add feta and pumpkin seeds and finish off in oven for 5 minutes.
• Scrummy!

Food is our medicine, our approach to food is as just important as the nutritional content. A wholesome dinner prepared lovingly and eaten respectfully is far more beneficial than inhaling the equivalent meal on the go. We need to tap into our senses and focus on the food selection. Spend time preparing it, appreciate the ingredients and enjoy the process!

It is easy to become overwhelmed by seductive advertising poking you at every corner, or the latest diet book deciphering scientific reasoning for weight-loss or the media raving about a new super food. The trouble is what works for one person will not necessarily work for the next; our diet specification is as individual as our fingerprint so it is up to us to be our own connoisseur. We have an innate knowledge about ourselves and more often than not, our bodies will let us know what we need to eat through our senses. It just depends on whether or not we choose to listen!

Here are a few things to try: –

• Selection – look at the colours….what appeals to you? Focus on the texture or the smell, tap into what your body needs to receive.
• Preparation – Acknowledge your ingredients and their properties. Main ingredient – LOVE!!
• Eating – Try and relax. It is not always possible to find the perfect environment for a spot of lunch so focus on the task in hand, stay calm and breathe.
• A good way to attain a relaxed state is to tune into your food by offering a simple sat nam, giving grace and gratitude for the food.
• Take your time, savour the flavours, chew well and taste every part of the meal. Appreciate the texture, the taste, the sensation. All will aid to achieving maximum enjoyment and benefit from the nourishment.
• Allow digestion, it is one of the most important stages of the whole process so why go and ruin it by rushing about after eating. Take your time; don’t burden the system by asking too much too soon.

Time is probably one of the biggest opponents, but maybe in order to do more for ourselves we need to figure out how to do less.