Seasonal vegetables and fruits |

We all like fresh fruit and vegetables, but due to the seasons, we cannot always afford them. We feel the greatest dissatisfaction especially in winter and early spring. Then we are forced to reach for imported products, and they, in turn, do not always taste the same as those from a home garden, from a gardener friend, or even bought at a local market.

On the one hand, having no other choice in the off-season, consuming imported vegetables and fruits, we provide our body with a portion of vitamins and microelements. On the other hand, somewhere in the back of the head there is a persistent thought that what we eat is probably not entirely healthy. Is it right? Let’s find out!

Vegetables and fruit in our diet

Vegetables and fruit should indisputably form the basis of the daily diet. They contain a lot of essential vitamins, antioxidants, and are rich in minerals – incl. potassium, calcium and magnesium, without which our physical and mental health would not be complete, and we would be aging very quickly. Thanks to the predominance of vegetables and fruits in the diet, we keep the skin and body youthful for a long time, forget about cellulite and excess weight, sleep better, brain and memory function better, we have better reflexes, muscles work more efficiently.

Vegetables and fruits also contain fiber, which literally sweeps food debris out of the intestines, cleanses the body of toxins, lowers bad cholesterol and regulates blood glucose levels. Since some vegetables and fruits, such as cucumber, celery, watermelon and strawberries, consist of up to 90% of water, they are not only low in calories, but also help to burn unnecessary kilograms.

How many portions of fruit and vegetables a day is best to eat, so as not to overdo it, because common sense moderation is important in everything? According to the World Health Organization, we should eat 5 servings of vegetables and fruits each day, with one serving being about 80 to 100 grams of vegetables or fruit. How is it measured in practice? A medium-sized apple weighs around 130 to 150 grams, so let’s take this example as a basic measure. It is worth keeping the advantage of vegetables over fruit, because the excess of fructose contained in fruits is not recommended, together with fruit acids, it adversely affects the enamel, it can also lead to metabolic disorders.

Better pears at your neighbor’s?

Since we already know how much we should eat, let’s look at imported fruits and vegetables. They are plump, firm and simply beautiful, they look delicious, like from an advertisement! So what could be wrong with them? Why is their taste and smell not always the same as those from the organic garden?

First of all, the longer it takes for fresh imported produce to travel from the grower to our plate, the more reliable protection they need. It is common practice to “conserve” them from the effects of a naturally progressing decomposition process, which is problematic in longer transport. The most effective method of such protection are, of course, a variety of chemicals that can be poured over one crate of vegetables even several times! These are not the only substances that we would like to consume – they irritate the digestive system, can cause poisoning and allergies, and in higher doses – serious diseases and disorders of various organs.

Another reason for the changed taste and smell of vegetables and fruits, which should have a delightful aroma, are, of course, the different growth conditions of the plant. One of the culprits is a different intensity of sunlight (if the imported vegetables are not greenhouse-grown at all) and cosmic radiation, depending on latitude, soil and air humidity, amount of rainfall and temperature.

And another thing, equally important – remember that vegetables and fruits from very distant countries are usually picked before they mature, and therefore before they get their full nutritional value, which is what we care about the most. Then – they either ripen on their own during transport or spraying accelerates the formation of the desired color (e.g. tomatoes). As you can easily guess, they do not get a natural, high amount of nutrients in this way …

Let’s buy local products

Therefore, it is right to believe that we should eat mostly vegetables and fruits from local markets, i.e. those that grow in conditions identical to those in which a person consumes them. Why? Our organisms work in such a way that they absorb all the ingredients from a locally growing apple or carrot much better than from those from a distant region.

In addition, when buying products from a “neighbor” who grows them a few or several kilometers from us, we are sure that he did not have to use huge amounts of spraying during transport, and he probably picked them up several hours before sale. In addition to health benefits, we support domestic production and we have a clear conscience that we do not support the use of undeclared migrants and often in inhuman conditions on foreign plantations – all this only so that large retail chains can offer us a cheaper product of terrible quality.

There are very interesting initiatives on the market that allow you to buy products directly from farmers. You can check, for example, the website https://lokalnyrolnik.pl/ – the service is not active in Poland yet, but you can easily check its availability by entering your location.

Okay, it’s easy to advise you to eat only local and fresh products, but what kind of vegetables will they be? The answer to this question is contained in one word: SEASONAL! The vegetable season in Poland begins at the end of April and it is worth considering when we can expect individual fresh field vegetables, because they appear cyclically or once – often even until later in autumn.

Vegetable and fruit seasonality calendar

Another very important seasonal vegetable in Polish cuisine is fresh cabbage – very versatile, low in calories and increasing immunity. Probably the most famous seasonal fruits are strawberry, its relative wild strawberry, grapes and an invaluable gift of Polish forests – blueberry. Strawberry is a real vitamin and mineral bomb, and at the same time it is very nutritious. Grapes protect against hypertension and cancer, contain vitamins K, C, thiamine and potassium, and … iodine, which we Poles still absorb too little.

Blueberry, on the other hand, not only contains many valuable ingredients, but also has a beneficial effect on the digestive system. In the period of seasonal vegetables and fruits, let’s use them as much as we can – especially raw, because any processing, even freezing, reduces their value and ultimately impoverishes the meal. You can find the full list of Polish superfoods here https://.pl/jak-i-kuje-kupowac-owoce-i-warzywa-sezonowe.

Our ancestors have benefited from the seasonality of vegetables and fruits for centuries, so our bodies are already genetically programmed to consume these fragrant vitamin bombs at their natural time of the year. And what can we eat in late fall and winter? It is worth remembering again about the practices of our ancestors, about our thrifty grandmothers, who stockpiled and processed them according to old, tried-and-tested methods, the most valuable of which are undoubtedly drying and ensiling.

We can dry virtually any fruit and vegetable, and dried celery or leek thrown into the pot in winter will fill your home with the wonderful smell of fresh vegetables. Among the pickles, of course, the leaders are cabbage and cucumbers, as an irreplaceable source of vitamins and minerals, although you can pickle, for example, pumpkin, beets or pears. You should not be afraid of frozen food, the loss of vitamins and minerals in this method is small, so after defrosting, they are still valuable products. You can read about how to store individual products here: https://.pl/przechowanie-YWnosci-wazne-informacje.

And which seasonal fruits and vegetables are you waiting for the most? We are sure that we have a lot of fans here, including asparagus! 🙂