Eat locally and seasonally

Jens home garden mid july

This is the time of year when we ought to think about challenging ourselves to eat seasonally and locally. With our gardens full of ripening produce and local farmers markets and farm stands open, it is not so much a challenge as a decision to step out of the current food system, one that is dependent on fossil fuels, chemicals, and pesticides, and into a way of eating that is nutritionally sound and surprisingly delicious. To eat seasonally requires a heightened awareness of the natural world- a recognition  of what the earth is offering for our use right now. For me, eating seasonally means stepping outside my kitchen door and into the garden that is overflowing with fresh things to pick.  It is about as local as local can get.
Here are 10 easy steps to incorporate more local and seasonal food into your diet:
(exerpted from Lauri McKean, contributor  From Aparagus to Zucchini, a Guide to cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)
1. Start Slowly. You will be required to make changes in food preparation, meal planning and cooking. Changes take time so set reasonable goals.
2. Be conscious of the source of your food. Check labels in the market to see where your food came from and choose foods that have been grown or raised closer to home. Ask your grocer to stock local foods.
3.Develop a connection to your food. Plant pots of herbs or a tomato plant. Start a small garden. Meet the farmers at a farmers market or join a CSA.
4. Buy food according to your principles. Help the local economy by spending your dollars closer to home. If you don't want to be eating food that is full of chemicals, don't buy it! If you believe in helping  the environment, buy food products that have been sustainably produced.
5. Be flexible and creative in your cooking. Don't be afraid to try new things! Fresh, well prepared vegetables taste very different from those canned peas that you were encouraged to eat as a child.
6. Plan for winter. With a little thought you can enjoy local foods throughout the winter. Try buying lots of tomatoes in season and making sauce. Make basil pesto and freeze it. Learn how to make preserves.
7. Learn how to substitute. Try celeriac root instead of celery. Try baking with local honey instead of using cane sugar.
8. Buy fewer convenience foods. They are more expensive, excessively packaged, and less nutritious than food that you cook at home. And, there is a good chance they have not been produced locally.
9. Encourage your favorite restaurant to consider purchasing from local vendors. The good restaurants already do. They know that the best tasing, freshest ingredients are local.
10. Enjoy it all. Enjoy the tastes, the challenge, the new relationships, and the knowledge that you are doing something good for the yourself and the earth!