We often hear about the importance of eating seasonally, like the health benefits to be gained by eating food that hasn’t been sitting in storage for a year. But since our grocery stores are so good at making their year-old inventory look fresh, you may be wondering, like me, what really is in season?
Here are 7 healthy and maybe new-to-you foods to try right now:
1. Bok Choy. A couple years ago we discovered baby bok choy, and we LOVE it! It has a mild flavor and the perfect combination of a great crunch and nice, non-soggy leaf greens. We have often used it to dip in hummus. Bok choy is in the same family as cabbage and broccoli, but has higher vitamin A content than cauliflower and cabbage. Perfect for keeping away from those pesky spring colds and flus. It is also high in vitamin K, which is great news for your bones and brain.
2. Jicama. We have been having a lot of this lately. We have had it in tacos, dipped in hummus, plain, in smoothies, etc. It also has a very mild flavor with great crunch and is great served cold. Here is why you want to get as much as you can: it’s high in vitamin C, and is a great source of fiber. The fiber is a special kind called oligofructose inulin, which tastes sweet but does not metabolize in the body, so it is naturally very low glycemic (despite the starchy taste). The inulin is also great for the digestive system as a prebiotic and a blood sugar stabilizer.
3. Ginger. This is great in just about everything, raw or cooked. Ginger is a great digestive aid and anti-inflammatory. I love ginger, which is good news because it helps keep my arthritic symptoms in check, and I used some just last night to combat some nausea.
4. Fennel. We’ve been having fun slicing fennel and adding it to salads, or slicing it really thin and using it as a great crunchy compliment to raw soups. It’s also great cooked. It has a black licorice flavor, so Brad especially loves this. It’s also great for digestion: it balances stomach acid, which help prevent heartburn and indigestion. It’s also a great source of antioxidants.
5. Beets. We recently did a juice cleanse, so we had a decent amount of beet juice. We love eating beets cooked, or even raw (shaved into thin slices). They’re great on salads or by themselves. Beets contain phytonutrients that help with detoxification and the production of glutathione, which helps our bodies heal.
6. Amaranth. We love amaranth – it’s a gluten-free grain that has a nice, nutty flavor. It’s great with anything you would eat rice with, and makes an especially yummy hot cereal, too. You can also add it to pancakes and other baked goods. As a grain, it stacks up pretty well: it has 30% more protein than wheat, three times the amount of fiber and five times the amount of iron.
7. Lamb. You may have seen more of this at Easter. I haven’t had much lamb before, but I’m definitely going to be adding it to my approved meat list. Get this: like fish, lamb is a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids. It’s been called the “hypoallergenic meat” because it is least likely to trigger a histamine response. It’s also a great source of vitamin B12 (difficult to get from dietary sources), amino acids, and zinc.
Hopefully this gives you some good ideas for planning meals and picking out foods that are in season right now. Most of these have been relatively recent additions to my diet, so if they’re new to you, hopefully I’ve given you some good reasons to try them.
