Hello Spring

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Todayis the first day of SPRING!
yay!!

Now that spring is here, lets spring into a new healthy diet with the abundance of spring produce now available. Eating only seasonal produce (fruits and vegetables grown specifically in the current season) is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint.

By only consuming seasonal produce, we;
• Save money.Purchasing produce that are out of season is a lot more expensive than produce that are in season. The produce are in abundance when it is in season locally making it cheaper due to basic supply and demand. However, purchasing produce that are out of season costs more because it is being shipped from another region whose weather permits it to grow seasonally there. Through my expierence, produce at the local farmer markets are a lot cheaper than supermarket produce.
• Save nutrients and freshness. When food is not in season locally, it is shipped in from other parts of the world and this affect the taste. Transporting produce sometimes requires irradiation (zapping the produce with a burst of radiation to kill germs) and preservatives (such as wax) to protect the produce which is refrigerated during the trip. Produce lose flavor like they lose moisture when they are stored. Fresh, locally harvested foods have their full, whole flavors. Your body gets more out of certain fruits and vegetables at certain times of the year.
• Reduce pollution. Produce being shipped from other regions require oil and gas to fuel the ships and airplanes used to transport the goods. Bye electing to eat seasonally, we reduce the air pollution that would be emitted from transportation.
• Support local farmers. Lets face it, in this economy, we need all the jobs we can get. Support your local farmer by purchasing their good they worked hard for to grow. Besides, the supermarkets make enough money any.

SPRINGproduce in season
• Asparagus
• Strawberries
• Artichokes
• Sweet Cherries
• Peas
• Radishes
• Apricots
• Morel Mushrooms
• Green Tomatoes
• Green Garlic
• New Potatoes
• Kale
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Onion
• Broccoli
• Collard Greens

For the complete list of produce for all other season, click here.

Find recipes using these ingredients here.

To find locally harvested produced in your area, check out the website.