Winter is coming, and it’s bringing us many Lemons, Mandarins, Oranges, Parsnips, Pears and whatnot. Seasonal eating– sounds fancy, but it isn’t, trust us. Seasons come and go, but our food preferences always include a bunch of un-opened take-out menus and burgers that can reach us in few minutes. Studies suggest that eating seasonal fruit and veggies helps expand our taste and develops a more balanced diet while simultaneously reducing food production consequences. Here is how you can learn to meal-prep and seriously consider adapting this routine everyone keeps talking about.

Here’s a general overview of the best fruits and vegetables for each season: 

• Spring: Apricots, Artichokes, Arugula, Asparagus, Beets, Carrots, Chard, Fava beans, Fennel, Fiddleheads, Garlic (green), Grapefruit, Green onions, Greens, Kiwis, Kumquats, Leeks, Lemons, Lettuce, Mint, Nettles, Navel oranges, Parsley, Pea Greens, Peas, Radishes, Rhubarb, Scallions, Spinach, Spring onions, Strawberries, Sweet onions, Turnips

• Summer: Apples, Apricots, Avocados, Basil, Bell peppers, Blackberries, Blueberries, Boysenberries, Cantaloupes, Carrots, Chard, Cherries, Chickpeas, Chiles, Cilantro, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Figs, Garlic, Gooseberries, Grapes, eans, Green onions, Herbs, Lettuce, Limes, Mangoes, Melons, Nectarines, Okra, Onions, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Radicchio, Radishes, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Shallots, Spinach, Spring onions, Strawberries, Summer squashes, Sweet onions, Tomatillos, Tomatoes, Watermelons, Zucchini and blossoms

• Autumn: Apples, Artichokes, Arugula, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, and celery root, Chart, Chicories, Chiles, Cranberries, Edamame, Eggplant, Endive, Escarole, Fennel, Figs, Garlic, Grapes, Green onions, Herbs, Horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes, Kale, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lemongrass, Lettuce, Mimes, Mushrooms, Okra, Onions, Parsnips, Pears, Peppers, Persimmons, Pomegranates, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Radicchio, Radishes, Rutabagas, Spinach, Sweet potatoes, Tomatillos, Turnips, Winter squash, Zucchini

• Winter: Beets, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cardoons, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chicories, Clementines, Endive, Escarole, Fennel, Grapefruit, Herbs, Horseradish, Kale, Kiwis, Kumquats, Leeks, Lemons, Mandarins, Oranges, Parsnips, Pears, Persimmons, Pomelos, Raddichio, Rutabagas, Satsumas, Sweet potatoes, Tangerines, Turnips, Winter squash

Suppose you want more specific information on what your country of residence produces; the International Center for Tropical Agriculture has interactive maps that provide details of the native origins of major crops and where they’re now produced. But to find what products are available to you, a simple Google search for “seasonal foods” + “[your location]” (or a variation of those terms) works best.

And let us tell you, seasonal eating comes with a lot of benefits. 

• Nutrition: Some fruits and vegetables are harvested during certain seasons. When you buy them off-season, you are likely purchasing crops that were picked weeks, if not months ago. Because the produce begins to lose nutrients shortly after the harvest, the out-of-season choices will have lower nutritional values.

• Flavour: Fruits and vegetables consumed shortly after being selected can taste fresher and more flavourful during their peak growing season. Now pasta could definitely use a cherry red tomato. 

• Supporting local farmers: Farm-to-tableWhen, you buy fresh and seasonal produce, it would inevitably come from local producers. This helps maintain wealth within the society and helps sustain family farms.

Sorry, we don’t mean to sound like the 7th grade Science book, but we’re sure you could all use a brush-up. Clean eating, here we come!