Eating With the Seasons

Eat Local. Eat Seasonal. Know Your Food.

There is something special about eating food that was grown just down the road.

Maybe it was picked that morning. Maybe you know the person who planted the seed, tended the soil, fought the weeds, and harvested it by hand. Maybe the eggs came from a neighbor’s chickens, the beef came from a ranch a few miles away, or the honey came from hives you pass on your way into town.

Food feels different when you know where it came from.

And while we certainly live in a world where strawberries can be purchased in January and tomatoes are available year-round, there is something to be said for returning to a simpler way of eating—one that follows the seasons, supports local producers, and puts more real food on our tables.

Why Eat Seasonally?

Our bodies evolved eating according to what was available around us. Spring brought tender greens and herbs. Summer brought berries, tomatoes, squash, and an abundance of fresh vegetables. Fall brought root vegetables, pumpkins, apples, and the harvest that would sustain us through the colder months.

Eating seasonally doesn't mean you can never eat something that isn't currently growing in your area. Especially in places with short growing seasons, preservation, freezing, fermenting, drying, and other methods of storing food are incredibly valuable.

But making seasonal foods the foundation of your diet can be a wonderful way to increase variety and nutrient density while naturally encouraging you to eat more whole foods.

Freshly harvested produce can provide vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and plant compounds that support overall health. And when you build meals around what's currently abundant, you may find yourself eating a much greater variety of vegetables throughout the year.

There is also something wonderfully practical about it: seasonal eating tells you what to buy.

Instead of wandering through the grocery store trying to decide which vegetables to purchase, look at what's being harvested locally. Those foods are often at their freshest, most abundant, and most flavorful.

Local Food Is About More Than Nutrition

Eating locally isn't just a health decision. It's a community decision.

When you purchase a basket of vegetables from a local farmer, eggs from a neighbor, beef from a local rancher, or bread from a small bakery, more of your food dollars stay within your community.

You're helping a family-owned business continue operating.

You're helping preserve agricultural land.

You're supporting people who are investing their time and resources into producing food close to home.

And you're helping maintain the agricultural knowledge and traditions that are so important to rural communities.

In a small community, those choices matter.

What About Organic?

When possible, choosing organically grown foods can be another way to reduce your exposure to agricultural chemicals and support farming practices that prioritize soil and ecosystem health.

But don't let the word organic become a barrier to eating more fresh produce.

If you have access to a local farmer who uses thoughtful, sustainable growing practices but isn't certified organic, talk to them.

Ask how they grow their vegetables.

Ask what they spray.

Ask how they manage pests.

Ask what they do to care for their soil.

Small farmers are often incredibly transparent about their practices, and you may discover that the person growing your food is using methods that align very closely with your values—even if they don't carry an organic certification.

Knowing your farmer can sometimes tell you more than a label ever could.

Start at Your Local Farmers Market

One of the easiest ways to begin eating more locally and seasonally is to visit your farmers market.

Don't worry about knowing exactly what you're going to buy.

Go see what's available.

Talk to the growers.

Ask what's being harvested that week.

Ask how to prepare something you've never cooked before.

And then build your meals around what you find.

Maybe one week it's fresh greens, radishes, eggs, and local beef. Another week it might be zucchini, tomatoes, onions, berries, and herbs.

Let the seasons change your menu.

That's part of the fun.

Look Beyond the Farmers Market

Your local farmers market is a great place to start, but it doesn't have to be the only place you look.

Start paying attention to the small producers in your area.

Look for:

- Local ranchers selling beef, pork, lamb, or poultry
- Farmers growing vegetables, herbs, and fruit
- Local egg producers
- Honey and beeswax producers
- Small bakeries
- Local dairies
- Mushroom growers
- Herbalists and small-scale growers
- Local food co-ops
- Community gardens
- CSAs and farm shares
- Producers offering frozen, dried, canned, fermented, or freeze-dried foods

Social media can be particularly helpful. Many small producers don't have elaborate websites or storefronts. They may simply post what they have available on Facebook or through word of mouth.

Ask around.

Your neighbor may know who sells eggs.

Your friend may know a rancher with beef available.

The person at the farmers market may know someone growing something you can't find anywhere else.

Local food networks often exist—you just have to start looking for them.

Eating Locally in a Short Growing Season

Here in the Big Horn Basin, eating locally can require a little creativity.

Our growing season isn't endless, and that's exactly why traditional food preservation methods are so valuable.

Freezing vegetables at the height of the season can give you local produce throughout the winter. Dehydrating, freeze-drying, fermenting, canning, and storing root vegetables can extend the harvest considerably.

Instead of thinking, "I can't eat locally in January," think:

"What can I preserve now that I can enjoy later?"

A pantry stocked with locally grown vegetables, herbs, fruits, meat, and other preserved foods can become a bridge between growing seasons.

There Is Something Different About Knowing Your Food

Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of eating locally isn't something that can be measured on a nutrition label.

It's the connection.

When you know who grew your vegetables, who raised your beef, or who collected the eggs you're eating, food becomes connected to a person, a place, and a season.

You become more aware of what you're eating.

You may cook more often.

You may waste less.

You may discover new foods.

You may develop a greater appreciation for the work involved in producing the food that feeds your family.

And you may find that eating well doesn't have to mean buying expensive specialty products from a distant health-food store.

Sometimes, eating well means walking down to the farmers market.

Sometimes it means buying a dozen eggs from your neighbor.

Sometimes it means putting a bag of locally grown vegetables in your freezer for January.

Sometimes it means knowing the rancher who raised your dinner.

Real food doesn't have to travel thousands of miles to nourish us.

Start where you are.

Find the people in your community who are growing, raising, baking, harvesting, and preserving food.

Shop from them when you can.

Eat what is in season.

Preserve the abundance.

And, whenever possible, know your farmer and know your food.

If you'd like to get together and discuss other small changes you can make to live a healthier life, schedule an appointment today!