What’s In Season?

I try to eat as much as possible with the seasons – getting fresh local produce when it is at the height of flavor and nutrition, and the difference that has made in my diet and my (at least perceived) health has been enormous. However, getting a hang on just what is good now and what isn’t is pretty difficult when you are just figuring it out, given how disconnected from our food and the seasons we have become.

As I went down that path and started to figure out what to be buying when, there were several outstanding resources that helped me along and took a lot of the guesswork out of the process. Of course, the thing that helped most was showing up diligently at farm stands, markets, and groceries that stocked local produce and paying attention to what was available, but these websites helped immensely in getting the hang of eating seasonally and locally.

Epicurious has a fantastic tool to determine what is in season all over the United States for any specific month. About.com also has a list of seasonal foods, organized by state. My personal favorite, however is put together by the fine folks at Field To Plate, where they collect all of the local resources for each region into one massive page to help you find everything you need to eat Sustainably, Organically, Locally and Ethically.