Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
- Carl Jung
Are You a Locavore? |
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Posted on March 29, 2010 by Kelly Cornell, CHC, AADP |
What exactly is a locavore, you ask? The simple definition is someone who eats primarily or exclusively locally grown/raised foods. The benefits of eating local food are many. One health benefit is that by eating local and seasonal fruits and vegetables you are nourishing your body with the food that best support it. Our body thrives when we eat with the seasons, as this truly is how natures intends for us to eat.
Another benefit to eating local is that the food you're consuming is typically much more fresh than food that is transported across the nation or imported from another country. Think about the taste difference you experience from eating a fresh ripe strawberry versus one bought at the grocery store that was shipped in from hundreds of miles away. There really is no comparison. And, the nutritional value of 1-2 day old strawberries is much higher than that of 7-10 day old strawberries that were picked before they ripened fully.
Of course, there is the environmental impact to think about when we choose local. The impact can be huge when you compare 25-50 miles in transport against hundreds of miles traveled. You can make difference by incorporating more local foods into your diet, which is easier than you make think. It takes some awareness about where your food comes from, and requires eating more foods in their whole form…meaning less food that comes with an ingredients list.
A really simple way to eat like a locavore is to visit your neighborhood farmers' market. I shop at my every weekend. The produce I buy there is incomparable to the produce found at the grocery store down the street from my house. The selection of fruits and vegetables may not be as large as that of the grocery store, but do I really need to eat honeydew in the middle of winter?
If you don't know where the nearest farmers' market is to your house, check out www.localharvest.org for a listing.
