Healthier eating, healthier you, healthier planet!

If you are a regular browser of the Jacaranda Spain website, then you will be aware that we love to promote the Mediterranean lifestyle and diet. After all, the biggest selling point on our portfolio, is the location. Of course, you can follow the Mediterranean eating plan from wherever you live, but one factor that makes healthier eating easier here in Spain, is the seasonal variation in fruit and vegetables.

Why is seasonal eating better for us?

1) Enhanced nutritional value- The minute fruit and vegetables are picked, they begin to deplete in nutritional value. Vitamins degrade throughout storage, packaging and transport. Produce that has to be exported, has to be picked before optimum ripeness, then it has to be stored and preserved which usually means refrigeration. This will stop the produce from spoiling but it will also stop the process that makes it colour and sweeten. Store bought tomatoes are often a pale, orange red and they have no taste. The less time between harvest and consumption the better!

2) Better flavour and taste- Not only is the nutritional value higher but, you can taste the difference. We have all eaten strawberries and tasted- nothing! Seasonal strawberries are better, hands down! Same goes for all fruit and veg!

3) Encourages variety in diet- It means that when something is not in season you will swap it for something else, with a different set of vitamins and minerals.

 4) More economical- Fresh produce is cheaper in Spain than other European countries. This is because food in season is plentiful so it is cheaper and it is local, or a short lorry journey away, so transport costs are low. If you are buying non-seasonal fruit,  there is less of it and it has been imported from another country, making it much more expensive.

 5) Supports local farmers- If you buy locally sourced produce you are helping the community and keeping prices down.

 6) Reduce the carbon footprint- Food transportation accounts for 20% of traffic emissions and seasonal fruit and vegetables are grown naturally without artificial heat. All good news for the decrease of green house gases.

 7) Mindful eating- Planning your meals around what is in season, makes you appreciate nature and think more respectfully about the environment and what we are putting in our bodies. This can only be a good thing to educate the next generations.

Here in the Marina Alta, there is no excuse for not eating fresh, locally sourced produce. Each of our beautiful villages has a weekly produce market and the stall holders can tell you where all of their produce comes from. Even pre-packed supermarket fruit and veg originates from Spain. I have, in my fridge as we speak; strawberries from Huelva, lettuce from Almería, Kale and red peppers from Valencia, Leeks from Villena, onions from Denia and a huge bowl of sweet juicy oranges from my Spanish friend in Jalón! 

So, next time you go looking for fruit and veg, ask where it came from or read the label. Buy seasonal for a healthier body, a healthier mind and a healthier planet!