Seasonal cooking with regional food is varied, sustainable, tastes good and also saves money. What used to be quite normal is now back in fashion. Ayurveda, the Indian philosophy of healthy living, also attaches great importance to a diet based on the seasons and seasonal foods. Find out why this is the case and how you can switch to a healthy, environmentally friendly and, last but not least, more affordable diet here.
Seasonal and regional cooking - benefits for health and well-being
It has become quite normal for almost every vegetable to be available in the supermarket at any time of year. Asparagus, strawberries and tomatoes are available all year round. This not only puts a strain on the environment due to the long transportation routes or heated greenhouses, but the taste and quality of the food also suffer enormously in some cases. Fruit and vegetables usually taste best when they are fresh and ripe. However, in order to survive transportation, they are harvested much earlier and ripened artificially. Seasonal cooking means that you only use ingredients that can be harvested in your area at the time. The term seasonal or regional is not protected. This means that you should look carefully, even if the packaging says seasonal. However, it usually means that the transport route is between 20 and 80 kilometers.
What are the benefits of seasonal cuisine?
Tailoring your daily recipes to the respective season has many advantages.
- Finances: cooking seasonally saves money, as there is a lot of the respective fruit or vegetables available at harvest time, making them cheaper.
- Variety: Cooking and eating according to the season is varied and makes it easier for you to eat a balanced diet.
- Sustainability: Seasonal fruit and vegetables are more sustainable. Seasonal ingredients do not have to be transported or refrigerated for long periods of time.
- Nutrients: Many vitamins and nutrients are lost during storage and transportation. Seasonal cuisine gives you much more of them. Especially if you buy as fresh as possible, such as at a weekly market or from a direct producer of fruit and vegetables.
- Fun and enjoyment: If you decide to use only seasonal fruit and vegetables for your recipes, this increases the anticipation of certain delights such as strawberries, asparagus, wild garlic, salad or even pumpkin.
- Nature: Dishes prepared according to seasonal recipes bring you a little closer to nature. You experience the cycle of the year every day on your plate. In Ayurveda, dishes are also adapted to the seasons, heat or cold. Seasonal recipes cool, warm or invigorate you when you need it.
- Taste: Recipes with food from the current season taste incomparably better, as it is the perfect time for these dishes.
Cooking according to the season: seasonal dishes in Ayurveda
The Indian philosophy and healing science of Ayurveda deals with much more than just daily nutrition. It is a holistic philosophy that aims to enable a "good life". As a source of energy, food is an essential part of this. To ensure that everything we eat can be optimally utilized, the digestive fire Agni should be able to burn unhindered. Mindful self-care is essential for this. The golden dietary rules of Ayurveda include
- A type-appropriate diet that is tailored to your constitution.
- Ayurvedic recipes are tailored to your needs. They encompass body, mind and soul in equal measure.
- In order for this to succeed, Ayurvedic cuisine is suitable for everyday use and easy to implement.
- Ayurvedic dishes and recipes take into account the life cycles as well as the times of day and seasons, which is ideal for seasonal cuisine and regional ingredients.
Ayurveda seescooking as medicine. It should ensure that your body remains healthy and in balance.
Cooking in tune with seasonal dishes and recipes throughout the year
Which fruit or vegetables are ripe when depends entirely on where you live. Just a few kilometers south or north can shift the harvest time by up to a month. We give you a quick overview of seasonal ingredients.
- Seasonal cooking in spring: Wild garlic, radishes, asparagus, spinach and rhubarb ripen in spring. They are suitable for recipes such as: Wild garlic pesto, quinoa salad with asparagus and spinach, asparagus pasta, spinach in soups or smoothies.
- Seasonal summer cooking: In summer, berries, lettuce, fennel, cucumbers, potatoes, cherries, corn, chard and zucchinis (peppers and tomatoes only from August). Ideas for seasonal recipes: Fennel risotto, cucumber cold dish, potato and chard casserole, grilled corn on the cob, ratatouille.
- Seasonal cooking in the fall: apples, eggplants, pears, green beans, pumpkins, beet, red/white cabbage, salsify, grapes and plums are ripe in the fall. They are suitable for autumnal stews, cabbage rolls, pumpkin curry, salsify in cream or beet salad.
- Seasonal cooking in winter: chicory, lamb's lettuce, kale, parsnips and Brussels sprouts are available in winter. Recipes: bed of lamb's lettuce with walnut pasta, parsnip fries, braised Brussels sprouts with mushrooms.
