Eating with the Seasons - April

As the flavours of foods seem sadly lacking in my supermarket trolley, I have recently been drawn more and more to my local farm shops.  The misshapen cabbages and suede’s are full of flavour and takes me back to my farming roots.

Seasonal food is fresher and therefore tastier and more nutritious. If you want to enjoy food at its best, every bite bursting with flavour, there's no doubt eating seasonally is the way to go.

Eating more local seasonal food makes sense.  It costs less, as it has less distance to travel, which in turn reduces energy costs and the associated CO2 emissions.  It also supports the local economy, but most of all it helps us to reconnect with nature’s cycles and the passing of time.

Among the UK foods at their best in April are:

Vegetables: broccoli (purple sprouting), cabbages, cauliflower, spring greens, lettuce, radishes, sea kale, sorrel, watercress.

Fruit: rhubarb.

Wild greens and herbs: alexanders, chickweed, chives, wild chervil, dandelions, fat hen, hogweed shoots, hop shoots, meadowsweet, nettles, sea kale, sea spinach, sorrel, watercress, wild garlic, wild rocket.

Fungi and nuts: morels, St George's mushrooms.

Fish and shellfish: cockles, crab, pollack, salmon, sea trout.

Game: wood pigeon.

Meat: spring lamb, rabbit.

Poultry: chicken.

At this time of year, free-range eggs also taste better.  As the hours of daylight lengthen, hens naturally start laying again.  As the earth begins to warm new shoots appear and insects emerge, the chickens forage and enjoy their new diverse natural diet giving their eggs a particularly good flavour.  The beta carotene in the new grass gives the yolks that lovely deep golden colour.  And this of course gives the bird itself more flavour.

Whenever a particular UK-produced food goes out of season, you can guarantee that another delicious one has come back into season to tempt us all. Ultimately, eating seasonal food is about enjoyment.  By being aware of when foods are at their best can help us enjoy eating a naturally better quality diet.

Having a good healthy well balanced diet is one of the finest things we can do for our emotional and physical health and wellbeing.

There are some great recipes for this month’s seasonal foods.  Take a look at the following sites for ideas and move away from that winter stodge Delicious Magazine.   The BBC site has a good seasonal recipe section on bbc.co.uk  so be inspired, add some new ingredients to your shopping list and bring fresh excitement to your spring cooking.

Where ever you live in this world of ours, it’s worth finding out about which seasonal foods are on offer in your locality.

For one to one Skype coaching sessions contact Susan on susan@susanloveday.com or visit www.susanloveday.com for more information.