Best in season - September

For many of us September is a wonderful month, with beautiful scenery and the first autumn’s harvest month. One of my favourite quotes from Albert Camus says: "Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower."

I’ve always been fascinated about nature, plants and I will always admire and respect people who are growing their own food. And growing also for others, like us, so we can enjoy the best flavours, textures and colours of the nature.




If we need to consider the full supply chain of majority of the products we have in the shops you will realise it takes a long time until food arrives on our plate (average is 2 weeks). During this time the nutritional value of food is decreasing with almost 60-70%, do not even mention about freshness!

I can always recommend few ways to improve our health and this is starting with the food. Whenever you live, there will always be a better option than buying only from supermarket. I know this as my family back home in Transylvania go to the Farmer’s Market twice a week ( Wed and Sat) and my friends from Europe go every Saturday morning to a market in their own town. So, if you really want something you will find a way to make it happen. Am I right?

One of my favourite is to go to the farms where you can pick your own fruits and vegetables. So search for PYO farms in your area and I am sure you will find some. It is a great time to spend few hours outside with the family and the kids will just love it. You can find a great variety of fruits and veggies and you can pick them by yourself from the field or simply buy them from the local farm shop.

My favourite place to go is Gray’s Farm, where everything is grown locally, according to seasons and organic. Find more info about the farm here : http://www.graysfarm.co.uk/

Best in season now are : courgettes, marrows, beetroot, leeks, runner beans, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, sweetcorn, apples, blackberries, raspberries, apples, plums, pears.

Also another great way to keep your food local and known is grown in your area is to visit the Farmer’s Markets. This is a community-interest, non-profit organisation that is committed to helping the local community benefit from rural’s economy.

The products here are so delicious that you’ll want to come back as soon as possible. Believe me. For me this is the place where I always buy the organic eggs, fresh raw milk, cheese, mushrooms, organic meat, veggies and fruits in season.

Another way to have fresh, seasonal and organic products right next to your door is to order online your weekly box. You can always pick and choose whatever you need, based on your habits and lifestyle as you might not cook everything in house, hence this is a great way to plan in advance for a week. I can recommend Riverford Organic and I always use them during winter time as they work with other partners from Europe to source best products for UK market. Please find more info here (http://www.riverford.co.uk/ ) The next on my list to try for online shopping is Gazegill Farm with organic and non-GMO products. Find more about here : (http://gazegillorganics.co.uk/ )

Knowing from where your food is coming from and where is grown, having it local, seasonal and fresh as much as you can is one big step forward to your health and wellbeing. I would say as well is the best investment in your family future.

Getting in touch with the people who have grown our food is bringing us closer to nature and to our roots. Food is life. Food changes everything.

Let me know what are you up to in the next week, where do you go next for shopping? How do you enjoy those beautiful autumn days? What are the products you enjoy most now? Do you know why?

If you have any questions that I can help answer or support you, let’s connect.

Carmen
Your Health Coach

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