Salads are one of my favourite things to make. Partly, because they’re delicious and partly because they’re easy to throw together. Since they’re simple, I’m not going to talk about making the five-flavour salad from the latest episode of Recipes for Love and Murder. Instead, I’m going to talk about seasonal eating. Tannie Maria’s salad calls for oranges and avocadoes, but since it’s summer I opted for strawberries instead of oranges (for the fruitiness) and feta instead of avocadoes (for the fattiness).
Maria’s past continues to haunt her, while Hattie continues on the campaign trail. Watch the next episode of Recipes for Love and Murder, this Thursday at 20:00 on #MNet101. 🥘💕🔪 #RecipesLoveMurder
— M-Net (@MNet) February 3, 2025
Seasonal eating is literally what the phrase says: eating what is in season. These days, you can get practically any kind of fruit or vegetables at any time of year. But this comes with implications for the environment, since it means growing fruit and vegetables out of season: either in artificial conditions or by importing produce. Both these methods can place strain on local resources, as well as increase the carbon footprint of your fruit and vegetables.
Produce that’s grown, harvested, and eaten at the right time, in the right place is more flavourful and packed with more nutrients. When produce is grown out of season, it is often harvested early and imported, which leads to loss of flavour and nutrients. This is exacerbated by the time and distance the produce needs to travel, as this gives your fruit and veggies more time to lose flavour and nutrients. Besides which, there’s the yucky chemical element to consider. Some produce is applied with chemical agents to help it ripen faster.
There are so many solutions to this. Familiarse yourself with what fruit and vegetables are in season by checking labels in shops, digging around online, reading a book on the subject, speaking to farmers and growers at markets, or starting your own fruit and vegetable garden. You’ll probably find you’re already much more familiar with seasonal food than you first thought. We don’t just eat (drink?) butternut soup during winter because it’s hot and comforting; we consume it during winter, because that’s when root vegetables are in season. Root vegetables are full of vitamins A and C, helping boost your immune system during flu season.
Nature knows what we need. When it’s summertime, the days are longer and the heat more intense – which means we hit the pool and the beach. But too much time in the sun can lead to excessive free radical formation. Radicals are compounds in your body that can cause harm when the levels are too high. Antioxidants balance these levels. Fruits like strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries are rich in antioxidants and … surprise, surprise! They’re in season in summer.
Eating seasonally also means eating more diversely – and the more we vary out diet, the more vitamins and minerals we pack into our bodies. It’s also good for your budget, because produce that is in season is available in greater abundance and when grown locally is also more accessible. Is seasonal eating restrictive? Would you call it prescriptive? You could look at it that way … or you could take it up as a challenge to be more creative and more caring with your food.
Get the recipe for five-flavour salad here.
Read about making lamb potjie here.
Read about making chocolate chilli macarons here.
Views expressed are my own. All opinions are my own. The opinions expressed here belong solely to me.
Words and feature image: Claudia Hauter
Additional images: Unsplash