Our first family home was a 1954, cinder block, ranch style, classic Florida home. It had the original hardwood floors, original turquoise tile in one bathroom, a still working attic fan (the precursor to air conditioning), and my favorite feature of all- an enormous orange tree.
My husband and I guessed the tree was planted around the time the house was built. It was tall, leafy, and constantly bearing fruit all winter long. When we registered for wedding gifts we picked out a small orange juicer that would be perfect to make use of all those oranges!
Before our kids were born my nieces and nephew delighted in squeezing themselves fresh orange juice when they visited. When my boys were born countless hours were spent in the shade of that tree, it was a part of our family. We live in a different house now, but we still love fresh squeezed orange juice!
Enjoying fresh oranges and orange juice during the winter and spring is a perk of living in Florida! While folks up north are cold and frozen, we’re just “a bit chilly” while enjoying yummy citrus! I’m really not trying to rub it in-I swear!! But, this brings me to my point- eating by season and sustainability.
Eating by season is an easy way to bring more sustainability into your lifestyle. Eating seasonally is sustainable because it forces us to rely on local produce. When you eat foods that are out season they are flown in from a part of the world where the food is in season, often from an opposite hemisphere. This increases the carbon footprint of the food and it’s a no go!
What’s in season in your area might be a little bit different, but for the most part things are pretty general. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be posting my favorite fruits and vegetables by season. The ones I chose are also great if you’re hypothyroid or Hashimoto’s like me. But overall they’re great for everyone!!
A helpful site for finding in season vegetables in the USA:
https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/seasonal-produce-guide
