What’s in Season This January
It’s January, a great opportunity for a healthy start to the new year and the fresh seasonal produce of this month are just perfect supportive companions for your journey. So let’s get busy!
1- Celery Root:
Also known as Celeriac, it’s a nutritional powerhouse, packed with fiber and vitamins B6, C and K. It’s also a good source of antioxidants and important minerals, such as phosphorus, potassium and manganese.
Celeriac is also considered a high-fiber food and therefore can aid digestion, metabolism and bowel movements. It can be eaten raw, added to soups and stews or roasted.
2- Cauliflower:
An extremely healthy vegetable that’s a significant source of nutrients, Cauliflower contains unique plant compounds that may reduce the risk of several diseases, including heart disease and cancer. Cauliflower is high in fiber, which is beneficial for overall health (3 grams of fiber in one cup of cauliflower, which is 10% of your daily needs). Fiber is important because it feeds the healthy bacteria in your gut that help reduce inflammation and promote digestive health.
Cauliflower is incredibly versatile and can be used to replace grains and legumes in your diet. You can enjoy it raw, dip it in hummus or other veggie dips, you can steam it or roast it. It makes an excellent side dish or can be combined with dishes like soups, salads, stir-fries and casseroles.
3- Grapefruit:
Anyone missing the sun in January should go snack on some grapefruit – while it may not be the same dose of vitamins, it’s definitely immune-boosting and bright and tangy enough to remind you of warmer days.
Prized for its high vitamin C content aka high antioxidant properties, known to protect your cells from harmful bacteria and viruses, Grapefruit can be a great addition to your diet for a healthy immune function.
Grapefruit requires little-to-no preparation, so it’s fairly easy to add to your diet. Even if you live a busy, on-the-go lifestyle, you can still enjoy grapefruit on a regular basis without worrying about it taking up too much of your time.
Here are some ways you can enjoy grapefruit:
1- Snack on grapefruit slices alone.
2- Eat it as an alternative to dessert foods that are less nutritious.
3- Add it to your Mixed green salad
4- Blend it into a smoothie with other fruits and veggies.
4- Kohlrabi:
Also known as the cabbage turnip, the little known Kohlrabi is a cruciferous vegetable, along with cabbage, kale, cauliflower and broccoli. It’s about the size of an orange, rounded, and light purple or green. The health benefits and culinary uses of kohlrabi are numerous. It’s a good source of nutrients, such as vitamin C and fiber. Plus, you can enjoy kohlrabi raw or roasted and add it to salads, slaws, and stir-fries.
Kohlrabi is available year-round, but shines in winter months. The leaves taste like kale, collards or cabbage with a milder, slightly sweeter flavor. Kohlrabi bulbs are more flavorful and tender when they are small and have a hint of radish and cucumber flavors as well.
5- Lemon:
If January is feeling cold and dark, don’t forget to add this beautiful fruit to the table with tart desserts, bright drinks, zest in savory dishes and salad dressings. One lemon provides about 31 mg of vitamin C, which is 51% of the reference daily intake (RDI). Research shows that eating fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke.
6- Kale:
As a distinguished member of the Brassica family, kale is a form of the cabbage plant and definitely one of the healthiest and most nutritious plant foods in existence. Very high on antioxidants such as Quercetin and Kaempferol which have powerful heart-protective, blood pressure-lowering, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-depressant and anti-cancer effects, to name a few.
Kale can be eaten raw (adding a punchier flavor to salads) or cooked. It is a staple ingredient used around the world, appearing in traditional dishes from East African stews to Irish mashed potatoes.
Remember, winter has just started, and even if you live in a part of the world where you don’t experience the cold weather as intensely, it’s still winter, and for most of us this means warmer food, cooked food, root vegetables, soups and stews.
So as always listen to your body, as it’s always working on finding harmony within and with the cycle of nature and give it what it needs.
If you’d like to learn more about seasonal eating, ask questions and receive guidance and coaching, CLICK HERE and join the waitlist to join our “Simply Connect Community”.
Much love,
Nousha
xx