Yes, at times we may have to be a bit more adventurous and willing to learn to cook new veg, but I can tell you the reward from eating seasonal outweigh these hurdles. And if you don’t like something, one of your friends probably does, invite them over to cook it together, learn their favourite recipe with it or just donate it to them as a surprise gift. We can’t promise you’ll like everything, but it will still be fun!
Eating seasonal helps our British farmers. We are buying what they are growing, therefore supply and demand is more in balance. We don’t have to export our perfectly good veg abroad OR import it either. We shockingly import over 80% of our veg as we are accustomed to all veg at all times!
We can also offer our organic and unsprayed veg at prices your wouldn’t get at the supermarket. In our price comparison of our standard no potatoes bag this week only one supermarket (Ocado) could make up a similar basket of veg offered at £11 compared to our £8.35. We are consistently better value as we are sourcing local and seasonal and direct from farmers, with less packaging and processing!
We are eating the veg at the right time of year, which is tapped into our natural body clocks and will taste better. Spinach, for example, produces sugars at the beginning of the cold season to protect itself making it surprisingly sweet and a great addition to salads. And most supermarket veg has been chilled, transported and stored which reduces flavour and quality.
I must have had many bad apple experiences in my childhood as I didn’t eat them for years fearing a mouthful of soft, powdery apple. Since we’ve had our fruit bags, I can be confident our apples are crisp and fresh and bite into them without fear. However, last week I was set back years in my apples eating progress having had my rose coloured glasses on when reaching for a shop-bought apple and ending up with a mouthful of soft and mushy flesh, no doubt from last year's store.
Do you have a friend to share this? Get them onboard with a veg bag and share your seasonal cooking tips, we'll also send you both a thank-you gift. When they register make sure they select 'referred by friend' and then email info@localgreens.org.uk with your name.