Eating Seasonally in Spring

Spring has Sprung!

To eat seasonally is actually easy, healthier, cheaper, and more sustainable. Do you need more reason than that?

First things first, Spring is in the months of September, October, November.

Simply being aware of what’s in season locally can save you money and improve the quality of your dishes – both in taste and nutritional value.

How? It’s quite simple…

Fresh produce that is in season locally is grown closer to home, so what you’re buying isn’t imported, supports local farmers, and promotes sustainability. An added bonus is top-notch nutritional value and freshness thanks to reduced travel time.

Eating seasonally can broaden your knowledge and introduce new flavours to your everyday cooking. Foods that are abundant in spring are refreshing, regenerating, and detoxifying, especially after a heavy Winter or starchy vegetables and comfort foods. As the flowers start blooming, so the fresh greens come into season, along with the nutrient-rich berries.

Have you tried an artichoke? Or waterblommetjies? They are both in season in Spring. How do you know what is in season? An easy way to know what’s in season is to check out our weekly deals and see what big deals we have on fresh fruit and veg…this indicates what’s in season locally as we get freshly harvested produce straight from the farm for you. Yes, you can get the majority of the fresh products from us all year round, but it’s about the deals! You won’t really see the best, juiciest grapes, peaches, and nectarines on special in the middle of Winter…which means it’s not in season and mostly needs to be imported. Just as you won’t see the incredible deals on grapefruit and citrus in Summer…they’re in season in Winter!

So what should you keep a lookout for next time you’re in store? Here’s a handy list of Namibia Spring-time fruit and vegetables….

A LIST OF SEASONAL FRUIT AND VEGETABLES IN SPRING IN NAMIBIA:

Fruit:

Apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, berries (strawberries, blueberries), pawpaw or papaya, pears, pineapples, plums, Cape gooseberries, cherries, coconuts, dates, grapefruit, guavas, lemons, limes, naartjies, nectarines, oranges, kiwis, sweet melon, watermelon.

Vegetables:

Artichokes, asparagus, aubergines (eggplant or brinjal), baby marrows (zucchini), green beans, beetroot, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn/mielies, mushrooms, courgettes (zucchini), cucumber, kale, spinach, leeks, lettuce, parsnips, potato, pumpkin, radishes, red onions, rhubarb, turnips, tomatoes, watercress.

TIP TO ENJOY SPRING SEASONAL FOODS IN A DIFFERENT SEASON:

Whilst berries are on special in Spring…grab a few and put them in sealed bags and freeze them! This way, you can pop them into smoothies, breakfasts, or bakes when you want in Winter. Frozen berries are also a great snack! You can do this with an array of fruits, like pineapples, bananas, guavas etc.