My lovely neighbour recently gave me a huge bag of apples from her tree. The kids were delighted and we proceeded to bake anything and everything with apple. All my kids love to bake, and my son in particular who’s now 10 loves to do this to unwind and break away from his umpteen sports.

He made these gorgeous apple & spelt muffins, sweetened naturally with the apples & bananas and he added in some local organic apple syrup instead of maple. Talk about divine! Low sugar, high fibre & filled with goodness I was looking forward to my elevenses each day. We had so many apples he made about 3 batches and froze them for lunchboxes. The fact they were apples from next door made them even more special. No transit time (approx. 30 seconds door to door), fresh produce (just off the tree), organic (left to nature out the back) and most importantly – seasonal.

But how do we eat seasonally if the supermarkets are stocked with the same supply of fruit and veg day in day out? We have become ignorant as a nation as to what seasonal produce is. Years ago, people only ate seasonally as quite simply there was no other food available other than what grew at that time of year. Our society and how we shop as consumers is so far removed from this nowadays.

Eating seasonal produce is for a reason. The body requires certain nutrients at certain times of the year, warmer foods during the winter months to heat us up and cooler or cold foods during warm months to cool us down, much like in Ayurvedic medicine where the temperature of the food has a cooling or warming effect on the body. Nature in all its wonder provides the right food at the right time of year for us! Right now, during the winter months its best to eat warming stews, soups and casseroles with all that lovely root veg available now. These are heavier meals, designed to keep us fuelled during the harsher weather. We also need more sleep and tend to eat more animal protein as fish, chicken, beef, lamb, and eggs.

Eat seasonally as much as possible. It will definitely get you on track for healthy eating throughout the entire year, and deliver optimal fuel to your body when it needs it most. As a treat to us all, I get a seasonal box of fruit and veg delivered each month filled with whatever is in season. Last month I got lots of fabulous apples. More apple & spelt muffins anyone?!