A nutrition expert has advised students away from home this autumn to try and buy seasonal produce to save money and stay healthy. Supermarket prices hit an all-time high this month and as students start a fresh year at university, they have been told to search out the cheapest food on the shelves.
Stephanie Yates, from Bulk.com, says that eating seasonal produce not only tastes better, it’s also lower in price than other fresh goods that aren’t easily sourced at this time of year. She said: “Understanding seasonality can be useful when planning meals ahead or budgeting for weekly shops.
"However, it can be difficult to know exactly what is in season and for how long. A simple way to keep up with what’s in season is keeping an eye on the prices of produce in supermarkets.
"When the prices drop, that’s usually a sign that the food is coming into season, whereas high prices are a good indicator that the food is out of season.”
As we move into autumn, if you’re looking for fruits, opt for blackberries, pears, and pomegranates, as not only will they be at their cheapest, they’ll also be much brighter and taste better as they haven’t travelled long distance before reaching your plate. When it comes to vegetables, look out for price drops in mushrooms, peppers, rocket and squash which are all in season during autumn.
Not only will you get more for your money, you'll also get more nutrients from these foods as eating fresh, ripe produce optimises the concentration of nutrients.
Eating fresh produce optimises the concentration of certain nutrients as many nutrients in fresh produce decline over time. Seasonal food will also appear much brighter and vibrant in colour, often more plump than non-seasonal produce which can often look a little lacklustre. The variety of eating seasonal produce also provides multiple health benefits due to consuming a wider variety of different nutrients.
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