By opting for seasonal fruits and veggies, we
not only eat healthily but also reduce our individual carbon footprint. ‘Eating local’ is the only way one can beat
dubious preservatives sprayed produces and diseases. Plan to purchase fruits
and vegetables during their peak seasons, and you'll not only enjoy them more, but you'll also save money while maximizing nutrition.
Here is the list of fruits, veggies, grains,
meat/kinds of seafood in season this August month that give us the maximum health
benefits needed to help us tackle the monsoon related ailments.
Fruits:
In season- Jaamun, Sweet lime, Pomegranate,
Custard apple, Bael/ Vilaampazham.
Also available are Apples (Nilgiris and
Himachal variety), Apricots (from HP and UP), Pear, Bilimbi/ Irumban puli (indigenous
to South India, Maharashtra and Goa), Burmese grapes (indigenous to NE), Gulabi
grapes, Bangalore blue grapes, Guava, Jackfruit (still lasts in some regions), Mangosteen,
Papaya, Rambutan, Strawberry (from Mahabaleshwar).
Vegetables:
In season- Radish (hill variety), Capsicum, Cabbage, Mushroom, Lotus stem, Brinjal, Lady’s finger/ Okra, Water chestnut/ singhada / singhara/ Pannimonthan Kizhangu, Colocasia/ taro/ sepangkizhangu/ Koorka, Bitter gourd, Cauliflower, Tinda/ baby pumpkin, Ridge gourd, Ivy gourd/ tendli, Cucumber, Cluster beans, Spiny gourd/ Kantola/ Mezhukupakal/ Kikada, Long beans/ Kaaramani/ Payanthangai/ Cowpeas beans, Rasavalli killangu/ purple yam, Dragon Stalk Yam/ kattuchena/ Shevla, Small Elephant foot yam/ Pidi karunai kizhangu.
Also
available are Bottle gourd, Carrot, Potato, Raw banana, Plantain pith/ Vaazhaithandu, Beans, Carrot, Beetroot, Elephant foot yam/ Senai kizhangu.
Grains/ Legumes/ Pulses:
Ragi, Horse gram, Black
eyed peas, Sesame.
Nuts:
Almonds, Makhana/ Thaamarai vidhai.
Greens/ Keerai:
Thuthuvalai/ Climbing
Brinjal, Taro leaves, Tamarind leaves, Pennywort/ Brahmi/ Vallaarai keerai, Raddish
leaves (hill variety), Moringa leaves, Neem flowers and leaves.
Meat, Poultry and Seafood:
West coast-
White sardine (Chooda, Mathi, Swadi, Patulda), Threadfin (Kaala, Kilimeen,
Mudunagalu, Rain, Rani).
East Coast- Anchovy (Nethili, Pporavallu),
Cat fish (Keluthy, Thodagam), Seerfish (Neimeen, Konema).
Herbs and spices:
Ginger, Turmeric, Pepper,
Neem flowers, Pudhina/ mint.
Reminder: Though Grains, legumes, pulses can
be consumed all through the year, the mentioned ones are in season and serve
the purpose during the monsoon in keeping the body warm and the eosinophils and
T cells balanced.
Similarly, Greens/ keerai are also grown
throughout the year but the mentioned ones serve its purpose in monsoon in
keeping the cold, cough at bay.
Foods high in protein, such as lean meats and poultry, are high in zinc — a mineral that increases the production of white blood cells and T-cells, which fight infection. Other great sources of zinc are nuts and beans.
Use
filtered cold-pressed/ wood pressed groundnut/ mustard/ coconut oils and don’t
re-use the oil for cooking after you find a black smoke emitting from it when frying. Remember that without essential fat in
the diet, Vit D cannot get assimilated, and also those essential fats also help
in regulating blood sugar levels.
Plan and consume mindfully.
In August, we will be consuming some of the last months Zaid produces and more of monsoonal harvests with regular year-round grown and available produces. I've almost covered many indigenous varieties of fruits, veggies, grains and kinds of seafood from various sources. Let me know if I've left out any harvests/ produces native to your region so that I'll add it later.
Note: I have carefully studied the Indian
Seasonal produces with the help of few Farmers (Farmer Lakshmanan and Team In
Cheyyar) and various research articles following the guidelines from Indian
Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
(TNAU) and based on the cropping seasons – Kharif, Zaid and Rabi. Thereby, I’ve
curated the Fruits & Vegetables, Food grains and rest mentioned that would
be available to us based on the sowing- growing and harvesting time period
calculations for each month.
Kinds of seafood were studied and curated based on its availability along the West Coast and East coast from CIBA (Central Institute of Brackish Aquaculture).
I hope this information is helpful to consume local and seasonal produces; thereby keeping the health on check too.
Kindly let me know your thoughts if this benefits you all through comments below.
Thank You!
Maria Jenita, PhD
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