All of your food blogs, magazines and news articles are telling you to eat local, support local, shop local. Now that it’s winter and there’s not much Mother Earth is yielding here in PA, except parsnips (which are actually sweetest at the tail end of winter), potatoes, apples, and kale. We’re here to tell you that it’s gonna be okay… Don’t sacrifice your health and start living like it’s the 40s. There’s a reason all this food is available to us today, and it’s time to be thankful. It’s alright to go to a normal grocery store every once in a while to get the occasional bunch of bananas, fresh oranges, strawberries (flavorless as they may be), and mangoes. We don’t want y’all shriveling up on us. Vitamin C is what’s gonna keep that cold bug away. Reading this NPR article, by Peggy Bourjaily, entitled Practice Localism: Bananas In Winter made us feel a lot better. You’ve been good boys and girls all year. Now, take this chance to indulge in avocados from California and Cherimoya from Chile.

And hey, Meyer Lemons are still in season. Known for their thin skin, they’re wonderful to cook with. Throw thin slices in with your roasted root vegetables for a tangy sweet twist. They go wonderfully in those dishes, because they have less bitter pith. Also, there’s a ton of great recipes out there that use apples (and yes, an entire website devoted to Pennsylvania apples) and apple cider that are anything but average, and won’t leave you bored with this familiar friend. There’s a lot of great winter recipes on the ever-growing list at Philly Homegrown as well.

Remember to keep a balanced diet – the more colorful foods, the better. It’s those cravings for the foods that you can’t usually get in winter that lead to over-eating when you shouldn’t. If it makes you feel better, buy all of your fruits and veggies fair-trade, that way you’re still contributing. You can still get all your eggs, dairy, grains, poultry and what little produce is left from your local markets: the Rittenhouse Farmers’ Market on Tuesdays, The Suburban Station Market on Thursdays, Weavers Way, the Piazza Farmers’ Market (resuming Saturday January 8th) and of course Reading Terminal Fair Food Farm Stand. Oh, and don’t forget about Greensgrow. They’re technically closed for the season, but they’re having bi-monthly markets for just a few hours on Saturdays: January 8th & 22nd, February 5th & 19, and March 5th & 19th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This is when those canning classes would’ve come in handy! We’re going to plan ahead next spring and freeze or jar some of our fresh pickings for these dreary winter months.

Image via Tiny Farm Blog