365 IN 365 - Diversity: Seasonal or Stored?

Jennifer Armstrong is the creator of this series of posts, published bi-monthly, entitled 365 in 365. These posts will help guide us all as we accept the 6D opportunity to diversify our plants in order to nurture and nourish our microbiome and thus improve our health and wellness. You can join us for this year-long event either via our 365 Facebook group or by following along via our 365 website page.

When it comes to diversity, eating seasonally may offer us the greatest range.  I know that when I’m shopping at the Farmer’s Market I will always see varieties that don’t make it into commercial production.  Just the selection of tomatoes alone at the Farmer’s Market or a local farm stand in August puts the grocery store offerings to shame. One of my favorite farms specializes in exotic greens that I rarely see at the supermarket; another one will display eight or nine different types of potatoes - all shapes and sizes, different colors, sometimes with names that evoke the Andes mountains where potato cultivation began. 

The local orchard offers a dozen different heirloom apples and a crazy number of pumpkin types, from itty-bitty to giant, some smooth, some warty, in pinks, whites, apricots, creams, and blaze orange.  Seasonal shopping also brings us wild-foraged plants with a super short season, like wild ramps and fiddleheads, or less wild but just as fun garlic scapes with their crazy-straw shapes.

But what if you don’t have a farmer’s market or farm stand where you live? Can you still get a wide diversity of produce?  The key to eating produce when the pickings are slim is to detour around the produce section (especially if the offerings are sad, wilted, or of questionable freshness) and head to the freezer case.  Frozen produce is often more nutrient-dense than what sits out in the produce displays.  Picked at peak ripeness and processed within hours, frozen produce maintains its nutrients for months.

You may sometimes find that different grocery stores will have a slightly different selection of frozen produce tailored to their customers, so shop around.  Assuming you have more than one supermarket to shop at, switch it up and pay a visit to one that is not on your usual rotation - odds are you will find a frozen fruit or vegetable that you haven’t seen at your habitual grocery. 

Canned produce can also be a good choice, and that can last for months in the pantry, but look for the brands without added salt or sugar.   Texture can suffer in the canning process - it requires high heat - so pureed vegetables are sometimes the most satisfying solution.  I find local markets carry big displays of canned pumpkin, sweet potato, and squash pureé in the autumn and winter, so I stock up on them then.  Jars of preserves are also an opportunity to diversify. 

Pickles are generally high in salt, but used sparingly they can add zing along with lots of variety.  An international market will usually offer lots of interesting options, since there don’t seem to be many world cultures that don’t make pickles or preserves of some sort.

Hopefully you are finding this voyage of exploration fun.   If you travel, seek out what’s indigenous to that place.  Ask questions.  There’s no guarantee you’ll like every new food you try, but that’s not really the point.  There is an estimated 20,000 - 30,000 species of edible plants in the world, so regardless of what form you find them in - fresh, canned, frozen, pickled, dried, fermented - give them a taste.  You might find a new favorite.

About Jennifer Armstrong

Jennifer Armstrong has spent her life making things; she has had a long career of writing books for children, decades of gardening, painting, making music, and cooking. A 2023 graduate of the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies course in Plant- Based Nutrition, she has also combined her interest in sustainability with her love of food by learning how to can and dehydrate, saving as much of the local harvest as possible for use throughout the year.  She lives in upstate New York.

Jennifer is both a blog writer and event moderator at 6D Living. Her blog post series 365 in 365 will explore how we can all diversify and improve our microbiome. Jennifer is also an administrator for our public, world-wide event of the same name. This free event is a year long community activity with one goal only - get more people on the planet a wider variety of plants.

About our 6D Community Activity - 365 in 365

This is a 365 day challenge to try 365 different plants in your nutritional routine over the next 365 days. We will explore new and known plants, share their nutritional benefits as well as recipes so we can all enjoy the splendor of the plant world and improve our health - as a united community.

We know that the diversity of plants we eat determines our microbiome health, which in turn determines our overall health and wellness. Our goal at 365 in 365 is to try to get as many different plants as possible into our bodies over the year - steadily becoming healthier together.

We invite all our members to share recipes, new plants they have 'discovered' for themselves as well as resources where we can all find these wonderful gifts from nature no matter where we live in the world.

This is an international plant-based community for curious minds which want to learn how to be healthier, happier and more balanced in their lives. This is a group of hope and encouragement for all sentient beings on the planet we call home. This activity/event is taking place both on Facebook as well as our 6D Blog - you can join via either venue, or join both by sharing your journey through comments and posts!

Be well

Stop.Breathe.Focus.Move.Flow.