The Practical Nutritionist, LLC

Audrey J Pellegrino, M. Ed, M.HN,CNW®

Nationally board Certified Nutritional Wellness

Holistic Nutritionist/Educator

603-768-3214

practicalnutrition@gmail.com

www.pnutritionist.com

Christmas Morning

When I was a child, and still today, my favorite part of Christmas was my stocking. I always knew I would get a popcorn ball, although I could never figure out how my mother made those without me knowing it. I would get something for my hair, such as barrettes and a toy or coloring book. Maybe a candy or two, but I always knew I would be able to reach into the toe of my stocking and pull out an orange or tangerine. Coming from a large family in New Hampshire we did not have bowls of oranges on the table throughout the winter. There were two reasons for that, one a bowl of anything never lasted long in our family and two oranges were not as readily available as they are now. This also made that orange a very special treat. Those readers who are fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder might remember her excitement when she also received an orange in her stocking.

I often say my mother is the wisest person I have ever met and she believes that we should eat what is available in season. There are many books published that talk about eating with the seasons, yet people who grew up in the twenties and thirties seem to know it instinctively.

Oranges are available in the winter months and that is when we should be eating them. Apples are harvested in the early autumn and that is when we eat those, and so on. We can get any food at any time but should we be eating it year round or should we eat with the seasons? Our requirements for different vitamins and minerals vary slightly with the seasons, such as our increased need for vitamin c and d during the winter months.

By eating with the seasons we eat a variety of fresh foods when they are at their nutritional highest point. During the winter our bodies tend to want heartier foods such as root vegetables, potatoes, beets, carrots and squashes and cabbages (think soups and stews). Foods which during pre refrigeration days lasted in a root cellar for the long winter months. Oranges were the winter treat that helped to boost vitamin c during the colder months. This winter I hope that you eat a wide variety of winter foods and that you are lucky enough to find an orange in your stocking toe on Christmas morning. Merry Christmas!