foods in season in the spring.

Eating foods that are in season locally is important to feeling your best.
Because they contain the most nutrients they will have at that time, they will provide you with better nutrition.
Also, your body doesn't have to adjust to foods that come from a warmer or colder climate than yours. That helps your body stay balanced and in tune with your surroundings.

One great site http://www.simplesteps.org/eat-local where you can see which foods are available in a detailed list in your state. You can see them for early in the month or late in the month for each month of the year! They also tell you about farmers markets around your area.

Here is a list from www.localfoods.about.com for foods in season in Illinois in the spring.
You can visit the site to see what is available in your area.

VEGETABLES
artichokes.
arugula.
asparagus.
beets.
cardoons.
carrots.
chard.
fava beans.
fennel.
fiddleheads.
garlic scapes.
green garlic.
green onions.
scallions.
greens.
leeks.
lemons.
lettuce.
morels.
nettles.
pea greens.
peas.
radishes.
spinach.
spring onions.
sweet onions.
turnips.

FRUIT
cherries.
kiwis.
kumquats.
grapefruit.
rhubarb.
strawberries.

SPICES
mint.
parsley.

Carbon footprint.

Buying locally and buying organic is very important.

There is something called a carbon footprint, which is the amount of CO2 we release into the air. The climate changes due to it and it is responsible for global warming.THIS IS NOT GOOD.You want to keep your carbon footprint as small as possible to save the planet. The way things are going...it's on it's way down. If the plants and animals don't survive and the air is so polluted.. how will we breathe and survive?

You may not think you alone is saving a lot of energy if you pay attention to how what you do affects the and reduce your carbon footprint, but think : If everyone started changing what they bought and used, companies would need to adjust to consumer needs. The world would be greener and happier. Everyone would.

Things that create a large carbon footprint:

• Gas emitted from travel :: The further away the items we receive are shipped, the more gas is     released into the air. Driving so many different cars, we emit a lot of not good energy into the air which causes pollution as well.

• Eating meat :: Eating meat causes a lot of pollution when methane released from cattle's burps. There is a lot more released than you believe.

• Using electricity when it is not needed.

• Bottled water:: Why bottled water? There is a lot of plastic used which takes a lot of energy, yet releasing more chemicals into the air. It also uses gas because it is shipped everywhere.

• Buying packaged goods :: Again a lot of materials and energy are used to create packaging.

• Buying frozen foods :: Buying frozen foods takes up a lot of energy from the freezers in factories, the stores to your freezer to the microwave/ stove.

• Using hot water when it's not needed :: I definitely need to pay more attention to this. Taking long, hot showers. I love them. So do you. However, it takes a lot of energy to heat up that shower. So wash quickly, save water and energy. The same goes for hot water in the washing machine. When you don't need to use hot, don't.

• NOT recycling:: Most people don't recycle and don't realize how much energy can be saved by reusing materials. A lot more is needed to create something fresh than create something through recycled material.

Ways to Reduce your carbon footprint:

• Buy locally and organically (to reduce pesticides)
• Go vegan! Check out www.goveg.org for a free starter magazine.I did. =]
• bike, walk, rollerblade, skip, hop, pogostick...whatever you like. when something is close enough not to take the car. don't take it.
• Turn off the lights at night/ during the day.
• Buy a bottle to refill your water. (BPA and Phtalate free)
• Buy fresh foods and items with recycled or minimal packaging.
• Use cold water when you can.
• RECYCLE.RECYCLE.RECYCLE.