Avocado, chia seeds, quinoa, and goji berries are just a few examples of "superfoods." This term refers to foods that are particularly high in vitamins, minerals, and/or secondary plant substances. Because of these additional ingredients, they are said to have special health benefits. These benefits can include strengthening the immune system, increasing metabolic activity, or reducing inflammation. They are sold dried as a puree or extract. They are also available on the market as an enrichment in functional foods (such as bread rolls with chia seeds) or in capsule and powder form as dietary supplements.

Originally predominantly from distant countries, regional foods are increasingly coming into focus. This is because high energy, production, and transport costs are driving up food prices, but also because of a growing awareness that food flown in from abroad has a poor carbon footprint.

Regional foods have many advantages. Short transport routes mean they can be harvested and processed fresh. This preserves their nutrient content as much as possible. They are grown in accordance with transparent ecological and social standards, as the clearing of rainforest areas, artificial irrigation, pesticide use, and poor working conditions are increasingly being called into question.

It is good to know that local alternatives are in no way inferior to exotic ones in terms of their properties. For example, avocados mainly come from Central and South America. An average of 1,000 to 1,500 liters of water is needed to produce one kilogram of avocados – about eight times as much as for one kilogram of potatoes. This high water requirement is particularly harmful in dry regions with low water reserves, as it consumes large amounts of drinking water. As a high-fat berry with a high content of unsaturated fatty acids, it can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, among other things. But you can achieve the same thing by eating walnuts. Walnuts have a very high content of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. With a fat content of over 60 percent, they are also high in calories.

There is a wide selection of local superfoods available in Germany throughout the year. Unlike in the tropics, different grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruits grow here in every season, enriching our diet and making it more varied. So if you want to eat in an environmentally conscious way, you don't have to make any sacrifices, even in winter, but can draw on a wealth of options.

In order to take advantage of the beneficial properties of our food at specific times of the year, it is essential to know "what grows when" and "what's in it." A seasonal calendar for the whole year can help you find your way around and when shopping, so you can find out which foods are in season and when. Information on nutrient content and ingredients can be found, for example, in product information on foodstuffs. You will find two links to this at the end of the article.

The weekly market is a good place to start. Look for regional producers there, as they mainly offer products from their own farms.

Plan your own garden so that you can enjoy the benefits all year round. Choosing early and late varieties will help. Winter vegetables are packed with goodness and can be used to create a varied diet even at this time of year. Apples, beetroot, carrots, red and white cabbage, onions, garlic, potatoes, and much more can be stored well. Savoy cabbage, Brussels sprouts, spinach, and leeks can remain in the ground even in cold temperatures and be harvested directly.

Don't forget the weeds in your garden. Because what gardeners don't want in their beds may actually be a power plant. In early spring, ground elder, chickweed, nettles, daisies, dandelions, and other weeds can be used as vitamin bombs.

If you feel confident, you can go to less frequented areas, the edge of the forest, or the edges of unsprayed fields and meadows to collect wild herbs and berries. Edible wild plants such as wild garlic, sorrel, horseradish, and rose hips can be a valuable addition to your diet. As the original form of our food, they contain many valuable and healthy ingredients. You can find good ideas for collecting and preparing wild plants, as well as information about their ingredients, in the list of links below.

Most types of fruit and vegetables are now available in our supermarkets all year round: raspberries from Peru, potatoes from Egypt, and grapes from Chile... Avoid these and buy seasonal and regional produce instead.

Even regional fruits and vegetables can be harmful to the climate if you buy them at the wrong time of year. For example, European peppers that you buy in winter have been grown in heated greenhouses.

In winter, simply grow sprouts or seedlings on your windowsill. The combination of nutrients, trace elements, and secondary plant substances makes sprouting shoots small, compact powerhouses that benefit our health. Plants never again achieve a comparable concentration of nutrients during their growth period. There is a wide selection of legumes (beans, lentils, peas, and chickpeas), grains (mainly wheat sprouts), and sprouts from other plant families, such as clover, cabbage, radish, and mustard.

However, you don't have to go without some superfoods that come from abroad, as they are now also grown in Germany or Europe. These include buckwheat, millet, ginger, turmeric, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds. Therefore, pay attention to the origin when buying.

Collecting and preparing edible wild plants with the book "Essbare Wildpflanzen" (Edible Wild Plants) by Steffen Guido Fleischhauer, Jürgen Guthmann, and Roland Spiegelberger, AT-Verlag.