Primary School, Cycle 3

Duration: Class 1 : 55 min.

Class 2 : 50 min.
10. Eating According to Season
Increasingly, the food we eat is imported using energy-intensive modes of transportation
and travels greater and greater distances to reach our plates. This has a major impact on the
environment, society and our health. In this activity, students will learn to cook according to
season using locally grown fruits and vegetables. They will learn that although food crops may
vary, it is possible to enjoy delicious meals using local produce throughout every season.

Learning Objectives Materials

Have students: 1 copy per student and 1 colour-copy
per team of the “Quebec Seasonal
Learn about, identify and illustrate
Produce Calendar” (Appendix 1).
the wide variety of fruits and vegetables
grown in Quebec. 1 large bristol board per team.

Learn the social, environmental Painting materials, colouring

and dietary importance of eating local pencils or felt pens.
and seasonal foods. 1 copy per student of “Quebec Fruits
Discover some recipes and cooking and Vegetables by Season”
techniques to help students integrate (Appendix 2).
fresh and local ingredients into 1 copy per student of ‘’Quebec-Grown
their meals. Substitutes for Fruits and Vegetables”
(Appendix 3).
Subjects 1 copy per student of “Local Food,
English Language Arts Global Taste” (Appendix 4).
(see next page for more)
Science and Technology
Visual Arts
Geography, History and
Citizenship Education
Moral Education
Health Education

Did you know?

Strawberries from California travel an average of 5,000 km before
reaching Quebec supermarkets, compared to 50 km for Quebec-
grown strawberries (that is 100 times less), generating an additional
25 kg of greenhouse gases* per 500 g box of strawberries.
In Accra (Ghana) and in Havana (Cuba), 90% of the food eaten
1 | Eating According to Season

is locally grown. Meanwhile in Victoria (British Columbia),

only 10% of the food eaten is local even though the city is
surrounded by vast areas of agricultural land.
Local produce sold in farmers’ markets are often
harvested at maturity the day prior to or the
* Greenhouse gas (GHG): A gas, such as carbon dioxide, methane, same day as their delivery, thereby
and water vapor, that contributes to the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere ensuring maximum flavour.
by trapping heat in the lower atmosphere. In the past 100 years, human
activities have generated very high levels of greenhouse gases (Source: Encarta).
 1 copy per student of “Eight Good
Reasons for Eating Organic, Local
and In-Season Food” (Appendix 5).
Healthy recipes, cookbooks or other
cooking resources (e.g. cooking websites).
1 copy of the “Visual Food Encyclopedia”
(optional – see References and
Resources section).
Cooking equipment (optional).
Presentation (10 min.)
1. Ask students a few initial questions:
Who goes grocery shopping with their
parents and chooses what they want to eat?
What kind of food do you usually
eat at home for supper?
Where do you think your food
comes from?
Can you name a fruit or vegetable that
grows in Quebec and that is available
during winter (e.g. beet, carrot, celery root,
mushrooms, cabbage, greenhouse lettuce
and tomatoes)?
Were your grandparents able to eat the
same food as you and buy it the same way?
Do you think everyone around the world
eats the same and has the same access
to food?
2. Due to our climate, fruits and vegetables
grown here are not all available year-round.
Although we can preserve (e.g. can or freeze)
a lot of our locally-grown food, we
increasingly tend to eat foods that
come from far away, often because
of their cheap price.
2 | Eating According to Season
What impact do you think this has on
the environment? What about on our
health and on local farmers?
3. The fact that our food now travels
greater distances and relies on energy-
intensive modes of transportation
causes a lot of pollution, and hence
has major impacts on our environment
and also on our health.
4. At the start of the 20th century, there
were over 200,000 farms in Quebec
feeding people. Of these, only 30,000
still remain today, and we are losing
an average of 5 to 6 farms every week.
It is hard for Quebec farmers to compe-
te with producers on the world market,
mainly since labor wages are much
higher, the growing season is much
shorter and since environmental laws
are much more strict here than in
many other countries.
Main Activity
Class 1: Drawing the Seasonal Produce
Calendar (30 to 45 min.)
One thing we can do to make better
food choices is to eat local food
(grown or produced in Quebec).
Read out the “Did you know?” section
to your students. What do they think
about these facts?
Tell your students that, to help them
learn how to choose local foods, they
will explore which local fruits and
vegetables they can find in stores
and markets each season.
 1. Divide the class into teams of 5
and assign a season to each team.
Give each team a bristol board and
one copy of the “Quebec Seasonal
Produce Calendar” (Appendix 1).
2. Tell students that for this activity,
seasons will be defined as follows:
Winter: January 1st to March 31st
Spring: April 1st to June 30th
Summer: July 1st to September 30th
Fall: October 1st to December 31st
3. Tell your students to:
Find and circle the names of the various
fruits and vegetables that are available*
in the season they were given using the
“Quebec Seasonal Produce Calendar”.
Items available each month are marked
with a “ ”.
On their bristol board, draw pictures**
and write the names of local fruits and
vegetables available in the season they
were given. Remind them that
their drawings do not have to be perfect
and that they have 30 to 45 minutes
to complete their posters.
4. Afterwards, ask each team to put their
bristol board up on the blackboard.
Ask them:
Were you familiar with all of the fruits
and vegetables your team drew?
Have you tasted all of them before?
If there were fruits and vegetables
you weren’t familiar with, were they
difficult to draw?
3 | Eating According to Season
* Note: In Quebec, most fruits and vegetables are harvested from June to the end of November. However, many
fruits and vegetables are available year-round because they can be frozen, canned or stored in cool places.
** Note: You can refer students to the “Visual Food Encyclopedia”, a dictionary or the web to help them draw
the fruits and vegetables they are less familiar with.
5. Hand out the “�����������������������
Quebec Fruits and Vege-
tables by Season” sheet (Appendix 2)
to each student. As a group, compare
the posters with the Appendix. Are there
mistakes? Was a team able to draw all
the fruits and vegetables available?
6. Now, look only at the posters. What
do they think of the variety shown?
Do some seasons offer more choices?
Which seasons offer the least choices?
Are there vegetables that are available in
more than one season? When are their
favourite fruits and vegetables available?
7. Tell students that eating more local
food is easy. Looking at the soup recipe
in Appendix 2, tell them that there are
vegetables available during every season
that they can use to create their own
seasonal vegetable soup. Also hand out
Appendix 1 and encourage them to bring
both appendices home to their parents.
Class 2: Cooking with Local and
Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables (30 min.)
1. Tell students that they are now going
to learn how to cook with local and
seasonal food.
2. Assign one of the following meal course
to each team: soup, salad, main course
and dessert. Each team must choose
a local fruit or vegetable they drew in
the previous class and find recipes
in which that fruit or vegetable is a
main ingredient. Encourage students
to share recipes from home, and to
browse cookbooks or use the Internet
to find more recipes. Remind them that
cookbooks have an index at the end
where they can find recipes listed by
vegetable or by meal course.
 3. Give students 20 minutes, then ask
each team to present their recipe to
the group, explaining how it is local.
4. Ask the teams to count how many
local fruits or vegetables their recipe
had. Which recipes use the most
local ingredients?
Integration (20 min.)
1. Ask students:
What did you learn?
Do the fruits and vegetables you eat
most often at home grow in Quebec?
If so, during which season(s)?
What can you do to eat more seasonal
and local food?
2. Discuss the fact that a lot of fruits and
vegetables can be grown in Quebec yet
are imported from other countries:
Why do we buy fruits and vegetables
from other countries?
When you see a product in a store that
can be grown in Quebec (e.g. cabbage),
does that mean that it was grown here?
3. Tell students that to know if a product
was grown in Quebec, they can look at
the label to know where it came from or
ask the grocer or look for either of the
logos shown in Appendix 1, which
identify Quebec-grown products.
4. Remind students that most of the fruits
and vegetables in the grocery store
come from other countries even
when they are in season in Quebec,
mainly to offer:
4 | Eating According to Season
Lower prices. Due to the global economy,
we now have access to produce from
around the world. Many countries have
much longer growing seasons and lower
labour costs than Quebec and Canada,
which is why their products are often
sold here at lower price than ours.
A greater variety of products.
The same products all year long
to consumers.
5. Tell students that it is possible to
cook recipes from around the world
by substituting imported fruits or
vegetables with what grows in
Quebec. Although it is not possible to
substitute everything, there are many
substitutes available. Give examples
from Appendices 3 and 4 and hand
them out for students to bring home.
6. Discuss how eating local seasonal food
can help reduce our impact on the
environment, our health and local farms.
7. Present the eight benefits of eating
local, organic and in-season foods.
(Appendix 5). Emphasize that doing
so contributes to a healthy diet and can
help prevent diseases such as type 2
diabetes†. Hand Appendix 5 to the
students for them to take home.
†
Type 2 Diabetes: A disease in which your
pancreas, a body part which tranforms part of
the food we eat into glucose (sugar), does not
produce enough insulin, or your body does
not properly use the insulin it needs to absorb
this glucose. As a result, the glucose builds up
in your blood and this can cause a number of
symptoms and health problems. Type 2 diabetes
is becoming increasingly common among young
Canadians, especially among those who are
overweight. Healthy eating habits and an active
lifestyle can help reduce the risk of developing
this preventable disease.
 Enrichment Take Action!
In a subsequent lesson, look at lesser- To encourage students to eat local,
known fruits and vegetables listed on in-season fruits and vegetables, suggest
the calendar. Have students research that students and their families:
the product’s origin and characteristics Choose menus containing at least one
(colour, nutrient content, etc.) and then local and seasonal food item for their
draw them on the bristol board (if not daily lunch and snacks.
already there). Why not hold a food
Adapt their favourite recipes to include
tasting activity?
local produce (e.g. replace sugar with
Have students adapt and cook their honey or maple syrup, lemon with apple
favourite recipe to make it more cider vinegar, etc.).
seasonal. If the facilities do not permit
Bring the «Quebec Seasonal Produce
this, why not recruit a volunteer parent
Calendar» (Appendix 1) when shopping
to cook and bring to class some of the
with their parents or when planning
masterpieces?*
weekly meals, to choose local and
Make a list of traditional menus used seasonal products.
on various celebratory occasions by the
students and their families (e.g. Thanks-
giving in Canada: turkey and cranberry
sauce, pumpkin pie) and see how these
match the local and seasonal calendar of
the region where the holiday originated.
A great way to have students discover
their and other cultures!
For homework, ask students to use
Appendix 3 to adapt a recipe from
another country using only local and
seasonal fruits and vegetables.

References and Resources

François Fortin and Serge d’Amico (1996),
The Visual Food Encyclopedia. Macmillan, 688 pages.

Recipes from Quebec:

Équiterre website: www.equiterre.org (in French only)
www.recipefeast.com
5 | Eating According to Season

www.mangezquebec.com

Other recipe Web sites for children:

www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=674

* Note: Beware of food allergies.

 Appendix 1 Quebec Seasonal Produce Calendar
Here is a non exhaustive list of local fruits and vegetables available each month in Quebec.*

Vegetables Jan. Feb. Mar. April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Asparagus

Bean

Beet

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Carrot

Cauliflower

Celery

Celery root

Chicory

Corn

Cucumber

Eggplant

Fennel

Leek

Lettuce

Mushrooms

Onion

Parsnip

Pepper

Potato

Pumpkin

Radish

Rhubarb

Rutabaga

Spinach

Squash
6 | Eating According to Season

Sunchoke

Swiss chard

Tomato

* Seasonal fruits and vegetables may vary each year and between regions.
Legend:    = product is available during this month in Quebec.
 Appendix 1 Quebec Seasonal Produce Calendar
Fruits Jan. Feb. Mar. April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Apple

Blueberry

Cantaloupe

Cape gooseberry

Cherry

Cranberry

Grape

Melon

Peach

Pear

Plum/Prune

Raspberry

Rhubarb

Strawberry
7 | Eating According to Season
 Appendix 2 Quebec Fruits and Vegetables by Season
Here is a non exhaustive list of local fruits and vegetables available in Quebec by season*.

WINTER
Beet, carrot, celery root, mushroom,
green and red cabbage, winter
squash, shallot, chicory, hydroponic
and greenhouse lettuce, yellow
onion, parsnip, leek, apple, potato,
white turnip, black radish, rutabaga,
greenhouse tomato and sunchoke.
SPRING
Asparagus, beet, carrot, celery root,
mushroom, red cabbage, greenhouse
cucumber, chicory, spinach, fine herbs,
strawberry, hydroponic and greenhouse
lettuce, leaf lettuce, yellow onion,
parsnip, apple,potato, radish, rhubarb,
rutabaga, greenhouse tomato and
sunchoke.

FALL SUMMER
Garlic, eggplant, beet, broccoli, Garlic, artichoke, eggplant, Swiss chard,
cranberry, carrot, celery, celery root, beet, blueberry, broccoli, carrot, celery,
cape gooseberry (ground cherry), celery root, cape gooseberry (ground
mushroom, Chinese cabbage, cherry), mushroom, Chinese cabbage,
Brussels sprouts, green and red Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, green and
cabbage, pumpkin, squash, shallot, red cabbage, cucumber, fresh pickle,
chicory, hydroponic and greenhouse squash, zucchini, shallots, chicory,
lettuce, Spanish and yellow onion, spinach, fennel, fine herbs, strawberry,
parsnip, hot pepper, leek, sweet raspberry, yellow and green bean,
pepper, apple, pear, potato, white many varieties of lettuce, sweet corn,
turnip, black and red radish, grape, watermelon, blackberry, cantaloupe,
rutabaga, field and greenhouse onion, parsnip, parsley, green pea, hot
tomato and sunchoke. pepper, leek, snow pea, sweet pepper,
pear, plum, apple, potato, white turnip,
In-season Vegetable Soup radish, rhubarb, rutabaga and tomato.
This is an easy and delicious recipe that can be done with
almost any combination of vegetables! Be creative and
make this recipe year-round with your parents by choosing
in-season vegetables every time you make it.
5 to 6 cups of broth (vegetable, chicken or beef)
1 can of tomatoes or 4 fresh tomatoes, diced
3 cups of your favorite in-season vegetables, diced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
A drop of oil
8 | Eating According to Season

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Put the oil in a pot on medium heat. When the oil is hot,
add and fry the onions. Add all other ingredients, cover and
reduce to medium heat. Cook for one hour. For a creamier
soup, blend half of the recipe before eating. Enjoy!

* Seasonal fruits and vegetables may vary each year and between regions.
 Appendix 3 Quebec-Grown Substitutes for
Fruits and Vegetables
Here is a list of Quebec-grown fruits and vegetables that you can use to substitute
imported products to create local menus year-round.
Imported Quebec-Grown Substitutes
Fruits
Banana Strawberry Pear

Cactus pear Blackberry Pear

Kiwi Watermelon Cantaloupe

Lemon Tomato Apple cider

vinegar
Mango Cape gooseberries Plum Cantaloupe
(ground cherries)
Nectarine Pear Plum Apple Apricot

Orange Raspberry Cranberries Dried

cranberries
Pineapple Apples Cranberries Dried
cranberries
Imported Quebec-Grown Substitutes
Vegetables
Avocado Zucchini Asparagus Green beans

Chayote Zucchini Cucumber Squash Bean sprout

Daikon Radish Celeriac

Gumbo/okra Zucchini Asparagus Beans

Plantain One of the many Turnip Parsnip

varieties of Quebec
potatoes
Sweet potato One of the many Squash Pumpkin
varieties of Quebec
potatoes
Yam Turnip Parsnip Potato Squash
9 | Eating According to Season
 Appendix 3 Quebec-Grown Substitutes for
Fruits and Vegetables
Here is a list of local fruits and vegetables that you can use to create even more varied,
colourful, local and seasonal menus throughout the year.
Fruits and Substitutes also Grown in Quebec
Vegetables

Asparagus Green bean Zucchini

Green and Bean sprout Broad bean

yellow bean

Sunchoke
Beet Potato Turnip Rutabaga

Broccoli Cauliflower Cabbage Chinese

cabbage

Carrot Parsnip

Celery Celery root Parsnip

Celeriac Potato Rutabaga Sunchoke

Cucumber Zucchini

Chicory Salad Green

cabbage

Eggplant Zucchini Squash

Garlic Shallot Leek Onion

Chinese
Green Red cabbage Purple Bok choy
cabbage
cabbage cabbage

Green Red pepper Yellow

pepper pepper

Shallot Onion Leek

Squash Zucchini Pumpkin Potato

Spinach Bok choy Kale Swiss

Chard

Rutabaga White turnip

10 | Eating According to Season

Cantaloupe
Peach Pear Apple Melon

Grape Plum Cranberry Blueberry

 Appendix 4 Local Food, Global Taste
SPAGHETTI SQUASH PAD THAÏ
Recipe adapted from the Mangez Québec Website
INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of mild green curry paste
1 tablespoon of mild pepper, chopped (to replace ginger)
1 big spaghetti squash (to replace rice noodles)
11/2 cups of tofu
1 cup of unsalted coconut milk
1 bunch of fresh basil, washed and dried
PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
2. Cut spaghetti squash in two, on long side.
3. Put the cut squash in a dish with a little bit of water.
4. Cover the dish and put it in the oven.
5. Bake 40 to 50 minutes (depending on the size of the squash).
Use a fork to test if the flesh is soft.
6. In a wok, heat butter.
7. Add curry paste and pepper.
8. Simmer for a few minutes until the flavours blend.
9. Scrape out the flesh of the squash with a fork and add to the wok.
10. Fry on high heat for 5 minutes.
11. Add tofu and coconut milk.
12. Bake uncovered for 7 minutes.
13. Stir and add the basil leaves.

INDIAN CHUTNEY
Recipe adapted from the Metro Website
INGREDIENTS
11/2 cup of ground cherries (to replace the mango)
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/4 cup of cider vinegar
1/3 cup of honey
1 tablespoon of mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon of curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION
1. In a saucepan, bring all ingredients and bring to boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring from time to time until
the mixture has a syrupy consistency.
11 | Eating According to Season

3. Cool. Put in jars and refrigerate.

The chutney is very good served with chicken and other indian recipes.
 Appendix 4 Local Food, Global Taste
ZUCHINNI GUACAMOLE
Recipe adapted from E-Cookbooks
INGREDIENTS (SERVES 6)
4 zucchinis (to replace avocados) 1 hot green pepper
1 tomato, cut into little cubes 1 red pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon of olive oil
4 shallots cut into pieces, finely chopped 4 teaspoon of fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of one lime Salt, pepper
PREPARATION
1. Peel zucchini.
2. Cut into slices and steam.
3. Drain well (there should be no water left)
4. Using a food processor or blender, mix the garlic, shallots, well-drained zucchini, hot
pepper, lemon juice and olive oil until smooth.
5. Put puree in a bowl and add the diced tomatoes, peppers and cilantro.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
You can eat the guacamole with corn tortillas or put some on your favourite sandwich!

CREOLE RICE
Recipe adapted from the Antilles Resto Web site
INGREDIENTS (SERVES 6)
1 1/4 cup of rice 5 asparagus (to replace avocado)
1 can of crab meat or tuna 10 strawberries (to replace banana)
2 cubes of broth (vegetable, beef or chicken) 1 lime (juice and zest)
2/3 cup of water 1 pepper
4 to 5 shallots A few sprigs of parsley and cilantro
1 tablespoon of olive oil Salt, pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup of dried cranberries or diced apples (to replace pineapple)

PREPARATION
1. Cook rice in boiling salted water for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare Creole Sauce: finely chop the shallots, garlic, parsley and cilantro.
Add these ingredients to a medium bowl with and add the juice and zest of lime, pep-
per, oil, salt and crushed pepper.
3. Dissolve the cubes of beef broth in 2/3 cup of simmering water add the broth to the bowl
containing the other sauce ingredients and mix well, cover and let infuse until fully cooled.
4. Meanwhile, cook asparagus in a small saucepan with water for 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Cut the apples (if you don’t use cranberries) and strawberries into small cubes.
6. Drain the crabmeat or tuna.
7. Drain the cooked rice. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
8. Season with Creole sauce.
12 | Eating According to Season
 Appendix 5 Eight Good Reasons for Eating Organic,
Local and In-Season Food
For the Health of
the Environment!
1. Fewer Foodmiles: The food that we eat
travels an average of 2,400 km before
reaching our plates. This transportation
alone generates huge quantities of
greenhouse gases that are released into
the environment and that contribute
to global warming. On the other hand,
locally produced foods travel much
shorter distances and causes much
less damage to the planet.
2. Less Energy and Packaging: In addition
to emmitting greenhouse gases, food
that travels long distances requires a lot
more energy in terms of food preservation.
It not only requires refrigerated trucks,
which release harmful gases, but
also packaging (and over-packaging),
processing, additives and wax. Fresh,
local food that we buy directly from
farmers usually have no preservatives
or very little packaging.
3. Better for the Environment: Organic
farming uses production methods that
are not harmful to the environment and
that protect soil and water. It comes
as no surprise then that there are more
birds, mammals, insects and micro-
organisms on organic farms than on
conventional farms.
For Your Health!
4. Fewer Pesticides: There are no
pesticide residues on organically grown
food. Which is why, after giving them
a good rinse, you can bite into organic
food without worrying. You can also
have peace of mind knowing that the
13 | Eating According to Season
environment and the farmers were not
exposed to pesticides.
5. Better Nutritional Value: Local, organic
fruits and vegetables often contain more
nutrients and vitamins than conventional
ones. Because they spend less time
travelling, are harvested at maturity, are
often fresher and grow in richer soils,
they are said to be healthier. A healthy
diet can help prevent diseases such as
type 2 diabetes.
6. No traces of antibiotics or genetically
modified organisms (GMOs): Animals
on organic farms are not given antibiotic
supplements. Moreover, GMOs, whose
long-term impacts on our health and
the environment have yet to be well
documented, are not allowed in organic
farming. Organic foods are, therefore,
better for our health.
For the Health of Local Farms!
7. More local farms and better income
for our farmers: Small local farms
contribute to the well-being of the
environment and the vitality of rural
communities. However, financially
speaking, it is increasingly difficult
nowadays for small farmers in Quebec
to make a living growing and selling their
products because they must compete on
the world market. When you buy your
food directly from small local farmers,
you are helping them receive a better
price for their products and helping them
make a better living from farming!
For the Joy of Eating!
8. Better taste! Local, organic produce
is often harvested at maturity and
delivered the same day, which means it
is fresh and flavourful! Yummy!