Many vegetables and fruit are grown locally all the year round. We should take advantage of this and prepare and cook produce which is abundant and in season and therefore reasonably priced. It is true that we rely on imported vegetabels and fruit too but these should come second in choice to what is grown locally. Environmentally it makes more sense to use local produce to avoid transportation of food and 'food miles', pollution and the harvesting the crops early and so not allowing the food to ripen and gain the best taste. Food miles is a term which refers to the distance food covers from where it is grown to where it reaches its destination - the consumer. So the closer it is grown to the consumer who will buy it, the less food miles it travels. Reducing food miles can have a drastic effect on reducing the carbon footprint of the food we eat and also the carbon dioxide emissions caused by transportation.

In the past the Maltese housewife took great care and attention to buy produce which was economically viable for her large family. In fact, seasonal vegetables have always been important ingredients of the Maltese diet, however, my fear is that in younger families this feature is dying away. One of the Maltese favourites amongst people of previous generations to mine still is the healthy thick vegetable soup, 'minestra', which was made with a selection of the fresh vegetables in season eg marrows, pumpkin, turnip, cauliflower, potatoes, celery and similar items together with dried pulses and legumes such as lentils, fava or even barley at times. Different types of soups can be made with our local vegetables and a mix of pulses would make a healthy mid-week dish. One can serve these with some local cheeselets 'gbejniet' or a slice of toast with fresh salad.

There are other dishes which can be made with fresh vegetables in season such as stuffed auberinges or marrows with minced meat or ricotta. Artichokes make a low calorie dish too when cooked in the traditional way and then served with a blend of tuna fish and parsley, a simple salad and some boiled potatoes. When I was young this dish was also served with a slice of boiled turnip or boiled cauliflower. Do not overboil vegetables as they not only lose their colour and texture but also lose a lot of vitamins, taste and interest.

Children can be made to eat vegetables if exposed to these in nice interesting ways from when they are very young. Small quantities will help especially if they show a dislike to some type of vegetable but don't give up. Serve them raw or lightly stir fried if necessary as many people tend to prefer them this way rather than over boiled.

Using more fruits and vegetables that are in season and grown locally will help your budget so make a conscious effort to find out what is in season and create dishes with what is available.