Spring has officially sprung here in the UK, we know this because today’s Google doodle tells us so (happy vernal equinox by the way).

Excitingly this means lighter, longer days, which bring with them a fresh new crop of fruit and vegetables coming into their best time of year. This makes for extra-delicious dinners, that are also a little cheaper to cook.

It’s not only fruit and vegetables that are seasonal, different meat and fish have better times of the year too. But without help, it can be impossible to know what to look for when you go shopping, so here are some of the sites I have found to be most useful over the years.

1 – Sustain 

For more on why seasonal produce is cheaper and more environmentally friendly, as well as a really good explainer on why food miles aren’t always bad, check out Sustain’s excellent overview on the subject.

2 – Eat the Seasons

With a simple site setup, it’s easy to do a quick scan when putting together a shopping list. You can look at what’s in season this month, or what’s good to eat this week.

3 – Eat Seasonably

This site focuses on fruit and vegetables, but takes it one step further and gives you advice on what you can plant and grow yourself, as well as what you can buy and eat.

4 – BBC Good Food

If you like a quick overview of our most common ingredients in one place, BBC’s Good Food has a handy calendar, which you can filter by food type.

5 – BBC Food

I know, there’s a second BBC site on this list, but it has a great range of recipes by season and month, which should give you plenty of ideas to get started.

6 – Riverford Organic Farms

Organic pros and cons are a bigger discussion, but Riverford has built up a well earned reputation over the years. You can buy from them and have it delivered to your house, and get inspired by their range of droolworthy recipes. Vegetables have never looked so good.

(Disclaimer: I worked with Riverford on a charity campaign a few years ago, and after spending some time on their farms and witnessing their standards firsthand, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.)

Top image: (cc) marc 2015, made available under an attribution 2.0 generic license