Why I Love the Farmers’ Market

…and why you should too.

It’s time once again for the Farmers’ Market Season and for city dwellers such as myself that means avoiding the severely lacking produce department at the all too small Stop and Shop in my South Boston neighborhood until sometime in late fall. If you’ve never been you’re missing out… big time. Not familiar with the market? Here’s some info to catch you up.

The premise of a farmers market is to connect local farmers’ produce directly to consumers. Why does that matter to you?

1. Environmental impact: The produce you get at a farmers market is grown locally, which means it doesn’t take thousands of miles and countless gallons of oil to get the food from some country in South America to your dinner table. You’re helping to save millions of tons of pollution from entering the earth’s atmosphere by purchasing local foods.

2. Taste: Fruits and vegetables that are grown en mass and shipped to grocery stores are bred to withstand shipping and be uniform in shape. Why? Because the breeding prevents bruising during the long trip and American consumers are used to seeing giant shiny apples in pyramids at the grocery store. Unfortunately the same breeding process dilutes the flavor of the plants. The apple or the cucumber or the tomato at your grocery store isn’t bred to taste good, it’s bred to look nice so you’ll buy it. Problem is it tastes nothing like its fresh alternative grown locally because the local product doesn’t have to withstand the shipping. Bottom line, locally grown produce tastes a thousand times better than the stuff shipped in.


3. Variety: Ever had a lemon cucumber? (Looks like a lemon, tastes like a cucumber) No? I have. They’re delicious. How about garlic greens? I didn’t even know garlic grew greens on its top until I found them at the market. It’s similar to how green onions grow. In the spring, garlic heads grow green spirally tops. And similar to green onions, they taste like a lighter more delicate version of what’s growing underground. Slice them thin on a bias and sauté in olive oil with scallops. They are delicious. Wondering why the rarer varieties of fruits and veggies don’t pop up at your grocer? It’s a combination of factors. Some of the tasty varieties don’t ship well. Additionally, the grocers don’t think selling variety is profitable. I haven’t done my due diligence so I cannot confirm or deny. I’m not an industry expert, So that ball of wax is a discussion for another day

4. Culinary education: Don’t think you could come up with a recipe for those garlic greens? Neither did I. The great thing about a farmers’ market is that most often the people selling the produce are the farmers themselves, or else very knowledgeable staff. They’ll tell you how things grow, how long they’re in season for, how they’ll taste and pair with other foods, and how you can prepare them. What are the chances the 16 year old stock boy with skin issues at the supermarket is going to be able to offer the same advice? Consider shopping at the farmers’ market an agricultural education instead of a household chore.

5. It’s organic: Ok, technically some of the stands aren’t labeled organic but that’s only because it costs a LOT of money to become certified organic and small local farms can’t afford the USDA fees. Why that is and how that works is a whole other ball of wax. Essentially farmers’ markets practice best farming principles, as in best farming principles for the food they grow, the ground they grow it in and all the people, animals and plants they grow it around.

6. BARGAINS!!!: Ok maybe you’ve done the research and you’re about to argue you can get the same things at your local grocer for cheaper than the farmers’ market. But you’re not really buying the same thing. It’s sort of like comparing a McDonald’s cheeseburger to the filet at Capital Grille. It’s just not the same. And in many instances it costs the same price for the farmers market produce as it does for the grocer’s stuff. So, assuming you’re an omnivore like myself and someone offered you a cheeseburger or the filet for the same price, which would you go for? It’s a no brainer right? A side note for all you Whole Foods shoppers don’t even ask. You’re definitely getting a steal at the farmers’ market.

7. You can buy shares: So, you can’t trade them on the stock market after you buy, but if you buy a share in a farm you get a variety of fresh fruits and veggies every week to take home and enjoy. You don’t get to pick and choose precisely what you get but you do get a discount on the goods and an added incentive to get those 5 fruits and veggies in every day. And if you live outside the city chances are there’s a farmers market near you that you can buy a share at. Some even deliver to your door!

8. The Extras: There’s more to the farmers market than fruits and veggies. Artisanal cheeses and baked goods, infused oils, fair trade coffee beans and organic flowers are sold under those big white tents too. There are even stands that sell meat from farms that raise their animals using humane practices exclusively.

Suffice it to say the farmers market offers a variety of benefits with the convenience of being right outside our door. Your purchases there are better for you, your family and the environment. Find your local market, pack your reusable bags and head out to explore. I promise you won’t regret it.

Some supplemental information for MA residents if you’re interested:

Time Magazine Article on Local Food Movement: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200783,00.html

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingslover. Harper Collins, 2007

The Salt Craze

It's not really a secret that, in addition to fat and sugar, most processed foods are laden with salt, giving rise to our blood pressure and our risk of heart attack here in the good old U.S. of A. Most people don't really pay enough attention to this until their doctor starts adding medications to their annual checkup and begins the uphill battle of suggesting diet and excercise. We shouldn't really allow our habits to push us to that point.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/15/america.salt.addiction/index.html?hpt=Sbin

CNN Health agrees with me, again. For about five years I've been focusing on reducing and eliminating salt in my diet. It's a gradual process that doesn't necesarily begin with the salt shaker. The thing about cooking fresh is that you control what goes into the meal. So, fresh fruits vegetables meats and grains make up the flavor of the meal. A teensy bit of salt (along with other spices and flavors) will go a long way and slowly you'll find you need less and less. By American standards I am extremely salt ensitive but I don't feel like I'm sacrificing any flavor. On the contrary, I enjoy the meals I am able to season to my liking much more than most meals I eat at someone else's home.

Salt shows up in everything (even canned vegetables can have a shocking amount of sodium). That low calorie frozen meal you think you're being so good by eating is most likely loaded with a quarter to a half of your recommended daily sodium intake. A can of soup is often more. It's important to be aware. So on the days where it's just not practical to cook from scratch, make some better choices with the pre-packaged stuff:

• If you're at a cafe and it's an option, order the low sodium soup. Soup not lower in sodium may have up to a whole day's sodium and the deli meats, cheeses and spreads of a sandwich can put you overboard on salt.
• If you buy a frozen meal, mix in frozen veggies before you heat it up. You're still consuming extra salt but some of it is being used to also season the veggies, so you'll be one step closer to your 5 a day and hopefully full enough to skip the salty snack after lunch.
• Leave the salt shaker in the spice cabinet/at the next table over. I never leave the salt shaker on the table, mostly because I rarely use it. But by not having it in front of me, it's less of an impulse to add it to my food. Making the conscious decision that the meal is actually bland and needs a little salt is often less commonly practiced than shaking unneeded salt on a meal out of force of habit.

Big and Bullied

There's an article on cnn.com today that I thought would serve as an interesting topic of conversation. It can be viewed here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/03/obesity.bullying/index.html?hpt=C2



I don't think there's enough of an emphasis on the emotional detriment of childhood obesity. There is some light being shed on the psychological damage being overweight causes but usually you hear about the physical; heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and various other ailments. The truth is being overweight, especially being obese, downgrades all aspects of our quality of life, including social life, and doctors and scientists are taking notice. They're proving this from every angle imaginable, the newest of which is bullying. As someone who has lived through an obese childhood, it's not surprising to hear that obese kids are more likely to be bullied. And while it is disheartening, it only further proves we need to take notice and do something about it.



Unhealthy eating isn't about the food, it's about the emotions that surround our eating. It's about the unhealthy relationship we develop with food. So, before we can put the donut down, we need to learn why we picked it up in the first place. This is especially crucial to understand at a young age, when minds are still learning and developing emotional habits. Long-term learned behaviors are exceptionally difficult to alter as time trudges on. And because young minds and emotions are exceptionally sensitive, it's an exponentially more painful process to go through. Adding bullying to the sensory overload of poor body image, depression and isolation is more than any child, thick or thin, should have to bear.

In the interest of full disclosure I don't recall much bullying when I was a child, not that I was never bullied, but that I remember other emotional issues as more pressing. I do think the article makes some accurate observations about parenting elements that can curb or promote both bullying and being bullied. Certainly both school and home environments play a large role in the bully factor. Ultimately though, it's one more element in an obese child's life that causes suffering and, in my opinion, one more reason we should be working harder to fight childhood obesity.

Why I Love to Cook

Hi All! And by "All" I'm guessing I mean 3 members of my family, 2 friends and a couple of people in eastern Europe who are just really really bored. So this is my very first post on my shiny new blog, Common Cents on a Plate. Since these blog doodads are all the rage today and the kids are just gaga over them I figured it was high time I tried it out. Since my theory is that cooking = healthy, I thought I'd make my very first post about why I love to cook so much. While many of my problems did stem from consuming a lot of processed garbage, my family did, at least a couple nights a week, cook a meal more or less from scratch so I did grow up with an appreciation for genuinely homemade meals. However, it wasn't really until the Foodnetwork era that I really began to see cooking as an art form. I've never been much of an artist but cooking just seemed like an aesthetic I could get on board with. So, after leaving the nest and getting a place of my own I began in small ways to discover the "Joy of Cooking" as Julia would say. At the end of a long day I look forward to coming home and transforming a few fresh ingredients into a tasty meal. Some people read, some people take bubble baths, some people have yoga. My stress is released while I heat olive oil and crush fresh garlic, letting it sizzle and pop in the pan. At least three nights a week the sun sets on garlic and onions and olive oil in my house. It smells like home and it tastes like heaven no matter what you add next. I read an article once (where I can't remember) that said studies show rhythmic motions help to calm the nerves. Chopping, peeling, mashing, grating, slicing and stirring all sort of blend into a bit of a dance, a ritual that marks the end of the work day and the beginning of my evening. Pulling the cardboard zip seal off a box of frozen chicken does NOT serve the same purpose. Now, I know moms and dads out there are rolling their eyes and scoffing at my single-statused naivete. "How can I possibly add this to my already insane routine?" you ask, arms flung in defeat. My opinion is this; relaxed parents are better parents. Healthy kids are happier kids. Every moment is a learning opportunity. So, while you cook, ask the kids about their day or help them with their homework or do whatever it is families do in the evening. Work it into your routine. As a single person, I cook for one but sometimes my roommates are in the kitchen and we talk about boyfriends and careers and hopes and dreams and whether or not we should wear the red pumps on Friday. This is an important part of my day. It's therapeutic to chat and laugh and vent about the stressful parts of life. Microwaving a Lean Cuisine and plopping myself in front of the tv doesn't seem to create the same conversational opportunities. For all those with kitchen phobias, some consolation. When you were learning how to ride a bike, you fell off a few times before you got the hang of it. The same is true for learning how to cook. Chances are you'll drop, burn, overseason or undercook something along the way. If it's inedible, throw it out, call the pizza delivery guy and remember your mistake the next time. Once you get the hang of it you'll be glad you did.