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Summer time – Farm fresh food
So I love the start of summer and all of the delicious fruit that starts being in season.
I don’t really eat much fruit during the winter so when summer comes around and the farmers market is loaded with fruit, I feel like a bear coming out of hibernation that sees a berry bush and just devours the entire thing…and then lays out in the sun just relaxing…(Not really sure if this analogy even makes sense…Didn’t look up if bears eat berries….)
But anyway, I love when certain fruits are “in season.” And I love it even more when those fruits are local and organic.
So I won’t go on about fruit and I won’t even spend a long time RAVING about farmers markets and how much I love them, BUT I do just want to clear up a few misconceptions about farmers markets that I’ve encountered when talking to clients about them.
For one, THEY ARE CHEAPER THAN REGULAR STORES especially if you were to try to get the same quality product. Everyone seems to think that farmers markets are super expensive, but they aren’t. And what you get at the farmers market is extremely fresh and naturally raised. (Shoot we even get way cheaper fish at the farmers market than we do at any other market and it is caught fresh that day!)
Two, I’ve encountered people who say they only buy ORGANIC and therefore won’t buy from the stands without the label.
UHM…ORGANIC is a label you have to BUY! Many small farms can’t afford to do that but follow all organic processes! So at a farmers market, don’t worry about the label unless you are going to a super commercial one.
Three, local matters most. If things are local that means everything was picked at the peak of freshness. It is honestly better to buy something local and fresh than it is to buy organic from a foreign country. That organic produce has to be picked and shipped a far distance, which means it can’t be picked at the peak of ripeness – AKA it isn’t going to have near the nutrients that a local piece of produce has!
Doesn’t get any more local than that! Like 5 minutes away!
So honestly, if you can, support your local farms and get the best possible quality food for a very reasonable price! Your body will thank you!
Do you shop at a farmers market? What is your favorite food in-season right now!?!
Fall Eating
So since moving to Cali, fresh, wild caught fish has become more a part of our diet. So has local, seasonal produce. We been buying all of our fish and produce at the farmers market. For one, it is all local and usually organic. Two, it is actually cheaper.
Better, HEALTHIER food that is CHEAPER! Win, win, right!?!
We also added in more carbs. We’ve made corn tortillas with non-genetically modified corn. We’ve also used some rice (of course my preference is toward white rice). We usually cycle in days of higher and lower carb. I’ve been doing higher carb on days when I workout to replenish my glycogen stores and lower carbs on days when I don’t since my stores don’t get depleted.
I still focus on keeping my carb intake below 150 grams per day. (Although there is the occasional day I go above when I really feel depleted. I also know over the course of the week, my carb intake will even out to way below the 150 gram limit.)
Anyway, here are some delicious meals we’ve made recently that haven’t taken very long at all! (Especially fish…it cooks up in no time!)
Wild salmon with a balsamic sauce and an arugula, kale salad with a bit of blue cheese and a balsamic and olive oil dressing
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Grass-fed lamb in a chipotle chili sauce with white rice and a mixed greens salad and balsamic dressing.
Ribs with a spicy tomato/mustard bbq sauce and a fresh salad of local, organic tomatoes, avocados, arugula and green onion in an olive oil and pepper dressing
Recipes to come! Hopefully this inspires some great weekend meals! What are you cooking!?!
P.S. Saw this guest post on Mark’s site the other day and thought it was very interesting. It is definitely something to think about when planning out a diet program. There are certain times of the year when losing weight can be more difficult…be those times when we know we will be traveling and partying or be those times when our body tells us that it wants more food!
Also this is a great article to get you thinking about carbs from Man Biceper Polly!
Farmers Market
So off course not everything is healthy at the farmers market.
There are people selling baked goods and chips and popcorn. But at least everything is fresh, local or homemade!
Ryan and me at the farmers market today with his dad.
Most of the food is from no further away than a few hours. And a lot of it, like the peaches, was literally just picked yesterday. No pesticides. No preservatives. Straight to from the farm to your table (or your belly if you are like me and want to eat it all right away).
I love the fact that everything is so fresh at the farmers market. I love that everything is local. I love that everything is grown without chemicals and evil farming practices. I love that everything is as natural as can be.
But most of all I love that everything tastes so darn good and is picked and sold exactly when it is in season.
In season….that isn’t really a word that concerns us much any more when it comes to foods.
I mean something is in season somewhere right? So we can always have it.
I do wonder though how much better off we’d be if we only ate foods that were in-season at that time. Granted it would stink depending on where you live, but still.
They do tend to taste a whole heck of a lot better when they are in-season and local. Just look at those peaches and strawberries. I can tell you for sure they are sweet and juicy and delicious!
What do you think? Do you try to eat fruits and veggies that are in-season? Or do you not care? And are you as obsessed with your local farmers market as I am?
Happy Saturday Man Bicepers! Sorry that I’ve been missing in action. Back to more regular posting this week!
Man Bicep 