Be Bold: Shopping for Good Quality, Healthy Food, Part II

Part II: The Farmer’s Market

One of my absolute favorite things to do in New York is visiting the green markets.  Preparing a meal is so much more fun when I go to the market not sure exactly what I will find.  My recipes always have to be flexible enough to accommodate a last minute change.  Since the variety is so large, it is a great opportunity to try less common varieties. I recently had purple cauliflower, which I’ll admit freaked me out a little, but tasted delicious!

From a nutritional perspective, the fresher the food, the better.  Freshness is actually more important than organic if you had to choose, but organic is hugely beneficial for your health and the environment.  Consider how much time goes by for a piece of fruit coming off of the tree or vine from South America or Mexico. Before that fruit gets to your supermarket, it must be picked before ripe packaged and shipped across the world before you see it.  Also, while globalization of our food supply allows us access to more variety in our food options, it is a huge strain on the environment and has contributed to increased instances of food borne illness because the ability to control farming and production methods from outside of the country is difficult at best.  Obviously, there is a limit to the extent that most of our diets that can be local.  Unless you live in a climate that can produce a variety of produce year-round, it is inevitable that some portion of your diet will need to be purchased at a store, and for that, stick to the natural ones.

By purchasing directly from the farmer, you have a unique benefit of knowing where your food comes from, how it is produced, gaining insight into the best crops for the current season, and supporting local agriculture—which is struggling to compete with less healthy, environmentally-taxing grocery chains.

It gives you a connection to your food and the earth, and an appreciation for natural, whole foods, the type of food we were meant to eat. 

*Local Harvest  http://www.localharvest.org/ is an incredible resource and guide to get you started eating more locally as well as Sustainable Table http://www.sustainabletable.org/