Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

It is finally Farmer’s Market season here in Utah. Every Saturday at Pioneer Park, they have a Farmer’s Market with tons of wonderful food just for me!

I love to go to the Farmer’s Market for a lot of reasons:

• The food is CHEAP: This is the main reason that I go to the farmer’s market. Compared to fresh fruits and veggies at the grocery store, the food is very cheap. Sometimes I feel guilty because the farmers are asking so little for the yummy food.

• The food is FRESH: A lot of times when I buy produce at the grocery store, it goes bad within a day or two because it has been sitting at the store for so long. The fruits and veggies that I buy at the farmer’s market tend to last longer than the produce that I buy at the grocery store.

• The food is YUMMY: I don’t know why produce that I buy at the farmer’s market tastes better to me. Especially the tomatoes, taste just like the tomatoes that my grandpa grew in his garden. I’ve never been able to get that taste from a grocery store tomato, even at Whole Foods. I think part of the reason the food tastes better to me is because I saw the person who grew and picked it. I gave them money and they put it into a bag for me. I know that shouldn’t make food taste better, but it DOES.

• I like to take pictures: The farmer’s market is a place where there are tons of interesting people and colorful food. I love to take photos there.

Here are some tips to make your farmer’s market trip hassle-free:

• Bring cash: I use my debit card EVERYWHERE, so it’s a bit of a surprise when I actually need to use dollar bills to buy something. The farmer’s market is one of those places. Make sure you get plenty of cash in small bills so it’s easy to buy what you want.

• Bring a basket or canvas bag: A lot of us are used to bringing our own bags into the grocery store so we can get a discount (or to save the environment), but when I first went to the farmer’s market, I wasn’t in that habit. Hardly any of the vendors had bags to put my fruit and veggies in, so I ended up carrying food in my shirt to the car, embarrassed at my tummy for all to see. Make sure you bring something to carry what you buy.

• Expect to talk: At the grocery store, I’m able to just run in, get what I want and leave. Sometimes, I don’t even deal with a clerk because I go through the self-checkout line. At the farmer’s market, however, you end up talking to everyone. If you want tomatoes, pears and peppers, you’re going to end up talking to at least three farmers unless you’re lucky enough to find one that sells all three. The farmer’s market is a community thing, you can’t escape it without talking to someone.

There are plenty of farmer’s markets this time of the year. You can find one in your state here:

• AMS at USDA – Farmers Markets Query Page

I wish we had farmer’s markets all year here in Utah, but they will close up shop in September, so I have to enjoy them while they are here. Next weekend, make sure you get out of your house early and hit your local farmer’s market for some fresh fruit and veggies.