Farmer's Market - White Bear Lake
What is it about the Farmer’s market that makes us want to eat local and cook homemade meals?
I don’t know about you, but Friday mornings in White Bear are one of my favorite days. I love the hustle and excitement of getting my produce for the weekend. Seeing what’s fresh for the week and the season. The familiar faces of local farmers who actually give me ideas for cooking and just love the human interaction and know their produce is going to be used to nourish.
My morning consists of seeing patients for a few hours then walking over with my boys to check out what’s fresh for the week. We love the smells and the comradery that this time brings. I always let them choose a few of their favorites and what they would like to cook for the week. I love that my boys support local but also are involved in the cook and shopping process.
Because I am so passionate about eating fresh and local, I decided to list my top 8 reasons to go to a Farmer’s Market:
1. CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY – Would you rather be indoors shopping or outdoors with fresh air, running into friends or bringing your kids for a stroll and teaching them about local farming? It’s our flavor of a small town in a bigger city.
2. KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD COMES FROM – Well, this one seems self explanatory. What a great way to learn how and where your food is produced and what grows best in our state and what times of year.
3. PROTECT YOUR ENVIRONMENT – Shipping food across the country causes many uses of resources and pollution that could be unnecessary(especially fossil fuels). Conventional agriculture uses WAY more resources and pollutes land and water with toxic byproducts.
4. SUPPORT FAMILY FARMERS – Even more now today, than ever, we can help support local families that compete against big companies who have different operation costs. I love knowing I am helping local Minnesotans feed their families and support them.
5. TASTE REAL FLAVORS - The food you get at farmer’s market is the absolute freshest you can get picked at the moment of freshness. Often foods that are shipped to us are sprayed with a chemical that makes the food appear to be ripe when in actuality it’s not quite ready to be consumed.
6. NOURISH YOURSELF – It is no surprise to know that many foods you buy at the grocery store are sprayed with all kinds of chemicals and pesticides to help keep bugs and the like away. Typically locally grown organic food doesn’t have to use things like that which produce negative effects on the human body and health. Food at local farms are usually minimally processed and picked right before the market day.
7. LEARN COOKING TIPS, RECIPES and MEAL IDEAS – Farmers are often passionate cooks and love to share some of their favorite ways to prepare the food they grow.
8. KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD COMES FROM – At the farmer’s market you can find meat, cheese and eggs from animals that have been raised without hormones or antibiotics. Who have grazed on green grass and eaten natural diets.
Caprese salad anyone?
