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4 Reasons to Choose the Farmers’ Market

I love bringing Mother Nature’s bounty into my kitchen — seasonal, fresh, locally grown.

Love farm fresh foods! As a functional nutrition therapist and someone who truly believes in the power of food to heal.
It’s a way of nourishing my body (my family’s) with fresh, delicious, nutrient-dense foods. It supports the local economy. And it helps our planet planet.

In these challenging times when so much feels out of our control, it’s a powerful way to take action and feel empowered.

Here’s why I believe shopping at farmers’ markets is one of the best choices you can make for your health. And why you’ll feel amazing doing it too:

Fresh, Nutrient-Dense, and Delicious

When you buy local, you’re getting fresh, peak-season produce that’s packed with nutrients. Harvested and delivered within 24–48 hours, it’s as fresh as it gets — no long-distance shipping, no weeks in storage, just the best of what nature has to offer.

Why does this matter for your health?

  • More Nutrients: Local food is richer in nutrients because it ripens naturally. It retains more vitamins, antioxidants, and phytochemicals that support your health. Unlike produce picked early for long transport.
  • Better Flavor: Naturally ripened food simply tastes better. It’s packed with rich flavors and aromas. Each bite a more joyful, satisfying experience.
  • Variety and Freshness: Local farms often grow a wider range of produce. Even heirloom varieties you won’t find at the supermarket. More variety means more ways to nourish your body with diverse, nutrient-rich foods.
  • No ethylene gas. This is added to fruits  and vegetables  imported out of season to artificially ripen. The produce doesn’t fully develop its natural flavor, texture, and nutrient content. Which is why locally grown, in-season produce tends to taste better and offer more nutritional benefits.
  • Contains less (or no) pesticides. Farmers have to pay an extra fee to become certified organic. Some small-scale farmers use organic methods, but aren’t certified because they simply cannot afford the certification fees. Even if they aren’t organic, small farmers tend to use fewer chemicals than large, industrialized farms.

“Small, local farms offer more variety. Our industrial agricultural system uses a mono-crop system. But smaller, organic farmers may grow a variety of organic and heirloom produce, which you might not find at the supermarket.” —  Food Revolution Network

As someone who values nutrient-dense food in my own life, I know firsthand how much better I feel when I eat fresh, local, in-season produce. It’s an act of self-care that fuels me both physically, mentally & emotionally.

Support Your Local Economy — and Feel Good Doing It

In the current upheaval, many of us have become more mindful of where we spend our money. The consolidation in the food industry led to large corporations controlling much of what’s on our plates.  There’s something deeply satisfying about knowing that your money is supporting farmers, workers, and entrepreneurs in your community who are dedicated to providing quality food.

“When we eat local, we create the conditions under which people are able to live the lives they love. Statistics about the way dollars spent locally stay within a community fail to illuminate what this looks like for individual entrepreneurs and farmers, freelancers and artists, those with the itch to make beautiful things, those deeply invested in living lives wedded to the land.” — Civil Eats

  • Money Stays Local: When you buy from a local farmer’s market or co-op, your dollars stay in the community. It helps local businesses thrive, and creates jobs right where you live. You’re not funneling money into the pockets of massive corporations that prioritize profit over quality. Local food moves through fewer hands.
  • More Direct Impact: The money you spend on local produce goes directly to the people growing your food. There are fewer middlemen involved. So your purchases are directly supporting farmers who are committed to nourishing you and your family with food grown with care.
  • Join a Like-Minded Community: By buying local, you’re joining a network of people who care about food quality, health, and the broader impact of their choices. It’s a community of farmers, artisans, and consumers who are united by a shared commitment to making a positive difference — one meal at a time.

Building Connections, One Purchase at a Time

Shopping at a local farmer’s market isn’t just about food. It’s about connection. It’s an opportunity to learn more about the people who grow your food. And  to build a relationship with your community.

  • Building Relationships: Consider stopping to chat with the farmer who grew the tomatoes in you’re buying. Imagine  learning about the story behind your food, the care that went into growing it, and the impact it has on the land.
  • Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The CSA model began in Japan in the 1960s as a way to combat pesticide use in industrial farming, and helping farmers grow food for their communities with integrity and care. When you participate in a CSA program, you get a direct share of the farm’s harvest. This helps support farmers by providing upfront funding for their season. You’re investing in a system that values sustainability and community.

Ready to Start?

If you’re ready to embrace the power of local food, visit your local farmers’ market or check out CSA options in your area. Personally, I love getting my seasonal veggies from Central City Co-op — so lucky we can get farm-fresh produce in the middle of Houston!

Remember – every time you choose local food, you’re not just feeding your body — you’re supporting your community, protecting the planet, and contributing to a healthier food system. And honestly, what could be more empowering than that?

I invite you to visit a local farmer’s market this weekend — take a picture of what you pick up, and share it in the comments or on social media! Find a local farmer’s market here.

I’d love to see what’s in season near you and hear about your experience. It’s a simple way to get started on your journey toward healthier, more sustainable eating — and who knows, you might discover a new favorite food!

For More Empowerment

7 Benefits of eating Local Foods

Why Buy Local Food? It’s Healthier for You and Better for the Environment

References:

  1. Nestle, Mario. (2006). What to eat. New York, NY: North Point Press.
  2. Hyman, Mark. (2020. Food Fix: How to save our planet, our economy, our communities, and our planet – one bite at a time. New York, NY: Little Brown Spark, Hatchette Book Group.

Updated from February 2018 post 

Halloween Witches Dinner

The “witches” twice-baked potatoes give this fall dinner a Halloween twist. Served with Roasted Pork Tenderloin, a delicious colorful medley of roasted vegetables and a spinach, pear and pumpkin seed salad, it’s one of my favorite fall menus. The kids make their own chocolate “spider” or “bat” cookies for dessert.

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Color My Salad

What comes to mind when you think of salad? For years I assumed a salad was lettuce perhaps with tomatoes or carrots. Or maybe a Caesar salad or coleslaw slathered in mayonnaise.

But loving color in my food and learning about Nutrient Dense Foods it’s been huge fun overturning my preconceived notions of salad. Salads can be flavorful, colorful, and wildly nutritious. Salads create possibilities limited only by our creativity.

I now toss all kinds of marvelous concoctions in my salad bowl. Salads are full of heart-healthy, cancer fighting, cell-building ingredients. Eating salads regularly is one of the best ways to stay healthy. The variety and colors of salads bring an abundant array of vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, minerals and phytochemicals into every bite. Fiber reduces bad cholesterol, helps control blood sugar, and helps digestive health. Lowering cholesterol and preventing constipation can in turn prevent chronic and life-threatening diseases.

Eating seasonally means summertime is a true feast for our tables and palates. Summer brings a lovely abundance of vegetables and fruits into my kitchen creating marvelous possibilities for fresh, vibrant and ah yes, colorful salads! Cool and crunchy, with various textures and flavors, summer salads are fun to eat.

Local, seasonal foods simply have more flavors. Picked when they are sun-ripe makes produce crispy, juicy, luscious and tasty! Local, seasonal produce also has more nutrients that strengthen our immune system and ward of viruses and disease. Building a lifestyle around seasonal foods not only enhances the flavor and diversity of my food, it also connects me with nature.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”full” source_author=”Joel Fuhrman MD” source_title=”Eat to Live” full_quote=”Raw uncooked vegetables and fruits offer the most powerful protection against disease, and I encourage my patients to eat huge salads and at least four fresh fruits per day. As the amount of raw fruits and vegetables are increased in a person’s diet, weight loss and blood pressure are lowered. Raw foods contain enzymes that offer significant nutritional advantages to protect against disease. Consuming a significant quantity of raw foods is essential for superior health” short_quote=”Raw uncooked vegetables and fruits offer the most powerful protection against disease”]

In this post I focus only on leafy green-based salads. There are whole worlds to roam with coleslaws, or bean salads or grain salads; we’ll talk about those another day.

Mighty greens pack a powerful punch of nutrients just on their own. Leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables have more micronutrients than any other food.

[su_expanding_quote_web alignment=”right” source_site=”LiveStrong” source_url=”http://www.livestrong.com/article/386542-what-are-the-benefits-of-eating-salads” full_quote=”Your chosen leafy greens do more than just lay a foundation for your remaining mix-ins. In fact, leafy greens pack a powerful punch of nutrients all on their own. Although each type of leafy green offers different health benefits, they’re packed with fiber and low in calories. Fiber also improves the health of your digestive system. Dark green lettuce, kale and spinach are packed with vitamins A, C, E and K, while bok choy and mustard greens also provide many of the B vitamins. This combination of vitamins supports the immune system, protects bones and keeps the cardiovascular system healthy. ” short_quote=”This combination of vitamins supports the immune system, protects bones and keeps the cardiovascular system healthy.”]

My general guidelines

  • Use leafy greens as the foundation: arugula, spinach, baby kale, mixed greens or romaine. Leafy greens I use organic as much as possible. Conventional spinach is high on the Dirty Dozen list because of the amount of pesticide residue
  • Add something soft: avocado, mango, peach, berries
  • Add green onions or red onions and usually garlic in the salad dressing
  • Add nuts or seeds

To make a meal out of my salad, I add leftover fish or meat (chicken, thinly sliced pork tenderloin, sliced steak. And/or leftover grains (brown rice, quinoa, barley etc) and beans (lentil, garbanzo, black, white – either leftovers or canned).

Salad dressing is always homemade. Store-bought salad dressings, even expensive fancy ones from organic stores, have more additives than necessary including sugar.

Making salad dressing is quick and easy. 

I was going to say here are some of my favorite salads, but truth be told, my favorite salads are too many to list as they are composed with whatever happens to be fresh that week. But here is a start.

Rainbow Salad, more than a recipe, this is a concept. Starting with a base of leafy greens, I make a “rainbow” of color: strawberries, blueberries, carrots, almonds, raspberry, cucumber. Or carrots, red cabbage, mango, pumpkin seeds, celery. With some creativity of ingredients, any color (and flavor) combination is possible.

Spinach, Mango, Purple Cabbage

Arugula Peach Salad

Watermelon Arugula Salad with Feta

Avocado Strawberry Spinach Salad

Epicurious: Mixed Greens with Feta, Almond and Blueberries

 

What are your favorite salads?

 

For more empowerment

9 Good Reasons to Eat Salad Every Day

Dr. Axe: Eating Seasonally for Better Nutrition and a Better World

10 Reasons to Eat What’s Seasonal