Opening Week at the Farmer's Market

Photo by Angela Tague

I've been waiting all winter. The farmer's market is open!

Day one was soggy and slow. But, a sunny second day brought out flocks of people and tons of fresh produce, plants for the garden and even a face-painting booth.

So, what's in season in May in the Midwest?

You'll find lots of fresh greens including kale, arugula and several varieties of lettuce. I also spied multiple vendors with green and purple asparagus. The rhubarb was plentiful and if you love kohlrabi, radishes and turnips, there were no shortages of root vegetables on the tables.

At my local market there are also several non-food vendors. Today I saw a face-painting booth, a musician singing, a wood crafter selling cutting boards, a local winery offering samples and a jewelry maker displaying one-of-a-kind necklaces. You never know what you'll find at the market!

Do you shop at a local farmer's market? Why or why not? Tell me in the comments below.

Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living

The Farmer's Market is Open!

Freshly washed butter crunch lettuce. Photo by Angela Tague.

Have you ever shopped in a store where every display seemed to call your name?

Handcrafted beeswax lip balm? Yes, please!
Spinach speckled with local soil? Bring it on!
Glistening jars of crimson berry jams. Yum!

Our local farmer's market opened this morning, which means I can barely get this written between taking bites of my locally grown lunch. Heck, my editors are lucky the market isn't open all day, or I may have missed a few deadlines today!

Since it's early in the season, our local market was plentiful with fresh spring greens, radishes, rhubarb and asparagus.

But, the true find of the day was a head of butter crunch lettuce. The velvety texture, mild flavor and pale color truly means summer is just around the corner. Since this is one of the first lettuces of the season to grow in the midwest, it's always an early garden-season treat.

Is your farmer's market open for business? What local whole foods are you enjoying?

Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living

Juicing Carrots: A Burst of Vitamin A



One cup of raw carrots (pre-juicing) gives you over six times
the recommended daily percentage of vitamin A.
Photo by Kander, Wikimedia Commons

What's a girl to do when carrots go on sale for 50 cents a bag? Juice 'em! To the naysayer, the thought of making juice from a vegetable may sound, well, icky. But crunchy carrots turn into a sweet, refreshing juice in a matter of seconds with an electric juicer.

And they give your body a vitamin packed pick-me-up.

Health Benefits of Carrots

One cup of raw carrots (pre-juicing) gives you over six times the recommended daily percentage of vitamin A. Carrots are also high in vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium and fiber. The antioxidants in carrots promote eye health, ward off cardiovascular disease and help prevent some cancers.

Mix it Up

My favorite way to drink carrot juice is with a splash of fresh juiced lemon or mixed with apple juice. I have tried mixing carrot juice with the juice of other vegetables -- including cucumbers, kale and celery -- but the result was too bland.

The World's Healthiest Foods website recommends mixing fresh juiced carrots with soy milk and bananas for a breakfast shake. Since I like soy milk, and this concoction sounds like it might have a sweet taste, I'll have to give it a try.

What are your favorite juicing mixes?

Resources and Suggested Further Reading:The World's Healthiest Foods, The George Mateljan Foundation: Carrots
SoyQuick: The Benefits of Juicing Fresh Carrots

Until next time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela
Whole Foods Living

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Garden Pasta

If your garden has an abundance of end of the season tomatoes, try this quick late-summer lunch for two. This recipe is vegetarian friendly and loaded with healthy whole foods.

(Photo by Hotblack, Morguefile.com)

End of Summer Garden Pasta

2 Tbs. olive oil

6 sliced shallots (or 1 cup chopped onion)

2 Tbs. minced garlic

1 cup chopped green, yellow or red sweet peppers (whatever grows in your garden!)

3 cups of chopped fresh tomatoes, including the skins

3 cups cooked whole wheat pasta or whole grain rice

Measure olive oil into a non-stick skillet and warm to a medium setting. Saute sliced shallots, minced garlic and chopped peppers until the shallots are opaque. Add the chopped tomatoes and allow the mixture to simmer and reduce for approximately 10 minutes.

For a more hearty sauce, add 1 cup of sausage-flavored soy crumbles (I like the Morningstar Farms brand) to the simmering tomato mixture.

Spoon the sauce over a bed of whole grain spaghetti or whole grain rice.

Serve the pasta with a fresh tossed salad.

Until next time,

Choose Healthy!

Angela
Whole Foods Living

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