On Sunday I went to my local farmers market.
When I say local, I mean local. I am fortunate to live within walking distance to one of the largest farmers markets in all of California, the land of grow-almost-anything. I am blessed to have such amazing produce within walking distance.
Here’s one small section of the market.
And here’s another section.
I didn’t even capture the fresh food vendors from tacos to locally roasted coffee beans to raw vegan food to green smoothie vendors. It just goes on and on. Next week.
There’s both fresh produce and fresh flowers for sale so it was extra fun making pictures.
I had a field day with my camera and here are some images I captured.
What cute little mango. And super sweet.
Locally bottled avocado oil
An orchid to beat all!
Dozens and dozens of varieties of tomato plants.
Get your fermentation on.
I have an easy recipe and method for fermented veggies on the countertop which I call Sweet and Sour Refrigerator Pickles
One of my favorite shots of the day
Another favorite set of images
Have you ever had squash blossoms? Many people fry them and they are almost a delicacy! Or here are 5 recipes using them.
These flowers were so beautiful in person. I could have taken pictures of them all day!
From my last post on the Barre3 DVD I reviewed, it was fun to hear what workouts you’ve been doing lately. And what workouts you’d like to try next.
And now I’m off to make some Cheater’s Guacamole with the locally grown avocados I have.
And I will wash it down with a Peach Banana Colada Smoothie that I’m going to add some fresh pineapple to!
Questions:
1. Do you have or go to a local farmers market in your area?
Yes, this one! I’ve posted about it in the past here, too.
And in San Diego, if I wanted to drive 20 minutes from me, there is a different market going on in different parts of town, almost every day of the week.
2. What are your favorite things to buy at the farmers market?
I love berries, tomatoes, greens, mangos, and pineapple from the market.
Well, there’s really not anything that I don’t like buying from the market. I have to watch myself so that my eyes aren’t bigger than what we can consume before it spoils because it all looks so good!
3. Do you think it saves you money to buy from the farmers market or not?
I will be honest, I don’t think it’s necessarily cheaper to shop at farmers markets. On some things, yes, it is clearly cheaper, i.e. a huge stalk of broccoli for $1 dollar.
But on other things, say Fuji apples, it’s more expensive for me to buy them at the farmers market than it is to buy organic Fuji apples in the regular grocery store, or at Whole Foods.
And it’s much more expensive to buy farmers market Fuji apples compared to conventional/non-organic regular-grocery-store Fuji apples.
I can also buy a bag of TJ’s organic salad mix for $1.99 which is about half the price of a comparable salad mix from the farmers market.
Also, blueberries are far cheaper at TJ’s. No, they’re not organic or local, but they’re cheaper.
However, there is more to life than money and this is true with food choices, too:
I realize that farming is expensive and supporting local farmers so they can continue to farm is wonderful.
Locally grown food usually tastes far better.
There are positive environmental and ecological impacts of eating locally and seasonally.
There is benefit to one’s body and health to eat locally and seasonally.
The variety and types of food I can eat in San Diego from the market blow grocery store selection away!
I remember those things when I notice things cost more at the farmers market. There’s a reason why.
Talk to me about your markets!
Ohhhh I loved going to the farmer market with you via your pics. They were all awesome and I wish I was near one like that. So friggin’ cool!!!!
XO!
You should make a road trip to San Diego one day :)
xo
You’re tempting me to move by you! Wow, that market is glorious. We have nothing comparable, our closest one us 20 miles away, but supposedly another one is cropping up down the road, less than a mile. I won’t hold my breath. :)
Our grow season is so short. The last farmers market we stopped at last fall had Cali stickers on their produce!! Not kidding, pitiful! Not sure I’d be disciplined at a market like yours. Too tempting to buy everything!
And yes, I have had zucchini flowers. My grandma on other side of fam used to fry them. I haven’t had them in years– zucchini flowers or that family. Heh :/
yes, move!
the last sentence…haven’t had (either) of them in years…I bet there are some stories there!
NYC has AWESOME Greenmarkets! And coincidentally, one of my best friends owns Stokes Farm, so I used to work at some of the farmer’s markets in the city selling their produce!
We’re just now transitioning into vegetable/fruit season here in the northeast, and Heirloom Tomatoes are my absolute favorites!
I usually think of shopping at the Farmer’s Market as a splurge- I love doing it and I feel good doing it, but it is usually more expensive, and sometimes the food budget is tight. Having a friend who owns a farm and loves to give you free produce helps, though! :)
I LOVE the farmers’ market, but didn’t have time to make it to mine on Saturday (the only day we have it here :(). I’m not gonna lie, but when I lived out in BC last year, the market there was bigger and much better (especially since I lived in orchard country!), but I make do with what’s available at the one now that we’re living back in Ontario.
It has a decent selection, but I’m one for visiting MANY vendors, not just a few! I agree that it’s not necessarily cheaper, but hey, it’s fresher (or at least I like to think that). Plus, it gets you out in the community :)
You’re so lucky to have an amazing farmers market! The ones we have around here tend to be kind of lacking in variety. I wish I had access to all that! So yummy, all that fresh goodness :D
Wow, what I would give to have such an incredible farmers market within walking distance of my house! We have some great markets here in Atlanta, but they’re all at least a 30 minute drive away (that’s Atlanta sprawl for ya!).
I just love how delicious and fresh all the produce is at the farmers markets. It is much more expensive than going to the store, but it’s such a great thing to support local farmers and businesses and have great tasting food at the same time.
I saw your grilled sammie on Tastespotting yesterday when I was there checking on my own submissions :) congrats!
Also got the F & L questionnaire…so excited!
Thanks! I get so excited when Tastespotting and/or FoodGawker like my photos :)
I’m so excited about the F & L workshop too! Filling out the questionnaire has gotten me even more excited – haha!
Your pictures are always so beautiful!
Happy Belated Birthday! Sorry, I totally missed out on that one. I zonked out super early last night and have been light on my technology until now.
Your pictures look great. :-) I LOVE farmers markets. They’re my Happy Place. I snagged 2 pints of strawberries for a total of $4 this past weekend. Awesome! It was at the end of the day. So yes, sometimes deals can be found, sometimes not. You have to know when and how to shop. For example, if I’m looking for a particular veggie, say, baby eggplants, I know to go early.
I love reading your blog! I found it on my friend’s blog and have been lurking in the background for some time now, so I hope you will forgive me. I admire how much you care about being healthy. Being healthy and making it a priority to eat healthy is a great lifestyle choice, and I do believe it is a choice we all must decide and I admire how much you care about eating clean. I was wondering if you might entertain me and post some pictures of you when you were pregnant with Skylar for fun. I’m sure you had such a great pregnant bod! I am about 11 weeks with my first, and would love your advice on how to stay healthy while pregnant, and what you did to get your body back and of course anything else you want to add! Take care and keep up with the great posts!
Kristen
I wasnt blogging 5.5 years ago when I was pregnant so no online photos of me pregnant.
Just listen to your gut, dont compare, use common sense, use a moderate attitude are the best pieces of advice i can give.
Soo excited…so this farmers market is in hillcrest? i am gonna be heading home to sd this week and want to hit it up for fresh food for our vacay in sd. we will be renting a house in pb the two weeks we are home. so i want fresh foods. thanks for posting. i am excited to hit it up.
yes, in hilcrest. have fun!
I love your pictures Averie — you have such a good eye!
I don’t go to the Farmers Markets too much –there are large ones in St. Paul and Minneapolis — but I go there maybe once per month. I can get decent produce at small stands around our area (so I guess they are mini farmers markets!) and to be honest Costco has some good, cheap produce (most of it is organic too!)
I think buying some produce at the markets is cheaper — kale for sure is way cheaper there than in the stores, but some fruits and such are more expensive. I guess it all evens out though!
My parents’ biggest complaint about the markets in msp area is the short growing season and lack of diversity…northern climate issues for sure.
See kale here is 99 cents a for a huge bunch in the groc store. Everyone talks about how expensive or hard to come by kale is in diff parts of the country but here, it’s plentiful and cheap in the groc store.
I looooove my farmers market. I live in a small town but it is amazing the variety at our market. I just posted on Saturday my most recent loot and yes it saved us a bit of money(plus there are things we can’t buy in the grocery store here anyways) so yes I think it’s cheaper if you know how to shop. A lot of things cost a heck of a lot more than they should, greens, berries, etc. For lack of a better way to describe it, I think when a farmers market is more directed at tourists the prices are higher, I know certain weekends the prices are higher at our farmers market. Plus, certain vendors just sell things for a lot more than others on a regular basis. Plus, I find going early early helps because the best produce goes first and you’re more likely to get a better deal(although some people say to go at the end of the market because some vendors are giving away their produce just to get rid of it for the day). To me some prices are worth getting produce that was just picked that morning. Or on produce that is organic even though the farmer doesn’t legally have the label. It’s so much tastier :D
I was at that Farmer’s Market on Sunday as well!!! I usually go to the one in Little Italy on Saturdays, but was unable to make it. The Hillcrest one was a fun change! Your pictures look beautiful, and you have inspired so many of my baking projects :) Love your blog!
Wow you’re local! Very cool you were there, too!
Thanks for saying hi!
The main reason I go to the farmer’s market is to get grass-fed beef. Pretty much all of the produce in the supermarkets around here is locally grown, and I can’t afford to spend twice as much to get it at the farmer’s market.
Love that pic with the tomatoes in baskets on the left, onions on the right.
“and I can’t afford to spend twice as much to get it at the farmer’s market.”— yes!
tomatoes in baskets on the left, onions on the right picture = one of my faves, too! thanks :)
I love farmers markets, but I am more of a go to look than buy kind of consumer. I definitely would love to shop there only, but I just can’t stomach those prices! I know, its good to support the local farmer, but a girl’s gotta eat too!
The pictures, as usual, are beautiful!
“The pictures, as usual, are beautiful!”— thank you :)
“its good to support the local farmer, but a girl’s gotta eat too!”– indeed!
What an awesome Farmer’s Market!! One of the best things about summer :)