Happy Friday Fitfriends!
Woo! I’m back and feeling fine! LOL! No, seriously breaking bone flu kicked my ass. Took just about a month to feel 100%, but here I am… back and better than ever. JK. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do! But I’ll get to where I need to be!
Did you try a recipe from Fitfamily Food Summer Edition yet?
Well, if not, those recipes are about to get a whole lot better with today’s lesson!
Baby Step #11 is…
Do you already go? No! Well, let me tell you; shopping at the farmers market had one of the largest impacts on my life. Seriously! I started regularly going after I had my kids. Before then I actually had not cooked with a lot of fresh vegetable and fruits, and if I did, I got them from a typical supermarket. I also always had a can of something available, which you know are not terrible but fresh is better for you, period. The less something is processed, the more nutrients it has.
But learning all that came later. It was the flavor that started my obsession. Eating produce within a couple days of being picked versus weeks before like what you find at most supermarkets, you get the flavor as it was meant to be. Bright, fresh, explosive, you’ll soon realize that you don’t need a bunch of salt or make a creamy sauce to go with them to make them taste good, they just are freaking good. lol
And that’s what did it. I said to myself if the food tastes this much better what else is going on? Thus my studies about nutrition commenced. I began buying produce that I had no idea what it was, how to cook it, or what benefits if any we would get from eating it and then would research. I learned little lessons (that I will be teaching you) like, the closer something looks to how it was when harvested, the better for you it will be. That you should have a healthy fat at every meal. And personal discoveries I’ll share that might work for you too like including a slow-digesting carb at every meal kept me fuller longer. Eating a salad for lunch every day did wonders for my body. I find it fascinating, you might not, but that’s why you’ve got me! Here are some more reasons…
So there you have it! How the farmers market changed my life!
Your task this week is to find your local farmers market and shop there. If you are new to cooking with whole foods and feel a bit intimidated, just get enough for a meal or two. Get some salsa, hummus, cheese, and whatever else looks good too. Try to cook your fresh produce in a way that preserves as many nutrients as possible but still tastes amazing! The first dish I ever made using all farmers market produce was roasted vegetables, nothing fancy but holy crap yummy.
How to Roast Vegetables!
Pick a couple to several vegetables your family likes. This time I used red onion, bell pepper, carrots, white potato, camote (kind of like a sweet potato), half a chayote (member of the squash family), and a head of garlic.
Vegetables that take a little longer to cook (potatoes, hard squash, etc.) I cut a little smaller than the onions and peppers. My kids won’t eat them if there’s too much char and that helps. Separate garlic cloves and peel but don’t cut up any further.
Line one or two sturdy baking sheets with tinfoil and put them in the oven and then turn oven to 425 degrees F to preheat.
Take all your cut up vegetables and put them in a big bowl, add one to two tablespoons of olive oil and toss to coat.
When oven preheats carefully remove pans (they will be crazy hot!!!) spray with cooking spray and then split the veg up evenly between them. Don’t overcrowd the pans, they need room to cook. (It’s actually better to put some back in the fridge then trying to make it all fit.) Sprinkle with sea salt, fresh ground salt, or your favorite salt alternative. Add as much fresh ground pepper your family likes. Optional: throw a couple sprigs of rosemary and thyme on top too.
Put baking pans in the oven and stir every 10 minutes. Seriously, set a timer! Cooking time changes with what you’re cooking, how much you’re cooking etc. Could take 15 minutes – could take an hour. Yes, it can vary that much that’s why you set the timer!!! Roast until tender and golden brown.
That’s it for this week! Check back in next week for another baby step! Have a great weekend!
Happy Eating!
~emmy
