Saturday, April 30, 2011

10 reasons I love the Farmers' Market

I love Saturdays! Why? Because I get to go to the Farmers' Market!! I look forward to it every week and here are some reasons why.

1. You get to be outside walking around on a beautiful day like today. I always park far and walk up and down twice. :)


2. You get local, organic produce for less than you would pay for organic produce at the grocery store.

3. Even if you don't buy groceries, the Farmers' Market is a fun place to hang out on a weekend. You can look at everything people are selling, hear people playing guitars and pianos and singing all along the way and best of all...smell the yummy kettle corn! It smells soooo amazing. The lines for the kettle corn (and/or snow cones on the hot days) are always super long because you just can't resist the smell of freshly popped popcorn.
4. You always see interesting things. Last week there were a TON of older women walking around is huge purple formal dresses and the biggest, fluffiest red hats I've ever seen!!! I wish I had gotten a picture of that. :P I like looking at all the animal shelter dogs they bring too. But I feel bad for them. I just want to take them all home with me!
5. My number one reason for going to the Farmers' Market every week is for the bread. I like knowing that we're eating "clean" bread; we can pronounce all the ingredients. It's homemade by the Mennonites and lasts about a week in the fridge. Bread that can sit on the counter for a week or two isn't a good thing...the means it has too many additives and preservatives! I tried making my own bread for awhile, but I don't have a bread machine and it never turned out to be good sandwich bread (you couldn't fold it in half like you can store bought breads). This bread is exactly like what you'd buy in the stores and for the same price ($3 a loaf) plus it's way healthier, so why not?!?!
6. And it just wouldn't be as fun with this little guy. He loves being outside and smiles at everyone. Because of him, we've gotten some extra deals like "buy 1 get 1 free" or $1 off.
7. Your Farmers' Market is the best place to get honey. First of all, you don't know how the honey you buy at the grocery store is made unless you research the company. A lot of honey has fillers like corn syrup and water. Local honey is 100% pure honey. It is also a GREAT immune builder. It also will help your body be immune to whatever allergies are going around in your area. Zach and I also think the honey we get at the Farmers' Market tastes a lot sweeter than the grocery store honey too.
8. You get to learn about and taste produce you didn't know about before. My newest discovery- sunflower sprouts. The perfect addition to your salad!
9. Now this one may not apply to everyone, but in the small city of Las Cruces, the Farmers' Market is a fun place to keep running into people you know! I always run into at least one person from church. :)

10. And finally, I love the Farmers' Market because it is part of our healthy lifestyle. I know exactly where all my food is coming from (never more than 50 miles away), supporting our local farmers, the produce I buy is fresh and never has any pesticides or herbicides (always make sure to ask though!), and I get some morning exercise and fresh air. I can't wait until next Saturday :D

Friday, April 29, 2011

HI THERE!

I love reading other people's blogs and have been wanting to start one myself for awhile....well now I've finally decided to do it! This blog will be about what we've been up to, good devotions I've read or sermons I've heard, exercising, nutrition tips, recipes, natural remedies...and anything else I think of! :) I thought I'd start off with a video of Elliott and his new "dance." I think it's pretty stinkin' adorable!