The Brown Bag is certainly an advocate of farmer’s markets everywhere.  We think they’re a great way to get fresh fruits and veggies while also being a responsible citizen of your planet.  When you shop at your local farmer’s market, you’re doing what’s best for you, your community and your planet.  Farmer’s markets are more likely to have fruits and veggies that have been picked at their peak of ripeness than your average grocery store, and produce picked at its ripeness magic moment have more vitamins and nutrients than produce picked early so that it will keep well until it can make it to your grocery store shelves—so, you’re getting more nutritional bang for your buck at the farmer’s market than you would at your local grocery.

What’s more?  When you shop at farmer’s markets, you’re supporting the farms in your local community and making sure that your community continues to have access to fresh, local produce.  You’re reducing your carbon foot print because those fruits and veggies that you’re taking home didn’t have to be flown in from Peru, they were simply trucked a few miles down the road and right to you.  You’ll be eating seasonally, which scientists say is healthier for humans, as well as being healthier for the environment as a whole (think carbon footprint again).  Have we convinced you yet?

All of this being said, we understand that sometimes trying something new can be a little bit stressful.  Maybe you’re thinking, “I went to the farmer’s market once and I didn’t know what half the stuff was!” or “How do I know what’s organic and what’s not?”  Our answer: Ask questions.  Eating seasonally means that sometimes you’ll be trying things you’ve never cooked or eaten before, and you may be thinking, “I don’t even know where to start with kale!”  Not to worry!  The people selling at the markets do know what to do with their produce; so, if you’re confused or wary, ask them for suggestions.  Very often, farmers will have a recipe or two printed and available for customers to take home.  And if you’re wondering which fruits and veggies are organic but can’t find signs to indicate, just ask.  The farmers at markets have all the info you’ll need about the things they grow, and they’ll be more than happy to tell you about how they grow it.

A few other tips to shopping the market like a pro:

1. Go early.  Late risers tend to get the produce that’s been picked over, so get up early and nap later.
2. Take cash.  Most farmers will not have a credit card machine ready and waiting.  We know that many of you live and die by credit cards and never have cash, but make life easier for everyone and stop by the ATM before  you go to the market.
3. Bring your own bag.  This is not a necessity, as most farmers will have plastic bags handy for your purchases, but if you’re looking to do your shopping for the week, you may need more room to carry things.  Also, bringing your bag saves resources and gives a hand up to the planet (and every hand counts!).
4. Farmers markets aren’t all about produce.  They are some of the best places to discover local farms with sustainable and environmentally friendly farming practices.  Consider buying your eggs, milk, cheese and fish/meat here as well!
5. Don’t haggle—you’re not at the flea market.  Farmers work hard–really hard–and a lot of the farmers you’ll meet at local markets are working hard to bring organic produce and other products to your community.  They’re innovative in their farming practices and often may incur more costs in their farming techniques than larger, commercial farms.  They need to make a living too.

Give your local farmer’s market a try, if you haven’t already.  We’re pretty sure you won’t be disappointed.  If you’re looking for a list of local DC-area markets, click here.

We don’t mean just any fat though.  Don’t go hog wild!  Hold the Oreos!  The truth of the matter is that fat does a body good; in fact, our bodies need fat to survive and thrive.  Unfortunately, for our Oreo-loving friends out there, not any old fat will do. We’ve talked before about the key to health being balance, and fat consumption is no different.  By now, most of you are aware that there are different kinds of fat–some are ‘good’ and some are ‘bad.’  Good fats are monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and omega-3s.  Eat ‘em up!  But avoid the bad fats, like saturated fats and trans fats.  The ones we’re looking to add to your salads are the good ones, so listen up!

Here are some of the fats you should be topping your salad with:

Avocados:  You only need one quarter of this fab little fruit to get the max absorption of lycopene, beta-carotene, and other antioxidants.  It has 30 grams of unsaturated fat, and about 16 of those are monounsaturated.  Pass the guacamole, top your salad with healthy chunks of green or slice it onto your sandwich!

Olive Oil: Just a dribble (1/3 teaspoon) of olive oil over your salad and give yourself 3.3. grams of monounsaturated fat (plus polyphenols and vitamin E!).

Olives: 10 olives=3.5 grams of monounsaturated fat.  But watch out: Olives pack a sodium punch!

Cashews: Just half an ounce gives you 4 grams of monounsaturated fat, plus magnesium, phosphorus and tryptophan (think turkey!), which can help kick sleep patterns into shape and improve moods.

Cheese:  One third of a cup of whole-milk ricotta can you give up to 3 grams of monounsaturated fat.  What’s your favorite cheese? Add some to your salad (in moderation) and give it a flavor kick!

Tahini:  One tablespoon of tahini can give you 3 grams of monounsaturated fats.  What’s tahini, you ask?  Tahini is a paste made from ground, hulled sesame seeds.  You’ll find it most often in hummus and baba ghanoush.

Chopped Macadamia Nuts:  These little nuts are super-powered!  You need only about 2 nuts (or a fifth of an ounce) to get 3 grams of monounsaturated fat!

Other Cooking Oils:  We really love olive oil, but other oils for topping your salad with unsaturated fats are canola, peanut, and sunflower oil.  A little goes a long way—from a third of a tablespoon to ½ tablespoon to one tablespoon (respectively) gives you 3 grams of monounsaturated fat.

You might be thinking, “Why, why, why, do I need to worry about adding good fat to my diet, Brown Bag?  Why can’t I just try to do the ‘fat-free’ thing?”  So, here’s why we need fat:

We need fat so that our bodies can absorb fat soluble vitamins, like A, S, E, and K.  No fat and you end up with deficiencies of these vitamins that can lead to health problems like hematomas, malformations of developing bones, loss of vision, and nuerological problems.  That doesn’t sound like fun, does it?

We need fat to insulate our bodies against cold and heat.

We need fat to transport nutrients and metabolites across cell membranes.

We need fat for energy, to manage moods and fight fatigue.

And these are just a few of the reasons!

One of the reasons you come to Brown Bag is because you care about your health.  Fat-free isn’t the way to go—fat healthy is!  So, grab your bag, mark it up and create your own salad—and top it off with the best that fat has to offer!

Another stop on the Brown Bag suppliers tour!!  Ever heard of Kreider Farms?  No?  Bet you know all about Lancaster County, Pennsylvania though, right?  Did you know that LancasterCounty has the most productive, non-irrigated land in the United States?  Did you know that it has more small, family farms than any other county in the United States?  Ninety-nine percent of the farms in LancasterCounty are small, family-owned farms!  That includes one of our favorite suppliers, Kreider Farms!

Kreider Farms is a third generation family-owned farm that has grown from 103 acres, 200 hundred chickens, a dozen cows, and assorted crops to over 2,500 acres with 5 million egg-laying chickens, 2,000 cows, a milk-bottling and ice cream plant, 320 employees and a public farm-tour program since 1935.  Kreider Farms began when Noah W. Kreider and the former Mary R. Hershey bought the farm (which had been in Mary’s family since 1739) from her father, John B. Hershey.  They moved onto the farm with their two sons, Richard and Noah Jr.; and as the boys grew and married, they began buying adjoining farms, and Kreider farms began to grow.  In 1972, they expanded their dairy business by building a processing plant and opening a retail store where they sold their milk and ice cream.  Egg producing took off too; and eventually, Kreider Farms became the largest egg producer in the state of Pennsylvania.

In 2008, Kreider was awarded the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association’s “Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award” for its innovative handling of byproducts.  The farm uses its chicken and cow waste products to produce compost which is then used to fertilize the fields in which the farm grows its corn, alfalfa, rye grass and grass hay that eventually feeds the dairy cows.  Kreider Farms also uses the water from their egg washes in the egg-packing house to water the fields.  In addition to these environmentally friendly practices, the farm has also updated its manure and lagoon treatment system to reduce ammonia emissions from the treatment system and reduce the concentration of nutrients in the waste water, which means that less phosphorus and nitrogen are sprayed on the fields during the irrigation process.  This treatment facility is the first of its kind in the state of Pennsylvania.

All in all, Kreider Farms

• Composts and recycles over 50 tons of manure each day
• Bags their own special blend of dehydrated chicken and cow manure for home use
• Has fenced off the streams on its property to protect the water passing through on its way to the Chesapeake Bay
• Delivers environmentally-friendly, fresh milk, eggs and ice cream from Virginia through Boston

We’re happy to have found a supplier that couples great products with a commitment to the environment. Come in and sample Kreider Farms’ fresh eggs in one of our specialty breakfast items.  Omelet, anyone?