New Year’s Resolutions at the Farmers’ Market

The Mar Vista Farmers’ Market may be closed for the holidays, but it returns this Sunday with vendors ready to help you fulfill your New Year’s Resolutions.  Let’s look at a few options for healthier living in 2012:

New Year’s Resolution #1: Eat better breakfasts

Answer:  Smoothies - Forget Jamba Juice or that half-caf, double frappuccino with extra whipped cream.  Those beverages are full of unwanted ingredients.  Make your own at home with fresh produce from the Market.  Mix greens and fruit in a Vitamix or other high-speed blender to get your five servings per day.  Here’s how:

Drop in a handful of grapes, a whole lime, a peeled orange, a stalk of celery, a leaf or two of kale (or other green like spinach, collards, Swiss chard), an apple, a slice of ginger, and  a little honey or pitted dates.  Blend all of these locally available, in-season ingredients for a minute or two (with ice if you want it) and drink up.  Find more recipes for great smoothies at Vitamix.com; just type “smoothie” in the search box.  That’s breakfast or a mid-morning snack. 

New Year’s Resolution #2:  Go meatless more often

Answer:  Make soup once a week - Winter weather calls for warm soups and fresh whole-grain breads.  Make up a pot of hearty vegetable soup with pinto or white beans from Suncoast Farms. Start by sautéing onions, celery and root veggies like carrots or parsnips from John Givens Organics, then add a few Crimini mushrooms from Tradewind Mushrooms. 

Add the beans and water or broth to cover the vegetables and bring to a boil.  Simmer on low for 40 minutes, then add two diced potatoes from Weiser Family Farms and cook 15-20 minutes longer.  In the last 5 minutes, add in two handfuls of chopped spinach (or other greens), some fresh parsley and other fresh herbs like oregano, rosemary or thyme.  Serve with a hunk of whole-grain wheat bread from Homeboy Bakery (if you feel adventurous, you can lightly toast it and rub it with garlic). That’s lunch or dinner.  

New Year’s Resolution #3:  Buy more sustainably-grown or made, local items

Answer:  Buy weekly from Farmers’ Market vendors – Let’s face it, buying from the means that you are already buying locally-grown produce, but you can also find locally grown plants from Ramos Nursery or Atkins Farms.  You can pick up hand-made items from the Mar Vista Arts and Crafts Collective, and incredible sweets made with wholesome ingredients from vendors like P.O.P. Candy and Cobblermania.  Now you can even get your laundry soap and body care products from Refyll, or replace those plastic bags with fabric ones from E. C. Creations. 

If you want to go beyond these three New Year’s Resolutions, ride a bike or walk to the Market each week. It lowers your carbon footprint and helps you work off those holiday pounds.  Whatever you resolve to do in 2012, the Mar Vista Farmers’ Market is ready to help.