Most of us are lucky enough to have access to most kinds of fresh produce year round, but seasonal produce is still one of the hallmarks of summer. Fresh corn on the cob, abundant zucchini and cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, sweet melons, and juicy peaches are just some of the tantalizing fruits and vegetables with a lot of summer memories attached to them.

Farmer’s markets are another sign of summer. They can be the best places to get your seasonal fruits and vegetables from local growers who love what they do and are eager to share what they know about their precious wares. Just walking through the farmer’s market and talking to local vendors can be an experience in itself. Going to a farmer’s market can also be good for weight loss if it inspires you to eat more fruits and veggies and take more of an interest in where your food comes from.

Do you go to a farmer’s market regularly? Why do you go there instead of to a supermarket where you could easily pick up the rest of your groceries? Do you talk to the vendors about new recipes and even new fruits and vegetables to try? Do you take more of an interest in farmer’s markets after weight loss surgery?

Oh, yes, my beloved Greenmarket at Union Square, open four days a week. The quality is far superior to that at supermarkets incl Whole Foods and local, fussy shops. The sellers are considered local (the last I knew, being within 200 miles of the city was a requirement) rather than huge, commercial growers,which means variety that far exceeds the stores' offerings. A favorite farm owned by Asian immigrants (sorry, I don't know which country) specializes in Asian produce. I've fallen in love with things like tatsoi and another the name of which eludes me at the moment, but it tastes of cumin and is heavenly in salads or cooked. This particular stand does small cooking demos; they bring a couple of electric skillets and cook up things so that buyers can expand their horizons. Quite a few of the farms are organic.

This particular Greenmarket is the largest in Manhattan. The administrative booth has lots of info, including which sellers attend which days, what they sell and where on site they are on which days. They also have recipes to hand out. The goods include fruit and vegetables; yarns; all manner of unexpected fungi, goat meat, poultry; fish and shellfish; honeys (some from hives on NYC rooftops); maple syrup and other maple products; houseplants; on and on and on. Saturday is the busiest day since the market opened about 40 (?) years ago and the greatest number of sellers are on hand.

P.S. It's open year-round, so absolutely seasonal. A number of sellers grow out of season produce in greenhouses, so we always can get the basics at the very least.

I love it for the goods, the atmosphere and the conversations.

Have I told you about.....

Edited August 14, 201610 yr by WLSResources/ClothingExch

At least 1x a week. I know some of the vendors, and I grow a lot of my own or buy plants from them. I do a lot of pick your own also.

I am very fortunate to live in a rural area with lots of access to farmers markets, roadside stands, Amish stores, and other sources of fresh, locally grown and produced food.

I'm in an area with abundant summer and fall farmer's markets, so I have 2 that I regularly visit...one on Wednesday and one on Saturday. I love buying whats in season, right now blueberries are in and I'm busy freezing them for the winter. Our market also has meat sellers, with local chicken, beef and lamb available.

I also have a garden of my own, which has been producing snow peas, summer squash, cucumbers and herbs for a month now and I have a gargantuan San Marzano tomato plant that's loaded with green fruit. When that all ripens, I'll drag out my canning supplies and make salsa and tomato sauce to store for the winter.

Having this surgery has made it important to me to ensure that the food I'm eating is high quality, and the farmer's market + my garden make that task much easier.

We are actually at the local market right now stocking up on fresh fruits and vegetables. Aside from staples, I also like to test the locally grown fruits that are only found in this country. Much cheaper than the grocery shops.

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