Farmers Market Fresh: Tips, Shopping List, and Meal Planner for Your Next Visit
It’s difficult to share farmers market tips because every farmers market is filled with its own unique collection of individual businesses, farm families, and crafters and artists from that area.
Most of the vendors are your neighbors and coming to the market with a unique combination of freshly picked fruits and vegetables, tasty canned and fermented selections or ingredients for you to do your own canning, freshly baked goods, local honey, eggs, herbals, plus all kinds of craftsman home-related resources like pottery, carpentry items, and paintings, or even homey ideas like quilts, jewelry, candles, pampering soaps, and garden beauties. And don’t forget the maybe more unique area brewed beers, wine, coffees, and all kinds of delicious foods.
Wow! That is all literally available at my closest farmers market plus so much more. So blessed.
While you breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the company of friends and neighbors selling and shopping, it’s also the perfect opportunity to strategically purchase some of what’s in season to incorporate into your meal plan for the upcoming week.
I’m in the Houston area and one farmers market near my home is one of my regular resources. I can get some great deals on the freshest picked produce from vendors that I’ve come to know and trust. It’s open most weekends except when certain festivals are scheduled and traffic and parking will be a bit of a challenge.
If you’re thinking about checking out your local farmers market, enjoy these 7 tips for a enjoyably productive visit!
Tip #1 – Have a Plan
On farmers market morning, I usually have a very loose idea growing in my thoughts of what I’ll be including in my meal planning for the upcoming week. After a quick inventory of what I’ve got in the fridge and pantry, I can usually build a plan of what I would like to shop for and how much.
Because they are so beneficial, I always want to get fresh greens for every day. That will usually include a variety of (salad type) greens from my favorite greens specialist plus other farm booths that will usually have a good variety of cleanly grown and freshly picked that can be part of meals throughout the coming week.
Oftentimes, fruits and vegetables are picked early to be shipped to your chain grocery stores, which can potentially lower nutrient availability. Because fruits and vegetables are usually freshly picked when ripe and then sold at the farmers market immediately, you have access to a higher nutrient density in your selection, which will give you and your family the nutrients necessary for good health.
So GREENS are the top item for my shopping list every week. Other items I prefer getting at my farmers market and including on my weekly meal plan most weeks include:
- Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.)
- Tomatoes (so much tastier when traditionally grown and freshly picked)
- Red peppers (usually cheaper than what I find at the grocery store)
- Melons (tend to be juicier and actually ripe and ready to eat)
- Potatoes and onions (haven’t been sitting on a shelf)
- Sprouts/microgreens (usually a great selection to choose from with flavor variety)
- Colorful selection of other vegetables and fruits to fill upcoming meals (squash, beans, radishes, etc)
Tip #2 – Expect Selections to Change/Get Connected
I’m in Texas and my primary farmers market is year-round, but many of the items sold are seasonal, so where I might be getting 2-3 cantaloupes every week in August, there’s none to be had in October.
But no problem. There’s always another delicious option.
Maybe you’ll be blessed like me with a few farmers at the market that will experiment with different varieties or maybe even completely different and maybe unknown (to you) options.
Two suggestions to help you with staying one step ahead of this when planning healthy meal purchases are:
- Get on vendor email lists. They’ll usually tell you about what they’re planting, what they’re harvesting, and what you’ll have available at upcoming farmers markets. This also includes the makers, fermenters, etc. that will be using their own or purchasing what’s in season to make what they sell
- Get to know your farmers/makers and simply ask. Yes. Vendors can get really busy at the market, so either ask questions while you’re picking and paying or visit that farmer/maker when they don’t have a line waiting to buy
One of my favorite farmers experiments with a wide variety of vegetables that I don’t usually see around here, but I’ve enjoyed some great meals that were highly nutritious, because of the information (and samples) he’s shared at his booth And the recipes and information on emails.
Tip #3 – Come Prepared to Buy
We have “acquired” a lot of canvas bags over the years and they come in handy on market days. I grab a section of my eclectic collection, and my water bottle, and head out. Depending on my plans, I also usually bring my box on wheels so I don’t have to carry everything.
Yes. I am That person with bags and box in tow….But…I do usually park close and unload into the car as I go. Whew!!!
My usual farmers’ market “supplies” include:
- Rolling Cart with handle
- Stainless Steel Water Bottle
- Canvas bags with good handles usually work best for me
Most, well maybe all the vendors I’ve bought from at farmers markets have taken either cash or debit card for payment options, so no surprises here.
After getting in a little sweating detoxing, I head home and it doesn’t take long before someone is cutting into a cantaloupe or real vine-ripened tomato or dropping a roast with some onions and potatoes into a slow cooker for later.
Tip #4 – Get to Know Your Area Sellers
My preferred farmers’ market fills roughly a block. I can’t even guess how many booths and businesses are regularly selling their wares.
In the midst of all that collection of businesses, I have my favorites. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about how they do business, grow produce, raise animals or make what they sell.
Friendships have developed over the years with both sellers, and my daughter even enjoys a nice visit in Japanese with one seller/friend when she joins me.
Whether you decide to do a little research Before heading to the market, you decide you are better informed by getting to know the sellers in person, or maybe a little of both, a little information goes a long way in helping you make the best choices for your family And getting to know your community.
Tip #5 – How to Find Your Local Farmers Market
Initially my favorite market was small and only gathered every other week during certain months.
Now it opens weekly and year-round on Saturdays, and has probably quadrupled in size.
But there’s also another Sunday market in the opposite direction about the same distance away that I’m checking out tomorrow.
We are definitely blessed to be surrounded with a variety of farmers markets and different vendors…lots of opportunities.
One source that might help you find out about the schedules and locations of markets and other resources near you, check out www.localharvest.org. They might not list Every resource included for your area, but it’s a good start.
Another source to find out is your local, healthy, farm-to-table type restaurants or natural health businesses since they often source from local farmers.
Tip #5 – Shop, Enjoy a Meal, Make a Memory
While I do recommend having a plan when you head out to the market, I also suggest you plan in a little wiggle room. Whether you give yourself a little extra time to check out the jewelry made by a local craftsman for an upcoming gift, explore those really unique patio chairs that might perfectly solve the problem you and your spouse have been considering for the backyard, or maybe sit for a bit and enjoy those iced watermelon treats while getting to know a few people or enjoying a special time with family, don’t miss this great opportunity to lower your stress level a bit while still getting something done.
You’ll definitely be making (or preparing to make) memories and giving yourself an opportunity to chill out for just a bit.
Ready to Make a Plan?
I know I usually start thinking up meals as I read vendor emails and then walking the market “lanes” and talking with the vendors and buying. I have a loose idea for meals for the upcoming week, but I don’t really firm that up until after finishing my farmers market run.
By that time I know what I’ll have available that I Definitely want to enjoy as part of a meal within the following 7 days.
If you would like to do the same, you might be helped by this Farmers Market planner printable that includes:
- a shopping list to jot down what you want to get
- a meal plan area
- tips for purchases
It definitely helps to have a plan, even a loose plan that you might play around with a bit during the week. You don’t want to find some unidentifiable mass in the back of the fridge in a few weeks. Plus knowing there’s a plan, and following the plan to some degree, can lower your stress throughout the upcoming week.
Plus you now have lots of potential for a variety of nutrient-dense meals with lots of flavors.
And here’s FREE Farmers Market printable that I mentioned earlier.
If you decide to check out your local farmers market, be sure to let me know what you find.
