Local produce season
Although it’s been slow to arrive, spring is here in Minnesota and that means local produce is, too. Healthy eating is a big part of overall wellness and helps support your exercise, stress management, and body work. Besides all that, fresh produce tastes good!
If you want to eat more fruits and vegetables but need some inspiration and ideas, here are resources that I hope you will find interesting and useful.
The Minnesota Grown Directory – listing of farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture, orchards and more.
The Heavy Table – Twin Cities online food magazine with a focus on upper Midwest flavors
Edible Twin Cities – local version of Edible magazine, promotes the abundance of local foods
Food writer Michael Pollan
Chef Dan Barber
One of last summer's farm share pick ups. Photo by my share partner.
Another website that I think is fun to browse is The Splendid Table – in particular, the Eating Close to the Ground recipe index.
These are produce-focused cookbooks that I like, and which you can find at your local library or favorite book seller.
The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook by Jack Bishop
French Vegetarian Cooking by Paola Gavin
Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson
Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home by The Moosewood Collective
I also want to mention one more cookbook: The St Paul Farmers Produce Cookbook – Just about my favorite produce cookbook, and it seems to be out of print. Sad; however, used copies are available here. I have the 1999 edition – a garage sale score; I can’t understand why they were selling it.
Organic produce is a great option for a number of health and environmental reasons. If budgeting for organic produce is tight, you might find better prices at a farmers market. If you’re headed to the grocery store, prioritize your organic produce purchases with the Environmental Working Group’s listing. It details which regular produce generally has the least pesticide residue and which has the most.
Enjoy!