Thanks for Coming out for our Market Halloween Celebrations!

A thank you to our patrons and your kiddos who came out to celebrate Halloween at our markets this past weekend. We donated and you decorated over 60 pumpkins from local farmer Grounsel’s West Garden. We loved seeing all the spooky faces that your little ones came up with and look forward to welcoming in the winter holidays next month with you!

Saturday October 22nd, in Orinda, we were happy to host Alex Isaacs as she promoted the nationwide campaign “Food Day!”

Thank you Alex, for your participation in this campaign and for bringing it to the public via our market.

According to foodday.org, Food Day seeks to bring together Americans from all walks of life—parents, teachers, and students; health professionals, community organizers, and local officials; chefs, school lunch providers, and eaters of all stripes—to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way. Now that is something we agree with and are happy to dedicate space to at our markets!

Most of us will be preparing for some festivities in one way or another this month. If you’re the one preparing the meal for Thanksgiving or just taking along the side dish, dessert or decoration, you’ll want to take advantage of all the fresh harvest fruits and vegetables at the markets.

Shirley Lea from Cabrillo Farms in Half Moon Bay offers some wonderful vegetable options to serve on your Thanksgiving plate – chards, kale and brussel sprouts. Brussel sprouts cut fresh from the stalks are mild tasting even though they are members of the cabbage family. These “little cabbages” are also an excellent source of Vitamin C, a very good source of folic acid and a noteworthy contributor of Vitamin A, B vitamins and minerals.

Try baking rather than simmering brussel sprouts, they’re delicious. To prepare for cooking, trim the stem ends of 1 pound of Brussels (to serve 4) , remove any limp or discolored outer leaves and rinse sprouts well. Place in a plastic bag with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of coarse salt and pepper to taste. Toss well and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes until tender – toss a few times during cooking time.

If you’re going to be making your own pumpkin pie filling be sure to stop by the Cabrillo stand for sweet sugar pie pumpkins. A 4 pound sugar pie yields about 1 ½ cups mashed pumpkin and is sweeter and smoother than other types of pumpkins.

Ratto Farms from French Camp (by Stockton) is all ready with turkey stuffing ingredients and fresh dug potatoes. Red and white onions, crisp celery and fresh sage are the basics for dressing. The fresh sage is a nice touch but remember to use a little extra if you’re in the habit of using dried sage. Use as soon as possible after purchase or wrap the sage leaves in paper towel and store in the salad crisper of the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days if necessary.

Another quick idea to impress your guests is to add sautéed sage leaves as a garnish on meats, fish or pasta, or toss them in with cubes of sautéed squash. Rinse and dry a dozen fresh sage leaves to sauté in 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until crisp, drain on paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Sweet potatoes are a once-a-year crop here in California and Hamlow Farms is now bringing Japanese white and the vivid orange fleshed Garnets to market. There are also bags of Hamlow’s new crop walnuts and almonds to pick up for all your holiday baking.

Enjoy and see you at the market!

We eat to stay alive. Food is our energy. It provides amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and glucose to keep our cells nourished and thriving. Your health begins and ends at the cellular level. Rather boring, I’m afraid, but very true.

Your cells need amino acids for growth and repair. Amino acids come from the breakdown of protein foods. Even as adults we are in a constant state of growth and repair. Your nails and hair are always growing. Ever cut yourself? Your cells need nutrients to repair the skin and clean away the germs.

You need to eat healthy fats in order to keep your body warm and your skin soft. You are made up of about thirty trillion cells and every one of them contains a molecule of fat. Some vitamins require fat in order to be absorbed. Your brain is two-thirds fat and fat is required to make hormones.

Vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are needed for energy production, growth, vitality, and are helpful in digestion, elimination, and disease resistance.

So the next time you eat pay attention to the nutrients you’re eating. Do the foods on your plate have lots of color (nutrient dense) or is it mainly beige (nutrient deficient)? How do you feel after eating your meal? If you have even energy and a good mood for several hours, you probably ate well. If your energy and good mood are short lived (1-2 hours) then you may have not eaten as well as you could have.

Eat your way to better health!

For more healthy eating information and to download a free copy of “Shannon’s 3 Secrets to Boost your Energy, Lose Weight, and Feel Great!” visit the website of Shannon Williams, Certified Nutrition Consultant.