After my first fast, I’d made a decision to live a healthier lifestyle.  I craved fresh fruit and vegetables, but my kitchen was full of junk, processed and fattening foods.  I knew that I needed to make a drastic change.  I felt differently in my heart, but if I left my kitchen as it was, there was a chance that I would go back to eating those things.  So, I gutted my kitchen.  I tossed all expired foods and donated everything else that I didn’t plan to eat.  Even things that I thought were healthy, like certain low sodium soups, contained things that weren’t good.  This is the reason that reading the ingredients is important.  According to Dr. Oz. the first 5 ingredients in your food are probably the most important, because they make up most of what is in your food.  That was an eye opener when I looked at some things I’d bought.

Now that the kitchen was bare, I needed to restock it with healthy options, but healthy and organic foods are so expensive.  A heart attack in a bag is cheap and easy, but organics and healthy food can make you broke.  Trader Joe’s doesn’t always cut it in the price department, but they have pretty good choices.  Whole Foods might as well take your entire paycheck for 5 items.  I decided to go to Booth Corners instead.  Booth Corners is a local flea / farmer’s market that has been around forever.  When I was little, my grandmother and grandfather would take my sister and I there to get fresh roasted peanuts, salt water taffy, and eat breakfast.  It always smelled like a country kitchen and it still does to this day.  It had been so long since I had been there.  Great memories…

I went in and apparently not much has changed.  They still had the salt water taffy, fresh produce, meats, cheeses, and freshly squeezed juices.  From the time that I stepped foot in there, I knew that I would have a very long relationship with farmer’s markets, Booth Corner’s in particular.  One of the best things about them is that the farmers are local.  They tend not to use pesticides and other chemicals because they don’t need to preserve their produce longer for cross country trips.  It takes a shorter time to get from the farm to where they sell their wares.  Local farmers are also cheaper and by supporting farmer’s markets, you are supporting your local community.

The first place that I went was to purchase fruit and veggies.  Two huge reusable Target bags full of produce came to less than $60.  Besides the regular stuff, (apples, oranges, etc.), they had fresh whole pineapples, kiwis, mangoes, and more.  With prices so low, I was able to afford to try something new.  Next, I went off to the meat counter where I picked up some smoked maple turkey bacon, which had to be the BEST turkey bacon I’ve ever had.  Across the aisle was the cheese counter where I picked up some goat cheese and cajun cream cheese with lobster and crabs.  I also grabbed some almond butter, whole flaxseed, chia seed, jasmine and saffron rice, big bags of pretzel crisps, freshly squeezed orange and pineapple juice, and dried strawberries.  I ate like a queen for weeks:  steamed salmon and asparagus, smoothies and fresh fruit and vegetable juices, and healthy snacks.  I have to say that I am forever a fan.

Do you go to farmer’s markets?  Where are they and what kind of interesting things did you find there?

• 11/05/2009 -- Results and Questions for After the Cleanse (0)