The Easiest Way to Make Shopping Simple: Go to the Farmer’s Market!

Finding it difficult to navigate the grocery store and determine what the healthiest options actually are?

You’re not alone.

Unless you really do adhere to the adage about shopping only around the perimeter, even in an upscale health food store, reading between the lines on labels is confusing, to say the least.

For one thing, there are so many variables to consider.  Macronutrients.  Added sugars (if we can even identify them).  How much salt is too much salt?  And what’s the ideal number of grams of protein we should be looking for in a protein bar?

There’s not a one size fits all answer, any more than there’s a one size fits all method of eating that suits everyone.

So how can we take gathering the groceries we need on a weekly basis from being a complicated chore which is just about as enjoyable as mopping the floor or cleaning the toilet and transform it into an enjoyable experience that even the whole family might enjoy?

We simplify.

And the easiest way to simplify your shopping is to get yourself to your local farmer’s market.

(Psst… not sure where to find one?  Check out Local Harvest. which will help you find one near where you live).

You’re supporting local vendors, those who are growing produce mindfully, catching fish in the wild and raising cattle eating grass in pasture, cutting down on the carbon footprint and eating in season, all by default.

But one other benefit of buying produce, wild fish, grass fed meats and a variety of interesting artisanal products at the local farmer’s market is that it’s quite possibly, it’s the easiest way you can ensure what you’re buying is actually food.

When you consider the definition of food (any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain life and growth), we’re not talking about packaged items with labels.

Sure, there are times and places when we need to grab a bar on the go, or choose a protein powder because we don’t happen to have access to a piece of wild black cod, but if we let ourselves fall into a trend of eating these products on a regular basis, we’re selling ourselves shot on a very fundamental level.

Even the cleanest protein powder or the energy bar with the fewest number of ingredients is never going to provide the nutrient density that a salad,  an avocado and a a grass fed flank steak will offer.

Guess what you won’t find at the farmer’s market?

Labels.

Aside from the occasional artisanal curator of homemade jam or dressing, there aren’t even any packages.

If you look at a beautiful display of heirloom tomatoes, multiple colors of cauliflower and an array of kales from green to red to black, you know exactly what you’re getting, and there is no need to have a label to tell you what each food is.

And they’re all food, in the truest sense of the word.

Keep it simple, keep it local and see if those two steps don’t start you even a little bit further toward the path of making food shopping a tad more fun and engaging.