How To Shop A Farmer’s Market

July 2, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Summer time normally brings with it not just warm weather and trips to the beach, but the opening of the farmer’s market. Farmer’s markets are great ways to buy fresh produce, support your local farms, and find some delicious new foods to try! In this post, I thought that I would share a few tips on how to get the most out of your farmer’s market. I’ve been to a few of the many markets open here in Chicago and even talked to a few of the farmers to find out how to make the most of your trip.

Walk the market. Before you even buy anything, walk the whole market. Many stands will sell the same fruits and vegetables but they might have different prices. You don’t want to buy a pint of strawberries for $6 and then walk to the next stall and see they were only $4 there. Also take your first walk through to inspect the quality of the produce. Make sure that the produce being sold doesn’t look old, withered, or too beat up. A little dirt is fine (these things grow in the ground after all!) but you don’t want it to look like it has been run over by a truck. So make note of the stands selling good produce at good prices and make note of them. Then come back after your walk through.

Ask questions. The people running these stands have a wealth of knowledge of the products they are selling. A lot of them have planted, watered, weeded, and harvested these fruits and vegetables themselves and know pretty much everything there is to know about them. Don’t be afraid to ask how to prepare a certain vegetable or how to best store their fruit. The farmers that I talked to were very excited and passionate about their foods and love to share their knowledge with the people buying their goods. It’s nice to know exactly where your food comes from and exactly who is taking care of your food. On the flip side, if the people at the stand know little to nothing about the things they are selling, maybe get your food at the next stand. Also, if it is super busy at the stand that might not be the best time to ask for the history of radishes. They are trying to sell their products and if they have to spend 30 minutes with each customer that won’t happen.

Try to use cash. I know that barely anyone carries cash with them on a regular basis, me included. Most stands will accept debit/credit cards, but the process goes a lot quicker if you can pay in cash. This is also a great way to budget yourself at the market. If you set a limit of $20 and only bring that much with you, then you won’t over spend. Again, if you forget to bring cash with you it’s not a huge deal. Most places will gladly accept your debit/credit card.

Be creative. Farmer’s markets are great in the way that they will usually sell fruits and vegetables that you might not find at your grocery store. Try something new! Ever heard of kohlrabi, daikon, or patty pan squash? The market is a great place to find one new to you produce item and learn how to prepare it. Soon you will be an aficionado at unique produce and have a lot of tasty go to recipes in your arsenal. And remember, if you aren’t quite sure how to prepare a certain food, the farmer is a great resource.

Still read the labels. Most markets sell more than just fruit and vegetables. There are bakery stands, jam stands, honey stands, butcher stands, and I’ve even seen a tamale stand. Just because something is sold at a farmer’s market doesn’t automatically mean it’s organic or good for you. Some stands sell products that have just as many chemicals and preservatives as the store bought kind. Read your labels and ask if there is an ingredient you don’t know. That being said, a lot of the stuff sold at the market are a much better choice than their grocery store counterpart. Remember though, a cookie is still a cookie whether it’s organic and sold at the farmer’s market or not.

These are just a few tips to make your next trip to the farmer’s market a successful one. I love being able to actually talk to the people who grow my food as well as learn from them. Most of the time their passion for good food is contagious and I can’t wait to get home and make something with my purchases. Find out where there is a market closest to you and check out all of the delicious and healthy food they have to offer!

Acknowledge Yourself

June 30, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Time for a personal story that led to a pretty good life lesson. Don’t you love when those happen? This weekend my husband, Adam, and I headed to my parents house to help them clean out their garage. After the day was done and my dad was taking us back to the train station to head home, we stopped to drop off some garbage and my dad introduced us to one of his clients. As we were talking the conversation turned to health and my dad started telling his client all the things that I had accomplished health wise over the past few years. At first I kind of just brushed it off, my dad loves talking to anyone about his kids and he is always telling them how great we are. I think that is a job requirement when you become a dad, you love to brag about your children. But as we were headed home I started to think about all the things he said about me. The list seemed pretty impressive. I had forgotten how far I had come when I first started, and that I was too quick to shrug off my accomplishments.

How many times do we do that? We get so wrapped up in the day to day and fail to see all the miles we have traveled. I feel this is especially true when it comes to our health. For the first time yesterday, I realized that over the course of 5 or 6 years I have lost a total of about 60 pounds. That is kind of a huge thing but I always downplay it. Yeah I lost 60 pounds but it’s over a long period of time. Earth to Katie, 60 pounds is no drop in the bucket. I went from never running ever, and hating it as well, to wanting to run every single day and truly enjoying long 10 mile runs. I went from barely being able to touch my toes to easily finding balance in some difficult yoga poses. I feel at ease in the kitchen and enjoy spending time coming up with healthy ways to prepare delicious food. I’ve started a health blog and have shared my story with the internet, something that I would never have thought I would do 5 years ago. I have really done a lot and I need to give myself props for doing all of that stuff!

Many of us feel uncomfortable patting ourselves on the back when we do something awesome. We’re quick to turn down compliments and say oh it was nothing. We forget how hard it was to start being healthier and how much work it took to get to the place we are today. That needs to stop. I’m not saying you should go out and brag to every person you meet about all your accomplishments. You do need to work on accepting compliments and recognizing all the hard work you’ve put in. Even if you just started, give yourself a hand for taking that first step. That’s not an easy decision to make and you deserve to be proud of that choice.

It’s difficult to take the healthy route. It’s easy to fail at better choices. It’s more comfortable to just stick with what you know and never step outside of your comfort zone. So when you do decide to do all of those things, take the time to give yourself a round of applause. It doesn’t have to be shouted on the rooftops to the world below, a quiet moment will do. Taking pride in all you have done will help keep you motivated and keep you on road to better health. And when you see someone who might be struggling with their own journey, take a moment to remind them of all the great things they have accomplished so far!

Getting The Most Out of Your Food

June 27, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I don’t have a new recipe for you this Friday. I am in the middle of recipe testing a few new ideas as well as learning how to take better food pictures. No more iPhone pictures on this website! I do, however, have some food related advice for you today. How to get the most out of the food you buy, healthwise and moneywise.

I have talked before about eating well on a tight budget, but it is a subject that should be talked about again. One of the biggest misconceptions that people have about eating healthy is that it is way too expensive. This will keep some people from even trying to eat better because they think that they don’t have the funds to sustain a healthy lifestyle. But have no fear, I am here to squash those misconceptions and show you that it is fairly easy and inexpensive to eat well on a budget.

Real talk: Adam and I have not had a paycheck come in for over a month. We knew that this would happen, and we made sure to save and budget well in the months before this happened, but we still have had to be very conservative with our budget these past few weeks. I take care of all the purchasing of food in our house and I have made some tweaks to make sure that we are still eating well along with not shelling out too much money. It does take some planning but it isn’t impossible, so here are the ways that I have been keeping our grocery bill to a minimum.

Cook more meals. Yup. You need to get in the kitchen and get out of the restaurants when you are trying to save some money. Adam and I rarely go out to eat and when we do, it’s usually to a place that we have a gift card or a coupon for. It is much cheaper to plan your meals and cook them at home than to eat the same meals out at a restaurant for twice the cost. Look around online, might I recommend this very blog, and find some recipes that you can handle and look tasty. Learn to make a few healthy meals really well, then branch out from there and soon you will have a handful of meals that you can whip up in no time!

Keep it simple. When looking for recipes to make, keep it simple! Don’t pick a meal that will require you to purchase a bunch of ingredients that you will only use once or that cost a ton of money. What I like to do when I am thinking of meal ideas is to take stock of my fridge and pantry and see what I can make from the ingredients that I already have. That way I don’t have to go out and buy a bunch of extra things, just one or two that I might not have in my stock. Plus by keeping your meals simple, you can really learn your way around the kitchen as well as keep your plate healthy!

Follow the sales. Pretty much every grocery store will have sale items each week. If a product you normally buy goes on sale, stock up. I like to do this with canned foods, like diced tomatoes, but I also do it with fresh food. A lot of fresh produce can be frozen so it doesn’t spoil before you use it. Last week our grocery store had a sale on avocadoes (large Hass avocados for 99 cents!), so I stocked up. When the avocadoes ripened, I cut them in half, removed the pit, wrapped each half in saran wrap, and then placed them all in a large freezer bag and stuck them in the freezer. You can do that with a lot of fruits and vegetables, here is a great website that shows you how you can store a lot of fresh produce. So keep an eye on sales, and when you can, stock up on those items. Note, DON’T buy things just because they are on sale. That will be a waste of money because you’ll end up buying products you don’t normally use, so you will have no idea how to use them and they will go to waste. That isn’t very budget savvy now is it?

Check out your freezer aisle. Speaking of frozen foods, check out your freezer section and see what they have to offer in terms of fruits and vegetables. Frozen foods are just as healthy as their fresh counterparts and will cost less money. Just make sure to read the labels on the fruits and vegetables to make sure that there is ONLY fruit and vegetable in the package. The one time last week that I didn’t read labels on two bags of frozen vegetables, I got home to find out that one had added salt to their peas and another had add a preservative. It was a doh! moment on my part and a great reminder to always read the ingredient list even on things as harmless as a bag of peas. Also don’t even think about wasting money on frozen dinners. Even if they say they are healthy and all natural, they are usually loaded with chemicals and preservatives. Spend your hard earned cash on better food.

Use all of your food. What I mean by this is don’t be so quick to toss out what you think isn’t edible. This mostly goes for fresh vegetables. Many people will throw away the stalks of vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower without even realizing that those are perfectly edible! Cut up the broccoli stalks into bite size pieces and steam them along with the rest of the vegetable. Or shred or grate the stalks into a salad. Don’t throw away the tops of beets or other root vegetables. Wash and cut up the leaves and use in a salad or saute them with some pepper and lemon juice. You can even save scraps of onions, carrots, and garlic and make a homemade vegetable stock. The point is, make sure you are using your food to it’s full potential. You get more bang for your buck this way!

A few other quick tips:

Check to see if your grocery store offers discount days or refunds for using reusable bags
If a store near you has a bulk section, use it! Stock up on beans, grains, pasta, and even spices. Bulk items are much cheaper in the long run
Check online for coupons for products that you normally buy
Try to cut down on processed food products. These may seem cheaper but they take a toll on your health and your wallet
Make a meal plan and list before you head to the store, that way you only buy the items you need and not whatever looks appealing

By taking just a little extra time and thought with your food as well as using some of these ideas, you should be able to minimize your grocery bill all while still maximizing your health. Two pretty good things in my opinion!

How to Pack a Healthy Lunch

June 25, 2014 / ktbuchs87

It seems like such an easy thing to do. Who really needs a tutorial on how to pack a lunch? I mean, most of us have been packing a lunch since grade school. That’s where I see the problem. Most of us still pack a lunch like we’re in grade school. PB&J, package of chips, package of cookies, can of soda, and maybe an apple that won’t get eaten. Or maybe you haven’t packed a lunch since grade school and choose to eat out and spend a lot of money on food that might not be all that healthy. I thought it would be good to show you how easy, health, and budget friendly it is to pack your own lunch for work, school, or wherever you’re headed for the day.

Pick a main course. There is such a variety of food out there that you can pack as the main bulk of your lunch. You should step outside your realm of quickly thrown together sandwiches. The easiest and cheapest thing to do is to use leftovers as the bulk of your meal. I like to make more food than Adam and I can eat for dinner, and then use the leftovers for lunch the rest of the week. You could also spend some time on the weekend and make a big batch of a few different meals and use that. Salads are a really great and easy way to make a bunch of food that won’t spoil quickly throughout the week. Try my Simple Vegetable Millet or Curried Quinoa Salad. Get creative too. Use the grilled chicken you made over the weekend in a whole wheat pita pocket, add some lettuce, tomato, and mustard and you have a yummy pita pocket. Or buy a bunch of collard greens and scoop quinoa salad into the middle and make a lettuce wrap. The possibilities are endless and you never have to have a boring main meal for lunch.

Slice up some sides. Rather than grabbing a bag of chips or crackers, slice up your own sides. Fresh fruit and vegetables are a lot healthier than most of the fair you will find in the snack aisle of your grocery store. Yes, it’s really easy to buy a big case of chips and then just grab a bag each day. It’s really simple to just walk to the vending machine in your office and get some pretzels or crackers too. But it isn’t helping your health or wallet either. Buy a big bag of carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, radishes, or any other vegetable that strikes your fancy. Then cut it all up and portion it out at home, then voila! You now have an easy to grab and healthy side for your lunch. Bring along hummus or homemade BBQ sauce to dip your vegetables in and you won’t have to be crunching on boring celery (although I don’t think any vegetable is boring… is that just me?). Fruit is also a great thing to have in your lunch and apple, pear, or orange slices are delicious and portable. The other good thing about eating fruit and vegetables for your sides is that they will fill you up with healthy fiber and help keep you fuller longer. That’s a win-win!

Hydrate up. This isn’t just a tip for lunch, you should be drinking water all day long. Invest in a really good water bottle that you can fill up and just keep sipping throughout your day. If you’re not into plain water, jazz it up with some lemon or lime slices, berries, cucumber, mint, or even watermelon. Just keep yourself hydrated. Often when we think that we are hungry, we’re really thirsty. Instead of reaching for food, try a glass of water first and see if your body just needed some water instead.

Plan for a snack. 3:00 pm rolls around and you find yourself wandering to the vending machine looking for a candy bar to tide you over until dinner. Or maybe you start downing cups of coffee to help you push through the last few hours of work. Instead of doing that, plan to bring a snack with your lunch. Adam likes hard-boiled eggs as his afternoon snack, and those are really easy to make a bunch at the beginning of the week. Plus they are portable. Eggs aren’t your thing? Try making a mix of dry-roasted almonds, pistachios, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds to keep you going. Need a little sweet? Add some raisins or other dried fruit to the mix. Just make sure to read your labels and check to see that there isn’t any added sugar. If you’re looking for salty and crunchy, try some roasted chickpeas. Also, don’t go overboard with your afternoon snack, just enough to keep you going until it’s time for dinner!

See? Packing a lunch doesn’t have to be hard or boring. Take a little time to plan what you are going to have for the week and then just throw it all in your lunch box and head out the door. Packing your own lunch is a great way to save money and support your healthy lifestyle. And if every once in a while a cookie finds it’s way into your lunch, that’s ok too!

Picture Perfect

June 23, 2014 / ktbuchs87

One slip up and everything I’ve worked for is ruined.

How many of us have that mentality, especially when it comes to health? I know for a lot of people that it is all or nothing when it comes to eating better or exercising more. If you fall off the wagon just one time, the whole cart tips over. Ate a candy bar when you meant to eat an apple? Oh well, the whole day is ruined and you might as well continue with your downward, junk-eating spiral. You’ll have to start all over again next week. Missed one workout? Now you’ll have to sit on the couch and binge watch Netflix all weekend and start fresh on Monday.

Or maybe you’re like me and you’re so terrified of failing with your health and not being absolutely perfect that you essentially stop living life.

When I made the decision to start eating better, I knew that I would have to be super strict at first. I love food and I have the habit of eating even when I’m not hungry. I’m a bored eater and will put food in my mouth if it’s in front of me. Because of this, I had to relearn what real hunger felt like. I also had to retrain my tastebuds to eat real food instead of the processed food-like products I normally ate. This was all good and fine at first. By switching to a whole foods diet and tuning into the signals my body was giving me, I was able to finally see a lasting change in my health. But one vice got switched for another and soon I was striving for a food perfection that is nearly impossible to maintain.

I was so worried that if I slipped up with good eating habits, even just a little bit, all my hard work and progress would come crashing down. So I tried to keep myself in this tiny box where I could only eat the best foods possible. This inevitably cut me off from normal life because NO ONE eats like that day in and day out. Life is not perfect and you are not expected to be perfect. You are expected to live as healthfully as possible for you. You need to define what that means, because your healthy is different from everyone else’s. That’s a good thing and a balance you should strive for.

Deciding to be healthier is a major step. It’s important to actually take charge and make that commitment. It’s hard too, so don’t make it even harder on yourself by chasing perfection and closing yourself off from others. I’m learning each day to live as healthfully as possible, but to not be bogged down by worries of spiraling out of control. I’ve been eating well and exercising regularly for the past five years, and I haven’t suddenly gained all my weight back. Be conscious of your decisions, but don’t let one little slip-up determine the rest of your day, week, or month. Don’t let it totally derail your efforts. Use that slip up as a learning moment and move onto the next thing.

By taking your health one day at a time and not focusing on absolute perfection, you have a much better chance of sustaining your healthy journey.