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Farmers Market Challenge: The Taste of Microgreens

July 18, 2016 By newwestfarmers Leave a Comment

“Daddy, why are you putting dead flowers onto mommy’s salad???”

Oh child, those aren’t dead flowers, nope, those are microgreens, and you better be liking them because they’re a new must-have staple in our market-buying groceries. (Note: Microgreens do not look like dead flowers; this was the observation of a three-year-old.)

When I walked past the Nutrigreens tent at last week’s market, I looked at my list and sure enough microgreens were there, but only on the maybe side. That meant that only after we got our necessities for the week purchased could we splurge on the maybes.

We are working with a budget after all; we’ve got to stick to the plan.

The list of definites and maybes.
The list of definites and maybes.

The maybes are things we don’t necessarily need but that may intrigue us, something we have yet to try, something that may only benefit one of us, not all three, or something that’s more a treat than a necessity.

Microgreens are like the premies of baby greens, seedlings loaded with mega nutrients. I’d seen them at the market before, but had never tried them. At $5 for a 300-gram container, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to commit; I thought I could find better value in veggies elsewhere.

But I got to chatting with the vendor, he told me if I got the plastic container instead of a bag, he could stuff more in there, and if I relocated them to a tupperware container at home with a damp cloth (I used paper towel) on both the bottom and top of the container they’d stay fresh – lasting up to 12-14 days without going bad.

He handed me a flower.

Market goers, I know you already know this, but for those of you new to market buying, this is a thing – we eat the produce before we buy.

Sampling: it’s a brilliant selling feature!
Sampling: it’s a brilliant selling feature!

The flavour that bursted in my mouth with that tiny sample, it was something I don’t think I’ve ever tasted in my greens before. So loud and prominent, like a kid jumping around in my mouth shouting “Look at me! Look at me!” Even my husband, who is a bit more reserved with his salad explorations, was wowed by the flavour kick – putting it atop our salads and into his tuna sandwiches for an added twist.

However, based on the amount we liked them, there’s no way they were going to last 12 days; by week’s end, there’s was enough for maybe two salads left.

This week’s loot:

Aged havarti cheese: $11
Half dozen eggs: $3
Microgreens: $5
Head of red spiky leafed lettuce: $3
2 yellow zucchinis: $1.50
1 red cabbage: $2.80
Bunch of green onions: $2.50
1 lb fava beans: $3.00
4 carrots: $3.50
Cluster of rainbow chard: $3.00
1 giant cookie: $2.00

The loot bag: veggies, eggs, cheese, oh my!
The loot bag: veggies, eggs, cheese, oh my!

Just like last week, we had a plan, but unfortunately a few things needed to be altered on the fly. When we’d heard Vale Farms was coming to town, we’d hoped to acquire lamb, but discovered lamb wouldn’t be available until September. A quick brainstorming session had us purchasing a half dozen eggs and the award-winning aged havarti from Golden Ears Cheese for a quiche-inspired market meal.

160712marketquiche

Market ingredients: Quiche = 4 eggs, 2-cups cheese, ~3/4 cup green onions, ~1 cup rainbow chard; Salad = red lettuce, red cabbage, ruby streaks mustard greens from 2 markets ago, microgreens, green onions, scapes from 3-4 markets ago, and broccoli from 2 markets ago.

A huge thumbs up from all three of us!

Carrots were on the necessity side this week. I wanted to compare between the bulk bags of carrots we usually get and the freshly pulled from the ground carrots offered at the market. As suspected, the market carrots did not disappoint. As soon as I took that first bite, it was a throwback to my childhood years growing up on the family farm, which after 30 years was sold last year. It’s a taste you don’t get in bulk: not just crunchy, but earthy and moist too.

Unfortunately, though, at $3.50 for a bunch of four, though bulky, the flavour was not enough to justify the expense.

Carrots are the easy, go-to vegetable for both my son and I. I, alone, eat at least two, sometimes three or more a day. Four carrots barely gets us through a day, let alone a week.

Sadly, the carrots will be more of a treat than a staple.

Tally for the week:
• 4 full-plate lunch salads
• 2 lunch side salads
• 7 dinner 1/2 plate salads
• 2 dinners with grilled zucchini and green beans
• 1 breakfast smoothie (with greens)
• 3 microgreen-infused tuna sandwiches
• 1 dinner with sautéd green beans (from last week’s loot)
• 1 dinner with quiche (plus 2 servings left over)
• 2 snacks of carrots
• 1 dessert cookie split between two happy boys

With the weather being somewhat crummy this week, we ate more dinner salads and stove-prepared meals than grilled vegetables, which meant that by Monday, we were running low on our greens, and still had quite a bit of zucchini left. I was able to off-set the greens with a small harvest of arugula and spinach from our patio pallet garden. We still have green beans left over from last week, and scapes from three markets ago that still look and taste fantastic. In fact, I think they’re getting even more garlicy with time.

Salads: I’ve always had mad salad-making skill, but these days, they’re becoming more and more Picasso-esque in both beauty and flavour!
Salads: I’ve always had mad salad-making skill, but these days, they’re becoming more and more Picasso-esque in both beauty and flavour!

This week we went 30 cents over budget. After all the necessities and a couple maybes were purchased, we had $1.70 remaining. My husband’s eyes drifted to the Artisan Bakery stand.

“Surely, we could splurge,” he suggested. “It could be a treat,” he offered.

After all, farmers’ markets aren’t just about the veggies, you know!

Filed Under: Blog, Buying local, Recipes Tagged With: blog series, budget, buy local, farmers market, Katie Bartel, meal planning, outside the box

Farmers Market Challenge – Plan! Plan! Plan!

July 11, 2016 By newwestfarmers Leave a Comment

Going into the first week of our $40 market-spending challenge, I knew my husband and I were going to have to rework the way we did things with regards to meal planning and formulating shopping lists. Previously, we’d sit down at the end of the week to figure out the meals for the coming week, and then set a plan for acquiring groceries based on those meals. But with the Royal City Farmers’ Market on Thursdays, meal planning needed to be pushed back to at least Wednesday, if not Tuesday.

Instead of just coming up with meals off the tip of our tongues, we researched online what vendors were at the market for the coming week. We knew, given the amount of salads and vegetables we eat, we wanted the majority of our stock to be produce. We wanted something unique, something you wouldn’t necessarily see at the grocery store, or even the vegetable-specific shops. We also wanted a protein, which we recognized would eat up a good chunk of our budget. As such, fruit was not a priority; my family eats fruit nearly every meal and snack of the day, and unfortunately a small basket just wouldn’t go a long way.

The week’s loot:

A bag of red-leaf lettuce: $1
A bag of green beans: $3
A pound of nugget potatoes: $2
A bag of ruby streaks mustard greens: $3
A bunch of radishes: $2.50
2 heads of garlic: $1.50
1 crown of broccoli: $5
1 yellow zucchini: $1
1 pint of peaches: $5
4 salmon burgers: $16

160701marketfare

Ruby streaks was of the unique realm. I’ve purchased pizzo mustard greens from Zaklan Farms previously, and LOVED them. They lasted a crazy long time in the fridge (TWO weeks!!!) without turning soggy or brown. I can’t say the same for the 300 gram plastic tubs of mixed greens we’ve recently been getting; within days, they’ve got soggy bits throughout, and often turn brown at the edges before finishing the tub. So this time I opted for the ruby streaks… pretty much because I thought it had the prettiest name of all greens!

The protein we settled on was salmon burgers from Wheelhouse Seafoods. At $4 for 1, we got 4, which served us 1 full dinner, plus an extra patty that I put on a lunch salad later in the week. Because they contained smoked salmon mixed with fresh salmon, they were super filling; I probably could have got by with a half serving, extending the meal even further. We paired the salmon burgers with grilled nugget potatoes and roasted garlic, along with a tossed salad with red-leaf lettuce, ruby streaks, radishes, and broccoli. The only components of the meal that weren’t market fare was the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, peppers, and dressing.

The plates were practically licked clean – even the three-year-old’s!

160701marketmeal

The indulgence was the peaches. I know I said fruit wasn’t a priority, but it was the first time we’d seen peaches this season, and we LOVE peaches. There was no way we were leaving without a basket in hand.

There were 5 peaches in total, 4 of which we dusted with brown sugar and olive oil and grilled on the barbecue for dessert one night – yum!

160701peaches

Most expensive item: the broccoli. Most places had set prices for produce, but the one vendor we acquired the broccoli from used a scale. I thought it would be around $3 to $4, not $5. Comparably, that’s a bit more than we would have spent elsewhere (usually around $3). I know I saw other vendors with cheaper broccoli, so the lesson learned: shop around for the best deals.

Tally for the week:

• 3 full-plate lunch salads
• 2 lunch side salads
• 3 breakfast smoothies (with the greens)
• 7 dinner 1/2 plate salads
• 5 dinners with grilled vegetables (broccoli, green beans, zucchini, potatoes, garlic)
• 1 dinner (for 3) salmon burgers
• 1 lunch salmon burger
• 1 dessert (for 3) grilled peaches
• 1 breakfast peach split between the three of us
• several snacks of radishes and brocolli

We ran out of zucchini by day 4 (I’m the only one who eats zucchini); radishes by day 5; and potatoes pretty much after the first meal. However, we’ve still got a garlic head, that we may target for pizza, a quarter crown of broccoli, a hefty bag of green beans, and, despite the amount of salads we eat, those greens (both the red-leaf and the ruby streaks) are still going strong. (Note: we did already have spinach and other mixed greens in our fridge before this shopping excursion, so that offset the amount of market greens we used.)

This week, we’ve got our eyes on the grass-fed lamb from Vale Farms and a hearty bunch of fresh-picked, local carrots.

What are you buying?

Filed Under: Blog, Buying local, Featured, NWFM News, Uncategorized Tagged With: budget, Katie Bartel, market challenge, meal planning, New Westminster

The $40 Challenge with Katie Bartel

July 7, 2016 By newwestfarmers Leave a Comment

bike to market

What can you get for $40?

Some believe, when it comes to Farmer’s Markets, not much. Because the food isn’t mass produced on a level of say Safeway or Costco suppliers, surely the prices are a premium?

The Royal City Farmers’ Market is challenging that notion. They believe that with a little bit of resourcefulness, $40 can go a long way at the market.

Every Thursday, from now until the end of the summer market season, we’re going to put that belief to the test. I will be spending $40 to fill my fridge and pantry with market staples. I’ll write about the successes, and the failures.

My family is comprised of three people: two adults, and a teenage-­thinking toddler. My husband works full time, I’m a full-­time student heading to UBC this fall with the intent of becoming a registered dietitian. Our son goes to daycare full-­time. As a single­-income family, with a huge chunk of our savings going to education and daycare, we are always on the hunt for grocery deals. We scour the flyers, shop multiple chains, acquire the majority of our fruits and veggies at mom-­and­-pop produce stands for the best deals. As a prospective dietitian, and a type-­1 diabetic, health plays a huge factor – the more fresh and the more nutrient rich the better. But it’s got to be tasty too.

I know the farmer’s market has fresh and nutritious in the bag; but what about value? We eat a crazy amount of salads and greens; I average two giant salads a day. My husband joins me in a dinner salad. We often eat grilled veggies with our dinner. Our son has breakfast smoothies full of varietal greens, and fruit is pretty much included in every meal and snack we have.

With this column, I am going to explore whether the market can not only beat the chains in quality, but value as well.

Filed Under: Blog, Buying local, Community, Featured, Uncategorized Tagged With: budget, buy local, eat local, Farmers, farmers market, fresh produce, meal planning

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