Spring break is halfway over and the time change is giving us more hours of daylight to enjoy it. Now if only the weather would cooperate.
Thankfully, however, cooperative weather isn’t needed for a trip to market and March is a great time to visit. Did you know March is nutrition month? And what better place to go for fresh nutritious food than a farmers’ market?
I recently spoke with Vanessa Forstbauer, a naturopathic doctor and member of the Forstbauer farming family, and asked for her best advice for optimal health. Her answer? Whole foods.
She said there are lots of diets for people to follow and that often once a change to a new diet is made, people say they feel so much better. What has happened, however, is that people are eating whole foods.
What are whole foods? Simply, they are foods that have been processed or refined as little as possible and are free from additives or other artificial substances. Many “new” diets rely on whole foods for the bulk of the food choices. Some of them require the elimination of certain foods, such as sugar, grains or dairy. While that may be too extreme for some, for others, it works well. What does work though, is shopping for whole foods at the market.
My regular visit this past week in Port Moody took me past stalls with potatoes, carrots, beets, frozen berries and fresh micro greens along with bread, chicken, eggs, fish and apples. Even the processed foods at market fit into a whole food diet as the bakers, jam and sauce makers typically use whole, fresh ingredients and create their products without additives.
Forstbauer advises talking to vendors and asking what goes into their products and how they are made. The answers might surprise you.
For instance, did you know that Trish of Jam ’n music picks the berries for her award-winning jams on her own property? Or that Mandy from Amazing foods creates her own spice blends? Even Bread Affair sources its ingredients from farmers who attend markets with them.
That is one of the awesome things about market. You can speak directly to the manufacturer and get those answers. The same applies even to the other vendors. Arnalia Naturals forages for her ingredients, as does Matt from Wild foraged, and Nasty Free Naturals makes sure her ingredients are ethically sourced and of exceptional quality.
GARDEN AND FOOD
If getting into whole food is on your list of things to do this year, aside from shopping, the market also has two events this month to help support that endeavour.
• Register for the Building Your backyard garden workshop this Sunday, March 19: Interested in growing your own food this summer? Not sure where to start or how to be successful? A team member from Coquitlam’s Inspiration Garden will help you get your backyard garden ready for the warm weather ahead. In this workshop, participants will learn about what seeds to start now, how to properly care for their new plants and steps to take to help ensure a healthy harvest. Each participant will plant their own seeds and leave with small pots ready for love, light and water — and $10 in market money. The workshop will be held outdoors under a tent, so participants should dress for the weather. Workshop registrations, $20, are transferable, but non-refundable. To register, go to www.eventbrite.ca/e/building-your-backyard-garden-tickets-29996558514.
• Sunday, March 26 will bring dieticians Kaitlin and Lillian to market to share cooking demonstrations and recipes for balanced, one-dish meals, as well as how to use herbs and spices to take pressure off the salt shaker. You can also register by searching the event on eventbrite.ca.
Happy springbreak everyone. I hope to see you at Market.
Karen Curtis is the Lemonade Lady (www.kicslemonade.ca and kicslemonade.blogspot.ca) at the Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam farmers markets. Her column runs monthly.
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ROASTED VEGGIES & A LITTLE SPICE, TOO
Here is a soup recipe that makes the most of whole foods.
MOROCCAN SPICED
CARROT & LENTIL SOUP
Step 1
2 tbsp olive oil
7 carrots, peeled, chopped {medium sized carrots}
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Combine the above ingredients and roast on a baking pan in a 375 degree oven for 20 - 30 minutes, or until carrots are soft and beginning to caramelize.
Step 2
1 sweet onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Add onion and garlic to pan with carrots and continue to roast another 20 minutes or so. Be careful not to burn the garlic and onions.
Step 3
2 cups red lentils, rinsed until water runs clear
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
6 cups vegetable broth
While the vegetables are roasting, place the vegetable broth, lentils and tomatoes in a soup pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the roasted vegetables and continue cooking until lentils are soft. At this point, you can season with salt and pepper, and serve with a garnish of fresh cilantro, fresh lemon juice and crushed red pepper. Alternately, you can use an immersion blender to puree the soup.
