The Quest

Happy Monday to all! I am so excited about sharing the results of my Farmer’s Market search with you. As most of you all know, as of late I have been on a quest for local grown organic produce. I am making it my priority to eat and feed my family more nutrient dense foods.

I will take a few moments to recap the events that led up to this search. So the Lord has been leading me to do more research about what I am putting in my body so that I can feed my family better and help others lead healthier lifestyles. Well, in my research I found out that most of our produce has traveled a MINIMUM of 1500 miles before reaching our grocery stores and it’s lost at least 60 percent of its nutrient value before we consume it! I assumed that my produce was locally grown because I have shopped at a local organic co-op for several years now. Boy was I wrong! I did some intense question asking and found out that most of my produce had been coming from SOUTH AMERICA! I couldn’t believe it.

Slight side-bar; I also found out that at least 51 percent of the food that we consume in a day should be raw. Did you know that our bodies actually go into automatic defense mode when we eat cooked foods? Therefore, I have been beefing up on the crunchy stuff! You won’t believe what changes my body has experienced. I will expound upon that funny story at a later date. So back to the quest for “The Real McCoy.”

Well, I found out that the best way to purchase organic locally grown is to shop at a local Farmers Market (FM). The FM concept is as follows: farmers and vendors from nearby come out one day a week, usually at an outdoor venue, and set up their tents to sell their products. Over the last couple of weeks my family and I have visited two of these venues and found that there is quite a nice assortment of healthy foods for the taking (cash only of course). There were farmers/vendors selling fruits, veggies, all-natural meats, fresh breads and muffins, free range eggs, natural oils, natural dressings and sauces, natural baked goods, and the list goes on and on.

My favorite was the Sandy Springs Farmers Market (http://www.sandyspringsfarmersmarket.com/), which is located about 30 minutes away from my home. They set up every Saturday from 8:30 am – 12:30 pm, April through December. When I found out that I can’t purchase from the market year-round I was totally bummed. Then I realized that these markets are normally not opened year-round because they can only sell when the harvest is producing. That makes perfect sense, but now I have to figure out what to do during off-peak months. I could a) starve myself for 3 months, b) fast for 3 months (can’t go wrong with that one), c) purchase enough during peak months to freeze and live off of like our ancestors did, or d) go back to eating the nutrient lacking fruits and veggies (I think I would rather starve before doing this). Well, I haven’t made a decision yet, but I will keep you all posted.

Back to the FM experience; as soon as I walked into the “tent circle” I felt like I was totally in my element. It was like an out of body experience for me. I felt like Dorothy in her red shoes once she reached home again. My husband was like, “Wow, look at the people here! You will fit right into this atmosphere.” There were families with their pets in tow. The feel was so loving and free. I felt a little closer to heaven while shopping at the market. I was thinking to myself, “This is how it should be. We should be able to talk to the people that produce the foods we eat and ask the questions that only they can answer.”

For those of you that are wandering about the price, it lines up with that of Whole Foods or a little bit cheaper, but it’s worth every penny! It’s worth sacrificing some of the material possessions if you must so that your holy temple can receive the best possible fuel. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Let me know if you find any FM’s near you that you like. I would love to share your story with our readers.

Until our next appointed meeting time. Stay tuned for more words of encouragement and inspiration for M.O.M.’s near and far! Please share this blog with as many people as you know (www.savedmom.com), we have so many lives to touch. Feel free to post a comment and/or subscribe (if you are reading this from your inbox visit the site address referenced above to post a comment). If you would like to submit prayer requests send them to info@savedmom.com. Thanks for your continued support!

Mommie Blessings,

Saved M.O.M.