Top 10 Ways To Eat Healthy in 2012

First, We'd like to thank everyone for making our first market of 2012 such an incredible success!  We are thrilled to see so many community members embracing the farmers market, healthy eating, and the buy local habit.

Another big thank you goes out to everyone who contributed their ideas for our Top 10 list.  In case you were not able to get a copy of the list at the market, we've reprinted it below and added a link for downloading it in pdf format.  Please feel free to share and to add even more ideas by commenting on this post.

Top 10 Ways To Eat Healthy In 2012!

“Eating Healthy” consistently ranks in the top 5 most popular New Year's resolutions. Adding healthy foods to your diet does not have to be difficult or complicated. Making a few simple changes can have an incredible effect on your health.

Remember, YOU are in charge. Make your changes one at a time, or go for the gusto! Choose those items that work best for you. Thanks to all of the community members who sent in their tips & tricks for incorporating healthy eating into their life. Here are our top 10.


CLICK HERE to download a copy of our Top 10.  

1. Choose fresher, healthier alternatives to foods you enjoy.
   “We have a very picky almost 3 year old who attends daycare. Packing healthy lunches for her has been our biggest challenge, but we have discovered that she loves peanut butter sandwiches. At first, I was unsure about having her eat them on a regular basis until I discovered that Axis health food store in Auburn will grind fresh peanuts into peanut butter. We have been making her sandwiches with their peanut butter and whole wheat flax seed bread. It eases my mind to know that she is eating healthy and is happy with her school lunch.”
   Sheila Twitchell – Turner

2. Choose local pastured meats. (for those who eat meat)
   Maine has no shortage of local, licensed meat producers. Local, pastured meat, as opposed to nationally supplied, cooped up, never see the light of day or a field meat, has been shown to have a much higher concentration of beneficial nutrients and comes without antibiotics and contaminants. When you buy your meat from a local farmer, you can talk with him/her about how the animals were raised and what they ate. Many times, you can even visit the farms to see for yourself.

3. Add fresh local milk and dairy products to your diet.
   Probiotics are all the rage now, but farmers and local food feasters have enjoyed their benefits for quite some time. As national brands attempt to artificially add probiotics to their products, farm fresh milk and yogurt already have these in ample supply. Basically, probiotics are the beneficial enzymes and bacteria that help you to digest your food and extract the maximum amount of nutrients from what you eat.

4. Choose herbal teas instead of soda and juice.
   Soda should be completely eliminated from your diet. It is really not food, but rather a “food like” substance made up of sugar, water, and a soupy mix of chemicals. However, you do not need to go without strong (and even sweet) flavors. Check out the tea aisle of your local grocery store and you will discover many wonderful and fruity flavors. Brew up a batch as ice tea and keep it on hand. If you must sweeten your drinks try honey or stevia.

“I try and substitute soda and even most premixed ice teas (they're all riddled with corn syrup!) for the real deal: tea and honey...yes, the honey is expensive initially...but the health and savings are benefits in the end.”

Jason Reithmann – Auburn

5. Eat At Home More Often.
   When you prepare your meals at home, you can truly control what goes into them. Replacing fast food and restaurant meals with home cooked ones will save you money and help you on your journey to healthy eating. You can choose to entirely eliminate eating out, or follow Robin's example.
   “I am trying to limit eating out to just twice a week. All other meals are homemade with as much local, organic foods as possible.” Robin - Turner

6. Add, Rather Than Take Away.

If eliminating some foods is just too difficult for you right now, then try focusing on adding in more healthy foods. Add at least 2 raw fruit or vegetable snacks to your daily diet (in addition to those you have with your meals.) You may find that by adding in healthy foods, you will naturally start to decrease the amount of unhealthy foods you eat each day.

“I add chia seeds and ground flax seeds to my oatmeal every morning. Giving me that extra boost of antioxidants and protein. Its an easy thing to do.”

Tracey – Sabattus

7. Choose local organic produce.
   Local, organic produce has been shown to have a higher level of nutrients than it's conventionally grown, well traveled counterparts...and you get to avoid eating pesticides.
   “I used to think that I couldn't afford to buy organic produce, but then I started keeping track of how often we threw away food. Now we plan our meals so that we have fewer leftovers, and we also plan the menu so that leftovers will be used in a meal the same week. Once we realized we needed less food, we had more money to buy better food.”
   Daphne Comeau – Greene

8. Get To Know Your Freezer.
   Instead of a place where foods go to be forgotten or as a repository for prepackaged food like substances, reacquaint yourself with your freezer and start to use it as a tool for making food preparation easier. If you are making soup, make a large batch and freeze half for later. Freeze grated zucchini or carrot for future yummy quick breads or soups. You can even freeze leftovers right away in meal sized servings for a “left over night” once a week to give yourself a break from cooking.
   “We make big batches of soups and pesto and dips to freeze. My favorite: shred carrots and freeze them in bags in 4-cup measures. That's how much I need to make my favorite carrot bread recipe. Quick, easy, healthy, delicious.”
   Anna Bartel – Lewiston

9. Eat More Than 3 Meals A Day.
   That's right, I'm telling you to eat more. Your body uses a lot of energy for digestion. Breaking your meals into smaller, more frequent meals can help you to boost your metabolism, and lessen the strain on your digestive tract organs.
   “Changing my eating habits from 3 times per day to 5 times per day has greatly increased my metabolism and burn additional calories. I now truly enjoy eating more times per day, and planning smaller meals and snacks.”
   Gisele Guerrette – Auburn

10. Fill Half Your Plate With Fruits & Vegetables

This is probably the single most important thing you can do to improve your health in the new year. Fruits and vegetables are filled with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients that you simply can't get from any other source. You can always eat them raw, or check out our blog or facebook page for more fruit and vegetable recipes. This year, try to expand beyond the fruits and vegetables that you normally eat and try some new ones. *Remember, in season, local produce always has the most nutrients.

NOTE: This list is not intended to be medical advice or a complete list, but rather a compilation of the shared knowledge and experience of community members and those enjoying the benefits of the journey to healthy eating.

Who Will Be At The Winter Farmers Market Today?

Tonight is our big Winter Market Holiday Extravaganza (5pm - 7:30pm.)  We are excited to bring you music by Jan Kendall Mayes, great hot food at our Winter Market Cafe and of course, our wonderful vendors offering Maine grown/made products.

Who will be at the market today?  Bring your shopping list and pick up your one of a kind gifts and yummy food from these fine vendors:

Art Van

Bella Girl Bakery, LLC

Beth's Pottery

Bread n' More Bakery

The Bread Shack

Bubier Family Farm

Clay Hill Farm
Hawa's Fresh Start Farm

Hometown Historyworks

Hummingbird Farm Greenhouse

Jillson's Farm

Kidd's Hillbilly Farm

Luscious Live Lobster

Mainely Soap

Maplecrest Lillies

Phoenix Farm

Piper Ranch

Pretzel Logic
Revelation Massage

Spring Day Creamery

Streaked Mountain Herbs & Crafts

Sugar Tree Maine

Valley View Farm

Wrinkle In Thyme Farm

You Don't Have To Be A "Foodie" To Enjoy Great Food

You don't have to be a "Foodie" to enjoy great local food!

Fresh local food is more than a movement.  It is simply a way of life, or more specifically, one of many ways to fully enjoy life.  Food knows no political or social boundaries.  Everyone needs it.  Everyone participates in the food economy.

You don't have to be a card carrying urban homesteader, live in a "green" home, or drive an electric car to enjoy the bounty of fresh local food we have here in Maine.  You don't have to know anything about comparable nutrient densities to know that food from a local farm will be fresher than food that traveled to your plate from half way around the world.  And you certainly don't have to be a master gardener or tree hugging lefty (although they are welcome too) to be welcomed at the Lewiston Farmers Market.

Yes, the community members involved with the farmers market are passionate about food security and sustainable agriculture.  Some are bona fide tree hugging lefties, some are conservatives, and some hang out in the middle, but all of them come together to share great food.

So please do come and join us, ask questions if you want to, or just stop by, say hello, and enjoy some of the great food available.  Life is too short and there are too many times when people are divided into their separate idea camps.  Fortunately, food brings us together and gives us all a shining moment of agreement.

Next Winter Market:  Thursday, December 15th, 5:00-7:30pm

Getting More Out of Your Fruits & Veggies: Storing without plastic

Are you trying to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, only to end up with spoiled produce in your refrigerator?  Well, here are some great tips from our friends at the Berkley Farmers' Market on how to store your fruits and vegetables, increase the "shelf-life," and do it all without using toxic plastics.

You will notice that many of the storage methods listed involve a damp cloth.  I have found large cloth napkins are perfect for this use.  Most importantly, check on your fruits and vegetables regularly.  They get lonely and seem to retaliate by spoiling when ignored.

We tend to think of our refrigerators as a magic box that preserves food.  However, it can dry vegetables out, causing them to shrivel.  Some produce items in fact, store longer when not put into the refrigerator.  The side benefit to storing items on your counter is that you see them and don't forget to use them.

You can download a printable copy of the list here.

Fruit:
Apples‐ store on a cool counter or shelf for up to two weeks. For longer storage in a cardboard box in the fridge.
Citrus‐ store in a cool place, with good airflow, never in an air‐tight container.
Apricots‐ on a cool counter to room temperature or fridge if fully ripe
Cherries‐store in an airtight container. Don’t wash cherries until ready to eat, any added moisture encourages mold.
Berries- Don’t forget, they’re fragile. When storing be careful not to stack too many high, a single layer if possible. A paper bag works well, only wash before you plan on eating them.
Dates‐dryer dates (like Deglet Noor) are fine stored out on the counter in a bowl or the paper bag they were bought in.
Moist dates (like Medjool) -need a bit of refrigeration if they’re going to be stored over a week, either in cloth or a paper bag‐ as long as it’s porous to keeping the moisture away from the skin of the dates.
Figs‐ Don’t like humidity, so, no closed containers. A paper bag works to absorb excess moisture, but a plate works best in the fridge up to a week un‐stacked.
Melons‐ uncut in a cool dry place, out of the sun up to a couple weeks. Cut melons should be in the fridge, an open container is fine.
Nectarines‐ (similar to apricots) store in the fridge is okay if ripe, but best taken out a day or two before you plan on eating them so they soften to room temperature.
Peaches(and most stone fruit)‐ refrigerate only when fully ripe. More firm fruit will ripen on the counter.
Pears‐ will keep for a few weeks on a cool counter, but fine in a paper bag. To hasten the ripening put an apple in with them.
Persimmon‐Fuyu‐(shorter/pumpkin shaped): store at room temperature.
Hachiya‐ (longer/pointed end): room temperature until completely mushy. The astringentness of them only subsides when they are completely ripe. To hasten the ripening process place in a paper bag with a few apples for a week, check now and then, but don’t stack‐they get very fragile when really ripe.
Pomegranates‐ keep up to a month stored on a cool counter.
Strawberries‐ Don’t like to be wet. Do best in a paper bag in the fridge for up to a weekcheck the bag for moisture every other day.

Veggies:
Always remove any tight bands from your vegetables or at least loosen them to allow them to breath.

Artichokes‐ place in an airtight container sealed, with light moisture.
Asparagus‐ place them loosely in a glass or bowl upright with water at room temperature. (will keep for a week outside the fridge)
Avocados‐ place in a paper bag at room temp. To speed up their ripening‐ place an apple in the bag with them.
Arugula‐ arugula, like lettuce, should not stay wet! Dunk in cold water and spin or lay flat to dry. Place dry arugula in an open container, wrapped with a dry towel to absorb any extra moisture.
Basil‐ is difficult to store well. Basil does not like the cold, or to be wet for that matter. The best method here is an airtight container/jar loosely packed with a small damp piece of paper inside‐left out on a cool counter.
Beans, shelling‐ open container in the fridge, eat ASAP. Some recommend freezing them if not going to eat right away
Beets‐ cut the tops off to keep beets firm, (be sure to keep the greens!)by leaving any top on root vegetables draws moisture from the root, making them loose flavor and firmness. Beets should be washed and kept in and open container with a wet towel on top.
Beet greens‐ place in an airtight container with a little moisture.
Broccoli‐ place in an open container in the fridge or wrap in a damp towel before placing in
the fridge.
Broccoli Rabe‐ left in an open container in the crisper, but best used as soon as possible.
Brussels Sprouts‐ If bought on the stalk leave them on that stalk. Put the stalk in the fridge or leave it on a cold place. If they’re bought loose store them in an open container with a damp towel on top.
Cabbage‐ left out on a cool counter is fine up to a week, in the crisper otherwise. Peel off outer leaves if they start to wilt. Cabbage might begin to loose its moisture after a week , so, best used as soon as possible.
Carrots‐ cut the tops off to keep them fresh longer. Place them in closed container with plenty of moisture, either wrapped in a damp towel or dunk them in cold water every couple of days if they’re stored that long.
Cauliflower‐ will last a while in a closed container in the fridge, but they say cauliflower has the best flavor the day it’s bought.
Celery‐ does best when simply places in a cup or bowl of shallow water on the counter.
Celery root/Celeriac‐ wrap the root in a damp towel and place in the crisper.
Corn‐ leave unhusked in an open container if you must, but corn really is best the day it’s picked.
Cucumber‐ wrapped in a moist towel in the fridge. If you’re planning on eating them within a day or two after buying them they should be fine left out in a cool room.
Eggplant‐ does fine left out in a cool room. Don’t wash it, eggplant doesn’t like any extra moisture around its leaves. For longer storage‐ place loose, in the crisper.
Fava beans‐ place in an air tight container.
Fennel‐ if used within a couple days after it’s bought fennel can be left out on the counter, upright in a cup or bowl of water (like celery). If wanting to keep longer than a few days place in the fridge in a closed container with a little water.
Garlic‐ store in a cool, dark, place.
Green garlic‐an airtight container in the fridge or left out for a day or two is fine, best before dried out.
Greens‐ remove any bands, twist ties, etc. most greens must be kept in an air‐tight container with a damp cloth‐ to keep them from drying out. Kale, collards, and chard even do well in a cup of water on the counter or fridge.
Green beans‐ they like humidity, but not wetness. A damp cloth draped over an open or loosely closed container.
Green Tomatoes‐ store in a cool room away from the sun to keep them green and use quickly or they will begin to color.
Herbs- a closed container in the fridge to kept up to a week. Any longer might encourage mold.
Lettuce‐ keep damp in an airtight container in the fridge.
Leeks‐leave in an open container in the crisper wrapped in a damp cloth or in a shallow cup of water on the counter (just so the very bottom of the stem has water).
Okra‐ doesn’t like humidity. So a dry towel in an airtight container. Doesn’t store that well, best eaten quickly after purchase
Onion‐ store in a cool, dark and dry, place‐ good air circulation is best, so don’t stack them.
Parsnips‐an open container in the crisper, or, like a carrot, wrapped in a damp cloth in the fridge.
Potatoes‐ (like garlic and onions) store in cool, dark and dry place, such as, a box in a dark corner of the pantry; a paper bag also works well.
Radicchio‐ place in the fridge in an open container with a damp cloth on top.
Radishes‐ remove the greens (store separately) so they don’t draw out excess moisture from the roots and place them in a open container in the fridge with a wet towel placed on top.
Rhubarb‐wrap in a damp towel and place in an open container in the refrigerator.
Rutabagas‐ in an ideal situation a cool, dark, humid root cellar or a closed container in the crisper to keep their moisture in.
Snap peas‐ refrigerate in an open container
Spinach‐ store loose in an open container in the crisper, cool as soon as possible. Spinach loves to stay cold.
Spring onions‐ Remove any band or tie and place in the crisper.
Summer Squash‐ does fine for a few days if left out on a cool counter, even after cut.
Sweet peppers‐ Only wash them right before you plan on eating them as wetness decreases storage time. Store in a cool room to use in a couple a days, place in the crisper if longer storage needed.
Sweet Potatoes‐ Store in a cool, dark, well‐ventilated place. Never refrigerate‐‐sweet potatoes don’t like the cold.
Tomatoes‐ Never refrigerate. Depending on ripeness, tomatoes can stay for up to two weeks on the counter. To hasten ripeness place in a paper bag with an apple.
Turnips‐ remove the greens (store separately) same as radishes and beets, store them in an open container with a moist cloth.
Winter squash‐store in a cool, dark, well ventilated place. Many growers say winter squashes get sweeter if they’re stored for a week or so before eaten.
Zucchini‐ does fine for a few days if left out on a cool counter, even after cut. Wrap in a cloth and refrigerate for longer storage.

Join Us For A Holiday Extravaganza!

While “Buy Local” campaigns seem to be gaining momentum around the country this year, Mainers have long valued locally made products.  The Lewiston/Auburn area has a wealth of small owner/operated businesses for holiday shoppers to choose from.  On Thursday, December 15th, we are turning the Winter Farmers Market into a Holiday Extravaganza, making it easy for area residents to shop for a home grown holiday.


Join us and find hand-crafted unique foods, gifts, and even gift certificates.  Stock up on Maine grown and Maine made products including fresh fruits and veggies, pasture-raised meats, eggs, seafood, fresh milk and artisan cheeses.  Buy bread and baked goods to freeze for the holidays, maple products, and one of a kind sweets.   Find unique gifts like hand crafted soaps, pottery, fiber arts, cards, holiday wreaths, herbs and herbal products.


The Lewiston Farmers Market has become more than a simple shopping destination.  The market is a great, family friendly event.  Bring your appetite and have dinner at the Winter Market Cafe, serving hot soup, bread and salad combos at affordable prices.  Enjoy live music as well from local favorite Jan Kendall Mayes.


The December Holiday Extravaganza will run from 5:00pm to 7:30pm on Thursday, December 15th at the St. Mary's Nutrition Center (208 Bates Street.)  Additional parking is available in the parking lot to the right of St. Patrick's church.


For questions or directions, please call 207-513-3848.


As always, the Lewiston Winter Farmers Market accepts credit, debit, and EBT(foodstamp) cards.

Opening Day Is Here!!!

Well, the wait is almost over! Opening day for the Lewiston Winter Farmers Market is here.

Vendors will be setting up soon and the finishing touches are going up at the St. Mary's Nutrition Center.

In addition to all the festivities already planned, we just learned that Sugar Tree Maple will be joining us offering real Maine Maple Cotton Candy.  Yummy!

You will want to get there early for the best selection, but remember the doors will not open until 5:00pm.

The side entry door is the best door to use (left side of the building.) 208 Bates St.

Here is a complete list of the vendors available for this evening.

Art Van	Emery Farm	Meadow Ridge Perennials
Balfour Farm	Fresh Start Farms	Phoenix Farm
Bella Girl Bakery	Hometown Historyworks	Piper Ranch
Beth's Potter	Hummingbird Farm	Pretzel Logic
Bread n' More Bakery	Kidd's Hillbilly Farm	Revelation Massage
The Bread Shack	Luscious Live Lobsters	Spring Day Creamery
Bubier Family Farm	Mainely Soap	Streaked Mountain Herbs and Crafts
Clay Hill Farm	Maplecrest Lilies	Sugar Tree Maple
The Winter Market Cafe		Valley View Farm

Countdown To The Grand Opening!

We are literally counting down the seconds until our grand opening for the Lewiston Winter Farmers Market!


Be sure to join us this Thursday (Nov. 17th) from 5:00pm - 7:30PM at the St, Mary's Nutrition Center for music, dinner, and all of the fresh Maine grown/raised food, art, and products you can carry!

Grab your friends, family, and even a total stranger and head on over.  We have over 20 vendors, music by Robin Rockett and Jason Moreau, and the popular Winter Market Cafe serving hot soup, bread, and salad combos.

Bring your camera and be sure to post photos of your friends and family enjoying the market on our facebook page.  We will also add those pics to our WCSH6 community page.