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.
“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.
CLICK HERE to download a copy of our Top 10.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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.


