Farmers’ markets are not only fun for the entire family, but they can be a wonderful source for multi-sensory learning. One of the most effective methods for developing healthy eating habits in your kids, especially picky eaters, is to involve them in the entire food process, beginning with your purchase of the week’s groceries.

Farmers’ markets are more intimate than a large chain grocers or big box store. These food producers are directly connected with families who consume their goods. They may bring locally grown, organic, fresh food products to families in a cost-effective, resource-efficient way. Most farmers’ markets start up in the spring and close down in the fall, although a few operate all year.

Organic-food sales currently account for about 2.5 percent of U.S. food purchases, while only .2 percent of U.S. farmland is certified organic. Sales of organic products have been increasing at annual rates of 16 to 20 percent!

While this is encouraging, the U.S. is behind the ball with organic farming. Italy, which is smaller than New Mexico, has more organically farmed acreage than the entire U.S.

Katy is proud of her farmer’s market find…a GI-NORMOUS artichoke!

I regularly shop at the farmers’ market a few miles from my home in Colorado. Fresh, organic locally-grown food is my goal. On Sundays, the Crossroads parking lot is a bustle of activity. The buzz of people make it a shopping experience. Wide-eyed children cling to their moms, hoping for a treat before they head home.

Because the event is held outdoors, many people bring their dogs. Vendors place bowls of water in front of their booths, to keep man’s best friend hydrated.

You can see moms and dads eagerly placing colorful produce into their reusable canvas bags. The produce is gorgeous and it’s tempting to purchase more than we can eat.

The tables, set in the middle of the parking lot, contain a variety of wares and homespun items. You can find locally grown honey, organic beef, and of course produce. There’s a vendor displaying locally made pasta. In the mix are hot dog stands, cotton candy, and donuts. So, just as in the grocery store, not everything found in a farmer’s market is nutritious.

Farmers’ markets, of course, usually don’t sell exclusively organic food; but the emphasis should be on local above all else. In most farmers’ markets, you can find produce grown only miles from your home, which will be the freshest and tastiest produce. Flavor is only one of the perks from locally grown produce. Fruits and vegetables contain their highest levels of nutrients, when harvested fully ripe and eaten soon afterwards.

Locally grown foods are often a better choice
Then again, it can be trucked from thousands of miles way. Be sure to ask the vendor where the food is grown. If it’s not grown in your state, move along to the next vendor.

The farmers’ market in Parker has several produce vendors, one trucks it’s produce in from California. Another is the Palizzi Farm from Brighton, Colorado. A new addition to the Parker market is Monroe Organic Farms from Kersey, Colorado. They’re the oldest organic farm in Colorado. The Monroe Organic Farms it’s still family owned and operated. You can contact Jacquie and Jerry Monroe from their website, http://www.monroefarm.com/. Their table is a bit smaller, because they offer only locally grown organic produce. As summer veggies are harvested, they’ll have more to offer.

If I want to purchase produce shipped 1,000 miles, I’ll shop at a grocery chain or a big box store and it’ll be cheaper. A concern with produce is that much of it comes from Mexico, where regulations don’t always apply. When you purchase produce grown in the U.S., you know that it’s been properly inspected, as well as safe to eat.

I always make a beeline to the Monroe Organic Farm’s and the Palizzi Farm’s tables. Jose is in charge of the Palizzi Farm’s tables and he’s always cheerful. Although, this produce isn’t certified organic, it’s grown with minimal us of pesticides. It’s freshly picked and quickly transported to the farmers’ market.

The Palizzi Farm has been family-owned for four generations. I spoke with Debora Palizzi, who along with her mother Gloria, owns and operates their 145-acre farm today. She said the maximum time the produce is picked before it makes it way to a Colorado farmer’s market is 12 to 24 hours.

Other Costs for Food
Approximately 80 percent of every food dollar you spend pays for advertising, trucking, processing, packaging, and marketing. Purchasing locally grown food supports local farmers and keeps the revenue in your community. This eliminates several steps between the farm and your plate. As the price of gas continues it’s upward climb, local produce will become even a greater bargain.

Farming economists predict there will be less than 400 farmers within the next 20 to 30 years. These farmers will work on mega farms of 30,000 acres or more. Purchasing produce from local farmers, directly supports small farms and increases the likelihood they will survive.

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#1. Buy produce in season. Not only is “fresh better than frozen; frozen better than canned,” but fresh is usually cheaper, too. For long-lasting produce, store your fruit and veggies in separate bins in your refrigerator. Fruit (produce with seeds) manufacture ethylene gas as they ripen. When fruit are stored with vegetables (produce without seeds), the vegetables loose their green color and spoil more rapidly. You’ll save not only dollars when your veggies and fruit are stored in separate bins, but also flavor, as vegetables stored with fruit will develop a bitter taste.

Even if you love pickles, like Madison,
you don’t have to be in a pickle over grocery shopping.

You can save when you purchase large bags of produce. Bags of bell peppers can be hard to use up before they go bad. I clean, then seed and slice each pepper, place each one in its own baggie in the freezer. That way there’s no waste, just take out a baggie, remove the pepper, and pop it into recipes frozen. It’ll defrost as it cooks. The same can be done with onions. Also, fresh herbs can be frozen.

#2. Purchase frozen orange and apple juice with no added sugars. It’s cheaper than juice from the dairy case or purchased in large containers. Juices found in the dairy case have been pasteurized, destroying nutrients. Also, you are paying more for juice in glass or plastic containers, because you’re paying for the weight of the product.

#3. Never purchase soft, squishy loaves of bread, even though they’re really cheap. These are filled with dough conditioners and chemicals. This is one area where spending more will save in health costs over time. Make sure “whole grain” is the first ingredient and purchase with as few ingredients as possible.

#4. Buy foods with LESS than 5 ingredients. Avoid processed foods which are expensive and contain preservatives, artificial ingredients, altered fats (especially trans fat and interesterified fat), white flour, and sugar. You’ll avoid most processed and junk foods when you shop the outer aisles of the supermarket. Never purchase a food item with a cartoon character. This is almost always a sign of added artificial colors and sugars. Steer clear of the pop, candy, and cereal aisles, which are located in the center of the store. Money spent here is money down the nutritional drain.

#5. Ocean-caught fish is better than farm-raised. Farm-raised fish have more contaminates. The rule of thumb is smaller the fish, the lower the mercury level. Don’t eat the fat. Fat is where fish store contaminates.

#6. Use lean meats, sparingly. This will cut your grocery and doctor bill at the same time. Use recipes that make a little meat go a long way: Casseroles, salads, stews, and stir fries.

#7. Buy in bulk. Big box store prices are hard to beat for purchasing bulk items. Build a pantry of regularly used nutritious staples. Big box stores now carry organic items including raisins, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, applesauce, and canned tuna and chicken. Some produce, like onions, garlic, and potatoes, can be stored for weeks in a cool dark place, like a basement. Warehouse stores also offer frozen organic foods: fruit and vegetables and large packages of organic beef and chicken which can be divided and frozen. If you don’t already have one, purchase a freezer. I have a half-size ice chest in my garage. It holds over 100 pounds of food. It’s not expensive either. You can find them for under $175. (I just saw one yesterday at a garage sale for $75.)

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Having a child with ADD/ADHD, who is a picky eater, initially takes more work. You may have a child self-limiting the kinds of whole foods eaten, but the child with ADD/ADHD most likely prefers the very foods causing their problem. Because each child is unique, the chemicals and additives triggering symptoms can vary.

For kids who can’t tolerate food colorings, the tinest smidgen could produce ADD/ADHD symptoms for several days. A small drop of something they cannot tolerate may prompt symptoms of hyperactivity, sleeplessness (sometimes nightmares), and irritability.

Joshy shows us that his tongue is colored red, after eating a piece of birthday cake.

A parent needs to be vigilant, especially in the beginning. You’ll find, as I did, “accidental double-blind studies” will pop up. You’ll become a master sleuth, ferreting out unwanted food additives.

Cleaning out the pantry is vital. With over 3,000 additives in our food supply it can seem like a gargantuan task. You’ll be glad to know that it’s not impossible, but it will take some determination on your part.  I wouldn’t even want to try to put a child on a different diet than the rest of the family. When you’re talking about whole foods, why not improve the entire family’s diet? Take time to read the labels of the foods you usually purchase. See where you can change to a more healthy brand. Reading labels is vital. You might be surprised at what you find.

When my daughter, Jenny, was a child, she could not tolerate most of the additives in our food supply. Nitrates would always trigger ADHD symptoms. They’re in all packaged lunch-meats, and most pork products like ham, bacon and sausage. She’s grown and married now, but, today, nitrates still give her headaches. Red and yellow food colorings were the worst additives for Jenny and would immediately trigger symptoms of hyperactivity. MSG is another additive that can cause problems. It often produces headaches (MSG actually kills brain cells), not just in people with ADD/ADHD, either. MSG can be hard to identify on products, as it hides in a multitude of names. ( CLICK HERE for more MSG info.) MSG can be found in almost ALL fast food.

Sugar, especially High Fructose Corn Syrup, is in just about all processed foods. All these years later, sugar still makes Jenny irritable. Still, once you get in the habit of avoiding sugar, it’s not too hard to eliminate. For sure, you’ll want to avoid High Fructose Corn Sugar which is found in most bakery goods, soda pop, and in packaged foods!

It’s not as difficult as you might think to eat whole foods. Of course many foods available in the grocery store are processed, but you’ll want to purchase products with the least amount of additives and chemicals. I still don’t purchase products with artificial colorings, flavorings, nitrates, or MSG.

I’m not a nutritionist or a dietitian, but I’ve found a few dietary supplements are extremely helpful for kids with ADD/ADHD, even Sensory Processing Disorder and Autism. In fact, many times with dietary changes and the addition of these supplements, positive changes are often seen in a couple of weeks:
1) The first is cod liver oil. I purchase Carlson Norwegian Cod Liver Oil and I take it myself. The lemon flavored one is tasty. Cod liver oil is high in vitamins A and D.
2) The other is a good kids’ probiotic, purchased in the refrigerator section of a whole foods store. Without fail, kids with ADD and ADHD need to have their gut function improved. The gut feeds the brain. When a child has good gut function, their brain functions better as well.
3) The third is that almost ALL people in the U.S. are vitamin D deficient, even kids. A simple test that your pediatrician can do will tell you what your child’s vitamin D level is. In fact, everyone should have their vitamin D level checked. My husband, Dick, and I found we had low levels ourselves. The optimum levels are around 50, but most people are way under that. (Cod liver oil is high in vitamin D, but if your child is extremely low you may want to add this supplement. If you can’t convince your child to take the lemon-flavored cod liver oil, then vitamin D3 supplement is an alternative.)

You, will of course, need to take allergies into account. If your child is allergic to wheat, dairy, or nuts, these foods will need to be eliminated as well. Today, I won’t go into GMO foods (genetically modified organism). This is another issue. My eldest daughter, Julie-ann, thought she was allergic to corn. Then found out it was GMO corn that she couldn’t tolerate. If a product says it’s certified organic, then it’s by default, GMO free.

You can save on organics at big box stores like Sam’s Club and Costco. Since there’s not a Sam’s Club near me, I have a Costco membership. “Costco Organic Products” is a list I just put together for my son-in-law. He has a Costco membership, but lives a distance from a store. Because he will be the one driving to the store and shopping, he wanted to know what organic food products I found at Costco (Sam’s has similar products) and purchase from the store. I’ve put an unofficial list together for him. I’m sure there’s more, but at least it’s a start. CLICK HERE to see it.

If you liked this article, then you’ll want to read: “A S.A.D. Diet”: CLICK HERE

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