2013 Indianapolis Area Farmers Markets

Binford Farmers Market: Saturday mornings 9a-1p

Broad Ripple Farmers Market: Saturday mornings 8a-Noon

Carmel Farmers Market: Saturday mornings 8a-11:30a

Fishers Farmers Market: Saturday mornings 8a-Noon

Indianapolis Original Farmers Market: Wednesdays 9:30a-1:30p

Noblesville Farmers Market: Saturdays 8a-12:30p

Zionsville Farmers Market: Saturday mornings 8a-11a

Avon Farmers Market: Tuesdays 4-7p

Plainfield Farmers Market: Wednesdays 4-7p

Brownsburg Farmers Market: Thursdays 4:30-7:30p


FYI, the Westfield Farmers Market has been cancelled for the 2013 season.

It's Strawberry Season!

May is the start of strawberry season here in Indiana.  The best strawberries are from local patches because they are fresh off the vine.  In Indiana, there are strawberry patches all over the state.  Some even have "u-pick" patches, where you come and pick your own.  These are more budget friendly than just buying from the farmer's stand because you have to do a little work for them!

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We love strawberries! Why? Because 1 cup of sliced strawberries is only 50 calories, contains 3 grams of fiber & 90 mg vitamin C (75-90 mg needed per day). Hey, what a great snack!  Add to your Strawberry Health One Meal Replacement + water + ice for a strawberry shake or on top of a Vanilla Health One Meal Replacement one by one with a little light cool whip for a nice summer treat.  Or, you could get really into it and make your own sugar-free strawberry freezer jam to use as an additive to the Health One or your morning 100% whole grain toast.

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What do we recommend?  Heading to a local patch to pick some strawberries.  The Indianapolis area has a few locations just outside the city.  Here are the farms that we know of and please share any that you know of that grow strawberries. 

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• Noblesville, IN: Spencer Farm

• Hagerstown, IN (east of Indy): Bell's Strawberry Farm

• Greenwood/South Indy, IN: Waterman's Family Farm

Once you have your strawberries, meal plan them in for breakfast, lunch, dinner and/or snack to help you get your 2 full cups of fruit in each day. 

Are Organic Foods "Better"?

Organic or Not?  That is the question of the decade. If you personally buy organic answer this question, why? Is it because organic foods are "better nutritionally" for you OR do you buy them to reduce the possibility of pesticides and antibiotic-resistant bacteria on your food? 

If you eat organic foods because they are "better nutritionally" then you are wasting your money!  "A study released in September in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine concluded that organic products have no significant nutritional advantage over conventional foods, even though consumers often pay more than them." This conclusion followed the review of over 200 studies published from 1960-2011. 

Long term studies are yet to be done or completed showing the health benefits of eating a primarily organic diet to reduce the level of pesticides and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.  However, one thing seems clearer and that is the fact that spending more money for nutrition is not needed.  Conventionally grown foods produce the same nutritional value as organically grown foods. 

 

If you are concerned with pesticides and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, you can spend your money wisely by purchasing organic versions of the highly contaminated fruits and vegetables in this "dirty dozen" list. These 12 fruits and vegetables have the highest pesticide residues of the all fruits and vegetables:

 

Apples

Celery

Strawberries

Peaches

Nectarines (imported)

Spinach

Grapes

Sweet Bell Peppers

Potatoes

Blueberries

Lettuce

Kale/Collard Greens

10 Ways to Spice Up a Party with Fruits & Veggies

Fruits & Veggies More Matters (FVMM) is a National Campaign to encourage Americans to include more fruits and vegetables in their meal plans.  Regarding the Holidays, here are 10 ways that FVMM suggests spicing your party up with fruits & vegetables!

10. A Healthy Dessert
9.  Meat Substituitions
8.  Fruity Condiments
7.  Healthy Appetizers
6.  Be Prepared for Guests
5. Create a New Tradition
4.  Add Some Sparkle
3.  Healthy Snacks & Gifts
2.  Trays of Crudites
1.  Decorate & Enjoy

For more details on each tip, visit the Fruits & Veggies More Matters Website via this link!

 

Don't Ignore the Calories in Fruits & Vegetables

A recent study in the Obesity Journal provided either solid fruits/vegetables or fruits/vegetables in juice form to the study participants (half the participants were lean and half were overweight/obese).  After 8 weeks of consuming the solid fruits/vegetables the lean participants compensated for the extra food by cutting other foods out of their diet and gained no weight while the overweight/obese participants given solid fruits/vegetables did not compensate and gained 4 pounds.  When the participants were given the same amount of calories (roughly 20% of total intake for the day) in juice for 8 weeks, the lean participants gained 3.5 pounds and the overweight/obese participants gained 5 pounds!

Concluding evidence that solid fruits and vegetables or fruits and vegetables in whole form are better for weight maintenance or weight loss than juices.  However, if extra calories are not compensated for-even from whole fruits and vegetables- weight gain is probable.  What does this mean?  If you eat too many calories from fruits and vegetables or anything that is 'good' for you, you could potentially gain weight.  Key point....Calories Matter....so make sure you are counting them!

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Indianapolis Area Farmers' Markets

Do you enjoy fresh & local produce?  A lot of stores like Meijer, Marsh & Kroger in the Indianapolis are carry some local produce, but to find the jack pot you should find a farmers' market near you.  With over 20 farmers' market locations there has to be one with in a short drive from your house.  Check out this website that provides a map of some of the Indianapolis area farmers' markets. 

Two locations not listed on this map that are located in Hendricks County include:

1. The Avon Farmers Market sponsored by Hendricks Regional Health is Tuesdays from 4 pm to 7 pm in front of the Hendricks Regional Health Office in Avon.

2. The Brownsburg Farmers Market which is held on Thursdays from 3:30 pm to 7 pm in the green space in front of the Brownsburg Town Hall (61 N. Green Street, Brownsburg, IN 46112)

        

Be Frugal & Fit

Extreme couponing has become a crazy phenomenon since the new show "Extreme Couponing" aired on TLC a few months ago.  Couponing is not something that is new, but it does require skill.  There are a lot of coupons to be found that could be very useful in helping you save money while purchasing groceries, however, that doesn't mean that every coupon you have should be used!

Food coupons are often frozen or processed foods that if eaten in moderation can fit well into a balanced meal plan.  However, too much of the processed foods can begin to replace consuming adequate numbers of fruits & vegetables so you must be careful. Here are some tips on how to be frugal & still be fit and on your meal plan:

1. Call or email all produce companies (Dole, Chiquita, Del Monte, etc) and let them know that you really enjoy their products, but that you never see coupons.  They will often send coupons periodically upon your request.
2. Look in FREE store magazines for coupons on produce.  For example, the dietitans that work for Meijer publish a booklet every now and then & the booklet had coupons for prepackaged Dole Salad in July 2011
3. Coupons.com has printable coupons & every now and then has fresh produce coupons.
4. Local newspapers every now and then will have coupons for apple slices, bagged salads, melons, etc
5. Always look for reduced priced items.  These items may need to be eaten with in a few days, but they can save you 50% or more! Most noted are the manager specials at Meijer & Kroger for their reductions in price on the already cut veggies/fruits or salad bowls. 

You probably aren't going to walk out of the store with an entire cart full of produce and lean meats for free, but you will be able to continue living the lifestyle that HNT has helped you to build & save a bit of money while you do it!

        

Should YOU Buy Organic?

The Environmental Working Group ranked the amount of pesticide residues found in each fruit to show which you might want to consider buying the organic version when available at an affordable price.  Here is how the fruits rank from most pesticide to least amount of pesticide in them:

• Peaches (has the most pesticides)
• Strawberries
• Apples
• Domestic Blueberries
• Nectarines
• Cherries
• Imported Grapes
• Imported Blueberries
• Pears
• Imported Plums
• Red Raspberries
• Oranges
• Domestic Grapes
• Imported Cantaloupe
• Bananas
• Cranberries
• Domestic Plums
• Honeydew Melon
• Grapefruit
• Watermelon
• Domestic Cantaloupe
• Kiwi
• Mango
• Pineapple (has the least amount of pesticides)

From this list you can see where your favorite fruits rank and which you might begin considering the organic version!

Tips to Eat More Fruits

Fruits can be useful when trying to lose weight successfully because they can be low in calories, provide much needed fiber to prevent hunger, and most importantly they taste great! Many Americans need more fruit in their meal plans, but this can be hard to do considering all the high fat, high sugar options that are readily available. 

Tips on getting more fruit in each day include:

• Keeping fruit readily available: a bowl on the counter, in the refrigerator or table
• Visiting the local farmer's market for the freshest options
• Having 3 options: fresh, frozen, or canned (in water or it's own juice) so that if you run out of fresh you have a back up plan already in place. 

For the best nutritional value be sure to include a variety of fruits each day.  Each fruit has a different nutrient composition. Also, avoid as much as possible the juice form. For example, enjoy a whole apple versus apple juice. The juice form often contains more sugar and less fiber which will not help with satisfying your hunger.  Increase the nutritional value and lower the calories of baked goods by substituting the fat with applesauce.

At lunch, packing an apple, orange, or other whole fruit is easy to increase your fruit intake because of the portability aspect.  Adding pineapple or peach slices to kabobs at dinner will add flavor and nutrition and for dessert include a fruit parfait, fruit salad, or baked pears/apples. 

Snacks that include fruit can be easy to plan and pack for the day.  Examples include dried fruit, fruit cups, an apple with peanut butter to-go packages, or 100% frozen juice bars.  Using a low calorie fruit dip can make fruit more appealing.  For example, whip a low-fat cream cheese spread with Splenda and dip strawberries, pineapple and melon.  Low-fat yogurt and low-fat pudding would work great too!

Using some or all of these tips and tools will help you to increase your fruit consumption with out causing too much stress.  After all, being stressed out doesn't help with weight loss!

       

National Nutriton Month

March is National Nutrition Month according to the American Dietetic Association.

This year the theme is "Eat Right with Color". Nutritional benefits are more varied with the more color you can add to your plate. The colors associated with what's on your plate have vitamins and minerals and other nutrients to keep you healthy.

Each color is associated with having beneficial components:

• Blue/Purple: anthocyanins & pheonlics which help to lower the risk of some cancers, are good for healthy aging, memory function, and urinary tract health


• Green: lutein and indoles-help to promote strong bones, teeth, and vision health


• White: includes the phytochemical called allicin. It promotes heart health, helps maintain cholesterol levels that are with in the normal range, and may reduce the risk of some cancers


• Yellow/Orange: vitamin C and phytonutrients like carotenoids and bioflavonoids which are beneficial for vision and heart health and a healthy immune system


• Red: contains phytonutrients lycopene and anthocyanins which promote heart and urinary tract health and memory function

Try focusing in on trying a new fruits or vegetables this month to help increase variety in your everyday diet for optimal nutrition. You might find a few more foods that you enjoy-just because you were able to experiment!

For fruit and vegetable recipes or other information-click HERE to go to the "fruits & veggies more matters" website!