Make the most of local markets for your fresh fruit and vegetables
I’ve just been visiting some of my favourite blog and came across a post by fellow blogger Michelle of ‘What does your body good’ about her weekly shop and a request for other bloggers to post pictures of theirs. Although I’m between shops at the moment, I did say I’d post a picture of one of my weekly shopping haunts - our local market. We also buy general groceries and some fruit and veg at various local supermarkets and I buy more specialist organic and wholefoods from and online supplier Goodness Direct.
Here in the north of England where I live we have a tradition of markets and our town is quite well known for having a good market. I love markets, our local one in particular and always have done - there’s something about the busyness and bustle and atmosphere that you just don’t get in a shop - particularly at this time of year when its all gearing up for Christmas. I even worked on it as a teenager, though that wasn’t so wonderful in winter. Although you can buy a huge range of things - right up to carpets and furniture, I rarely get time to browse all of it but I do a regular shop at the fruit and veg stalls.
A couple of weeks ago I took my camera into town on one of the market days and took some photos of one of my regular stalls , which caused a bit of puzzlement but I got a good pose out of one of one young assistant. Don’t you think it looks great?
If you’re lucky enough to have a market nearby and don’t already use it, why don’t you? I know, I know, it’s the time thing. But really it’s good fun as well as being loads cheaper than the big stores. As well as that there’s more liklihood of getting hold of locally grown produce - better for you and the environment, plus there are usually lots of stalls to choose from and you can shop around to find out which have the cheapest and best. If you’re environmentally conscious, most of the produce is loose, and on our market given to you in paper rather than copious amounts of plastic.
Ideally, I’d like to buy fresh, local organic fruit and veg every week, or better still grow all my own. But as we don’t live in an ideal world I grow what I can, buy organic when I can get hold of good quality but the market offers me good quality, fresh produce at an affordable price for my nine a day.
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