Ocean Beach Farmers' Market

Persimmons were everywhere!

I am VERY behind on blog posts.... 

I haven't yet had a chance to share with all of you about my California trip at the end of October. I simply have to tell you how much I LOVE California. Do you want to know why? Because I can eat just about ANYWHERE without a ton of pre-planning and bringing my own food along everywhere I go.

I wonder if the people who live in California realize how unusual that is? As someone who does not live in a place with a plethora of health food choices, it simply blows my mind that everywhere we went, there were restaurants, markets, and grocers who carry whole foods, gluten-free, allergy-friendly, health foods, vegan foods... whatever your specific dietary need or preference may be... you can (easily!) find a place to accommodate it in California. Amazing.

At least that has been my experience in the Bay area in Northern California, and most recently, in the San Diego surrounding area.

During this trip to San Diego, I started taking photos of all of the places that offered "gluten free", "raw" or "vegan" choices- and then finally just stopped taking photos of all of those places- because it was, quite literally, just about everywhere. Heaven.

Here are some photos from the Ocean Beach Farmers' Market- which, by the way, is one of the coolest Farmers' Markets I've ever been to. First of all, Ocean Beach is a cool little surf town, right on the ocean, and a great opportunity for people-watching. The Farmers' Market is Wednesday evenings after work. They shut down the main street, and patrons stroll through the street and sidewalks to shop, eat, and listen to live music. They had a live band at each end of the street. There was art, music, jewelry, tons of prepared foods, and, of course, farm fresh meats, eggs, and produce.

All of the amazing food still made me wish I could eat just anything and everything- but there was enough for me to choose from that I certainly did not go hungry. I brought more back to the condo from this Farmers Market than I can typically find at Whole Foods at home. It was awesome.

View from one end of Farmers' Market. It was a cloudy overcast day, but still busy at the Farmers Market

Fresh fruit juices 

Fresh fruit salads just like you get from the street vendors in Mexico.
You could even get sea salt or chili on top, like they serve it in Mexico. Nice!

Trying on a fish hat :)

The rock-n-roller in me appreciated the guitar pick earrings :)

Gut-healthy, immune-building artisan fermented foods

I purchased a jar of organic caraway apple sauerkraut from this vendor and ate it all week. It was yummy. And for eco-points, she even offers $1 credit next time if you return your jar.

Peaches- in late October!

Local, cage-free, hormone and antibiotic-free eggs

Mushrooms 

I don't think there was anything you couldn't get at this market.

I didn't see dairy. But then, I wasn't looking for it. It is quite possible there may have been local cheeses there. There were also local, pasture fed, hormone and antibiotic free meats- both prepared (i.e. artisan salami) and just regular meats (ribs, bacon, etc) to take home and make yourself.

Many of the booths had "No Sprays" signs like this indicating they do not use chemical pesticides or herbicides- but they are not Certified Organic (many small farms find organic certification too costly and the paperwork too time consuming). Of course, there really is no way to know for sure, you simply have to trust your vendor. But they are all very nice, and knowledgable, and do not seem to mind if you ask questions. When you live local and shop the Farmers' Markets you do get to know your vendors. I noticed several of these farms had farm tours where you could go see where your food is grown. So, my feeling is that the "no spray" is likely true. While I try to buy organic, no sprays is good enough for me. I don't want toxic chemicals on my food!

Squash blossoms- I snagged a BUNCH of these! 

Here is one example of accommodating dietary preferences- even the tamale booth offered vegan and gluten free choices!

A local raw vegan restaurant had a booth at the market

One of the raw vegan options (they had several)

Don't worry... not everything in California is health food ; ) 

Time to make the donuts... 

A local gluten-free bakery

Green Smoothies!
I wonder if I could make green smoothies at our local farmers market...? 

Have you noticed that by now it is really getting dark outside? So you'll have to pardon the photos, it was the best I could do : )

More gluten-free goodies (seriously, they were everywhere)

Best. Date. Ever.
No, not THAT kind of date. Although it was a really fun evening at the Farmers' Market- that would be a good date :) But seriously- these date (fruits) were AMAZING! I've never had anything like them. They have completely ruined me for all other dates. They were locally grown, and this guy, the latest generation of this particular date plantation (which has one of the original species of dates brought over from Morocco), even had photos of the date farm and the palms, and how they harvest the fruit. It was really neat. This was absolutely my favorite booth. I wish I would have bought 5lbs of dates and brought them back with me.

More raw, vegan, and gluten free items

More super-healthy juices. You can click on any of these photos to see a larger photo, if you'd like to read the signs :)

Street musicians. Always tip musicians. It's a good thing :)

How to read produce sticker codes

Did you know that those little stickers on your fruit  actually mean something? Surprise, they are not just for grocery inventory- they contain important information about the produce, such as where and how it was grown.

I probably should have turned this sticker right-side-up for the photo. Oops :)

When shopping, one quick glance at the sticker tells you whether the produce is organic, conventional, or genetically modified.

Here is the basic information to remember:

• The 4-digit code tells you what the produce is. For example: 3065 is a cameo apple
• Organic produce adds the number 9 to the front of that code. For example: 93065 is an organic cameo apple
• Genetically modified produce adds the number 8 in front of the code. For example: 83065 would be a cameo apple that has been genetically modified.

This next part goes above & beyond what you need to know when buying produce, but you might be interested to learn that the sticker also tells you what kind of fruit it is, and where it came from.

In the photo above, the label actually shows that the apple is certified organic, Cameo, and that it was grown in the USA. Some stickers will also show what state the produce comes from. But not all stickers have all of that information right on the label. Some only have the code.

So, if you are a data geek like me, know that you can input the 4-digit code in this database, to find out even more information about the apple. You can see below that it tells you the variety, botanical name, size, and growing region. This actually isn't the best example- some entries have more information than others (click on photo to enlarge).

The pluot below has a 9 in front of the 4-digit code, which indicates that it was grown organically. Again- that's a quick and easy way to tell if something is (or is not) organic when you are in the grocery store.

When you input the code in the PMA database, use only the 4-digit code (omit the 9).

Here's another pluot. This one does not have a 9 in front of the 4-digit code, so that means it was grown conventionally. Trust me, you'll get very fast at spotting the 9, and noticing when it is not there. It will become second nature.

Here's another example of when this comes in handy- at the Farmer's Market last week, our favorite organic farmer had some lettuces that he'd brought in from a farm in another state. Those items had labels. They did not begin with a 9. Yet he told us that they were organic. But the label clearly did NOT have a 9, and was only 4-digits. I still bought them, but this tip is good to know if there are certain items, such as the dirty dozen, that you wish to purchase only if they are organic. You cannot always trust the sign in the grocery or what the local produce guy tells you. People make mistakes. If organic is important to you, the 9 on the label is very useful information!

Try this at home if you are curious:) Sometimes I'll buy an item and really like it, but I don't know what variety it is. The database will tell you, and then you know what to look for next time.

The PMA database contains codes for dried fruits, fruits, veggies, herbs and nuts. Pretty cool.

Have fun and happy shopping!

ADDITION: The 9 identifies items that are Certified Organic by the USDA/EU. Some produce may be grown without chemicals or pesticides, but for various reasons may not be certified organic. Ask your local grower for more information about how their produce is grown- they are the best ones to answer your questions. Ask yourself what is most important to you in the foods you consume. It may be that you can find locally grown produce that meets (or nearly meets) your needs even if it is not USDA/EU Certified Organic (which includes a lot more criteria than just grown without chemical pesticides).