I love farmers markets and everything they have to offer, but when I think of them it is usually in the summer months. The weather in Fort Worth has been beautiful lately, so I decided to google “farmers market in Arlington” and was pleasantly surprised to find one that is open now. I was  not optimistic that they would have much to offer, but I packed little E up and headed East bound.

When I arrived, one farmer had loads of veggies and fruit, all local to boot. I did a happy dance. Who needs Whole Foods (for produce that is) when you have fresh produce practically at your door?  The best part is that their produce was pesticide and fungicide-free. I did a second happy dance.

One of my favorite vegetables are cucumbers. I could eat them everyday – all day. I have not been purchasing them because the only organic ones available are grown in Mexico. I like to buy my produce local, and if that is not possible, I try to buy from the USA. If I do purchase produce from Mexico, I make sure it is fair-trade like the banana’s and peppers I have been purchasing from Whole Foods.

My third happy dance occurred when I saw the cucumbers. I was almost tempted to just pick one up and eat it right there. I decided against it, to avoid being stared at. I bought approximately 14 cucumbers. I hope they will last until my next trip to the market next Friday morning. Fingers crossed.

What is your favorite fruit or veggie that causes you to breakout into a happy dance when you see it at a local farmers market?

1-PURCHASES

Farmers market

• 14 cucumbers
• 3 zucchinis
• 2 red onions
• 1 head of lettuce
• 3 cartons of strawberries
• 1 cartons of small tomatoes
• 5 large tomatoes
• 8 red/yellow peppers
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• A dozen eggs

Sub-Total: 46.00

Whole Foods

Bulk

• Raw Pecans (2.74 lbs)
• Cashews (2.91 lbs)
• Raw Walnuts (1.79 lbs)
• Garlic powder (0.87 lbs)
• Ground cinnamon  (0.62 lbs)
• Brown Basmati rice (2.16 lbs)
• 70% cacao chips (1.23 lbs)

Non-Bulk

• 2 glass bottles of kombucha

Non-food items

• Dish soap

Sub-Total: 142.78

Restaurants

• Wednesday: J.P had his weekly lunch at Chipotle 11.20
• Friday: We went to Chipotle for lunch 13.00
• Saturday: We went to Spiral Diner for dinner 28.00

Sub-Total: 52.20

Total: 240.98

2-COMPOSTING

My car was at the garage all week for a small repair. Therefore, I did not have a car to bring my compost to Whole Foods mid-week. Boy, oh boy, was our composting bin ever overflowing by the time Friday rolled around. I reduced my juicing during the week to avoid throwing away my pulp in the trash.

The total weight of our compost was 15 lbs.

3-RECYCLING

When it came to our groceries this week, the only item we bought in plastic was the dish soap. The remaining items purchased at the farmers market and whole foods were all put in my reusable organic produce bags.

I feel as though our recycling bin is multiplying at an alarming rate. I can not figure out where all this recycling is coming from. We don't buy anything and most of our food is bought in bulk. It boggles my mind. I know that a large amount is junk mail, but it cant be that much – can it?

4-TRASH

Our trash basket this week was pretty much empty again. This last month our trash bin has been almost empty. Our garbage this week comprised of the usual suspects: receipts, pieces of plastic from my Kombucha bottles, 1 piece of plastic wrap from tempeh, a few random pieces of plastic and a few stickers from our fruit and veggies that I was not able to save for little E’s sticker album.

5-TRAVEL

This week, we travelled to the Little Gym, Whole Foods and the farmers market. We walked to Chipotle and Spiral diner for lunch and dinner. I throughly enjoy having a nice stroll after eating to help with digestion.

The total distance traveled on the TDI was 53.9 km (33 mi) and 45 km (27 mi) on the loaner car and we did not need to fill up the gas tank.