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A Fresh Approach to Eating

Four Seasons Farmers Market

Our region has one or two locations where we have four seasons farmers markets.

I love to visit the farmers’ markets in September, every tent has something different to purchase. Some farmers had more summer foods like eggplant, tomatoes and peppers while others had greens and winter squash.

I had my eyes peeled for carrots, cabbage and apples for the Apple Cabbage Slaw that I was making for a taste test at the North Asheville Farmers’ Market. I found some wonderful organic apples at B and L Organics. Laura had some lovely Pippin apples, but I chose the Red Delicious ones to add some color to my salad.

A visitor to the farmer's market is overwhelmed by the goodness

When I was a kid going to the grocery store, I never was a fan of Red Delicious apples because they were mushy and their skin was bitter and tough but as an adult I learned that a freshly picked Red Delicious is just as the name says d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!! Around the corner, I found some lovely red and orange carrots from Ivy Creek Family Farms.

I love to visit the farmers’ markets in September, every tent had something different to purchase. Some farmers had more summer foods like eggplant, tomatoes and peppers while others had greens and winter squash. I had my eyes peeled for carrots, cabbage and apples for the Apple Cabbage Slaw that I was making for a taste test at the North Asheville Farmers’ Market. I found some wonderful organic apples at B and L Organics. Laura had some lovely Pippin apples but I chose the Red Delicious ones to add some color to my salad.

For the last of the ingredients for the slaw, I stopped off at Mountain Harvest Organics to get some cabbage and onions.

Fall is a great time to visit the farmer's market
Laura had some great apples that I used for my cabbage slaw!

Apple Cabbage Slaw Recipe

Getting fresh, local ingredients makes this slaw even better!
Getting fresh, local ingredients makes this slaw even better!

Apple Cabbage Slaw with Carrots

This slaw is packed with lots of things that are good for you! Cabbage is high in vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. It’s a member of the cruciferous family and has a lot of anti-cancer properties. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, potassium and fiber.

Apples have vitamin C and B, fiber, the plant chemicals polyphenols and quercetin which provide lots of additional health benefits. Onions are from the allium family and are also rich in vitamin C.

1 medium cabbage, sliced thin and chopped
2 carrots, thinly julienned
4 apples, cored and chopped
½ cup chopped onions
Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing:
1/3 cup vinegar
1-2 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup olive oil

Mix the cabbage, carrots, apples, onions, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Make the dressing in a small jar. Shake well and lightly toss over the slaw. Makes 6 servings.

Making this slaw with fresh, local produce makes it so delicious!

 

 North Asheville Becomes a Four Seasons Farmers Market

The farmers at the North Asheville Tailgate Market will be bringing local produce for our tables until the middle of November and after that the market will begin its holiday market which will continue to feature lots of locally grown food to Western North Carolina and after the holidays there will be an indoor winter market also, so we are now able to get farmers’ market fresh in every season.

The North Asheville Tailgate Market was recently named as one of the top farmers’ markets in the South by Southern Living magazine. I was honored to be asked by their market manager, Shay Amber to come to do a food demo on Labor Day weekend to celebrate the end of summer and the coming of fall and bring some of my Farm Fresh Nutrition books to sign which feature many of the farmers who are vendors at the market.

Visit a Local Farmers Market

Support your local economy and improve your health by boosting your intake or fruit and vegetables!

As a registered dietitian nutritionist in Asheville, I feel so fortunate to have so much healthy, local options to choose from to eat. Food that is freshly picked and grown in soil that amended using organic methods has been shown to have higher content of bioactive substances that are good for us!

I love supporting local farmers who steward the earth where I live and put the money that they make directly back into our economy which helps the health of our community also. You can read about this and more in my book Farm Fresh Nutrition which also has a lot of seasonal recipes and menu ideas! Find out how to get a copy here farm fresh nutrition.

You can find out more about the benefits to eating local and organic in one of my previous blog posts.

In addition to writing, my main area of expertise is my training a registered dietitian, you can learn more what a registered dietitian here.