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May 6, 2023 M@D Newsletter
MISC MARKET NOTES
M@D still has a good supply of tender young organic beets. Unlike the enormous ones earlier this year, these are smaller and easier to handle.
One cup of raw beets contains about the same amount of calories and carbohydrate as one serving of fruit. The carbohydrates in beets come from both naturally occurring sugar (9.2 grams per 1 cup serving) and dietary fiber (just under 4 grams per serving). Fiber helps to regulate blood sugars, increases feelings of fullness, and can help lower blood cholesterol. Other benefits are:
Fights Inflammation: Beets contain phytonutrients called betalains, which give them their reddish-purple hue and provide them with antioxidants. These compounds help to reduce inflammation in the body and fight cell damage.
Improves Endurance: A research analysis found that those who drank beet juice prior to exercise were able to exercise longer, showing increased cardiorespiratory endurance. This is because of how the nitrates in beets turn into nitric acid, a process that may reduce the oxygen cost of low-intensity exercise as well as enhance tolerance to high-intensity exercise.
Reduces Blood Pressure: Beetroot juice has also been shown to help lower blood pressure in people with hypertension. Again, it is the nitrates in beets that seem to be responsible for this beneficial effect.
Improves Cognitive Function: A study of older adults concluded that a diet high in nitrates may also help improve blood flow to the brain, which boosts cognitive health and functioning. Another study of people with type 2 diabetes, published in 2014, showed an increase in reaction time (an indicator of cognitive performance) in people who consumed beet juice.
AVALON FARMS:
Things are moving along here, almost on schedule. Ha ha Planting. Weeding. Watering. Getting excited about first blooms and baby veggies. There’s also cleaning and organizing. This is the new improved hand tool storage. (Above) It only took half a day to drag all the bags, boxes, tools and assorted stuff accumulated over the last few years and sort it. Trash the busted things. (Why are we keeping this?) And suddenly we not only have a bigger better tool area, but also floor space. I can guarantee you it will not look this good come the end of Summer. (Oh. Just ignore the old election sign. I collect them after elections to make things.)
NEXT SATURDAY!
We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!
April 29, 2023 M@D NeWsLeTteR Excuse our technical difficulties! - TiMe 2 0rDeR!
MISC MARKET NOTES
We’re keeping the newsletter short and sweet this week as there’s so very much going on! Gardens are starting to produce, bees are still buzzing, and most days the weather is so nice there’s no reason not to have meals outdoors. Did you know it’s popular in Europe to eat outdoors? Especially in Scandinavian countries that have limited winter daylight. Good food, fresh air, and sunlight are a winning combination no matter what country you live in.
You saw it here first!
Dothan Nurseries graciously gave permission for us to publish their promo for Mother’s Day Open House first. Hope to see you there! Many of our M@D Vendors will be present along with great market friends.
We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!
April 22, 2023 M@D Newsletter
MISC MARKET NOTES
Have you ever run across a phrase, an idea, a piece of music, book or article call to you then latch on once you answered the call? If you’ve lived long enough there’s a good chance you’ve had that experience. This writer has several times. Many years ago a book practically leaped off the shelf into my hands – in the end it helped shape the lives of my children and the generations that will follow. Another time a song by an artist I considered offensive gripped my heart and helped me get through a difficult few years. A side benefit is that now I occasionally enjoy that loud annoying music at the top of my lungs when nobody is listening.
I have no clue where what follows will take myself or anyone else, but it’s been so beautiful and encouraging that I hope you’ll be blessed as well. This is from 6 Powerful Lessons from Japan that Helped Me Heal My Health.
1. Find one or two contaminating habits to quit. You don’t have to overhaul your life – just figure out a couple of things you could give up that would improve your life.
2. Go on walks. The more you walk, the better you feel and the longer you live. Workouts are fine for focused improvements, but they don’t provide the mental, emotional or long term benefits of walking. One region of Japan was able to reverse their high stroke rate by incorporating walk routes.
3. Forget progress, focus on the immediate payoff. The immediate payoff when you do physical work or walk or move is that you FEEL GOOD.
4. Embrace convenience. I found this section on Bento Box (food) culture intriguing as it had to do with balancing beauty and nutrition with microwave convenience.
5. Go Outside. Every chance you get. If you need to sit and read, do it outside. If someone comes to visit, sit on the porch. “Spending time in nature has proven health benefits, such as strengthening your immune system, lower levels of mortality and illness, decreased anxiety, and increased self confidence. “
6. Choose moderation over perfection. While this article doesn’t go into depth, the author does advocate Harahachi-bunme which is a a long-standing Japanese saying that directly translates to “8/10ths your stomach”; meaning, you should only eat until you are 80% full.
If you wish to look deeper this Medium Digest article can be found with the link below.
Avalon Farms:
It’s that time of year, the farm calendar seems to compress and there’s more to do every day. We are getting ramped up for summer farmers market. Started the 2nd succession of assorted squash and cucumbers using my “staby” planter. These went into plastic covered beds due to weed pressure. Snacked on the very first Sugar Snap Peas. Delicious as always!
Potatoes are blooming. Some say that means the tators are sizing up. Oh, and the first baby tomatoes! Which are already on an 8 ft trellis. Yay us, because we frequently run behind on that trellising chore.
Rather than continue to be a pest asking folks to contact their elected officials below is an email I recently sent one of our Representatives. Feel free to use it as a springboard for your own correspondence:
To:
anthony.daniels@alhouse.gov
Fri 4/21/2023 5:39 PM
Dear Sir,
As the manager of a very tiny organic farmer’s market in Dothan (marketatdothan.com if you care to look it up) I’m more than a little familiar with health from a nutritional standpoint. Last year when my husband ran for Senate we agreed that should Alabama ever consider a grocery tax reduction that foods you can buy tax free RIGHT NOW from a state sanctioned farmer’s market should be tax free in a grocery store.
Norman lost the primary so nothing ever came of that idea, but it’s been encouraging to see strong support for a grocery tax reduction this legislative session.
Using WIC as a guideline is closer to the farmer’s market definition than SNAP which I know you favor. Please consider the following:
1. Snap includes the unhealthy foods that has contributed to Alabama’s obesity problem. Carbonated beverages, empty calorie foods like chips, a multitude of foods containing high fructose corn syrup (a leading factor to high cholesterol but nobody wants to talk about Coke and Pepsi leading to strokes and heart attacks) . . . . I could go on but you get the idea.
2. Our state has been educating people to eat healthy as long as I can remember (I’m 65 if that tells you anything.) IT HAS NOT WORKED. Eliminating tax on healthy food would give people a financial incentive to choose a piece of fruit over a pack of cookies when they have a choice. At least if they go for the cookies the tax could go toward Medicaid . . . which they could wind up needing.
3. Ideally incentivizing healthy food purchases could eventually lower overall health care cost in the state.
Thank you kindly for your time and attention. And think about this the next time you go into a convenience store and watch what people set on the counter to purchase for their travels.
Roslyn Horton
Newville, Alabama
Don’t Forget . . .
We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!
April 15, 2023 M@D Newsletter
MISC MARKET NOTES
It has been a couple of weeks since we notified our M@D family about the state grocery tax initiative and asked that you contact your elected officials. To recap that message, there is very strong support to use surplus funds to reduce grocery taxes in our state. This would be like EVERYONE getting a raise. M@D has long believed that consumers should not have to pay tax on foods they could purchase directly from a farmer tax free, at least if the farmer’s market is state sanctioned (which we’re not but that’s a different set of circumstances.)
There are currently two systems in place in our state’s grocery system that would be easy to modify for reducing/eliminating tax – SNAP and WIC. SNAP pretty much includes anything edible that can kill you over time – carbonated beverages, processed GMO foods . . . long list of nasty stuff that most M@D customers won’t touch.
WIC (“Women, Infants and Children”) on the other hand focuses on HEALTHY FOOD. We believe, and more people are figuring this out, that eliminating tax on healthy food can eventually increase overall health in our state. Which is why we asked that you contact your elected officials. They need to be encouraged 1) support grocery tax reduction/elimination and 2) limit untaxed food to WIC items. I would especially encourage you to reach out to House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) about this as he’s currently supporting SNAP.
Here is a recent update:
THANK YOU in advance for getting involved with this. Individual notes, emails, and calls DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE and who knows, yours might be the one that tips things in the right direction.
Don’t Forget . . .
We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!
April 8, 2023 M@D Newsletter - Happy Easter!
MISC MARKET NOTES
If April Showers bring May Flowers then this year’s approaching May should be glorious! We know of at least two events that were canceled today because of heavy rains. With tomorrow’s forecast looking to be dreary as well I am reminded that the first Easter was not marked by happy gatherings, spring events, bright colors or tons of candy. The times were perplexing and people wondered what would become of all the chaos going on around them. People were faced with hard realities and had to choose what to believe about what had happened and was taking place around them.
That sounds a little too familiar doesn’t it? The important questions haven’t changed and mankind is still faced with the same questions – Is Jesus who He said He was, and Did he indeed raise from the dead?
At it’s core Easter celebrates those answers. And we don’t need sunshine to appreciate what that means for mankind.
Mark this on your calendar:
Avalon Farms:
Asparagus has started popping up so there will be a few listed this week. With the cooler cloudy forecast for this next week, it will probably only be 3 bundles. Hey! They’re doing the best they can. Ha ha
Onions are starting to bulb. Sugar Snap Peas have put on their first blooms. Little tomato plants have a few blooms. Soon we’ll be overrun with tasty natural goodness.
We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!
April 1 M@D Newsletter (No JoKe!)
MISC MARKET NOTES
Good Afternoon – and THANK YOU to everyone who participated in last week’s order cycle. We had a delightful day at the Market Shed. It’s always a joy to put the orders together and see everyone.
And we hope and pray the recent weather hissy fits have not caused any problems for our Market family. Systems like the ones we’ve seen recently are poignant reminders that we are at the mercy of powers far beyond our control.
Some exciting things are happening:
Mark this on your calendar:
Avalon Farms:
Spring is doing it’s thing at Avalon Farms. This past week we planted our first round of squash and cucumbers. Three kinds of yellow squash, 2 kinds of zucchini, some patty pans, and 3 kinds of cucumbers. Plus, zephyr squash, ‘cause they’re in a category of their own. So yummy!
We’ve got 3, maybe more, new veggies that will hopefully be available later this summer. Don’t want to spoil the surprise so you’ll have to wait to find out. (Assuming we don’t kill them.)
Speaking of killing things, if you didn’t hear about the great St Patrick’s Day plant massacre you can read about it on our website
We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!
M@D Call to Arms (this is not a regular newsletter)
This is Ros – Your M@D Manager and this email is to encourage you to contact your senator and representatives TODAY.
At long and at last Alabama is considering legislation that would reduce our grocery tax burden. Many in the state house are on board with it.
Our family has been pushing this idea in Montgomery for at least a year now and I’ve even spoke with senators about the idea of eliminating tax on HEALTHY FOOD. This would give an incentive for people to make smarter choices statewide. Our idea was that anything you could get tax free at a Farmer’s Market should be tax free in a grocery store. In time this has the potential to to reduce obesity and improve everyone’s health, ultimately lowering Medicaid costs.
Apparently that would mean overhauling every grocery computer system in the state. There are however two taxed/non-taxed systems already in use in Alabama, SNAP and WIC.
RIGHT NOW there is debate in the State House about what system to use, to determine what foods would and would not be taxed.
This is because it is the closest to the Farmer’s Market definition of healthy foods. The SNAP system would not discourage people from continuing to abuse themselves with highly processed things that contribute to health problems.
Again, Please email or contact your elected officials TODAY to make your own voice heard. It’s taken this many years to reach this point and we’ve only got one shot at getting it right.
March 25, 2023 M@DS Newsletter
MISC MARKET NOTES
Last week’s really cold snap was tough. Various reports have come in from the region about fruit blooms being damaged, tender crops having to be replanted, all kind of difficulty for folks who work the soil.
You wouldn’t know it today. It’s been a lovely spring day – the kind that makes you want to sit outside with a glass on lemonade and watch puppies, children and birdies play in the grass; the kind of day you hope Easter Sunday will be. The kind of day that makes you want to go to Dothan Nurseries and spend too much for beautiful plants to adorn your home the rest of the year and for years to come.
For several of your Market vendors it means our chickens have amped up production – just in time for healthy egg dishes, colored eggs, and thinking about new ways to enjoy this classic staple protein. No wonder it is used so many ways at Easter.
We hope you’ll take advantage of the many unique products M@D offers for your observance. You can’t go wrong with any of the sweet treats, jams, jelly or honey on your table. And if you opt for a great chicken over pork, this is the right place!
This beautiful dish (and yes, you can tell eggs are on our mind today) is a FRITTATA, a very easy and versatile dish that can be used for any meal. https://carlsbadcravings.com/frittata, is the best instructional site we’ve run across and will give you plenty of great ideas to incorporate your favorite flavors. Enjoy!
We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!
March 18, 2023 M@D Newsletter
GROWER & MARKET NOTES
We received a text early today that Mount Moriah had listed/relisted some of their soaps – good news for all of us! A quick look at our soaps subcategory was a huge reminder of just how blessed M@D is to have gifted soapmakers. If you’ve ever watched a youtube video about the process you can appreciate the combination of science, imagination and art that go into every bar. What follows is a sampling from Mount Moriah, St. Andrews Soap Company and Bella Eden Farms, all of whom make luxurioius bath products.
Top Left: Rice Milk Soap from Bella Eden Farms. “Want a smooth and clear complexion? Try this Rice Milk Soap! “
Top Center: Glacial Stream from St. Andrews Soap Company. Cool water type fragrance blended with aloe vera and other greens. Deep but subtle. Contains ground oatmeal and sea salt as exfoliants.
Top Right: Oatmeal, Milk & Honey (100% Goat Milk Soap) from Mt. Moriah Farms: “We couldn’t leave this fragrance out and yes, there is ground oatmeal,obviously our trademark goat milk, and raw honey from our bee hives! The oatmeal is a natural cleanser and helps absorb dirt, oil, and odor. Oatmeal can be used to help relieve acne, skin irritations, rashes, eczema, and symptoms of aging. Honey has tons of healing properties as well! Our favorite benefit to share is that honey contains amounts of natural hydrogen peroxide which works as a form of neosporin. So lets just say this bar is chalk full of good for you skin repair! “
Center Left: Pine Tar (100% Goats Milk Soap) from Mt. Moriah: “If you were like me when I first heard of this soap, you are thinking “What is that?”… glad you asked because you are fixing to be amazed! Pine Tar soap has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. It is very useful to soothe and treat symptoms of poison ivy, oak, and sumac. Pine Tar is also used to treat skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis: it relieves the itching caused by big bites. We have many folks who use this for their psoriasis with wonderful results in healing! If you know of someone who suffers from psoriasis give them a gift that can give them relief from the pain!”
Center Middle: Kudzu Loofa Soap from St. Andrews: “Loofah grown locally along with most ingredients. Great for exfoliating. Very light scent. Ingredients: tallow, olive oil, coconit oil, lye, fresh kudzu, spirulina, and french green clay, sage and ginger essential oils. “
Center Right: Apple Pie Cream Soap from Bella Eden: “The smell of Autumn is here! Awaken your senses and soften your skin with this creamy apple and cinnamon soap. “
Bottom Left: Black Raspberry from St. Andrews: “One of our favorites, black raspberries blended with vanilla beans. Once you smell it you’ll be in love.
Bottom Center: Pumpkin Pie Cream Soap from Bella Eden: “A delicious pumpkin and cinnamon soap! It leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth, all while awakening our senses to our favorite season of the year! Bathe with the scent of pumpkin with essential cinnamon oil. Made with a cream base and sparkles with Mica glitter powder.“
Bottom Right: Nerdi Neroli from Mt. Moriah: “Requested from our customers this is our newest addition to our soap line! Our traditional, cold process soap recipe with a earthy, floral fragrance. All of our soaps are made with 100% hand milked, 100% raw goat milk.”
Ordering Note Today is BUSY and many of our growers are participating in local events. This means that Market inventory may be added AFTER 5 pm today! Feel free to leave your brower page open and refresh it just to see if anything changes!
We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!
March Fourth 2023 M@D Newsletter
GROWER & MARKET NOTES
Between cold and dreary skies it seems like the winter was long, but something in Tractor Supply last week made my heart happy:
The tanks had everything but the chicks, probably a good thing as I would have taken at bunch home with no preparation. We all know impulse buying is dangerous, but in the case of chicks there are lives at stake!
But we are getting chicks, from a reputable hatchery no less! And if the summer of 2023 goes anything like the summer of 2021 we’ll continue to feast on glassed eggs during the winter months.
Speaking of glassed eggs, there are rumors that some of our vendors may start listing them. If you’re not familiar with this very old practice this is a GREAT article.
Rather than provide inspirational or educational information this week we’re just going to have fun and enjoy some signs of the season.
D’S JELLIES: Our Mayhaw Trees have been in full bloom and the honey Bees found them. We now have lots of Mayhaw berries and we’re hopeful a late freeze won’t get our berries this year. As jelly jars become available, I am adding them to my supply. I hope to be making D’s Mayhaw Jelly in May, D’s BlackBerry Jelly in June, and D’s Hot Pepper Jelly in July. D’s Farmhouse Kitchen Recipes is a good one to add to your collection of Cookbooks. It’s a good one for yourself or for a gift for a friend. Thank you so much for your continued support!
We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!