Jen's first farmer's market experience

I can't tell you how the idea of the Buy Local Challenge scared me at first. Me? Social shrinking violet? TALK to people selling food? In fact, my first response to the idea was, "No way am I participating in this." But it was time to get off the Slim-Fast and learn how to eat like a civilized human being. So on August 1, I took my first step toward becoming my mother: I went to a farmer's market.

It was my first farmer's market experience, and it actually was pretty fun. There were lots of small children and animals, which is always good for roping me into things, since I am a sucker for anything cute. The first thing that struck me was the sheer size of the veggies. Does broccoli really GROW that big? Are tomatoes really shaped like that? That is the largest eggplant I've ever seen! Needless to say, I gave my first $20 away at lightning speed. Then I called my mother and complained, "I bought a head of CABBAGE!! Me! Cabbage! I remember when I could subsist solely on Little Debbie's Snack Cakes!"

That night, I made it a project to wash all the veggies and make a salad for lunch. By the time I'd chopped the onions and broccoli, my mouth was quite literally watering. Even though it was the last day of my hard-won weekend, I found myself looking forward to waking up, going to work, and finally tasting this little beauty. It was excellent, and I found myself really enjoying the vaguely domestic nightly salad-making. Aside from a few sour spots (most notably finding a dead ladybug hanging out on a lettuce leaf), it was kind of fun, and I found that instead of feeling like I was becoming my mother's clone, I felt more independent. No matter what my DNA says about the matter, I'm taking charge of my own nutrition. Chocolate cravings, beware.

I hadn't been to the gym in weeks: as everyone here knows, work can sure do a number on your fitness routine. So after a week or so of yogurt (with farmer's market fruit mixed in) for breakfast and salad for lunch, it was a great surprise when I looked at myself in the mirror one day and realized a whole lot of me wasn't there. I'm off to the gym today (for the first time in decades) to see if this apparent weight loss is for real. If it is... well. I hope that mutant broccoli grows year-round, because I'll be back to the farmer's market every Sunday looking for it.