I go the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market here in San Francisco nearly every Saturday morning. I love it. It's sort of my thing. It's not only my grocery shopping trip and a chance to just get some air and be around bustling crowds excited about food, but it's also my way of providing myself with that extra bit of insurance every week that I'll stay well. By eating organic, local, pastured (not pasteurized!), grass-fed, REAL foods, we can help our bodies to build up immunity and avoid getting sick almost all year-round. These are real foods and are packed with vitamins. Rather than waiting until you get sick to down tons of Vitamin C, eat it regularly to ward off those bugs. Did you know that 1 cup of a kale salad contains 135% of your RDA for Vitamin C? (source: nutritiondata.com) So it's not just in your citrus fruit, it's packed in any veggies, especially when you chomp on them raw.
So, let's add it up, shall we?
These are estimates, of course some people will pay more and some less.
$30.00 – Office copay, if you're lucky! I'm sure many people pay more than that.
$30.00 – Prescription medicine, again, if you're lucky and have prescriptions covered.
$20.00 – Tissues, cough drops, tea, etc. at the drugstore.
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$80.00 – TOTAL COST OF BEING SICK
And this is being generous and assuming we're covered by insurance. Without insurance I think we all know that those office visit and meds costs would probably triple.
$64.35 – TOTAL COST OF WELLNESS for fresh, organic, amazing food for a week – see details on my Farmers Market trip notes above.
Check out the video of the items I picked up that day.
Get shopping for yourself and cooking some real, fresh food. See what a difference it makes in your health and immunity. Good food will go a long way!
Note: I was inspired to write this post by Michelle of Find Your Balance Health after reading her recent post about a grocery store trip. I wanted to focus on my farmers market shopping since I typically grab cash for most of it and just spend as I want to, without tracking how much I spend on each of my items. What an eye-opening experience. Plus, now I'm even MORE budget sensitive and am able to scope out the best prices for each type of item at the market- score!
The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Marketis open year-round on Saturdays (8am-2pm) and Tuesdays (10am-2pm) and seasonally on Thursdays (10am-2pm).
To find out how and where you can access Farmers Markets in your area, check out LocalHarvest.org.
Get more information about preventing illness and boosting immunity by contacting me today to get started with Holistic Lifestyle & Nutrition Coaching.