Low-Glycemic Eating at the Farmer's Market

Often readers tell me that eating low-glycemic is too technical and complicated. It really isn't, as our trip to the Farmer's Market in San Francisco last weekend illustrates. The market offers unique foods and many low-glycemic treats. We nibbled our way across aisles filled with a large array of ripe succulent fruit, vegetables, and other locally-produced foods. Low-glycemic samples included fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, and dried fruit. The Honey-Orange Almonds were medium glycemic as were the small bites of dark-chocolate covered toffee. Although both were made with honey or sugar, none of the ingredients were high-glycemic, so the food itself was in the medium category. (Sugar is medium glycemic.) The bread samples were high-glycemic. Once you add white or finely-ground whole wheat flour to a recipe, it most likely is high-glycemic, or close to it.

I purchased dried orange slices and plan to order dried lemon slices online. They were tangy, refreshing, and low-glycemic. We couldn't sample the unusual varieties of legumes as they were uncooked. But I plan to purchase them later for winter soups. If I can't find them in Salt Lake, I'll order them online. Legumes are low-glycemic.

For lunch, we ordered Dungeness Crab deviled eggs at the Market Bar. The low-glycemic deviled eggs came heaped with crab and topped with a tangy Louis dressing. They gave us enough high-quality protein endurance to enjoy a couple more hours at the market. After this light lunch, we sampled salami slices flavored with orange zest and fennel seeds – another low-glycemic high protein snack. Meats, nuts, seafood, and eggs have a zero glycemic value because they don't contain carbohydrates.

Towards late afternoon, I purchased two thin crisp chocolate chip cookies – they were made with flour, so most likely they were high-glycemic. If they contained enough butter or fat, they could have been medium-glycemic, but when it comes to dessert-type foods with viturally no nutritional value, I figure they're high-glycemic.

Our local Farmer's Market doesn't come close to the grandeur of San Francisco's. But I'm resolved to shop ours more frequently to eat more local produce and support our local farmers. A local grocery store here in Salt Lake sells locally grown produce. It just tastes better.

Eating low-glycemic is easy if you know the basics - fruit, vegetables, eggs, nuts, seeds, legumes, meat, seafood, poultry, butter, and olive oil are low-glycemic. That list gives you plenty of options for preparing wonderful meals and feasts.