You needn’t always shop at supermarkets, where a diverse selection of produce, spices, and herbs can be hard to come by. Here are some other places to get your favorite new foods.

Community supported farms: Why not have organic fruits and vegetables delivered to your home or office? Ask at your local farmer’s market or health food co-op, look in the phone book, or check online at www.csacenter.org for local farms that will deliver. These farms often send recipes along with their produce. Some even let you choose the specific fruits and vegetables that you want, and may even let you order non-produce items like soy milk, organic chocolate and coffee, fruit juices, tea, pasta, bread, and sometimes even meat and fish. Many of these farms welcome visitors, which can make for a great day trip.

Farmer’s markets: These have become weekly events in many parts of the country, and they’re a great source of locally grown produce, as well as breads, honey, flowers, and other items. By buying at a local farmer’s market, you support local growers and you know that your food hasn’t traveled across the country to get to you.

Multicultural markets: If your community has neighborhoods where people from different cultures live, visit their markets. It can be like traveling to another country, without the expense of the plane fare. You can often find food items in these markets that you can’t find at your local markets. Experiment by buying one or two unfamiliar items and challenge yourself to find ways to use them. Or ask a local shopper how to use the item, and become part of a mini multicultural exchange program.

The internet: You can buy almost anything online. If there are hard to find items that you’d like to try, log on and order from one of the thousands of independently owned shops on the Internet. Visit www.drsonia.com for more recipes and tips on using unfamiliar food.

Some Shopping and Kitchen Tips

• Plan at least two meals for the week. These can be as simple as a smoothie one morning and the omelet the next, or as complicated as cooking a stuffed salmon with buckwheat pilaf for your cooking group and a mushroom-barley soup to eat all week. Add the ingredients to your shopping list. This way you know you’ll have all the ingredients on hand.
• Choose one item and figure out many different ways to use it in your cooking. For example, how many ways can you use garbanzo beans? Try adding them to soup, making hummus, sprouting them, sprinkling canned or sprouted garbanzos on your salads, and stir-frying sprouted garbanzos in olive oil with fresh sage and chopped red onion.
• If you don’t have a spice and herb collection already, try to buy one spice and one dried herb, such as tumeric and dried dill, or powdered cayenne pepper and dried rosemary, each time you shop. This way, you’ll wind up with a great collection of herbs and spices for any meal you want to cook. Be sure to buy fresh herbs, such as basil and mint, for meals planned in advance.

Tip: Fresh herbs kept in a glass of water or rolled in a damp paper towel in the refrigerator last longer. Also, if you grow your own, you’ll always have fresh herbs handy.

• Go shopping with a friend. Remember to eat before you shop, so you won’t be hungry in the store. Try different foods and treats, have tea together and make a ritual out of it, or make a picnic of some of the items you’ve bought. Make shopping day fun.
• Give each week a specific “theme.” For example, one week you could decide to use Chinese recipes and buy water chestnuts, sprouts, ginger, snow peas, cabbage, lemongrass, dried chiles, and tofu.
• When you decide on recipes to cook for a week, consider doubling the recipe amounts so you’ll have leftovers, or “encore meals.” Freeze the leftovers to eat later or share with a friend. Start a cooking group where you and several friends get together to shop and cook. Choose a type of regional cuisine for that evening, such as Italian or Thai. Find recipes on the Internet, in cookbooks, or by visiting a local food store that carries food from that region. When the meal is ready, sit together and enjoy the aroma, textures, and tastes of the food as well as the pleasures of cooking and being together.

excerpt from The Eating Wisely for Hormonal Balance Journal: A Daily Guide to Help You Manage Your Weight, Gain Energy, and Achieve Good Health by Sonia Gaemi Ed.D., R.D. and Melissa Kirk