Fit With Heather: Farmers Market Inspiration

A trip to our local farmers market always brings me inspiration. All the pretty, colorful veggies displayed by the folks who grew them call my name. Music playing in the background. Colorful people walking around, purchasing, smiling, and enjoying their Saturday. It's one of my favorite Saturday things to do. It's still a little early in our part of the world as far as the growing season goes but there can still be lots of yummy things to find!

I decided to buy a bright orange squash that looked sort of like a pumpkin. I love squash and I love to try new ones so I gave this one a shot.

I washed it well. Then I carefully cut it in half (careful, they're somewhat hard to cut). Scooped out the insides and then sliced it into little crescents. I tossed them with about a half tbsp of olive oil, some sea salt, and cayenne pepper.

I preheated the oven to 425, covered my baking sheet with foil and put it in the oven while it preheated.

Then I placed the squash on the baking sheet and roasted for about 25 minutes. This was DELICIOUS. A little sweet, a little 'nutty' and a little spicy (thanks to the cayenne). One nice thing was that the skin was really thin and after roasting, you could just eat it. No need to peel. It was really tasty!

The next thing I bought was heirloom tomatoes. I don't think a trip to the market is complete without tomatoes. I also purchased local, fresh, organic basil. Yum!!

I decided that part-skim mozzarella would be my "lean" this night. Sliced it up with those tomatoes, garnish with basil, and voila' - delicious, healthy lean and green.

Then Sunday, my son, his girlfriend and I took a hike up at Crater Lake National Park. Absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking!! Here are a few photos: