Hi, MD!

Those strawberries are better than any that I find in the farmer's markets in CA!!!

The sweet potatoes and carrots sound pretty good, too.

If I faced the conditions that you describe, I would try to buy a bit more of THE VERY SAME BATCH when I found decent quality.

Take several samples to be sure of consistency!!! To do this, one MUST be able to test right at the store or farmer's market booth. A different lug of produce may have entirely diff readings...check some of my past posts about that!!!

I have a similar problem with greens, especially in hot weather. So far, my best solution seems to be the green sauces with lots of my very hi brix home grown comfrey and wild crafted greens with the best quality herbs I can find for flavor.

Just brought home some new Asian ones from the Farmer's market to try. Since these are for flavor and not the major component quantity wise, quality can be as low as average and the resulting sauce will still be pretty darn good for me. Of course, as i find what I like, will be moving toward growing my own!

In my area, the red and Yukon gold potatoes are often decent. have you checked those where you shop??? Either the potatoes or the sweet potatoes are great with a variety of those green sauces!

Be adventurous and creative...check foods you have not formerly eaten or considered. Check with any Hispanic, Indian, Midle e\Eastern or Asian ethnic communities and their stores for additional options that may be of better quality! And DO let us know what you find!!!

So is pasta, if you can find decent quality and can tolerate its slightly greater tendency to acidity!!! Those with a Candida/yeast history are well-advised to wait at least several months to try the pasta, based on my experience. Even then, poor quality will likely cause C,/y flare-ups for over a year.

Keep shopping smart and working toward growing your own for healthy eating!!!

Di

There is an additional "catch" to Brix readings. When done on crops in the field (while the plant is still growing), the Brix level will vary depending on the time of day the time of day a Brix reading is taken. Brix levels are an indication of the amount of sugars in the leaf or fruits of a plant. The peak Brix time is about 2 pm. The sugars are developed in the leaf by day if there is sunshine (photosynthesis). At night the sugars go out of the leaves and down into the roots where they feed the roots and the symbiotic soil organisms. Then, in the morning the the sugars move back up into the above ground portion of the plant.

Farmers Market farmers typically get out very early ( as early as 4 am) in the morning on days they are going to market and pick the produce so it is fresh, fresh, fresh for farmers market. But, the Brix is mostly down in the roots still, and not in the leafy green parts. If the plant has good Brix readings in the middle of the day, you will have a plant that is full fo minerals and vitamins at market even though it was picked while the Brix was underground. But, it becomes much more ify to know what the Brix by day is. You really want a Brix of 5 or 6 in your greens at Farmers market to ensure that the daytime Brix while the plant was growing was high enough.