By: Andrea Westervelt

March starts this week and it’s time for a March meal planning calendar! I am definitely ready to get into some warm weather and starting to see fresh veggies at the farmers market again. So what can you find at the farmers market in March? Well, for many of our farmers, especially up north where I am, it’s still the winter. So we still have storage crops, frozen meats, and prepared items like spices and breads. But your farmers market managers and farmers are not just sitting around waiting for plants to grow- this is actually when the markets you attend are being planned and organized. Now is a good time to reach out to your farmers and the manager of your local market and let them know who you are hoping to see back at the market. They are truly hoping to curate a market that will be popular and successful, so feel free to reach out! One of the best things about farmers markets is making that connection to those that source your food.

Onto my March meal plan:

Click here to download and print the free meal planning calendar!

March Recipes:

-Italian Chicken Roll-ups: I found a recipe for this once, but now I just sort of make it up: Cut chicken into small strips. Saute in a pan with oil, season with italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cool slightly. Roll into crescent rolls with mozzerella cheese. Top with parmesan cheese. Cook slightly longer than directions for crescent rolls and serve with pasta sauce for dipping.

-Flank Steak Salad- for the flank steak, the key is to marinate the meat. I read somewhere once a chef saying they sort of just throw “whatever” into the marinade – so now I worry about it a lot less, but it always includes, soy sauce, worcester sauce, lime juice, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

-Crock pot hawaiian chicken from here: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/slow-cooker-hawaiian-barbecue-chicken/

-Salmon with orange-honey glaze: to be honest, I just google this separately every time I make it! You just cook down some orange juice, add about a tablespoon of honey, maybe some ginger if you have it. Pour over the salmon toward the end of cooking so it doesn’t burn.

-Indian Beef Curry: https://marleyspoon.com/menu/10329-indian-beef-curry-with-peas-buttery-naan

-Hamsteak- a farmers market is the best place to get humanely raised pork. It seems you can’t always find it in a store. For the hamsteak- the old Westervelt Family recipe is to mix brown sugar, honey, and ketchup and use that for a glaze. Sounds odd but it’s delicious.

– Homemade chicken soup: a farmers market is also a great place to get chicken bones or parts to use to make homemade stock.

-Chicken Stir Fry: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/18/health/stir-fried-chicken-with-mixed-sweet-and-hot-peppers-and-cashews.html

-Pistachio Crusted Cod- another recipe I saw once but you can kind of do on your own: mix chopped pistachios, bread crumbs and parmesan cheese with some olive oil. Top cod with this mixture and bake until done.

-Corned Beef and cabbage: I don’t have a recipe for this one! But even though we are not irish- my kids love the sweet flavor of corned beef, so we will probably order it from somewhere local for St. Patrick’s day!

-Chicken Gyros-https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/easy-chicken-gyros-tzatziki-sauce/

-Salad Bar- One of my favorite dinners- get a rotisserie chicken, a lot of lettuce, and put out any of the following toppings and kids can mix and match: chickpeas, corn, croutons, bacon, hard boiled eggs, peppers, carrots, cheese

-Baked potato bar- I’m making this the day after the salad bar so I can re-use some toppings- I will maybe add broccoli and more cheese

-Chicken and Waffles- a semi-homemade meal as I will totally buy premade chicken fingers and frozen waffles, but I will make the sauce from here: https://applegate.com/recipes/mini-chicken-and-waffles-with-spicy-maple-sauce

-Mushroom Pasta- I’m definitely adding rotisserie chicken as the recipe suggests, so my kids eat something after picking out all the mushrooms! https://healthyfitnessmeals.com/creamy-wild-mushroom-pasta/

-Carrot Soup- http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/249990/carrot-soup/

The key here is to add a dollup of plain yogurt to each bowl (don’t add the half & half in the recipe)

-Artichoke pasta- I originally found this recipe here: https://www.thescramble.com/recipes/baked-artichoke-pasta/

-Pretzel chicken: http://www.dinneralovestory.com/pretzel-chicken-weeknight-keeper/

-Ground beef tacos: buy your ground beef at the farmers market! If you are lucky they may also sell homemade tortillas, homemade taco seasoning, or homemade guacamole!