What To Buy At The Farmer’s Market This Month: Thanksgiving Edition

Can you believe that it’s almost November? I feel like this year has flown past!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I am so excited for this year! I love to find seasonal foods at my local farmer’s market for Thanksgiving. Eating local food tastes sooo much better and that makes it perfect for Thanksgiving!

In my area it’s still 80 degrees (can you believe it? ugh) so the growing season is a little bit longer here. But I know for many of you, especially those of you who live further north, the farmer’s market pickings are getting slim in November.

Because of the variety of climates in the United States this is farmer’s market guide is pretty general. If you want to know exactly what’s in season in your area you can head over to The Seasonal Food Guide. I love this website because you can put in your zip code and know exactly what’s in season throughout the year in your area!

So let’s get started! Here’s what you should be looking for at the farmer’s market in November!

Apples

I’ve said it many times before, but I LOVE fresh apples. And fresh apples are perfect for making apple pie for Thanksgiving! In my opinion, there’s nothing better than homemade apple pie. You can check out my favorite homemade pie recipes here: Homemade Pie Recipes For The Holidays

You can also use fresh apples to make homemade apple cider vinegar! I have a guide for how to make apple cider vinegar here!

Mint

If you’re lucky you might be able to find some fresh mint at your local farmer’s market this month. It’s still in season in my area at the beginning of November, so keep an eye out for it! Having mint around during Thanksgiving is a must have for me because mint soothes upset tummies. I like to chew on the leaves, or I’ll make mint tea if I have an upset stomach (from eating too much!)

Plus mint has tons of benefits for your chickens! I use dried peppermint in my hens’ nesting boxes! You can get dried peppermint in my shop here: Dried peppermint 

Potatoes

If you’re lucky you might still be able to find some local potatoes for your Thanksgiving mashed potatoes. Since potatoes are fairly easy to store long term you can usually find farmers who have stored their crop from earlier in the season. When I lived further north I would go to a local farmer who stored potatoes in a massive root cellar! It was awesome because you could get local potatoes year round!

Check out my favorite recipe for Southern Style Mashed Potatoes and Gravy that you can make in your instant pot!

Sweet Potatoes

Yum! I love sweet potatoes! And good thing they’re in season in November, so you can make candied yams for Thanksgiving! This recipe for candied yams looks delicious (This recipe does call for sweet potatoes, not yams. Typically in the U.S. the words sweet potatoes and yams are used almost interchangeably which can be confusing!)

You can also try my favorite recipe for Southern Style Sweet Potatoes!

Winter Squash

I’m really looking forward to trying some recipes with winter squash this year! There are so many varieties of winter squash (spaghetti, acorn, butternut etc.) and I’m really looking forward to trying some out!

Some recipes I’m dying to try this year are:

• Herb Roasted Parmesan Acorn Squash
• Million Dollar Spaghetti Squash
• Primavera Spaghetti Squash
• Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash
• Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Pumpkin

There are still fresh local pumpkins hanging around after Halloween, I promise! I love using fresh pumpkin to make pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice because it’s perfect for the holidays! You can find my recipe here: Pumpkin Puree & Pumpkin Spice. But my favorite thing to do with fresh pumpkin is make pumpkin pie! You can check out my favorite holiday pie recipes right here!

Carrots

Where I live, fresh carrots start showing up in October & November (since summers are so hot!) This recipe for Maple Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots would be the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving!

Mustard Greens

Yum! Mustard greens are perfect for salads and they would be great for a Thanksgiving side dish. Check out this recipe for Sautéed Mustard Greens With Garlic and Lemon!

Thyme

I love fresh thyme! Typically November is the last month there’s fresh thyme at the farmer’s market, so I’m going to enjoy it while I can! I just made a recipe for meatball orzo stew tonight for dinner, and the best part was it featured fresh thyme! You can find the recipe here: Slow cooker meatball orzo stew.

Well that’s all folks! If you’re looking for Thanksgiving décor ideas for your home, I’ve got your covered! Head over to this article here for my favorite fall themed décor! What are you going to buy at the farmer’s market this month?