the twin cities farmers market guide: eat well + hit your protein.
short answer: a farmers market is the cheapest, freshest way to eat well in a twin cities summer — peak-season produce, eggs and meat from local farms, and whole ingredients with nothing hidden. the catch is that most markets are heavy on produce and pastries and light on protein you can actually eat on the spot. so the move is simple: load up on whole foods at the stands, then fill the protein gap. here's how — and where to find tandoco while you're there (richfield saturdays, lake harriet sundays).
- grab at the stands: seasonal produce, fresh eggs, local meat or fish, raw honey — whole foods at their peak.
- watch the gap: markets overflow with veg and baked sweets, but real grab-and-go protein is rare.
- fill it with real food: our swole rolls (22g protein), cinnie minnies, and macro chip cookies — scratch-made, no fillers.
- find us: richfield farmers market on saturdays + the lake harriet park market on sundays.
why a farmers market is a summer cheat code
if you're trying to eat clean, a farmers market does most of the work for you before you've made a single decision.
it's peak-season and local. minnesota's growing season is short and intense — june through fall is when berries, greens, tomatoes, sweet corn, and stone fruit are actually at their best. food picked a day or two ago and driven into the city tastes better and holds more nutrients than produce trucked across the country.
it's whole ingredients by default. there's no ingredient label to decode on a bunch of carrots. you're buying single-ingredient food — the foundation of eating well — without trying.
you can ask the person who grew it. how it was raised, when it was picked, what's good this week. that's a kind of transparency a grocery aisle can't give you.
the only thing a market won't hand you on a plate is a plan for protein. that's the part worth being deliberate about.
what to grab at the stands
build the base of your week here. a good twin cities market haul, roughly in order of how much it earns its spot in your bag:
greens + cruciferous veg. lettuce, kale, chard, broccoli, cabbage — cheap, filling, and the freshest you'll find anywhere. buy more than you think; they go fast in a stir-fry or a big salad.
seasonal fruit. summer berries and stone fruit are the easy win — naturally sweet, high-fiber, and they make a swole roll or a handful of cookies feel like a full dessert.
fresh eggs. often the best protein value at the whole market. a dozen local eggs covers breakfast protein for most of the week.
local meat or fish, if the market has it. not every market does, but when it's there it's worth it — pasture-raised and a real centerpiece for meal prep.
raw honey + pantry extras. honey, jam, sourdough, herbs — small upgrades to food you're already making.
that's a clean, mostly-whole-foods cart. now the gap.
the one thing most markets are short on: protein
walk a market and count: dozens of produce stands, a few bakeries selling croissants and kettle corn, maybe a jam table. what you rarely find is something high-protein you can eat right there or take home for the week.
that's the gap most people fill with a pastry — which is fine as a treat, but it leaves you snacking on mostly sugar and flour while you carry a bag of vegetables you won't cook until tuesday.
you've got two honest ways to close it. one: buy eggs and local meat and actually cook them later (great if you'll do it). two: grab real-food protein at the market itself, so you're fueled on the spot and you've got something for the week that isn't just produce. that second one is the gap we built tandoco to fill.
how tandoco fills the gap
we're a minneapolis kitchen and the only protein bakery in the metro, so the food we bring to market is built to do what a croissant can't.
swole rolls. a big, soft, glaze-dripping cinnamon roll with 22g of protein — the same thing you'd reach for anyway, except it actually fuels you instead of spiking and crashing you an hour later.
cinnie minnies. bite-size protein cinnamon rolls (we make a pecan sticky version too) — easy to share, easier to finish a half dozen of on the walk home.
macro chip cookies. chocolate chip cookies built around protein and whole ingredients, not fillers.
everything's scratch-made with whole ingredients and no fillers. it's the rare market food that's a treat and a real protein source at the same time — which is exactly why we tend to sell out most weekends.
build a high-protein market haul
here's a simple, real example of a saturday haul that eats well all week and isn't all vegetables:
breakfast: a dozen local eggs + summer berries. scramble or hard-boil for fast protein every morning.
lunches + dinners: a big bag of greens and seasonal veg as your base, plus local meat or fish for the centerpiece. cook once on sunday, eat off it all week.
the treat that pulls its weight: a swole roll or a half dozen cinnie minnies — 22g of protein in the thing you actually want to eat, so dessert isn't a hole in your day.
can't get to the market, or worried we'll sell out? you can order online for delivery across the twin cities, or preorder online and pick it up from us right at the market.
where to find tandoco this summer
come say hi — we're out both weekend days:
saturdays — richfield farmers market. the swole rolls, cinnie minnies, and macro chip cookies travel with us.
sundays — the lake harriet park market. same lineup, different lake view.
we usually sell out, so if there's something you don't want to miss, preorder online and pick it up at the market, or just have it delivered. for this weekend's exact hours and stall spot, check tandoco.com or our instagram @tandocohq — markets shift their times through the season and we keep those current. want the full bakery lineup before you come? see everything we bake here.
FAQ
what should i eat at a farmers market if i’m tracking protein?
Lean on the stands for whole-food protein first: fresh local eggs are usually the best value at the whole market, and local meat or fish (when a market has it) makes a great meal-prep centerpiece. For protein you can eat on the spot, real-food options are rarer — that is the gap tandoco fills with high-protein baked goods like swole rolls (22g of protein each), cinnie minnies, and macro chip cookies, all scratch-made with whole ingredients.
are there healthy options at twin cities farmers markets?
Yes — farmers markets are one of the easiest places to eat well in summer because nearly everything is whole, single-ingredient food at peak season: greens, seasonal fruit, fresh eggs, local meat, and honey. The main thing markets run short on is grab-and-go protein, which is worth planning for so you are not snacking on only pastries and produce.
where is tandoco at farmers markets this summer?
tandoco is at the Richfield Farmers Market on Saturdays and the Lake Harriet park market on Sundays, with swole rolls, cinnie minnies, and macro chip cookies. We usually sell out, so you can preorder online and pick up at the market, or order for delivery across the Twin Cities. Check tandoco.com or Instagram @tandocohq for this weekend’s exact hours.
can i preorder tandoco to pick up at the market?
Yes. You can preorder online and pick it up from us right at the Richfield (Saturday) or Lake Harriet (Sunday) market — a good idea since we tend to sell out. If you cannot make a market, you can also order online for delivery across the Twin Cities.
how much protein is in a swole roll?
A tandoco swole roll has 22g of protein. It is a full-size, soft, glazed cinnamon roll made from scratch with whole ingredients and no fillers — built to be a real protein source, not just a sweet.