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My Fresh Box!
Posted on March 19th, 2009 18 comments
Today’s frugal luxury is my fresh box! I picked it up at the Guelph Community Health Centre and was happy to discover all the fruits and veggies that had my name on them. It felt like Christmas - only with more veggies and a lot less chocolate.
Here’s what I got for $15:
1 pint raspberries
1 quart jumbo cherry tomatoes
1 package (ziplock bag full) green pea sprouts
1 head cabbage
1 head broccoli
1 large (huge!) cucumber
3 large carrots
2 green pepper
3 large cooking onions
1 roma tomato
1 bag spinach
5 large apples
too many large, red potatoes to count! (I filled a large grocery bag.)
I am really impressed, especially with the size and the quality of all of the fruits and vegetables. The box came with the newsletter, which contained recipes, information on how to best store your vegetables, and a list of where the produce came from. Three of the suppliers were from Wellington County.
So, what are the benefits of the Fresh Box? I think it is a great price. It is partly so cheap because this is a nonprofit enterprise that is partly subsidized from the government. But other benefits include the fact that you are supporting local farmers, cutting down on carbon emissions thanks to minimized transport, and using fewer plastic bags. Even if you carry your own bags or boxes to the store, chances are that most of your produce comes in plastic bags, especially your potatoes, carrots, onions and apples, not to mention any other fruits or veggies you pick up using a produce bag in the store. Using the fresh box system, you pile all your produce into your own box or bag. The only items in a plastic bag were the spinach, cherry tomatoes and the sprouts, although the sprouts came in a ziplock bag, which will be reused. The raspberries came in a plastic box that I will use for painting, and the cherry tomatoes came in a plastic box that will definitely be reused somehow (I’m sure I’ll find some kind of purpose for it!)
As soon as I got in the house I made myself a little sandwich with sliced tomato and some of the fresh sprouts. That was another little frugal luxury! It was delicious!
One of the only downfalls is, of course, not being able to choose your own food. If you are a picky eater, this might not work for you. But knowing me, I will find away to eat every little bit. I happen to already have a head of cabbage sitting in the fridge, so now I have two! Anyone have a great recipe for, well, anything that involves cabbage?
18 responses to “My Fresh Box!”
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Just saw this. Thought it looked good.
Apple Coleslaw
3/4 C Miracle Whip
1 T honey
1 pkg coleslaw (or cabbage)
2 apples, choppedMix dressing and honey. Add cabbage and apples, mix lightly. Refrigerate 1 hour.
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Saver Queen March 19th, 2009 at 23:23
That sounds great, thanks sandi!
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That’s a rather phallic looking carrot you’re holding there SQ. LOL. Great look to the site. Quite a clean feel.
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michelle March 20th, 2009 at 10:12
I put cabbage in a few things, stir fry’s, soup, casseroles, almost anything that calls for veggies…I just chop it up well, I don’t find it has a strong taste and it adds some nutrients….
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Saver Queen March 20th, 2009 at 11:39
Erran, haha, you’re hilarious. Any chance you will be in TO for the Gail pot-luck?
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wow that looks great, I hope you keep posting about them!
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Well, I come from the city of cabbage (Cluj, in Romania) so there was cabbage in pretty much anything I ate.
But my favorite are tajines with cabbage in them, a moroccan specialty.
http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/tag_cabbage.htm
I make this with chicken and chickpeas … I also put big chunks of carrots in it.
Hmm when I used to get the fresh box three years ago, it was 35$.. roughly the same amount of veggies.. what gives? I should try them again.
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Well that explains it. You must be on another fresh box program. This is the one I used :
http://www.frontdoororganics.com/faqIt’s still 35$ per box.
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Saver Queen March 20th, 2009 at 13:00
That sounds delicious ioana, thanks!
Yes, that fresh box you mention serves the Toronto area, and it is organic foods, and is probably private, not government subsidized. It also delivers to your door. So that would explain the higher cost! -
That program is so cool, I’ve really never heard of anything like it around LA. We have a lot of weekly farmer’s markets so you can buy direct from the farmer, it’s all local etc.
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Cole slaw! Mmmm …
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SQ, I remember seeing that posting, but cannot remember the date she was looking at setting that up. I may be in town as I pop into Toronto periodically *shrugs*. You never know.
And is there something you cannot find a use for?
Ha ha And great looking tomatoe sandwich…yum! -
Oh, and I’m sorry but…my fresh box…LOL Frickin’ hilarious! Crude, but I had to mention it. Hahaha
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Do you know of an equivalent program in Ottawa?
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Hi I came here from Laura’s Organizing Junkie blog!
I love meeting new Canadian bloggers (I’m in Manitoba)
I love that fresh veggie box idea, I don’t think we have anything like that. I love veggies.
Re: Cabbage…. Coleslaw is always good, that’s about the only thing I like with cabbage (though I still won’t admit outloud that it has cabbage in it. lol) There is also cabbage rolls which most people seem to like. I have 2 heads of cabbage in my freezer, Yup, you just put them in large freezer bags and pop them in. When you’re ready for them, just let them thaw out and they’ll be good as new, so I’ve been told, this was my first attempt! I bought them to make coleslaw for a BBQ that got canceled so I put them in the freezer.
Will be back to check out more of your blog tomorrow, It’s way past my bedtime!
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Kimber March 25th, 2009 at 13:12
A friend shared a recipe for what she called Cuban Slaw with me. You just slice the cabbage into very fine slivers and drizzle with olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. She said you could also add a little bit of vinegar and sugar if that’s your thing. This tastes awesome, but must be eaten relatively quickly, or it can get pretty soggy.
Enjoy!
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