Before I dive into what produce boxes have done for the way we eat, let me disclose a few important details.
1) My kids are little rabbits. Though we have picky issues of our own, for the most part my children will readily eat vegetables. Lots of vegetables. I understand that this is not the case in all families, but it is the case in ours.
2) I enjoy cooking. I really do. Like…really. That being said, I have three kids, so as much as I would love spending my entire day in the kitchen, well…I have three kids. That means our meals, just like in most families, have to get to the table with the most amount of nutrition in the least amount of time, with the fewest amount of dishes. So no, I do not toil in the kitchen all day, and even though we use very little processed food I still get most of my meals to the table in less than an hour.
3) I work for The Farm Table delivering their veggies to other families. Does that sway my opinion? No. It does, however, make getting veggies on a budget easier with minimal effort. If you can deliver or otherwise find employment with a local produce delivery, I recommend it…highly.
Highly.
On with it!
The question I typically get is:
“But do you actually save money?”
The answer? Yes. But not quite the way most people anticipate. So let me break it down….
1) We -Are- Spending More Money On Produce – Because we are purchasing more produce. That is an important distinction to make. We are spending more on produce because there is more produce coming into our house than before we were using the boxes. In fact, at the time I am writing this post, my refrigerator is safely 80% produce. That also means our meal plates end up being at -least- 60% produce, but most days the percentage is a bit larger. The exception to this is breakfast, which tends to be our protein rich meal.
2) We Spend -Less- Money on Junkfood/Processed Food – I am not sure if you have this problem but…I impulse buy nonsense when I go to the grocery store. I also fill my basket with things we simply do not need…even when I make a really detailed grocery list, and if Papa Lovie is with me? Forget it. Since the produce boxes are keeping our fridge stocked, I go to the store once, possibly twice a month to fill up on the same staples:
- Triscuits
- Bananas (Baby Lovie hearts her bananas)
- Almond Milk (Princess Lovie does not drink cow’s milk)
- Meat (Whatever is on sale to add to our freezer stash)
- Cheese (Blocks, because there is cellulose in the shredded stuff)
- Flax
- Chia
- Bulk Bags of Frozen Fruits and Veggies (every three months or so, but it is cheaper to buy from the grocery store than Costco)
Every two or three months I go to Costco for the following….
- Oils (Coconut and Avocado)
- Whole Wheat Pasta
- Dried Fruit
- Oats
- Ritz Crackers (Because Papa Lovie can not live without the devil’s snack food)
- Diet Pepsi (I vehemently oppose this as often as possible but… the key to a good marriage is compromise, right?)
- Bacon
- Organic snacks (for grab and go purposes)
- Sausage (All Natural)
- Chicken Nuggets (All Natural)
- Annie’s Mac and Cheese
- Pepper Cheese (Because life is better with hot pepper cheese)
- Honey
- 100% Maple Syrup
- Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Coffee
I go to the natural store every blue moon for…
- Wheat Berries (I mill wheat..that is a whole other post)
- Liquid Aminos
- Unfiltered Olive Oil
- Real Salt
- Local Raw Honey (I use this on uncooked food items only. Cooking it is a waste of good honey and good money)
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
- Arrowroot Powder
- Raw Cocao
- Baking Powder
So, with the exception of trips for event related items (potlucks, birthday parties, holidays), I have reduced my grocery store trips from an average of six to eight a month down to three. Three opportunities to impulse buy, though with fewer tests of my will power, I find it much easier not to indulge. Fewer indulgences means fewer wasted dollars.
3) We Place More Value on our Veg – at least I do. Spending more for better produce means I am less inclined to waste it. Less inclined to order a pizza because we really need to eat the salad greens which are sitting in our fridge. Know what this means? We eat out less. Which means we save money -and- put less garbage into our bodies. Win-win. Now, does this take a bit of discipline? Sure, but when you throw out a bag of farm fresh kale because you chose to take the kiddoes to Chick-Fil-A, it does something to you. Or at least…it does something for me. I am even more diligent about taking lunches when we go out rather than buying them. Have we stopped eating out completely? No. We still enjoy a weekend dinner, lunch out with a friend, or Chinese when mom has had a crazy-crazy busy day. But it is nowhere near what it once was.
In short, produce boxes have helped us streamline our food budget. We are spending less on garbage and making less waste, which has left us more money to spend on good quality food that makes our bellies happy. The net change in my actual budget? None. I am actually spending nothing more to get ethically grown produce from local sources. Is that crazy, or what?
How Has it Changed Things Overall?
I asked Papa Lovie if he has noticed a difference since we started ordering boxes. His answer? Yes. I asked him if it was a change for the better and he said ‘Well, I’ve noticed a difference’. After a bit of prodding he told me that he would feel it was for the better if we were getting more food he was accustomed to. That is something to keep in mind. If you do not have adventurous eaters in your household, the more traditional CSA style produce boxes may not be for you. I have enjoyed the challenge of newer foods, and have also liked the built in opportunity to introduce my children to vegetables I likely would not have bought or cooked otherwise. Furthermore, delivery day is like Christmas at my house. I allow the girls to open the box and they get really excited about taking out everything inside. They ask a lot of questions and it builds anticipation, which makes them more willing to try something new. We also spend time looking up recipes for these unfamiliars and the girls get to help make decisions about dinner. It is thrilling for them. (Less for me, I hate having kids in my kitchen… but that is a post for another day)
It has completely reversed the way I meal plan, and the way I shop. I no longer plan what we will eat based on my stable of recipes, I make dinners based on what is readily available…which means our meals are now produce driven. It takes the vegetables from an after thought to a main feature of the meal, so we put less emphasis on starches and processed elements. We also eat what we have…week after week and make the most of what is already in the house. Cooking what we have in the house also keeps me out of the inevitable dinner rut because I rarely cook the same thing twice.
So…that’s the long story….
The short story is…
Better Veg
No Net Budget Change
Less Junkfood
Less Processed Food
Less Impulse Buying
Less Burnout
Less Waste
Happy Mama
Happy Kids
Lukewarm Papa
Nourished Family
Questions? I love questions! Please feel free to ask!
Zen, Sarcasm and Gratitude 