Trying a New Thing with Produce

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

Recently I did something new.  I joined a subscription box for the delivery of fruits and vegetables weekly. I started last week with a box for 2 for just under $40.  It included the delivery and was the price after a promotional discount. 

The contents included a good variety of vegetables such as potatoes, cauliflower, green peppers, onions, 2 ears of corn, grape tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce.  The fruit included 2 grapefruits, 3 oranges, 3 apples, 2 avocados, 2 lemons and 1 bunch of green grapes. The oranges and apples barely lasted more than a day. We also go through more fruits and more variety of them every week. 

I managed to create meals for most of the week with the vegetables provided.

This week I changed my order to mixed vegetables and fruits for $20.  In the box will be cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, beets, lettuce, peppers, oranges, apples, berries and a mystery item.

Carrots, potatoes and onions were missing from the box's contents. I can't go without any of these though I have cut down on all three items due to price and weight. I go everywhere on foot on public transit and everything has to fit in my shopping trolley.  I'm running low on several items so I decided to go out and see what I could find.  

I bought navy beans, red lentils, 1 red pepper, 1 zucchini, 2 pounds onions, 1 medium cabbage, 3 giant carrots, 5 pounds of russet potatoes, 5 mandarins, 2 pounds of Fuji apples, 1 bunch of red grapes, 1 bunch of bananas, 2 pounds plain yogurt & 2 litres milk. This shopping cost me just over $51. Canadian dollars and was purchased at 3 different shops. I haven't bought any meat, chicken or fish and I'm trying to see if I can make do until the end of the month. I could change my mind if I come across any great sales. In the meantime I've got several kinds of beans, lentils, rice and pasta to combine with the good variety of vegetables I'll have on hand.

Here are some meals from last week using the vegetables I ordered and the meat we had on hand.

Coleslaw, pickled beets, macaroni & cheese, hamburger patty

Kielbasa sausage with vegetables, tortellini & grape tomatoes

Fried chicken with onions and pasta with mixed vegetables

Homemade buns

BBQ Pork ribs, roasted potato & garlic, green salad

Green salad, corn on cob, seasoned rice and hamburger patty

Besides cooking at home I did eat out a couple of times. I enjoyed the Bento Box I had because I had been craving sashimi. 

Everything was wonderful!

I also enjoyed a Vietnamese dish.

Update:  This is the 2nd box of produce delivered on Thursday. I was pleased with the contents because it was more than I was expecting plus they added a honey dew melon. I think I'll be making creamy broccoli, spinach or cauliflower soup this week.

I've used up much of my freezer meats so this week our meals will be more bean and legume based.  I've been wanting to try fewer meat meals on a more regular basis both for health and pocket book reasons. Now is as good a time as any.

What about you dear reader? Have you changed your way of cooking due to the higher cost of living? Have you ever subscribed to a produce or meat box?

Monday ~ Canada Day

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope your weekend is going well.

Source:  Freepik

  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA

🎉🎊🎉

🎆🎆🎆

It's Canada's birthday on July 1st. The country celebrates it's 157th birthday. I'm taking it easy today in preparation for a busy week.

It's Sunday as I sit and write this short post. I did little work as I'm in need of a rest day after all the busy-ness of the past weeks.

Yesterday I had a small harvest of swiss chard and kale from my community garden.  I made a juice with it to which I added beets, carrots, ginger, lemon and a small amount of green protein powder.  The protein powder is not my favourite as it uses stevia as a sweetener which I really don't like. I also found that the beets had a very strong, earthy taste even though I only used a small one.  Nonetheless, it probably did my system some good to get some fresh nutrients into my body.

I washed one load of towels and bed clothes. Normally I do laundry 2x per week but I wash the bedding once per week on weekends.  Since it's a long weekend I'm pushing the bedding laundry to a day later.

I also enjoyed getting a good start on the latest novel I'm reading called The Enchantress of Numbers, a historical novel based on the life of Ada Lovelace.  She is only legitimate child of the romantic poet, Lord Byron. Apparently, Ada was an early pioneer in the field of computing and is considered the first computer programmer. Somehow I never heard of her. Let me know in the comments section if you have heard of her and how you came to know of her.

How Is Your Week Going?

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope the week is going well for you.

It's been busy here at the homestead.

It rained heavily on the weekend an a bit on Monday and Tuesday but otherwise it's expected to get quite warm for the rest of the week.  Possibly longer.

Monday started with a bang.  The workmen delivered a few pallets of cement blocks to the patio using a small crane. It was interesting to watch. These cement blocks will be used to build the garden wall which will then be filled with soil and ready for planting.

I had to make several phone calls. It's the season of birthdays and graduations in my world so I was on the phone making plans or confirming plans for both occasions. Everyone is busy these days so it's hard to find the mutually free time to get together but it works when everyone makes an effort.

I don't have too many indoor plants these days since I now have 2 large artificial trees. However I like to have live plants around me whenever  possible. Though the conditions in my home are not the best for plants (I have too little direct sunlight light and it's too cold for much of the year),  I still like to try to grow them. I purchased a fern that was on clearance and have just recently hung it up after looking for a wire chain and pot to use. I'll need to find another pot as I'm using the blue one as a liner. I'll look for a slightly smaller pot to repot the fern which is root bound. Hopefully I can put it outside in the sunshine even while the work outside is ongoing outdoors. Of course I'll have to do it when the workers  aren't working 

I continue to try and make healthier meals for the dinner hour. Stir frys are a favourite because they are quick and you can add so many different veggies to the noodles, rice or meat.

I'd love to know what is your favourite healthy meal to make?

That's all for today. Thank you for stopping by!