Is That Our Fruits and Veggies?

Last year we joined a CSA, where you pay a farmer at the beginning of a season for a portion of their crop.  In exchange, you get weekly produce throughout the season.  It sounded great in theory, and I imagined us chowing down on wonderful meals of organic produce all summer long. But in reality, we got a lot of vegetables we don't typically eat (seriously, how often can you eat turnip greens?); it was a hot, dry summer, so we had some pretty skimpy boxes; and we were out of town two weeks and we gave all that produce away.  That's not to speak of the rather embarrassing quantities of produce that ended up in the trash or on the compost pile.

But since I continue to learn (the hard way) that life with kids is about compromise, this year we are trying something different.  We signed up for a service called The Produce Box that delivers boxes of vegetables and fruit to us weekly.  No, the produce isn't organic, nor is it all from truly local farmers, but it is all from North Carolina, and it is all from small to medium sized farms and they tend to use fewer pesticides than large, commercial farms.  As added bonuses, we get to pick from several different box choices each week so we can primarily get produce we will use, we pay as we go, and we have the ability to skip weeks.

It's probably not the cheapest way to get produce, but it is an inexpensive way to get healthy produce, and it's a luxury I'm happy to put in our budget.  Especially given the kids' response.  I can't begin to describe how happy they are when the box comes each week, especially the boys.  When we bring the box in to the house, Michael always comes running and asks, "Is that our fruits and veggies?" in a tone which other kids reserve for things like, "You really mean we can buy every toy in the store?" or "We're really going to live at Disney World?"  Then he asks to open the lid so he can see the treasures.  Leon may not say much out loud with the produce arrives, but it's not long before the chef is muttering under his breath, planning dinners based on the contents of the box.

It's forcing us to be creative in our meals, so that we can use what we receive.  If you asked the kids at the beginning of summer, they would've told you that none of them like eggplant.  If you asked today, they would probably give the same answer, except after trying it numerous ways, we've discovered they all loved roasted eggplant.  And we like roasted veggies because we can prep them ahead of time and just toss them in the oven at dinner.  It is what Jeff calls a Magic Dinner.

And the kids are becoming more open to trying new things, especially fruits.  We have had a large variety of melons this summer, many of which I've never heard of before.  After some initial hesitations, they've realized they are fabulous.  It was hard not to smile yesterday when we opened the box and Leon said, "A sprite melon!  Mom, we got a sprite melon!"  Yup, we sure did.