CSA, Farmers’ Market, Bountiful Baskets

Project 365 – #141

What do all of these things have to do with each other?  They’re all great ways to get fresh fruits and veggies at a more affordable price. You’ll also be supporting local farms/farmers which helps the local economy.

At a Farmers’ Market, you get to decide what you’ll be taking home with you that day.  If you’re a regular, you’ll get to know the vendors which may allow you to work out a few deals.  You’ll learn the best time of day to come to get the best deals.  (At our Farmers’ Market in Northern Virginia, we were able to get some exceptional deals at the end of the day as they didn’t want to pack up their goods.  They’d rather sell things at a discounted rate.  I haven’t been able to find that type of deal here yet.)

With a CSA and Bountiful Baskets, you never know what you’ll receive.  Picking up your share/basket can be a little like Christmas as you discover all of the goodies that you’re taking home.  Since you’ll probably end up with some fruits and veggies that you’ve never had or maybe never even heard of before, you’ll expand your pallet while discovering how to add these items to your menu.  Sometimes your basket content will leave you a little puzzled, so you may need to do a little research into what exactly that particular item may be.  (We have one of those types of items this week.)

All of these lovely fruits and veggies don’t do you much good if you don’t eat them.  Once I get all of my goodies home, I like to unpack everything and put it all out on the table.  I take note of everything that we received and start planning how we’ll incorporate these items into our meals for the week.  As I wrote about last week, I try to do the meal and snack prep with the fruits and veggies before I put them away.  I start mentally figuring out what all I might need to help turn all of produce into meals and/or snacks.

The nice thing about fruits and veggies is they are naturally gluten free.  I don’t have to be concerned about cross contamination or being accidentally glutened.  By having all of the produce on hand, I am able to make sure that we are eating healthy and incorporating enough produce into our diet.  We always have healthy snacks on hand which means we are less likely to reach for junk.

If you end up with too much of a certain fruit/veggie, you can freeze it (if possible), or you can be a great neighbor and share your extras with others.  You can split baskets with your neighbors or even just share favorites.  There are certain fruits/veggies that our neighbors really enjoy that my family is just okay with eating.  I’d rather pass those items along to them, so they’re really enjoyed.  It’s a great thing for everyone involved.

Based upon our basket for this week, our menu plan looks something like this:

• Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato sandwiches made with turkey bacon
• BBQ chicken with corn on the cob
• Large salad with grilled chicken
• Chicken salad lettuce wraps with fruit salad
• Loaded baked potatoes with fresh broccoli
• Fajitas with fresh peppers and onions

I’m currently working on getting some local farm fresh eggs and maybe some chicken.  Hopefully, that will work out as I miss our farm fresh eggs and poultry.

You can find local farms, farmers’ markets, and CSAs near you at LocalHarvest.org.  Bountiful Baskets are currently available in Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Northern Texas, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, and Eastern Washington. They offer both organic and conventional baskets as well as specialty baskets (bulk fruit/veggies, bread, granola…).

This post is featured in The Christian Home: Issue 16.