The Conservative Cave

Interests => All Things Edible (and how to prepare them) => Topic started by: jendf on May 24, 2008, 12:26:45 PM

Title: Food Co-op
Post by: jendf on May 24, 2008, 12:26:45 PM
I hit the motherload.

My sister convinced me to try a local co-op that lets customers order "baskets" of food online and then pick them up every other Saturday at various locations around the valley. She said they were well worth the money.

This co-op offers rice, beans, breads, produce, honey, and peanut butter.

I ordered one produce basket and a loaf of bread. This morning I picked them up.

For a $15 produce basket, I received the following items:

5 tomatoes
8 carrots
4 zucchinis
1 large container of strawberries
7 apples
3 onions (ginormous)
1 cauliflower head
8 bananas
6 ears of corn
1 bushel of romaine lettuce
4 peaches
1 watermelon (that I almost dropped while dragging it up my apartment stairwell)

1 loaf of honey wheat bread (This was $2, separate from the produce basket)

I only had to throw out one tomato that was punctured somehow.

Not bad for $15. I think that amount of food would cost way more in the grocery store. Now I just have to figure out creative ways to use it all up. My goal is to not let any of it go bad.
Title: Re: Food Co-op
Post by: Lord Undies on May 24, 2008, 01:35:14 PM
You can start out by serving everything on a bed of lettuce.
Title: Re: Food Co-op
Post by: megimoo on May 24, 2008, 02:09:39 PM
Start out with a stir fry of onions chopped,chop the zucchinis,break up the head of cauliflower into florets and boil in salted water with the corn  until done remove the kernels from the corn and add to the stir fry add what ever left over meat you have .

Make a salad of chopped/sliced tomatoes,dice the apples and shred the carrots onto a big bed of Romain make a simple dressing of oil, vinegar and spices .

Quarter slice the peaches the strawberries and the bananas for desert make a simple syrup for the top and call in the neighbors .Toast a few slices of whole wheat .

Title: Re: Food Co-op
Post by: Flame on May 24, 2008, 08:30:30 PM
That is a great deal!!!  I've been hoping to find something similar around here, but so far, no luck....although I did find someone  who raises and butchers hogs, so come January, I'm in bacon heaven!!!
Title: Re: Food Co-op
Post by: jendf on May 24, 2008, 09:37:34 PM
Good suggestions, megimoo. Thanks.

Flame, I honestly never would have heard of this were it not for my sister. Maybe you can google your city name and "co-op" and see what comes up.
Title: Re: Food Co-op
Post by: Miss Mia on May 25, 2008, 12:52:35 AM
Jendf that's pretty cool.  I wish there was something like that around here, I'm going to have to do some investigating on this.
Title: Re: Food Co-op
Post by: RobJohnson on May 25, 2008, 02:16:30 AM
We had a local church that was part of a co-op, knew of some large families that saved alot of money...

The basket you bought sounds awesome....not only is it lower priced then you would of paid retail, I betcha it is alot better tasting and more fresh!

Happy healthy eating!

Sounds yummy....