Lots of Produce for Little Price

I think it was a few days ago that I wrote an article about how I was going to have to readjust my budget, make some changes and try to work around rising prices somehow.

One of the things I mentioned was an app I came across. I actually came across it a few months back but didn't think much of it. The threat of rising prices on groceries seriously had me reconsidering my earlier skepticism so I decided to download the app and take a look.

There are only a few stores in my area that work with this app but two of them are only a few minutes drive from us. I looked at the deals between the two of them and decided to seriously consider making a purchase.

Once I made up my mind on it, I talked to my husband and he agreed we could try it out. I ordered 3 mixed produce boxes at $5.00 a piece. The pictures made it difficult to see just how big the boxes were so I wasn't sure what to expect when we went to pick them up after my husband got home from work.

The thing with these boxes is you know you're getting produce, but you aren't always sure of exactly what you're getting, be it fruit, vegetable or a mix of both. It's like a mystery box but without the shipping fees and usually high price tag.

We figured worse case scenario we just wouldn't order from them again. We hit a small snag when we went in and there had been a mix up with one of the boxes but they asked if we would like to choose any of the other active deals to replace it. Since we didn't know anything other than the fact it was produce in the first place, we figured why not. So we chose a different box and went home.

Once home, we went through the boxes and I was pleasantly surprised. I was half expecting most of the fruit to be unusable but there were only 2 pieces in the entire order we decided to get rid of.

After going through all 3 boxes and laying it out, I decided to inventory it just out of curiosity. I wanted to see exactly how much (minus the 2 pieces we tossed) $15.00 flat got us.

Don't mind the messy pantry please.

We ended up with 32 bananas (some of which I froze for later use) 1 kiwi, 15 limes (which I love using) 8 lemons (also a commonly used item in my home) 11 apples, 1 sweet lime (never had them) 21 oranges (my daughter loves them) and 1 lone yellow pepper. In total for $15 after tossing 2 pieces we had 90 items.

Next time I plan to get a fruit and vegetable box and I think I'll make using the app a fairly regular thing. My husband was as skeptical as I was at first but it's safe to say we've both come around to the idea. My daughter was ecstatic over the oranges and bananas because she wants me to make banana bread as much as my husband does.

I'm happy overall to have fruit to flavor my water and because I miss making my orange chocolate chip cookies. I'll probably make a batch of them to drop off at peoples doors for Christmas this year. I may not be able to visit people but I can still give them something sweet.