In our household it is a rarity for my husband and I to disagree on things. However, our weekly conversations on what food to buy and meals to make, occasionally are a heated topic.
While I am the kind of person who would be fine on a diet of mostly veggies, my other half doesn’t believe anything constitutes a meal without a large portion of meat. He isn’t picky on what type of meat is on the menu, as long as it’s the largest thing on the plate.
Our problems don’t end with our differing tastes and meal needs, but also how we choose to shop for said food. I’m up for locally sourced products and reducing our food waste while my husband likes the convenience of online shopping.
This is why we both were in love with the idea of trying all the different “boxed” meals that you can order online that magically appear on your doorstep! It felt like we would each finally get our needs met. With this new decision we had made, mealtimes were going to be a life-changing event!
The first company we tried was “Blue Apron” followed by “Hello Fresh”. We loved picking out what we were going to order. We loved not having to measure anything out. You simply get all the ingredients, a beautifully curated sheet of instructions, make the meal and dish it up.
We liked this new way of eating so much, we decided to branch out and try a vegetarian version. Mostly, I was attempting to prove to my husband that veggies can be delightful and filling without all the meat consumption! If you are struggling to get your kids (or partner) to eat more veggies, I highly encourage you to try Purple Carrot. Again, the meals were amazing.
These types of services are everywhere now, with so many choices on the market, it’s great for a couple like us who have a hard time purchasing foods and making meals in small portions. It was also fun to try new foods we wouldn’t usually eat.
But slowly the guilt set in. I finally couldn’t continue to fool myself that I wasn’t being wasteful when, in fact, I was. The waste I’m speaking of is plastic. Plastic, plastic, and more plastic. Instead of feeling bad about food waste, I began to feel awful every time I opened the Styrofoam box filled with every little ingredient wrapped in a ton of plastic. Not only was I dealing with gobs of plastic, my freezer was starting to fill up with little blue ice containers (also covered in plastic) that came in the boxes to keep the food cool. We couldn’t recycle those either. So, with a clear conscience we stopped our subscriptions, cold turkey (no pun intended).
This is why my husband was elated when he found out about HARVESTLY! A locally sourced food service where you can order local products delivered to your door twice a week. Unlike other online food boxes, you don’t need a subscription! You can order one day – skip the next! Simply go online, check the box with what you want, and you will be eating foods from all sorts of local vendors. When they deliver your order, you simply return last week’s bag and cooling pack. You get to recycle it all!
These are some of the things we order regularly:
Breakfast Burritos from Amy & Jaime’s Place– my hubby loves taking these to work.
Pot Pies from La Migliore Italian Bakery– we love the chicken pot pie – but sometimes, as a surprise, my hubby will order me the veggie version. We also recently tried the beef stew, not only was it delicious, but it also came with a little loaf of ciabatta.
For all you meat lovers – we have ordered meats from Molnar Cattle and Irish Oaks Ranch, and we occasionally like to splash out and get a pre-cooked Red Oak Tri-Tip from Gold Land BBQ.
Cheese from Cal Poly Creamery – It’s a great way to try different cheeses you would never buy otherwise.
When we are feeling naughty and want some carbs or sweet things we love the:
Bread from Sasquatch Sourdough, the crackers from Colony Culture (our favorite) and the Pita chips from Shekamoo Grill.
For sweets we love the Raw Vegan Cheesecake from Mt Olive Organic Farm, Citrus Cream Pie from A Town Humble Pies, the Gelato from Leo Leo Gelato – yum!
Once summer is upon us again, I’m sure we will get back to ordering all sorts of veggies from local farms….Our favorite is getting organic heirloom tomatoes, basil and olive oil…say no more, my mouth is watering as I write!
To order your own Harvestly goods click the link and don’t forget to tell them who sent you ; )