Foodbox

I should be studying for next week's exam.

Obviously I am not.

As I only handed in an essay late this morning and am feeling a little more than brain dead, I think the exam prep will just have to wait until tomorrow.

I am eating lunch.

Then I might have a short nap, or hold a piggie before it's time for the afternoon kindy run.

But I thought that while I eat my delicious salmon, hummus, and lettuce sandwich I would tell you all about Foodbox.

It all started with a carrot.

Not a real one!

This one:

Boyo found it in our letterbox.  I duly inspected and was subsequently duly impressed.

Foodbox delivers fresh NZ produce to your door weekly.

I asked a few more questions.

A Foodbox rep called me at 8:35am on Monday morning in regards to the email I'd sent over the weekend.  Now I'm a sucker for good service!
I ordered a trial box.  And was impressed some more.

I will be getting boxes regularly from them, it's now just a matter of deciding how often (have to see how long it takes us to go through our vege horde!).  This winter, particularly I think they will be great value for us as our vege gardens are not producing much of anything and I've been finding myself skimping on the veges (I buy fruit at really good prices, but veges are not on special much at all lately which meant I was avoiding buying them - silly me, not good for us, so I figure that a regular box of nice veges at a good price will encourage me to use more veges again!).

The perks?
FRESH.  I haven't seen a store-bought celery this fresh.
FREE DELIVERY.  Seriously!  Paying for delivery is one thing that puts people off getting stuff delivered, but with Foodbox it is free!
GOOD VALUE.
Here is our box, just unpacked.

Mmmm, yum.  Where do we start, Mum?!

For $39, it contains:
small grey pumpkin
4 tomatoes
6 parsnips
4 stems rhubbarb
1 large leek
large celery
large bunch silverbeet
2 small romaine lettuces
1 pack alfalfa sprouts
bag of pak choy (about 6 in there?)
2 bags mushrooms (500g each I think!)
gourmet potatoes

More perks?
FLEXIBILITY.  I haven't had fruit and veg boxes before because I really don't like the 'like it or lump it' philosophy.  I don't want to receive food we won't eat.  That wastes money, which means a box of food is not economical.  Foodbox gets around that by allowing you to set up your Foodbox account with a 'banned' list.  Things you never, ever, ever want to receive in your Foodbox (but it looks like you can update it as you remember other things you don't like!).  Plus, you can choose to 'take a holiday' from a couple of items each box if you don't want them...they will happily replace with other items from this week's list so you don't lose value at all.  While it's still not completely flexible (there were no kumara this week, for instance), it is flexible enough to make it fun, enjoyable, and economical!  The wide range of veges is really good for us too!
So for my box this week, I banned garlic and broccoli ('cos we grow them) and brussel sprouts ('cos I hate them!).  I asked for either more salad or roasting veges.  Then I said I don't want onions or carrots this week because we have them already.  Instead of these items I ended up with extra parsnips, lettuce, and mushrooms.  Awesome!
PLUS of course they have different sized boxes for different sized families.  I got the Vege Patch box because I don't want any fruit.  But you could get the Appetiser box each week (half fruit, half veg for two people) and add on a Fruit Bag if you want lots of fruit.  You can add Fairtrade bananas, free range eggs, or fresh herbs too.  You can order weekly, fortnightly, or once-off.
You can even do a box as a gift!

So there you go.  Foodbox.  Currently available in Auckland, Hamilton, and Tauranga.

Tonight I will be making a silverbeet pie.  Recipe courtesy of my Foodbox.  Leek and silverbeet also courtesy of my Foodbox.  My sandwich is finished.  My bed is calling.  Catch you all later!

Amy


ps - if you decide to set up a regular order, please put my email address in as a referral on their friend promotion link (we both get to choose a gift if you do!).