Cheap healthy!

If you were to buy this amount of produce at the typical grocery store it would easily cost $50.00. Through a local co-op I get a basket full of fruits and veggies for $15.00. It's not local or anything special. It's the same stuff off the trucks that stock the grocery stores. The difference is no profit mark-up. The ONLY drawback in our area is that you can only participate every other week. I wish so badly it was every week! You don't know what you are going to get, it's a surprise. However, in two years I haven't once gotten anything we weren't willing to eat. I love it! I pick up my basket and then create a menu around it. It's so different from creating a menu and then buying a choice few to go with or in it. Having a quantity of fruits and things I wouldn't have traditionally chosen allows me to be inventive and fresh. For example, I got a clump of lettuce with giant leaves which provides the perfect opportunity to make PJ Chang's lettuce wraps! Yum! They generally offer a bonus each time as well. This time it was a tropical pack that included mango, pineapple, raw vanilla beans and a starfruit. I have only seen a starfruit in Farmville so it was a fun surprise to find out it's real, and adorable. Sometimes they offer an italian pack that includes piles of fresh herbs, onions, garlic, eggplant or mexican pack with peppers, tortilla's... Each week they offer different packs of fresh bread along with random things like large jars of honey, granola or cases of seasonal fruit. The basic basket is $15.00, organic option is $25.00. The extras very but they are always optional. This week my extra pack was $10.00 which was a steal considering it had a bag of vanilla beans in it. If you are looking for a way to get more "real" food into your week give it a shot. My goal is to be open to what we get (like I said before it's not weird stuff) and use it all! My kids love it and love to help me figure out things to make from it. It appears to be in many states and areas but if this one isn't available maybe there is another. Bountiful Baskets www.bountifulbaskets.org