Farm Box Boot Camp
Wish you knew how to approach your first round in a Farm Box? We asked Farm Box Members what advice they would give you if you were just starting out. And here’s what they said....
Ask yourself "What can we make for dinner?" Instead of "What do you want for dinner?"
Learn how to freeze things to use later in the winter. If you haven’t used it by day 5, freeze it.
Trial and error is a part of this! Expect some mistakes!
Keep it simple — meal prep doesn’t have to be fancy or time consuming. Veggies can be prepped quickly and taste good with simple cooking methods (bake, steam, sauce, roast, grill with just a few spices).
When you get home from pick up and store your vegetables properly. Deal with the most perishable items first. Take the tops off your carrots ASAP!
Proper storage is the key to longevity and avoiding waste. If not used immediately, roast, bake, blanch or steam whatever possible and freeze for use later in soups or casseroles
Print out the guide to using & storing veggies - and keep it in an easy to reach place in your kitchen so you can access.
Eat the most perishable vegetables first. This includes things like your lettuces, greens, and herbs.
Not sure how to store herbs? Take a look at our guide to storing herbs.
Try to learn the 3 basic uses of each veggie.
Get those green bags! They really do extend the life of veggies once things are prepped and cleaned--it will lead to less waste.
Plan ahead. I changed my meal planning and grocery day to take advantage of the newsletter announcing box contents for the week so I can incorporate as much as possible into planned meals.
Be willing to do recipe research and experiment with ingredient substitutions. Write down what you did and whether it was successful or not along with suggestions for future reference.
Look up recipes for veggies you are not sure of to see how you can work them into your meals for the week. Click here to see some of our favorite recipes.
Google is your friend. If you don't know what to do with a veggie, think of how you would use a similar veggie and do that. Don’t be afraid to try new things or be creative.
Grill EVERYTHING! Use marinades, spices, olive oil, balsamic vinegar or whatever else you like to jazz it up. Click here to read our Grilling Guide!
Try to clean and prep your veggies the night you get them. It will be a lot easier to incorporate them into meals on busy nights once this is done.
If you're not sure what to do with a vegetable, almost everything can be roasted. Click here to read our Roasting Guide!
Process the contents of the box to the extent possible as soon as you get it home. Doing this while you're still excited about the box, will help you get over the hurdle of much of the prep work later in the week. You'll be able to produce your meals that much quicker.
Freeze and store any veggies you won't get to that week! Click here to read our Freezing Guide!
Invest in some containers made specifically for storing and extending the life of vegetables.
First season you are observing and learning the rhythm of the veggies. Second year you are more prepared.
The first year was tough. There was just so much food. And we didn’t know what we didn’t know. But you can do it! For it to work, you need to make a commitment. You have to say, “We want to do this.”