Veg box

[Gwenhwyfar]

Hi everyone
I'm thinking of getting a veg box to cut down on how often I have to go to the supermarket. I don't drive so can't get it down to only once a week by going myself.
A few problems though: I'm fussy, live alone and don't cook much.
I'm worried about things being left to waste or just not knowing what to do with the veg to make it last long enough.
Do you think this is a good idea?

Not sure a veg box is the best idea if you are fussy, as you take what you get. If you are open minded and flexible they are a great idea

Oddbox lets you exclude items you don’t like, and you can check what’s in the box each week ahead of time.

It will help if you are willing to cook - in fact it’s a great way to practise and gain confidence. A veg recipe book, such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Veg Every Day, would be a good investment. The recipes are simple but (generally) good. When you get the box you can plan your week’s meals around it. I would try it and see how you like it if I were you. I’ve resumed getting a box (Abel & Cole) during lockdown. The quality has been excellent.

The 3 things you mention are pretty big barriers with a veg box. You'll get seasonal produce you don't normally get, you'll need to cook or preserve it, and you can't really sub out items you don't like.

In terms of making the product last longer, I wrap a lot of mine in plastic bags in the fridge. There are a lot of guides out there to help.

I've ordered it now. I will give the things I don't like to friends. Yes, I realise I will have to cook a little, but I will try to keep things simple, for example I know they have cauli flower and I have a packet of cheese sauce so I can do that. I will probably be googling which veg needs to be eaten first and things like that. It's arriving on Tuesday, but if I do it again, I'll try to get it to arrive on a weekend so I can batch cook the things that will go off first.

I tried a veg box and it was really fun. The only veg I really hate are swede and okra. Guess what, first box had a big swede in it. I googled a recipe and ended up thinly slicing it and roasting it with paprika and olive oil and it was delicious. So hey presto now I love swede.

I make a lot of veg soup and veg curry so my box never gets wasted. Buy yourself some curry spices and you will always find a way to use up the veg.

Also, if you have some sunny outdoor space, get a grow bag and some cherry tomato plants, a chilli plant and some pots of herbs- parsley, coriander, mint, basil, thyme etc. It is really worth growing some basic veg, once you start you will never look back...

I hate preparing swede enough to never have it again and have never tried okra. I did think about curry, but I can only stomach very, very mild curries. Do you know of a way of doing that? My other idea was just to stew them and a friend suggested roasting the root veg when I get them then freezing. Would that work?
I haven't got any outdoor space at all unfortunately. My other worry is that the box itself might be dirty and I don't want to bring that inside.

Also Marks and Spencer do a veg box with basic veg in . Free delivery . Meat and v
Basic boxes also available .

It doesn’t really sound the sort of thing that would be useful to you unless you try a slightly more positive approach, because so far there are way more negatives in your posts.
But if you can afford to give it a try, and are happy with the idea of wastage, go ahead. I’d talk to your friends and try and work out a system for you offloading unwanted veg before you order.

I love our veg box but you do need to be a bit inventive with them.

You can make veg soup from lots of random veg box bits if you need to eat them up.

Heffa - I've already agreed with a friend that she will take some stuff.
Pottering - do all veg really go well together in soups? I suppose I would just use up what's left in the end? I suppose I could also do separate ones.

I don't know about other suppliers but Abel and Cole have stopped accepting orders from new customers. They have also suspended the choice element, you get what you are given. Having said that their stuff is good quality, though expensive and you do need to love carrots.

I make soup with the veg I am less keen on, or if I haven't had as much time to cook that week.

I use Abel and Cole, they let you make a list of stuff you never want to receive, and you can also substitute items if you just don't want them that week.

At the moment however, these options are off the table, in order for their packing teams to be able to distance themselves sufficiently from each other. I have been occasionally receiving veg I don't really like in the past few weeks, but the soups were delicious!

On the thought of soups .

I used to make the charmingly named Garbage Soup from Cranks where you saved clean peelings and made soup .

I also make a mega veggie soup from any tired veg .

Yesterday I had stir fry mix that I hadn’t used ( because we had a Thai take away one night and didn’t want similar the next) .

So I sautéed off the stir fry added a good stock cube and water and then added soy sauce and fine dried noodles . A total success !