A few weeks ago I signed up with Imperfect Foods. I love the thought behind it but wanted to try it out for myself and see if it makes sense for us. If it wouldn’t provide decent enough produce, or if it was more expensive than I normal pay for groceries, or if I am still having to go to the local grocery store, then that doesn’t make sense to continue. So far, I have been happy with it.
Pros:
- Less trips to the grocery store.
- I get an email when it’s time to shop.
- 100% customizable basket.
- No plastic produce bags or grocery bags.
- Helping fight food waste.
- I can skip a delivery anytime if I am not going to be home.
Cons:
- Some items have been small in size. Making it harder to plan in advance.
- Some items have been wilted and must be used right away.
- Due to holidays my delivery date has been different every week. Also making it harder to plan ahead.
Overall, my cons have been no big deal and I am able to adjust my weekly menu around it. I have been loving being able to shop for my groceries online on Saturday and then plan out my menu for the week on Sunday. I try to leave my basket with what they have picked for me as much as possible. I know that what they put in is what needs to be eaten to avoid going to waste so I really try to work around that. I have made adjustments though if I just don’t need any more potatoes or carrots etc, or they keep trying to give me chicken. It does have this awesome option though to remove an item from my basket and never select it again, or you can add items to put in every week, like green leaf lettuce. It is a great way to try new foods too. I tried baby broccoli for the first time (will detail below). Whatever the hubs and I don’t eat, we feed to our reptiles and feeder insects. Variety is key for everyone.
Grilled Sea Bass with Roasted Green Beans and Potatoes by Cooktoria. Just a simple season on the fish (salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning) and grilled on the Traeger. The beans, I followed exactly as the recipe states. These were really good and I think paired well with the fish but would be good with almost any meat.
Ground Beef Enchiladas by Yellow Bliss Road. I made these in both corn and flour tortillas. Both turned out very yummy. This is a super simple enchilada recipe that anyone could make for a weekday meal. I left out the green onions only because I didn’t have any on hand. I used cheddar cheese instead of cheddar jack. I’m all about use what you got. Topped with lettuce, and Coconut sour cream.
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana by Unbound Wellness. I do not have an Instant Pot but I have a similar pressure cooker that I used for this one. The recipe does provide a stove top option if you don’t have either. I used a Mild Italian sausage, turkey broth instead of chicken, and russet potatoes instead of sweet. I didn’t have fresh parsley so I used dried as well, about 1-2 tsp. This is another great cold weather soup to make!
I just love Kale. A little trick with Kale is to chop and then rinse it. When kale is chopped it releases an enzyme that creates a bitter taste, when we rinse it after chopping, it washes that enzyme and bitterness away. Wah lah! Yummy tasting kale!
Here we made two different cookies for Christmas. One for the hubs and one for me.
Classic Snickerdoodles Cookies by Cake Whiz. For these, no adjustments were made. I will be honest, I ate some and oh my are they good. Hard to keep them to a minimum. 😋
Fluffy Frosted Eggnog Sugar Cookies by Vegan Guide to the Galaxy. For the flour, I used Bob’s Red Mill GF 1-1 Baking Flour. The “eggnog” I used So Delicious Coconut Holiday Nog. For the butter, I used Country Crock Plant Butter with Avocado Oil. The recipe says to be careful not to overcook and they are so right to keep them nice and soft. Wait till the cookies are totally cooled before frosting or it will melt. I kept these in the fridge for the first day until the frosting set as my house was a little too warm.
First up are cocktails! A Pomegranate Gin and Tonic for me. 1.5 oz of gin, 2 oz Pomegranate juice, 2 oz tonic water, and a squeeze of lime. A Whiskey Sour for the hubs. 1 oz whiskey, 1 oz water, 1 oz simple syrup, 1 oz lemon juice. I added an orange peel and maraschino cherry.
Appetizers: Stuffed Mushrooms. Carefully pop stems off 10 mushrooms and dice stems into smalls pieces. Carefully scrape gills off with a spoon. Saute 1/4 lb hot Italian sausage with diced mushrooms bits, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 Tbsp butter, and 1 Tbsp soy sauce until sausage is cooked. Spoon filling into each mushroom cap, melt 1 Tbsp butter and pour into each on top of filling. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese. Bake in oven at 350 for 20-25 min, until mushroom has shortened and cheese melted.
Smoked Prime Rib – The day before season with Salt and pepper, fresh rosemary, thyme, and parsley, and Traeger Prime Rib Rub. We smoked the roast for 1 hour, I prefer using a Mesquite as it gives it a really good Smokey flavor. Turn Traeger all the way up to 475 – 500 and cook 10 min a side to render the fat and create a crust. Then turn down to 300 and cook until internal temperature is 135 -145 depending on your preference. This will take a long ass time, be prepared for at least 6 hours for a 3 lb roast. But oh so worth it!
We accompanied this with a double baked potato (recipe listed in I Love Potatoes) and Roasted Brussel Sprouts. I like the little ones best, cut in half and put in bowl. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Dump out onto a sheet pan, cut side down. Roast in oven at 400 for 15-20 min.
I had a cauliflower in the fridge that was about to go bad, so in the essence of sustainable cooking I decided to make Two Ingredient Cauliflower Tortillas by Paleo Gluten Free Eats. I will say that these were not worth the trouble in making. And were only good the first day I made them, tried again another day after being kept in the fridge and they were hard and brittle. I had some left over Chorizo and Potato Taco filling (recipe in I Love Potatoes) that I put on these, topped with coconut sour cream and salsa verde. I will stick to my corn tortillas.
Cajun Asparagus and Sausage Skillet by The Simple Supper. I used russet potatoes instead of red, I left out the bell pepper, and added sliced zucchini. The Cajun seasoning, I would use your judgment on how spicy you want, 2 tsp is a lot, if you want just a little you can just dust it instead. I added the zucchini right at the end with the asparagus to just heat through but not make soft.
Prime Rib Quesadillas by Little House Big Alaska. When you left over prime rib and it’s Taco Tuesday. I used corn tortillas but everything else I followed. Made some homemade Guacamole by Will Cook for Smiles to accompany them with some coconut sour cream.
Oven-Baked Blackened Mahi Mahi by Wanderlust &Wellness with Roasted Broccolini by Don’t Go Bacon My Heart. So I only have one oven and these were at different temps so I cooked the fish on the Traeger instead. It didn’t get it quite as “blackened” but it was still very good. You could use a cast iron pan and cook it on the stove top but I didn’t want to smell my house up. 😄 The broccoli was so good too. There were a few thicker stems that I wish I would have peeled to soften them up but definitely will be making again.
Grilled Ribeye steak with a Cucumber, Tomato, Avocado Salad by Cooktoria. The steak is just another super simple one. Seasoned with just salt and pepper and grilled on the Traeger until internal temp reaches 145. The salad was so good too. My avocados were a little more ripe than I wanted for this but you will have that some times, you just gotta roll with it. Instead of using grape or cherry, I needed to use up my vine ripened tomatoes. This was nice and light and fresh, perfect to accompany a heavy protein. 👌
