Help me stop wasting my veg box!

Liz_M

Hi everyone,

I got a groupon (or possibly livingsocial or kgbdeals... can't remember now) voucher for some veg boxes from Riverford Organic. The idea was that I would eat more veg as well as trying 'unusual' veg that I wouldn't usually buy. So far this hasn't really happened, partly due to me being lazy but mostly due to having had a really bad time lately with various things going on, so haven't really been in the house apart from sleeping... which means cooking has been very occasional!

I am feeling rubbish from eating junk all the time, and I'm gutted that I've been chucking away half of the veg box most fortnights! Things are hopefully starting to look up, so I want to start cooking more now - and I want to start using all of my veg box every time! If not then I'll have to cancel it and go back to shop bought veg I find the veg boxes good value if you use it all... but not if you chuck half of it away!

I've got one due tomorrow so I've just been through the fridge and chucked away the stuff that had gone too far. I've kept a few things and want to use them up ASAP as they don't have long left, and I don't want them hanging around while I'm trying to use up the next lot! They do have recipes on Riverford but a lot of them are either really fancy or really plain (not that I'm picky or anything!). So I am hoping that some of you geniuses will have some ideas for me! I'm not too bothered whether I make the veg into side dishes/part of a main meal (although the OH is extremely picky about veg and won't eat a lot of the things I have left, so it would be best if it's something that can be left out of one meal).

I know soup is usually a good idea but I'm not really a soup person. I've tried and I don't dislike them... but they're never something I want to eat and they'll just sit in the freezer for a year making me feel guilty every time I look at them, until I eventually realise they're not going to get eaten and chuck them in the bin!

What I have at the moment is:

1 x Pointed Cabbage. I have never even heard of this before, and have no idea what to do with it! I assume you would just treat it like a normal cabbage.... but thing is I'm not a big cabbage fan! This one is from 2 weeks ago and the edges of the outer leaves are looking a bit sorry and there are a few bugs on it, but I think there will be a fair bit that's useable once I've given it a good wash and trim. Just not sure whether all that will put me off cabbage even further, so still not sure whether I will be cooking or binning this! OH wouldn't eat this.

1 x bag of spinach. This still looks fine and only 1 or 2 leaves look slightly wilted. I think I am a bit weird about spinach.... I love it in indian food (saag paneer, saag aloo, curries with saag in them!) but when I have just cooked spinach it seems to make my teeth feel weird for some reason (is this normal?!). OH wouldn't eat this either

Lots of onions (some supermarket, some veg box. Onions seem to last forever). We both love loads of onions in anything, so these shouldn't be a problem to use up! Lots of meals/dishes start off with onions too even if they're not a main feature.

1 bunch of spring onions. I think these were from the supermarket and they're looking a bit sorry but if I peel off the outside layer they'll be just about ok to use! OH will eat this.

1 x Green pepper from the veg box. OH will eat this

2 x Globe artichokes. I have no idea how to tell whether these are past it or not! They came in the veg box 2 weeks ago and some stuff that was in there (e.g. carrots) were way too bad to use, but some (e.g. green pepper and spinach) are still fine! They look a little bit brown just on the very tip/point of each leaf... but not sure how quickly they go off! Doubt OH would eat these

Quite a few potatoes from the veg box!

This is what I think I will be getting tomorrow:
salad potatoes
bunched carrots
bunched onions
broad beans
swiss chard
red pepper
green pepper
cherry tomatoes
celery UK

I will probably end up using the peppers and tomatoes as salad with meals, and I shouldn't have too much trouble using up onions potatoes and carrots as we both like these. I do buy celery sometimes but only ever end up using a couple of sticks and throwing the rest away, so should probably try and think of something to use that up more! Although I could maybe just cut it up for dipping like you would with carrot sticks.

The main challenge for me will be chard and broad beans as I've never used either of these before!

Sorry for writing so much, and thanks in advance for any suggestions people can give!

elsien

You can freeze the spinach if you don't think you'll be using it imminently. Fine for curries etc when it's defrosted. Or you can use it with pasta in lasagne or canneloni. And I do like it as a side veg with a bit of chilli and garlic, but I know what you mean about it making teeth feel weird.

If you don't like cabbage much on its own, how are you with bubble and squeak type recipes? But yes, you're right, just treat it like a normal cabbage.

honeythewitch

Do you think you might be better abandoning the fruit boxes? It sounds like you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by trying to find ways to eat things you are not very keen on. I would be put off by it too.
It might be better to be less adventurous and actually eat it rather than waste it and feel guilty.
How much are the Riverford boxes? Is it much cheaper than the fruit shop or supermarket?

whitewing

I'd eat the broad beans raw.

Pointed cabbage in a stir fry.

hoglet121

Hugh F-W has a lovely recipe for a garlicky broad bean dip which I have made lots of times, it's really lovely.

I put chard into a quiche cos I have to confess I don't really like it that much. I used to force myself to take everything coming in the veg box to eat a wider variety of stuff, but now I swap things that I know are just going to look at me in the fridge for weeks on end.

I'm a big fan of veg boxes, we've had them for years, in the UK and NZ, and whilst not exactly the cheapest, the quality is very high and it's an easy way to always have some fruit and veg in the house.

Hugh F-W's veg every day book has been invaluable helping me to find a use for a more unusual vegetable, or a different use for a common one. Also Nigel Slater's Tender Volume 1 has been good too.

pigpen

salad potatoes .. make a potato salad, boil and eat cold, slice and add cheese sauce, a little of the spinach chopped tiny and a few bits of ham/bacon if you are feeling that way out.. oven cook until cooked and snaffle!
bunched carrots .. raw, cooked, nibbled.... last about 10 seconds in here!
bunched onions .. spring onions? or onion onions? .. the former are ok just with salad so I'm told. the latter chop and freeze and use in everything!
broad beans .. freeze quite nicely.
swiss chard .. bin it or find someone to give it to, it is gross!
red pepper & green pepper ... chop and freeze.. use in stews, casseroles, omelettes, scrambled egg etc
cherry tomatoes .. eat with anything.. or chop and freeze to add to lasagne/Bolognese/pizza toppings etc
celery UK .. again, it is gross just bin it! .. or add to stew, coleslaw, sausage casserole etc.

Floss

pigpen wrote: »

...swiss chard .. bin it or find someone to give it to, it is gross!...

Just had to agree with Pigpen - chard is vile stuff, I grew it last year on my allotment and it's really bitter, even when picked as small leaves. I froze it in pancake-like packs last summer & autumn. Trouble is, DH knows that we still have some left in the freezer so I can't just bin it all Oh, and that makes your teeth feel funny too!

hoglet121

Floss wrote: »

Oh, and that makes your teeth feel funny too!

I thought I was the only one this happened to! DH looked at me really funny when I mentioned it!

Liz_M

Thanks for all the ideas so far!

elsien, if I wanted to freeze spinach would I just wash it and then freeze it raw? I could do this and then next time I make a curry I could separate the curry in half and stick some spinach in my half!

I know what you mean honeythewitch and I was thinking of cancelling after my voucher ends if I'm carrying on the same as I am now. Had also thought of changing to a fruit and veg box instead of just a veg box - I think I'd eat most fruit but not sure whether I would end up with less of the veg I like.... or less of the veg I'm not sure about. The first couple of veg boxes had veg I'm comfortable with though like broccoli and mushrooms etc - it's just the more leafy things in this recent one that I'm not so sure about!

The veg box size I get is £13 something. I've never bought organic veg in the supermarket so not sure how it compares price wise, but the veg is completely different to standard supermarket veg so not sure you can really compare. It does work out to be more expensive than what I would usually spend on veg, but I can afford it and the price would be worth it for me if I can get myself using it all and eating more healthily. I'm hoping it will also stop me buying so much junk and take away type stuff so will save me money overall (just won't save me if I buy the veg box and then still buy all the junk to eat while the veg sits in the fridge!).

Stir fry and bubble&squeak both sound more appealing than just boiled cabbage (I tend to steam more than boil but even steamed cabbage on it's own is just boring old cabbage to me and doesn't appeal much!)

Garlicky broad bean dip sounds amazing, and I might even be able to talk OH into eating some as he'll eat hummous!

I don't think Riverford let you swap stuff in their boxes but I'll have a look - I might have just never noticed before!

Liz_M

Pigpen I thought I would have been happy using the potatoes in normal/plain ways like boiled, mashed, roasted etc but putting them in cheese sauce with spinach and bacon sounds amazing and will help use up the spinach!

Slightly worried about the chard now haha, might have to do some delving for recipes that really hide it, or it might end up like this week's pointed cabbage...fate still yet to be decided!

You've all helped me to feel more normal too, never sure if there's something wrong with me when my teeth go funny over spinach! Occasionally fresh pineapple makes my teeth go weird too which is a shame as it's probably my favourite fruit!

elsien

I just freeze it as it is. It goes soggy when deforested, but if its getting mushed up in something else it doesn't matter anyway.