a bountiful basket

I like food. All kinds of food. A lot. And eating said food, obvs. 

I'm lucky enough to be hitching my wagon to one of OKC's top local chefs who uses nothing but the tastiest of ingredients. Our typical Friday night isn't complete without a trip to Sprouts for fresh fruits and veggies to use in the next morning's brunch spread. 

As of late, it seems like I'm always on a Paleo challenge (it being honeymoon season and all), so my diet requires a lot of fresh produce. If we didn't have a giant white puppy, we'd probably grow a garden of some sort. But, we do have a puppy. And sometimes she likes to dig......so, we get our produce elsewhere. Farmer's markets and health food stores always have a fantastically delicious selection, but they can get pricey. Our solution? Bountiful Baskets. 

Let me give you the low down. 

You sign up for a basket on Monday. Saturday morning, say 9 o'clock in the a.m., you go pick it up. 

You always get a basket of fruit and a basket of veggies, but every week the items vary. You can count on it being fresh, in-season produce and often times, local! It seems like we always get a surprise item, say, a papaya or pomelo, that we have to google. The best part? The $15 basket lasts us up to two weeks! 

The downside to Bountiful Baskets is that you never know what you're gonna get. Sometimes it's stuff you don't want or don't like. Other times it's so much food that it ends up going bad before you can eat it all. The upside? It's fun to be handed a ton of healthy, fresh produce and then figure out what it is and how to use it. It forces you to branch out from your regular go-to recipes, discover new ways to use ingredients and it's healthy to boot! 

So, what are you waiting for? Ask Siri to remind you to sign up, come Monday morning. If you give it a shot, here's some tips:

• Bring a bag, box, laundry basket, pillow case, etc. to haul your produce home in. 
• Prepare to be confused your first time around (we went in the wrong door and got lost....)
• Bring a printed copy of your receipt, or else. 
• Show up on time. Seriously. One minute late and you forfeit. 
• Wait in line (make sure the line matches up alphabetically with your last name), show your receipt, get your basket number and find your corresponding baskets!
• Load up, go home and dig in. Leave the original basket behind. 

Happy healthy eating!