Teaching Your Family to Cook

If you're trying to eat more vegetables and buy more of your food locally, then you may want to sign up for a vegetable CSA box. Usually, with this kind of service, you pay upfront at the beginning of the season. The farms use your payment to fund the growth of their veggies, and when the veggies are ready, you get boxes of them delivered to your home. CSA boxes certainly make it easy to eat more veggies. But how do you get the most out of this kind of service? Take a look.

If you can customize your box, do so.

It's standard for a CSA group to send the same box with the same veggies to every customer. However, some CSA groups have more recently started to allow customers to customize what is put in their boxes. For instance, you may be able to log into your CSA account the week before your box comes in and select what veggies are included. Or, you may be able to swap out a certain number of veggies for a second portion of other ones. If your CSA offers this option, take advantage of it. Select veggies you know you'll use, rather than ones that might sit around.

Look up new recipes for veggies you're less familiar with.

If your CSA does not allow you to customize your box, you will probably end up with some veggies you are less familiar with, and some you don't eat very often. Consider this an opportunity to expand your palate and try new things. Look up unique recipes to make with these less-familiar veggies. Cook them with your friends or family members. You just might discover a new dish!

Offer veggies you won't use to friends.

Sometimes you might get a veggie that you simply do not like or will not eat. When this happens, don't let it go to waste. Call a friend or two, and see whether they want the vegetable. They may love the veggies that you don't like. If you can find a friend whose tastes are different from your own, you might even consider sharing a CSA box with that person. That way, nothing will go to waste.

With the tips above, you can make the most of your CSA box. For more tips and information, reach out to an organic vegetable CSA delivery box service. They can tell you what has worked for other members.