25 Ways I used $25 Worth of Produce

    Recently we came across this new app called Flashfood. By using the app we can view items from local grocery stores near us in both Quebec and Ontario to purchase foods that are close to their "best before" dates at a reduced price, usually 50%. Click here to read the story about how Flashfood was started. What a brilliant idea. It certainly can reduce food waste.

    We had to try it out. So one day we viewed the Flashfood produce boxes available at one store that we frequent and we purchased 5 boxes at $5.00 each. The photo below shows the produce we purchased for $25.00.

    Here is the list of produce we purchased:

• 1 cauliflower
• 2 cantaloupes
• 1 zucchini 
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 bag of apples (10) plus 1 loose apple
• 2 packages of mini cucumbers
• 15 bananas
• 6 avocado
• 9 kiwi
• 7 red peppers
• 3 orange peppers
• 5 yellow peppers
• 2 green peppers
• 4 clementines
• 3 oranges
• 9 grapefruits
• 5 papayas
• 12 English cucumbers
• 21 lemons

    So the challenge now was to use up as much as possible before it was just good for the compost. First of all, out of all these items, I only had two items that I really had to compost. That is pretty good. Since we eat mainly whole food, plant based meals, eating this food should be no problem. Here are 25 things that I did with the food.

1. I gave some of it away to my neighbour who was very grateful for the gift.
2. I grilled all the red peppers and froze them so I could use them over time.
3. Also froze some of the bananas, cantaloupe and papaya.
4. Of course we ate as much of the veggies and fruits fresh.
5. I used some of the fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables in smoothies, soups and salads.
6. Before eating an orange or lemon, I grated the cleaned peel and froze it to use later as zest.
7. With the cucumbers, I made juice for several days. (see recipes below)
8. With the bananas and kiwi I made Kiwi Lime Pie. (see recipe below)
9. I used lemons in my early morning drink which consisted of water, juice from one lemon, 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp turmeric and some black pepper.
10. Ate fruit alone as a snack.
11. Put fruit in my breakfast oatmeal.
12. I made a stir-fry with peppers, zucchini and cauliflower.
13. I made oil-free sweet potato fries in the air fryer.
14. Also in the air fryer I made Cauliflower bites.
15. Even the black seeds of the papaya did not go to waste. I baked them and then crushed them to make a powder that I can use in salads, soups, etc. (see how to prepare the seeds for use below)
16. Using a wide spiralizer I cut the mini cucumbers into curly spirals and used them in a cucumber salad.
17. Any food that was not edible was put in the compost.
18. Cuttings from the vegetables were saved in a bag in the freezer to make vegetable broth when there is enough.
19. I made applesauce for use as a dessert and a topping for potato patties.
20. I made guacamole with some of the avocadoes.
21. I dipped the mini cucumbers, cauliflower and peppers in the guacamole as well as some hummus.
22. I made rice stuffed peppers.
23. I made some fruit leather from the apples.
24. I made oil-free salad dressings for salad using the lemons, oranges, papayas. These are nice to put on fruit or green salads.
25. Using oranges and bananas, I made some Nice Cream

    I believe that 5 produce boxes was a bit much but we made it work and used up more than 95% of the produce we purchased. Next time I will only get 1, maybe 2, Flashfood boxes at a time. When buying a produce boxes you must have a plan to use as much as possible as soon as possible. But sometimes you don't really know what is really in the boxes so you have to be creative to use them up. At least I was able to do my part in reducing food waste by a little bit. I will continue to use this app to purchase more produce boxes.

Recipes used:

Beautiful colours of the vegetables in the juice

Juice #1 (serves 1)

1/2 pineapple

1 cucumber

1 handful mint

1 inch ginger, peeled

    Put all the ingredients through a juicer. Enjoy!

Juice #2 (serves 2)

1 cucumber   

5 cups spinach

5 stalks celery

1/2 bunch parsley

1 lime, peeled

    Put all the ingredients through a juicer. Enjoy!

Juice #3 (serves 1)

1/4 pineapple

2 cucumber

2 celery

1 handful spinach

1 lemon, peeled

    Put all the ingredients through a juicer. Enjoy!

Small round papaya seeds can be dried and crushed for use 

on soups, salads, smoothies, muffins, bread, biscuits or a meat rub.

How to prepare papaya seeds:

1. Remove seeds from Papaya.

2. Rinse under cold water rubbing the seeds to remove the sticky membrane.

3. Preheat oven to 150 degrees F and spread a single layer of seeds on a prepared (parchment paper or silicone mat) rimmed baking sheet

4. Bake papaya seeds for 2 to 4 hours until seeds are dried. When dried they should be hard and become slightly wrinkled.

5. Once the seeds have cooled, place them in a mortar and crush them with a pestle until they are as fine as you wish.

6. Store the dried papaya seeds at room temperature for several years. Ensure they stay dry and mold-free.

7. Add to baked goods, such as muffins, bread or biscuits. Mix crushed seed with other spices to make a rub for your favourite meat or add to smoothies.

Kiwi Lime Pie (makes 1 pie):

Ingredients:

For Gluten Free Pecan Crust:

1 cup Medjool dates, pits removed

1 cup raw pecans

1/2 cup coconut flakes

1 ripe banana, peeled

Pie Filling and Topping:

2 cups raw unsalted cashews, soaked

2/3 cups fresh squeezed lime juice (approximately 4 limes)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup full fat coconut milk (canned)

1/4 cup avocado (approximately 1/2 of a small avocado)

1 banana

6 to 8 kiwis, peeled and sliced

Instructions:

1. Place the cashews in a large bowl & pour hot water over top. Let them soak for 1 hour prior to making the pie filling.

2. To make the crust: add all the crust ingredients to a food processor & process until quite finely & evenly ground and mixed. Prepare a pie pan or an 8-inch round cake pan. If using a pie plate, you do not need to grease the pan or you can use parchment paper and simply press the crust mixture down to form a flat crust. If using a round cake pan instead, you should line the pan with parchment that has been cut in a circle to fit the bottom of the pan. Also cut two strips of parchment paper to approximately 2 x 14 inches and let them criss-cross on the bottom of the pan. This will make it easy to remove the pie to a serving platter once frozen. Add the crust mixture on top of the parchment layers & with your hands compress firmly to create a solid crust.

3. To make the Kiwi Lime pie filling: Drain the water from the cashew & place them in a blender along with all of the other ingredients for the fill except for 2 to 3 kiwis. Blend on high until smooth, scraping the sides of the blender with a spatula as needed.

4. Pour the filling over top of the crust & freeze for 1 to 2 hours until the pie is partially set. Before serving add the remaining kiwi slices on top of pie. 

Orange and Banana Nice Cream (serves 2 to 3 servings)

Ingredients:

Juice from 2 oranges

6 frozen bananas

1 Tbsp orange zest

1 tsp turmeric (optional)

1/2 tsp black pepper (optional)

Instructions:

1. Add all the ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth.

2. Pour the mixture into an air-tight container and put in the freezer for at least an hour before scooping out Nice Cream into bowls.

Here are some other meals we had:

Fruit Salad using mango, papaya and other fruits

on a bed of lettuce

Smoothie using fruits and veggies

Grapefruit and oatmeal with spinach in a grapefruit bowl

Oatmeal and clementine with other fruit

on a bed of spinach

    Be creative! Not only will you have fun but you will have a variety of flavourful and nutritious meals. Have you tried the Flashfood app in your area? If not give it a try. You will like it. What have you made from the produce in your box?