Bountiful Baskets: Is it for you?

Disclaimer:  I am the Volunteer Site Coordinator for the Monte Vista site, so I am obviously trying to increase participation at my site.  But, that said, I am also very interested in health and wellness and eating fruits and vegetables plays such a huge part in that.

Given that I am the VSC of our site, I talk to a lot of people about Bountiful Baskets.  A lot of the responses that I get about it include the fact that people don't eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.  I have given quite a bit of thought about the reason why this is.  I think it boils down into three main reasons, habit, time and cost.

If you are used to reaching for a bag of chips instead of an apple or carrot sticks, then it is going to take some thinking to make the switch.  But do you know what?  If you don't have apples or carrots in the house, you are not going to eat them.  If you are not used to fixing salad or vegetables for dinner, it is going to take some effort to make it a habit.

Still in the habit catagory are picky children.  A couple of people tell me that their kids don't eat fruit or vegetables, and if they do, it is only certain ones.  This is what I do in my house to encourage my four kids to eat them.  First, my kids don't get free range of the kitchen.  If they ask for a snack, the first thing that I do is to think about all of the fruit that I have available and offer them that.  If they refuse, then they don't get anything.  If they have whatever I offer them and they are still hungry, then they can have something else that isn't produce.  I promise you that your kids aren't going to starve if they don't have a snack of goldfish crackers or Betty Crocker fruit snacks.  Eventually, they will probably start opting for the fruit.

The same thing goes for dinner.  If you always have a vegetable at dinner, your kids are a whole heck of a lot more likely to try it than if it isn't an option at all.  I do understand that there are some things that some kids just won't eat.  My son has never liked potatoes, even as a toddler.  He won't eat them, whether they are mashed, french fried or roasted.  I still fix them, though, and he just has to make sure that he gets enough of whatever other vegetable is being served.

Obesity is such a huge problem in our country.  I took a nutrition for nurses courses a couple of semesters ago, and to be honest, I don't remember a lot of what I learned.  I do know, however, that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the country.  Do you know what is a good way to prevent it?  Eat vegetables that aren't fried in place of all of the other fried food.  Potatoes are just as good baked or grilled as they are fried.  Eat fruit instead of candy or cookies.  Eat whole grains instead of white flour.  The most important thing is to just make eating good food a priority.

Now let's talk about time.  It does take time to prepare fresh foods.  A little bit of prep work, however, can last a long time.  You may have seen my method of preparing a whole head of lettuce at once.  Taking ten minutes to prep it gives me salads for the rest of the week.  All I have to do it chop some tomatoes and whatever else and I've got a fresh green salad.  Cutting up a bunch (head?) of celery all at once and storing it in a container of water in the fridge gives you fresh, crisp celery that is ready for eating any time.  I have been eating it in omelets lately and it is fabulous.  You can spread peanut butter on it for a snack with some protein. 

Some of the vegetables that come in the baskets may not be what you would normally buy at the store.  The only veggies that came in the baskets that I don't normally buy are the artichoes and acorn squash.  Everything else is every day stuff.  Apples, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, nectarines, blueberries, cherries, apricots, cucumbers, celery, melons.  That all sounds preety good, doesn't it?  If you don't know how to cook something, just Google the name of the vegetable and recipe.  Pinterest is amazing for recipes for new things.  Also, not every has to be prepared in a fancy way.  I often just chop up fresh veggies for dinner and call it good.  We eat carrots, cucumbers, celery and broccoli raw with ranch dressing.  Most of the fruit that I get is eaten fresh. 

Now, the cost factor.  Let's face it, food is expensive and probably the the thing that we spend the most on.  Obviously, Bountiful Baskets is a great way to get it for less.  But even if you don't participate, it really isn't that bad.  Consider that a package of Oreos costs roughly $3.  Making chocolate chip cookies yourself isn't any cheaper by the time you buy the chocolate chips and butter.  You can usually buy a three pound bag of apples for close to $3.  You can get six pounds of bananas for that.  For another $3, you can buy a head of good lettuce, a cucumber. and a tomato to make a couple of salads.  A bag of chips costs around $4.  A watermelon or a two pound pack of strawberries at my Walmart right now is $4.  I know that produce is going to cost less in the summer, but buying sesonally helps offset the cost.  In the winter, watermelon is going to cost a lot more than oranges.  If you buy it and let it rot in your fridge, you have not saved anything.  If you buy it and make it a priority to eat it, you not only have probably saved money, you have taken a big step to improving your overall health and the health of your family. 

Just try it.  What do you have to lose?