It’s been over 6 months now since I got up the nerve to ask my local produce market for their scraps. What a life changer. I wish I could go back in time to when the Handsome Husband and I were first married, and didn’t have an extra dime in our pockets.
If I had known it was possible to come home with boxes and boxes of FREE produce every week, I would have done it a heck of a lot sooner that’s for sure.
Before we started picking up “chicken scraps” each week, I would rarely buy things like watermelon and grapes out of season at the grocery store. Now we get it all for free. What a luxury!
Here is what we were able to salvage:
- 18 pounds apples {mixed varieties}
- 1 cantaloupe
- 1 honeydew melon
- 7 bananas {perfect for banana chocolate chip cookies}
- 8 oz asparagus {I traded with my neighbor Francisco}
- 1 watermelon {have you ever dehydrated watermelon before?}
- 2 heads of fancy lettuce
- 3 heads of iceberg lettuce {perfect for lettuce wraps}
- 1 ear of corn
The chickens were pretty happy with their scraps as well. This is a picture of our 6 week old australorp chicken enjoying her first watermelon. Life is good.
Have YOU been able to convince your local grocery store {big or small} to let you collect fruit and vegetable scraps? If so, do you have any tips to pass along so we can help others to get their start in this HUGE money saver?
Let us know in the comment section below.
Peace Out Girl Scouts, have a great day.
~Mavis
Would you like to see what else we have brought home over the past 6 months?
Head on over HERE to read all the past stories and to see all the pictures.
Waste-Less Bags Variety Pack {Pack of 6} ~ Amazon
Lisa says
Wow – you got a lot of great fruit….and even a pumpkin!
Julie A. says
I wish I lived by you I would barter for some apples!
Julie2 says
Looks like you are getting a nice stockpile of apples from this & gleaning too. I’m looking forward to some apple recipes. 🙂
Linda says
Wow!! You should make some Carmel Apple Jam with some of the apples!!
Gwenn says
Back the train up. Carmel apple jam?!?! Recipe please. 🙂
Lori says
I agree with that! Recipe please?!?!?! I have a friend who is getting 40 lbs of apples this Saturday. I would love to try some Carmel Apple Jam!!
Linda says
This recipe is from Taste of Home.
Caramel Apple Jam
Ingredients
• 6 cups diced peeled apples (1/8-inch cubes)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 1 package (1-3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions
• In a Dutch oven, combine the apples, water and butter. Cook and stir over low heat until apples are tender. Stir in pectin and bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Add the sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg and return to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Remove from the heat; skim off foam. Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Yield: 7 half-pints.
The processing time listed is for altitudes of 1,000 feet or less. Add 1 minute to the processing time for each 1,000 feet of additional altitude
Rachel says
I can’t believe the stuff they “throw away” as waste! Knowing what some of my local stores sell – granted it’s reduced/clearance – I would hesitate to ask because I have no idea what I would do with 3 boxes of rotting fruits and vegetable with no chickens or compost… One local stores sell off their old produce at $3 per bag so I doubt that they would have anything worthwhile in their scraps – apart from what you would feed to chickens 🙂
Penelope says
Today:
14 lbs of baby cut carrots (exp date 10-20 or 10-24) that look perfect
12 heads romaine that I trimmed to the very best leaves to save
7 broken carrots
a few leaves of ginormous swiss chard
1 cracked gala apple
1 very small turnip or rutabaga (I’ll figure it out when I cut it)
1 green bean
equal volume in trimmings and leaves for compost and we may take some of the better lettuce leaves to the neighbor’s chickens
I’ll be making carrot cake jam and cake and deydrating for soups. I don’t have to worry so much about making my home grown carrots stretch as far. And I guess we’ll be having a lot of salad this week. Still have lettuce left over from last weeks reclaim.