I just about fell over when I first saw the 30 boxes of strawberries. My immediate thought was strawberry jam. Then strawberry smoothies, then what the heck am I going to do with all these berries?
The chickens have some pretty fierce competition these days for the free produce scraps.
At this point I still don’t know what I’m going to do this summer when all the veggies start growing. Keeping her out of the garden beds is going to be a challenge for sure. I will admit though, vegetables are a wee bit tastier than shoes. Lets just hope she doesn’t turn in to a total food snob. Ha!
Does anyone know what the shelf life of the typical grocery store strawberry that has been trucked in from California or Mexico is? My backyard strawberries only last about 24 hours on the kitchen counter before they start to go bad.
But then again, I don’t use chemicals and my berries are about 1/3 of the size.
From the 30+ pounds of strawberries Mr. Produce Guy gave me this week, this was all we were able to reclaim. Sadly, the chickens don’t care for strawberries, so on to the compost heap the bad ones go. As for the good ones, I think I’ll make some jam today.
Something is always better than nothing.
Peace Out Girl Scouts, have a great day.
~Mavis
Would you like to see what else we have brought home over the past year?
Head on over HERE to read all the past stories and to see all the pictures.
If you have just stumbled upon this series and are wondering how I got all this food for free, you’ll want to read this story first.
Debbie says
you could always just slice them, add to some ice cream!!!
Melanie says
You should dehydrate some strawberries for school snacks
Lisa says
LOVE dehydrated strawberries!!!
Lisa says
Wow – you hit the jackpot with the strawberries and grapes…I’m jealous! 🙂 However, I’m grateful that yesterday when I picked up my reclaimed box of food I received: 3 bags of lettuce, red leaf lettuce, spinach, a red pepper, some asparagus, 2 pears, 8 tomatoes, some mushrooms and a tomatillo!
Shirley says
All the produce departments in our area give nothing away for free!!!
Cecily says
For all those who wonder how to get free produce…Ask your local produce stand, not the grocery store. The big box groceries fell its more important to get that tax deduction for tossed produce. Develope a friendly relationship with your local produce stand owner and then ask for the scraps. Thats how I did it.
pat Lewis says
Strawberries always demand immediate attention! Last year in the mark down produce, I got 11 flats of strawberries for $2/flat! I made strawberry jam, froze the best ones whole for smoothies and borrowed a friend’s Excalibur dehydrator and dried a bunch of sliced strawberries! Intense 12 hours? Oh, yes!!!! Worth it when I looked on my shelves at the jam and dried strawberries (I packed them in Mason jars and sealed using my Food Saver) and in my freezer at the bags of frozen berries?? Absolutely!!! I look forward to getting markdown produce at one store and the free produce at the other!
The first few times I asked about discard produce, I was flatly told no, but I tried again a month or so later by just being conversational with our produce manager and he said yes 3 weeks ago! I went back last week at the same time of day, same day of the week and when I saw him, I called him by name, thanked him for the things two weeks before and asked if he might have anything that day. (He was sorting through the produce dept and culling when I came up to him) He ave me access to his basket, gave me an empty box and asked if I would mind choosing out for myself what I would like to take. I thanked him and got beautiful hot peppers as well as bell peppers (put the into the salsa I canned), 2 heads of lettuce that DH used to make his lunch salads this week, 4 carrots (used in 40 Morning Glory muffins I made for breakfasts) and I am so pleased! Plan to go back this week-same day, same time. I’m thinking that our guy wouldn’t like to hold a box or more just sitting around waiting for me, so I will continue to go at a time that they are culling the produce so it isn’t causing extra work for them! JMO.
Mary Ann says
Don’t you just love those Morning Glory muffins?! I make a double batch and freeze them (wrapped individually in foil). The recipe is kinda labor intensive, so this is how I make sure we have plenty around.
I’m so jealous about the free produce. I have only stingy stores around me.
Tina says
If you have access to a dehydrator, also try strawberry rollups: one part strawberry puree to 2 parts applesauce. If you don’t have fruit leather sheets, use parchment paper or cheap flexible cutting boards from the dollar store cut to fit. Just don’t use waxed paper – the wax melts and the fruit will NEVER come off the paper.
Mavis says
Thanks Tina, I’ll try this! 🙂
pat Lewis says
Oh, I forgot! I got 2pounds of green beans that we steamed in the microwave and had with 2 different dinners that week! Between the free produce and the mark downs at the other store, I got over 90 pounds of fresh produce for $20!
Leigh says
I just found your blog and I love it! My local stores refuse to give scraps of food, plus I really wanted to feed my kids as much organic stuff as possible. So I started distributing for a local CSA in exchange for the leftovers. We get enough to feed our family of 5 plus stuff for canning! It’s really awesome, it’s local, and it’s fun (granted it’s 5 hours of my life; but it’s totally worth it!) I also started becoming friendly with the farmers at the local farmer’s market. If I come at the end they give me a steep discount on the easily perishable foods (it’s going to get composted, so they are happy to give it to me!) I have a few friends who work for the bigger farmers at the market and get to take home some food at the end which is another way to do it.
Sandy says
I have a recipe for chocolate-strawberry jam that is absolutely delicious. You almost want to eat it with a spoon – just don’t tell anyone.
Rebecca says
My chickens love strawberry’s. I am surprised that yours don’t. We toss the old ones to them and the hens grab one and scatter. They also eat raspberry’s right off the bushes. I wonder why some chickens would love them and some would not. Conditioning? Breed of chicken? If anyone knows, please share.
Susan says
Make a solution of one part vinegar & 5 parts water. Rinse strawberries in solution drain and store in refrigerator. They will keep for up to 2 weeks.
richele says
This really works. I also soak all store bought fruits and veggies in this mix for about 5 minutes to remove waxes, chemicals and dirt.
Grandma PattyB says
Some suggested to dehydrate the strawberries… I concur! I LOVE them that way. They weigh nothing, take up less space, and last longer (that is if you can stay out of them!) lol
I went to King Soopers (Kroger store) and asked the produce guy for throw aways. They said they don’t do that. the stuff goes in the trash. I was looking at a huge box of tomatoes as he was saying that. Unbelievable!
Elizabeth says
We make our own flavored vodka with strawberries! Slice up the strawberries and put as many as you can fit into a mason jar. Pour vodka over the top of the berries until it is full and put the lid on the jar. Give it a good shake for a few minutes then let it sit on the pantry shelf for about 3 days. The berries will lose their color and the vodka will be pink and infused with the strawberry flavor!
Maranda says
That never would have occurred to me but sounds like an excellent idea! BTW, I also do the vinegar/water wash, and it truly makes them last almost two weeks. It just kills the bacteria on the outside so they stay fresh.
Nina says
I don’t know if you still wonder what to do with massive amounts of lettuce but have you ever tried cream of lettuce soup? Its quite delicious! Here is a simple cream free recipe, but google it and you will find many many variations!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lettuce-Soup-231995
I love you blog! Thanks!!