Imperfect Foods - Review of Our 1st Produce Box Shipment

Spaghetti Squash, Squash, Blood Oranges, Cilantro, Jalapeños, Yellow Onions, Blueberries, Mandarins, Lime and Avocados

I recently found out about this company called Imperfect Foods that offer produce and other groceries for a discount. The produce is imperfect and while it has been rejected by grocery stores it's still in good enough shape to eat. It may be an odd shape, not have perfect coloring, may be slightly damaged, may be smaller than normal or it may just be overstock that needs to be sold quickly due to it being perishable. For instance, if you look at my celery photo below, you may notice that they are individual stalks and no longer attached. Those are stalks that came detached during harvesting, so they offer those in a bunch. When you are ordering it will tell you exactly what the issue is with each individual fruit or vegetable so you can determine which imperfections aren't an issue for your family. They also tell you which state or country they come from. They have organic choices also. Check out my grocery list below to see what I selected.

Celery, Green Onions, Green Peppers, Cucumbers, Limes and Zucchini

My Produce Shopping List:

1. Organic Avocados, 3, $2.50 ($4.17 retail)
2. Organic Celery, 1 bunch, $1.75 ($2.19 retail)
3. Organic Limes, 3, $1.10 ($2.07 retail)
4. Organic Pears, 2, $1.40  ($1.64 retail)
5. Organic Spaghetti Squash, $3.99 ($5.90 retail)
6. Organic Sweet Potatoes, 1 lb., 1, $0.99 ($2.00 retail)
7. Organic Yellow Squash, ordered 4 received 8, $3.50 ($8.16 retail)
8. Blood Oranges, 8, $4.40 (retail $10.32)
9. Blueberries, 1 carton $3.25 (retail $4.00)
10. Cilantro, 1 bunch, $0.79 (retail $1.19)
11. Cucumber, 2, $1.85 (retail $2.37)
12. Green Onions, 1 bunch, $0.99 (retail $1.19)
13. Jalapeños,.5 lb, 8, $0.89 (retail $2.72)
14. Lemons, 3, $1.10 (retail $2.37)
15. Mandarins, 1 lb., 10, $2.50 (retail $2.99)
16. Red Potatoes, 1 lb., 4, $0.99 (retail $1.79)
17. Suntan Bell Pepper, 2, $1.25 (retail $1.50)
18. Yellow Onion, 1 lb., 3, $1.50 (retail $2.10)
19. Zucchini, 4, $3.50 (retail $5.00)

Squash, Sweet Potato, Red Potatoes, Lemons and Pears

As you can see in the photos the produce is in pretty good shape and very fresh. Most of the produce is ready to eat and some need a few days to ripen such as the avocado. What we have tasted so far has been yummy. Any imperfections can be trimmed off if they bother you. Keep in mind that you don't eat the skin of some produce like oranges and spaghetti squash and some people chose to remove the skin from celery, cucumber, potatoes, and others. My produce total is $38.24 which has an approximate retail value of $63.67! That's a discount of $25.43. Bargain! That includes 62 pieces of produce, plus a carton and three bunches! I don't know about you but often I get sticker shock when my produce is rung up. It can be so expensive to eat healthily, so I'm always looking for less expensive produce. Plus, our dogs eat a lot of produce since I home cook for them. I compared the prices of Whole Foods, Walmart, Publix, and Wegmans and chose the lowest price for the retail values above. Note that one couldn't go to just one store to purchase all 19 items from my list at the lowest price and some stores didn't have some of the items in stock. Amazingly Whole Foods is competing well with Walmart for the lowest prices. Walmart offers a lot of organic produce these days. For Whole Foods, you'll need an Amazon Prime Membership to get the lowest price. Wegmans and Publix have much higher prices, Publix has the worst prices for organic produce. I find Lidl has good prices on produce but their variety is limited and the nearest store may be far from you.  Costco also has good prices but in our area, the produce doesn't stay fresh long enough. Plus, the quantity is too high. Remember the retail prices listed above are for the Raleigh, North Carolina area which tends to be lower than most states. In your state, the retail value may be much higher or possibly lower. 

Sriracha, Capers, Green Olive Spread, Pesto Sauce, Hummus and Grass-Fed Ground Beef, Laminated Reference Guide

My Grocery List:

1. Divinia Green Olive Spread, 7 oz., $2.99 (retail $7.99)
2. Huy Fong Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, 28 oz., $2.99 (retail $3.99)
3. Italbrand Non-Pareille Capers, $2.49 (retail $2.99)
4. Cento Pesto Sauce, 6.5 oz., $3.99 (retail $5.99)
5. 85% Lean Grass-Fed Ground Beef, 16 oz., $5.99 (retail $9.99)
6. Hope Foods Organic Original Hummus, 8 oz., $3.99 (retail $4.99)

The grocery list total is $22.44 and it has an approximate retail value of $35.94. I saved $13.50! I decided to add these grocery items to raise my total to $60 so I could get free shipping. They require a minimum order of $30 and shipping costs are $4.99-$5.99 for orders under $60. Several of the items I ordered are low carb so Hubby will be adding them to sausage, fish and lunch meat to add flavor to his snack foods. Hope Foods Hummus is one of the few brands that is made with olive oil instead of unhealthy soybean oil. 

I paid only $51.08 for this box which includes free shipping and I used a $10 coupon. It has a retail value of approximately $99.61! Bargain! If you want to save money on your groceries and produce be sure to snag my $10 coupon and have a box shipped to you! You can select what you want in your box or you can receive a customized surprise box by answering their questionnaire. Boxes arrive on Friday and you can customize your shipment that week on Monday & Tuesday. I recommend selecting early since some items will sell out. Selections change each week. I'm going to skip next week's shipment since we have a ton of food to eat for the next two weeks. A shipment twice a month should work well for us. It's easy to skip a week on their website. Refrigerated items will be shipped with an ice pack. They will send you a reference guide that tells you which items should be placed in the refrigerator, on the counter or the pantry. I highly recommend you give this service a try soon! Eat healthily! Check out the many other food boxes I've reviewed before you go.

Bargain Alert:

Imperfect Foods - $10 off

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Have a PEACEful Day!