Too good to go: Anyone? Mystery package keeps diet and cooking interesting

yirara

I did TGTO a few times in my old home but found it to be not very interesting. Too many to go supermarkets and cake/sandwich bakeries that were participating. So you'd end up with a mystery bag containing a pile of prepared food and cakes that needed eating immediately. Really not convenient.

Things look better in my new home as a few proper supermarkets participate, a greengrocer and a fish monger (have not managed to get anything from the latter two). On average I got goods worth about 22-24 Euro for 5 Euro, most of which can be frozen, like 600gr of chicken breast or things that don't go off past the best by day like a big chunk of cheese.

I find it exciting to see what I can get for about 4-5 Euro and cook with it. Keeps things very interesting! Tonight I'll cook a potato dish with fuet sausage, a bag of vegetables and mild goats cheese that I have still laying around.

Anyone else with me?

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yirara

That's odd! I see that someone replied, but also didn't reply.

I got a bag of food yesterday and am not unhappy. I got for 5 Euro:
600gr chicken breasts
450grx2 precooked potato slices/wedges
200gr mixed leafy greens
a big chunk of grilled snack sausage.
1 big cup of skyr natural.
1 big cup of quark natural
1l of some kind of vanilla custard (it's a Dutch thing)
1 portion of vegan breadcrusted mushroom pockets
1 portion of shawarma meat
1 small fuet sausage
1 pack of vegan chicken breast for sandwiches
1 pack of sausage slices for sandwiches
1 mayonnaise-based crab salad

Meal planning.. the fuet sausage and shawarma meat will be mixed with the potatoes and leafy greens for some kind of leftover potato pan dish. I'll add onion, garlic, and leftover vegetables, and either feta or mild goats cheese that I still have in the fridge. 4 days sorted.

chicken breast went in the freezer for now.

the grilled sausage meat will be used for the ultimate comfort food: small ellbow pasta with crispy, sweet onions, garlic, oil and normally small cubes of crispy fried luncheon meat. The taste of the sausage is quite similar, if a bit more fatty. Sorted.

Dessert for the next few days sorted with the custard. Breakfast and cooking with the skyr and quark (they are usually good for a further 2 weeks after best by date). Sandwiches sorted as well, though I'd hoped for cheese.

Things that will ultimately go to waste: the mushroom pockets and the crab salad. The former because of ugh ('shrooms are pretty much the only thing I don't eat), and the salad because I can't freeze it and it won't stay fresh past the best by date.

paperpudding

perhaps it was a spam post that mods removed?

Not being used to euro and your normal costs , i can't comment on value - getting mystery packages wouldnt appeal to me personally, I like to choose for myself what i get, although I understand they are probably good value for money

yirara

Yes, they are good value. This package would have cost about 24 Euro. But more importantly for me: it brings some variation into my kitchen. I always wanted to cook with a mystery box, and this is as mystery as it gets. I need to get some better ideas for the different ingredients. But it's certainly exciting to get some food you have no idea about beforehand, and that you'd in parts not have bought yourself. I certainly was getting a bit bored with cooking, thus this is good.

ReenieHJ

It's certainly an interesting concept but not sure I'd dare to get something like that, with me not being an adventurous cook.
My dd does something a bit different but she's more of a cook and foodie than I am. She gets the 'off' produce that aren't worthy of selling in the stores but still good to eat. She'll get Bok Choy and be interested enough to actually use it for something. Knowing me, I'd look at in the fridge until it's moldy then throw it away. Lol

yirara

ReenieHJ wrote: »

It's certainly an interesting concept but not sure I'd dare to get something like that, with me not being an adventurous cook.
My dd does something a bit different but she's more of a cook and foodie than I am. She gets the 'off' produce that aren't worthy of selling in the stores but still good to eat. She'll get Bok Choy and be interested enough to actually use it for something. Knowing me, I'd look at in the fridge until it's moldy then throw it away. Lol

Haha! Bok choy is very nice if cooked en papillotte with for example a piece of white fish with a lemony, spicy crust on top. Just in a wok/noodle dish is nice as well. There's so much one could do with it.

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Katmary71

I'm a newer cook so I'm not sure how that would work. I do get produce boxes though then base meals around what goes bad first.

yirara

Today: potato wedges with a kind of Greek spice mix on top to go with shawarma meat, tsatsiki from skyr (I can't eat normal yoghurt anyway), Greek salad, and I might bake a pita bread.
Spices, flour and feta from the larder, veggy leftovers, rest from the app. Should come in at around 550-600 calories, which is a typical dinner for me.

deannalfisher

It’s an intriguing idea

I do it with misfit market in the US for vegetable - if you want you can pick what is in your box but I like the surprise - I get the small box that is 15lbs of fruit/veg

yirara

deannalfisher wrote: »

It’s an intriguing idea

I do it with misfit market in the US for vegetable - if you want you can pick what is in your box but I like the surprise - I get the small box that is 15lbs of fruit/veg

Oh wow! I'd really love that! There's a greengrocer in town who participates in TGTG, but so far I've not managed to get a box. But dairy, meat and the occasional snacks are the most expensive part of my groceries bill anyway.

yirara

I managed to get another mystery package (it's very popular here). This time it's a fresh fruit and veggy package. I'll pick it up tomorrow afternoon and am seriously curious about what's inside.

yirara

So i bought a fruit and veggie package today, and it was a bit of a surprise. 500gr green beans, and 500 gr cut green beans, 500 gr cut cabbage, 500gr precooked tiny potatoes, a chinese cabbage, 1kg oranges, 500 gr strawberries. A huge pile of very big carrots. And 500 gr champions, which I left in the shop as I don't eat mushrooms. and 500 gr chili peppers Well, you never know what you get.

So I made a quiche that I had from another package and served half of that with a quark/bit mayonnaise based sauce with potatoes, green beans and cabbage. And dessert is strawberries with the quark that I got earlier.

I'll start cutting and where needed blanching, and then freezing everything I don't need immediately. Very useful all in all.