Imperfect Produce: I Eat Ugly

My BFF introduced me to a company called Imperfect Produce based in Emeryville that offers fruits and vegetables subscriptions. The produce they offer does not meet the gold standard set by grocery stores because of the way they look. The fresh fruits and vegetables may have cosmetic defects compared to their siblings. They could be irregular shaped or have spots on the outside, which does not negatively impact the flavor of the produce.  Sometimes they can even taste better!

Why wouldn’t I just want to have perfect produce? Buying into imperfect produce allows you to save about 30% compared to the grocery store. It also allows you to make a positive impact on the environment by reducing food waste and water usage. It’s a win-win situation. For me personally, it allows me to afford organic fruits and vegetables as it is not always an option I want to pay for when I shop at the market.  

I went online and customized my first box and it included organic cantaloupe, peaches, plums, pears, grapefruit, tomatoes, arugula, mushrooms, and potatoes.  
The first evening I had my box I cooked up some of the vegetables. After peeling and chopping the vegetables, I could not tell they were “rejects.” Could you?
My first box was heavy on fruit by choice. I found that they were perfectly sweet and juicy. Two colleagues standing several feet away could smell the aroma of my peach that I bit into. Later in the week with my abundance of plums and peaches, I bought some puff pastry dough and made a weight watcher friendly dessert. 
Imperfect Produce serves and delivers to the East Bay and has select drop-off spots in San Francisco, Lafayette, and Concord/Walnut Creek. You can also pick up from their warehouse located in Emeryville which is what I did. The best advantage for my BFF is that she gets her box of fruits and vegetables delivered to her door and doesn’t have to step foot into a grocery store.  This way she has more time to travel, geocache, and blog.
With my Imperfect Produce subscription, I am not only incorporating more fruits and vegetables into my nutritional diet, but I am having fun with it. It’s like playing a creative game of Chopped.  Imperfect Produce is a beautiful thing!