Our first meal from the organic delivery.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I did the figures on how much we spend on fresh produce at the supermarket on a weekly basis, and based on our findings, we decided that it was high-time to take the plunge – to commit to a regular organic fruit and vegetable delivery.

The commitment isn’t just financial of course – it’s about making the most of every box of leafies that arrives at our door – learning how to prepare the plants we aren’t familiar with – finding new favourites – and, yes – eating out a little less.

To talk bald figures – we knew that if we committed to an organic delivery that cost $250 a week or less (the fruit and veg portion of our standard shopping budget), whose contents could make meals for the entire week, we would be saving a stack of cash (note: for two people, we eat a shit-ton of vegetables. That metric is no exaggeration). Plus – the value would in fact be far greater, because we tend to only really be able to find decent conventionally farmed fare at our local super.

We decided to go with Organic Empire. We’ve experimented with fruit and veg delivery companies before, but I have to say that this so far trumps our experience with the others. I met Angela the owner briefly, at a business event, and ran into her again at her stall on World Vegan Day in Melbourne last year. She’s doing amazing things – she really is – including growing a lot of the business’ own produce.

Please find pictured our first delivery. No – seriously. Each subsequent arrival has been nothing less than as spectacular as this. And you want to know how much moolah we part with on a weekly basis to get this magnificent harvest? Between $105 – $125. Which literally means we save over a hundred bucks on supermarket shopping each week to get what we need to feed (and juicify) us – and often more.

I know that people often feel a little hesitant when thinking about taking the plunge with organics (I know that I certainly did). There are a lot of fears that the produce will be full of bugs or soil or… well, you know – other random organic matter – but to speak with utter honesty, the quality of the produce we’ve received from Organic Empire has surpassed that of the conventional crap we buy at supermarkets – and has all been clean, well washed upon arrival and has kept gorgeously all the way through until the 7th day of the week (when we toss all the vegetables we have left over into a big pot and make a hearty stew or soup).

I’ve been recommending Organic Empire to my friends (a lot) lately and don’t hesitate to recommend them to you, too – they’re a good business with stellar service and a truly great product.

- MZ. x