The Pagan Mom Blog

Disclaimer: I did not receive any of these items for free, I paid for all of it and have the check documented to prove it. Angel Food Ministries is not even aware that I am doing this review.

This morning we picked up our groceries from Angel Food Ministries. I have to say that I was very pleased with the process and like it much better than going to the grocery store. It takes 5 minutes or less to place the order and about 15 minutes to pick it up. LOTS less time then doing weekly shopping at the grocery store. Anyhow, the menus are for one week for a family of 4. Since there is 5 of us we decided to try out doing 2 weeks worth.

Yep, 4 boxes and a bag. The box on the right wasn’t all that full though, maybe halfway. The bag didn’t hold much either. So let’s start off with the “signature  box”.

One “Signature Box” included:
1.5lb Ribeye Steaks (3 x 8oz)
1 lb boneless center cut pork chops (4 x 4oz)
2 lbs Chicken Fried Rice Skillet Meal
22 oz Beef Stroganoff
22 oz Breaded Fish Patties (5 count)
1 lb lean ground beef
1.5 lb breaded chicken fillet
1 lb frozen zucchini
1 lb frozen cauliflower florets
1 lb frozen broccoli florets
1 lb frozen hashbrown patties (7 count)
8 oz breakfast cereal
2 lb bag fresh onions
32 oz 2% shelf milk
1 dozen eggs
1 dessert
One box costs $30. My picture shows 2 boxes which was $60. The ground beef doesn’t have quite the same look as grocery store ground beef. We haven’t tasted it yet so not sure if it tastes different or not. Also the boxes do get changed at last minute due to coordination issues or things not being up to standard. We were supposed to get lasagna this month but we got beef stroganoff instead. Speaking of “standards”, I have to say that most of the meat looks just like what you buy at the store. The steaks aren’t paper thin either, they have what I would guess at almost 1/4″ thickness to them. Everything IS proportioned to what people SHOULD be eating in one sitting. So if you eat more than that on a normal basis, this won’t look like much food. Also pricing wise it is cheaper. Depending on where you shop and if you use coupons,  I could buy the same items in this box  for about $50 – $70.

Above is the Fresh Fruit and Veggie Box. We also ordered 2 of these. Each box contains:
1 stalk of celery
3 lb sweet potatoes
3 lb idaho potatoes
1 head green cabbage
1 lb carrots
3 lb oranges
3 lb apples
1 8oz bag of pecan halves
4 Bosc pears
1 12 oz Honey bear
2 Ruby Red grapefruit
This box was $22. I didn’t price this one at the stores yet. The produce I just wasn’t as thrilled with. The oranges are pretty tiny, but of course that could just be the time of the year. The pears didn’t look very fresh either. Also we are not big fans of cabbage and celery so we probably realyl should have stuck with 1 box. That’s ok though, we have some friends we can hand these off to and we learned our lesson.

Now this isn’t all that you can find at Angel Food Ministries. They have convenience meals (also called senior meals) that we might get this spring to feed kids when we are too tired from work to cook. There is also an allergen free food box that so far has featured breaded chicken of various types. And each month they offer different package deals. And so far it looks like your getting good quality foods.

One thing to consider is that this won’t keep you from having to do some grocery shopping. Breads, condiments, seasonings, and various other items will still be needed. But using AFM in conjunction with the store could save you alot of money. Now in our family we budget $100 each week for groceries. Thats food to eat, dog food, laundry detergents, toilet paper, condiments, seasonings, etc etc. If we set a budget of buying $150 a month from AFM and $50 a week to get the other things we need I would spend $350 a month instead of $500 (on average, 5 week months of course change that). After a year ($150 x12) we would save $1800 that can go to some of our other bills. That may not seem like alot but considering oil costs us about $1500 a year, we save enough to get our oil. As it stands right now we will stick with buying 2 “Signature Boxes” , maybe a fruit or veggie box, and at least one of their other special boxes a month. Come next January I will be able to start tracking and seeing if it really helps. I can’t right now because I typically spend more grocery wise at this time of year with holiday meals, holiday baking, and parties.

Bottom line, try this at least once. The way the meats are packaged it doesn’t take up that much room. If you have a spare freezer you could buy 3 or 4 “Signature Boxes” and have lots to spread out over a month or two. Again, depending on your own personal eating habits. Since I don’t eat red meat and we have at least one vegetarian meal a week, our meat will spread out just a wee past 2 weeks. I recommend anyone giving this a chance. They have AFM all over the country. I was a bit suprised to find so many in my area, I had assumed that maybe I couldn’t find it here but was I wrong!

As you can see I have a theme going on around here lately. See…I am a holiday ho. I enjoy passing on some of the traditions I grew up with and creating new ones for my kids. I also don’t like change too much (unless I initiate it…can we say control freak much?) and I almost become fanatical about preserving tradition. Oh who are we kidding, I love nostalgia! So I thought I would share my memories of Thanksgivings’ past. My own version of Ebenezer Scrooge sort of….except in my world Jim Carrey couldn’t get near it.

In school I loved this time of year. We would create things to decorate the class and then take them home for Thanksgiving break. Things like turkeys made from cutouts that were tracings of our hands. And even diarama’s of the first Thanksgiving day. Remember making those? With old shoeboxes? Gah kids are missing out these days! We also had a play every year in our classroom reliving the first Thanksgiving. We reminded each other of how the first immigrants survived thanks to the Native Americans. I always wanted to be one of the Indians, they were way cooler in my eyes. We would practice for a couple weeks and my grandmother and mother would come to see our small production with their big butts crammed in our tiny seats. Smiles on their faces and my grandmother snapping off 200 hundred pictures in 20 minutes.

We would get off those three days for Thanksgiving breaks. I would be so excited because I would see some family I hadn’t seen in awhile. I come from a large family. Not all would be there, some we only saw at weddings and funerals. But I had two sets of aunts and uncles and 3 male cousins that would come to my grandmother’s home (whom we lived with) and it was a full house. My grandmother and mom would be bustling in the kitchen getting things ready. My aunts would step in to help, I would try and get yelled at for being in the way. The men would be in the living room watching football and discussing work. My cousins would be kidnapping me and locking me in the basement and I would freak out. They would get in trouble and kicked out and I would be told to suck it up and stop making all that racket. The adults ate in the dining room, us kids would be at the kitchen table. Food would be everywhere. A huge turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, greenbeans, hot bread, and cranberry sauce. We kids would be engaging in our usual bickering and the occasional food fight. The adults would be talking more about work and whatever other upcoming events they had their way. I would also try to sneak my green beans into the trash. Oh how I hated those! Most times I was successful because the adults were too busy chatting to see me at the trash (my father had the view of the trashcan from his place at the dining room table). We kids would be hollered at 9390357905 times that we were being too rambunctious. Then dessert…..oh wonderful and glorious dessert. I always had the apple pie after fighting with my mother for 30 minutes that I hated pumpkin pie. After 34 years she still seems to think I like pumpkin pie.

Our Thanksgivings weren’t perfect. We fought alot. When my grandmother died, my aunts and uncles and cousins stopped coming over. My parents would fight alot. I got in trouble alot. But it will always hold a special place in my heart from those early years. I don’t have dinner with my family now, I live 500 miles away. Instead we have an intimate dinner at my inlaws home. Sometimes my sister in law and her family come, sometimes they don’t. This time last year my brother in law was alive and present. I remember that was when he said “I won’t get cancer because I don’t want cancer”. He said this when we discussed cigarrette smoking, addiction, and the long term effects. I am sure we will be thinking about him alot this year. My mother in law isn’t cooking, instead the inlaws are coming to my house. I get to make everything, fuss at the kids, and enjoy every minute of it.

I think I will look for some shoeboxes and show my kids how to make a diarama. What are you going to do this Thanksgiving?