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Daddy Clay: Looking for that perfect romantic gift for your wife that'll benefit the entire
family? Here at DadLabs, we've got it for you - vegetables. Today's episode is brought
to you by BabyBjorn. What's the first ingredient in any healthy meal for a toddler? Why, it's
a BabyBjorn soft bib of course. BabyBjorn. Now, here at the Lab, I catch a lot of grief
for my pragmatic and non-romantic gifts that I give to my wife. And that ribbing actually
stepped up a notch when I recently announced for her birthday, I had given my wife vegetables.
It wasn't vegetables per-se. It was actually a share or a subscription to Farmhouse Austin,
which is a local company that works with local farmers to provide seasonal organic or sustainably
farmed vegetables and produce directly to your doorstep. Every other week, a plastic
container which the company charmingly calls a bushel, arrives on our doorstep. And it's
become kind of an event in our household. Whoever gets there first gets to grab the
plastic bin, bring it inside. We've actually turned it into kind of a game. The contestant
has to go through the bushel, identifying all the items, the vegetables and fruits therein.
And if you name all of them, you get one free pass. You get your first pick of the delivery.
Boy: Radishes. Daddy Clay: I think you guys win. You guys
are winners. Despite the warnings from my colleagues, the primary gift recipient seems
to be enjoying her present quite well thank you very much. My wife is quite the foodie
and an outstanding home chef. And she treats the arrival of every bushel as a challenge.
She turns it into sort of her own home version of the popular Food Network show Chopped as
she tries out new recipes and tries to use everything that comes in the bushel every
other week. Now, of course, there's a huge benefit to me. I've recently become a fan
of fennel, which is nothing short of miraculous. The benefits for our kids and if you're into
that kind of thing, the earth, are pretty obvious. My kids get really excited about
exploring the ingredients, discovering the different foods and vegetables. They've become
interested in the preparation and they end up trying things that they never would have
tried before. The downside here is obviously from time to time, you're gonna get some stuff
that you don't like. Our guinea pig has been dining on a fairly steady diet of beets this
winter. And sometimes you're unable to eat all the produce before it begins to spoil.
That's one of the reasons that we really appreciate Farmhouse's option of a bi-weekly delivery.
Now if you start to throw away a lot of the produce, the economics of this get a little
sketchy. Our delivery costs about $40. You could probably get similar organic produce
at a local store for a little bit less money although you lose some of the green value
and of course the boutiquey cuteness of the vegetables. One of the ways that Farmhouse
adds to the value for us is they send out regular newsletters that profile the sourcing
farms and give you recipe ideas which I really enjoy. It's very cool. If you're interested
in something similar for your family, check out LocalHarvest.org. They've got a great
database of CSA's, which stands for community supported agriculture. That's kind of the
umbrella name for these kind of delivery services. They've got a great database that'll show
farms and farmer's market in your area. Check out localharvest.org. Valentine veggies. But
really what says I love you more than something that will bring your family health. I highly
recommend a CSA as a Valentine gift. If you use a CSA, you have any questions or ideas,
go over to DadLabs.com. We've already got a nice conversation going on this very topic.
We'll see you next time here in The Lab.