Misfits Market Review

One of my goals for this new year is to eat more vegetables and to really focus on them as the most important part of any meal. I also want to start trying to reach for fruit as a snack instead of eating shredded cheese out of the bag like a cheese-fueled goblin.

I got entirely targeted by the targeted ads and ordered a box from Misfits Market. I didn’t read a single review and I just went ahead and ordered the thing.

What is Misfits Market

Misfits Market is a subscription-based program that sends produce that was rejected from the grocery store for being “imperfect” straight to your door. All of the products are organic and non-GMO (even though GMOs are fine scientifically but I understand if you don’t want to support companies that produce GMOs hops off the soapbox). The boxes come in two sizes, called the Mischief (small) and Madness (large). You can select deliveries arriving on Mondays or Wednesdays, and either weekly or every other week.

What Do I Get, For What Price

If you go for the smaller sized box, it’s $22 and is said to contain 10-13 pounds of your various produce. The larger (Madness) box is 18-22 lbs. A few days before your box ships, there is also the opportunity to add on extra items, and also pantry items like flour or sugar, or things like granola bars.

We purchased the Madness box but only go for it every other week. In our first box, we received 13 different items and more than one of each.

Box #1

  • 2 heads Baby Bok Choy

  • 2 heads of lettuce (they were tiny, to be fair)

  • 6 kiwi

  • 2 Kent Mango

  • 6 Bartlett Pears

  • 4Sweet Potatoes

  • 2 (small) Spaghetti Squash

  • 1 (very large) Napa Cabbage

  • 8 Granny Smith Apples

  • 2 Small Cucumbers

  • 2 Grapefruit

  • 6 Valencia Oranges

  • 4 Green Bell Peppers

  • 12 (a damn ton) Serrano Peppers

Our second box was just as impressive with…

Box #2

  • Roma Tomatoes

  • Red Radishes, Bunched

  • Limes

  • Grapefruit

  • Mini Seedless Cucumbers

  • Celery

  • Green Bell Peppers

  • Parsnips

  • Valencia Oranges

  • Mixed Head Lettuce

  • Green Butterhead Lettuce

  • Bok Choy

  • Red Grape Tomatoes

  • Green Beans

So, as you can see, a ton of vegetables. I had the sense to go ahead and weigh our second box and it came out to 19 pounds total! These fruits and vegetables are…imperfect. There is a reason that they weren’t sold at groceries. They are too big, too small, oddly shaped, or have cosmetic defects. Instagram perfect? Not in this box.

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Customization

In the days before the box ships, I get an email saying it’s time to customize my box. The way it’s set up is pretty smart. There are two sections where you can pick six out of the 10+ fruits and vegetables they have on offer. There’s also one section of “pick two”. It’s then all packed up and shipped out.

Packaging and Shipping

This was my main complaint. The box is kind of unceremoniously dumped out on the porch, and when it’s opened up, the cardboard box is lined with a recyclable liner and a large ice pack, but otherwise, that’s it. The box is just full of loose produce all jumbled together. Again, the experience here? Not the most instagrammable situation. It’s not elegant, but most of the produce seemed relatively unharmed.

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A Peek Inside

In our second box, the same one I listed everything off for up above, I took pictures of everything and we’ve had a great time using everything up over the past couple of weeks. We have made wonderful salads out of radishes, cucumbers, celery, peppers, teeny grape tomatoes, and lettuce heads. I’ve also been snacking away on the oranges and grapefruit all week. I oven-roasted the parsnips and the green beans to serve as sides, happily. I have also been loving stir-frying bok choy with a little bit of butter for another strong vegetable option.

But by far my favorite thing we made out of our box was lime sorbet though. I never think to buy things like limes and it was great!

Is it worth it?

I think so! We got a lot of wonderful high end produce (organic, no less) for a reasonable price. I’m still wary about spending too much shopping at the grocery store so this has been a wonderful experience for us. It also has helped us broaden our horizons a little, learning how to cook with a lot of different products that I might not ordinarily pick up at the store. We only have it delivered every other week, so our bigger boxes give me the flexibility to plan out and cook in bulk, but also gives us a nice little break to eat down the refrigerator.

What do you think of grocery delivery services? Do you cook with unusual produce?

If you’re interested in your own box, you can get 25% off by visiting this link. It’s my referral code, so I’ll also receive a percentage off a future box for myself. I pay for these out of pocket, so no sponsorship here!

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