spud! Review- Week 2

Another happy week of "shopping" through spud! (It barely feels like shopping when I get to do it from my computer and pick it up from my doorstep!)

This week, I was so excited to try two more of their artisan breads (appropriately, I chose two from the Artisan Bakery in Vancouver), the Whole Spelt Bread and the Sourdough Rye Bread. Both are delicious and wholesome, made with the old-fashioned, slow-rising process that makes the grains as digestible and nutritious as possible!

Another wonderful product we tried this week was cheese from Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, a local artisan cheese producer, that is not certified organic but is certainly raising their cows and making their cheese with the best practices possible. I choose one hard, raw, gourmet cheese called Rathtrevor, which Ryan and I just love! The other is a soft cheese called Fromage Frais, similar to cream cheese, in berry flavor. It is just heavenly.

For produce, I wanted to try their lettuce, peppers and tomatoes, The only peppers they had this week were mini sweet peppers, which were definitely expensive, but just exploding with flavor. The tomatoes were firm and sweet, and the lettuce was large, crisp and very fresh. We enjoyed a wonderful greek styled green salad, with some of these veggies and the feta cheese I purchased. Since the pears were wonderful last week, I ordered a few more of those, as well as some Ambrosia apples, more avocados and some Crimini mushrooms (which I did up in this style, and they were amazing).

I also bought a few cans of organic refried beans on sale, as well as two packages of organic corn tortillas and an unusual-for-me purchase of fancy, fresh pasta for a night when I wanted to make an easy meal!

All in all, I was once again pleased with my order, and especially with the high quality and freshness of the produce, breads and cheeses!

Now, I promised you two things in this second review (see the first week here). The first was a really good look at how you can save money and make a service like this affordable. The second was a deal for my readers to give spud! a try, and you'll find that at the end of this post. :)

What I've done is gone through each element of their service that could help you to save money, pointed out anything that I think is particularly noteworthy about it, and ways that you could best take advantage of it. For the Americans, please note that I am reviewing the Canadian service, so pricing will be different of course, as well as the availability of particular products based on which city or state you are living in, since spud! works with local producers and farmers as much as possible.

Produce Caselots- Some items would be worth it to stock up on. Cases of apples, potatoes (good price for organic potatoes!), carrots, squash, etc. Anything that keeps well for a long time. Another possibility would be to buy together with a group of friends, purchasing cases for the purpose of splitting up amongst the group.

Multibuys- when you buy 2 or more of these items, you get an extra percentage off (usually 5 or or 10%, depending on the item). There are several items I noticed that would be worth stocking up on- for instance, coffee beans, bottled drinks and water, bulk baking supplies like chocolate chips, bags of frozen berries and veggies, ketchup, honey, peanut or other nut butters, soap and shampoos, canned seafood, meat and poultry, etc.

Super Deals- items that are perhaps being discontinued or that need to be sold quickly and are limited in quantity. These ranged from 10% up to around 30% discount.

Produce Specials- there are regular produce specials, changing from week to week. For example, this week's included avocados (mmm, love these!), oranges, celery, carrots and sugar snap peas, all at 10% off of regular. Shopping these produce specials would be a great way to keep produce costs a little lower, and you can simply meal plan around what's on sale.

Grocery Caselot- There is a great range of product in this category and excellent savings to be had. This is a way to really stock up at better prices, or to share cases with friends. One example I noticed was for Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Diapers, regular $17.20 per package (which is already cheaper than my local grocery and health food stores). Buy 4 packages in a case, and they become $14.50 each, which is barely more than Pampers or Huggies, if disposables are your preference. Another example is the large cans of Eden Foods Organic Crushed Tomatoes. These are regular $4.15 a can, but become $3.10 each when purchased in a case of 12 (and by the way, Eden is one of the few or possibly only companies using specially BPA-free linings in their cans!). Other great deals include coconut milks, non-dairy milks, canned beans, etc.

Grocery Specials- Similar to produce specials, a great way to simply check what's on sale and focus your menus on some of those items. Sales are generally 10% off of regular price.

Bulk Buying- This is one of my favorite aspects of spud! Unlike many health/natural food stores which sell only in small amounts and packages, not only does spud! sell in caselots for both grocery and produce, but they also sell bulk for items like dry beans, lentils, nuts and seeds, dried fruits, grains and baking products.

For beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, etc. most items can be purchase in smaller packages (usually 500 grams for beans, and 200 grams for nuts), but also in large amounts (usually 10 or 11 kg) as well. This is a great way to stock your pantry (or freezer, if you're buying nuts and seeds).

Under baking supplies, they carry large bags (20 kgs) of organic flours, such as whole wheat, white, spelt and cornmeal, as well as bags of organic sugars (brown, white, turbinado). Baking soda, baking powder and shredded coconut are also available bulk. I've compared the prices to the best prices I know of in Canada for bulk whole grain flours and they are very comparable.

Standing Order- I mentioned this feature last week, and it's a great way to top off the savings that are possible. Everything in your standing order is automatically discounted by 5%. This is an excellent way to save on items that you know you use regularly. 

All of these money-saving buying methods can be found under Sales and Offers, in Go Shopping.

My overall thoughts: I will most likely order from spud! again. It won't become my regular, only place for shopping, but I will definitely make use of it here and there to get organic produce that is difficult to find elsewhere, to simplify life some weeks when I'm lacking in time or can't get the car during the daytime (and maybe especially when the new baby arrives!), and perhaps also to make some bigger bulk purchases from time to time. I think this is a fantastic service, and I've been so impressed! Thanks spud!

Ready to try spud! out for yourself??? (Americans, use this link to spud!)

Place 4 orders from spud!, and you will receive $5 off of each of your first three orders and $10 off of your fourth order, for a total of $25 in free, organic groceries delivered to your door!

When submitting your order, use the promo code: KEEPERBLOG09 and your discount will be added to your new account!

Edit: There were some issues with using the promo code, but spud! assures me that all is well and you can go ahead and use the code now to place an order! Sorry for any inconvenience!