To make soup or not to make soup? If you live in Portland, maybe Soupcycle can determine that for you.

For the last month or so I have spent my Monday mornings or afternoons helping out Soupcycle. I will be the first to admit that my good friend Jed Lazar is co-owner of this burgeoning bike-centered company here in Portland, OR. The premise is simple: freshly made soup with locally sourced organic ingredients delivered to your home or office every week. Each week they prepare a vegetarian, vegan and meat soup covering the 3 major bases of the American palette. The next day (Tuesday) and the day after that (Wednesday) they deliver the soups (and salad and breads) via bicycle to you, the consumer.

It is easy to order soup and rather affordable too – 1 quart of soup plus salad and bread for 18$. One quart of soup is approximately 4 cups. If an individual ordered a quart this would last at least 2-3 meals, depending on the size of the serving. Considering that Jed and his business partner Shauna only source organic ingredients and make all the soups from scratch, I think this is a great deal. Of course, I have an obvious bias in the matter; and to be honest, I am not a paying consumer – I am a volunteer-consumer.

Each Monday when they make their soups and salads, the work before them is long and tedious. But when they have extra help the processes go far smoother and faster. For me, as the volunteer, I get free soup! And as someone who spends way too much time planning out meals, these free portions are a huge help to my planning system.

I chose to post on Soupcycle for two reasons: one, to provide some honest advertising for my friend’s company and two, to discuss the role of spontaneity in weekly meal planning. As you know from last Friday’s post, I had this week all determined (and I still do.) But when I went grocery shopping today I was able to alter the game plan a bit.

One of the necessities to efficient planning is to constantly assess what is in the kitchen. As I have gotten better at writing menus each week, this skill goes hand in hand with remembering what ingredients lay in the cupboard or in the fridge and planning from there. The more I know the better I can handle spontaneous “food gifts.” For example, after helping out at Soupcycle I was provided some extra supplies that they over-ordered. I left the kitchen with a huge bag of fresh mixed greens, a quart of shredded cheddar cheese and a quart of tomato soup. All of a sudden, I visualized the menu I had written and began changing things around. With the greens I knew we had to eat tons of salad. Over the weekend we received a bag of tomatoes from my father-in-law. So instead of butternut squash soup we will have a garden burger salad. For this we buy less ingredients and use up these free “food gifts.” The extra quart of soup is also very helpful because it provides another lunch option for the next couple days.

I don’t know how often other people come across free food. I think there is sometimes a disregard for free food, like “I’m not poor, I can buy all the food I want.” But when someone has extras and you know you can use it, why not trim down that extra spending? As a consumer and cook, I am always on the lookout for a way to beat the system – specifically, eat well for less money.

I think one of the difficulties with meal planning is the planning – the time commitment to learning and remembering what one has in the kitchen. The commitment to the plan, to buying and preparing the meals on the list. It’s okay to go out to dinner on occasion and its okay to fulfill the spontaneous food moments in our lives, but its very important to know where our money is going. Unless you are rich and have limitless money to spend, we all need to budget as hard as that may be. For me, (and definitely not for everyone), I am willing to work for food. Of course I need to make rent and all the other financial needs, but sometimes I want to ease other parts of my life. And free food is a good source of easing spending and thus stress from frivolous purchases, etc.

The moral of the story is two-fold: 1. Volunteer and ye shall be rewarded; and 2. free food makes meal planning easier for our wallets and our time in the store. Don’t be afraid to deviate from the plan!

Related posts:

1. A simple menu (weekly menu 2)
2. No Idea (weekly menu 24)
3. Meal Planning Guide – Your’s for only $5!
4. New York, New York (weekly menu 1)
5. The Food Curriculum Project (part II) “The Menu”

Tags: Soup, weekly menu