Lost in the Box

Ok, so, yup. I fell in. For a brief moment, I fell into the trap and now am locked in for a year. The big-box store, Sam's, has struck again.

If you follow me on FaceBook or Twitter, you know I am all about eating fresh and local. Sam's is everything but that. Yes, I suppose they have the "fresh" part ... or do they?

We eat a lot of brussels sprouts, like enough-to-feed-a-large-family-twice-a-week-for-a-month a lot. So while at Sam's, I figured I'd get the giant bag. I mean, it was only $10, and I could get about ten meals out of it.

The first night I made some, I was so rushed to get something in the kids for supper that I didn't think too much about the amount of time it took for these brussels to finish roasting. I mean, come on: when kids are hungry, it's like a weird time warp you enter just to get dinner on the table!
However, last night was different. I had lots of time, after all, it was Mother's Day so I was able to pay more attention. I did my normal routine of cutting them in half, seasoning with sea salt and olive oil, while preheating the oven to 425 degrees.

About fifteen minutes went by, and I checked them. Nothing! No browning, charring or anything ... well, maybe a handful were roasting but definitely not the normal coloring that should have taken place. I tossed them anyway and continued on.
By that point, the grilled chicken was done, and I was ready to get everyone fed and into bed.

Finally, they turned that roasted color! I plated everyone, and we dug in. Bite after bite of the brussels, and I was thinking to myself that the flavor was off. But you know when you think about something so much, you start thinking you're just being paranoid?

Thankfully, the hubs questioned them, too, which he never does. They were like when cabbage becomes transparent after being cooked, definitely not your green, normal, tasty brussels sprouts.

My final analysis is that I have no idea what they did to those poor brussels, but I will not waver again from my strong belief of eating fresh and local.

Sam's can keep its massive amounts of "fresh" product. I'll keep eating food where I can track its origins and where I can meet the farmer if I so choose.