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Thursday, December 19, 2013

Deliriously Happy Hens

deliriously happy hens

Parsimony at it's finest allows me to have the nerve to ask for food, for me or my hens...lol. But, this is an acquisition of cheap chicken food for three days. It beats spending. Plus, this stuff is prepared just like my picky hens like it--chopped or shredded.

One day while I was in Walmart getting help with my new cell phone gotten free from ATT, I heard an announcement. The vendor was frantically calling people together for some sort of "infodemonstration" (my term) and a free gift. I ignored it. I had heard this announcement on about six different occasions over a week. I did not go there that many times, just multiples occasions one day. loooong story
 
The woman was demonstrating a mandoline. I saw food, scrap food. I watched the mercifully short demonstration, waited while she sold mandolins. Then I asked for the scraps for my hens. She was very nice and helped me scrape off the food into store bags. And, I got my free gift for watching the demonstration.


knife to cut fruit in decorative shapes

 
 
The next day, I came back because the phone was not right. I caught two demonstrations that day. All the onions and orange slices went into a separate bag, not to be given to the hens. I came home with enough hen food for three days.
 
Usually, Thelma jumps right in the middle, scratching it all over, kicking it six feet behind her. This day, I put food outside the pen in the grass and pulled up a chair for pictures. She is wary of me since the raccoons have been out.
 
My hens love their food chopped. So, this was perfect for them. They had corn, cabbage, celery, potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, squash. I had not put in the oranges and onion.
 
The food I brought home could have been put in a pot of water or some chicken broth, cooked, and eaten. I would have added the onions I removed and kept the strawberries and apple to eat with the orange. A bit of meat would have been good to add for a hearty soup.
 
It sort of made me sad that people are hungry and food is thrown out, especially prepped food. The board, hands and mandolin were "washed" in a basin of water right there. Cooking would removed any bacteria from the vegetables. Even the orange and strawberry could have been cooked if a person were concerned with bacteria. I am.
 
Although I am not hungry, I would still consider eating this. If the timing had been right, I would have just eaten it. The woman and I discussed it would even be good for us to eat. She assured me that if she were back in Atlanta, she would.
 
I just like free food for my chickens or for me. I can open my refrigerator (hens can't) and find all this, except for potatoes which are still in the bag on the floor.

Patsy Cline has a fast-moving beak.
I brought a pretty apple for them.
 
 
See the decoratively cut apple?  The demonstrator gave away the little knife to make that type cut. I got three even though she knew I had gotten one and bought nothing.
 
Your turn
 
Have you seen this kind of live demonstration of "as seen on TV" products? Does it ever make you sad when you see perfectly good food being tossed, scraped into the trash? Do you ever ask for food for your animals or yourself? Have you ever had a knife like that?

13 comments:

  1. No knife like that - though my partner would LOVE it. Wasted food does my head in. And there is a lot of it.
    I haven't asked for food for my animals or myself in a lot of years - and am grateful not to have had to.
    And that food looks perfect. Chicken heaven aka an early Christmas for them.

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  2. EC,
    You know the company and the seller of mandolines is going to buy perfect and fresh food for a demonstration. I think that if I ever have plenty of money, I will still ask for food for my hens. I am certainly not taking it from anyone's mouth since I only saved it from a trash can. It is perfect!

    I am sure they were in chicken heaven. If I knew how to make a little video with my phone or camera, I would entertain y'all with chicken antics...lol. I will have to prepare them a good Christmas dinner. That means lots of chopping for me.

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  3. i help out every week at a pre-schoolers play group, the families who come are asked to bring fruit and the church who runs it provides sandwiches and other bits & pieces. all up it is a lot of food for morning tea for tiny little humans and there is a fair bit left over. all child-mauled scraps are put in a bag for someones chickens (two ladies have chickens) and i often beg left over non-mauled things, not because i cant buy my own but because i cant bear to see it thrown away.
    At the Christmas party recently i could see that there was way too much food and whisked some away unopened. I wouldnt ask for that but it will no doubt be still useful when they resume next year. Even with me ferreting food away we had enough scraps for a whole zoo on that day

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kylie,
      People do tend to expect little ones to eat more than they actually can or should. Like I said, when I don't need it because I have such a little bit, I will still take stuff going into the garbage, for me or my hens.

      That is so smart to not open everything and save it for another day. Overabundance at one meal ends up being waste when every parent fears there will not be enough food and over buys. Good for you for saving it, using it yourself, or feeding chickens! Thanks for that experience.

      Delete
  4. Dang it!! Went to 3 demos while I was at Walmart and got a veggie peeler (3) but never even thought to ask for the veggies!!!! Giving the peelers as Christmas gifts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peggy,
      I got one for me the first day. The next day, I asked for another for my daughter, then said I had two daughters. She gladly gave the last two to me. Then, I forgot to put them in their packages.

      You can attest to the pristine condition of the stuff thrown away.

      I got one from Pampered Chef, I think. Even though it was metal, this one is a better design. I saw one of these at the Dollar Tree, if you can believe that.

      At this point, the free ones will be last minute gifts events that inevitably occur. Or, maybe not.

      Delete
  5. Good one! I'm always on the lookout for chicken food, too. I even have some older people who save stuff for me. Now if I could only get my husband to bring home his apple core when I send an apple in his lunch. I save cores and peels for the chickens and compost when I go out.

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    Replies
    1. Patti,
      Exbf brings me scraps that he saves in the freezer for the hens--apple cores, chicken bones and skin, last of a sandwich. Maybe if your husband has a refrigerator at work, he can put a clean freezer bag in it and put scraps in there. Of course, that might be gross or against the rules. That's nice that older people save scraps for you. Some call me "The Chicken Lady."

      Delete
  6. You have the resistance of a champion. No cookies even though you've been looking at recipes almost every day for the past 3 weeks. No mandolins even though they were announced, in a tempting way, no doubt. I'm glad the girls were able to benefit. :-)

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    Replies
    1. Sue,
      It has less to do with resistance, more to do with excessive back and knee pain. I may make some brownies or pumpkin pie. A mandoline would be great for dehydrating--quick and even slices. I already have a huge mandoline that I am terrified to use. It's a Cuisinart and deadly looking. It has been here for years.

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  7. Apart from being on the ground, that looks like a delicious meal--and I'm not even a chicken! I don't have any pets, but I have been known to take the leftovers after an office party (we used to have them at a restaurant and paid for all the food to be prepared before we arrived) when no one else wanted them.

    I'll even accept free food that I don't like if my grandparents will eat it.

    Our local grocery store has very few demonstrations, though, and I avoid Walmart like the plague this time of year! Too many people there for me!

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    Replies
    1. You sound sensible, too. Leaving good food behind at an office party is a shame. I have seen it done. I am sure your grandparents appreciate the food.

      Walmart is less crowded this year. Still, it is hard to get the electric cart I need.

      Delete
    2. I have some real old pinto beans in food storage. Once in a while I pressure cook some and give them to the chickens. I figure ANY food I get for free is that much I save in bought feed.

      Delete

Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.