I mean, c’mon, who doesn’t want to break out into the Carlton Dance when their favorite produce is on sale?!
Fruits and veggies are nothing but nourishing for the human body, cost nothing to produce because they grow naturally, and don’t require preservatives and additives.
Yet, the unhealthiest junk food with the most ingredients in the stores that only PhD chemists can pronounce, things like cheap white bread, Doritos, and TV dinners are far cheaper than produce!
*cue Twilight Zone music*
But seriously though, here are two (2) really good tips to keep your produce bill low, so that maybe you can incorporate a little bit more of the good stuff into your daily meals…
1.) Shop the seasonal fruit.
Citrus this time of year is not only cheaper, but it tastes better. Avocados and tropical fruits taste best in the spring. Peaches and berries are so good in the summer. And I’m not much of an apple fan, but they taste much better in the fall, in my opinion, than they do the other 3 seasons of the year.
All of this to say that seasonal fruit is cheaper because it’s in season! It simply boils down to supply and demand.
This is not to say you can’t eat these fruits during other seasons, but don’t expect the prices, or the flavor, to be as good.
2.) Shop for produce at… the Dollar Store?!
You read that right. Dollar Stores can have an exceptionally delicious array of produce that you just wouldn’t expect. I certainly didn’t at first!
Things like 10 lb bags of potatoes for $1.99, a bag of organic apples for $1.99 (comparatively speaking, that same bag of organic apples at Whole Foods is going to cost you $23.95 or something crazy like that!), 5 lb bags of oranges or grapefruits for $.99, and I could go on and on.
And taste-wise? Dollar Store produce is just as delicious and fresh, if not more so, than your big chain grocery stores like Fry’s, Safeway, and Walmart.
So try out these two suggestions and see if your produce bill lessens over the next few weeks.