Do you want healthy produce without spending a lot of money? Read these tips.
Good produce should be part of a healthy eating plan. But the problem with produce is that it can be expensive if you aren’t careful. Prices on produce has been going up steadily in the past few years. Produce also doesn’t usually have a long shelf life, so it is easy to buy produce only to have to toss it out before it is used, thus spending even more money.
Don’t worry, you can still enjoy healthy produce, even organic produce, and still save.
CSA
Community supported agriculture is a great way to get fresh produce for a reasonable price. You pay into a share and then get part of whatever produce is produced by that particular farm or community. The downside is that you don’t always know what you will get from week to week, but with a little creativity, you can take advantage of your bounty.
Make frequent purchases
While stretching regular grocery shopping out to every two weeks or more can often save money, the opposite can be true with produce. You want to be able to purchase just what you need and use it within a few days. This will help you avoid waste to reduce your produce cost.
Frozen
For many fruits and vegetables, frozen is the way to go. Not only can it be more nutritious than “fresh” produce that has been sitting in the store, but it is usually cheaper as well. Plus, frozen produce has a longer shelf life than fresh produce, reducing the chance of lost money through waste.
Buy in season
While strawberries are available year round, it is a good idea to buy them in season. This is because locally or at least domestically produced fruits and vegetables will be cheaper than those that are imported. The farther produce has to go, the less fresh and the more expensive. Even if you don’t know what produce is available when, you can watch the sales.