I
love my veggies!
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| A typical haul of fresh produce |
When
I hear people complain that they can’t afford fruits and vegetables on a budget
I'm seriously skeptical. If you want to
eat fruits and veggies and you enjoy eating them you can easily make it
happen. I sometimes wonder if those
doing the complaining aren't just making an excuse so they don't have to eat
them. Maybe??
Having
plenty for produce on hand for the family has never been a problem for me and
it is always a priority. I prefer fresh
produce as our mainstay and I serve a lot of salads and fresh veggie plates. I also find some wonderful frozen and canned
options work well for us too.
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| Less money than a bag of potato chips!! |
It
doesn’t have to be expensive. I will usually
make a produce run once every seven to ten days and I tend to buy a lot of the
same things repeatedly, but I also try to be flexible so I'm not overspending
on non-seasonal items. In addition to "the
usual" I'll grab something on sale to mix it up a bit and add variety.
Fresh
Produce Basics:
Lettuces, baby
spinach, shredded cabbage blend.
Tomatoes
Carrots, celery
Broccoli,
cauliflower
Mushrooms
Bell peppers
Onions, green
onions, garlic
Potatoes -
russet, red, yellow
Apples, bananas,
oranges
Canned
Fruit & Vegetable Basics:
Tomatoes - all
varieties
Tomato sauce
Green beans
Sweet kernel corn
Sliced beets
Peaches, pears,
pineapple, fruit cocktail
Applesauce
Frozen
Basics
Broccoli,
cauliflower, mixed blends
Corn
Peas
Peas and carrots
Potatoes - tater
tots, fries
I
try to keep most of these things on hand.
How about you? Do you like eating
fruits and veggies or not so much?
Seriously, I think I could have written this post myself- word for word. Shocker, right? Even your lists of basics, canned and frozen (except for the beets- I've tried getting them a few times and we just don't dig them.)
ReplyDeleteI also make it a priority to have plenty of produce in the house. When I see the fruit and veggie drawers or the fruit bowl getting low I know it's time to replenish. I do try to get mostly fresh, although I have absolutely nothing against canned or frozen. And I agree with you about trying not to spend too much on out-of-season produce. Lately though, I haven't bought as much junk food such as cookies, etc., so instead I make a splurge here and there on a special fruit as a treat: blueberries, etc. even if they are a little more expensive. Pretty much costs the same as a bag of cookies, but it's better for the kids. The things I buy A LOT of are apples and carrots- we really go through these!
I like this post! It's cool to read what other people like to keep on hand. :)
I'd live off of veggies if it wasn't for the fact that I love meat and sweets. Oh and rice and pasta too. And.... I love everything. LOL.
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