Guest Post–In Season Produce: Getting the Most For Your Money

I often get questions about how to save money when buying fruits and vegetables. In addition to using our Grocery Store Grading System and the coupons that we occasionally see, it is important to know how to select your produce and also how to store it. This is not an area that I specialize in, so I am so excited to intoduce you to my friend Melissa over at The Sassy Saver who has agreed to share with us how she is able to stretch her money in the produce section! Readers…meet Melissa. Melissa…meet the Bargain Blessings readers…

Guest post by Melissa from The Sassy Saver

I was always amazed when my friends would tell me that when they buy produce it would spoil in a matter of days. I wondered every time why I would buy produce and it would last us 2 weeks easily. After multiple friends asking me this I decided to try to figure it out.

I looked at many different things and I realized that I am a totally different produce shopper then they are. I also realized that I store my product differently as well. When I shop for produce I have a list of what is in season. This helps in a variety of ways. The in season produce is the freshest produce you will find at your grocery store. That means that it will last the longest naturally. Buying produce this way will naturally make it last longer without you having to do much extra to preserve it. However, there are a few things you can do to preserve it as much as possible.

1) When you are picking produce pick some for now and some for later. You will find some produce that will be ripe now. You will need to get a few items like that to use in the next couple days. But for the rest of it, you want to get the less ripe produce so it will have time to become ripe and then you can use it. But you don’t want to pick it too unripe because the nutrients wont be as good. I try to limit myself to things that will last for 2 weeks in the fridge.

2) Store your produce in the fridge except for your bananas. This is key in making the produce last. We have gotten zucchini and peppers to last for over 2 weeks just by storing them in the fridge. The cold slows down the ripening process and they last longer. If you have produce that needs a bit of ripening, take them out the night before and they are ready to use when you need them.

3) If you have reusable produce bags store them in those. Plastic bags you get from the store cause the produce to sweat and then it causes mold to grow faster. So if you store them out of the bags or in cloth bags they don’t mold and will be ready to use later. This also helps to keep the drawers clean so the produce that does possibly go bad doesn’t cause the other produce to go bad as well.

4) When you have produce that is going to spoil, use it that day or cut it up and freeze it. Most produce freezes, as long as it is stored in bags and cut up before you freeze it. Some of the produce will need to be blanched (put in hot water and then cold water to stop the coking process) and then frozen. Some of these include broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, and asparagus.

By doing each of these things you can shop less and buy more of the in season produce to use over time. This will bring your weekly budget down as well. Then you can cook healthy meals for your family while saving money!

Melissa lives in California and is a wife and mother of 2 kids, and blogs at The Sassy Saver where she shares how to thrive on a $35 a week grocery budget with no doubles or triples.
Do you have any additional tips to share on smart produce shopping?