Affordable Produce

I love fresh produce.  It is a staple in our house, especially since we mainly eat fruit and veggies for snacks in between meals.  I have heard from many people that they don't buy much fresh produce because it's so expensive or that it goes bad too quickly.  Quite frankly, I don't believe that.  I truly believe that fresh produce can be quite economical and if you make a point of eating it then it won't go bad.  

Now the first thing that you have to do is buy produce that is IN SEASON.  This means that you shouldn't buy strawberries in December; buy them in the summer. 

Second, buy local if possible.  Find a farmer's market near you.  We have found a great local farmer's market and the local farmers have great deals!  Last weekend I was able to buy enough produce to last our family of six a week and a half and I only spent fifty dollars!  I was thrilled and I know where our food came from.  ***As a sidenote here, none of these farmers are certified organic but after talking to them I know that they are using clean farming methods.***

Third, find a local Bountiful Baskets.  This is a national produce co-op that has helped save our family a TON of money.  I used them a lot in Dallas and recently found out that there is a pick up five minutes from our new house.  You can chose a conventional basket or an organic basket and then they have different seasonal add ons.  On the weeks that I can't make it to the Farmer's Market I make sure to order a basket through them.  You never know what you are going to get but to me that is half of the fun!  

Last, you can grow your own produce.  This is something that I have tried and failed at for several years.  However, this year my kids are already planning out our garden for Spring.  I am gearing up and hope to have a great little garden set up soon! 

Grocery Shopping With Kelli

I get asked a lot what my family and I eat.  My oldest son, Kamron, is allergic to soy and has shown several signs of gluten intolerance.  When I first had Kamron allergy tested I was so relieved to know what to stay away from food wise, however I quickly became overwhelmed when I started going through our pantry and grocery store.  Soy is in everything!!!

The first thing I did was start shopping at Farmer's Market in Dallas.  I love going down there on Saturday morning and picking out our veggies and fruit.  There are also some meat farmers.  However, during soccer season this is not possible because we have early games on Saturday.  So I am going to take you through a typical grocery trip with me. 

I buy lots and lots and lots of fresh produce!  I normally shop at HEB or Sprout's.  I like Sprout's prices on produce but HEB has a better selection, they own Central Market so no surprise there!  I buy organic produce from "The Dirty Dozen" list only, remember there are six of us!  If something is on sale or clearance for a jaw dropping price I stock up.  Most things can be frozen for later or tossed into a soup.  Here is a good article on freezing produce. 

Next, I hit the meat department.  There are actually quite a few places I buy meat.  I buy from HEB, Costco, and a few local farmers.  I found the farmers from Eat Wild.  I understand that not everyone can afford to buy locally sourced meat and I am not going to preach at you about it!  If you can great, if not that is okay too.  Lately HEB has had some great sales on meat and since I am already there getting produce it is saving me money to shop there and not drive in the opposite direction to hit Costco (big win!).  The last time I was there they had Salmon for 4.97 a pound.  I stocked up and had them package it in two pound portions.  Then those portions went into freezer bags in my freezer.  They also had chicken drumettes on sale for 75 cents a pound, I bought quite a few packs of that. I will have my husband grill those and we will use them for lunches, soup, chicken salad, etc.  I had beef in my freezer from a previous stock up session so we were good there!

Then, I hit the dairy area.  We eat a lot of meat and cheese with fruit or salad for lunch so I kind of go a bit "wild" when I buy cheese.  I grabbed some string for the boys, some Havarti because I LOVE it, some basic Cheddar, and some Mozzarella.  I also grabbed eggs, we do Breakfast for Dinner at least once a week, it is cheap.  We also eat Yogurt but instead of buying little cartons I buy the big carton and portion it out into little Tupperware containers.  The kids can add fruit to it if they want or eat it plain.  

Last I hit the aisles.  I bought olives, rice crackers, salsa, canned tomatoes, and rice.  Sometimes I hit the freezer section but I have found that it is cheaper to buy big bags of frozen green beans, broccoli, and mixed veggies at Costco.  

So what did this trip cost me?  It cost 230-  Yes, it is a LOT and yes I wanted to cry but we have enough food for about two weeks.  I also took that and divided it by six and felt better.  I will update on the 29th and tell you how long this lasted and give you some tips for stretching your meals.