Week 27

Find three deals on different organic/local fruits or vegetables.

Find and buy at least three different organic/local fruits or vegetables that are in season.  Then enjoy them!  So easy, so delicious.  This is the time of year when there is an abundance of excellent produce, and nothing tastes better than produce that has been ripened in season on the vine, rather than picked too early and shipped half way around the world.

Remember that what is in season will typically:

1.  Be on sale and a great price

2.  Displayed on the end cap

3.  Look and smell really good

The photos in this post are from last year when I first wrote up this post.  This year I have found the same great deals!  Hard to believe, isn't it.  Last week at Costco, I bought 6 two-pound tubs of organic strawberries because they were only $4.49 each.  Costco also had organic red grapes at a great price plus organic blackberries and blueberries and raspberries recently.  I bought organic peaches, plums and nectarines at Sprouts, all were $1.99 per pound.  I found nice local cantaloupe (Market Street) and watermelon (Kroger), as I wait for the ones growing in my garden to ripen.  My refrigerators are brimming with delicious fresh produce right now!

The bar code number on organic fruit always starts with a '9'.  If you are not sure what to buy organic, refer back to the post, "to buy organic produce or not".  With so much excellent quality produce available, look carefully at the store to see what they have.  Try not to shop just off your grocery list, especially for your fruit and veggies because you don't know what they will have when you make up your list.  For example,  if you have grapes on your list, you might grab the conventional grapes (grapes and berries are two of the fruits that you never want to buy conventional because they are loaded with pesticides and are on the dirty dozen list.)  Instead, look for deals of the week and be flexible.

My guideline for buying organic produce has not changed from last year.  I look for items that are $1.99 or less a pound.  Or I watch prices and buy when expensive things like the organic blackberries or strawberries are at a greatly reduced price from normal.

 

I wrote the post last year (and took the photos) after going on my shopping loop trip.  I have almost the exact same things (but more) that I bought last week on my once every week or two grocery shopping trip.  I have been going to the store less this year with all the great produce I have been getting from my garden.  If you don't have a 'shopping loop' yet, I've listed some of the stores I frequent in this post, Using 100% Real Food Ingredients.  

The stores that I go to on my 'shopping loop' trip depend on which direction I am heading from my house.  I am fortunate to have to many great options available.  For example if I am going west from my house, I will stop at Kroger, Market Street and Sprouts.  If I am heading south, I will stop at Market Street, Costco and Whole Foods.  About once a month, I go further down into the city and add Natural Grocer onto the trip to stock up on essential items that I can only find at Natural Grocer. 

We eat lots of fresh produce and I will plan my meals around the great deals I found when shopping.  We will enjoy a mango-banana lassi, strawberry lemonade, puffed pancake and a large fruit salad to name just a few of the special treats for the week. 

I have not been purchasing many veggies this year from the stores because I have had so much coming from my garden - currently wonderful tomatoes, peppers (sweet and hot), cucumbers, onions, potatoes and zucchini.  I did buy organic kale and chard at Sprouts this weekend to make udon noodle soup and I have standard veggies on my grocery list that I don't grow but always keep on hand.  These include organic lettuce, organic spinach, and avocados from Costco plus organic celery, organic green onions, and organic carrots from Sprouts or Market Street.

Be a smart shopper and enjoy the abundant, luscious summer produce.  It is not hard to find great deals this time of the year.  Be sure to buy what is in season.  The grapefruit and apples that were so abundant and delicious a few months ago are no longer in season.  Instead the berries, melons, grapes, peaches, etc are now in season.  Have fun shopping and enjoy what you find!

"He (God) makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth:  Psalm 104:14