Do you ever feel like it’s impossible to feed your family healthy food because fruits and vegetables are just so expensive? You’re in the right place. In this post I’m going to give you 10 smart ways to save money on produce that will have you shopping for fruits and veggies like a pro!
10 SMART WAYS TO SAVE MONEY ON PRODUCE
This post may contain affiliate links.
Related Posts about Saving Money on Food:
- 10 Simple Tips to Save Money on Meat
- 5 Tips to Spend Less on Groceries
- How to Set a Grocery Budget you can stick to
Produce can definitely be expensive. For most of us, it’s the second biggest chunk of our grocery bill after meat.
But there are absolutely ways to spend less on produce and still feed our family those healthy fruits and veggies.
Here are 10 smart ways to save money on produce.
SHOP SALES
Keep a close eye on what is on sale each week at the stores you shop.
Do this by checking their weekly sales flyer, website, or emails you may get about their biggest deal.
When you see a really great sale, take advantage of it!
For example, when I see buy 1, get 1 free blueberries, I always get 2 and freeze 1 if I’m not going to use it right away.
They key to knowing if any sale is really a good deal is to do some work on the front end by tracking prices.
You can read about 3 simple options for tracking prices here and snag a free printable price tracker here.
SHOP IN SEASON
Have you noticed that prices for produce are always changing?
The cost of produce depends on the season.
When a fruit or vegetable is in season, it’s a lot easier for the stores to get and sell so it will cost much less.
Likewise, when it’s out of season, it has to travel much farther to get to you and will cost more.
So, instead of buying the same fruits and veggies every week, shop what’s in season whenever possible.
This may mean being creative and trying new things.
Get adventurous, explore the produce department and shop in season.
BUY FROZEN
Frozen produce is a great option!
Produce is picked and frozen at it’s peak of freshness so you’ll be getting it at it’s highest quality.
And it’s so much cheaper!
Most of the time that is, barring huge sales and some seasonal finds.
The other great thing about frozen produce is that it can last much longer and you’re not pressured to use it up right away.
You can do a lot with frozen vegetables too.
Don’t think that the only way to eat frozen veggies is boiled on the stove. You could also roast them in the oven just by dumping them on a sheet pan with olive oil and salt and pepper and baking them until their done and delicious. This is my favorite way to cook vegetables.
And don’t overlook the frozen fruits!
Frozen fruits are delicious in smoothies and great for baking!
They can also just be defrosted and eaten in the place of fresh fruit.
So, don’t forget about the frozen food aisle when you’re shopping for produce.
BUY IN BULK
For the produce that your family eats often, it is probably best to buy it in bulk.
I buy a lot of the produce that we eat regularly at Costco.
For example, we eat a lot of baby carrots. At the regular supermarket it costs $2.99 for a small 1 lb bag of baby carrots. At Costco, we get the giant 5 lb bag and it’s $5.99.
5 lbs of baby carrots at the supermarket would cost $14.95!
Keep in mind this is only a huge savings if you actually use and eat all 5 lbs of that huge bag of baby carrots. But we always do because I also throw them in the crock pot as I’m cooking something else in it, or roast them in the oven when I’m making sheet pan veggies. And then I just freeze whatever is left over to be cooked later.
I also buy the giant container of mixed greens for salads. I find it lasts a really long time! I just throw a paper towel in the container once it’s opened to help it stay dry and last longer.
And I love the huge bags of frozen veggies.
Here’s the thing about buying in bulk though. It’s not going to be a better deal that the super sales at the regular stores or the best seasonal pricing.
So, keep that in mind and keep an eye on the other store’s pricing to make sure you’re getting the best deal.
FIND A FARMER
During the months on harvest (generally early summer – mid fall, depending on your location) the farmers market is the place to be.
This is the highest quality produce you will find. It may not look perfect like the kind you seen in the supermarket but it was grown with care in a local farm and you can actually talk to the farmer about the growing process.
Besides being a cool experience, the farmers market is a great place to score some amazing deals on produce.
Ask around for fruits and veggies that are just a little bit imperfect. The farmers will often be happy to cut you a deal.
You could also ask to buy a larger amount for a lower price per item.
Another great option are small roadside stands. You may have one in your area and not even know about it.
This is basically just a farmer by the side of the road trying to sell their bounty.
Take advantage of this, and stop by to shop. You can often find some amazing stuff for a fair price.
When you shop at a farmers market or roadside stand, you are buying directly from the person who grew this food. You’re cutting out the grocery store and all the travel to get the food to you. They don’t need to get their cut from the price, so the farmer can sell the produce for less.
I don’t know about you, but I’d so much rather give my money directly to another human being who put in the effort and care to grow my produce than to a giant grocery store.
CLEAN 15
If you’re someone who likes to buy organic, my advice is to be very selective about what you buy organic and what you don’t.
Not all produce is created equally. The banana that grew in a tree and has a thick peel does not have the same exposure to pesticides as the carrot that grew in the ground.
This may feel hard to navigate sometimes but we’ve been given some super helpful tools from the Environmental Working Group called the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists.
The Dirty Dozen lists the produce that you should buy organic because of it’s increased exposure to pesticides.
The Clean 15 lists the produce that you can buy conventional because they have limited exposure to pesticides.
You can get a free printable copy of these 2019 lists as part of my freebie resource library here.
Don’t worry about memorizing both lists. Just throw the printables in your purse and check them when you need to.
Try to buy more of the Clean 15 conventional produce and less of those Dirty Dozen organics.
You can also stick to buying organic Dirty Dozen produce frozen to get it for less.
GROW YOUR OWN
You don’t have to be a farmer to grow a few fruits and veggies of your own.
You don’t even need to have a garden.
Try out an upside down tomato plant on your patio or deck.
Plant a few cucumbers or potatoes in your yard.
Grow some herbs, too. It’s so nice having your own herb plant and so much cheaper.
Think about a few veggies that your family eats all the time. Can you grow one or two?
I promise, if I can do it, you can too.
FREEZE THEM BEFORE THEY ROT
Of course, one of the most obvious ways to save money on produce is to not let it go bad before you can eat it.
The easiest way to do this is to just throw them in the freezer.
I just use Ziplock freezer bags (which I totally wash out an use again and again).
I like to wash off the produce before I freeze it.
Then I just throw them in a freezer bag and stuff it in my freezer.
You can really freeze almost anything. Bananas, avocado, spinach… just about anything you can think of.
To learn more specifics of how to what to freeze, check out this comprehensive guide.
BAKE ‘EM UP
Another easy and delicious way to use your leftover produce before it rots is to bake it.
Blueberries going bad soon? Make blueberry muffins.
Bananas getting brown? Bake up a banana bread.
Same goes for zucchinis and zucchini bread.
I’ve even baked pineapple into baked oatmeal just to use it up. It was so good!
Not sure how to bake what you have? Just hop to Pinterest, and do a search for how to bake [whatever it is].
There’s probably a delicious recipe waiting for you!
AND MAKE SURE YOU’RE GETTING CASH BACK
My favorite way to get cash back on produce is with the ibotta app.
It’s just a fun app that you can download right on your smart phone and then you sign up for deals (like $3 back on any grocery purchase). Then, after you make your purchase, you upload a photo of your receipt and you get the cash back!
You can choose to be paid in cash or with a gift card when you reach a certain amount of cash back in your account.
Try it out! And use my special referral code FYWVPCG for a special welcome bonus.
WAYS TO SAVE MONEY ON PRODUCE
Now that you know how to save money on produce you should see some significant savings on your grocery bill!
Here are the tips one more time. Shop sales and in season. Buy in bulk for the things you use the most. Try out shopping at the farmers market. Stick to the clean 15 (grab the printable here). Grow some on your own. Freeze or bake your produce instead of wasting them. And make sure you’re getting cash back with the iBotta app.
And if you want to take your grocery savings up a notch, I’d love to have you join my Grocery Budget Challenge! You can sign up here.
Here are some related posts about saving money on food:
- 10 Simple Tips to Save Money on Meat
- 5 Tips to Spend Less on Groceries
- How to Set a Grocery Budget you can stick to
- A Quick & Easy Coupon Strategy
Leave a Reply