My children are like chalk and cheese when it comes to food but one thing they do have in common is a love of fruit and most vegetables. Clearly this is a good thing as far as I’m concerned but I have noticed my fruit and vegetable spend increasing lately so I’ve had to be a bit clever lately to make sure that I’m getting value for money.
Here’s my top tips to help you to spend less on fruit and vegetables….
Buy Frozen
Some people see frozen fruit and veg as a bad thing but we have a drawer full of frozen fruit (great for smoothies and crumbles) and frozen veg. It can actually be more nutritious than fresh because the fact it’s frozen so soon after picking locks in the nutrients that can be lost on the long journey to the supermarket shelf. It’s really good value for money and can be bought quite cheaply making it a great way to get fruit and veg into your family without breaking the bank.
Buy in-season fruit and veg
Food that’s in season is more readily available so it stands to reason that it’s going to cost less you less. There’s quite a good guide here on the BBC website to help you plan your shopping list around what’s in season.
Try your local fruit and veg shop or market rather than buying at the supermarket when you do your shopping
It might not work our cheaper for some things but I find that I save when I buy at our local fruit and veg shop and not only that, I find that the quality is better too.
Don’t forget Aldi’s Super Six
Aldi have a great deal on their fruit and veg range whereby each week/fortnight they have six different things on offer for a much reduced price. You can check on the app or on their website which fruit and veg are included each week.
Buy reduced where you can
At the end of each day, our supermarket has some massive savings on fruit and veg that’s about to go out of date. I don’t worry too much about dates on fruit and veg so as long as it looks OK and doesn’t feel squishy then I’m happy to buy it.
Learn the best ways to store your fresh fruit and veg
If you store fruit and veg right then it will more than likely last longer which will reduce waste and mean you can buy larger packs to last the week which usually works out cheaper. There’s a good guide here on the best ways to store things and what to keep apart.
Grow your own
This is something that I’ve never really mastered but if you have a little area you can dedicate to growing some of your own fruit and veg then you’ll definitely see a saving when it’s ready to eat.
Can you think of anything else?
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Great tips! A warning to pass along about carrots. I made the mistake of storing them next to a) apples and, another time, broccoli. I could NOT understand why the apples and broccoli tasted like "wood" (no, I'm not in the habit of eating "wood", LOL but that's the closest way to describe it.) Then, I remembered something my plant biology professor said, about storing carrots separately from certain vegetables, as they give off a plant gas which affects the taste of the other vegetables. Now, I only store carrots with onions.
What great tips! I do love finding a supermarket bargain!
great tips – I've not heard of Aldis super six!
Aldi's Super Six has saved me a fortune over the past year or so, such great value
I have vegetables and fruits from the plot , but he likes to buy frozen fruit in winter. For example, strawberries
I think you've got it covered there! There's a really good value fruit and veg shop in town, but I rarely go to town, so end up buying mine from the supermarket. There is a definite difference in price from summer to winter.
PS I'm very jealous that your kids eat fruit and veg. My kids don't and it's a real struggle to get them to eat it!
ah great tips cass, as always
Just past apple season unfortunately but when it is harvest time, it's worth finding out if anyone has a glut? There are only so many apples you can eat for example. If someone is happy to share a few with you, that's great. Also keep an eye out as some people put them in bags by the road for free collection. Great to make chutneys with or stew and freeze.
And on that vein, plant an apple tree. You can get apple trees on dwarf root stock if you prefer, they need very little attention unlike other plants and the fruit freshly picked and eaten is so wonderful.