In today's edition of "What did Penny buy"....
Today I went to the open air market. I was nearly out of produce and wanted to restock, and I am trying to keep down my costs. I'm still essentially doing a pantry challenge, but not the standard one- my goal simply is to use up as much of the dry goods in my pantry as possible, focus on using them up before they get buggy, but I still need to be buying produce because I don't have that already in my pantry.
I was trying to see how low I could actually get today's shop to be- I drew 60 dollars and said I'd try to keep my shop under that... and it certainly was! I spent $33.08 on my entire shop!
What I got was 72.3 lbs of produce, so that averaged to 46 cents per pound on my produce. Not bad at all, considering people have been discussing lately on local frugal forums how all produce locally is extremely overpriced, and also considering the fact that the two stalls I frequent at the market for the most reduced rack type stuff were actually closed by the time I got there...
Well, I looked around and tried to scout out the best prices for the things I need- but you'll notice no tomatoes or cucumbers since I couldn't find any of those for a low price, and I figured that I got enough other produce that we can manage without tomatoes or cucumbers.
In the first stall I stopped at, I bought 8.72 lbs of bananas when I saw they were selling them for 38 cents a pound- all other stalls seemed to be selling them for 52 cents a pound and up. I paid $3.29 for the lot, and they were not past prime.
I then saw some persimmons that were past prime being sold also for 38 cents a pound, so I bought 3.89 lbs for $1.51.
I looked and looked for some other stalls with very low prices but couldn't find any, so I made my way to a stall that had ok prices, not amazing ones, even for their past prime stuff, so I bought 5.5 lbs sweet potato, 7.26 lbs zucchini, 9.46 lbs carrots, 11.66 lbs potatoes, 3.74 lbs beets, and 4.4 lbs onions- a total of 42.02 lbs, for $23.71, averaging at 56 cents per pound.
Of course, just my luck, after I paid that, I found a stall selling zucchini for 26 cents a pound... so I bought 17.6 lbs for $4.57. Yes that means I bought nearly 25 lbs of zucchini, but they are my favorite vegetable and I can't get tired of eating them, so the more the merrier...
And that was the entirety of my grocery shop today.
Though in the spirit of honesty, yesterday I was passing a store that I rarely manage to get to- the place where they sell raw honey cheaply, and I bought 6.6 lbs of raw honey for $27.43- $4.16 per lb... so so far my grocery total for this week has been $60.51, and it probably will get higher though, because I may run out of animal proteins soon.... But still, I'm happy with what I managed so far.
Have you gotten any good deals lately while grocery shopping? What deals have you snagged?
Are you a fan of zucchini or no?
Today I went to the open air market. I was nearly out of produce and wanted to restock, and I am trying to keep down my costs. I'm still essentially doing a pantry challenge, but not the standard one- my goal simply is to use up as much of the dry goods in my pantry as possible, focus on using them up before they get buggy, but I still need to be buying produce because I don't have that already in my pantry.
I was trying to see how low I could actually get today's shop to be- I drew 60 dollars and said I'd try to keep my shop under that... and it certainly was! I spent $33.08 on my entire shop!
What I got was 72.3 lbs of produce, so that averaged to 46 cents per pound on my produce. Not bad at all, considering people have been discussing lately on local frugal forums how all produce locally is extremely overpriced, and also considering the fact that the two stalls I frequent at the market for the most reduced rack type stuff were actually closed by the time I got there...
Well, I looked around and tried to scout out the best prices for the things I need- but you'll notice no tomatoes or cucumbers since I couldn't find any of those for a low price, and I figured that I got enough other produce that we can manage without tomatoes or cucumbers.
In the first stall I stopped at, I bought 8.72 lbs of bananas when I saw they were selling them for 38 cents a pound- all other stalls seemed to be selling them for 52 cents a pound and up. I paid $3.29 for the lot, and they were not past prime.
I then saw some persimmons that were past prime being sold also for 38 cents a pound, so I bought 3.89 lbs for $1.51.
I looked and looked for some other stalls with very low prices but couldn't find any, so I made my way to a stall that had ok prices, not amazing ones, even for their past prime stuff, so I bought 5.5 lbs sweet potato, 7.26 lbs zucchini, 9.46 lbs carrots, 11.66 lbs potatoes, 3.74 lbs beets, and 4.4 lbs onions- a total of 42.02 lbs, for $23.71, averaging at 56 cents per pound.
Of course, just my luck, after I paid that, I found a stall selling zucchini for 26 cents a pound... so I bought 17.6 lbs for $4.57. Yes that means I bought nearly 25 lbs of zucchini, but they are my favorite vegetable and I can't get tired of eating them, so the more the merrier...
And that was the entirety of my grocery shop today.
Though in the spirit of honesty, yesterday I was passing a store that I rarely manage to get to- the place where they sell raw honey cheaply, and I bought 6.6 lbs of raw honey for $27.43- $4.16 per lb... so so far my grocery total for this week has been $60.51, and it probably will get higher though, because I may run out of animal proteins soon.... But still, I'm happy with what I managed so far.
Have you gotten any good deals lately while grocery shopping? What deals have you snagged?
Are you a fan of zucchini or no?
Tags
extreme frugality
frugal shopping
frugal strategies
grocery shopping
pantry challenge
produce
shopping list
I LOVE zucchini soup. Could eat it at every meal.
ReplyDeletewhat is your favorite recipe for zucchini soup?
Deletechop 2 or 3 onions and 6 or 7 zucchini. Toss them in a bowl with a tablespoon or 2 of avocado oil. Saute together for about 5 minutes. Add chopped parsley or cilantro if I have it plus salt & pepper. cover with boiling water . bring to boil & simmer for 12 minutes(ish). Cool and whizz with stick blender. Sometimes add a small carton of soy milk. Serve warm, or in summer, really cold with ice cubes in the middle. Sprinkle with Season All. Sometimes I garnish with tiny cubes of chopped tomato, cucumber and sliced salad onion.
Deletesounds delicious! I may just whip some up right now!
DeleteI'm stocking up on pork loin for $1.69 lb @ Kroger this week.
ReplyDeleteGood job! How much are you getting?
DeleteIt's hard to comment on your price questions, because we all live in different areas.
ReplyDeleteBut I can say that I also LOVE zucchini....
When I lived in rural New York (yes, contrary to popular opinion, most of New York is fairly rural), zucchini seemed to outgrow itself almost to the point of being unwelcome in everyone's backyard gardens -- so "accepting" a donation of someone's excess zucchini was considered a blessing!
Now that I live in a city in California, and free zucchini doesn't seem to exist (no yards, planters are used for flowers -- or tomatoes -- most times.)
Some of my favorite zucchini-isms:
1. Sliced in half lengthwise and put under the broiler with just a bit of garlic salt.
2. Sliced in half lengthwise, hollowed out a bit, stuffed with other veggies mixed with the hollowed-out middles of the zucchini, then broiled with a little cheese.
3. In any kind of stir fry.
4. Grated for zucchini bread (yum!).
5. Cooked with tomatoes, then mixed with a grain.
I've never had zucchini soup, but would love to have a recipe!
ooo sounds delicious!
DeleteI miss your weekly frugal accomplishments!!
ReplyDeleteI want to try keeping track of them again. Thanks for the reminder!
DeleteWhat do you do with so many bananas? Mine get brown and spotty so quickly!
ReplyDeleteI dont mind my bananas brown and spotted. I use them for desserts as a sweetener when they get all browned, like in ice creams, etc... But honestly i dont have to try to use up bananas- my family devours them. The challenge is actually to get them to last from one shop to the next. My kids could each easily at 4-6 bananas in a day.
DeleteDo you find that too many bananas constipates tour kids' tummies?
DeleteNo, but constipation in general isnt an issue with our family (sometimes the opposite), so bananas don't seem to hurt them.
Deleteproduce these days is not overpriced per se, it's just expensive and higher than usual. it's due to a combination of market forces. tomatoes are being imported- a very rare occurrence!
ReplyDeleteWhen I say overpriced I mean just very expensive, not that people are purposely jacking up prices.
DeleteBig fan of zucchini here-- I find it really versatile.....
ReplyDeleteme too!!
DeleteI love zucchini, but 26 lbs is really a lot!
ReplyDeleteDo you finish all the produce you buy or does some of it wind up rotting? It seems a lot for a family of 6 (including a baby). How long does it last until it starts to go bad?
We go through a TON of produce. But there are some things that I do find spoiling more often in my house- they tend to be cucumbers, which is why i try not to overbuy them and then use them up if i see them starting to get soft. Other than that, it rarely ends up rotting. If I see i wont get close to using up zucchini before it'll go off, i'll freeze it or make it into muffins. i can easily eat 3 meals a day with zucchini...
DeleteI apologize if my comment generated grief for you!
ReplyDeleteI was only trying to describe the many ways that I like to use zucchini... not that you were wrong for having it on hand.
I'm sorry for the grief -- and I will be quiet from now on!
No grief- why would you think your comment caused me grief? It was appreciated!
DeleteI LOVE zucchini! I swear the best deal is living in a neighborhood where everyone loves gardening- when zucchini and yellow squash season rolls around they are given away by the bags full because no one can eat them as fast as they spring up.
ReplyDeleteI wish I were more savvy with my grocery spending. And I wish my sad little garden produced more than 1 tomato and a couple handfuls of basil this last year. Feeding my husband, myself, and our 2 dogs (who each require separate special foods, so much for just tossing them scraps!) usually costs me almost $200 a week. I've been working hard getting that number closer to $150, but it's a struggle. I'm on the organic band wagon and live in a state where it's basically the arctic 7-8 months out of the year so we only get farmer's markets for a few months in the summer (although I can get my bill at or under $100 during those months). In the winter it's basically trader joe's, whole foods, and natural grocers with their terrible deals on fresh produce. I try to buy some frozen and canned to help offset the price but I just hate not having fresh produce. I wish there were coupons for broccoli the way there are coupons for cola and chips. I LOVE reading how you save though! You always get the best deals and have the best tips!
Thank you noel! Not organic here though, so that keeps down the cost... I'm a brown thumb gardener too... I wish i could get free zucchini from gardeners around here, but there arent really gardeners locally and the ones that do grow things keep for themselves...
DeleteThat's a lot of produce for a very small price! I live in Canada and produce here are pretty expensive. Example, if I can get sweet potatoes under 1.20/pound this is a good price!
ReplyDeleteAnd, oh, I don't like zucchinis. I mean, I don't hate them, but I find it always stays very watery, hard to cook with outside of spaghetti sauce or zucchini bread.
We love zucchini and yellow squash at our house. Great with a little olive oil ,onions, and spice. We also add it to our chili... adds a nice texture.
ReplyDelete