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| Photographer: Heidi Finger |
By: Heidi Finger
It’s true what some say, eating healthy can be
expensive. But, it can also be
affordable. One of the tricks is to buy what is in season. For example, right
now it is early spring, if you go into any grocery store you will see
strawberries on sale. At two of the
grocery stores in town they are priced at $1 per pound this week and another
store have them as low as $0.77 but limit 4. This is the time to stock up! We have bought almost 50 pounds of
strawberries, and we will use them all. We
are eating a lot of fresh strawberries for snacks, in packed lunches and for
dessert. We also freeze bags and bags of them.
Because, really, who can eat 50 pounds of strawberries without them
going moldy. My husband has a smoothie at breakfast every single day and his
favorite ingredient is frozen strawberries. The kids and I also like an
occasional smoothie as well. Right now
is the only time to get the strawberries this cheap so we get as many as we can
to last until next spring.
Bananas are also a good one to stock up on. Some stores have
a discount corner or bin where they put the perfectly brown spotted aged
bananas. These bananas are perfect for
freezing and later use in smoothies or to make nice cream. Another way to process
the ripe bananas is to dry them and make chips. If you are drying them yourself
when they are ripe there is no need to add sugar like many drying companies
do. Yours will be healthier and cheaper!
One of the traps you might get in if you start getting
excited about stocking up on fruits and vegetables is buying the wrong types. For instance, if you buy a whole bunch (pun
intended) of lettuce, there is no way to preserve it for future use. You can go
for a walk through the grocery store in the frozen and canned isle. If you see
it canned or frozen, go ahead and stock up on the fresh produce and process it
at home. If you are processing it
yourself you will keep more nutrients in the produce and won’t have all of the
extra chemicals and sodium that canning companies put in.
You can do an internet search or check Pinterest for charts
of when a particular crop is in season. They are available for all areas of the country or world with
easy access. At these times of year, check with different grocery stores or
farmers markets for the best prices.
