Sunday, March 20, 2011

Grocery Budget-Saving on Produce






So we are doing well with our grocery budget this month! Shop Rite had great dollar days deals so we are saving like crazy.
Week One Spent $120 and got $120 back on future orders
Week Two Spent $43 and got $20 off on future orders-This was my big meat trip and most of the money we splurged on lots of meat.
Week Three Spent $10 on a gift card so no money out of pocket.
So far I have spent $173 and still have $75 to use in the next few weeks on future orders. I should be under $200 for the month and my shelves, fridge and freezer are all full!
This said we have decided to spend extra money on lots of produce. We were beginning to feel pretty sad without lots of fresh fruits and veggies so we wanted to load up. Plus Rich got a food dehydrator and we wanted to try drying strawberries out.
Our first week we shopped the Produce Outlet in the Berlin Mart. Love this place once we get past the surroundings which can feel a little yucky. This store is open Thursday-Sunday. I always bring my own recycled bag and just put the items we are buying in there till check out. They only accept cash so come prepared.
For $18 we were able to buy 3 pounds red skin potatoes, large container of fresh pineapple, 3 pounds of watermelon, 2 large containers of strawberries, one pint of blueberries, 1/2 pint raspberries, 2 pounds bananas.

This week we tried the new farmer's market in Marlton right near where the circle used to be. We were really impressed with our first visit to this place. It is open all week and was very clean. It offers a variety of groceries with Asian specialties as well as a fresh seafood market.
For $7 we were able to purchase two large containers of strawberries, one pint cherry tomatoes, 4 pounds bananas, fresh asparagus and one container of fresh crushed garlic.

So happy we have two great options for produce. Both carry some organic produce, but found the Marlton store had more options. We intend on shopping at these produce outlets probably twice a month. We are hoping to grow our own garden successfully this summer, but will still be in need of plenty of fresh produce! Cole is so happy to have fresh berries back in teh house and so am I.

2 comments:

  1. Do you want some strawberry plants? My sister is going to be thinning hers out again in the next few weeks... I can bring them to ya. THEY WERE GREAT last year.

    I shop out at the Amish market the Green Dragon out in Ephrata which is near my sisters. ALWAYS great produce and great prices. But only open on Fridays and way over there>>>

    So I will check out the Marlton Market.

    When I had a dehydrator- my kids LOVED the "days old bananas" as they called them.... and it is amazing how salty carrots and squash are once you dry them. If you decide to dry onions- PUT THE MACHINE OUTSIDE!
    We would make the fruit rollups- you puree the fruit, spread it out and let it dry, dust it with cornstarch, and cut it in strips and ROLL IT UP.

    Enjoy

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  2. We Would LOVE the strawberry plants. We still have dried parsley from our Green Dragon trip last year. We are passing through there on a a Sun and Mon so this year we won't get to go there. Rich did make peach fruit roll ups, it took a lot of fruit but Cole loved them.

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