by Veronica Grace Patenaude
#1. Find a Bulk Distributor or get a Coscto Membership
Sometimes you can buy fruit and greens in bulk by the case from farmer’s markets, Italian specialty markets, co-ops and produce distributors that supply to restaurant chains and asian markets.
Try going to the farmers market and talking to the farmers to see if they will offer you a discount for regularly buying produce in bulk each week, or call the farm directly to see if you can purchase from their farm.
If your city does not have any of these places available you can try going to Costco and still get a great discount on things like baby spinach, romaine lettuce, mixed greens, celery, tomatoes, oranges, bananas, melons and berries. The yearly membership fee of $50 is well worth it even if you only buy your greens from here.
Also check out their frozen fruit section for blueberries and mixed fruit as these can be beneficial for making smoothies or kids snacks.
#2. Join a CSA or Buying Group
A CSA is a Community Support or Shared Agriculture program. It’s also known as subscription farming and you pay a weekly or monthly fee for an assortment of fresh produce every week from a local farmer. The best part of a CSA is that you get new types of produce with each season and are supporting your local community. It’s a great way to get more variety into your diet and save on some staples that you would be buying anyway from a grocery store. You know the food your getting was picked fresh, ripe and not processed in any way before getting to you.
If you don’t have a CSA in your area you can try finding an existing group or start your own group of people interested in purchasing fruit or produce in bulk. Some people want to be able to purchase exotic or European fruits they don’t have access too or that are of superior quality than what’s available at the store. This way you can order a few types of fruit that everyone wants in large quantities from a supplier that is trusted.
#3. Grow Your Own Food or Forage
Community gardens are sprouting up everywhere in residential areas and big cities. If you’re short on space or live in a condo you can go this route in spring and summer and plant some items that you use frequently. Or, if you’re lucky enough to have a full backyard or even a windowsill, you can start your own garden with a little bit of work using compost or top soil. Seeds to plant: romaine, swiss chard, arugala, kale, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, beets, dill, mint, basil, cilantro. You can also buy tomato plants at garden stores if you’re country’s growing season isn’t long enough to start them from seed. By growing your own greens and vegetables you should have almost no need to buy them at the grocery store during the summer!
Maybe you live in a warmer climate and there are fruit trees growing wild, or your neighbors can’t eat all of their oranges/mangoes/avocados etc. Ask around, quite often people will have fruit trees for decorative purposes and don’t actually consume the fruit. They would be more than happy to have someone come and pick their fruit before it falls to the ground and creates a mess on their lawn. Check out the side of the road too for mango trees and coconuts in tropical climates and you may get lucky too!
#4. Only Buy Produce On-Sale from Grocery Stores
Sometimes grocery stores will run promotions like a certain % off on Mondays or a certain day of the month, 2 for 1 deals or have coupons in their weekly flyers.
Some things that are always available to buy in bulk at grocery stores are bags of apples, pears and mandarin or clementine oranges. You can usually get medjool dates and Sun-Maid raisins fairly cheap if you like using them as sweeteners to smoothies or prepared foods or snacks for traveling.
#5. Only Buy Organic When It Counts
Sometimes organic produce is just not available in a certain fruit or vegetable you are looking for, or sometimes they are but are far too expensive to justify the price for a small quantity.
Buy things in organic that count like celery and greens and stay away from items such as strawberries, peaches and apples if they are not organic or you don’t know where they’re coming from as they’re high in pesticides.
Try getting some fruit from local distributors or trusted sources that aren’t necessarily “certified organic” but are still essentially pesticide free.
#6. Get The Most Bang For Your Buck – Calorie Wise
When deciding what produce to buy you need to decide where you’re going to get the most of your calories from. Usually you should select a few fruits that are in season and affordable to be able to buy and consume in large quantities. Fruits like bananas, mangoes, papayas, oranges, pineapples, mamey sapotes etc. If you make high calorie fruits the bulk of most of your smoothies or meals you will get more calories for your dollar.
Items with less calories should be bought in smaller quantities for nutritional variety only. It is harder to make an entire meal out of things like greens alone, berries (if they’re expensive) and other small seasonal fruits. So buy fruit that you desire to eat frequently that will give you enough calories per meal for your activity level.
#7. Make a Shopping List Based on Meal Plans
It might sound silly at first, making yourself a meal plan, but it will actually give you insight into how much food you need to buy, what kinds and how much you typically need to eat per meal. If you write out your 3 main meals each day and what you like to eat and figure out the calories you can then multiply that through the week and figure out how many calories/pieces of fruit in total you need to buy.
This will also save you from impulse buying, wasting produce, extra trips to the store for 1 ingredient, falling off the wagon from not eating enough fruit and so on.
it takes a little bit of work to perfect and is much easier to do for a single person than a whole family, but setting yourself up with a weekly plan for shopping will save you a lot of money and headaches later.
#8. Take Food With You To Work or When Going Out
If you bring your own food be it cut up fruit or a large salad with you when you’re going to work, going out for the day or going shopping, it will make it much easier to forgo buying more food when you get hungry. Buying food on the go isn’t cheap and will often run you at least twice as much to get a fruit salad or garden salad than eating at home will. The portions are often small as well and might leave you unsatisfied and wanting more.
#9. Get Only a Juice or a Smoothie When On The Go
Sometimes we find that buying a fresh squeezed orange juice at a juice bar or the mall is cheaper than actually buying the oranges by the pound and making juice at home.
Some places like Jamba Juice also have specials or run sales that you can get a juice or a smoothie for a discount as well which makes it more affordable if you’re on the go or traveling and need a quick bite to eat that won’t break the bank.
#10. Host a Potluck Instead of Going To A Restaurant
A lot of times your friends and family will want to socialize around food or meet up and go somewhere to hang out. The chances you’ll have a raw restaurant around or another restaurant that will have something on the menu that you will like let alone can eat can be small.
You could just get some friends together and run a monthly potluck and movie night at your house or do a picnic in the park and go cycling or rollerblading. If you have some raw or vegan friendly friends it’s even better! Encourage them to bring simple salads and fruit salads and share for a new perspective on healthy eating.
Invite your family over for dinner and have them bring a large salad or some seasonal fruit. You can make a full course meal by serving juice or smoothies, a raw soup and salad and a fruit salad or raw noodle dish for dinner. Everyone will be so intrigued by your creativity and the different use of flavors they will be more interested in including fruits and vegetables in their daily diet.
