5 Tips When Buying Vegetables To Help Keep Your Costs Down

The following are some handy little tips that I've picked up over the years when buying vegetables that may help to keep your grocery bills to a minimum.

Although you can't put a price on good health, nevertheless every little helps and saving a few dollars here and there can make a big difference over the course of a year, particularly if you have a large family to feed and with food prices rising as rapidly as they have been recently.

5 Top Tips When Buying Vegetables

1. Buy Fresh Vegetables Little And Often

Most vegetables are at their best for only a few days, so when buying vegetables purchase only what you need to last you for a couple of days at a time, rather than a week's worth or more.

In the past, I'd lost count of the number of times I'd gone to the fridge for something, only to discover it looking limp and pathetic!

All those little bits and pieces thrown out here and there really do mount up, and if you kept track of them all you'd probably be horrified at how much money you had wasted!

So little and often is the key when buying fresh veggies.

2. Use Frozen Vegetables For Soups And Simmering Dishes

In addition to fresh vegetables, frozen ones are also beneficial as they still contain essential nutrients and vitamins and count towards your recommended 5-a-day.

Plus, despite your best intentions it might not always be practical or possible to get to your local store to buy fresh vegetables every couple of days so having some frozen packets in reserve is a good back up - instead of lots of fresh ones festering away in the fridge!

I find that frozen veggies work best in soups, stir-fries and simmering dishes such as casseroles and stews.

3. Use Seasonal Vegetables When Planning Meals

A third handy tip is to try to plan your meals using vegetables which are currently in season. These tend to be more readily available and are generally much cheaper than out-of-season items.

For example, in the autumn and winter months tailor your menu planning to include root vegetables such as parsnip, pumpkin, squash and sweet potato.

4. Be Aware That The Weather Can Also Affect Prices

Unfortunately, our weather patterns and climates are a lot more volatile and uncertain than they have been in the past.

Long periods of drought or rain can affect crop supplies, and as we all know high demand coupled with low supply equals higher prices.

When this happens, be prepared to substitute preferred items for those which are still readily available to help keep your grocery bills down.

5. Make Friends With Your Local Supplier

It also pays to establish a good relationship with your local fruit and veg supplier.

Not only will he be able to advise you on all the different types of vegetables available and how to store and prepare them, he's also best placed to tell you which specific items to buy to make your money go further. And you might even get a little discount or freebie from time to time if you're a particularly loyal customer!

It's a win-win situation for you both - you're helping to support a local business while getting more attentive customer service than you might do in a large, impersonal supermarket.

Hopefully you found the above tips on buying vegetables useful. They may not necessarily be ground-breaking or rocket science, but if they save you a few pounds then it's all good! :)

For more cooking advice and tips like this article on buying vegetables, click here.

Or return to our home page for delicious, free vegetarian recipes.

P.S. We also now have a fantastic FREE monthly newsletter, Bon Appetit!, which you can sign up to for exclusive recipes, handy cooking tips and techniques, and honest product reviews.