Money Saving Monday: Produce Co-op

I've had several friends tell me about the produce co-op they use and how wonderful it is--but I am so frugal with my grocery budget that I thought I could really buy on sale produce for a better price. Then one day I was at my friend Terah's house and saw her basket full of produce and i was pretty amazed. So I had to try it out. The co-op that I chose to use in our area is called bountiful baskets. There are loads of pickup sites and the one I went to is just one neighborhood away so even though I had to be there at 7 am on a Saturday, I was back home by 7:20.

I was so amazed at how wonderful the basket was--so FULL of vegetables and fruit (it was actually two baskets full of stuff). And to top that off, all of the produces has been delicious! Super fresh and tasty and juicy. Every week the basket comes with different stuff, all depending on what's available. This time I got 10 lb bag of potatoes, broccoli, tons of little garden cucumbers, swiss chard, a huge gorgeous head of romaine lettuce, baby carrots, asparagus, strawberries, huge apples, oranges, lemons, loads of bananas....for the bargain price of $15. So if you're in Arizona, Nevada or Utah check out the bountiful baskets website OR google and do some research on local produce co-ops in your area. Because I'm so frugal about food I made sure we ate lots of veggies and fruits so that nothing goes to waste so not only was it a great deal for lots of produce, it forced us to eat healthfully.