How often have you purchased your veggies from the farmer’s market and two weeks later a lot of them are still sitting in your fridge? You throw them out and think about the dollars that are now going down the trash.
The best way to avoid this is to think about what recipes or dishes that you plan to cook in the upcoming week.
Here are a few solutions to help you stop throwing your farmer’s market money away!
1. Go early
If you go early, you’ll avoid playing bumper carts with all the other shoppers who also stopped at the farmer’s market at the same time you did.
Getting there before the mid-day and afternoon rush also allows you more time to find the best produce. If you go later in the day there’s a good chance that a lot of produce will be picked over and won’t look as fresh.
2. Shop in season
I know, I know, this one should be a given, but it’s not. We all buy a lot of food that we think we’ll eat and we get home and wonder why we just don’t want it anymore.
Our bodies have an innate desire to eat foods in season. I’m more likely to eat those bags of lettuce in the spring/summer than I am in December.
3. Know where your produce comes from
What’s the point of shopping at the farmer’s market if you can get the same produce for pretty much the same price at your local grocery store? If you don’t see signs explaining the origin of the produce, ask the vendors where it comes from.
4. Prep your produce when you get home
If you touch your produce when you get home, you will be more likely to use it later. If you go ahead wash and store your lettuce leaves appropriately, you won’t find them wilted and brown two weeks later. This is also a great time-saving trick that helps you on those days when you’re in a hurry.
How do you save time and money when you make your farmer’s market runs. Let me know in the comments.
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