Never, ever, ever have strawberries been available in our grocery stores this time of year that are both tasty and reasonably priced. Typically between the months of October and April, we go strawberry-less.
Somehow though, the past few weeks have brought very tasty strawberries to our stores at a very good price – in January and February. What in the world? Seriously, does anyone know how this can be possible? These particular strawberries are coming from Florida. Are you able to find good strawberries in your area at a good price right now? Shocked as I am, this Nebraska girl is thrilled.
I price-matched (more on that tomorrow!) and got strawberries for just $1.29 per pound. That price is amazing. The strawberries are super tasty, too. As you can see from my huge haul from the store, it was a great price matching week. I loaded up on produce even more than normal. All of the above cost under $100, so I’m very grateful. We will have a great week of delicious food!
Here’s what this week’s menu options look like:
Breakfast
- Blueberry Coffee Cake
- Crepes
- Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies
- Honey Cinnamon Muffins
- Instant Oatmeal Packets
- Pumpkin Donuts
- Ham and Egg Breakfast Bowls
Lunch
- Beef Stew
- Beef Summer Sausage
- Calzones
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Snowflake Quesadillas
- Taco Salad
- Potato Soup
Dinner
- Calico Beans
- Italian Pasta Bake
- Homemade Pizza
- Swiss Steak
- Shepherds Pie
- Salmon Patties
- Barbecue Beef and Cheese Hot Pockets
Fruit and Veggie Side Dishes (I serve 1-4 with every meal)
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Apples
- Pears
- Cantaloupe
- Mixed Greens
- Spinach
- Romaine Lettuce
- Green Beans
- Asparagus
- Peas
- Cheesy Cauliflower Cakes
- Grape Tomatoes
- Carrot Sticks
- Clementines
Thanking God for such abundance of wonderful food. How blessed we are.
What’s on your menu this week?
Um, yes!! The same abundance is going on in Wyoming, where we usually have pitiful/expensive berries in the winter. My husband and I both were amazing by how delicious they were and they were $2 a pack.. unbelievable. I hope this happens next winter, too!
Yes! This we found great tasting strawberries for 1.49 in Indiana also. We bought a bunch and we’re going back for more this coming week.
Lifetime Florida girl here. My aunt and uncle used to have a small strawberry operation and I vividly remember spending the day picking and then having biscuit strawberry “shortcake” for dinner. I’m in north-central Florida and I’ve been seeing a lot of cheap strawberries in the grocery stores but not at roadside stands. We’ve had a cooler winter than normal, but we’ve only had freezing temps two or three times since November. Probably down in Plant City where a lot of strawberries are grown, there’s been little to no frost this winter. I imagine that might be affecting strawberry production. If any of y’all ever come to Florida in the spring, try to get strawberries from a roadside stand further north–Lawtey, Lake Butler, Starke area. They’re the BEST!
Yes same here in Oklahoma. I stocked up with the $1.29 price matching of the strawberries too. Enjoying this rare winter blessing very much.
We live in lower Alabama and I can count on having a good price on strawberries in June and January. A good, quick way to freeze them is to put them in the food processor and chop them up a bit. For years I would freeze them whole and have huge gallon bags of strawberries in my freezer (sometimes 75 cents for a pack!!) Once they are chopped, put them in bags and lay them flat on a cookie sheet. Then freeze the cookie sheet, when they are frozen the bags will stand up straight in your freezer and take up less space! :) We use them for smoothies, strawberry bread, and strawberry shortcake.
I’ve been trying to find ORGANIC strawberries at a reasonable price lately, but no such luck. I was told by someone “in the know” that if you can only buy a few organic fruits/vegies, strawberries should be one of them. Apparently conventionaly grown berries are heavily sprayed with toxic chemicals.
For many years, I only bought organic strawberries because regular ones are definitely higher in pesticides. :( However, I realized that the cost of organic berries was so high that our family never ate them, and in fact, we hardly ate any fruit at all because organics were either too hard to come by or too expensive. I prayed and decided to just be okay with “regular” berries, and I have peace about it. I’m thankful for this as wow, we are enjoying wonderful fruit and getting great nutrients that we had been missing out on. I understand why organics are more expensive, but I sure wish it wasn’t so. :)
When we see fruits and veggies in our stores … that are not normally grown during that season I assure you they are being genetically altered to grow… Id rethink consuming fresh out of season produce…
google it and ask your local produce stores.
I definitely agree, although it seems that these really are in season where they are being grown (in Florida). According to another commenter from Florida, delicious strawberries this time of year is normal. Yay! :)
Yes, strawberries are in season in Florida! I just got back from a vacation in southern Florida where the local farm markets were loaded with strawberries and Honeybell oranges! Ate some there, brought some home, and bought more when I got home =)
Yes, we’re in peak strawberry season right now in central Florida. I’m wondering if the good gas prices are the reason that they are going further this year, or if they were just able to produce more? I do know that we have actually not had the 99 cent price we usually see, so maybe they aren’t producing more, and we are just having to share! It always freaks me out to see recipes for strawberries in May and June as our season is so over by then!
Strawberries are in season here in Florida. We live an hour from Plant City, FL which is where most of the strawberries come from that you buy in the stores. They are fresh and quite good. The strawberry festival is going on right now in Plant City for the next few weeks. So, the strawberries you are buying are good. It is wonderful!!
We have a lady & her husband in the area who travel down to Florida weekly (in the winter) to get strawberries, then they sell them out of the back of their truck….well, trucks now – they’ve expanded recently. She’s known as The Strawberry Lady. We haven’t been able to get any yet so far this year…I’m hoping to catch up with her Monday and get at least a flat of them. I’m missing our February strawberries! LOL We eat some, then freeze the rest. My husband uses them in his smoothies in place of ice cubes.