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Big Family Food: How We Afford Fruits and Vegetables

June 29, 2022 by Laura 8 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Curious how we afford fruits and vegetables?

How We Afford Fruits and Vegetables

People keep telling me that fruits and vegetables are SO EXPENSIVE. That they can’t afford them. That I’m really splurging when I buy so much fresh fruit every month.

I couldn’t figure out if I was in denial about this or if maybe I’m so used to buying so much produce that I don’t “see the expense” anymore. Or, is it possible that fruits and vegetables really are affordable but the first look at their price scares some people? I really wasn’t sure.

So I did some fruit and veggie math.

We’re currently feeding ten people three meals each day. Our three littlest are ages 2, 1, and 1. Our four oldest household members are adults, so it balances out. :)

Our monthly grocery budget is $1,200. Of that amount, I calculated and was shocked to learn that only about $300 is spent on fruits and vegetables. (I looked online at all my Sam’s, Costco, and Walmart receipts, so handy!) I truly thought it would add up to more than that since my produce purchases are so frequent and big.

So I did the math again to double-check.

Sure enough, only about a fourth of our overall monthly grocery budget goes toward these, and I don’t hold back:

  • Frozen green beans
  • Frozen peas
  • Frozen corn
  • Frozen fruit for smoothies
  • Frozen hashbrowns
  • Fresh spinach (we go through at least one pound every week)
  • Fresh spring mix (we go through two pounds every week)
  • Fresh carrots
  • Potatoes
  • Onions
  • Fresh broccoli
  • Apples
  • Bananas
  • Clementines
  • Berries ( strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries depending on the season)
  • Melons (cantaloupe, honey dew, and watermelon depending on the season)
  • Grapes
  • Kiwi
  • Pears
  • Canned pumpkin
  • Canned peaches
  • Canned pears
  • Canned mandarins
  • Applesauce (a ridiculous amount of applesauce)

Where I landed after doing the math:

Feeding my family a lot of fruits and veggies is not expensive.

I sort of apologize for my geekiness, but as it turns out, I’m pretty excited that I went back and added it all up! Now I feel like I have an actual answer to the “fruits and veggies so expensive” claim!

If I’m spending $300 of our monthly grocery budget on produce – for 10 people for 30 days? This breaks down to just:

$1/person/day.

Which is $0.33/meal.

This, to fill our bellies with lots of fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables in a big variety of forms. That’s actually incredible, I think! Especially when our plates look like this:

Steamed broccoli, corn, raspberries, and nectarine on spaghetti night;
and no, I don’t put sauce on our baby’s noodles because I don’t want the mess. :)

This was our 8-year-old’s first serving. He had seconds of all you see here:

Here’s Matt’s plate the evening we celebrated Asa’s birthday with
smoked chicken, alfredo, and steamed broccoli:

One Sunday lunch was spinach on tuna sandwiches, watermelon, and guacamole.
This was our 6-year-old’s plate. She’s a pretty small eater. Unless it’s cake. :)
(But now, of course, I’ve been putting spinach our the cake so…)

Our three year old asked for spinach on the side with ranch and watermelon with his tuna sandwich that day. Not pictures, his tuna sandwich as he gobbled it down already.

This is my plate filled with Overnight Beef Roast, pears, peas, and baked beans. (In case you need to know, I didn’t actually cook it overnight. I cooked it all day and it was perfect for dinnertime!)

Here’s my plate showing our salmon burger meal with steamed green beans, corn, sweet potato fries, and a tiny bit of asparagus from our garden! (We each only got a little bit of asparagus.) ;)

PSA: The Avocado Mash cups at Costco or Sam’s are worth their cost in that they stay fresh in the fridge for a long time and offer an awesome, easy snack or side dish for babies and adults alike. Our littlest girls LOVE these and will each eat an entire cup with their meal. We bigger people like to eat them with chips. So good!

In case you need to see a chubby baby hand a couple more times:

So, can I afford $10/day to feed 10 people fruits and vegetables?

Absolutely. I can spend a dollar a day on each family member to keep us all nourished. I am shocked that it costs so little to buy so many varieties of fruits and vegetables every month. Is it possible that this food category is what actually costs the least instead of the most as we are all led to believe??

One more veggie-kid photo as we wrap up; here’s Keith after finishing his smoothie (filled with frozen fruit, fresh spinach, yogurt, and milk):

You should try doing the math to see how much you spend on fruits and veggies! Challenge yourself to be sure you’re filling everyone up on all the good stuff – it’s much less expensive than we think!

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Go Buy Vegetables! (and Fruit) ~ Will You Accept the Challenge?

February 4, 2014 by Laura 43 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

We’re in the thick of winter, which means fresh produce isn’t always as easy to come by. I long for a tomato that isn’t pitiful to look at and tasteless on my taco. Alas, I will need to wait a few months for a tasty tomato. In the meantime, there are loads of other great options. (See this week’s shopping cart below to prove it.)

You might get sick of me saying it, but hey, you’ll really get sick if you don’t do it. So I’ll keep encouraging and prodding because I just can’t help it:  Buy fruits and vegetables. Eat fruits and vegetables. It’s the easiest and best way to be healthier.

I have become more convicted than ever that:

1. My family needs even more than I had been giving them.
2. In order to eat more fruits and vegetables, I have to be very intentional about purchasing and serving them. And
3. It really is easy to always eat many fruits and vegetables each day.

How is it easy? I now go to the store for the purpose of loading up on fruits and vegetables. I fill my cart. I go through check-out. Then I have a counter-top full and a fridge full and a freezer full of fruits and vegetables. Then we eat them often. See how easy that is?

Go Buy Vegetables!

I have found that taking my boys to the store with me to help me pick out all the fruits and vegetables that look good to them has been very helpful to encourage them to crave and eat them! (It’s also very nice because they can then help me load and unload and unpack it all too. It’s a win-win.)

This week the boys and I filled our cart with: clementines, apples, grapefruit, pears, pineapple, raspberries, blueberries, cucumbers, grapes, avocados, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, mixed greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, kiwi, and one lone banana. (We’re a little tired of bananas right now, but Malachi thought maybe one for a bedtime snack sounded like a good idea.)

This cart full will last us for about one week. (We also have plenty of frozen veggies in the freezer.)  When I have a bunch of fruit and veggies on hand, I find that it is so fun to figure out fun ways to serve them. It inspires me to set out a variety with each meal. And just think of all the great nutrients we’re getting!

Okay, now your turn! The next time you go to the store (which may be a few days for those of you who are snowed in!) – go with the intention of buying lots of fruits and vegetables. Buy a variety, buy what looks delicious, and buy more than just a little bit. You and your family need this! Envision me sitting on your shoulder as you look at the kiwi saying, “Yes! Get it! And get that fresh spinach over there too!” (Obviously, if I were sitting on your shoulder, I would also remind you to get butter while you’re there.)

On Friday, I’ll share pictures to show some of the ways we’re eating our cart full of fruits and vegetables. Then next Monday, we’ll check in to see how this challenge went for you. You have six days to get to the store, fill your cart, come home, and fill your belly.

Want to begin making your list? Tell me in the comments section every fruit and vegetable that sounds good to you right now!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

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