Farmer’s Market Fare
Apr 19th, 2008 by Dani
I’ve decided to be all accountable for the food budget this week to see how frugal I really am. So full disclosure for this week’s food expenditure and I’ll aim to cost out each meal. This could be difficult as I won’t have records of the price of everything that is already in the house. I’ll give it my best though.
So the farmer’s market this morning. I think I did well. It would be very easy to get carried away and spend a fortune as there is some amazing produce available. I stick to a ingredient only rule and I check prices, as they do vary, before purchasing. It’s also good to know your retail prices. I know my local fruiterer stocks Australian pomegranates at the moment for $3 each. They were $5 at the market. Not organically grown either.
So, here is my haul for the day;
- 10 large seedless bush mandarins $5
- punnet of daisies $2.20 (I’ll explain later)
- 2 dozen 800gram free range eggs $10
- Large punnet strawberries (seconds, yielded 660g when trimmed) $5
- 750g biodynamic thick cut oats with linseed $7.50
- 3 large yellow capsicum $3
- 6 large tomatoes $5
- 1 cucumber 50c
- 1 large iceberg lettuce $1
- 1 small head broccoli $1.50
- 2.5kg new potatoes $3
- 1 medium gold nugget pumpkin $1
- 6 small green and red capsicum $2
- 500g bag organic green beans $3
- large bunch rhubarb $4
- bunch organic kale $3
Total = $56.70
That will get me through the week without having to top up at the fruit and veg shop. Admittedly the fridge and fruit bowl are not entirely bare at home or I wouldn’t have enough fruit. I do feel I got a lot of bang for my market buck. We shall see how the meals for the week pan out.
Feel free to share your opinion on whether or not you think my market shopping represents good value for money or how prices compare to your area.
i’m so glad to read that you seem to do about the same as me. i feel like i spend wayyyy more than anyone else – a combo of having a friend (who admittedly has a fab vegie garden) who can feed her family of 6 on $80 pw, people on eb who can feed families of 4-5 on $120 pw, and the other people who shop at my store.
on average i spend around $50-80 pw just at the F&V store, where i can also get eggs and honey but don’t buy anything else. *sigh*
for example: http://brazen20au.blogspot.com/2008/04/time-to-post-few-recipes-from-my.html
I know exactly what you mean Karen. When I miss the markets and have to rely on the F & V shop I often get comments on how much I buy. I figure it just goes to show that many people do not eat a healthy amount of f & v. While I buy noticeably more F & V, I buy noticeably less meat and much, much less ‘stuff’ at the supermarket. In fact I can often do my weekly supermarket shop in the 12 items or less aisle. So it does balance out.
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