Shopping at the Reduced Produce Rack

rawcanadian

Anybody have any tips for shopping at a reduced produce rack??? Obviously the produce isn't as fresh , and sometimes overripe, and probably not organic. But if it is washed and then thrown in a blender, it still tastes the same. Anyway, I buy reduced bananas, peel them, and then freeze em for smoothies or ice cream. Today I bought 4 overripe mangos for $1.49, they usually go for .99 cents each where i live.

Any comments or suggestions, do others do this, or is it not recommended>???

Thanks.

angie207

Where do you FIND reduced produce? I only once in a while see bananas marked cheaper. No reason not to save some money, unless the stuff is rotten/moldy. :)

Here's a tip: whether marked cheaper or not, sometimes kale is pretty wilted if it's been in the store a while (or in your produce drawer a while). You can use a sharp knife to cut off about an inch from the bottom of the stems & put the kale in water, and it will revive. It also made a lovely kale bouquet on my counter while I had it out. ;)

rawcanadian

The grocery store down the road from me is Food Basics. it is like a 2 minute drive but they sell no organic.

But they have sales everyweek on various produce, so it is convenient for me to go there.

Anyway, they have this cart and last week i bought asparagus for .99 cents for each bunch, the spear tips looked fine. We didn't eat them raw, but steamed them and we could not taste the difference. Anyway, they have this little cart and i see apples 4 or 5 for .49 cents, as well as other fruits and veggies. Probably this stuff would be good for juicing or in smoothies ;-)

rawcanadian

Angie, I never really heard of this but:

if the kale revives then couldn't you put some nutrients in the water, and revive it like that.

Not only would you have more room in the fridge , but it would be like picking the kale fresh.

Interesting topic, is it possible to revive other veggies and would this keep them fresh longer, would they start to root, and would they need sunlight???

zucchini breath

It depends on the store, some have reduced produce, some don't. I see it at the organic supermarket sometimes, reduced organic. It's usually pretty far gone.

I have always been a freegan so I love cheap or free food. One cashier at Whole Foods used to give me the produce free if I picked pieces that were bruised or wilted. She said, "you cull it, it's free" my kind of deal.

As far as putting produce in water, I would say experiment with this and see how it works. I have revived kale and celery but mint never does come back.

Fee

I got a bag of mixed salad, one green avocado and a pack of two black avocados all for 10p each today! Sometimes I manage to find a good bargain other times nothing. If it is salad stuff I often only buy it if it will be eaten the same day but other stuff often lasts a while. Its a great way of making the money stretch.