Shout out to Sunflower market

For the longest time I purchased my produce at Costco. Pound for pound it was a better deal than the adverage grocier store and a little better quality. The problem was that there was soooo much of one thing, half usually went bad.

Then the grocery fairy granted me my own special wish... Ta Da!

A market was built not 2 block from my house!!!!

My produce bill has dropped 75%. No kidding. I told my sister that I could buy a weeks worth of produce and fresh meat for $20.00. She didn't believe me. She gave me $20.00. Guess what I spent $21.54. $1 of it was for a reusable bag, because I like to be environmentally kind :) I had a total of 3 bags FULL of produce and a family pack of chicken breast. I have repeated this 3 weeks straight, just mixing up the type of meat.

Here's how:

My market of choice is the Sunflower Market. www.sfmarkets.com There are stores all over the SW. Locally for me is Murray and Orem. They try to sell items that are locally grown or as close to it as possible.

Their ads overlap on Wedensday. What that means is week 1's add ends Wed night, week 2 starts Wed morning. That equals twice the sales.

Buy only what you'll eat in 7 days. I try to underestimate. I'd rather wish I had more, than throw rotten apples away. If you are throwing rotten food away it's like throwing $$ in the garbage.

Mix it up. You may not know that your child loves aisan pears until you buy some. Start with 2. If they're on sale it will cost you about $.30. Better for them than fruit snacks and if they don't like it you're only out less than a dollar.

Sock up on meat when it's on sale. When hamburger is $1.50/lb buy a months worth. Take it home divided into your families portions, stick in a freezer bag, label it with the date, and freeze it. And the DON"T FORGET about it. This store always has at least one meat item for a killer price. I got pork ribs for $.97/lb one time, they're usually $4.00/lb.

Don't forget about it. I leave my produce on the counter in a bowl. If it's tucked away in a crisper it doesn't get eaten. When the kids see it on the counter, they ask for it. And because you've only purchased a few things they're not going to go bad if it's not refridgerated. Cut up things that take awhile right when you get home from the store, ie, watermelon, cantaloupe, even throw your salad together and put it in a ziploc bag. You're more likely to eat it if is ready to go.