Lately, I have terrible luck with fresh produce. In an effort to eat healthier, we’ve been buying more fruits and veggies fresh. Unfortunately, eating healthy is expensive. I find it costs a lot more to buy fresh vegetables, fruits, and meats than it does to buy those pre-packaged, processed packages of goodness. Sadly, those things are bad for you, so we are trying to eat better on a limited grocery budget. One thing we started doing to save money was shopping at Aldi. If you’re not familiar, it’s a fantastic grocery store chain that sells off-brand foods at a way cheaper price than the chain grocery stores. Their produce is especially cheap. You can get a little carton of blueberries for 99 cents some weeks. The same thing costs 2.99 on sale at Kroger. The savings are similar with other items in the produce section.
For several weeks, we shopped there after my husband went on this NutriBullet smoothie kick. We’d stock up on tons of vegetables and fruits to use for the week and bring them home. I kid you not, three days later, everything would be rotten. The delicious looking strawberries we bought were hiding a big patch of mold in the center of the package. The tomatoes we bought turned to a liquefied mush just sitting on the counter after a few days. And this one not just a one-time experience. It’s happened pretty much every time we’ve gone there recently.
Unfortunately, our experience has not been limited to Aldi, which is why I now believe I must have some bad juju going on. Several things we’ve purchased at Kroger have done the same thing. I bought a few bunches of broccoli at our local Kroger the other day. I started chopping them up this morning to stick in a casserole and there in the center of the stem was a big blob of white mold. And since the crowns were all in the same bag, I had to throw them all in the garbage because yuck. Take a look for yourself.
Luckily, I had a couple bags of frozen broccoli on hand. I am really beginning to think I am better off just buying frozen vegetables and fruits. At least I won’t have to throw things out two or three days after I buy them.
The only store that I’ve never had an issue with is Publix. I love that freaking grocery store. It’s basically the Target of grocery stores (that’s a different post for a different day, though). Sure, it’s pricier than a lot of the other options, but it is so worth it. Publix has the best of everything hands down. The bakery and deli are the hellified sharknado to borrow a phrase from my hubby’s vocabulary. Everything in the produce section looks and smells heavenly. Best of all, when I buy it, I can reasonably expect to have it last several days and even a week in some cases. I never have to wait long in line at Publix. Most of the time, cashiers are waiting in front of their registers to flag you down when you walk by. The employees are always friendly and the stores are clean. I’ve never been in a dirty Publix. I can’t say the same for other grocery stores. Sadly, my husband does not share my love for Publix. The higher prices blind him to the better quality.
Okay, this is starting to sound like an advertisement and that was not the intention. The moral of the story is eating healthy is hard enough without the produce gods going out of their way to immediately spoil everything that enters my home. I guess I will have to be more diligent in my produce selection in the future… or tell my husband to suck it up and let me shop at Publix.
theledemom 