Summertime and the healthy eating is easy. Make the most of the fact that in warmer weather you are much more inclined to eat well. What better time to get your five-a-day than while Mother Nature is doing her utmost to make sure that the tastiest, healthiest fruit and vegetables are there to be pulled up or picked for your enjoyment.

It’s a common misconception that fruit and vegetables are expensive. Not so when you know where and when to shop. Buying fruit in season and from the right source is your key to a balanced diet on a budget.

Seasonal Savers

From spring onions to delicious autumn apples, get to know what is in season and buy accordingly. Your food will be fresher and cheaper and tropical tastes aside, it’s a great way to support local growers. You may have noticed that the price of fruit and vegetables varies with the seasons. Certain crops are available all year and will have a steady price, such as cauliflower and cabbage. Others will vary according to seasonality. Strawberries for example are much cheaper in summer than winter. In short, anything that has to be shipped in and stored will cost more and will have lost some of its nutritional value. To check what’s in season visit the Bord Bia website at www.bestinseason.ie

Where to buy?

At the moment many of the supermarkets are offering great deals, particularly on fruits like strawberries, peaches and blueberries (nature’s super food). Supermarkets will have a large selection with a high turnover and can be great value if you’re happy to buy what’s on special offer. Don’t forget, if you feel like you couldn’t look at another raspberry you can freeze a lot of fruit for up to a year.

Farmers’ markets and co-ops have become very popular in recent years and are a great source of fresh local produce at reasonable prices, while buying loose means you can get smaller quantities across a bigger range of produce without worrying about waste. Head along as the sellers are packing up for last minute deals. Visit www.irishfarmersmarkets.ie to find one in your area.

Freezer’s fantastic

Buying frozen fruit and veg is a great way to ensure that you’re getting your favourites, especially out of season. While fresh produce is always the best nutritionally, at times it can be expensive and frozen is always a good alternative. There will be less waste, as you just take what you need and leave the rest in the freezer, and pre-prepared is great for those of us who find peeling and chopping a bit of a chore.

Cupboard cheapies

Short of stealing apples, the cheapest way to get good value fruit and veg is to buy tinned or dried versions. These will not spoil for a long time and are generally cheaper still than the fresh and frozen variety. Some, such as tinned tomatoes, have very few additives and are great for throwing into a pasta dish; others such as fruit cocktail should really only be used in bunkers or when absolutely everything is out of season…

Green fingered goodies

There are few things to rival the satisfaction of growing your own food and you don’t have to be an expert gardener, or indeed even have a garden, to do so. Seeds can be bought for as little as a few euro and a small investment of your time and energy, helped along by our very fertile climate, will give you fresh, pesticide-free produce from packet to plate in no time. If you don’t have access to a garden, try a few potted herbs in your kitchen or see if there are any allotments available in your area by visiting www.allotments.ie

Tags: health tips, healthy eating, money saving tips, shopping tips

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 4:01 am and is filed under Family Spending, Grocery shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.