When Danny and I first got together, we went out to eat ALL THE TIME. It is no exaggeration to say that at least 5-6 nights a week we were getting dinner out. Once we started living in sin the experiment in co-habitation, we scaled back some, but, still went out to restaurants about 60% of the time.
Things have changed a lot since those days. My eating habits have changed and, as a result, I am a lot less likely to want to go to a restaurant and spend money on something that I am not 100% stoked to be eating. There is no doubt that we are saving alot of cash dining at home – but, the one thing that was killing me about our grocery bill was the cost of fresh produce.
Enter, my local produce market…
…it might not look like much, and, if you did not know that it was there, you would miss it – but, we have become regulars over the past year. I like the fact that it is locally owned and operated – and the prices cannot be beat.
Depending on what is on my menu for the week – I usually spend between $10-15 and that supplies me with 90% of my produce for the week (I still get stuff like lettuce and broccoli from the grocery store).
It should also be noted that my family does also support area farmers. My mom buys boxes upon boxes of tomatoes from different gardens in the area. And, I do make trips to the farmers market monthly to stock up on other items (like Angela’s Pickled Okra and Squash).
This is one habit that I am glad that we have picked up. One of my goals for 2010 was to spend more money locally and live a healthier lifestyle. I am proud to say that this is one resolution I have stuck with.
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