My Plan For Health

The best way to save money on produce is to grow it yourself. The next best way: buy local and in-season.

Today’s “Healthy Meals on a Budget” webinar taught us how to save money on all meal ingredients, including pantry items, but I want to focus on the kind of food that I find very expensive — produce. Produce coupons don’t seem to exist, so we have to be more crafty to save money on fresh fruits and vegetables.

The cost of getting our recommended daily servings of fresh produce doesn’t have to be high. Now that the farmers’ market season is starting in Ohio, there are lots of chances to buy fresh produce for less. These fruits and vegetables are fresher than what’s available in stores. [The out-of-season stuff costs more because it's been hauled in from far, far away.] An interesting side effect of buying local is that we get to learn what fruits and vegetables are growing here in Ohio, and even try some new ones.

OSU Health Plan wellness dietitian Jenny Anderson suggested that we look for deals at the end of the day (when farmers must sell the food they brought or pack it up and haul it home), and don’t be afraid to haggle a bit.

Perhaps her most surprising piece of advice had to do with buying produce in conventional stores: frozen vegetables can be a less-expensive alternative to fresh — and healthy, too. This is good news, because frozen vegetable coupons are fairly common.

Compare the price of fresh to frozen when you’re in the store, she said. Look for things that are flash frozen, because they’re the freshest, and stay away from items that have sauce added, because they’ll likely be high in fat or sodium.

Healthy food doesn’t have to be labeled organic, either. Your Plan For Health partner WebMD has a handy guide to which fruits and vegetables are worth the extra investment.