You’ve probably noticed a couple of patterns with me…I’m all about the food AND I look for savings everywhere! I’m forever comparing and trying to figure out the better deal…which led me to question pre-bagged produce. I see those sales all the time, but are they good ones? What is the key to finding savings in the bag?
Believe it or not, even men who are around me any length of time figure out how obsessed I am with cooking and grocery savings. This was never more apparent to me than when our Boy Scout leader gave me a copy of a book he thought I’d like – “Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half with America’s Cheapest Family” by Steve & Annette Economides. Only 63 pages in, I found a unique nugget that stuck with me instantly…the value of pre-bagged produce.
Weight listed is the MINIMUM
The legality is this: if the bag says it’s 3 pounds, then it must include AT LEAST 3 pounds of the item. Let’s look at this carefully. If it’s a bag of small items, chances are very good they’re gonna get to load each bag pretty close to the stated weight. But what about some heavier items? If they go over the 3#, they can’t put in just half of a peach or carrot or potato. They have to put in the whole item. THIS is the key to savings in bagged produce.
Which would you buy?
I saw these watermelons in my Kroger this weekend. You see the price there of $2.99 each. Hmmmm…which one of these two would you choose? Well, unless there were only these two and the bigger one was rotten on one side, I’d be buying the bigger one…always. It makes sense when you can see it, but what about when you can’t?
Which bag to choose
It’s one thing to look at two watermelons. It’s quite another to look at two bags of produce. They look pretty much the same. Of course, you’re still gonna look for whether or not there are bruises, mold or even liquid coming out of the bag (avoid those!), but otherwise, how do you choose?
This is where the produce scale can be your friend (I was ecstatic when Aldi added a scale to their produce section!). Pick up three bags, weigh each one, buy the heaviest…it’s that simple. You can’t see or even feel small increments of weight difference, but they are there and can add up to serious savings over time.
The grapefruit test
My challenge this weekend was to find some of these savings to show you. I’ve seen it in grapefruit before, so I tackled the organic grapefruit bags that were on sale at Sprouts.
Note that hanging scales like this one aren’t always completely calibrated (pointing to zero when empty) but that won’t change which bag you choose…only the exact amount of the item you are getting.
These grapefruit are a smaller variety, but there is a ¼ pound of difference in the weight from the lightest to heaviest bag. You know which one I’d take!
The jumbo russet potato test
Then at Kroger I found a more dramatic example…and their type of scale made this easier to see. The difference between the first 2 bags wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But WOW…check out that last bag. One whole pound FREE!
I didn’t even have russet potatoes on my list, but I bought these just because I was astounded. I may well have more Buffalo Chicken Twice Baked Potatoes OR make a big batch of mashed potatoes and freeze ‘em for later.
One whole FREE pound of potatoes…just because I weighed 3 bags of produce. I bet the employee who fulfills your online order isn’t going to do this for you! (In some cases, it IS actually better to shop for yourself…more on that later.)
Savings in the bag
Remember to check for bagged produce savings. Be wise and don’t buy more than you can use before it goes bad or can be frozen for later use. But DO always weigh 3 bags before choosing which to purchase. Over time, these savings will add up little by little…money in the bank and that good feeling of finding a deal!
Try this strategy and let me know YOUR big savings in the comments below…
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