Thursday, June 28, 2012

Bounty of the Day

I want to say a big thank you to all of my new followers. You are all appreciated. I hope you will not just pass by once but come again and come often.  It would be great too if you leave comments. I promise, I'll be sure to do the same. I believe in taking time to comment if I'm going to take time to read your post, and if I follow you, I will read your posts.

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God." 

1 Cor. 10:31


Tuesday was the big shop day of the week. I purchased all kinds of vegetables (veggies), except lettuce and cabbage which I can pick up later in the week or when I need them.

As you can see by the photos, I bought a lot of fruits: cherries, bananas, papaya, lemons, limes and a few mandarin oranges (not in photo). The cherries were a great price at $1.99 a pound at my local produce market.  That is a significant savings over the price at the start of the season when they were almost $6.00 a pound!  Needless to say, I did not buy them at that price.  I'm so glad to be able to buy them now because cherries are one of my favourite fruits.  Did you know that cherries have a low glycemic load of 22 and are considered good for diabetics?



I usually wash my vegetables just prior to using them in a salad or in a recipe.  But Tuesday I decided to wash everything excluding the carrots immediately after dinner.  Now all the vegetables are nice and clean and ready for use in juices, salads and other dishes. It feels like I really accomplished something, lol.

In the photo below, I'm using big bowls in the sink  for soaking spinach in vinegar water (left), and rinsing, in the yellow bowl (right).


At the end of last week I got a great bargain on the strawberries.  I paid $2.00 for 2 quarts or a dollar a quart.  I think it was because they were from a batch that were starting to go a bit bad.  The price of a quart is usually double the cost if you buy them in a small produce store and even more if you purchase them from the supermarket.  You can get them cheaper if you are willing to buy them in flats at big box stores (imported), or if you buy local by going out to the farms in the area where you  pay a premium price.  I don't get to these types of places very often and I shop mostly at the local shops in my neighbourhood.

My intention is to make sugar free, freezer jam from the strawberries so I  washed and hulled them all before they spoiled.  Amazingly not one strawberry was turning bad. I ran out of time after all this work so I just sliced the berries and set them in the fridge for making jam later.  It will be good on home made bread, waffles or pancakes.


Great buys were also available this week on meat and the prices much lower than they have been in a long while.  Lean ground beef was  $2.48 a pound ($5.47 /kg.), chicken legs were $1.98 per pound ($4.37 /kg.), a package of frozen basa fish fillets (about 4) was aprox. $4.00 and a medium size bag of  frozen prawns (bottom left of the photo below with the blue label) was $3.99, the pork butt roast was $2.68 a pound ($5.91 /kg.) and a whole roasting chicken was about $7.00.  The roasting chicken is not in the photo because we had it for dinner that night, with leftovers for the next day's lunch.

I always buy a  larger roast and cut it into two roasts or one smaller roast and stir fry meat. I also repackage chicken legs and ground beef into appropriate meal amounts.

All the food purchased today cost about $108 and it will feed two people for two to three weeks. I already have sweet potatoes, potatoes, pasta, brown rice, dried legumes and grains, milk, home made bread, canned tomatoes and beans. etc.

I will need to buy extra veggies, fruits, milk and eggs;  but otherwise I have much of my monthly shopping done.
I feel very blessed this week. 

So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

1 Timothy 6:8

9 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Great post and your veggie and fruits look delicious. You paid a good price for two-three weeks of groceries. Take and have a great day!

Diane said...

Wow I wish my garden was advanced to that degree. No cherries here this year because of the very cold winter, that goes for most fruit as well. My tomatoes are only just flowering, as are my fist peppers. No flowers on the beans yet and certainly no cucumbers or aubergine. Hopefully winter will be late and we will still geta good harvest. Diane

Jan said...

Interesting to read about your prices, some similar to ours.
Blessings, Jan

Vores have said...

Hello Joyful. Beautiful post - true words. The greatest wealth one can achieve in the world is to be satisfied. As you write, it takes time to read the blog / write comment - but always nice to see that there has been a past your blog and left a small trail. Thanks for your comment on my blog. Wishing you a good Thursday. Hugs Hanne Bente

Denise said...

Your fruit and veggies make me hungry.

Jo said...

What a healthy array of fruit and veges! I used to repackage meat into portions for one (Grant) when we ate in our own home, now the whole package, a kilo for Mzungus, a kilo for Asians, is cooked! Have a wonderful weekend, my friend. Jo

Zindzi said...

Penny, I love this post. And your bible verses are very apt. Thank you for reminding me about thrift. I love the way you blog, so please keep it up. Wa Makeri (for some reason, I can't log in through my WP account) :-(

Mina Joshi said...

You are so organised. Getting all the fruits and vegetables washed and ready to cook or serve would save me so much time. I must try and get myself organised,

Brenda Green said...

Beautiful, Beautiful! yum, yum.

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