Produce Prices on the Rise

Last Sunday at Aldi, I was shocked by how expensive some of the produce was.  My first thought was - what's up with Aldi?  But, now I understand. 

Today's Wall Street Journal has an article about Freeze Hits Vegetables. Earlier this month, while we were dealing with the horrible winter weather in the Midwest, Mexico was hit with a major freeze.  Tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and other produce could be in short supply and of course that mean higher prices at the grocery store.

I can live without tomatoes this time of year.  I do every year - I've never liked fresh tomatoes, unless they were homegrown.  But, It won't be fun paying the higher prices for other produce.

There are a few strategies you can use to keep from being a slave to higher vegetable prices.

• Rework the menu plan - If tacos or fajitas are a weekly favorite in your house, replace them with enchiladas or burritos. 

• Purchase frozen veggies - Frozen veggies are close if not the same in  nutrients as fresh. Hopefully, their  prices won't increase, since they were packed long before the freeze.

• Use out of the stockpile - Menu plan out of the pantry and freezer.  This will leave more of your weekly grocery budget to spend on fresh veggies.

The good news - Spring is on it's way.  Hopefully the increase in vegetable prices will be short lived.

What strategies will you use to keep from blowing the budget?