I am a clearance shopper. I love a bargain, especially when I’m getting a really quality product at a super low price. The challenge of the hunt is a huge part of the fun and there’s nothing better than being rewarded with a new sweater or pair of shoes, or even, say, some eggplant. It used to be that I wouldn’t even think of shopping the clearance cart at the grocery store. I was afraid to buy old food, just this side of moldy.
Well, times they have a-changed. Since I’m currently self-employed (translation: broke) but refuse to trade my local Vitamin Cottage in for the more mainstream grocery store, besides spending a lot of time at Farmer’s Markets, I’ve also been scouring the shelves of my grocery store for bargains. This past week I happened to glance down at the $1.00-sell-immediately produce bags and found one filled with black, really ripe bananas-three bunches worth, and organic. Not only do I love to eat bananas that are black and mushy, they also make the best banana bread, so I bought me that $1.00 bag of produce and some whole wheat organic flour and marched myself home, found a recipe for banana bread, and baked three loaves. I froze two of the loaves for later and have been enjoying the bread for breakfast.
I also scored on a bag with two organic eggplants and some butternut squash. I made 2 pans of baked eggplant parmesan and froze all of the leftovers. I chopped up the squash and used it in the sauce, along with some various other veggies I had in the bottom drawer of my refrigerator. I’ll be eating some really yummy homemade eggplant parmesan for a couple of months, and all for a dollar, plus the price of the cheese and spaghetti sauce.
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Jillian Polaski
Jillian Polaski is the Assistant Editor of eCo Times, the online magazine for eConsciousMarket.com. She has a BA in writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She's very interested in organic and biodynamic farming, and would like to someday own a farm. She loves to cook and make her own sauces and salad dressings. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and writing creative nonfiction. She lives in Denver, CO, where she's an active member of the Lighthouse Writer's Workshop.
One Response to Why Clearance Carts at the Grocery Store are Super Cool
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I love doing stuff like this. I find it very satisfying (and economical) to come home with a good food deal and make a big batch of whatever, eat some and save the rest.
I found a great deal on raspberries last week and bought more than I should have perhaps. This week I knew I needed to use up what we hadn’t eaten. I thought about a quick bread or muffins we could freeze but had only one egg. So, I made them into pancakes, which I froze for breakfasts later.
I also found a great deal on bell peppers recently and had a bunch of onions at home so I cooked up the veggie portion of fajitas and froze about 4 dinners (4 servings each) worth.
I love good deals on food!