Saw the difference in my grocery bill after I stopped buying pre-cut veggies for a month

I used to grab those bags of pre-cut onions and bell peppers every week, mostly out of laziness. Last month in Austin, I decided to just buy the whole veggies and chop them myself. My bill dropped by about 40 bucks just from that one change, which surprised me. The pre-cut stuff really adds up because you are paying for the labor and the plastic packaging. I still spend maybe 10 extra minutes prepping on Sunday, but it's not that bad once you get into a rhythm. Has anyone else noticed a big price jump if they compare whole vs. pre-cut produce?

3 comments

3 Comments

casey81818d ago

Start chopping everything on Sunday after grocery shopping... it's annoying at first but once you're in the habit it barely feels like extra work. The money you save adds up way faster than you'd think, especially with onions and bell peppers.

sammartinez18d ago

Oh totally, this is the move right here. I used to hate cooking during the week because I'd be tired from work and just staring at a whole pile of stuff to chop. But once I started doing it all Sunday night, it made a huge difference. Onions and bell peppers especially, like you said. They keep fine for days and you don't have to dirty a cutting board every single night. I even pre-portion them into little bags so I can just grab and toss into whatever I'm making. It doesn't feel like much work once you're in the rhythm, and you're right it saves money because you're not buying pre-chopped stuff or eating out as much.

miles_robinson2018d ago

Is 40 bucks really worth stressing over pre-cut onions all month? I get that @sammartinez loves her Sunday prep routine but that's still an hour of your life every week. Maybe the real savings is just buying frozen veggies and calling it a day.