Saving Money Ideas

Fruit in the wintertime is usually not the tastiest. And it’s typically more expensive during this time of year, since most of it (depending on where you live) is imported from California, Florida, or another country.

If you are looking for a wider variety of fruit to eat (besides bananas and grapes), you may want to try frozen, canned, or dried fruit.

Last summer, I froze quite a few blueberries, planning to use them in baking or smoothies. Recently, I started serving them at meals, allowing them some time to thaw at room temperature, and you know what, they are pretty good. And I’m not much of a blueberry fan; I just eat them because I know they are very nutritious.

A few years ago, we were introduced to Trader Joes by some relatives. Unfortunately, our closest Trader Joes is 45 minutes away, so we don’t get there very often. They sell 1.5 lb bags of frozen mangoes that are delicious! Again, these taste very good partially thawed.

Of course, canned fruit can be eaten any time of the year, I normally save ours for the winter time. I canned peaches and pears and we are now enjoying them. If you don’t can, you can buy canned fruit at the store, but it’s not as good as home canned fruit.

Applesauce is another fruit enjoyed this time of year. I freeze our applesauce, so I try to get it out of the freezer a day or two ahead of time, so it can thaw in our refrigerator.

Dried fruit is another option for fruit. At this point, we buy our dried fruit, but I am hoping to start looking for a food dehydrator at second hand shops, so I can make my own dried fruit.

Check out more Works for Me Wednesday ideas at Rocks in My Dryer.