Five + a Day!

 We all know the importance of having at least 5+ a day of vegetables and fruit in our diet but sometimes it is challenging to get these in when money is tight or energy is low and meal preparation feels like hard work!

Usually we grow a lot of our own vegetables as we have a good sized garden however this has been neglected over the last 3-4 years with time being taken up parenting and working and deal with ill-health.

I have a good asparagus bed that I weeded and mulched last winter so we had a good daily supply of asparagus through last spring. This summer we did manage to plant some potatoes and I got a zucchini plant in and safe from the rabbits. We are enjoying the benefits of these now with almost daily zucchinis. This evening I taught my son how to dig potatoes and he was most excited to see the food arriving as he loosened the soil - he was planning to make wedges in the air fryer and I think he was salivating in anticipation!

Because I need to purchase the other vegetables and fruit we need I try to but in season as much as possible to limit the weekly expense for this. Today when picking up kids from school I stopped in at a fruit and vege place that I pass often but don't usually go to and I couldn't believe how much cheaper many of the produce items were compared to the supermarket. I was stopping to buy a couple of avocadoes for a meal and they had 5 for $2 so I bought 10. I couldn't leave that cauliflower behind either as it was only $1.99 - they were $4.99 at the supermarket on Monday! It's not in my meal plan for this week but I am sure I will be able to put it into next weeks plan and make a good cheap meal! Bargain! Don't they look delicious and don't they make you want to eat lots of vegetables!