BY NICOLE GILLES, RD, CDE, CSR

Nicole Gilles, RD, CDE, CSR

Have you noticed the price of groceries rises just as the summer temperatures do? Over the past few months, I have found myself wandering through the produce section at our local grocery store so appalled by the prices that I end up leaving the section with hardly anything in my cart.

As a Registered Dietitian and genuine fan of fresh produce, I would love to fill my cart with it. But just like everyone else, I have a certain amount of “green” to spend on greens. So after a few weekly trips I decided it was time for a change. I tried another store, and another. One store did offer slightly better prices, but still caused a major blowout to my grocery budget.

If you have found yourself in this same dilemma, I have a solution. As the temperature rises, take advantage of it by planting a few fruits and vegetables. Plants like zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, melon, and berries love this kind of weather. Whether you have space for a small garden or even just a few pots, these plants require little space and will provide an abundance of fruits and vegetables for the next several months.

Pick up some plants for a few bucks, and watch them save you lots of “green.” The cost of the plants will pay for themselves by your first harvest, and they will continue to produce for months. Another bonus of growing your own produce is getting your family involved. Ask your kids to help you plant, weed, and water, then stand back and be amazed. Odds are your kids will actually want to eat their vegetables at dinner, or even right out of the garden, especially if they had a hand in their care.

Enjoy these colorful, wonderful foods at meals and snacks. Before you know it, you will be getting in your recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables each day just trying to eat up all your food. And if your plants are like ours, they will feed a family of four and still provide more than you can eat. So what do you do with the extras? Share with others, get creative with recipes, or even just wash, cut, and freeze. Freezing the extras is easy and will continue to stretch your grocery budget even after the growing season has passed. But don’t stop then. The colder months are great for lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and potatoes. There is a great sense of satisfaction in enjoying a meal that you helped produce. Happy eating!