Publix Alternatives

I normally shop at Publix, where shopping is a pleasure and also convenient considering there is one at every corner and basically not another grocery store for miles.

There is something to be said for having the monopoly in the market!

I wanted to try and not shop at Publix for a week and see if it really made a difference in our prices. This week also happened to be one of those weeks when I needed non-grocery items like lotion. Code for more expensive.

I started at WalMart, there is a new one in the area. Where I saved $19.55 in coupons! Pretty awesome. I only bought non-grocery items and frozen foods. It may be a little crazy but I don’t trust the produce or perishable items. Not too many memorable coupons, just a little here and a little there. I was particularly excited that I printed $1 off any Skinny Cow item and later this week I’m having mint ice cream sandwiches! I also was able to use a lot of the coupons in my organizer where the item isn’t sold at Publix. Like I had a coupon for bogo Soyjoy bars but only individual bars and Publix only sells them by the box. Same with the protein bar coupon that I had. Last week I was eyeing some Terra Chips at Publix since I had $1 off coupon but they were still pretty pricy, at Walmart the same chips were $1 less to begin with so I went for it!

Then we went to Freshfields Farm where the only sell meat and produce. It’s small, a farmers market type of feel but much bigger than say, a roadside stand. The produce is labeled by where in the world it is from; today they had bananas from Honduras and Costa Rica. We purchased a lot more produce than we would at Publix. We bought corn on the cob, bananas (from Honduras), Grapes, Organic Baby Spinach, Strawberries, Baby Carrots, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Apples, and Nectarines. Our produce total was $16.19. I can’t add up the savings because I don’t know how much it would have cost at Publix, but I will say that it would have been at least double.

We had looked at farmers markets in the area as an alternative to Publix’s produce but they were rotted or eaten by bugs or old and soggy. These items really were fresh and delicious looking. Chris is eating a nectarine as I am writing and he says it’s great.

We don’t eat a lot of meat normally so we only bought 2 New York Strip steaks from the meat section at $7.90.

Unfortunately I am breaking down and going to Publix later tonight because I need some sliced deli meat and I like Boars Head.

Does anyone know of a good deli in Orlando where I can get high quality sliced meat?

Happy Healthy Cheap Eating!