If you're new to my frugal foreigner posts, read all about what we're doing in India here! You can read all previous posts in the series here.
How far would $4 go in the produce section of your grocery store? Probably not very far. Stop by a roadside fruit stand in the summer and you might get a little more for your money. Move to India and you can find lots of great buys on fruits and vegetables!
Here's what I bought on my last trip to the fruit stand. Note: baby boy had eaten half of the strawberries before I even got the picture taken.
Item (India price/Approx. US price)
- 2 lb red onion ($.50/$2.40)
- 2 lb potatoes ($.42/$2.00)
- 1 red pumpkin (equivalent to 1 can of pumpkin) ($.61/$1.68)
- 1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper ($.84/$5.76)
- 1 green bell pepper ($.12/$.50)
- 4 lemons/limes ($.22/$1.33)
- 1/2 lb strawberries ($.89/$.75)
- 1 lb elaichi bananas ($.62/$.55)
Estimated US total for this trip would have been $14.21. I spent Rs. 190 or $4.22.
Sadly, strawberries aren't a great deal, and there are many things we haven't been able to find at all – celery, raspberries and blueberries in particular. I also haven't bought any lettuce or spinach yet. It's hard to find and harder to wash. But we've been enjoying great prices on other produce items. Here are a few more examples.
Watermelon just came into season here. Yum! It's about $.10/lb.
Pineapple! On a bike! The pineapple here is fresh and delicious. And $.60 each. Can't beat that.
Baby corn. In a husk. I've never bought this in the US, but I think it comes in a can. And it certainly costs more than 30 cents.
Fresh basil: $.10. I couldn't believe it. It's nearly $3/pkg in the US!
Another favorite here is fresh coconut. We've been using it in smoothies, on french toast, and in cookies. One coconut yields about 2 cups of coconut flakes and costs $.25.
As you can see, many produce items are great buys here. Eating fresh is cheap in India, and fresh is in season year round.
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