Welcome to the Eat This Not That Podcast. I'm John Hammond and this is Megan Murphy.

Hi everyone. And believe it or not, only 9% of Americans hit their five-a-day vegetable quota,

and that's according to the Centers for Disease Control. And while many of us start the week

with the best of intentions, of course, we almost self-sabotage ourselves by buying our produce the wrong way, which we've talked about before, like how to store it and make sure it kind of lasts, but a lot of us don't know how to buy produce the right way. Yeah, it's shocking to me that only 9% Americans hit that goal. Yeah. We can do a lot better. I mean, look, five times a day is, it's, you know, that takes, that takes some effort. I'll give you that. But still, it's pretty good for you. I mean, it's, it shouldn't be a hard goal to hit. Right. And something we've talked about a lot on this podcast is food waste. It's a huge problem in not only our country, but on a global scale.

And there's really nothing more frustrating than stocking your fridge with all this delicious, nutritious, food, fruits, and vegetables, only to toss half of them away at the end of the week because they've gone bad.

However, there are some savvy shopping and storage strategies that we have for you today that can help make your purchases last longer, help you steer clear of bad bacteria, and save you money too. And I think that's a key thing, too. It's one thing to be frustrated when you're, when you have to discard a food because it's gone bad too quickly or unexpectedly. Even after you're like, sometimes when I get something home and two, three days later, I'm like, oh my god, how's this bad already? And I throw it away, it feels bad to throw it away,

but I think of myself,

I just, Like sometimes when I get something home and two, three days later, I'm like, oh my God, how's, how's this bad already?

And I throw it away and it feels bad to throw it away, but I think of myself, I just bought this three days ago.

I didn't even have a chance at it.

And that's the most frustrating part in a lot of scenarios.

So hopefully with some of these tips, not only will your produce last longer and be better and more nutritious, but you'll save that hard-earned cash

that we're talking about. So let's dive in on the best tips for picking your produce then,

shall we? Tip number one is don't go off season. And this is one of the easiest ways to

stick to your food budget, no matter where you shop. Always try to buy in-season produce.

Not sure what's in season? That could be a challenging one, depending on

where you live, of course. Visit riptrak.com to see what's fresh right this moment and plan

your purchases accordingly. Fruits and veggies flown in from far off places, not only tend to cost a bit

more, but because of their frequent flyer miles, they will ripen and spoil faster.

And more importantly, they actually degrade nutritionally as they make that journey and then hit the supermarket and then your basket and then your kitchen counter or your fridge.

So again, you know, if food is coming from that far off, like try and buy in season so that

where you're getting food that's a little closer to the source.

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