What percentage of your shop is fresh fruit and veg?

[bignoseswan]

Mine is quite high, its nearly all fresh fruit and veg so about 80% along with some pulses and milk eggs etc. We are a vegetarian household so it makes sense that we do buy more veg and as vegetarian ready meals and convenience foods typically suck we make our own food from scratch daily to ensure we have something tasty.

Met a colleague in the supermarket today who commented on the "crazy" amounts of fresh veg we had (which will only do us 3 days until our delivery comes). Her trolley has some potatoes and an onion in and everything else was in a packet or box. I previously hadn't noticed how much fresh produce we had compared to other shoppers but as I went to the till it did look like most people had very little veg in their shopping (the produce section is at the entrance and most people would pass through that section first).

However the produce section is well stocked and has all sorts in cavolo nero, celeriac, fresh herbs, ginger, aubergines so people are buying it.

So I am just curious how much of your trolley is fresh fruit and veg?

Yep, we buy mostly frozen as it doesn't get wasted. DH and I have opposing schedules and very little storage for fresh food so frozen is the easiest way to go.

Currently have carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, green beans, sweetcorn, peas, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and onions in the freezer!

What do you do with seabass? I'd love to give it a go.

The majority as I'm on a diet

80% veg.

Usually ZERO fruit (full of sugar!), sometimes frozen berries to go into protein smoothies.

Chicken, salmon, tofu.

Plant-based milk.

Nuts and seeds.

Gluten-free pasta and oats.

Over half of it.

We eat meat/fish every day with veg or salad.

The most processed food we buy is jars of passata.

We don't buy pre made anything.

But it's veg and salad. We don't buy fruit either because of the sugar content.

Similar to you op although in summer it’s considerably less because I have a large garden and a couple of greenhouses and grow lots of fresh produce .. potatoes, onions green beans,peas, cabbage, lettuce , courgettes, cucumbers tomatoes and lots of herbs.I also have own berries, plums and a fab apple tree.

Quite a lot, but I do mostly try to buy local and seasonal. So at the moment a lot of cabbage, carrots, sprouts, cauliflower, swede, celeriac, turnips. I make a lot of substantial veggie soups. Fruit ATM will be largely apples and satsumas or clementines. Bananas only when Gdcs are visiting - they inhale them, but we’re not mad keen.
I don’t buy any soft fruit unless it’s home grown (exception is any that’s frozen) but we get through masses of strawberries during the U.K. season, which is much longer than it used to be.

I can't imagine eating in a way where I don't even have fruit because of the sugar in it .

I am going to work it on our budget; we spend about £100 per week, family of 4. I won't spend more than £35 on fruit and veg and do get loads with that. We are massive carnivores here! DDs get 4-5 different fruit and veg per day. So I guess 30-35% of overall budget. I sometimes do a midweek top up of fancy fruit - Berries, kiwi, melon etc,. Its all basic otherwise 😆

It's only on MN that I've ever heard of anyone avoiding fruit lol.

Probably not enough. Live alone and weekly buy
2 bags of salad
Cherry tomatoes
Cucumber
Sometimes peppers
Bananas
Apples
Frozen mixed veg
Whatever veg is in the batch meals I'm cooking so usually carrots, onion, celery

In summer I'll add raspberries and I basically live off strawberries when they're in season!

@Crushed23 Fruits do contain sugar but they also contain extremely high amounts of beneficial antioxidants. There was even a study that showed jam consumption was positively correlated with good health outcomes and longevity even with the added sugars as it meant people were getting the antioxidants in the fruits. Obviously if people are eating well in general and they prefer to avoid sugars in fruit that's up to them but I think given that as many people don't eat much fresh stuff and perhaps fruit is all they or their kids will eat a decent amount of its important to clarify that fruit, even with its sugar content is still a net benefit.

I just worked out our most recent shop and it was 25% of the price.

However I buy my pink lady apples and my oranges elsewhere.
We will not buy more meet this coming week, but will buy more fresh fruit.
I also didn't need to get spuds or carrots this week.

If it was just me it would be more, but I have a protein seeking teenage son so the meat % is quite high.

Met a colleague in the supermarket today who commented on the "crazy" amounts of fresh veg we had (which will only do us 3 days until our delivery comes). Surely a small interim shop will be fruit and veg (and fresh meat if not vegetarian) because all your dry stored and bulky items will come in your delivery?

Depends on the week. I buy meat once a month and freeze it. Ditto once a month mainly buy tinned stuff / dried goods along with my fresh bits. The other two weeks it's only diary, eggs, fruit and veg. But I cook from scratch every single day and the only pre-made stuff we eat are some bread items, pasta, crackers etc. I don't buy ready made sauces or ready meals aside from pizza and emergency fish fingers for the kids.

BUT every single week without fail there's a pack of malted milk biscuits in the trolley. My house runs on them

Just to be clear, I avoid all sugar, not just sugar in fruit.

There are healthier ways to get the benefits that some fruit give you (e.g. antioxidants).

And I’m not 100% strict with it. Like I said, I sometimes buy frozen berries to add to smoothies. I also sometimes add a handful of goji berries to porridge.

We aren't vegetarian but eat veg with all meals. I spend about 30% of the weekly shop on veg. We don't eat much fruit, in winter at least.

Cost wise I'd imagine we only spend 25% too. But we eat a lot of meat and dairy, wine's expensive too, plus we get through a lot of coffee which is also quite expensive. Fruit and veg is comparatively cheap - especially buying more seasonally. Can't imagine not buying fruit because of the sugar though - we get through stacks of oranges alone. I could easily eat a whole net in one go. In fact I frequently do!

None at all.

Next to none in our trolley kids wont eat veg. Can’t be arsed cooking a carrot for me and veg doesn’t exactly taste nice. If it did I’d be a vegetarian, and a size 8.

Not a lot as we get a veg box. Mushrooms, some fruit, the occasional extra veg. Plums, apples and pears we get from the market in season.

For all those advocating fruit smoothies, please have a look at these websites:

smoothies are not recommended without reservations by the British Heart Foundation: https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/5-a-day/smoothies

Nor by the very experienced and prestigious Mayo Clinic:
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-minute-is-a-fruit-smoothie-a-good-meal-replacement-option/

Or even by our own dear BBC:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/are-smoothies-good-you

Greenleaf smoothies are better, but still need a bit of thought: https://www.webmd.com/diet/smoothies-good-for-you

We do all sorts with fish, we sometimes just put chilli and lemon zest on the skin and stuff it with pieces of lemon.

We also do this https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/healthy/sea-bass-parcels-with-roasted-tomato-dressing/

There are loads of recipes, it’s very good with ginger and garlic.

We got our allotment 3 years ago so we now try and eat fruit and veg with the seasons and buy very little. Potatoes, garlic and onions store all winter so we only start buying those around April. Fruit, we eat as it comes into season, so rhubarb is probably next, then strawberries. We forage for blackberries in August/September and fill 2 drawers of the freezer with them.
I can’t seem to grow cauliflower which is a shame!
It started out as a hobby really, but we’ve upped our efforts over the the last couple of years as everything has got so expensive. I’m not sure how much money we save really, especially if we counted our time spent, but it’s all super fresh and things like leeks, potatoes, strawberries are so easy.