Choose: Variety or Volume?

[LabAgility]

 

The variety of veggies available at our local market has taken a nose dive the last few weeks.  Not sure what is going on, but many things haven’t been very zesty.

Winston is on a budget; he gets $5.00 per week for his veggies. 

We always buy cilantro because he loves it and at $0.50 per bunch its a great deal and always fresh. Then we rotate various other things such as romaine lettuce, curly parsley, italian parsly, dino kale or curly kale. Those are our staples because I can always find them. We used to find mint, dill, red leaf lettuce, basil, red leaf kale and dandelion greens with regularity, but lately nothing of quality. 

Would you buy something more expensive and totally random or continue to rotate the items we can, even though it is a short list?

 So far, I have opted to keep the volume up and not deviate from the short list we can always find for a reasonable price. Do you think that is the right move?

I can find things like endive or butter lettuce but that really cuts down the rest of the veggie budget. 

[kamdynandsunshinesmom]

I think it all depends. I am also on a budget as well. I do put a side a little bit of money each week for my buns so when I do need something for them I just use that money and I am not wondering where it is coming from. I did splurge a little bit this weekend on my buns. We went out of town to visit family and went to wegmans. They had dandelion greens there which are hard for me to find back home. My buns love them. Sometimes you don’t have to break the bank I know my local grocery store will have lettuce and parsley on sale for under $1.00 and once they had 6 massive bunches of dandelion greens for $1.00 lasted me weeks. You could maybe call your local grocery store and see if they have manager specials on produce. Or sometimes I get coupons for organic produce and at my walmart it is almost free or I have to pay a few cents. Hope this helps

[Sarita]

Just go by the short list. Veggies are definitely seasonal and sometimes even when they are available, they don’t always look so fresh.

I think what you are doing is fine – if the other stuff becomes available and affordable then toss those in for a bit of variety.

Most of us have to limit our rabbit’s variety based on budget and availability. Your staples are perfectly fine.

[LabAgility]

The problem is that I live in a high cost of living area. It’s just the way it is here.

Cilantro is the bargain at $0.50 a bunch.
Parsley is $1.00 a bunch
Kale is $2.50 a bunch, regardless of variety
Heads of lettuce are $2.99
Mint is $1.99 a bunch
Basil is $2.99 a bunch

This week I spent $4.50 on: 2 bunches of Cilantro, a bunch of Kale and a bunch of Curly Parsley. We bought romaine for our salads so although Winston will certainly get some, did not factor into his budget. Winston will eat all of this in the next 7 days.

[Sarita]

Why don’t you split up the variety so one week he gets 3 and the next week he get’s 3. I would probably always do the lettuce though because it seems you get more for the price. Maybe find an alternative to the Basil or buy it just once a month as it is costly.

Do you have a Sams or Costco card? They usually have 6 heads of Romaine Hearts for a pretty nice price too. And sometimes they have a nice container of Spring Mix (although forewarned on Spring Mixes – those red lettuces go fast so it would have to be consumed asap – I usually dig for older use by dates on these things and use them within a few days of opening).

[Sarita]

Also feel free to throw in a chunk of carrot to give him some variety if your family eats carrots or a bit of broccoli if your family eats that as well.

[Stickerbunny]

My buns have to have limited variety as well, there isn’t much of a choice around here. Parsley, kale, cilantro, lettuce and bok choy. That is all you can get as far as greens go. Mint and basil are $3.99 and $4.99 for half a handful. Just mix some things in every now and then as you can afford to and switch it up sometimes for him.

[LabAgility]

I haven’t done the pricier items lately as the quality has been awful. Interestingly the mint and basil were in much better shape during the winter. The only thing I can think of is that they are clearing out old stock or haven’t gotten new stock in.

I usually do 3 items a week and try to give him some of whatever the family eats. We do occasionally give him a bit of carrot, broccoli, etc. I never count that though as we buy that for us specifically. I do buy him lettuce if we buy kale to eat for ourselves (I make kale chips a lot and give him the ribs/smaller pieces.

We don’t have any Sams or Costco near us as we are rural, but close enough to the Bay Area so that it drives our prices up.

I have bought Spring mix for the family on occasion and we do usually but the big tub to split with Winston. Thanks for the reminder!

Not sure it factors in, but it seems not many people are adventurous eaters around here… there isn’t always a great variety of oddities to try. During the spring I frequently harvested fresh dandelions for Winston, but don’t get to do that these days.

Thanks for your input. I don’t feel as guilty now. Winston eats quite a bit of veggies each day being a Californian.

[Sarita]

Have you tried growing mint in a container (it’s pretty invasive so you don’t want to plant it in the ground)…don’t know how you feel about gardening – I’m not too good but I know it is pretty easy to grow. Basil – eh…not so much for me, but you might try that too since it’s summer, it’s a hot weather herb rather than cold weather. Just some ideas for those 2 herbs if you have the time or the inclination to garden. I’ve tried both and the mint was easy although it eventually died on me too, but it seemed very hearty for a terrible gardener like me.

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