Cheap vegetables in LA (Los Angeles, Torrance: sales, house, neighborhood)

[Laurentt]

Hello,

I just moved in Los Angeles and live on Venice/ Sawtelle Blvd. I am looking for places to buy cheap vegetables.

I went to VONS, TRADER'S JOE and RALPHS. They are all terribly expensive. Are there cheaper supermarkets? I heard Fiesta and Cardenas were cheaper but they are very far from where I live right ?

Do you have any advice ?

Thanks,

Laurent

[Fontucky]

See if there's a Vallarta supermarket near you.

[sarahkate_m]

Vegetables are probably expensive everywhere... Since I enjoy hot vegetables, I tend to buy frozen, not fresh, at Walmart. I do shop elsewhere as needed, but I try to put most of my $$ on the Walmart shopping trip. Walmart is touted as the international "price leader" even by the food unions which are supposedly locked out of Walmart.

Frozen veggies usually don't have any parts to clean or throw away, so I feel like I'm getting my money's worth. Plus, it won't rot if I forget about it - which I am inclined to do.

If you don't have a Walmart to trek to, you may have to do some budgetary trade offs.

You could just eat fresh veggies/fruit when they go on sale, if it's that tight of a budget.

Also, find out if there are any kind of neighborhood vegetable gardens nearby... Maybe you can get in good with them & get a good deal. I'm not sure what your area is like. You may have to go a bit far from home to find what you need. LA is an expensive place for anyone to live!

The community center for your neighborhood may have info on neighborhood gardens. You can also look on myspace. There's a group there called "Food not lawns" that I look at once in awhile... You might find an idea or two there.

It's easy to grow lettuce, if you're into that. Tomatoes are challenging for me cuz we don't get much sun where I live & I tend to over water or over feed...

Maybe you could start some kind of garden with a friend? Or make a friend by offering to start a garden with someone new?

[Laurentt]

I thought they were expensive in Europe before moving to the US... Vegetables are actually not expensive everywhere.

To give you a rough idea, salads and organic tomatoes are basically 2 to 5 times more expansive than in France. It is true for basically all fresh products, except the ones imported from Central America, such as bananas.

[Laurentt]

Apparently, Vallarta supermarkets are all based in Northern and Eastern LA... Sigh

[sarahkate_m]

Originally Posted by Laurentt

I thought they were expensive in Europe before moving to the US... Vegetables are actually not expensive everywhere.

To give you a rough idea, salads and organic tomatoes are basically 2 to 5 times more expansive than in France. It is true for basically all fresh products, except the ones imported from Central America, such as bananas.

i meant everywhere here not there. i should have been specific: i think they are expensive in this country.

would you say the vegetables in your French markets are local? it seems in this country, most produce sections are stocked with fairly non-local food. hence, perhaps, the intense markup in price. however, at the so-called "farmer's market" held in my neighborhood they want the same as the supermarket for their tomatoes & what not.

it was once common for the ROMA tomatoes to be the cheapest & tastiest tomatoes at the store. NO MORE! the sales prices alternate like clockwork among all the different kinds of tomatoes with the romas sometime costing $3 a pound! at least that's what it is here, in Eugene, Oregon. i have to admit i'm not in California anymore.

i've heard that europeans are accustomed to healthier, fresher fare than what americans tend toward. now i understand your concern!

hhhmmm... i don't know what to say. this sounds like a serious problem. i'll meditate on this & see if i can come up with an idea for your cosmopolitan self.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Laurentt

I thought they were expensive in Europe before moving to the US... Vegetables are actually not expensive everywhere.

To give you a rough idea, salads and organic tomatoes are basically 2 to 5 times more expansive than in France. It is true for basically all fresh products, except the ones imported from Central America, such as bananas.

I couldn't believe how inexpensive produce was when our daughter lived in Poland. Too bad I couldn't bring back a whole suitcase full.

to the OP, maybe you can find a farmers market near. As for the poster who mentioned frozen, yes, for those who do not like fresh produce or produce they can eat raw, frozen is fine, but there is nothing like the fresh taste of Asparagus for instance. This goes for tomatoes, lettuce and avacados. I can't imagine any of them frozen. I can think of lots more. We have always eaten almost totally fresh produce, even in the winter. I do keep frozen peas and sometimes corn. that is about it.

Nita

[sarahkate_m]

Originally Posted by nmnita

I couldn't believe how inexpensive produce was when our daughter lived in Poland. Too bad I couldn't bring back a whole suitcase full.

to the OP, maybe you can find a farmers market near. As for the poster who mentioned frozen, yes, for those who do not like fresh produce or produce they can eat raw, frozen is fine, but there is nothing like the fresh taste of Asparagus for instance. This goes for tomatoes, lettuce and avacados. I can't imagine any of them frozen. I can think of lots more. We have always eaten almost totally fresh produce, even in the winter. I do keep frozen peas and sometimes corn. that is about it.

Nita

frozen asparagus is perfect: no trimming, no waste - it's quite wonderful thawed. it's wonderful sauteed with mushrooms... sesame seeds.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by sarahkate_m

frozen asparagus is perfect: no trimming, no waste - it's quite wonderful thawed. it's wonderful sauteed with mushrooms... sesame seeds.

everyone to their own views: I want mine fresh, crisp tender (cooked about 5 minutes most) with a little bit of olive oil or even mayo (mayo not too often anymore) Frozen is too done before it is even heated. For those who don't care for it crisp tender maybe it would be ok, not to mention the cost to buy it frozen compared to fresh, waste or no waste. Asparagus is one of the easiest things in the world to clean and prepare. It takes about a minute or so to snap off the ends and rinse it.

Now I know someone who thinks just like you, she lives in Torrance. She happens to be my favorite cousin. Of course some of us love to cook, some put cooking where I put housework, nowhere near the top of the list of important things to do in my life. I think my husband would say, if I spent 1/2 the time cleaning house I spend cooking we would be living in a spotless home. We do not!!!!

Nita

[uptown_urbanist]

The 99 Cent Only stores sometimes has cheap produce, although quantity and quality (and type) varies. It's cheap, though. Otherwise check out the farmer's markets.