For those of you in northern states

Frozen fruit and veggies for me, up north or down south. Frozen fruits are a little different, but very good in their own way. I cannot eat veggies without cooking them, so the difference between fresh and frozen is minimal (or nonexistent) for me.

I get canned peaches. I get the lite ones, but not the ones with aspartame. The aspartame ones taste horrible. Peaches are sweet enough without it, anyway.

Frozen veg can be roasted, but completely defrost and dry with a napkin first.

Frozen fruit is best for smoothies and other drinks.

I love adding frozen raspberries to smoothies. I can buy a ton in summer and make them last all winter. If i do run out before summer comes around again then i either buy them frozen or you can buy them jarred as preserves.

I like to eat frozen fruit before it thaws completely, especially peaches.

Hmm this is news to me, I live in southern Canada and often in minnesota and north dakota and always fresh produce hear and there.

tracyhodgewaugh wrote: »

I live in Nebraska and I'm having a heck of a time finding decent fresh produce. And what little I find is very expensive. For those of you also living in an area where your fresh stuff is coming from somewhere else, do you have any tips? Any stores where you find better quality or selection? Any favorite frozen brands/varieties?

Since it's a land locked State in the middle of Winter I'm not sure there is much fresh. I buy from Trader Joe's, Natural Grocers, sometimes Open Harvest, sometimes regular grocery stores.

Frozen berries are great this time of year, nothing wrong with buying frozen fruit in the Winter if nothing else if available. Great in smoothies, yogurt, oatmeal etc.

I live in a Winter state, trust me, I do understand! I belong to CSA's in the Spring/Summer/Fall months and they've now got one in the Winter. Might want to check that out if you have any in the area you live in. They also have Winter Harvest days where they sell veggies that grow in the late Fall. Pretty much like a Farmers Market smack dab in the middle of Winter... minus the Spring veggies etc.

Where in NE do you live? A bigger area (O or L) or small town?

I started buying Steamers, when they are on sale, or steam my own.

Ugh...just read about Wegman's.. we don't have them here.

South Dakota here and I find Hyvee for us is the best place. We also stock up on fresh fruit from the local school when they do their fundraising. I have terrible luck at Walmart. Back up plan is frozen for us. I have to hide veggies in meals because I hate them. Something I struggle with.

Hearts_2015 wrote: »

I belong to CSA's in the Spring/Summer/Fall months and they've now got one in the Winter. Might want to check that out if you have any in the area you live in. They also have Winter Harvest days where they sell veggies that grow in the late Fall. Pretty much like a Farmers Market smack dab in the middle of Winter... minus the Spring veggies etc.

I do this--it's pretty limited, though. Until recently we've had winter squash, root vegetables, and cabbage, but my understanding is that the winter proper is dried items (like beans and peppers), cellared items (apples, potatoes, etc.), and greens from the green house. I like to go to the green market during the winter, but mostly because they also sell eggs and meat. (I have picked up popcorn and grains from time to time also.)

For health, frozen are great, but I understand the OP's preference for non-frozen and share it, just based on how I like to cook things and how they taste, so I also do lots of transported in from somewhere they grow veggies (whether one calls this fresh or not depends on your own definition, IMO). IME, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini/summer squash, eggplant, and Brussels sprouts all tend to be generally available, not much more expensive in the winter, and taste good. I also like winter squash (which is available now like crazy), all root veggies (carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, parsnips, turnips, etc.), and greens of any sort that look good. Onions and related items are also fine, and cabbage, of course. Asparagus usually isn't that good (although I just bought some white asparagus), and I use only canned tomatoes when I can't get them fresh. (I'm in Chicago, so we might have more of a selection than some smaller areas, not really sure.)

I also like the blueberries in the stores this time of year just fine, although frozen berries work great in smoothies if that's your intended use, as others have said. Beyond that, I might buy pears, apples, or bananas, as those tend to be good any time of year, or those clementines. In fact, if you like oranges, bananas, or any other more tropical fruits it hardly matters as in a northern state those are never local.

Also in this boat! I live in Council Bluffs, work in Bellevue!!!! I buy the most of my fresh stuff at Aldi's when in season but frozen is good for veggies.

Slasher09 wrote: »

I buy Frozen produce from Aldi. 12oz berries (mixed and blueberries) are $2.29 (wegmans is $4.49 for 16oz) and I buy frozen peas/corn at aldi for $0.89/lb or wegmans at $0.99/lb.

I don't really have favorite "brands." I am used to wegmans brand (local grocery store here) and their quality is amazing (they even own their own local organic farms), and since they are much cheaper than say, green giant...I could never justify spending 50% more.

Hi from Syracuse! I like Aldi's fresh produce selection as well; it's much better than you'd expect. And a big "hell yeah" to Wegmans brand. I don't think I buy name brand anything anymore.

We have a huge international market (mostly caters to Asian tastes) that has the BEST produce.....and stuff that I have never tried before that I have found super yummy. And it's not expensive. I can go in there and get a basket full that will last me at least a week, if not more for under $30.00. I've started looking for places like this to get new ideas for dinner and my daughter loves coming up with new recipes.