Hello Everyone,

I've been on and off the Raw food diet the past year or so. I would like to continue this lifestyle, but find that it gets expensive. I would like to buy in bulk, but not sure how that would work with veggies and fruit, since I had problems with my produce going bad. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

I buy brazil nuts, Red Star Nutritional Yeast - Vegan Blend, organic dried mission figs, pumpkin seeds in bulk from bulkfoods.com.

I recommend them for great products, quick shipping and they don't charge high shipping costs.

In my opinion, fresh fruits and veggies, purchased in bulk, is not a good idea. Unless you're dehydrating them and making raw food that looks like cooked food, as some folks do. I don't. I only eat as fresh as I can get. I shop locally every few days for the best I can get, and I don't buy too much at any one time because fresh stuff rots quickly.

To save money by NOT having foods go bad and having to toss them, I suggest buy small quantities and shop often. With gas prices at over $3 per gallon, this gets hard even for me to do, because the better produce is not as close to me as the regular stores are.

I don't suggest eating an abundance of dried foods, either. But even though freezing is not wonderful, that may be the answer for you depending on your particular situation.

You can also go for roots like jicama, and sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes) or non-sweet fruits like chayote that don't go bad quickly. Apples keep well in refrigeration. Citrus keeps pretty well, and grapes, pineapple, papaya, carrots, celery and beets do OK in the refrigerator. Leafy greens, though, my favorite, must be purchased often and eaten quickly or they go bad.

Sorry if I haven't offered any solutions, but good luck with your situation.

Look for a produce co-op in your area or nearest big city. Buy in bulk (its cheaper) and freeze extras.

I posted about this in a post called "Start a Food Buying Cooperative".

It's sad, I remember when I was little, my mom belonged to a cooperative and got fresh organic vegetables every month. I tried a blood orange for the first time then. And now she doesn't do it anymore, everyone in my family pretty much eats SAD vegetarian stuff.

But Bryan, thanks so much for that. I'm going to look into membership at my local Co-Op and see if I can get wholesale prices on things.