Your $50 Farmers’ Market Shopping List for 5 Weeknight Dinners

Come Up with a Plan

The first rule of saving money at the farmers’ market (or grocery stores for that matter) is starting with a plan. I started by thinking about ingredients that were easy to use in multiple ways. Eggs, for instance, are a meal planner’s best friend. They can be used for so many things: frittata one night, soft-boiled eggs over salad on another. I added carrots and celery to the list because I could use their greens to make pesto (great for salad dressing and/or sauce for roasted vegetables); carrots could be roasted and celery could be chopped into so many things; and their peels and scraps could be made into stock. I knew I wanted to limit the meat in my menu — it’s the sustainable thing to do, and it would also keep my budget down — but I did want to include a little bit of flavorful meat, so I decided to scope out prices for items like smoked turkey, kielbasa and bacon while shopping.

Shop for the Best Deals

With my basic list in hand, I headed to New York City’s Union Square Wednesday Greenmarket. I’m lucky to live in a city with a lot of farmers’ markets, and this is one of the best; beyond produce, vendors here sell everything from local dried beans and grains to meats, cheeses, honey and bread. To find the best variety, research your local options before you head out. This way you’ll discover which markets and days provide the most vendors.

I won’t lie: walking around the market looking for the best deals took effort. Instead of shopping at just one or two stands, I traversed the entire market at least three times, tracking the costs of every item on my list. The variation in prices was surprising. Some items, like spaghetti squash, varied greatly; one vendor sells it for $1.50 per pound, while another offers it for $0.99 per pound. There’s an even wider spread for green bell peppers; prices range from $3.25 to $2.00 per pound. But other items were roughly the same; kale was pretty much $3.00 across the market.

However tiring, after you’ve done this work once, you’ll know which stands have the best deals and where to shop for what. And a little hard work up front can end up saving you tons of money in the long run.

Use Every Part of Each Ingredient

With the prices calculated, I finalized my ingredients and menu. The total for my 14-ingredient haul — which includes 1 dozen eggs, 1 pound of bacon, 2 types of cheese, dried beans, wheat berries, a baguette, and seven different vegetables — is $52.75. A small caveat: I have included oil, salt, pepper and vinegar as items assumed to already be in the home pantry. And I’ve discussed some optional ingredients — such as mustard, spices and nuts — in the menu below, but I also give suggestions if you don’t have these things.

Remember, shopping for the best deals is key, but you also need to use those ingredients wisely. For this menu, I’ve chosen items that can be used multiple times and can add lots of flavor in various ways. And think smart: I’ve outlined a method using our grocery list, but if you have other veggies, cheese, meats, etc. on hand, use them! Jazz up the frittata with other greens; add even more flavor to the herb salad with parsley and mint; toss in extra root vegetables to the bean stew. Follow the plan, and by the end of the week, not only will you have used every bit of the ingredients, from root to stem, but you can also clean out your fridge and pantry, reducing your food waste.

With all those things in mind, may I present my $50 farmers’ market haul meal plan. This menu makes five weeknight dinners for two, however some of the dishes, like the risotto and bean stew, will easily serve more, while others, like the frittata and spaghetti squash, can be adjusted accordingly if need be. If you shop and cook from the meal plan, the FoodPrint team would love to hear from you. Share your pics on social with the tag #foodprinthaul, and let us know how it goes.

$50 Farmers’ Market Meal Plan

Monday: Kale Frittata with Roasted Carrots and Pesto

We all know it can be rough getting back into the week, so I’m starting Monday with a dinner that comes together fast. Frittata is one of my favorite waste-free recipes, because it’s great for tossing in whatever extra vegetables you have on hand and it cooks fast. We’re using kale, parmesan and mozzarella for this one, but if you have other veggies or cheese, feel free to add them in.

First up, get the roasted carrots going; trim off the greens, reserving them, and give the carrots a good scrub — no peeling necessary! Toss them on a rimmed baking sheet with oil, salt and pepper and roast. Easy, peasy.

Next, make the pesto. Instead of basil, use carrot fronds and celery leaves, roughly half of each. For nuts, use whatever you’ve got: pine nuts, walnuts, pistachios or almonds (what I used) are all good options. If you happen to have a lemon in your fridge, the pesto is even better with the lemon zest and juice of 1 lemon. If you don’t have nuts, make chimichurri instead.

After the pesto is finished, start the frittata. Follow this Kitchn recipe, adjusting it slightly to use 8 eggs, 1/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 2 cups chopped kale, 1/2 chopped onion, 2 cloves finely chopped garlic, 3/4 cup grated parmesan and 1/4 cup grated mozzarella. Serve frittata with roasted carrots and pesto. Top leftover pesto with a 1/2-inch oil to prevent browning and chill.

Reserve remaining carrot fronds and celery leaves, but place all other vegetable scraps, including carrot stems, carrot tops, onion peel and garlic peels, in a container in the freezer for stock.

Food waste tips: Use some celery leaves and stalks to make celery syrup for a delightfully refreshing drink. Save those egg shells to use to scour pans! Enjoy leftover frittata and roasted carrots for tomorrow’s lunch.

Tuesday: Spaghetti Squash Kale Lasagna and Herb Salad

On day two, we’re using a veggie that’s an entire meal in one, another great meal planning ingredient: spaghetti squash. Since items at farmers’ markets are usually sold by weight, the size of your squash will affect its price, but I’ve called for a two pounder, which is on the smaller size and is a good portion for two people. Get a larger one to serve more people, or if you want lunch leftovers.

There are a number of ways to cook spaghetti squash, the easiest being the microwave. Call me old school, but I prefer roasting it in the oven. (If you want dinner done fast, roast it the night before.) You’ll also want to reserve those squash seeds (a #nofoodwaste duh!) and roast them for a crunchy addition to our salad. Tips on how to do that over here.

While the squash roasts, make quick-pickled onions using the remaining half onion from last night. After the squash roasts, follow this EatingWell lasagna recipe, using kale instead of broccoli rabe. Skip the Italian seasoning if you don’t have it; sub in dried oregano or rosemary if you have those on hand.

While the lasagna bakes, make a quick vinaigrette with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. (Make double the vinaigrette so you’re set for Thursday night’s dinner.) Chop half the spinach and toss in a bowl with a handful of celery leaves and carrot fronds, pickled onions and squash seeds. Place each squash lasagna half on a plate and serve with salad.

You’ll also need to make vegetable stock tonight. A slow cooker is great for this: just toss in all the scraps, cover with cold water and set on low overnight. Along with any scraps you’ve already collected (including the squash skins!), you’ll also want to use the onion and garlic peels from the two remaining onions and remaining garlic cloves and the bottoms of the remaining celery stalks. Strain stock in the morning and chill.

Food waste tips: A true food waste pro makes their own vinegar for vinaigrette: do it with apple peels and cores for the bragging rights. Reuse the onion pickling liquid to make other quick-pickled vegetables.