Harry’s Farmers Market: Romantic Dinner for 2 under 25.00?

Looking for ways to eat better quality food on a budget? If you are like most of us that have to count our dollars or even pennies, then you are like me.

I am a person who enjoys cooking great meals for myself and my family, but with the least amount of money possible and I truly never ever thought that it was possible at Harry’s Farmers Market until now. See how I did it…..

I was given a task of creating a romantic meal for 2 for less than  $25.00 or purchasing staples (eggs, milk, meat, etc) utilizing 365 Everyday Value products, coupon booklets and sales flyers.

Planning is the key to most meals and obtaining deals for less and this task was no different. I had to first find out which route I wanted to take: 1) staples or 2) romantic meal, so I took the romantic meal route which seemed more challenging to me and it was to say the least.

I started with looking at the Sales Flyer and finding what meat I wanted to cook and at the time boneless pork loin chops were on sale for $5.99 a pound.

Looks good doesn’t it? All of their meat looks this good and better.

Then I had to find out what sides I wanted to make and/or purchase and plan on those. I chose to possibly make something with grain, so I went to coupons section on the website:  Harry’s Farmers Market Coupons which is right next to the sales tab in the middle of the page.

I chose after much deliberation, to go to the Chef’s Case (I found it in the sales paper) and purchase some side items from the prepared food section of the store, see below:

Yes, I have tried the 4 for $4 deals and they are quite tasty and much better for you than most of the items you find at fast food restaurants. What I chose you ask? Well, I chose superfood salad and wild rice salad with cranberries and pecans and they were both very satisfying and delicious.

Once I had decided on the meat, I needed to find a recipe and low and behold, there are recipes that you can find here: Budget Recipes.

Other things to be aware of when shopping on a budget at Harry’s Farmers Market, which is owned and operated by Whole Foods, are the following:

Keep in mind these additional savings opportunities which can both be found near the entrance of the store.

Armed with the Pork Chops with Apples and Shallots recipe (Pork Chops with Apples and Shallots), I made my way to my neighborhood Whole Foods, Harry’s Farmers Market (Harry’s Farmers Market to purchase my items and the one thing that stood out was the 365 Everyday Value (value priced plus high quality) items throughout the store and for more information about those items, see here: 365 Everyday Value Items.  I took extra time just to look around and see all that this wonder store had to offer and it included a fresh fish,  local/global cheese and health and beauty sections.

Now you want me to get to the damage right? So was the mission accomplished? Harry’s Farmers Market: Romantic Dinner for 2 under 25.00?

For half a pound of superfood salad and wild rice salad, 365 Everyday Value BBQ Sauce, 1 organic gala apple, 3 large shallots and 4 pork loin chops I paid less than 25.00 and to be exact it was $23.32.

Where I could have possibly saved was of course in the side items, but I was only feeding 2 of us so I splurged, but if it was for a family of 4 then I would have probably made the salads with 365 eveyday value items where I could and use coupons the rest of the way. This was a fun experiment and I will be back to shop at, Harry’s Farmers Market

Have you shopped at Harry’s Farmers Market on a budget? What was your experience? Please share and thanks for reading.