How to Save Money On Fruit Juices

In today's tight economy we are all looking for ways to save a little money. At the same time, we are becoming more and more aware of how important nutrition is to our health and well being. Consuming vitamin and mineral rich pure juices instead of cheaper sugary flavored drinks is part of a smart nutritious diet. Affording the juices is another problem. Here are some ways to help.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Walk right past the refrigerated section of the store. All those gorgeous cartons and jugs of ready to drink juice look fabulous and taste great but they cost big. And if you read the small print on the labels, most of them say "made from concentrate". Yes, from concentrate.... the same concentrate that is sold in the frozen food case in those little cans that you take home and mix with water yourself. No special packaging... no paying to have water packaged and sent all over on the way to the store. No convenience of taking it home and pouring it into a glass.... and no big price. Visit the frozen food section and buy the cans of concentrated juice.

2. Take your cans home and store them in your freezer. The day before you want to make juice you can move a can into the refrigerator to thaw or you can wait and the concentrate will thaw in the water when you make the juice.

3. Mix the concentrate with the recommended amount of juice and taste it. You may want to use a little less or a little more water. You can stir the water and concentrate or shake it to mix it. Take it for a whirl in the blender or food processor to make it frothy... Store it in the refrigerator and serve it icy cold. It will be every bit as tasty and nutritious as the juice that comes in the fancy jug or pretty carton in the refrigerated section and it will cost one third to one half as much... a big saving.

4. For variety, mix flavors of juice. You might mix orange with tangerine..... or make lemonade and add grape or cranberry juice. There are many, many choices of frozen concentrate and you can mix them easily to add variety and nutrition.

5. Don't forget the juices in jars and cans on the canned food shelf. Although I don't use these as everyday juices as I think they loose some nutrition in the canning process, they are good as flavorings.... for example... a jar of pomegranate juice goes a long way as a flavor additive to other juices for interest and color.

6. Invest is some of those small plastic containers for liquids and pack your own portable juices instead of buying more expensive juice boxes. They will taste better and cost less in the long run...

7. While you are buzzing your juice in the blender... add a little frozen fruit and you will have a great fruit slush... add a bit of yogurt and it is a smoothie.... great taste and added nutrition at a reduced price.

8. Add extra water and ice to your juice to make it into an ---ade.... like orangeade... delicious and refreshing, nutritious and less expensive than straight orange juice.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't be afraid to experiment with your juices and smoothies... find special combinations that appeal to you and your family.

Resources

• How To Trim Your Grocery Bill

[MidniteWriter]

on 7/6/2009 Good article on how to save money on fruit juices! We go through a lot, especially in summer! 5*

[LilacGirl]

on 4/21/2009 Great suggestions for saving money on fruit juice for your family.

[LilacGirl]

on 4/21/2009 Good tips and suggestions for saving money on fruit juices. I make mine with more water than the instructions say too, and we like the taste even better.

[cygnetbrown]

on 4/16/2009 Great tips! We just started doing that!

[LissaK]

on 4/14/2009 Wow, I sure as heck never knew this. I learned something new. However, I try not to drink juice made from concentrate although it's pretty much inevitable...lol.