From a nutritional standpoint, frozen is as good as fresh once fresh is more than a few days old. So days 1-4 we use fresh, then switch to frozen. Apples keep on the counter for 2 weeks, easily. Bananas last longer if you pull them apart. Don't keep the bananas near other produce - it'll make everything else ripen faster.

Are you shopping twice per month for time reasons or to save money? I can't imagine only buying groceries every two weeks. I would shop weekly so you can buy fresh food, but keep the total spending to the same limit.

My family budget is $600 max per month and that includes cleaning supplies, toiletries and 1 box if diapers. We shop at Costco once a month and aldi once a month. Meat, some cheese and eggs come from Costco but everything else comes from aldi. Went today filled almost two carts and spent $215. Pineapple was $1.69 so I bought a few. One goes on the counter now the others wait in the fridge for rotation. Same thing for mangos and avocados. Bought blackberries for $.79 for the little container...they will be long gone by next week after my upcoming Costco trip I plan to cook in large quantities meatballs, beef stew and chicken pot pie filling. I will also get some fish item and rotisserie chicken that I cut up and freeze for future quick dinners. The only thing I buy between big shops is lettuce and milk. Good luck once you get to an aldi you will be blown away.

Bananas will last longer if you refrigerate them. The peel will get brown, but the fruit inside will stay at roughly the same stage of ripeness for over a week.

Bread freezes well. I often buy two loaves when there's a 2 for 1 sale and put one in the freezer for future use.

Bags of lettuce often don't hold up well. I'll buy one bag of field greens and use in the first week and use a bag of romaine hearts the second week. In my experience these hold up very well and can used in whole or part for 2-3 weeks.

frozen mango
pineapple
oranges/clementines
apples and pears kept in fridge

not the same, but dried fruit? Dried apricots, for example.

sorry for the typos.

I use this to store fruits and veggies. They really do last longer. They sell them at HSN and amazon. I see there have newer lightweight ones but I think I have this set. I get it years ago so I am not sure but I seem to have most of these pieces. I use the big round one with the strainer to store out grapes. http://www.hsn.com/products/debbie-meyer-greenboxes-home-collection-21-piece-set/7269374

I also shop at costco every 2 weeks and supplement hear and there with trips to whole foods if I need to. Typically we are OK between costco visits except for milk.

Good luck to you OP.

I freeze celery and carrots in batches to make soup with. Bananas that go brown get frozen and used for banana bread. Chopped and roasted sweet potatoes freeze surprisingly well (I reheat them on the stove rather than microwave, not sure that matters). I've read that roasted vegetables in general are good to store in the freezer.

Check out budgetbytes.com. Lots of discussion of this sort of thing.

As far as fruit i just stick to apples and oranges (clementines). Those last for 2 weeks in the fridge. Bananas don't but they don't freeze well either so we only have them a couple of days after we buy them.

Freezing things with cheese is sometimes Tricky.

Can you share tips? I'm looking to cut our grocery bill to $500- $600/m from $800. 2 adults, 2 preschoolers. From process (when, where and what do you buy) to recipes. I'm a good bulk cooker, usually double batch every time I cook, and have a small freezer.

I'm looking for specific tips on keeping fresh fruit on the menu for the second week. I just tried freezing grapes and was happily surprised they were great (maintained texture), so I will buy 2 weeks of grapes and freeze for week 2. Any other good freezing fresh fruit that I don't have to turn into a smoothly?

Good freezing recipes (or things you avoid freezing) is appreciated.

Sorry this is such a broad request. Just starting this and am looking for any guidance to help me achieve this goal.

TIA