Do you put bananas in a bag at the grocery store? POLL ADDED!

[Snickerdoodle]

In my grocery store, grapes come in bags but people rearrange them how they want all the time.  I even see people opening strawberry (and other berry) containers and rearranging them.

[milovany]

Side question because I don't feel like doing is spinoff --

 

Does anyone else snap off the stem of the broccoli crown before putting the broccoli in your cart?  I don't want to pay for a stem that I'm not going to eat (yes, I know some people eat it, but we don't).  Seems to me it used to be that you could buy broccoli with stems or without (without being called "broccoli crowns," and a little bit more expensive) but now it's all "broccoli crowns" even though the heads still have longer stems on them.  I snap them off and leave them there -- but I do it secretly so the produce guy doesn't come and yell at me.  I don't have to pay for that if I don't want right?  And it was okay for me to open a bunch of three leeks the other day because I only wanted two, right?  (ETA -- the leeks are sold by weight, so I didn't short the store anything). 

 

Oh, the agonies of the produce aisle. 

[Miss Peregrine]

Side question because I don't feel like doing is spinoff --

 

Does anyone else snap off the stem of the broccoli crown before putting the broccoli in your cart? I don't want to pay for a stem that I'm not going to eat (yes, I know some people eat it, but we don't). Seems to me it used to be that you could buy broccoli with stems or without (without being called "broccoli crowns," and a little bit more expensive) but now it's all "broccoli crowns" even though the heads still have longer stems on them. I snap them off and leave them there -- but I do it secretly so the produce guy doesn't come and yell at me. I don't have to pay for that if I don't want right? And it was okay for me to open a bunch of three leeks the other day because I only wanted two, right?

 

Oh, the agonies of the produce aisle.

Related, I've seen people twist the crown off of pineapples so they don't have to pay for those.

[DianeW88]

Nope.  I don't bag bananas or melons.  They have skins, and the fruit is protected.  I only bag produce that needs to be weighed together.

[KungFuPanda]

Side question because I don't feel like doing is spinoff --

 

Does anyone else snap off the stem of the broccoli crown before putting the broccoli in your cart?  I don't want to pay for a stem that I'm not going to eat (yes, I know some people eat it, but we don't).  Seems to me it used to be that you could buy broccoli with stems or without (without being called "broccoli crowns," and a little bit more expensive) but now it's all "broccoli crowns" even though the heads still have longer stems on them.  I snap them off and leave them there -- but I do it secretly so the produce guy doesn't come and yell at me.  I don't have to pay for that if I don't want right?  And it was okay for me to open a bunch of three leeks the other day because I only wanted two, right? 

 

Oh, the agonies of the produce aisle.

 

This is just wrong. You need therapy!

[Word Nerd]

Once I opened up a carton of strawberries at home and discovered that someone had taken bites out of several berries and discarded the stems. (No, it wasn't one of my kids, as I took the carton directly from the grocery bag to wash them after I put away the other groceries.) People are disgusting sometimes.

[KungFuPanda]

Great. Now I want broccoli soup.

[Word Nerd]

I'm not a fan of muffin stumps, so if I take those off and leave them at the bakery I shouldn't have to pay for those, right? (Just having fun. ;))

[idnib]

I don't put any produce in bags unless here are a lot of small items like new potatoes or sprouts. I bring my own produce bags. I've never seen anyone put bananas in bags.

 

If you want to bring your own bags and save natural resources, these are good:

 

http://www.reuseit.com/reusable-produce-bags/flip-and-tumble-flip-and-tumble-reusable-produce-bags-set-of-5.htm

 

 

[Baseball mom]

Nope no bananas in bags.  Never thought about putting them in one.  If just getting 1 or 2 other items of produce I don't put them in bags.  This is also coming from the person that carries and uses her own reusable shopping bags.  Cashiers don't like them but I do.  Don't have any of the reusable produce bags though.

[Baseball mom]

I don't put any produce in bags unless here are a lot of small items like new potatoes or sprouts. I bring my own produce bags. I've never seen anyone put bananas in bags.

 

If you want to bring your own bags and save natural resources, these are good:

 

http://www.reuseit.com/reusable-produce-bags/flip-and-tumble-flip-and-tumble-reusable-produce-bags-set-of-5.htm

 

Ooooh I like those

[cjzimmer1]

Well the bananas I buy come already in a bag so yeah I guess I do.  The reason I buy them is because if you buy loose (or pick out your own bunches) they are 49 cents a pound.  If you buy the bunches that are in bags they only charge you 43 cents a pound.  The bagged ones come that way from the supplier and are equally nice.  I only see old people who only want 1 or 2 bananas buying the loose ones, most people buy the prebagged ones.

[SKL]

As for pulling off the stems, I think they price the produce differently depending on whether or not they have stems.  Presumably they cost less per pound if you buy the stems.  Kinda like boneless chicken vs. a whole chicken.  If that is the case, then ripping off the stems seems wrong.

 

I remember being able to buy a stick of butter or half a carton of eggs.  Maybe you still can, I don't know.  I hope so, because if I were a little old lady living alone, it would take me many months to eat a whole pound of butter.  I would simply not buy butter rather than buy a pound that I couldn't eat.

 

I wish they would sell shorter loaves of bread, especially the kind of bread that doesn't have preservatives.  It starts to get hard in 2-3 days, and that's not enough time for us to finish a whole loaf.  So we don't buy that kind of bread rather than pay the extra and waste it.

[SKL]

And by the way, I eat the stems of broccoli.  They taste just as good if not better.  I think I read somewhere that they have good nutrients in them, too.

[twoxcell]

If they are in a bunch still than no. If they are the type that are getting old and have been cut apart then yes. I buy the second type to freeze for smoothies since they are like half price. :)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Side question because I don't feel like doing is spinoff --

 

Does anyone else snap off the stem of the broccoli crown before putting the broccoli in your cart?  I don't want to pay for a stem that I'm not going to eat (yes, I know some people eat it, but we don't).  Seems to me it used to be that you could buy broccoli with stems or without (without being called "broccoli crowns," and a little bit more expensive) but now it's all "broccoli crowns" even though the heads still have longer stems on them.  I snap them off and leave them there -- but I do it secretly so the produce guy doesn't come and yell at me.  I don't have to pay for that if I don't want right?  And it was okay for me to open a bunch of three leeks the other day because I only wanted two, right? 

 

Oh, the agonies of the produce aisle. 

OK - since you brought it up and only because you ask if it is okay, in my opinion that is not ok.  The grocery store had to buy that stem (and the crown of the pineapple in the other example) when they bought it wholesale.  I feel like by breaking those off, you are cheating the grocery store of some of the cost of that item.  

[milovany]

As for pulling off the stems, I think they price the produce differently depending on whether or not they have stems.  Presumably they cost less per pound if you buy the stems.  Kinda like boneless chicken vs. a whole chicken.  If that is the case, then ripping off the stems seems wrong.

 

That's why I mentioned what I did in my post.  I think they used to do that (have two different broccoli options, one more expensive than the other), but now there's only one option -- "broccoli crowns," but they're not just the crowns like they used to be; they're now no different from what used to be just "broccoli" (stems and all). 

[SKL]

That's why I mentioned what I did in my post.  I think they used to do that (have two different broccoli options, one more expensive than the other), but now there's only one option -- "broccoli crowns," but they're not just the crowns like they used to be; they're now no different from what used to be just "broccoli" (stems and all). 

 

Well, still, they are pricing it by weight, right?  Is anyone likely to buy the part you ripped off?  If not, then the store has been cheated of that money IMO.

 

And I think that you kind of agree since you are doing it on the sly.

[Maela]

No. I also don't put avocados, lemons/limes, garlic, or onions in bags. Don't ask me why.

 

Hmm...maybe because I only buy 1-3 of those things at a time and it seems silly to waste a bag? I also reuse the bags that are still nice.

[Plateau Mama]

Nope, no bag. You need to shop up here. No strange looks here!

So true. We are more likely to get strange looks for putting things in bags or not using reusable bags. (Says one who forgot the no bag rule in Issaquah last week and had to take the cart out for 5 small items because I refuse to pay .05 for a stupid bag.)

[Mom in High Heels]

I never did before, but I do now because the grocery store where I shop has these really cool machines where you type in the code and either weigh your produce or tell it how many you have in your bag and it spits out a barcoded price sticker.  I use that for everything and so bananas need to go in a bag.  I suppose I could just stick the sticker on a banana, but that would be kind of weird and probably wouldn't fit properly.

 

I've been to several stores like that (our commissaries in Germany had those), but I just slapped the sticker right on one of the bananas, and never had a problem.

 

I sometimes buy various individual bananas because I sometimes want ones that are ripe and some that are not so they will last a bit longer.  Don't know if that is why other people do that, but that is why I do that.

 

Some stores sell bananas in bags.  Aldi does. 

 

Oh, Aldi!  I miss you so much!

 

You individual banana buyers are making me nervous.

 

LOL!  Even if I buy individual bananas (those who have already been separated from their bunch), I don't put them in a bag.

 

Now I wonder if people do this with bunches of grapes. 

 

I do!  Grapes are sold by weight, so I don't see that this matters.  We like really tiny grapes, so I look for those.

 

 

 

 

Side question because I don't feel like doing is spinoff --

 

Does anyone else snap off the stem of the broccoli crown before putting the broccoli in your cart?  I don't want to pay for a stem that I'm not going to eat (yes, I know some people eat it, but we don't).  Seems to me it used to be that you could buy broccoli with stems or without (without being called "broccoli crowns," and a little bit more expensive) but now it's all "broccoli crowns" even though the heads still have longer stems on them.  I snap them off and leave them there -- but I do it secretly so the produce guy doesn't come and yell at me.  I don't have to pay for that if I don't want right?  And it was okay for me to open a bunch of three leeks the other day because I only wanted two, right? 

 

Oh, the agonies of the produce aisle. 

 

At our store, they will cut the broccoli stems off if you ask.  If they're not around, I'll snap the stems off.  I do NOT like the stems (they taste bitter to me), and I don't want to pay for them.  

 

Related, I've seen people twist the crown off of pineapples so they don't have to pay for those.

 

What?  Aren't pineapples priced per piece?  Besides, you can plant the crown and have a free plant!  My mom has one that she planted several years ago, that is now huge and has produced several baby pineapples.

 

I don't put any produce in bags unless here are a lot of small items like new potatoes or sprouts. I bring my own produce bags. I've never seen anyone put bananas in bags.

 

If you want to bring your own bags and save natural resources, these are good:

 

http://www.reuseit.com/reusable-produce-bags/flip-and-tumble-flip-and-tumble-reusable-produce-bags-set-of-5.htm

 

I've seen those and considered buying them, but I haven't, because...um, I don't know why.  You know what's great though?  You know the plastic mesh wrappers that come on turkeys and ham?  If you clean those really well, they make great reusable produce bags, and they last a long time.  You can also make your own with old t-shirts.

 

 

Who knew produce would be such a hot topic?  I have these amazing reusable grocery bags that I bought at Aldi in Germany, that are very big, sturdy and have large metal ring handles with a cushioned grip.  Everyone who sees them comments and asks where I got them.  I wish I had bought a ton of them, because I could sell them for 2-3 times the price I paid for them.

[mathnerd]

Major germophobe here. I only buy bunches of bananas that people have not handled before (the ones without one or two bananas torn out), I pick the bunch from the very bottom of the pile so that less people have touched it, I bag my bunch of bananas (so that it does not have to come in contact with the icky shopping cart or the ickier conveyer belt and weighing machines) and I do this for all my produce. I prefer my produce going through less human hands and not touching carts or belts. If I think about it logically, I can see that I am weird and it does not make sense - most of the organic produce I buy probably have cow manure used as fertilizer and who knows how many people handled the produce on its way from farm to produce department in my store? But, I feel better if I do things this way.

[Jean in Newcastle]

So true. We are more likely to get strange looks for putting things in bags or not using reusable bags. (Says one who forgot the no bag rule in Issaquah last week and had to take the cart out for 5 small items because I refuse to pay .05 for a stupid bag.)

We don't have the no bag rule here and I was broadsided the other day when I was in Issaquah and had to pay .05.  What killed me more than the nickel was the fact that I have reusable bags but had forgotten to put them back in the car after my last grocery trip!  

[Lanny]

@Heels    Yes. I do most of the grocery shopping, because my wife says I do it faster and with less expense.  I put Bananas into plastic bags. And, almost every kind of fruit and vegetable that I can think of. We use the plastic bags for other things when they are empty.  My wife has taught me to put the bananas with the curved part up, when I place them in the grocery cart or into the refrigerator. Apparently they last longer that way.  The same for "Platanos" (Plantains in English) which neither DD or I enjoy eating.  

[milovany]

Well, still, they are pricing it by weight, right?  Is anyone likely to buy the part you ripped off?  If not, then the store has been cheated of that money IMO.

 

And I think that you kind of agree since you are doing it on the sly.

 

I can see it both ways, I guess.  One one hand, it's like a browner banana than others on a bunch.  I'll pull it off and not buy it.  The stem is the same to me -- not something I want to eat so I don't buy it.  But I do see the difference in that there's probably not someone who's going to come along and buy the stem I pulled off.  I don't think I'm being sly so much because I want to cheat them, but because of the inner conflict as described (see below also).

 

 

I would be annoyed with them calling something crowns that clearly were not.  I think I'd complain to the store.

 

Good idea. I guess I feel like if I'm looking at a sign that says "broccoli crowns," then I'd like to pay for the crowns -- not the long stems. But I will mention it to them.

[Belacqua]

 

I've seen those and considered buying them, but I haven't, because...um, I don't know why.  You know what's great though?  You know the plastic mesh wrappers that come on turkeys and ham?  If you clean those really well, they make great reusable produce bags, and they last a long time.  You can also make your own with old t-shirts.

 

 

 

Are they imaginary t-shirts? :)

 

And I am seriously excited about the possibility of growing my own pineapple. I have never successfully grown much of anything, so it will probably be an enormous Tropical Fruit Fail, but I'm willing to try. Because pineapple!

 

And, topic? No. I don't bag bananas.

[Pawz4me]

Okay, I said earlier that although I bag my bananas, I don't have strong feelings one way or another about it.  But not putting potatoes, onions, peppers or other produce like that in a bag?  That I do not get.  At all.  It seems to me it would be irritating to have to handle individual potatoes (for example) and have them rolling around on the conveyor belt and in shopping bags.  And I can imagine how frustrating it is to the cashier to try to round up multiple loose potatoes for weighing.  It seems a horribly inefficient way to go about produce shopping to me.  (But I still don't care what anyone else does.)

[Stacia]

No, I almost never use the plastic bags (trying to save the Earth & all, so I try to use as little plastic as possible) regardless of what fruit or veg I'm buying (unless it's already in a bag like grapes often are).

 

One thing mentioned in The Zero Waste Home book is to take your own mesh zippered bags (or reusable food bags you can buy like that) to use instead.

http://astore.amazon.com/zerowastehomestore-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=14

[Cinder]

I sometimes buy various individual bananas because I sometimes want ones that are ripe and some that are not so they will last a bit longer.  Don't know if that is why other people do that, but that is why I do that.

 

I've done this too. We don't eat a lot of bananas so sometimes I'll buy a couple from this ready-to-eat-now bunch and a couple from that won't-be-ready-for-a-couple-of-days bunch. Still no bag, though, because at most I buy 3-4 bananas. I could see how someone would want a bag for several of these single bananas--easier to transport.

[milovany]

Okay, I said earlier that although I bag my bananas, I don't have strong feelings one way or another about it.  But not putting potatoes, onions, peppers or other produce like that in a bag?  That I do not get.  At all.  It seems to me it would be irritating to have to handle individual potatoes (for example) and have them rolling around on the conveyor belt and in shopping bags.  And I can imagine how frustrating it is to the cashier to try to round up multiple loose potatoes for weighing.  It seems a horribly inefficient way to go about produce shopping to me.  (But I still don't care what anyone else does.)

 

Well, I use the self checkout 95% of the time, so it's me handling that produce and I don't care.  But I still don't use bags when I go through the checkout, except for apples and Brussels type things; where there'd be 20+ of each thing.  5 onions?  No bag.  6-7 tomatoes?  No bag.  I honestly don't think about what the checker wants -- I'm shopping at their store and if I want to shop that way, if I want to have a greener impact on the environment and not have a million bags to recycle, I see it as my prerogative. I'm paying them, they're not paying me.  I don't mean that rudely (and I'm a very kind, friendly shopper); it's just a matter of fact business-wise. 

 

[milovany]

Maybe I'll start buying the individual bananas that would otherwise get thrown out to make up for my broccoli stems.  ;)

[alisoncooks]

I do not bag bananas.  They come in their own bag (peeling) with a built in handle. :D

I only bag produce/veggies if I am buying multiples (ie. if I buy 4 bell peppers, I bag them.)  If I buy 1 bell pepper, it just sits in my cart.

 

Does your produce have it's own special spot in the cart?  Now that my kids are too big to do so, produce always rides up top, in the kid seat. :D :D

[Susan in TN]

I usually do unless I am getting just one big bunch.

[mom2scouts]

No, God has already provided the packaging for bananas.

[Pawz4me]

I do not bag bananas.  They come in their own bag (peeling) with a built in handle. :D

I only bag produce/veggies if I am buying multiples (ie. if I buy 4 bell peppers, I bag them.)  If I buy 1 bell pepper, it just sits in my cart.

 

Does your produce have it's own special spot in the cart?  Now that my kids are too big to do so, produce always rides up top, in the kid seat. :D :D

 

Yes, that's where my produce goes.  And it's one of the main reasons I bag everything. ;)

[Miss Peregrine]

@Heels The regular grocery stores here sell pineapples by the lb. Costco is the only place I can get it per each.

[QuirkyKapers]

Nope, I don't put my bananas in a bag. 

[LizzyBee]

I don't put them in a bag.

[Mom in High Heels]

Okay, I put up a poll.  Go vote!

[PeachyDoodle]

I'm not a fan of muffin stumps, so if I take those off and leave them at the bakery I shouldn't have to pay for those, right? (Just having fun. ;))

 

You could wrap them up in the bag you didn't use for the bananas and give them to the homeless... :D

[AmandaVT]

I don't. I bag things that we eat the outside of that aren't already packaged. I don't bag things that we don't eat the outside of.

 

This is what I do too. 

[AmandaVT]

I don't. I bag things that we eat the outside of that aren't already packaged. I don't bag things that we don't eat the outside of.

 

This is what I do too. 

[AmandaVT]

Double post - sorry! 

 

[PeachyDoodle]

I don't bag my bananas, and I do sometimes separate a bunch to get the desired amount/ripeness. I do bag pretty much everything else, except melons. I can't remember the last time I bought a pineapple. Have I ever bought a pineapple? I might have to now, just to see if I can grow my own. I've read you can do this with celery too.

 

I've never heard of peeling broccoli stems. We just eat them as-is. Do other people peel them?

[Butter]

Now that there's a poll, I picked Other please explain.  Because I do put them in a bag because of the price sticker machine, but I think it is totally weird and before using the grocery store's machine I never put bananas in a bag.

[umsami]

If I buy them at the grocery store, no.  But sometimes the bananas at Costco and Sam's come in bags…so I'm stuck.

[milovany]

... the price sticker machine ...

 

I know not what you mean.  What is this price sticker machine of which you speak?

[brehon]

I know not what you mean. What is this price sticker machine of which you speak?

 

You take your produce to a machine (in or out of a bag) ;) , place it on the tray, punch in the produce code, et voila, the machine weighs the produce & a sticker with the price prints out for you. I think it saves times at check-out.

 

I don't bag most of my produce & just place the sticker on the produce (or one of the item, depending on what I buy). I do bag lettuce because I always seem to pick it up just after the misting.

[Mrs Mungo]

I know not what you mean.  What is this price sticker machine of which you speak?

 

When we lived in Germany, our local shop had a scale with a price sticker machine. So, you put your bell peppers in a bag, poked the bell pepper button and a scannable sticker printed that you stuck on the bag. They didn't actually have scales at the registers. I think that is what she means?

 

 

 

 

[Mom in High Heels]

Oh, I found another make your own produce bag tutorial.  I think I like this one better than the t-shirt version above.  I'd be worried about the t-shirt stretching after a while.