Costa Rica it's loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables 365 days out a year and that's one of
the reasons why Rebecca and I really enjoy living in Costa Rica. You know I believe that a good
plant-based diet combined with an exercise routine is the secret to a long healthy life. In Costa Rica
no matter where you live even right here in the city it seems like you can find banana trees,
mango trees, avocado trees they're everywhere. It seems like in everybody's backyard even if you're
not the type to grow your own well there's people that go up and down the neighborhoods
selling their own fresh produce parked on the side of the road and nearly every town
has a farmer's market at least one day out of the week where you can go and buy all the fresh
produce that your heart desires. In this video we're going to be talking about the cost of living
when it relates to buying produce. You're going to be surprised at how affordable it is to buy
and live on a plant-based diet if that's what you choose to do. It's so nice to be able to
go out get fresh produce and have a fresh salad every day if that's what you enjoy
so today let's find out what is the cost of living when it comes to produce in Costa Rica.
You know there's a lot of great things about Costa Rica and since I'm pretty much on a plant-based
diet my most favorite thing is that I have the ability to just go to Costa Rican almost anywhere.
I can get all the fresh produce vegetables, fruits that I need to just enjoy life. I mean you name it
they've got it and you know what you can get fresh produce every day and you can get it at an amazing
price you know San Isidro has one of the largest farmers market in the country however you know
it's open on Thursday and Friday but i can come to this place this is my most favorite produce stand.
Here the people are always friendly they're nice and I can find almost anything I want
that's in season you know being able to buy what I need and enjoy a healthy lifestyle
that's one of my favorite things about going to Costa Rica. This fruit and vegetable market is
one of the largest in San Isidro. It's located on the main highway on the south end of San Isidro.
They get truckloads of fresh produce every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Like most
produce markets in Costa Rica they also have a fairly good selection of convenience store
type of groceries making it easy for you to pick up a few other things while you're there.
While at the market we picked up veggies mostly for fixing Nikki's food and on average here's
the cost. Broccoli 1700 per kilo, potatoes 900 per kilo, zucchini 500 clones each one
green beans a thousand per kilo carrot 700 per kilo and plantains 150 colones each
our total was only 7 691 colones which converts to about 12.50. Not bad from my experience in Costa
Rica the prices of things you buy in grocery stores don't vary by much from store to store.
However when it comes to produce you can get some really great deals when buying from the locals
who come to your door or at the locals farmers market. For example just the other night Rebecca
went in the store to pick up a few things. I waited outside and a local was selling avocados.
I bought six avocados for a thousand colones only to find out when Rebecca came out she
had bought three avocados for 1412 colones. She spent 70 cents more for half as many avocados.
And not only avocados but we often see great deals on other produce. You might normally pay a thousand
colones for one pineapple but often we'll see three pineapples for a thousand colones from the roadside
vendors. But let us tell you about the lettuce. As you can see in some places like this store
where they actually grow up in these styrofoam boxes and so you can actually cut it fresh right
out of the soil so it's really nice to be able to get fresh lettuce whenever you want it. And before
all this comes to a head, let us give you some more prices these were bought at Walmart and lettuce is
usually about 400 colones ahead a bag of tomatoes were only 980 colones cucumbers 820 per kilo,
zucchini 320 colones each, bell peppers 380 colones each, green beans 750 colones a bag,
a bag of 12 small apples 2, 450 colones oddly enough bananas are usually sold by the peace
in Costa Rica but Walmart so these were 750 per kilo, one pineapple was 690 colones
the regular and baby potatoes 900 colones a bag, carrots 790 per kilo, purple onions 1780 per kilo
and one head of broccoli for 1200 per kilo. In total this harvest of produce only costs 15
229 colones which converts to about 2465 that's about four to five days of salads for me
and Rebecca but Nikki is not much on salads and enjoys a bit of protein
in her meals. We buy ground meat a lot of veggies and add that to some rice to make Nikki's meals.
We start by chopping up all those veggies and a food processor makes quick work of this task.
We've learned Nikki doesn't like cauliflower and so we add potatoes and plantains
in place of the cauliflower then I saute all those veggies in a great big old pot.
While the veggies are cooking down I start browning a big old pot of ground meat
when the veggies are done I'll mix in the meat and for all you meat eaters
this is a very tasty meal for people as well when you add the right seasonings that is.
Then the final part is to add a big old pot of rice. We've learned Nikki prefers
the wheat rice as well. She's either one spoiled puppy or a picky eater but she's well worth it.
After mixing everything up real good it's time to fill serving size containers to put in the freezer
but first it's time for the taste test.
And from the looks of Nikki's tail I think she approves. Since it is very affordable
to buy produce in Costa Rica as for the cost of living when it pertains to fruits and vegetables
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. We hope you've enjoyed this video as much as we've
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