We eat a lot of fruit in our house. The girls can go through an entire bag of apples in a single day. We have oranges, bananas, strawberries and grapes in the house right now.

Which means I have to do everything in my power to keep the produce budget under control.

Apples are our go-to favorite. They’re inexpensive, easy to pack, and one of the few foods that all 3 of my girls like equally. The decision comes down to not only which apples to buy (Granny Smith for me, Red Delicious for the hubby), but how to buy them.

Apples can be purchased three different ways—by the pound, by the apple, and by the bag.

When you purchase by the pound, you can select the apples you want to be sure you’re getting higher quality. They typically run about $1/pound throughout the year. In the fall, and at you-pick orchards, they can be as low as $.50/pound.

You can also choose your own apples when you buy single, lunchbox apples. They are smaller sized apples and typically priced around $.30 each.

Similarly sized apples are often sold together in 3- to 5-pound bags for around $4. With these, you take what you get and my find bruised or damaged apples.

To figure out which apples are the better deal, you need to find a way to accurately compare prices.

Personally, I prefer the lunchbox apples. Not only do they more easily fit into a lunchbox, but they are a more reasonable serving size for my kids so there’s less waste. Plus, it is typically the better deal. At $.33 each, I can get 3 apples where the same number of apples, by the pound, would cost around $1.25.

In a $4 bag, I get around 12-13 lunchbox apples, so it’s close there. But, being able to choose my own apples and get a mixture of varieties guides me to buying individual apples. By the dozen!

You know, so they’ll last the *whole* day.

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