How much I save on veggies by living in Peru!

When we were home on furlough a few months ago, I nearly had a heart attack when I went to the store and saw the price of fruits and vegetables!! Granted, in the United States they are MUCH cleaner and look much more appealing to the eye than what I buy at the market here, but I thought some of you would appreciate a look at what I pay for my produce.

Side note: I buy per kilo which is approx 2.2 lbs. Also we pay in soles which is approx 2.9 soles to the dollar-almost 3/1.

Green apples: 3 soles per kilo, or $1 for 2 lbs
Carrots: 1 sol per kilo, or 0.30 for 2 lbs
Tomatoes: 1 sol per kilo, or 0.30 for 2 lbs
Lettuce: 50 centimos for a small head, or 0.15 per head (leafy)
Mandarin oranges: 2.5 soles per kilo, or approx 0.80 for 2 lbs
Bananas: 1 sol for 5 bananas, or 0.30 for 5 bananas
Green onion: 1 sol for a HUGE bunch, or 0.30 for a HUGE bunch
Celery: 50 centimos for a medium bundle, or 0.15 for a medium bundle
Sweet potato (for our dogs): 1.5 soles per kilo, or 0.50 for 2 lbs
Potatoes: 1.2 soles per kilo, or 0.41 for 2 lbs

So those are some of the vegetables I buy in the market and the prices I pay for them. Though honestly, what I wouldn't give most days for a big bag of pre-washed lettuce to just throw a salad together. You see, not only do I have to buy the produce from a market, but I have to bring it home and then wash each piece in an iodine solution to soak all the bugs off and disinfect the produce. It's soooo time consuming, as are most things here, but well, it makes me appreciate the clean, "thunderstorm", softly misted and washed produce in the supermarkets in the U.S.! However, my total market trip, plus the cost of a taxi to bring me home, was 32 soles, or just over $10. Read it and weep.