Smokey Hot Vegan Red Lentil Soup

This recipe for Smokey Hot Vegan Red Lentil Soup is so easy to make. It cooks up quick, tastes delicious and is kid approved.

Our tomatoes are ripening almost faster than we can pick them. I should add, we planted 16 cherry tomato plants, and 34 other tomato plant varieties. Don't ask me what I was thinking. Really, I can't give you an answer, other than we started them from seed and I couldn't handle the idea of "wasting" one of our precious baby plants.

We gifted quite a few plants to friends and I've been busy canning salsa's and diced tomatoes like it's my job. I plan to give a few gallon sized bags of cherry tomatoes away, but I also want to use up and save as much as I can too.

This recipe is perfect for those of you who may have an over-abundance of cherry tomatoes coming in from the garden right now.

It's also perfect for those of you wanting a nutritious, filling plant-based meal option. We are not Vegans (though I was a strict vegan for a while in my past), however we do make plant based meals multiple times each week. It's incredibly healthy, sustainable and less expensive than a meat based meal.

Scroll down to make this easy, tasty vegan lentil dish.

Smokey Hot Vegan Red Lentil Soup

2 TBSP Avocado Oil

1 Large Red Onion Chopped

2 lbs Cherry Tomatoes Cut in Half

1.5 Cups Red Lentils

4 Cups Vegetable Stock

1 Tsp Smoked Paprika

1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper Flakes

Salt & Pepper to Taste

Fresh Basil (for garnish - optional)

1) In a large stockpot or skillet with a tall edge, sauté the chopped red onion until caramelized over medium/high heat.  Season with salt and pepper.

2) Reduce heat to medium and add the tomatoes. Let simmer for a bit until most of the juices have been released.

3) Add red lentils, smoked paprika and pepper flakes, followed by one cup of vegetable stock. Simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed and then add another cup of stock. Continue doing this until the lentils are soft and tender.

4) Serve hot and garnished with fresh basil if desired. We found the basil added depth to the dish and really was a great addition.

Eating Well on a Budget Series - Part 5 - Avoiding Waste

A huge part of keeping food costs down is to not be wasteful.

I'm going to make the wild assumption that most of us do not consider ourselves wasteful. It's a relative term, and surely there are people who waste more than I do, just as there are many people who do not waste nearly as much as I do. The same can be said for you as well. I do believe it would be safe to say we could all be a little bit better at not wasting our food.

According to endhunger.org , 40% of the food in the U.S. is wasted. That's not only heartbreaking, it's also expensive.


I do my best to clean out our refrigerator once a week. My goal for each of these sessions is to be able to clean my fridge without having to throw anything out. I find myself making a lot of lunches each week that consist of little bits of this and little bits of that. It may not be exactly what I'm desiring at that given moment, but I think that's a good habit to form. There are very few places across the globe where people can eat exactly what they want, when they want and how they want it. We are fortunate enough to live in one of those few places and it's nice to be reminded of that and appreciate it from time to time. Don't get me wrong, I believe food should be enjoyed, and the process of eating should be a shared event whenever possible.


An added bonus to not wasting food is less garbage. In our community, we pay for garbage pick up and have a choice of either paying a flat monthly fee or per bag. When we first moved here, we figured out that we would save money every month in garbage pick up if we were able to keep our waste to one bag per week. It's not a huge savings, I estimate over the last 10 years it has saved us about $800 total. But it's more than just saving a few dollars, it's also leaving a smaller footprint on the earth. We have successfully been able to maintain that one bag of trash a week goal, even with the birth of three children and the addition of a few pets over the years. Sometimes we only have one bag every other week.


If you do your best to only buy what you need, and to use up every little scrap of what you have, you will likely be rewarded with extra money in your pocket.


Here are a few ways to avoid extra waste...

• Freeze your vegetable scraps until you fill up a gallon sized bag and then use to make soup stock.
• Use your coffee grounds as an exfoliant for your skin, or use them in your garden. Here's a link.
• Save the heel of your loaves of bread in the freezer. You can use them to make bread pudding, bread crumbs, or croutons once you have enough.
  
• If you're making a recipe that uses only egg whites, save the yolks and make something like lemon curd or a custard.
• Save the whey that separates from your yogurt by pouring it into a container with the date written on top. Keep adding the little bits of it to that same container until the expiration date on the original package has been reached or up to two weeks for homemade yogurts. You can use this for fermenting, or add it to smoothies, or in place of some of the water in bread recipes.
• Blanch and then freeze veggies before they turn if you won't use them up fast enough.
  
• Chop up and freeze fruit before it turns if you won't use it up fast enough.
• Save and freeze the small scraps of meat that are not enough for another meal, to use in a casserole or fried rice.
• When you make a pie crust, save the discarded bits, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and sugar and bake them for the kids to snack on as a treat.
• Experiment with different homemade granolas to use up nuts, seeds and dried fruits that have been hiding in the cabinet for too long.

This by no means covers everything you can do to save on waste, every family is different and uses different things. I would love to hear of some creative ways you use up what you have to avoid waste.
Have a great day!

Strawberries and Cream Yogurt Popsicles

I've found myself in a mad dash to use up all those strawberries I told  you about the other day. Unlike store bought, these only last a couple days. I really didn't want to just freeze them because I let them sit too long in our refridgerator already. So, with Austin gone at boyscout camp, the girls and I had fun playing around with new recipes. Some were really, really good, and some, well, not so much.

I think the favorite of our new found recipes had to be these frozen fruit pops. They taste great and really are a breeze to put together. In fact, my kids loved them so much, they asked to have them for breakfast. My first knee-jerk reaction was a giant NO. Then it dawned on me that they were only pureed fruit, and a bit of juice. Not much different than a smoothie. Needless to say, I let them have popsicles for breakfast and I was declared "The greatest mom in the world". My only qualm with these, is that even though they are all fruit, and fruit is healthy, it is still sugar. So to reduce the potential blood sugar spikes and energy crashes, I've added some fat and protein. Below is a recipe for our own strawberries and cream popsicle. They are so good, you almost forget they're actually healthy.



I think popsicle smoothies may become our summer breakfast of choice.

Strawberries and Cream Yogurt Pop's

What you need:

1 Cup plain yogurt (or canned coconut milk if you want it dairy free)

1 Cup quartered strawberries

1 Tbsp Raw Honey (or more to taste)

Equipment:

Potato masher

Popsicle mold

2 Large spoons

1) Mix the raw honey with the yogurt until completely blended.

2) In a separate bowl, mash the strawberries.

3) With one large spoon, put one full spoonful of yogurt mixture into the bottom of each pop mold. With your other large spoon, put one full spoonful of mashed strawberry mixture into each pop mold. Continue in this fashion until each mold is filled.

4) Follow directions for your specific popsicle mold. Mine goes right in the freezer and we left them there over night.

If you substitute a layer of mashed blueberries, these become a super cute and healthy 4th of July treat.

Have a great holiday weekend!

Eating Well On A Budget Series - Part 4 - Freezing



I really hope part 3 wasn't too overwhelming - or discouraging. I know I threw a lot out there. I also know that my pantry is not the norm (well pseudo pantry, I actually don't have one and use the laundry cabinet shelf and a couple shelves in my basement). You could easily spend $1,000 a month feeding a family of five the way I choose to feed mine, which is why budgeting, planning and freezing became so important to me. What is best for my family, may not be best for yours, or maybe it would be - it doesn't really matter. I would like to assume as a parent and an adult, we serve meals we all feel are healthy most of the time.

My main objective was not to say you need to buy all that food and store all those items to stay on a budget. In fact, going out and buying all that stuff would probably eat away a few months budget all in itself. Everything I listed are things I buy, but definitely don't go out and buy them every month. If by chance you do use some of the same food items I do, maybe one of the sources I listed is less expensive and can free up some money in your budget. That was the purpose behind the resource post.

Regardless of how you choose to eat, or any special diets you need to adhere to, I do believe following the ideas in this series will save you some money assuming you are not already implementing them.

Now, on to my favorite part - freezing!

I seriously love my freezer. Without it, I would either be a stressed out, frazzled mom without time to do much else but cook, or I would be ordering a lot of take out. I currently have a separate upright freezer that is stored in our garage, however I have been successfully freezing and reaping the benefits for years prior to owning that large freezer.

Don't throw in the towel if you don't have a ton of freezer space, you likely don't need it unless you plan on purchasing a large amount of meat to store (which is exactly why we bought it). I have a friend who could run circles around my budget, she freezes ALL the time and she only has a basic refrigerator/freezer combo. Her secret is keeping it organized and cleaning it out regularly. This way she never forgets what she has and nothing ever goes to waste. She has helped me immensely over the years and I am forever grateful. If you do decided you want to invest in a large freezer, check craigslist and your local paper for used ones in good condition.

We talked about freezing a bit in the planning portion of this series. Making double recipes and freezing the second batch for another quick meal. Again, hands down, I believe this is a huge part of sticking to a budget and being able to have homemade healthy meals on a regular basis while avoiding burn out. I had to figure that one out the hard way.

Here's a quick list of ways to save money using your freezer:

• Put peeled over-ripe bananas in the freezer to use for smoothies, to dip in melted chocolate, make dairy-free 5 minute ice cream, or to thaw out later for a bread/muffin recipe.
• Make the largest batches you can of your favorite recipes to keep on hand for busy nights or mornings.
• Buy extra amounts of fresh vegetables at the farmers market, blanch and then freeze them for future use.
• Potatoes are another favorite to freeze. Buy a huge bag when they go on sale and you can make then freeze mashed potatoes, hash-browns, potato skins with bacon and cheese (left over from the mashed), potato wedges, home-fries and twice baked potatoes.
• Stocks - When we cook meat with bones, we either add the bones to a bag in the freezer for future stock-making once it's filled, or if we just cooked a chicken, we put the carcass in the stockpot right away to simmer overnight. If I don't make soup the following day, I'll freeze what I have.
• Cheese freezes so well, as long as you don't pack it too tight in the container. I buy an $8 block of cheddar that yields about 12 cups of shredded cheese. My husband or I will shred the whole thing at once, divide it up among freezer containers and then just pull out what we need when we need it. The best part about cheese is that even if you forget to pull it out and put it in the fridge ahead of time, it thaws so fast it really doesn't matter.
• Onions are great to freeze. I just chop off the ends, peel the skins and then put them in the freezer whole. The best part about this is chopping a frozen onion will never make you cry.
• Reducing waste by freezing. An entire post needs to be written about this one, and that post will be the final segment in this series.

Remember, you can't do it all at once. Take a few ideas and implement them bit by bit. They will turn into habits and you won't even notice them anymore. Once you have a new habit ingrained (and this requires commitment), that is when you should add more. As I've said before, this has been a long journey for me, almost 10 years. I still have room to grow and learn.

Strawberries and Pie

 

 

We went for our first round of strawberry picking this weekend. We go back often, until berry season is over, so the first batch typically gets eaten up by tiny fingers within minutes. If I'm lucky I can sneak a few handfuls away for recipes I want to try or for our family favorites. The very first thing we did when we got home was make strawberry pie.

We came home with 20 pounds of strawberries, which allowed me an entire eight quarts of berries to play with. I have a large freezer that allows me to bake/cook in large batches and freeze what is not eaten right away. Which in turn frees up a lot of time, saves me money and is stress-free. In fact, I have an entire post to share all about freezing. It's part of the Eating Well On A Budget Series  (click the link if you want to read parts 1-3).

I thought I would share some pictures of my little helpers...

 

 

 

What are some of your favorite strawberry recipes?

 

Eating Well on a Budget Part 3 - Sourcing Your Items Inexpensively

You have your plan. You have your list. Now the next step is getting all those items you need without spending a fortune.

** This list also has local options for those that live in the area, but most of these can be found nation wide. **

If your pantry is pretty bare, or you have been living off of boxed or cellophane wrapped food, the first month, possibly two, will be slightly more expensive. Don't panic though, the little bit extra you spend now, will save you ten times as much down the road.

Below you will see a list of categories. Under each category, is the description of what I typically buy, and beneath that is where I purchase the items. Remember, I don't make more than one shopping trip a week - it isn't worth the gas money, time spent or possible impulse buys that come with the extra trips. I also am an Amazon Prime member, and order a lot of my specialty items that would normally have me driving from small shop to small shop, online. So, sometimes I pay a little more for something I know I can get cheaper somewhere else, but that usually only involves fruit and veggies because I have a well stocked pantry. You will too if you continue with this plan.


Bulk Spices and Yeast
This is where some extra money is placed upfront, but pays back in the end. I buy spices in bulk, so it's not very often I run out and I save a ton of money by not purchasing those tiny $3 containers of spice that last a month at most. Don't go out and buy a million spices at once, just pick up what you need for that month. Before you know it, you'll have an entire cabinet of accumulated spices.

Mountain Rose Herbs - online (organic options) - I absolutely love this company. They offer almost every spice imaginable, and at a very reasonable price. The only qualm I have is the cost of shipping can offset the savings if you don't buy enough in one purchase.
Joseph's - local - While these are not organic, they are bulk and of good quality. Hands down, this is the cheapest place to buy spices that I can find. I pay about $3 for each spice and have enough to fill a pint sized mason jar. That's a lot! Most spices have a shelf life of one year, and I almost never finish the entire jar. I've started filling jam sized mason jars instead and giving the extra to friends. You could be even more frugal and split a bag of spice with a friend, so you would both end up paying about $1.50.
Costco - membership needed - I typically make my own spice blends from the basics I keep on hand, but occasionally my husband likes to grab a bbq rub or grilling seasoning mix he knows he likes. Again, these are super cheap, about $4 for 20 plus ounces. This is also where I buy yeast. Making yeasted breads from scratch almost lose their cost effectiveness (though still a whole lot healthier than store bought) when you buy those little pre-measured packets. For the cost of six packets (enough for six loaves of bread), I can buy a bulk package of yeast that will last 2 years (that's how long it will stay active in the freezer) assuming I bake 4 loaves of bread each week. The savings comes out to about $96 dollars a year - or one week's worth of groceries at our house.

Grains and Flours
This is an area that I just started to consider buying in bulk for the long-term. What I mean by that is instead of just buying a large 5 pound bag, I could be buying the very large 25 pound (or more!) bags that come in food-grade resealable buckets. The larger bulk buckets are marketed more towards "prepers", but considering most unprocessed grains have a shelf of 10 plus years and the price of the larger amount can save you more than 50%, it makes sense. The food grade containers are a must, unless you can transfer the grains to air tight containers that will keep tiny buys and kritters out. The last thing you want to do is open up your bag of rice and find you have to trash the entire thing because it has been contaminated. Keep in mind also, this is only for unprocessed whole grains - never buy that much flour unless you have the room in your freezer to store it. Once a grain is ground into flour, it starts oxidizing immediately. The longer flour is exposed to oxygen, the less nutritious it is and it will, within a short time span, go rancid unless the bran and germ have been removed. I'm currently stashing a little bit of money aside each week to save up for a grain mill. I've thought about it for years and have finally decided that the expense is worth the option of storing more grains, and having fresh, nutrient rich flour on hand whenever I need it.

Costco - membership needed - I get most of my grains here, specifically oatmeal (10lbs - $6.50), Organic brown rice (12lbs - $12) and popcorn kernals.
Joesphs - I buy most of my specialty flours at Joesphs. Items from Bob's Red Mill tend to be priced lower here than anywhere else I have found locally or online.
Amazon (online) - This has been my best source for ancient wheat (heirloom), specifically Einkorn and Farro (Emmer). I don't use a lot of it because it is expensive and we limit the amount of wheat in our diets. This is also where I buy my King Arthur flour - both whole red wheat and whole white wheat.
Survival Acres (http://survivalacres.com/shop/) - If you have the space, inclination and extra money, this online site is the best I've found for bulk whole grains. You would be buying 25-50lbs at a time, but it will last you years.


Nuts, Seeds and Beans
I try to keep a variety of nuts and seeds around the house. They're used for baking, snacking and in meals. As for beans, those are always purchased dried. The cost savings between buying bulk dried beans versus canned is huge - it's also healthier.

Joesph's - I buy most of our whole raw nuts and seeds here. You will find them in the bulk section.
Costco (membership needed) - Here I will pick up whole organic quinoa, organic chia, ground flax, walnuts, pecans and almond butter.
Amazon - (online) Honeyville Almond Flour is actually cheaper purchased here provided you group it with more orders. I order organic cacao nibs, dried gogi berries and sunbutter as well.
**As far as bulk dried beans go, I pick them up where ever I happen to be. I have yet to come across an expensive bag of dried beans.**

Dairy, Dairy Alternatives and Eggs
I'm pretty picky about my dairy - I know, I'm strange. I won't buy dairy at all unless it has either been fermented or aged(yogurts/cheese), most of the casein has been removed (heavy cream, butter) or has been low-vat pasteurized (read more about that here). Even with low-vat pasteurization, I limit dairy milk to one gallon every other week or so and half of that gets turned into yogurt. I have also been called a butter snob more than once or twice in my life. I pretty much only buy Kerrygold butter, imported from Ireland and made from 100% grass fed cows. If I happen to be in a pinch and need butter but can't find my usual, I look first for imported butters from Europe (they have much stricter food standards than we do), and if I can't find those, then I grab organic. I'll go into the reasoning behind all of this in another post - I can sense eye glazing...

Joseph's - Kalona SuperNatural low-vat pasteurized organic whole milk (pricey but worth every penny) and a small cup of their yogurt if I don't have any leftover from my last batch.
Costco (membership) - Organic Eggs - if I'm not currently picking them up from the Woodstock Farmer's market, I buy them here (24 eggs for $6), Mountain High plain yogurt (4lbs is $4) we mix our own flavors quickly and easily by adding honey, maple syrup, jam, apple-butter, dried fruit, granola or puffed rice. Almond milk, and rice milk can be bought in bulk slightly cheaper. Most of our cheese comes from costco because it's so much cheaper and can easily be frozen and then pulled out to thaw quickly when needed. I usually buy a large block of Tillamonk Cheddar for $7 and that will give me roughly 12 cups of shredded cheese. This is where I buy my Kerrygold butter. It costs around $6.50 for 3 cups of butter. That may seem high, but it's the cheapest I have been able to source it, and with other stores charging closer to $4 for 1 cup, it's a good price. Nutritionally, it would be worth the $4 a cup, in my opinion. Again, I buy up a lot of butter when I find it (it is not available year round at Costco), and store it in my freezer.

Meat
I try to keep our meat sources local and pasture raised or grass-fed. I buy a lot of our beef and poultry at the farmer's market. If the items I'm looking for are not available there, or are priced beyond my means, I typically buy the rest at Costco. As a side note, if you're purchasing bison, lamb or game meat, these items are usually high quality everywhere. It's the conventional, mass-produced items (think beef, poultry & pork) that contain the highest amounts of antibiotics and are given unsatisfactory diets. You most definetly are what you eat in this category. If the meat you're eating was raised poorly, the nutrition you get from it is also poor.

Farmer's Market - I only buy beef from a local farmer - Michele Aavang at Willow Lea Stock Farm. Her animals are treated well, grass-fed for the majority of their lifespan and I have always been beyond happy with anything I've purchased from her. Our family recently made the decision to invest in half a cow with another family and I would do it again in heartbeat. If you have the freezer space and the money set aside - you can save a ton of money. We also pick up bratworst, lard and whole chickens here. Check www.localharvest.com to see if you have a farmer near by.
Costco - (membership)- If you don't have access to a local source of grass-fed beef, Costco offers organic ground beef. As much as I would love to buy whole chickens (and we only buy the whole chicken, never the packaged cuts), sometimes my budget can not support it. You can buy organic whole chickens at a pretty reasonable price. We buy canned wild Alaskan salmon and sardines packed in olive oil here as well.

Fruits and Veggies
The most economical thing to do here is grow your own, however, for a lot of us (including myself), that is not an option. You can grow your own herbs in small containers just about anywhere, and you should. One basil plant can cost as much as 3 seed packets - think of all that basil you could get! Try it, you'll be happy you did.

Farmer's Market - I try to buy whatever I can while it's in season at the market. I will buy up extras and either freeze or can as much as possible to have during the winter. Sometimes it pays to go to the market near the end of the day, produce is sometimes marked down dramatically or even given away - this doesn't happen all the time so don't count on it, but it has happened to me more than a few times and I've been super grateful.
Joseph's - I love the produce here, as well as the prices and the variety is huge.
Local Grocer - You're local grocery store will likely have fresher produce than any of the big box discount stores. The fresher your fruit and veggies, the more nutrition they maintain.
Costco (membership) - I stock up on giant bags of frozen organic fruits and vegetables here. I end up paying about $1 per pound on average, sometimes less. I also buy dried dates, figs and raisins here.

Coffee, teas, and other drinks
Aside from our nut/rice milks, we pretty much stick to water and sometimes 100% orange or grape juice. I'm the only one in the house that drinks coffee and tea, so we don't spend a whole lot here.

Costco (membership) - I can buy large 2.5 lb bags of organic or fair trade whole coffee beans (they offer ground too) for about $10 - that's almost a 50% savings from even the box box stores.
Mountain Rose Herbs - You buy organic, loose leaf teas here that are phenomenal. Again, just make sure to have more than one or two items on your buying list before you order from them or the cost of shipping will out-weigh the savings.
Amazon - If you're looking for something specific, check here before driving all over town.

Condiments and Sweeteners
As a rule, I try to keep the amount of sweeteners in our diets low, which in turn helps offset the expense. We try to use honey, maple syrup, blackstrap molasses, applesauce, bananas and dates to sweeten most of our recipes. I large bag of organic sugar will last us six or months unless I'm doing holiday baking.

Farm Bureau - Local honey - we pay $9 for three pounds.
Costco (membership) - Organic sugar, maple syrup, and dates.
Amazon - If you don't have a Costco membership and can't talk someone you know who does have one into picking stuff up for you, check here.


Oh. My. Goodness.


If you're still with me, kudos to you - you must really want to eat well on a budget. That was a long, and daunting list. Do not let it overwhelm you. I wanted to share where I find the best prices for the best food I can afford. Some of this might work for you and some of it won't and that's okay. I've been watching my dollars and food budget for over seven years and this is where I am - I still have room to learn and grow but I'm leaps and bounds ahead of where I started. Take your time and don't stress yourself out. Personally, I've turned saving grocery money into a game and every month I try to beat my last score (dollars not spent) while still eating very well.


If you know of an inexpensive resource, by all means, please share in the comments section below. I know I would love to hear about it and so would other readers.


Part 4 of this series - Freezing Food - Make your grocery money work for you will be available soon.

Grain Free Banana Bread Recipe

I thought a recipe post would be a nice break from the Eat Well on a Budget Series. I'll have Part 3 available for you soon. In the mean time, you should go make this Grain Free Banana Bread Recipe  - it's so easy and tastes delicious!

**This post was originally written for a blog I ran for a short time and is no longer online. I thought it would fit well here.**

We try to vary our diet as much as possible, especially when it comes to grains and starches. If you follow the Standard American Diet, think about how many times a day you ingest wheat (probably at least 5 servings, and that's a really low estimate). Now, imagine you were to replace every time you ate wheat in a day, with eggs. Would you really eat that many eggs in one day? Probably not. Just like you wouldn't eat that many potatoes in a day or apples and so on.

Variety is key to a balanced, healthy, nutrient dense diet. So while we do eat some wheat (and we change it up from Hard Red, Hard White, Spelt & Einkorn), we don't typically have more than one serving a day.  We also regularly eat oats, corn, buckwheat and other starches like beans. We have recently added organic coconut flour to our diets - it's a rich source of fiber, protein and healthy fats. It has a natural slightly sweet flavor, which reduces the amount of sweetener you need in baked goods and a little bit goes a long way.

This recipe is a HUGE household favorite. An entire loaf disappears in less than a day. Thankfully it's really easy to make and is loaded with healthy ingredients. You can find the original recipe here.

Grain Free Banana Bread
4 large Bananas
6 Pastured/organic eggs
8 Whole pitted dates (Unless you're using medjool dates, then cut in amount in half)
1/2 C Coconut Flour
1/4 C Chia Seeds
2 tsp Pure Vanilla extract
1/4 C Organic Coconut oil
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder

Optional:
Unsweetened coconut flakes
Dark chocolate chips


1) Preheat oven to 350

2) In a food processor, combine bananas, eggs, dates, oil, cinnamon, vanilla and baking powder. Puls until creamy and fully combined.

3) Add the coconut flour and chia sees, pulse until fully combined and then let rest for 5 minutes.

4) Use coconut oil to grease a loaf pan, then line with parchment paper so that it folds over the sides.

5) Pour the batter into the loaf pan. If you want to add dark chocolate chips, gently fold them into the batter after it is in the loaf pan. Garnish with cinnamon and unsweetened coconut.

6) Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.

How To Eat Well on a Budget - Part Two - Grocery & To Make List

Photo Credit

**This is part of an on-going series. If you missed part one, click here.**

It's been a few days. I hope that gave you enough time to let the planning part of this series sink in. I also hope you made a plan. I needed a few days to sort out my momma-mind and organize this post for you. Win-win for us both, right?

Okay, so now that you have your whole month of meals planned out - or at least your dinners, you need to make a grocery list. The biggest money saver of this activity is shopping in your house. Yup, you heard me right, to eat well on a budget, you need to shop your house.

The second biggest money saver (actually this is just as important as the first) - you have to be willing to cook and bake. Don't know how? Or think your cooking sucks? Just start. It really is that easy. The more you do something, the better you will get at it. It's inevitable. Don't believe me? I was THE WORST cook/baker when I first got married. In fact, I hated it so much, I hardly ever did it. I love it now, almost to a fault, but if you would have told me I would be like this, back when I was a newly wed - I would have thought you were crazy.

Now that we have that out of the way...

The third biggest money saver and an easy way to save a ton on groceries is to forego the packaged foods. When we first started to transition to a healthier, real food diet, the first thing I did was stop buying packaged snack food. No more boxed cookies, breakfast cereals, crackers, bake mixes, puddings, juice boxes, chips and so on. This is much easier to do when you have small children. If your children are older and set in their habits, only buy half the packaged foods (sticking with the healthiest you can) and then slowly transition to none. The goal here is to not start a war in the house over food.

The easiest snack food in the world is fruit and raw veggies. I let my kids eat these whenever they want, and it's not only quick and easy, it's healthy. Our bodies were not created in a lab, and they are not designed to thrive off of food created by science. This is where the "To Make List" comes into play, and I'll explain that more in a moment.

Compile all your recipe ingredients to see what you need in order to make what you want for the month (don't forget to double your quantities - remember, you're cooking two dinners each night to save you from having to do it another night the following week). Now, look in your fridge, your freezer, your pantry (or in my case my basement) and check off everything you already have. Doing this alone will save tons. This turned into a huge deal for me once we started shopping at bulk warehouses. Those big bulk buys can save you tons of money, provided you actually use it all up before it goes bad or you forget about it and double purchase. I've read other blogs where people keep an updated spreadsheet and I think that's amazing and give them so much credit, but I just don't have that in me. I guess I'm not "Type A" enough? Either way, if you're a space-cadet, creative, sleep deprived mom like me, you can still achieve the same goal by doing a quick glance over your freezer, fridge and storage - it takes five minutes and sometimes less, even if those things are on different levels of your house. Write down what you need to buy.

Now take a look at that list. What is on it that you want to purchase organic or local? In our house, we place buying locally at the top of our priority, followed by organic, then minimally processed. I consider myself lucky that we live in an area where farms are literally 2 minutes away and we have a lot of options. If you live in a city or non-farming area, you likely have a farmers market near by (please support your local farmers, they need it), and if not, your grocery store will more often than not advertise that an item is locally sourced. Locally sourced food, in my opinion is your best bet because it costs less to get it to your table, is fresher and eats up less energy than items (think fruit and vegetables) that have to be flown in.

If you plan your meals around what's in season, you'll save more money. Now, there is a catch to this. If something on your list is from the "dirty dozen" - the list of foods with the highest concentration pesticides (click here for this years dirty dozen), buy it organic, unless you're purchasing directly from the farmer and can ask questions. An example of this would be strawberries. Strawberries are always near the top of the dirty dozen list every year. For the life of me, I can not find organic strawberries worth their price anywhere, and of course, they are a favorite in my house. We do, however have an abundance of "pick your own" strawberry farms near by, and one in particular that is just down the street from us - lucky us! I found out that the farm by us only sprays a small amount of watered down pesticide on their plants, prior to the fruit actually budding, once, and that's it. My daughter used to get a rash on the sides of her mouth from eating strawberries from the store, but when she eats strawberries that we pick ourselves she's fine - makes you think, huh? I take my children strawberry picking about every other week during the season. We gather as much as we possibly can and make jam, pies, and freeze whole berries - enough for the entire year. I know they think I'm strange, I typically get a "You guys are back AGAIN?" from someone, but it's always with a smile and sometimes a discount. It also makes for an inexpensive summer activity to keep the kids happy and busy - they love it, I love it, again, win-win.

I suppose this brings up another point, the freezer. If you can find an additional freezer (assuming you don't already have one), get it - it's worth the investment. Check the energy costs if you're not sure, but if you have a family, and cook most of your meals at home, I can almost guarantee it will be worth it. Check Craigslist or your newspaper for used ones. I got super lucky a couple years ago and found an almost new upright freezer on craigslist for only $100. It was worth every penny.

Okay, so back to the list. If you only buy exactly what you need, I'm pretty sure you can find a way to squeeze in some organic produce into your budget. If not though, don't skimp on the produce - local, organic or not, it's always healthier to eat the produce than to skip it because it's not "pure" enough.

Incase you're getting lost or over-whelmed, here's a quick breakdown of the shopping order.

• Buy it local
• Buy it organic
• Buy it at a warehouse
• Buy it at a store

I should also add that the longer you do this, the cheaper and easier it will get. I only go shopping for groceries once a week, and sometimes less. Most of the time it's for "filler" items that I don't already have on hand. Where ever the bulk of the items I need to get are located, that's where I pick up all of my items. So instead of stopping at four different places and getting exactly what I want from each store and "saving" $5, I buy it all at one place. Sometimes that means I'm at Costco picking up produce (that may not be as organic or local as I want) as well as my huge package of toilet paper. Don't get crazy or elitist about your shopping. You always have to take into consideration the gas money involved in getting from point A to point B. If you're riding your bike to the store with a trailer, well then, that's entirely different and you should go to as many places as you want.

It pretty much boils down to just sticking to the list, and nothing more. Don't allow yourself to be tempted into impulse buys. You can avoid this by eating prior to shopping (buying food while you're hungry is never a good idea, trust me), and if your kids can't handle all the goldfish and ice cream rejections, go alone if you can. I've gone grocery shopping at midnight - not exactly my idea of a night out, but sometimes it's necessary.

Now, on to the "To Make List". Eating well on a budget and saving money on food is easy when you have a plan. Just like you made a plan for the month with meals, you should make a plan of what items you want to make ahead for quick breakfasts, snacks and what I like to refer to as The Mad Dash Out The Door Because We're Running Late foods (by the way, we're always running late).

Here's a list of what is typically on my "To Make List"(though not every week so don't get scared):
-Bread
-Pumpkin Scones
-Oatmeal Breakfast "Cookies"
-Waffles
-Pancakes
-Breakfast Sausage Patties
-Biscuits, rolls or burger buns
-Granola
-Granola bars
-Ketchup
-Mayo

Just like your dinners, you're going to be making more than you need. Anything that can be frozen, I highly recommend making quadruple what you need. Seriously. If I'm about to make something that I know my whole family likes, I make the biggest batch I can and freeze everything we don't use.

I can't tell you how nice it is to just pull something out of the freezer and pop it in the toaster in the mornings, or do a quick defrost in the microwave. One giant batch of pancakes or waffles will last us two months, easy, because we don't eat them every morning. I'm pretty sure anyone reading this could handle making pancakes six times a year.

I think that's it for now. Part 3 is coming soon. Please feel free to ask questions if you have any - I read every comment left on this blog.

Take care!
-Lisa

How To Eat Well on a Budget - Part One

The other day, a facebook friend wrote a post about not being able to afford organic food on a $400 dollar a month grocery budget. I don't normally participate on subjects that I think might spark a debate - I have better ways to spend my time. Sorry, but it's the truth. Anyway, I like this person and I feel pretty strongly about the subject and felt the need to chime in. I'm glad I did, everything ended on a positive note. But that got me thinking - she can't be the only person who feels this way, so maybe it's worth writing a post about.

So here's my problem. I get so overly excited about food, and cooking, and budgeting and health and, and, and.... exactly. I have a really hard time organizing all my thoughts on this subject in a way that will come out clearly, concise and easily understood. I also wanted to provide actual resources. I have spent the last 4 or so years of my life eating fairly well, in my opinion, and doing it inexpensively. The catch though, is that in order to save money, I need to shop at different places. I also don't have the time, energy or gas money to be driving all over town or the town over every week - so planing is involved.

Thus, my dear friend, a series is needed. For fear of overwhelming you, or my A.D.D. kicking in (no really) or my kids burning down the house in an attempt to pry me from the computer, this subject needs to be broken up into segments.

Here's the plan...

Part 1 - Meal Planning
Part 2 - Grocery and To Make List
Part 3 - Sourcing your items inexpensively (if you live by me you're in luck! I'm giving you all my "places")
Part 4 - Freezing
Part 5 - Avoiding Waste

Phew! I'm exhausted just looking at that. I can promise you this, however, at first it will seem like a giant pain in the ass, because, well, it is. But, after a couple weeks, it turns into second nature. The biggest pay-off is you'll be eating super healthy most of the time, not to mention the money not spent. Change the way you think about your money. Instead of thinking "How much money will this cost me?", think "How many hours of my life do I need to exchange for this?" I use this with my kids when they're begging to go out to eat (which is at least 4 times a week - we go out about once a week - they are not deprived). I explain that one meal out is sometimes all the money I make in a night waiting tables. So, would they rather spend an entire night with me home and the whole family together, or would they rather go eat that meal that more often than not leaves them with a bellyache. I was honestly scared the first time I asked my kids this question, but thankfully they chose quality family time over a dinner out.

Ok, on to the good stuff. Let's start with meal planning. It's really easy to eat well on a budget as long as you plan your meals. Truly, I believe this makes up 80% of your total expenditure. So just getting this part down will save you lots of money. Now, I'm about to ask something of you that might make you want to throw in the towel - don't do it! Stick with me, it gets better I promise! I want you to plan your entire month's worth of meals. Yes, that's right, a whole month. It might seem intimidating at first but let me break it down for you. You technically only really need two weeks worth of breakfasts, lunches and dinners. That's 14 days. Sound a little better?

Think about what your family actually enjoys eating at these meals. Don't try and drastically overhaul your food choices yet, that's another series all in and of itself. I tend to keep my breakfasts and lunches really simple, which keeps costs low and my sanity in check.

Here's an example of our low-cost breakfasts:

Scrambled or Fried eggs and fresh fruit
Yogurt and frozen fruit smoothies (I throw greens in there if we have them)
Pre-made-my-me Waffles, Pancakes or Fruit Tarts pulled from the freezer & popped in the toaster
Homemade Granola with dried fruit & whole milk
Breakfast tacos using El Milagro corn tortillas (3 ingredients in these babies - corn, water & lime)
Cracked Wheat with berries and cream

And now our lunches:
Open-face sandwiches with a side of chopped fresh veggies & butternut squash hummus dip
Salads make with mixed greens, whatever meat scraps we have leftover from a previous meal, any on hand veggies & homemade dressing
Extras from non-frozen leftovers (I'll explain in a moment)
Eggs any way with toast and butter
Cheesy Tacos
Tortilla pizzas (again using El Milagro tortillas or homemade ones - whichever I have on hand)

Now comes the biggest part. Dinners.

We have a pretty hectic schedule and three to four nights of the week, we're running from camps to practices or to the sitter's so I can work and so on. I do my best to plan out two bigger, more involved dinners, and then keep the rest super simple and inexpensive. Any time I cook anything for dinner, I double the recipe. This is where my sanity is saved. I immediately pack up and freeze the extra meal to use either the following week or week after. By doing this, I technically only have to cook dinner two weeks out of the month. If you have the freezer space and the motivation, you could easily make three or four times the amount and save yourself (and your energy bill) that much more. My family rarely finishes an entire recipe, so what's left from the original meal becomes lunch for the next day. If, by chance they do finish it all, I use one of our easy fill in lunches listed above. As I write this (late Saturday night), I have just finished up a week's worth of cooking meals, so next week all I have to do is remember to pull out our meals from the freezer the night before and let them hang out in our fridge until they need reheating for dinner.

Many times, by Friday or Saturday, we start to run low on pre-made dinners/left-overs. I've found a quick, easy and inexpensive solution to this problem. Left-over casserole. Love it! I cook up some rice with any remaining chicken stock I have or water if I'm out, make a simple white sauce using milk, butter and flour (recipe coming soon) and toss in any left over or about to turn veggies or meat from the fridge. Mix it all up in a casserole dish and sprinkle cheese on top, toss it in the oven until the cheese is melted, and there's dinner.


I hope I didn't overwhelm you. I also hope I gave you a good starting off point to start saving on your grocery bill. I realize I left out the buying organic info, I'll tackle that in the next post - Part 2 - Grocery and To Make List.

Have a great weekend! And if you're a dad, happy Father's Day!

-Lisa

Natural Clay Toothpaste

 

A few months ago, Chris and I had just finished a date night dinner and on the way home decided to stop at our local health food store. I'm not sure what it is about being sans kids in a store together, but it makes my husband goofy. Kind of a "Who are you and what did you do with my husband" - goofy. That night was no different. We were over by the natural beauty products and he started untwisting lotions and creams and jars to sniff them - which I guess is normal if you don't add weird snorting noises while you're doing it. I was too busy laughing at him to pay attention to what he was doing and before we knew it, a cloud of green powder jumped out at us and decorated the floor, the shelves, our shoes...

 

Long story short, after a lot of cleaning and apologizing on our part, we left the store with a not quite full container of Indian Healing Clay.

 

It has sat on my shelf ever since.

 

I'm not a big facial mask type of person, which is what the directions say to use it for, so that clay was never reopened.

 

Until yesterday. I ran out of toothpaste and I am bound and determined to not spend money on things I can make at home. Toothpaste is no exception.

 

Over Christmas, my mom gifted me the ebook DIY Organic Beauty - thanks mom! I remembered seeing a lot recipes that called for bentonite clay. I checked out my "Indian Healing Clay" and sure enough, that's what it was.

 

There are tons of homemade natural toothpaste recipes out there (like this and this), but I wanted to try this one first because I have the clay and want to use it up.

 

 

 

 

 

I won't lie, the idea of brushing my teeth with clay is still a little unsettling.

 

  After doing quite a bit of research on the subject, I've decided to always make my own toothpaste. It's just a matter of finding the right one for us. I did read online that the clay toothpaste has helped people with sensitive teeth.

 

Chris has very sensitive teeth. So that was what I focused on when I showed him this lovely jar of green clay that I expect him to put in his mouth.

 

 

 

 

Then, to highlight just how non-gross it would be, I picked up my toothbrush, scooped a little bit up with an espresso spoon and spread it on the bristles.

 

I turned on the water, started brushing and you know what? It wasn't gross at all.

 

It was different, for one it doesn't foam, but toothpaste doesn't need to foam. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, an ingredient in toothpaste, is used for the sole purpose of letting you know what you're doing is actually "working" by lathering. It's a marketing ploy (honest! - you can even read about it in this book that is all about marketing and NOT about toothpaste). Did you know that sodium lauryl sulfate - you know that stuff you put in your mouth twice a day - is used to degrease engines?

 

The taste of the clay toothpaste really was just like minty baking soda.

 

Afterword, my teeth were clean and my breath was fresh. Overall, I'm really happy with this will likely continue to use it.

I'm fairly certain, because of the texture, I will have to find another solution for my children.

 

What are your thoughts on homemade toothpaste?

 

Do you have a favorite toothpaste recipe?

 

I would love to hear what you have to say!

 

Have a great day!

~ Lisa

 

** This post is part of a natural livng link party over at Frugal by Choice **

How to Make Your Own Ricotta Cheese and the Bad Side of Ultra-Pasteurized Milk

 

 

For a couple of years now, I have been passively searching for a way to get my hands on raw milk. You would think living minutes away from huge dairy farms, that this wouldn't be that difficult. It has been though. I'm not the type of person to go knocking on barn doors or cold calling farmers. I've made a few calls and emails to the contacts listed in online directories that are supposed to help connect farmers and customers, but nothing has amounted from that.

 

I always buy organic milk, but everything available in the stores has been ultra pasteurized. This is a shame because a good chunk of what's so beneficial in organic milk gets destroyed in that process, including the very enzymes needed to aid in digestion of it. Did you know, once milk has been ultra-pasteurized, it can sit on a shelf, unrefrigerated for days, even weeks and it won't go bad? It's not on a shelf though, because stores and their big-wigs know we wouldn't buy it if we knew how long it could sit. I won't go off on a rant, but this is part of my driving force to educate my children about whole, real food. It's one of the reasons teaching them to grow their own food and appreciate their local farmers is so important to me.

 

Anyway, back to the cheese. You can't make any sort of cheese with ultra-pasteurized milk for the reasons I listed above. It just won't curdle.

 

Can I tell you how excited I was when I found organic low-vat temperature pasteurized milk? People in the store probably thought I was crazy - seeing some weird lady squealing about milk. My reaction must have rubbed off on Stella too because she hugged that jug of milk all the way out the door. Thankfully I bought two half gallons so I didn't have to pry the jug out of her fingers. The lady checking us out got a good laugh from it too. This may just be the closest I will ever get to raw milk, and I'm good with that.

 

For local readers, I found the milk at Joesph's in Crystal Lake for $4.50 per half-gallon. Try it, it's sooo good!

 

 

 

On to the ricotta!

 

I had no idea how easy it is to make ricotta cheese. If you can pour milk and lemon juice in a pot, you can make it, seriously.

 

I followed the instructions listed in the book The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making and I let it hang a bit longer. 

 

 

 

 

It really was as easy as putting the milk and lemon juice in a pot and attaching a candy thermometer. I only stirred it twice the entire time.

 

 

 

 

It looks a little funky at the end of the cooking process, but this is normal. The curds are separating from the whey.

 

 

 

 

I draped a large cloth napkin over a colander that was nested in a pot and just poured everything in. The above picture is what was left.

 

 

 

 

I wanted a drier ricotta so I attached it to my faucet to drip dry for about an hour.

 

 

 

 

And this is what I got! So easy! You end up with A LOT of whey after making ricotta cheese. I couldn't just throw this away, or I would have felt like I was throwing money away. I had about three cups of it, so I used it instead of water to make two loafs of this Grandmother Bread. It was the first time making this bread, and I think I just might have a new favorite. My kids alone finished off almost an entire loaf in one day.

Homemade Chicken Broth Recipe

 

Welcome back! Today is the final day in my week of immune-boosting recipes! If you missed the previous days, be sure to check them out here.

 

I'm sure at some point in your life, when you had a cold, someone suggested chicken soup. I think most of us just chalk it up to an old-school recommendation. Believe it or not, chicken soup actually does help cure a cold. Read more about that here. It has to be homemade though.

 

This is another easy recipe, it just takes some time and a little planning ahead.

 

 

What you need:

 

1 Cooked Whole Chicken - meat picked off

1-2 bay leaves

Peppercorns

1 large onion sliced

2-3 Carrots chopped

1-2 Stalks of celery chopped

6 Cups of water

Large Stock Pot with lid

Colander or mesh sieve

 

 

 

1) Put the whole picked over chicken in the stock pot and cover with the six cups of water. Add bay leaves, peppercorns, onion, carrots and celery.

 

2) Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 1 hour, skimming off any fat that rises to the top. I usually cover mine with a lid.

 

3) After an hour, remove from heat and pour the liquid into a heat safe container or another pot, with either a colander or fine mesh sieve.

 



 

 

That's it! Super easy, just a little time consuming.

 

 

I buy our free-range chickens from a local farmer and end up paying about $12 each. That may seem like a lot, however I can typically get about two real dinners out of the chicken meat, and I end up with 4-6 cups of stock for soup and cooking. So if you were to add all that up, I think it's a pretty good deal.

 

If you want to make chicken soup, all you have to do is add some noodles, extra veggies and salt and pepper to taste. We make these noodles.



 

Pair your soup with some crunchy homemade bread or rolls and you've got a quick, nutritious and warm lunch or dinner!

 

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

-Lisa

Garlic and Oil Saute Recipe

This is day four in my week of immune-boosting recipes. If you missed the other days, be sure to click here!

  Garlic is a great health-booster, and in my opinion necessary in a healthy, balanced diet. It has been used medicinally for thousands of years. Garlic lowers blood pressure and LDL Cholesterol. It helps regulate blood sugar and prevent blood clots. It also has anti-viral properties and antioxidants. It has a lot more health benefits, click here to read more.

  You need quite a bit of garlic to reap all those rewards. A super easy way to get a large dose of garlic is to saute veggies and pastas in garlic and oil. If you've never sauteed, don't be intimidated, it's actually really easy!

  Below is my go-to easy garlic and oil saute recipe...

What you need:

Large frying pan or saute pan
Olive oil (organic if you can)
Sea salt
Pepper
Minced Garlic
Wooden spoon
Any raw or lightly steamed veggies or cooked pasta


1). Pour enough olive oil into your pan to thinly cover the entire surface area.

2) Turn on your stove to med-high heat and sprinkle 1/4 tsp sea salt and 1/4 tsp pepper (or more to taste). Add 1-2 Tablespoons of minced garlic - again, depending on your tastes and how garlicky you want your dish.

3) Allow your oil mixture to heat up for about a minute and then add your veggies. Push the veggies around in the pan with the wooden spoon while they cook to avoid burning. Continue in this fashion until your vegetables are tender.

4) Turn off the heat. If you would like to add pasta (it must be fully cooked), now is the time to add that to the pan and again push everything around with the spoon to avoid sticking and burning.

5) Transfer everything to a bowl or serving dish and you're done!

This is so so good and has endless possibilities!