Food Budget Inspiration

I'm simply out perusing blogs trying to find some new ideas and motivation to keep the grocery budget in check. I thought I'd share them with anyone who might be reading here. And this post will serve as a reference for me.

I enter a state of shock every time I walk into a grocery store. I guess its just my personality. I never get over it. I'm sorely missing my garden vegetables! I didn't realize how much they were saving me. Which reminds me, I need to get out there and plant a bunch of garlic.

30 Bucks a Week This lady appears to be an excellent cook. I'm not seeing any "cheap" food here, lots of interest and variety using whole foods.

I like her cookbook list which features books by Mark Bittman and Alice Waters.

Sugar Crafter I'll show this to my husband and I'll just bet I'll be getting a Pumpkin Spice Latte! Sounds so yum!

TasteSpotting Just another new-to-me food blog. So many options!

Seven Spoons Oh, so many good looking recipes and cookbooks! The chutney looks incredibly scrumptious and the brussel sprouts call my name.

While browsing around I ran into a lot of articles that I remember reading a few years back about the Food Stamp Challenge. Basicly, people spent a dollar a meal per person. Even politicians gave this a try. Actually, this is quite standard in our home. This is my goal. I know other moms who spend less than this. I was visiting with one just yesterday. She has 3 times the children I do (Yes, that's 12 children that she is blessed with!) and she was sharing some of her techniques for staying within a budget.

After my little tour I have new inspiration. I'll continue to cook real food on a budget, always trying new recipes and using what is available to us at the time. I'm off to enjoy a hot cup of tea while I read aloud. Maybe a latte this weekend.....

America Frugal Housewife

I found the cookbook Old Sturbridge Village Cookbook at the library and found it quite interesting. It is a reprint/re-do for modern times of the cook book The American Frugal Housewife first written in 1829 by Lydia Maria Child. There is a lot of history bound up in this little book. But I really love the opening quote and went to bed pondering how I could benefit my household if I worked to apply it more diligently.

"The true economy of housekeeping is simply the art of gathering up all the fragments, so that nothing be lost."

The original book gave advice on efficiently running the home, which I wish were included in this book. Instead this book just focuses on the recipes.

I was thinking of our simple supper last night, which really did not require a ton of food, yet was nutritious and delicious. We had chicken breast with a simple stir-fry containing one Japanese eggplant, an orange and red bell pepper, 4 small okra, and a handful of chopped sweet onion. This made up plenty of vegetables for our family of 6, with just enough left over for someone's lunch today. That's not a ton of food and I can probably easily get that from my garden every day for the next month.....just thinking.

I realize many are having tough financial times right now. But it seems there is still so much waste. We've tightened our belt in a few areas but we still aren't using every morsel......if I don't get the produce preserved that is setting in my kitchen, it won't mean that we'll go without a meal tomorrow. Times don't appear to be like they were during the Depression, (thankfully).

Raw Kale Avocado Salad

We love the salad! And I'm so glad. I plan to grow lots of this stuff this summer and I'm so thankful we've found a way that we can eat *lots* of this green, raw!

Sara at Happy Food has a great post about this salad, along with a video that will even show you how to make it!

This is what we put in our salad. I think next time I'll cut back on the lemon juice a bit. Zeke said, "This is spicy!" I think he meant very tangy! :) All of the kids agreed that it was good.

• 1/2 pound baby kale
  
• 1/2 cup tomato, chopped
  
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or hemp seed oil (go for less if you can)
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• Real Salt sea salt, to taste (1/4 - 1/2 t)

Grocery Cart Challenge ~ Share your recipes here

Black-eyed Peas with Ham

This recipe is so simple that it's almost embarrassing to post but it was also so yummy that I'd hate for someone to miss out on it if they've never tried it.

Since yesterday we had two music lessons and basketball practice, along with lots of errands to fit in around them, I knew I needed something in the crock pot ready for us when we arrived home in the evening. I had the bread baked and ready but what to throw in the crock pot? Here you go. It can't be any simpler than this! Takeout would take longer! And everyone thought it tasted great!

3 cans of Black-eyed Peas (could be more than this)
1 pound of ham, chopped however you like

That's it!

The bread is a new recipe I tried, Multi-Grain Seeded Bread, from the new Eating Well magazine.

I also wanted to include a link to an article that is a good reminder to all parents.
Top 10 Brain Foods for Kids

You can find more frugal recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Back to our Routine

Oh, it's so good to be back into our routine. I truly love my days. Days that are made up of minutes. I have few minutes alone. I have a wonderful family to take care of! A friend of mine always reminds me that never ending laundry, meals to cook, and dishes mounted high just mean that we are blessed. It means we have family and friends to love! And this is so very true!

Monday we spent our day cleaning, room by room. As always, we didn't get as much done as we would have liked, but we did accomplish a lot and had a great time doing it. Yesterday, we did a few activities that I suppose you could call "schoolish" but that's not what we were thinking as we did them. We watched a new Moody Science movie (Tim and I got the kids the set for Christmas.), while we ate bowls of popcorn. Oh, and we learned some new music! We've listened to Go and Tell Greater Vision Kids too many times for my to count. And we're all singing along already even though we hadn't heard any of the songs before Sunday night. (Thanks, Julie!) And there was basketball practice.

But today.....we got to read aloud, together, alone, and in pairs. Anytime that happens it would have to be a great day, right?! We just moved down our "list", which has such a comfortable feel to it. We baked together, too, and really enjoyed the new wheat bread we made! We have another Multi-grain bread raising right now. It's the kind I'll make into a round loaf, covered in seeds and bake in my new cast iron dutch oven. Can't wait. We mixed it up this morning and it will set all day, go in the refrigerator all night (to enhance the flavor) and then I'll let it rise one more time in the morning and into the oven it will go! I don't imagine it will last long after it comes out, bread never does around here.

Here in a little bit, I'll call the kids in from playing outside and we'll ready ourselves for our mid-week church service where we'll sing, pray, and worship together. And I'll thank God once again for the awesome blessing it is so meet with other believers without any fear of harm. In the mornings, as the children and I read our Bibles together, I often pause with overwhelming gratitude to thank God for the incredible privilege of spending my day, all day, with my children. I wouldn't trade it for anything! I want to savor every minute of these freedoms that I so enjoy!

A Good Day

For the past few weeks I've been feeling especially blessed. I've been overwhelmed with the love and support from my family and friends. I was reminded of it again this morning when my sister in law woke me up just to tell me what she'd dreamed last night, my mom called soon after for just a little chat, and then my little brother, now traveling to his far off home, called to just let me know where he was. And the realization of just how rich my life is washed over me all over again.

During the Christmas season, I felt so thankful for my husband and children. I can't help but offer silent prayers of thanks as I sit with my children all curled up around me as we listen to Tim read God's Word to us. The night we opened our gifts together here at home was a little bit of heaven here on earth....peace, contentment, and thankfulness....we couldn't have asked for more.

And today was another sweet reminder of all God's goodness in my life. Today was the kind of day I would call a favorite of mine......

Enjoyed breakfast with my family. Did a little laundry. Puttered around in the kitchen a bit and then headed outside with temps already in the lower 60's. We all cleaned up a few things from the "leaf fort" that the kids had made. And did a few other odd and end jobs. I fixed a simple lunch (Kashmir Spinach-but not from scratch), but Kiersten made it all into a tea party and we all sat around a lot longer than normal just talking and enjoying the food and fellowship. After we cleaned up, I ordered my garden seeds for the year, most of them anyhow. I'm sure I'll find other things that I just can't resist but the bulk of the buying is done.

Just ordering those seeds made need to dig in the dirt a little bit. Tim turned over my compost pile for me and then I added that wonderful, rich, black dirt to some of my raised beds. We worked outside until supper time. Supper was a simple Taco Salad made with chicken. It's days like this that make you wish spring was already here. It certainly felt as though it could be spring today. Absolutely beautiful. I just closed my kitchen window a few minutes ago and the air still felt heavenly.

This evening we all watched "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington".

I think I have everything a girl could want. Dirt to dig in that is my own, plenty yummy food, and a family to share it with. And the knowledge that it is only of God's grace that I enjoy each of these gifts. It's the simple things in life that bring me the most enjoyment. That little plot of land in my back yard is one of my favorite spots. My favorite people live under my roof and I get to spend every day with them.

Life is good!

Plans For Today

I had planned a big shopping day today but we are iced in so we'll enjoy our time at home instead. We spent our normal time reading aloud this morning. The kids and I are thoroughly enjoying our reading of Jotham’s Journey! I’ve wanted to read the book for several years and I’m sorry I waited this long. It’s definitely a favorite with all of us.

I really do need to get some baking/goody making done for get-togethers that we'll hopefully be able to go to later in the week. I have all the ingredients for caramel corn and that sounds really yummy.

I think I'll dig through my pantry and see if I can't make some tiger bark, too. Wonder what all we could make just using pantry items??? Could be a fun project! I'll post later and report our accomplishments.

The idea of making caramel corn and tiger bark came from friends. At our Thanksgiving meal I realized how every food on my table bore the influence of friends or family. Nothing was original with me. There was my Grandma’s Cranberry Salad, my Mother in Law’s Sweet Potato Casserole, my Mom’s bleu cheese/romaine salad, and Tim’s aunt’s hash brown Casserole. And a new recipe, Brown Buttered Pecan Broccoli, that Clarice recommended. I always take note when Clarice says something is yummy! I’ve never fixed anything that she suggests that my family has not loved, especially my husband. She’s just own of those ladies that knows what good food is all about!

I love food and I enjoy cooking. I always seem to have way too many new recipes to try. There aren’t enough meals to fit them all in! I so wish that over the years I would have kept track of all the different recipes that we love, but I haven’t! I make something new; we love it and I go on to something else new that we will enjoy, too, but I’m not organized in all of this. For instance when, we were first married, Tim and I had a very limited food budget. I would cook everything from scratch and I might add, I had a great time doing it! Pancakes are cheap food and we made them every way imaginable! We made special syrups for our special pancakes. One meal we remember was Scottish Oatmeal Pancakes with an orange syrup. I’ve tried many other Scottish Oatmeal Pancake recipes but none of them are like those first ones I made. Wouldn’t it be fun for me to be able to look back on all the different pancake recipes that I used in those first years of our married life?

I am making progress, though, not all is lost. I have a three ring binder with sheet protectors that I use to store favorite recipes.

Today

My baby turned 3 yesterday. There was much celebrating!
He "loves" his new bike, all shiny and red, and, of course, equipped with a horn!

I wrote the following to a dear friend this morning:

God is on His throne! Kiss your babies; love your husband; and worship God freely and openly!!! We still can do all these things as we see fit. I plan to "live it up"!!! :) I do grieve, as I have for weeks now. But I'm also choosing to look at this with eyes of faith, not that all will be just fine. How could it? Or why would it be? But I do not God has a perfect plan and will for my life. He also holds the nations in his hands and appoints and puts down rulers. My desire is to be strong enough (and my children strong enough) to withstand anything that may come in our path. Strong enough to be what God wants me to be. So....it's back to the daily habits, the habits that will build character in our lives. The simple things.

Not too long after I sent this off to her I read this post written by Lady Lydia.

Although our position in the home as mother or father or child is not voted on, we do cast a vote daily in this kingdom. We vote for strong marriages by our loyalty. We vote for good children by the way we train them. We vote for a future government in our land by the what we allow our children to be taught. If we turn them over to someone else, who does not have the same values as we do, to train their thinking, their judgement and their knowledge, our children will grow up and vote for things that will tear down the kingdom of the home. If we take the responsibility to teach them ourselves, they will stand by the old paths, where is the good walk, that will bring peace to our little kingdoms of the home.

Such wise words. What comfort, freedom and liberty this gives me, if I choose to live in this fashion. And I have chosen that. Oh, I get off track, but there is always rest and peace found when I come back to just living a simple life, enjoying the daily tasks that make up my life.

These wonderful thoughts by Anne at Holy Experience have been an inspiration to me. And I know them to be so very true in my life.

There’s a time for everything under heaven. And that is the time we need. A certain time for everything, a steady beat to our days.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. To the rituals we are establishing. To the beauty the new day will hold. To the peace and joy of living in this little "kingdom" God has given me right her on this earth as I await my Heavenly home.

Stretching those kitchen dollars

I really enjoyed this post at Bread and Roses. It's packed full of great advice on getting the most for your dollar in the kitchen and you will be living "richly" if you follow her advice.

I found the above blog through Gumbo Lily, who I always enjoying reading. If you visit Gumbo Lily, check out the photo of the deer in her header!!! Jody took that picture while she was out on her daily walk. Amazing, isn't it?! Zeke and I were very impressed!

I recently stretched our dollars by making strawberry syrup for our puffed pancake. We were out of agave nectar and maple syrup has been scarce around here. I had frozen strawberries on hand for smoothies. Making the syrup was so easy and is such a treat!

Living in Today

Wise words from Susan at High Desert Home:

I think it's good to be aware of what is happening in the world and then to do whatever we need to do (or can do) to care, to help those who need help, and to bring about change. But I also think it's wise and good to continue to find joy and beauty in the daily blessings, as long as we have them. To refuse to be all-consumed with circumstances, to overworry about them, and to focus on them so intensely that it keeps us preoccupied or brings us low.

I certainly don't consider myself a worrier. But I do like to be able to "do" something about a situation if I something is causing me concern. I do tend to want to talk a lot about my feelings and concerns and perhaps I sometimes tend to look at the worst case scenario.

All that to say, the situation in our country at the present has me quite worn out. I didn't think I was stressed but apparently I must be. Here I go, breaking the good advice Susan gives, talking about the political problems of our country. But I'm so broken hearted over decisions that have recently been made; decisions that will change the landscape of this country for my children and their children. My concern is not for our financial well being but for the very heart of our country~our freedoms.

I've called and written my leaders. I've done all I know to do at this time. We will continue to be conservative financially as we will probably face leaner times ahead.

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
~Jesus

I've decided to go on making the most out of every day. Not spending each day thinking of how I'll handle tomorrow if this or that happens but I'll live today just as fully as I can. I think this is what Jesus would have me do. I'll take what is handed me today. And tomorrow I'll do the same. I find it stressful to think too far in advance. I need to cherish the moments I have right now. I have no guarantee of tomorrow, anyhow.

We used the good china today.........and we had fresh flowers on our table, too! Just to be honest, though, chaos reigned in the house, everywhere but at our table. As chaos may be reigning in the world around me, my home can be that little island of peace that we all need.

High Desert Home: Getting There...

I found this post by Susan encouraging. It brought calm to my spirit today. My goal for this summer is a clean, orderly home. It will probably take me all summer, and that's o.k. I'm craving order! Right now, chaos is on the throne! But there is hope........

High Desert Home: Getting There...