$150 for a month of TF groceries - Page 3

[Magelet]

oh yeah, fats for sure. for me at least, and I know a lot of other people, you feel fuller if your meal was high fat (really only for animal fat and coconut oil though). cutting down on unneeded eating because you don't really feel full even when you are is definitely needed in these times. And feeling fuller faster.

[destinyzrose]

Originally Posted by Metasequoia

I don't do well on starchy/carby foods, so beans & potatoes wouldn't work for us.

Beans are incredibly protein rich. They're a great substitute for meats, etc. My husband and are anti-soy and semi-vegetarian so we beans where others would use meats. They're so easy to dress up!

[SAmama]

Originally Posted by Metasequoia

I'm skeeved by non-organic pumpkin seeds because of the fecal thing - but I could be overreacting...

what fecal thing?! Please do explain. We eat a ton of non-organic pumpkin seeds.

[Metasequoia]

Originally Posted by destinyzrose

Beans are incredibly protein rich. They're a great substitute for meats, etc. My husband and are anti-soy and semi-vegetarian so we beans where others would use meats. They're so easy to dress up!

I agree, if you can handle them. They're hard to digest & high on the glycemic index, which doesn't agree with my body.

Originally Posted by SAmama

what fecal thing?! Please do explain. We eat a ton of non-organic pumpkin seeds.

Remember the stories about pumpkins being fertilized with human feces? Supposedly it was just pumpkins for picking (for carving), but you never know. Maybe I'm overly-careful....

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

[tayndrewsmama]

Originally Posted by Metasequoia

Remember the stories about pumpkins being fertilized with human feces? Supposedly it was just pumpkins for picking (for carving), but you never know. Maybe I'm overly-careful....

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

Ick! I don't think I ever heard about that, but I did read about strawberries being fertilized that way in CA.

[Periwinkle]

potatoes, rice, and beans. and raw milk & pastured eggs. Honestly I'd be psyched if my WEEKLY grocery bill were $150...

[SAmama]

Originally Posted by Metasequoia

Remember the stories about pumpkins being fertilized with human feces? Supposedly it was just pumpkins for picking (for carving), but you never know. Maybe I'm overly-careful....

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

Oh. We live in China and everything is fertilised that way. What are you gonna do, have to eat something.

[godusjourney]

: You guys are so inspiring!! I'd love to see the results of the experiment and see if TF (or any healthy diet for that matter) can be done on so little money. Heaven knows our family NEEDS to be on a food budget! You all would kill over to know how much I've spent on food the last month. : Some serious note taking is happenin' over here!!!

[krankedyann]

I am keeping a log so people can see the progress- http://www.tfrecipes.com/forum/showt...1746#post21746

[guestmama9904]

Originally Posted by godusjourney

: You guys are so inspiring!! I'd love to see the results of the experiment and see if TF (or any healthy diet for that matter) can be done on so little money. Heaven knows our family NEEDS to be on a food budget! You all would kill over to know how much I've spent on food the last month. : Some serious note taking is happenin' over here!!!

we spend over 1300$ a month. but this thread is inspiring me to stock up on more of a pantry just in case we hit a tight time. right now id probably have enough food for only 2 weeks or so.

[schendledecker]

Originally Posted by Mere

I just want to second (or third!) the cabbage suggestion...it is really cheap and lasts FOREVER in the fridge (like a month or more). We like to make it into a salad/cole-slaw by chopping a red and green cabbage, throwing it together in a bag, and then adding some shredded carrots.

Here's how I get my people to eat cabbage:

Caldo verde (Portuguese green soup) green cabbage

by
from The Hairy Bikers

Makes 1 large pot!

Preparation time less than 30 mins

Cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour



Ingredients
2 nice fat onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
60ml/2¼fl oz olive oil
1 chorizo sausage
6 large potatoes
1.5 litres/2 pints 13fl oz good vegetable or chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 bay leaves
large bunch of greens or cabbage
smoked paprika and olive oil, for dressing

Method
1. First, drink some port - it helps you get in the mood!
2. Sweat the onions and garlic in the olive oil until translucent.
3. Chop the sausage into small chunks and add to the onion.
4. Sweat the onions and sausage for a few more minutes and then add the diced potatoes. They will absorb all the flavour from the sausage.
5. Transfer the mixture to a large pan, add the stock, seasoning and bay leaves, and cook until the potatoes are soft.
6. Meanwhile, very finely chop the cabbage (alternatively, buy a cabbage-shredding machine from the market as we did).
7. When the potatoes are ready, mash them into the broth to make a thick base. Blanch the greens in boiling water for one minute to take off any bitterness, drain, then add to the simmering broth.
8. Add as much cabbage as the broth will support - if you want heavy soup add loads of greens, if lighter, add less.
9. Simmer for a few minutes. The soup will go the colour of jade.
10. Mix the smoked paprika with some olive oil to make a dressing, and swirl this red magic into the vibrant green soup.
11. Serve with some heavy country bread, and wallow in praise!

[krankedyann]

DH went to the farmer's market today, and we wound up with sweet potatoes, kale and more white potatoes. Kale wound up being cheaper than cabbage! LOL He walked in right as the folks with the kale were walking out and got an entire bushel. The sweet potatoes are seconds, so we got a 40-pound box for $10. We're splitting it with some other families, so it worked out perfectly.

So now that we're into this I'm updating the money spent and what we're having for each meal daily. As of today I've spent $64.08 of the $136 budget.

[provocativa]

On occasion, we've even stooped to eating less than perfect organ meats. Pork liver is cheap! I soak them in a strong salt water solution first, and then in milk ('course you couldn't do milk) and have found a store that carries small packages of marrow bones- it's a small grocery that caters to older folks. There is a recipe in NT for grated liver in brown rice. Germans make lots of liver dumplings- stretches a lb of liver into 2 meals.

I also cook frugal stock with just bones and no veggies- you can cook the bones longer without it getting bitter.

We have a college near us (I went there actually) with an ag department that has started selling their meats at the farmer's market, and while not certified organic they are quality stuff. It's a work college like Warren Wilson near you. If their ag dept doesn't sell their meats locally, you should suggest it to them.

You can add food value to homemade pasta by just making it with eggs, or just yolks, when your hens are laying.

You are so lucky to have that scratch-and-dent store (I want one here), and all of your food connections, before having to do this.

[krankedyann]

Originally Posted by provocativa

We have a college near us (I went there actually) with an ag department that has started selling their meats at the farmer's market, and while not certified organic they are quality stuff. It's a work college like Warren Wilson near you. If their ag dept doesn't sell their meats locally, you should suggest it to them.

Warren Wilson does sell their meat. We got some of their pork last fall. Good quality, but it wasn't cheap!

[blueridgewoman]

Just wanted to say that I thought of this thread last night because we had a pretty cheap dinner.. potato pancakes.

I shredded four russet potatoes and soaked them while I shredded half a white onion and then mixed it with three beaten eggs (probably could have used two) and salt and pepper. Drained the potatoes, mixed everything together, spooned into a skillet to form cales, and fried in a generous amount of coconut oil (I use a small skillet so that I can use less oil- I make the pancakes big enough to touch the sides of the skillet). I topped mine with applesauce and some cultured cream, but I bet just applesauce would be yummy too.

[krankedyann]

Along that same vein, someone told me about making a quiche crust using shredded potatoes. I'm going to try that, too. I figure I've got to get potatoes into about every meal in order to use up the 50-pound bag.

So far this month I've spent less than $85 and we're on day 11. I did have a lot of up-front cost of things like raw milk, a big bag of rice and the 50-pound bag of potatoes. At this point, looking at what I had in storage plus what I've purchased fresh, I do think I'm going to wind up making it all work.

[Peek-a-boo]

Woo hoo! Isn't it weirdly satisfying to stay inside a tight budget?

Good for you for treating this as a challenge rather than a calamity.

[nicolelynn]

Yes, it is wierdly satisfying. Tonight we made bolognese over brown rice spaghetti and asparagus for $1.50/serving and were proud of ourselves. The asparagus was on sale for 77 cents per pound. It would have been even cheaper to use white flour pasta but I won't compromise on that.

[NettleTea]

Anyone watching these?

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=DepressionCooking

Sort of in the same vein as what is being discussed here.

:

[TzippityDoulah]

Originally Posted by tayndrewsmama

There are some certified GF oats, but not everyone can tolerate them even though they are GF. I am one of those people.

ETA: I have no good ideas for this. I could maybe pull it off in the summer with the garden going strong.

yeah I don't do so well with GF oatmeal either. maybe once in a great while... but my allergies get pretty bad (that's my first symptom) followed by chaos on my gut... you get the idea,

But i have found Rice cereal to be a great alternative. a little more expensive. and I gotta be honest I'm never soaked it (though I know I should). I can give a small bowl of rice cereal and an egg to each kiddo and they get a decent balance of carbs and protein. if I tried to cut out the protien they'd be hungry 30 mins later... so for me it doesn't saving money (or time!) to eat only a carby meal.

you can also make other things from rice cereal (or buckwheat cereal - which is GF, despite it's suspicious name!) that are like cheesy porridges and what not. it makes a good side dish or snack for relatively cheap. and very filling.

we also like stuffed potatoes (well more like topped potatoes). we get a bag of potatoes and then I cook chili with beans, or BBQ chicken or whatever it on sale and sour cream, butter and cheese (for those of us who can eat dairy) and some broccoli an salt and pepper. like a potato bar and the kids love making their own.

we also like taco salad. a head of iceberg lettuce makes a nice crunchy inexpensive bed for the rest - beans, chili/taco meat, and sour cream and cheese for those of us who can eat dairy, and some tortilla chips. (the tortilla hips are store bought - not handmade... but that may be even cheaper, I don't honestly know)

the only thing I would be careful of is cutting out protein. it usually results in kids that hungry a lot faster and go through food a lot quicker.