an overwhelmed mama needs advice about TF.

[cicada]

this is a rant. i'll admit it now.

I work full-time (working non-stop every weekend from Fri @ 5pm to Mon @ 8am), supporting my husband who is taking 17 credit hours at the local university this semester. I also homeschool my son (which also takes us 30 min away from home twice a week all day to attend the closest Homeschool Co-op). Our family also lives off the grid; all of our heating comes from a woodstove and our only refrigeration is a cooler.

I'm overwhelmed with my responsibilities and I have recently begun fixing a lot of really quick, not so healthy meals for my family from pure exhaustion (pasta, cliff bars, much less veggies, etc). We don't have an oven right now, so sprouting and storing nuts for snacks has been tough. I don't seem to have the forethought to soak anything overnight to fix the next day. We do a lot of frozen veggies (stored at the barn in a deep freeze) and canned tomatoes, etc. We're also BROKE.

I just feel like I need a little bit of support and advice from those who have been doing this a while. How do I get started again?

Does anyone have a basic TF shopping list for eating on a budget?

Does anyone have a list of super-simple quickish (non-oven) recipes to share?

Has anyone had this feeling of overwhelm before and what did you do about it?

Thanks, ladies.

[motherbirth]

I hear you. I work full-time (although luckily from home some days) and have a new baby. In my case, I have lots of food allergies/sensitivities so we can't eat premade or processed foods, so we just deal from necessity. I definitely feel overwhelmed a lot of the time.

So all the cooking you do is on top of your woodstove? I'll try and think about our quick meals and what might work in your situation.

[WuWei]

The $125 grocery TF budget challenge, month two.


Pat

[gardenmommy]

When I was growing up, we heated with a woodstove. I remember my mom always seemed to have a pot of soup on the back of the stove. Even if we were gone and the fire went down, the soup stayed warm, and when we got home, we would poke up the fire again. She did a lot of soups and stews on the stove: meat, veggies, a bit of broth, some seasonings. We always used the veggies we had canned/frozen from our garden, because we were pretty broke, too.

On the soaking front, I keep meaning to soak some oats and make some homemade granola so that I can feed the kids some "cold cereal" in the morning for a quick breakfast. As for veggies, I have no problem using frozen if it makes it easier to get some veggies in our diet.

I've also decided that buying a decent sourdough bread is worth it, because I just don't have the time to make my own right now, so that is a shortcut that is worth it to me. I also have some better packaged products in the pantry to help round out the meal: rice mixes, quinoa, etc. I find it just makes it easier in a pinch to pull the meal together. I know it isn't perfectly TF, but at this point, I've compromised a bit to save my sanity: quality peanut butter, homemade jams/jellies/apple butter for a quick and easy sandwich meal; hard-boiled eggs; cheese; canned salmon; all can be used for a quick sandwich meal or salad. I make smoothies as a fast meal, too.

Life isn't about being perfect, IMO, it is about making the best choices you can in each situation. You are in a tough place right now, so cut yourself some slack! Do what you can to get through the next few months, and don't worry about what you aren't doing. There is time to get back into it full-force when life eases up a bit. Being off-grid, you are already doing way more than 90% of the USA anyway!! Be gentle with yourself. You are a good mama!

[cicada]

i don't know how most moms know just what to say to calm another mama down, but i really appreciate y'all's help.

i really hadn't even thought about how easy keeping soup on the stove would be. that's a fantastic idea (and a real "duh" moment for me...)

in fact, yesterday when i came home from work my husband had an oxtail that i'd forgotten about on the stove and we had oxtail and mashed potatoes.

sometimes i get it and sometimes i can't see the forest for the trees.

thanks again, mamas.

[425lisamarie]

Originally Posted by gardenmommy

When I was growing up, we heated with a woodstove. I remember my mom always seemed to have a pot of soup on the back of the stove. Even if we were gone and the fire went down, the soup stayed warm, and when we got home, we would poke up the fire again. She did a lot of soups and stews on the stove: meat, veggies, a bit of broth, some seasonings. We always used the veggies we had canned/frozen from our garden, because we were pretty broke, too.

On the soaking front, I keep meaning to soak some oats and make some homemade granola so that I can feed the kids some "cold cereal" in the morning for a quick breakfast. As for veggies, I have no problem using frozen if it makes it easier to get some veggies in our diet.

I've also decided that buying a decent sourdough bread is worth it, because I just don't have the time to make my own right now, so that is a shortcut that is worth it to me. I also have some better packaged products in the pantry to help round out the meal: rice mixes, quinoa, etc. I find it just makes it easier in a pinch to pull the meal together. I know it isn't perfectly TF, but at this point, I've compromised a bit to save my sanity: quality peanut butter, homemade jams/jellies/apple butter for a quick and easy sandwich meal; hard-boiled eggs; cheese; canned salmon; all can be used for a quick sandwich meal or salad. I make smoothies as a fast meal, too.

Life isn't about being perfect, IMO, it is about making the best choices you can in each situation. You are in a tough place right now, so cut yourself some slack! Do what you can to get through the next few months, and don't worry about what you aren't doing. There is time to get back into it full-force when life eases up a bit. Being off-grid, you are already doing way more than 90% of the USA anyway!! Be gentle with yourself. You are a good mama!

This is a perfect attitude and very helpful words for a lot of people I'm sure. Exactly how I feel.

[gardenmommy]

Originally Posted by cicada

i don't know how most moms know just what to say to calm another mama down, but i really appreciate y'all's help.

i really hadn't even thought about how easy keeping soup on the stove would be. that's a fantastic idea (and a real "duh" moment for me...)

in fact, yesterday when i came home from work my husband had an oxtail that i'd forgotten about on the stove and we had oxtail and mashed potatoes.

sometimes i get it and sometimes i can't see the forest for the trees.

thanks again, mamas.

LOL!! I had a DUH moment earlier in the year WRT to "what am I going to do about feeding my kids after dance class??!!". We are gone during dinner, and by time we get back late, no one wants to wait for me to make supper. Finally, I realized "Hello?? Crockpot??" Yeah. I think those kinds of moments are part and parcel of being a mom. I've learned to (mostly) just take them in stride, and my kids laugh at me when they happen.