Doing GAPS diet on Food Stamps, help from either direction?

[harrietsmama]

Hello!!! I am just starting the GAPS diet and I have a super tight budget. I was wondering if anyone else out there is doing GAPS or at least TF on Food stamps. I saw a few, I'd just love to collect as many tips for budgeting as possible. I also have very little storage space. I can do more room temp than freezer.

[Panserbjorne]

subbing. wish I was helpful in this area but I got a thing or two to learn! I can recipe recipes and ingredients backwards in my sleep, but we are on a VERY limited budget and I ain't making it.

[Peacemamalove]

subbing too as we are TF and GF ....Would love some advice too

[FairyRae]

Check out these old threads:
Did you see Nourished Kitchen's "Food Stamp Challenge"
Eating Traditional foods on Food Stamps?

I spend our entire foodstamp budget and more on food...don't have time to write now but I think it's *possible* w/ some creativity/flexibility--we eat mostly gaps friendly here...

Gotta run but will try to post more ideas later...

[harrietsmama]

Thanks! I did follow the foodstamps challenge, I will look at the other one right now.

[newcastlemama]

I am doing GAPS and don't have a lot to spend. I am doing it primarily with conventional foods. I buy whole chickens to boil and turn them into soup and then add cheap veggies, and coconut oil (whatever is cheap at Winco--usually stuff like onions cauliflower.) I am doing the diet w/o sweet things now so I just buy what meat and veggies are the cheapest that week. Eggs are encouraged on the diet and there is lots you can do with them.

It seems that doing alternative baking can be expensive so I don't do that much.

You could join the GAPS yahoo group for more help on this too.

[harrietsmama]

Thanks,

I am on the yahoo group, but I like to cover my bases as it seems many folks don't really understand what it's like to be on fs and not have any extra to spend.

I've been doing conventional chicken in a pot too. I have no intention of doing baking other than special occasions and perhaps some of the pancakes. I also found that my local market puts a lot of great things in their clearance - lamb neck bones, pork neck bones, and they still have meat on them so they are great for soup. I just saw that yesterday. I also found organic ground beef on clearance and bought up a bunch and put it in the freezer, it had 1 more day to expire, but it's the air tight sealed packages so I think it will be fine.

[FairyRae]

Just a thought on the alternative baking--if you have a coffee grinder (got mine for around $15 at evil Walmart ) you can grind any seeds/nuts in 'flour' for use in baking. Sunflower seeds where I am are 1.99 a lb, and my ds tolerates them so I do use those when making some baked goods.

Another thing that I've found that theoretically could be very helpful w/ saving money (although it may sound crazy to some) is intermittant fasting. I've found eating lower carbs (for me this is anywhere from 75-150 g carbs a day), no grains, and lots of meat/fats/veggies etc. (mostly GAPS friendly) is very satiating. I've been working on not doing between meal snacking (instead eating 3 nice sized meals a day, plus 1 afternoon snack--so around 3-4 hours between hearty meals) has helped me feel less hungry throughout the day, and I think in total, I'm just eating less. (I've been a grazer/snacker most of my life, so this is a really big change.) I've also added in intermittant fasting where it's felt right--skipping breakfast or lunch on various days depending on my schedule. Done 3-4 times a week, IF could certainly take a couple of dollars off the grocery bill. IF isn't something to jump into willy nilly IMO, but the health benefits seem to be great from what I've read. I'd be careful if nursing though and think through it quite a bit more if that's the case. (I am nursing, and I have chosen to skip meals here and there...more out of convenience than purposeful IFing, although I'm more aware of it now) Anyway, google IF/intermittant fasting and you'll learn a lot more about it if you're interested! (I would only do this myself--certainly not expect or want my child or anyone else to do it!)

Just a couple of thoughts??? HTH somehow!

[aarias]

We're doing the GAPS intro and it is expensive, but I have been trying to think of ideas to make it more reasonable. Have you thought about getting to know a local butcher? Many of the best cuts (lots of bones/fat/organ meat) are the cheapest and probably a lot is thrown away. Like fat, which you could render to make your own lard/tallow/etc. Also, if it is still hunting season, a lot of hunters get more meat than then they can use. Another idea is to have friends save things for you - like vegetable scraps and bones. I save all my peelings from my soup to put in my stock with my bones - I usually buy additional things to add (like marrow bones and chicken backs/necks), but you could make stock from just that. I made a HUGE pot of stock the other day for $4 which I spent on chicken backs (and the rest was food I had saved which would have been garbage/compost.) Egg shells can go in your stock as well. There is so much good stuff that goes in the garbage!

[harrietsmama]

FairyRae, that is very interesting about the meals arrangement - I've always been a grazer too, and yet I get the whole digest one meal at a time idea. I miss meals a lot right now, just out of busyness, I'm working on simplifying where I can, although we are about to move, but packing gives me a lot of opportunity to simplify my belongings more I'll check out the IF

Aarias, I don't peel anything, but it never occurred to me to use my eggs shells in stock, that's a great idea! I knew my butcher in my old town, I'm still in the process of narrowing down where I want to shop. I went to the farmer's market today and met a bunch of farmers and asked a lot of questions. (they have a food stamp token program there) I found one farmer who is organic and doesn't feed soy. It looks like his primary business is grains and beans, but he has hens, eggs and beef too. I got his card, and a few others who were too busy to talk so I thought I would check them out online, maybe I can find a good source that way. I found an 'all natural' produce farmer that I am excited about - they just aren't certified and their stuff looked really nice, like the CSA I volunteered at the summer before last. I also got some raw cheese from an Amishman, he has meats and stuff but it was all pretty pricey, I just haven't found any raw cheese at the stores and this was excellent quality, so I got myself a treat.

I still have a ton of lard rendered last year, my home health lady got a hog and I asked if I could have some of the fat, so she made it for me. Do you think as long as it's been frozen it's still ok? otherwise I can just make soap. I found some beef fat for super cheap the other day too.

Thanks for the ideas

[ohiomommy1122]

subbing