My cabinets are giving me the heebee jeebees!!(Musings of a newbie TFer)

[Mommy2Austin]

I'm reading The Maker's Diet, plus reading on here and on the web and the food I have in my cabinets is seriously skeeving me out!! I can't believe I've been living on this stuff my whole life!! Its no wonder I feel like I've been run over by a train all the time.

Even the alternatives I've picked up trying to make better choices isn't cutting it. It's times like these I wish we werent in so much debt so we could afford a house with some land and some animals of our own!!

Anyone have any budget cutting tips to help me afford to restock my pantry?

[CrunchyFarmGirl]

I'm so with you! I have always thought I'd been eating well and that my diet couldn't be contributing to my illnesses. Now after getting back into TF and now grain free after allergy tests and reading things like the Paleo Diet, Maker's Diet, Gut and Psychology Syndrome. We're on a meat, fat, veggie, fruit and celtic sea salt and honey diet. I finally feel like I'm on the road to healing for good. I look at the things I was buying to try and be healthier in my cupboard like sorghum flour, millet etc. and would just never think of eating those things now. I had some rice the other day when DH made it and had the worst stomach ache for hours. I had forgotten that I used to always feel that way after that meal and had thought it was the fiber in the veggies, but I know now it's the rice.

We've been trying to sell our house for some time now so that we could buy a farm to homestead. It's really killing me now that food prices are so outrageous. We live on 5 acres of heavily forested ravine that has so little sun I can't even grow herbs in a pot in the sunniest spot! It's so frustrating to drive around and see all the unused land people have on their properties. I look at it and think of all the produce and animals they could be raising in the amount of space.

Sorry, no advice, just empathy.

[Mommy2Austin]

I'll take empathy LOL It's just like a light dawning on me to see all those crummy ingredients in the things I put in my body. Hopefully when our lease is up in Dec. we'll be able to get into a big place that I can put some raised beds in the back yard.

[ChristieB]

Well, I don't have much advice. I'm afraid we spend a fair chunk on our food. But I do have some thoughts.

Shop at the farmer's market as much as possible. You can get some really good food there, and usually for less.

Get a freezer if you can. Or ask for one for your birthday/anniversary/Christmas present. That way you can buy in bulk and save.

As for the animals, I'm not sure which ones you mean. But there are things you can do without having a lot of land. You can buy a steer and have it butchered. You can either ask around and find someone willing to sell to you before "finishing off" the animal on grains, or you can find someone willing to let your cow run with theirs until you're ready to butcher.

OR, depending on where you live, you might be able to get a lease on some BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. We've done that. We happen to have to land right next to some BLM land, which gives us first dibs. But you can certainly apply for land that is away from land that you own (or don't ). You aren't guaranteed to get it, but if you do, you could raise some animals on it, and it's not very expensive (we pay $35/yr.). The BLM tells you how many animals the land can sustain. We are allowed 2 cows year-round. We didn't do it this year, but we will next year. Then you could buy a couple cows, raise them on the land, and then have one at a time butchered (there should be at least 2 together, so you'd want to kind of rotate through, always replacing the one that is butchered), and maybe share the cost (and meat) with some other like-minded folks. Unless the land were very close, it would be hard to raise chickens on a lease. Anyway, I don't know how feasible that is for you, but thought I'd share.

I get my coconut oil from Mountain Rose Herbs (the unrefined). It's the cheapest way to get coconut oil that I've found, even though they've raised prices recently. You can click through the link "Buy Herbs" on the upper left of any MDC page and then you help support MDC in the process.

Some people suggest that you don't throw out the food you have. Use it up and just replace it with the kind of food you want to eat. We didn't exactly do this, since we went GF at the same time, so we had to get rid of the gluten (which was in a lot of the packaged food we had). I suggest that if you can afford to just replace it, or if your health dictates that you change right away, you go through and give away (to a friend or a food bank) all the food you want to get rid of, and then replace it. But either way, don't just replace it with replacement foods (foods supposed to be just like what you're throwing out but healthier in some way). Instead, get good food, like what you plan to be eating. For us, that's healthy meat, eggs, veggies, fruits, fats, and nuts.

Anyway, I'm out of ideas. But there are a lot of good ideas floating around here. I'm sure some folks will chime in here, and you can look at old threads about TF on a budget. There are several, and one was fairly recent (something like "How do you do it?").

Good luck, and be patient with yourself.

[Mommy2Austin]

Originally Posted by ChristieB

Anyway, I'm out of ideas. But there are a lot of good ideas floating around here. I'm sure some folks will chime in here, and you can look at old threads about TF on a budget. There are several, and one was fairly recent (something like "How do you do it?").

Good luck, and be patient with yourself.

Thanks for the advice The How do you do it thread was mine LOL

I think one of my biggest issues is I'm a cereal fiend. I love my cereal. So I've been trying to think if there's a way for me to make a cold cereal from the good stuff. I figured I could take some oats, raw honey and crushed nuts and make some honey nut clusters, then roast them in the oven. Then pop them in some cold milk with some banana or strawberries Definitely an experiment for me to try!

[thedomesticdiva]

I have been doing TF for a year and a half and I still find SCARY : things in my pantry (and my fridge) - I just threw away bac-os the other day.

I go through the pantry and give away. Then I do not try to "replace" the items, but I focus on buying what we eat the most. And I try to make these items the best quality (organic and TF) as possible.

My advice is to take it SLOW so that you do not burn out. Do the best you can with what you have. It is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes a while to adjust your taste buds and mindsets - for your family also!!

We eat a TON of dairy, so this is my major investment.

We try to eat in season (and local) which also saves $$.

You can do it - the benefits of TF are amazing!!

Sara <><

[Mommy2Austin]

Originally Posted by ChristieB

Well, I don't have much advice. I'm afraid we spend a fair chunk on our food. But I do have some thoughts.

Shop at the farmer's market as much as possible. You can get some really good food there, and usually for less.

Get a freezer if you can. Or ask for one for your birthday/anniversary/Christmas present. That way you can buy in bulk and save.

As for the animals, I'm not sure which ones you mean. But there are things you can do without having a lot of land. You can buy a steer and have it butchered. You can either ask around and find someone willing to sell to you before "finishing off" the animal on grains, or you can find someone willing to let your cow run with theirs until you're ready to butcher.

OR, depending on where you live, you might be able to get a lease on some BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. We've done that. We happen to have to land right next to some BLM land, which gives us first dibs. But you can certainly apply for land that is away from land that you own (or don't ). You aren't guaranteed to get it, but if you do, you could raise some animals on it, and it's not very expensive (we pay $35/yr.). The BLM tells you how many animals the land can sustain. We are allowed 2 cows year-round. We didn't do it this year, but we will next year. Then you could buy a couple cows, raise them on the land, and then have one at a time butchered (there should be at least 2 together, so you'd want to kind of rotate through, always replacing the one that is butchered), and maybe share the cost (and meat) with some other like-minded folks. Unless the land were very close, it would be hard to raise chickens on a lease. Anyway, I don't know how feasible that is for you, but thought I'd share.

I get my coconut oil from Mountain Rose Herbs (the unrefined). It's the cheapest way to get coconut oil that I've found, even though they've raised prices recently. You can click through the link "Buy Herbs" on the upper left of any MDC page and then you help support MDC in the process.

Some people suggest that you don't throw out the food you have. Use it up and just replace it with the kind of food you want to eat. We didn't exactly do this, since we went GF at the same time, so we had to get rid of the gluten (which was in a lot of the packaged food we had). I suggest that if you can afford to just replace it, or if your health dictates that you change right away, you go through and give away (to a friend or a food bank) all the food you want to get rid of, and then replace it. But either way, don't just replace it with replacement foods (foods supposed to be just like what you're throwing out but healthier in some way). Instead, get good food, like what you plan to be eating. For us, that's healthy meat, eggs, veggies, fruits, fats, and nuts.

Anyway, I'm out of ideas. But there are a lot of good ideas floating around here. I'm sure some folks will chime in here, and you can look at old threads about TF on a budget. There are several, and one was fairly recent (something like "How do you do it?").

Good luck, and be patient with yourself.

One other thing where do I look for the public lands up for use? I'm looking through the site and can't find anything about that!

[ChristieB]

Originally Posted by Mommy2Austin

Thanks for the advice The How do you do it thread was mine LOL

I think one of my biggest issues is I'm a cereal fiend. I love my cereal. So I've been trying to think if there's a way for me to make a cold cereal from the good stuff. I figured I could take some oats, raw honey and crushed nuts and make some honey nut clusters, then roast them in the oven. Then pop them in some cold milk with some banana or strawberries Definitely an experiment for me to try!

OOPS! I didn't look up the thread, so I didn't realize it was yours. I thought it had some good ideas, though.

I can't really help with the cereal, since we are grain-free here (except for my occasional snack of noodles after the kids are in bed ). I think, though, that treating it like sugar would help. This thread might be useful. Otherwise, others might share what they have done to deal with the cereal question.

And in terms of your original question, maybe post your specific questions (like the cereal), and then people are more likely to address the exact concerns you have.

Originally Posted by Mommy2Austin

One other thing where do I look for the public lands up for use? I'm looking through the site and can't find anything about that!

Maybe try calling your state office. Honestly, we didn't go looking. It kind of fell into our laps. I'd have figured it would be on the website. One bit of warning if you pursue this. It can take a long time, with all the government red tape (it did for us, even though it was a BLM employee's idea for us to lease it). I'd love to hear how it goes if you do pursue it!

[Mommy2Austin]

My husband couldn't give up pasta if his life depended on it. LOL However I do have a pasta maker that I could make my own *healthful* pasta. We've started baking our own bread and hopefully I'll be able to get some WW flour next time instead of just unbleached. I want to get a grain mill and make my own flour I definitely have lofty goals for my future. DH is all about us making our own foods (he made the bread last weekend!) so hopefully I can start pressing for more things TF

[ChristieB]

Originally Posted by Mommy2Austin

My husband couldn't give up pasta if his life depended on it. LOL However I do have a pasta maker that I could make my own *healthful* pasta. We've started baking our own bread and hopefully I'll be able to get some WW flour next time instead of just unbleached. I want to get a grain mill and make my own flour I definitely have lofty goals for my future. DH is all about us making our own foods (he made the bread last weekend!) so hopefully I can start pressing for more things TF

Ya, at least my pasta is rice pasta (we're GF).

Yeah for your dh! That should make your journey easier.


And something I meant to say before is that eating whole foods and making your own food from scratch can often be cheaper, or at least not more expensive, than eating packaged food. Being strictly TF and eating pastured meat and eggs and raw dairy usually costs more, but eating a whole foods diet is certainly a good place to start. Then you can switch over to pastured and raw when your budget allows. And there are a lot of TF principals that cost nothing really, like soaking your grains, nuts, seeds, and beans. And others have minimal cost, like fermenting veggies. Really, it's just the cost of the jars, the salt, and the occasional veggies from the ruined batches (mostly in the beginning). I figure the veggies are something you'd be eating anyway, so I only count the ones from bad batches as added expense. And then there's bone broth which is added value, since you get more from your chicken than you did before. Anyway, just a few more thoughts.

[Mommy2Austin]

Today was pretty awesome. For $160 we managed to get 3 months(or more with the new ways I'm learning to cook!) worth of meat from a butcher shop about 20 miles away and 35lbs of fresh fruits and veggies. All the fruits and veggies are local produce and the meat is preservative and additive free (I'm not sure about hormone free or grass fed. Its a great start. DH is baking more bread tonight so that will be nice My aunt said she'd really love to teach me how to can. So That would be great. I think I'm gonna crack open wild fermentation tonight....