Monday, March 31, 2014

Weekly Menu Retrospective #129


Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes, check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here. 

 
Breakfasts:

Granola (p. 92) with homemade yogurt, Blueberry Streusel Muffins (sub blueberries for rhubarb in the recipe on p. 97), French toast, scrambled eggs and toast 

Lunches: 

leftovers, sandwiches, Toad-in-the-Hole (p. 180)

Dinners:
Monday: Everything-But-the-Kitchen-Sink Lentil Soup (p.162), cornbread (p.212)

Tuesday: Sausage & Vegetable Coconut Curry (variation of this recipe, p. 136)

Wednesday: Lemon & Garlic Chicken (p. 184), Easy Oven Fries (p. 194), Creamy Cucumber Salad (p. 205)

Thursday: Spinach & Mozzarella Egg Puff  (p. 181) 

Friday: Taco Platters 
  
Saturday: Grilled cheese sandwiches, sliced veggies and fruit (we were at my Dad's wedding for the afternoon and not very hungry after everything we ate there!)

Sunday: Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted carrots, Peanut Butter & Jam Blondies
 
In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil, coconut milk, raisins, sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), flax seeds, tortilla chips, fresh ginger, garlic, lemons, coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), tamari, oregano, basil, parsley, Fairytale tea, peppermint tea, lemon balm, oatstraw

Local: potatoes, onions, carrots, apples, cucumbers, salsa (home-canned), honey (unpasteurized), sour cream, whole wheat flour, sausage and ground beef (antibiotic and hormone free, pastured), milk
 
Local AND organic: 
oats, cornmeal, milk, eggs (not "certified organic", but real free range and fed organic feed), apple cider vinegar

Want to know more about the specific food products I use and where I buy them? Check out my "What's In My Pantry" board on Pinterest.  I will keep this board updated with current information on what products we use, where we're buying them, and how much we're paying. It's a work-in-progress, and you can find it HERE.

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com. 
Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c 
Love what you read here? Click HERE to see the ways you can help support this blog (many of them won't cost you a thing!) 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to sign up for my Cook with Karen newsletter (max 2 emails a month)

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Rising Food Prices *DON'T* Have to Mean an Increase in Your Grocery Bill!


In the last 3 years or so I have seen many, many articles in the newspapers and online discussing the rising costs of food. Depending on which sources you look at, there are reports of staple food items like milk, bread and eggs increasing by up to 69% in the past two years alone.

Reading statistics like this can cause a lot of anxiety, if, like many of us these days, there's not a lot of flexibility in your food budget. And most of these articles leave you feeling like there's little you can do to cope with rising food costs except try to funnel more of your monthly budget towards them. Here's the interesting thing, though - the weekly cost per person to feed our family hasn't increased in 20 years.

Yes, you read that right. 20 years. 

Back when I was in graduate school in the early-to-mid 90's, my husband and I spent on average about $50 per week on groceries for the 2 of us, or $25 per person.

Currently, we average right around $100 per week for our family of four, or, yes, *still* $25 per person. And that's with 14 and 16 year old boys who are pretty much perpetual eating machines. Also, while we don't buy exclusively organic, we do regularly buy a number of organic foods, compared to 20 years ago when we didn't buy any at all.

If food costs have gone up so much in just the past couple of years, how on earth is it possible that we're still spending the same amount per person as we did 20 years ago?!?

There are a lot of reasons for this. One of them would be that while our food expenditures were certainly modest 20 years ago, we weren't the hard core uber-frugal food shoppers we are today.

The other major reason that our average per-person cost hasn't changed in 20 years is that there are a LOT of things you can do to help decrease your food expenditures, and most of them have been routine for us for many years.

7 Things You Can Do To Keep Your Grocery Bill From Rising

1. Make sure you're buying foods on sale at their rock-bottom prices.
While the *regular* prices of many foods has increased significantly, interestingly, the rock-bottom sale price has not risen nearly as much. Stockpiling foods when they go on sale at their rock-bottom prices has always been a big part of our savings strategy, and it's helped insulate us from rising costs.

2. Ditch unnecessary (and mostly unhealthy) extras.
If you're feeling really pinched, now is the time to stop buying pop, chips and other high-cost, low- nutrient foods. You may want to rethink cold cereals as well - in my opinion you're not getting very much nutrition for the high price (there are plenty of other things to eat for breakfast - try homemade granola or muffins, toasted homemade bread with peanut butter, leftover cornbread, French toast, oatmeal or eggs just to name a few!)

3. Decrease your food waste
The average North American family throws out 25% of the food they buy. This is heartbreaking for many reasons, but when every food dollar counts you need to get this number as close to zero as possible. Eat leftovers as soon as possible, and regularly assess fresh foods so you can freeze them before they spoil if necessary. Store and rotate bulk-purchased foods properly so you'll use them up before they go bad.

4. Buy in bulk
Buying staple foods in large quantities often leads to big savings (up to 50% or more). Some of the items we buy in 10-15 kg quantities are flours, oats, cornmeal, rice, coconut and raisins. We also buy 30 lb boxes of ground beef from a local supplier at an incredible price!

5. Seek out alternative food sources
This one often happens naturally when starting to buy more bulk foods. If you're used to shopping at one or two stores for all your food needs, there's a good chance you can be getting much better prices on some things elsewhere. No one store (even a discount store) has the best prices on everything! Combining this strategy of purchasing food from a variety of sources plus the previous strategy of buying in bulk means you can achieve significant savings *without* having to spend more time grocery shopping.
 
6. Make friends with low-cost, high-nutrient foods
I don't think it will be a surprise to anyone that beans are at the top of that list, but they don't have to be considered a punishment :) There are plenty of delicious meals that star this frugal food staple; try Chickpeas with Potatoes & Peas, Spicy Black Bean Bake, West African Style Baked Beans or Sausage and Lentil Stew, which stretches 2 sausages to feed 4 people! Carrots, green peas, eggs and sunflower seeds are a few other great examples of high-nutrient budget-stretching foods.

7. Build your skills
Making as many foods from scratch as possible will shave lots of dollars off your food bill. Learn to make your own bread and yogurt (no special equipment required!) or grow some of your own food (you can even swap some of it with your neighbours). None of these is particularly difficult or time-consuming, especially once you've mastered the basics.

Yes, these are all basic principles of feeding your family well on a tight budget. At a time when so many families are struggling with their food expenditures, more and more people need to learn these strategies. So, if all of these suggestions are "old news" to you, please pass them on to someone else you know who would be grateful to learn these concepts. And if most of these ideas are new to you, you may find my book, Cheap Appétit: The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) to be a valuable resource!
Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c 
Love what you read here? Click HERE to see the ways you can help support this blog (many of them won't cost you a thing!) 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to sign up for my Cook with Karen newsletter (max 2 emails a month)

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking

Thursday, March 6, 2014

RECIPE: Green Pea & Lettuce Soup with Lemon Oregano French Toast Sticks


Even though the temperatures are still well below zero, I'm starting to crave spring greens in a big way - asparagus season just cannot get here soon enough as far as I'm concerned!

While it's going to be a while yet before I'm biting into a satisfyingly crunchy stalk of sauteed asparagus, I decided a green soup would be in order since it would both fulfill my craving for more greens *and* help keep me warm.

This simple soup is extremely quick and easy to make, and has a pleasant, mild flavour that even the kids should love (if you can convince them to try a spoonful of very green liquid!)

Serving Lemon Oregano French Toast on the side should help win over any reluctant family members. This was my first foray into a more savoury French toast and now I can't believe I never tried it before - it's wonderfully fragrant as it cooks up!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
1 head mild leaf lettuce (such as Bibb or Boston), thoroughly washed and coarsely chopped
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups frozen peas
¼ cup light cream
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

3 eggs
3 tbsp milk
juice of ½ a lemon
1 tsp dried oregano (or use 1 tbsp minced fresh oregano if you have some on hand)
a pinch of salt
6 thick slices of bread
1-2 tbsp butter for frying

Instructions:
  • In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender. Add lettuce and cook just until wilted.
  • Add stock and peas and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
  • Blend in small batches in blender until smooth (*carefully* as hot liquid has a tendency to spurt!)
  • Return to saucepan and add cream, salt and pepper. Heat over medium-low heat until hot.
Now it's time to make the French toast sticks:
  • In a wide, shallow bowl combine the eggs, milk, lemon juice, oregano and salt.
  • Heat a cast iron or non-stick pan over medium heat; add about ½ tablespoon of butter and swirl it around to coat the pan as it melts.
  • Cut each slice of bread into 3 "fingers"; dip each bread finger into egg mixture, turning to coat both sides evenly (don't dip more at one time than you can fit in your pan!).
  • Cook bread fingers for about 2 minutes per side until golden brown; if slices are thick enough turn them on their sides to cook briefly as well. Add more butter to pan as needed to prevent sticking when cooking subsequent batches of French toast sticks.
Serve soup with French toast sticks on the side for dipping.

Serves 4
Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c 
Love what you read here? Click HERE to see the ways you can help support this blog (many of them won't cost you a thing!) 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to sign up for my Cook with Karen newsletter (max 2 emails a month)

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking

Monday, March 3, 2014

Weekly Menu Retrospective #128


Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes, check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here. 

 
Breakfasts:

Granola (p. 92), Banana Blueberry Muffins (sub blueberries for chocolate chips in this recipe, p. 96), Blueberry Clafouti (p. 223)
 
Lunches: 

leftovers, sandwiches, Meal-Sized Salads (built with random fruits, veggies, leftover tidbits, cheese, seeds, dried fruits all tossed onto a bed of greens)

Dinners:
Monday: Broccoli & Bacon Alfredo, tossed salad with honey mustard dressing

Tuesday: Sausage & Apple Sauté (p. 137)

Wednesday: Spinach & Mozzarella Egg Puff  (p. 181) 

Thursday: Pork Chops with wine jelly glaze, Skillet Millet, peas and carrots

Friday: Chicken Enchiladas (p. 127)
  
Saturday: Pasta e Fagioli (p. 168)

Sunday: Turkey Pot Pie (p. 175), mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, chocolate chip squares
 
In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), raisins, sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), flax seeds, green onions, fresh ginger, garlic, lemons, coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), cornstarch, mustard, tamari, oregano, basil, parsley, Fairytale tea, peppermint tea, lemon balm, oatstraw

Local: potatoes, onions, carrots, apples, salsa (home-canned), honey (unpasteurized), sour cream, whole wheat flour, sausage and ground beef (antibiotic and hormone free, pastured)
 
Local AND organic: 
oats, milk (used to make yogurt), millet, eggs (not "certified organic", but real free range and fed organic feed), apple cider vinegar

Want to know more about the specific food products I use and where I buy them? Check out my "What's In My Pantry" board on Pinterest.  I will keep this board updated with current information on what products we use, where we're buying them, and how much we're paying. It's a work-in-progress, and you can find it HERE.

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com. 
Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c 
Love what you read here? Click HERE to see the ways you can help support this blog (many of them won't cost you a thing!) 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to sign up for my Cook with Karen newsletter (max 2 emails a month)

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking
Related Posts with Thumbnails