It's That Time Again....

Strawberry season is here!!

The Grocery Budget

If there is one area in our budget in which we could be more careful, I would say it's our grocery budget. Several months ago I would have said it's the amount we spend on dining out, but a busy toddler (and a cold winter) has remedied that for us, thankfully.

There were a couple of things that I've decided to implement to help us track and hopefully, spend less every week.

1. Use cash and bring a calculator. The calculator does slow down the process a little bit, but it helps me track how much I have in the cart. And the cash ensures I don't overspend.

2. Have a rough meal plan for the week. We get the circulars each week, and it's given me an idea of what we could make with what is on sale.

3. Have a cooking day. Last Sunday I made some soup, roast, and enchiladas, so that on the days I'm tired or running late, we don't feel the pressure to resort to pricier, unhealthy, convenience meals. The roast easily lasted us four meals. Plus, I'm not feeling so stressed about getting dinner on the table. Less stress = happy mom/wife.

4. Cook from scratch. We're pretty good at doing this - mostly for health reasons, but recent studies have reminded me why it's worth taking the extra time to eat whole, non-processed foods. It's not only cheaper and tastes better, but is so much better for you.

5. Buy what produce/meat is on sale. We have a tendency to spend a lot of fruits and veggies, which is better than the alternative, but I'm trying to be more efficient. Over the summer we froze some fruits and veggies, for soups/stews/chilis/smoothies. That has helped our budget too.

6. Stock up. Meat went on major sale here, so we stocked up.

7. Use what's already in the pantry and refrigerator. This is one of the things that we do that drives us crazy - we end up throwing good food out that we just didn't end up using. So we're clearing out our fridge and freezer, hoping to save some money and curb waste.

8. Eat more oatmeal and less cereal. Oh my goodness. It's so much cheaper and better than that boxed stuff. Another downfall of ours.

9. Buy in bulk - it's often cheaper. Plus it helps curb unnecessary packaging, which is yucky for the environment.

10. Have fun. Get creative and enjoy creating meals at home with the family, and the kiddos. Food should be enjoyed, and not stressed over, in my opinion.

Anyone have any other good suggestions for curbing the grocery budget? I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting here.

Glimpse of Sunshine?

We have made some serious progress in the way of E going outside in her snow pants. It was fun getting her out in the snow (and rain) the past couple of days. Yesterday we just took her outside in her pants, but today we put her snow pants on, and she was pretty comfortable (see pic below). By the way, if you look at the picture above you'll notice some sunshine behind us. I think it's the first glimpse of sun we've had in days... and boy, it really lifted our spirits.

I've also been a little more motivated to cook the past few days. Sometimes I really enjoy being in the kitchen, and this was one of those weeks. Some of the recipes were so/so, but one that we all enjoyed was this recipe. When all three of us like something, it must be a success. We'll be making this one again soon, and will probably end up in our regular food routine at some point.

Good Food

One good thing about being part of a community garden is that you get fresh produce each week. The other day it was a little chilly here - in the 60's I think? It kind of put me in the mood for a warm meal, like soup.

It's become my version of vegetable soup, because it was everything in my refrigerator that needed to be used up. I used chicken stock, shallots, carrots (shown above), garlic, onion, broccoli, zucchini and rice in the soup. Bonus points for me: all of the vegetables were locally grown. It was yummy, though the leftovers are still in the refrigerator waiting to be eaten. It's now warm here, and I'm craving summer food. :)

Yesterday was a picnic for my work. We invited all of the families that we serve, as well as all the of providers. It was fun meeting some of my co-workers, and clients, too. I brought a cheese tortellini salad, and it was a hit. I just threw some Parmesan cheese, red onion (though I wish I had added more of this, but I love the stuff), black olives, and spinach in with the cooked and cooled tortellini and some Italian dressing. Three people asked me for the recipe, but it seemed that most people just loved the dressing. :) But seriously. Who doesn't love Italian dressing? It's my favorite.

Anyway it's off to tend to my hungry and tired child. She hasn't napped today (which equals no work on my part), and we have L's work picnic tonight. Hopefully she can make it a few more hours before bed.

Blueberry Fun

Yesterday was busy, but my dad and I fit a couple hours of blueberry picking in the afternoon. It was fun and relaxing, though I was hot and hungry after we were done. We were able to grab 13 quarts before we left, so it was a good feeling to know we have some local berries for the winter. I thought about taking the kiddo with me, but after our strawberry picking adventure, I knew that she wouldn't have the patience to be there long enough to pick the desired about of blueberries. Maybe we'll take her again before the season is finished.

So, obviously we've been doing a lot of freezing today. We've already filled one gallon bag of blueberries, and MANY more to go. We've also frozen green beans and peas (thanks, Dad!), too. It's been a busy food day, but it's fun watching our freezer fill with lots of goodies, knowing our tummies will thank us later. :)

The Dirty Dozen

As most of you know from my blog, we've been trying to eat healthier around here. I try to focus on meals that are heavy in veggies and whole grains. We have our good and bad days, for sure. I came across a list several months ago while doing "research" on eating healthier, and the debate between organic vs. non-organic.

This list covers what items you should buy with the label "organic". The U.S. Department of Agriculture found that even after washing, some food items still have high levels of pesticide residue on them.

"The Dirty Dozen":

• Apples
• Cherries
• Grapes, imported (Chili)
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Bell peppers
• Celery
• Potatoes
• Spinach

Beef, poultry, and milk are also items that you might consider buying organic.

This is a list of items that don't need to have the label "organic" to be "safe":

• Bananas
• Kiwi
• Mangos
• Papaya
• Pineapples
• Asparagus
• Avocado
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn
• Onions
• Peas

The cost of organic food is still high, so we really pick and choose what we buy organic. Personally I would love to buy organic milk and meat, but the pricing is outrageous in my opinion. So, we try to use the items "sparingly". That's why I'm hoping to buy in bulk or take part in U-Picks and with the CSA, hoping to dodge some of the cost of organic food. A lot of the time, though, I just can't bring myself to pay what organic food costs (though sometimes there are deals, and we "stock up"). I do the bulk of my shopping in the product section, hoping to avoid at least the preservatives that they add to boxed and prepared foods.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

We are pretty boring people when it salad dressings. We are Italian (me) and Ranch (L) kinda people. We like other dressings, but we are loyal to those two. Unfortunately, dressings are full of alarming ingredients that we don't want in our food. So I decided to find a recipe to make some ranch dressing, since that was the first dressing we were out of. Here is what I found:

Ranch Dressing
The Pioneer Woman Cooks

1 to 2 cloves garlic
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (use less table salt)

1 cup mayonnaise (Hellman’s or Best Foods preferred)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk or regular milk, to taste
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill, more if desired

Directions: With a fork, make a paste with garlic and salt. Mix all other ingredients, adding optional ingredients as you wish, tasting frequently and adjusting seasonings as needed. Chill for a couple of hours before serving, thin with milk or buttermilk if desired.

Just a couple of notes: We only used one clove of garlic, as it's raw in this dressing. I love garlic, but L has a sensitive stomach, so we erred on the side of caution. L still thought there was a lot of garlic in the recipe, so I added more milk, which toned it down a bit. I also added a little white vinegar, which gave it a great tang in my opinion.

Also, we used dried herbs, as we didn't have any fresh on hand, so we adjusted the measurements accordingly.

Incoherent Thoughts

This is what I wish I was doing right now. E and I have caught a cold from someone somewhere, and now all I want to do is sleep. Of course as a mom, that's not really possible, so I'll have to live vicariously through my kitty. She looks like she's having a good rest, yes?

It's been a quiet couple of days around here. Dinners have consisted of salad after salad for the most part (thanks to our CSA). Time to start thinking of some ways to spruce up our salads, so we're not sick of them by the end of the harvest season. We are enjoying the peas that we've gotten the past couple of weeks. You must eat them straight out of the pod though - they're more nutritious and taste SO much better. Just try it. You won't regret it.

And of course, with the summer season here, I've been loving the watermelon we can buy so easily... seriously. I think I could eat a whole watermelon, it's that yummy. E's still loving her blueberries. Must find u-pick farm for these. As soon as she sees the container of blueberries she'll point and say "Blue! Blue!!" until there are a few in her hands.

Anyway, forgive this post if it's not the most coherent. My mind is feeling very fuzzy at the moment. I can tell because I've been staring at that sentence for about five minutes now... just staring....

Berry-licious!

So we've been swimming in strawberries since we picked a few days ago. I have frozen most of our strawberries for future use. We've been eating a lot of berries as of late, and so we've enjoyed Strawberry Spinach Salad (yum), berries and cream, smoothies and most recently:

Smoothie Pops!
Yogurt
Bananas
Strawberries
Milk
Put ingredients in blender and mix. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze, after the molds have started taking shape, put Popsicle sticks in molds, and continue to freeze.
Enjoy!

Berry Good

Early this morning we went berry picking. E was tired, and wanted to nap, but my mind was made up to find some strawberries and pick as many as possible. Who could resist this glorious goodness above? I'm hoping to freeze most of them, and possibly make some jam, if I'm feeling ambitious. We'll see.

E did well for the most part, but she melted down at times. This would be a great little outing for kids a little older. What a great way for children to see where their food comes from, and a great way to keep them involved. I'm noticing E loves to help out, and feel like a "big girl". :)
Here sits the 10 pounds of strawberries that we picked. I have no idea to know if this is enough or not, but it'll do for now. Yummy deliciousness is what this is. :)

Mint Tea Punch

Since I bought mint at the farmer's market, it's been fun trying to incorporate in different recipes. I tried a punch over the weekend, and it was a hit amongst family. It's kind of a like an iced tea (which I don't like), but much better. :)

I found it on allrecipes, but here is the recipe:

Mint Tea Punch:

3 c. boiling water
12 sprigs of fresh mint
4 tea bags
1 c of white sugar (adjust to taste)
1 c orange juice
1/4 c lemon juice
5 c of cold water

Place tea bags and mint in pitcher, and pour boiling water over them, letting them steep for about eight minutes. Remove and discard tea bags and mint leaves, squeezing out any excess liquid. Stir in sugar until it's dissolved, then stir in orange and lemon juice. Pour in water and ice cubes.

Farmer's Market Junkie

I love farmer's markets - really I could go every day of the week, and just enjoy all of goodness surrounding me. Of course, it wouldn't be budget friendly for me to do that, so it's a good thing it's not an option. This is what I bought at the BC Farmer's Market... I'm looking forward to CVX starting their market soon, so it'll be more convenient to go.

I bought rhubarb, spinach (which is SO yummy), tomatoes, mint, and green garlic. YUM.

Garlic-y Goodness

This was a meal that I made initially for a family in our church. It was a simple dish to make, and it called for six cloves of garlic-y goodness. What could be better? It is a vegetarian dish, which could quickly be remedied if you added chicken.

I did use fresh spinach that I got from our local farmer's market, but quickly ran out so I had to go out and buy from the store (which did NOT look as nice by the way). Anyway, the dish was yummy.

Please forgive the poor photo - my photography skills are limited, and the babe was on my heels. :) Here is where I found the recipe. Enjoy!!

Two Week Challenge

L and I are pretty frugal people. We downsized from another rental into the cheapest, decent place we could find, which included all utilities. We are driving paid off vehicles, and hope they run forever. We use cloth for nearly everything, so that cuts down on the cost of paper products. L is able to walk to work, so we save on gas. We're don't "own" a lot of stuff, and don't enjoy shopping much.

But there is one thing that kills us. And we have no will power.

We eat out way too much. It's actually a little ridiculous.

So, as of Sunday, we gave ourselves a challenge. No eating out for the next two weeks. You may think this is an easy task, but truly, not so easy for us, which is a little sad. :) I'm thinking that if we make it the two weeks, we should try it for a month. We may have to work up to that, though. :) I'll try to post what we had for dinner the previous night. Maybe it'll compel me to keep up the trend, right?

Dinner Last Night: Quinoa Vegetable Soup with Bread. It was okay, but it was missing something. Quick and cheap to make, though.

Locally Grown Food = Healthier?

Yesterday was our first meeting regarding our CSA (Community Shared Agriculture). Our CSA is unique that it's a working farm - meaning everyone has to volunteer every week. This allows the cost to be much cheaper than a typical CSA. I'll chat more about this later, but we had a round robin discussion of what made us choose to join the farm.

Someone said that they read something unique, and it caused them to join. They read that our bodies are designed in such a way that it requires the nutrients found in our local climate. That foods that can be grown in locally are more important to us than foods that can be grown in a different climate structure, as our bodies are craving the "local" nutrients.

Now, I don't know how much validity there is to that statement - I'd have to do more research on that. Still, I couldn't help but wonder if that is how God created our bodies to survive and thrive. And really, it just made me shake my head in wonder of how amazing our God really is, to make everything work in sync. Only a God with an abundance of power could make everything work so beautifully. It's just awe-inspiring.

The photo above really doesn't have anything to do with the above post, except that God also created beautiful landscapes for us to enjoy. Just another bit of awesome-ness from our Father.

More Food Talk

Green smoothie: a drink to your health!
Originally uploaded by Westcoast Weezie

In an effort to be a little more healthy and aware of what we are using in/on our bodies (especially E's), we've thought a lot about how we've been effected externally - switching over to stainless steel water bottles/sippy cups, using natural soaps and shampoos, toothpastes and cleaning products. We've done all these things. Yet, when we think about what we ingest internally, well... that's a whole other story.

Now I can't say this scientifically, but I'd venture to say that what we put IN our bodies is more damaging than what we put ON our bodies. Then why do I eat food that isn't good for me, and yet, turn around and buy special shampoos, patting myself on the back for being "healthy" and "green"?

Of course, food is a sensitive issue for me, and for most people. Food can be a terrible addiction and very emotionally driven. Plus some food just tastes sooooo good, right?

Even so, my body is a temple... and I should be treating it as one, inside and out. Especially when I think about E - she wants whatever we eat, and we've been caught more than once with something less than healthy in our hands. Not good.

L is very quick to say that our eating habits have changed so much since we married, and that is so true. We eat more whole foods, more fruits and veggies, less convenience foods, etc. Still, I know that we could do better, and this is all a process.

So my goal for the rest of the year is to eat more whole foods and more raw foods, too, as many enzymes are killed when food hits a temperature of 112 degrees. So bring on the green smoothies, because healthy eating, here we come (again)!

Note: Photo found on flickr.

Week of Food; Cake

Well, it wouldn't be a week of food if I didn't post chocolate cake of some sort, right? Well, since it's L's birthday tomorrow, I made this cake per his request. It's just chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting (I'm noticing a theme this week). Yummy, yummy!! This is probably the most amazing cake we have ever had... can't wait to get a slice tonight!

Food and Frugality

As this week is devoted to all things food, the topic of eating healthful meals on the cheap is something I think a lot about. Sometimes it seems like healthy and cheap are polar opposites, especially now that we have a kiddo to think about. Over the past year or so, our eating habits have definitely changed for the better, but we still have further to go. A few years ago we spent very little on produce, and would spend much of my shopping trip in the middle aisles of the store. Now I hardly go to the middle aisles unless we're out of the staples.

We are willing to spend a little more on food if it's healthy food, but there is a line that needs to be drawn at some point, right? Here are some ways we've tried to keep food healthy on the cheap, and some ways I *wish* I could.

1. Cutting out pre-packaged foods and cooking from scratch. Now all meal, desserts, etc. are done by hand. It is more time consuming this way, but it's a relief knowing what's (and what's not) in your food.

2. Going meatless or nearly meatless as often as possible. I'm almost willing to become vegetarian just to save the cash. I'd LOVE to switch over to all natural, organic meat, but it's SO expensive. One way would be to incorporate meat sparingly. Anyway, less meat often means less cost.

3. I have been pretty lucky to find produce (strawberries, green peppers, mango, bananas, avocado) when it's marked down, almost ready to be tossed. I take the produce home and freeze it. Thank God for our little chest freezer.

4. Soup, soup and more soup. Actually we're not soup lovers (despite my last post), but I try to incorporate it every now and then. It's cheap and healthy for you. I should do it more.

5. Buying oatmeal in bulk. We're trying to cut down/out cereal (now only L eats it regularly), and oatmeal is a great alternative.

6. Buying what is on sale, as far as produce goes. Use frozen fruits/veggies whenever possible.

7. U-pick farms. I'm looking forward to picking our own fruit in bulk and freezing for the rest of the year when the fruit is more expensive and not as tasty.

8. Cooking what's in our refrigerator before it goes back. I'm still working on this one.

9. Drinking more water and less juice/soda/dairy. It's free this way.

10. Being more creative with meals - also something I'm just starting to get the hang of. Using what's on hand as a substitution as opposed to running to the store.

I feel like we're getting there, but it takes much more meal planning and list writing than before, and well, organization is not my forte. :) Thankfully as a stay at home mom, I can spend a little more time in the kitchen, preparing food for the family. :)

Day Two: Simple Pleasures

I've been craving lemonade for weeks, but didn't act on the craving until yesterday. Oh, my goodness... it was SO good. This was the first time I attempted to make lemonade from lemons I squeezed myself, and boy, it's much better this way.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This was part of my Valentine's Day gift to the husband. It's homemade chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting (his favorite) with strawberries. This is the most amazing cake I've ever had! I also made a stir fry with homemade stir fry sauce (five cloves of garlic.... yum!).