Saving Money on Groceries: Let's Hear from you!

I would like my next post in this series to link to YOUR ideas. If you're interested, email me at (eri ort at sasktel dot net) with a link to a blog post related to the subject of saving money on groceries. It could be about how you put into practice something I've mentioned in your specific context. It could be about a strategy you use that I haven't addressed. It could simply be a low-cost recipe you think people might like to try, photos of your vegetable garden, or recommendations of books/websites that you find helpful.

It doesn't matter if the post you write is new, or if it's something you wrote a while ago. And it doesn't matter if I know you! I know people find blogs in all kinds of ways-it would be fun if a wide variety of people respond.

Hopefully, I can post these links by April 6. If you don't have your own blog, I can publish your guest post on my own.

Saving Money on Groceries #7: Garden and glean!

I never expected to become a gardener. It just held no interest for me. In fact, when we first moved into our house and I saw that it had a garden plot, I figured we would just plant some grass seed there. But my friend and domestic mentor, Judy, advised me to plant some potatoes at least, so the area wouldn't get full of weeds. She brought over some of her extra seed potatoes, as well as some seeds for carrots, beans, and zucchini. I had no idea what to do but I let her plant them for me. Well, when those plants started coming up, I was absolutely hooked! There was food growing in my yard! I hurried to the garden centre and added tomato plants and herbs to the garden as well.

There is simply nothing like tossing a salad made with vegetables you planted with your own hands. A store bought tomato can't compare to one plucked straight off the vine. When perennial fruits like rhubarb, raspberries, and strawberries rise again after a long winter, it feels like I'm welcoming old friends. I have learned so many fascinating things about soil, plants, and composting. And I've appreciated the calm and peace I feel when I tend to my garden.

I think it has also lowered our grocery bills! That's not a given, since there are costs to gardening as well. But I think there are ways to cut down on those costs, such as not rototilling, making compost instead of buying fertilizer, and growing as many plants as possible from seed. I have also tried to focus on growing fruits and vegetables that are among the most expensive in the store, such as lettuce, berries, and herbs. Considering that I try to be as organic as possible in the garden, I know I'm definitely saving money over what I'd pay in the organic produce section. Canning or freezing the excess can extend that savings throughout the year. To be honest though, saving money is just a nice byproduct--I garden because I love it!


I recently read the book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, by Barbara Kingsolver, about her family's experience eating locally for a year. Most of what they ate came right from their Virginia farm, but they also bought local food from farmers in their area. It's an inspiring book, complete with essays by her biologist husband, and seasonal meal plans from her daughter. The family has a website here, with information about the book, recipes, and advice on eating locally.






Prairie Feast: A Writer's Journey Home for Dinner is on my list as well, especially since the author attempts the same sort of thing, in Saskatchewan! Amy Jo Ehman has a blog as well. It's just so satisfying to eat seasonal and local food. In addition to growing it and buying it ourselves, people are often willing to share! I frequently give people fresh greens or zucchini or rhubarb. Last fall, friends of ours told us to pick as many apples as we wanted from their tree. I froze bag after bag, and they're not gone yet!

Any other gardeners here? Perhaps you have a large garden plot, or perhaps you simply grow fresh herbs on your windowsill?

Encircling

For St. Patrick's Day, here's Iona singing "Encircling" based on the prayer of St. Patrick.

Saving Money on Groceries #6: Accept cheap substitutes!

A gallon of milk around here is over $4 these days. I save a lot of money by always storing a big bag of dry milk powder in the pantry. When I make my homemade yogurt, or a muffin recipe calls for a cup of milk, I don't even have to open the refrigerator. I simply add water to the milk powder in whatever amount I need. When a recipe calls for buttermilk, I can add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for five minutes.







A tablespoon each of soy flour and water can substitute for an egg in most baking recipes. I don't usually make this subsitution, but it's a good one to have up my sleeve, if I've run out of eggs or I'm really trying to stretch the budget.











Instead of buying a specific pumpkin pie spice, you can use cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg to flavor your pies. It's easy to mix up your own seasoning salt, herbes de provence, and Mexican seasoning as well.



Many cookbooks and websites have great ideas of what foods can be substituted for each other. We can learn to substitute the herbs and vegetables that are in season for those that aren't. Rather than run out to the store for the unsweetened chocolate we thought we had on hand, we can use cocoa powder and some butter in our cake recipe instead. Out of brown sugar? You can stir molasses into white sugar and use that in your recipe. Any ideas to share on substitutions that save you money?

Saving Money on Groceries #5: Make It Yourself!

You can make a price book and stock up on sales, but if what you're buying is Lean Cuisine dinners, Chips Ahoy cookies, and Rice-a-roni, your grocery bills are probably not going to be nearly as low as they could be. Although it takes more time, it can be well worth your while to cook and bake from scratch as much as you can. In addition to saving money, your food will be fresher and you'll avoid preservatives.


Children will usually enjoy helping you, and in the process, they'll learn about how food is made. My son, Will, loves to help me bake from Susan Reimer's wonderful muffin cookbook. Her husband was Eric's PhD supervisor in Edinburgh--the joke around the divinity school was that Susan's muffin cookbook had outsold all the academic books of the divinity faculty combined! Will and I have quality time together, and we end up with an affordable and healthy snack around the house.


Amanda from Cheese-Wearing Theology got me sold on the recipes from Michael Smith, a chef from Prince Edward Island. Yesterday, I cooked up some dried chickpeas so I could make the scrumptious hummus recipe from this cookbook. I'm also a big fan of his recipes for homemade granola, pancake mix, and salad dressings. He offers variations with each recipe, and encourages you to experiment!




Most people seem to have a copy of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I've relied on mine ever since I received it as a wedding shower gift. Whether you want a recipe for homemade biscuits, rhubarb-raspberry jam, lasagna, or oatmeal cookies, this cookbook is a great resource. It also has many helpful tips and charts, such as cooking times for rice and beans, how to can tomatoes, and what substitutions you can make in a pinch.

Even people who are short on time can cook from scratch as they can, and make enough for the freezer. For example, whenever I make homemade tortillas, I double or triple the recipe and freeze the extras. Casseroles and lasagnas can be doubled and frozen. Homemade pesto or pasta sauce can be frozen in ice cube trays and stored in freezer bags-simply defrost the cubes as needed.

Try making yogurt in your crockpot, if you haven't already. Homemade picco de gallo or salsa is so much better than canned. Bake a loaf of Whole Grain Bread with Oats, Flax and Millet, or experiment with your bread machine if you have one! Serve homemade hummus or feta cheese dip with home-baked pita bread at your next party. And on your next trip to the grocery store, as you scan the shelves and freezer cases, ask yourself, "Could I make that myself?"

What about you? What have you learned to make from scratch?

Baby Life Rescue Centre Trust Mombasa

I just got another newsletter from my friends, Peter and Selpher Mutua. I first met them years ago when I did a Discipleship Training School with Youth with a Mission in Mombasa, Kenya. Peter and Selpher were two of the leaders--I learned much from them, and was honored to be at their wedding. These two dear Kenyan Christians now head up the Baby Life Rescue Centre Trust Mombasa. Child abandonment and neglect is a huge problem in Kenya. Peter and Selpher are sent children who have been abandoned in hospitals, by roadsides, in garbage heaps, or even down deep mud latrines. They give the children proper medical care, as well as the physical, emotional and spiritual nurturing they need to thrive. The goal is to facilitate the adoption of these children by age 3 if possible. I encourage you to take a look at the website and see what amazing work is being done. I know they can use all the prayers and financial support they can get, and I bet they would welcome volunteers!