Simple Lives Thursday, #93

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spaininiowa

 

Announcement… please re-read the simple guidelines for submission (below) so you can be sure your post matches the spirit and theme of this blog hop. Please do not submit giveaway posts. Also, please remember to link your post to one of the host blogs!

It’s Simple Lives Thursday! My favorite day of the week where you share your tips and recipes for living a simple life. Whichever blog that you choose to link up your post, it will show up on all 4 sites! As a reminder, this blog hop is a way to share with many people your posts on what you are doing to live a simple life. Whether that’s gardening, raising urban chickens, homeschooling, sewing, making your own deodorant, or cleaning supplies… we want to know about it! If you’re into homeopathy, ways to save $ by conserving energy or other ways to live frugally… we want to know about it! If you bike, cook real food, homestead or farm… we want to know about it!

Your Hosts (for the time being, due to hosts taking breaks)

  1. Wardeh from GNOWFGLINS
  2. Alicia from Culinary Bliss
  3. Me!

Please read and follow the Simple Lives Thursday bloghop rules

1. If linking real, traditional and simple recipes, please make sure all ingredients used are whole. Such as whole grains, vegetables, legumes, meats, even sugar. In order to keep the integrity of “nourishing” food, we will delete any recipes that utilize processed, boxed foods. We are definitely not going to be ingredient policeman, however, please note that this is a hop hosted by advocates of the real, local and sustainable food movements.

2. Please link your posts back to one of the hosting blogs. This is a common blog hop courtesy. This link helps build the Simple Lives Thursday community by sending your readers to all of the other participants posts. We all end up sharing and learning from each other.

3. No giveaway away or otherwise primarily advertising oriented posts. Keep your topics to fit our simple living theme of “consume less, produce more.” We will delete posts that don’t fit.

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Save Money on Real Food by Buying in Bulk, Bartering, Working, and Making the Right Connections

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ruby_spinach

“Real Food” costs money.

In a society that is so used to paying cheap prices on industrial food, it can be quite astounding to see the differences in pricing over organic produce and grassfed/pastured meats.

I’ve been taken aback a few times when I’ve seen some of the prices at “boutique” natural food stores.  One glance at the price tag has given me the understanding of who their target market is.

However, I know why these prices are higher.  After all, I’m an urban homesteader who organically grows my own vegetables and tends to backyard chickens for meat and eggs.

Simply put… it takes more work, more time, and more effort.

At the same time, I’m also a middle class American. We live simply and mostly on one salary.

What does this mean?  We don’t have tons of money to buy our hearts content of the best in nourishing and nutrient dense foods especially when it comes to retail prices.

So, what do I do to save money on real food? I buy in bulk, barter with local family farmers, work, and make local connections with real people.

One thing to note, the number one way on saving on saving your family money on real food is  getting out of your comfort zone and talking to people.  Reaching out to others and being part of a community in real food.

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Mexi Style Salmon Cakes

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cilantro_salmon_cakes

This is a recipe that I wanted to share with you for awhile.  I submitted it to foodzie.com but had to bring it over here as well.

My Mexican style salmon cakes.

I thought this recipe fit perfect for our real food budget series since they’re really easy to make while highlighting some exciting flavors.

For this dish I use canned wild salmon, homemade bread crumbs, green onions, and cilantro.  To round out the spices, cumin, fresh garlic, and sea salt.

This is not your traditional salmon cake, but one that any member in your household will enjoy.  Just don’t forget the salsa verde.

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How You Can Save Money on Real Food Groceries by Meal Planning

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zekie

In my opinion, meal planning is the key to saving money at the grocery store. It allows you to look at your pantry before heading out and take inventory of what you have in order to plan your purchases around that.

Two key elements that saves my family money is having a well stocked pantry and buying our meat in bulk from family farmers. I plan on writing a post about each of these topics in the coming week.

For now, I’d like to share with you how I meal plan and where I shop to buy organic/real foods to stay within my grocery budget.

Meal Planning 101

Before I start to plan my meals for the week, I review what food I already have in my deep freeze, pantry, and upright refrigerator/freezer.

Once I’ve taken a visual inventory, I’m able to plan my meals around what meats I already have and re-stock with items that I need.

When I start to plan my meals, I go through some of my cookbooks and any new dishes I’ve pinned on my pinterest, “scrumptious food” board.

Since I blog about food, I like to try something new once a week and keep things simple throughout the rest of the week. This is especially true on two nights of the week I teach during the evening.

In my head, as I’m planning I generally know how much things are going to cost for what I need.

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Simple Lives Thursday, #92

By On · 14 Comments

spaininiowa

 

Announcement… please re-read the simple guidelines for submission (below) so you can be sure your post matches the spirit and theme of this blog hop. Please do not submit giveaway posts. Also, please remember to link your post to one of the host blogs!

It’s Simple Lives Thursday! My favorite day of the week where you share your tips and recipes for living a simple life. Whichever blog that you choose to link up your post, it will show up on all 4 sites! As a reminder, this blog hop is a way to share with many people your posts on what you are doing to live a simple life. Whether that’s gardening, raising urban chickens, homeschooling, sewing, making your own deodorant, or cleaning supplies… we want to know about it! If you’re into homeopathy, ways to save $ by conserving energy or other ways to live frugally… we want to know about it! If you bike, cook real food, homestead or farm… we want to know about it!

Your Hosts (for the time being, due to hosts taking breaks)

  1. Wardeh from GNOWFGLINS
  2. Alicia from Culinary Bliss
  3. Me!

Please read and follow the Simple Lives Thursday bloghop rules

1. If linking real, traditional and simple recipes, please make sure all ingredients used are whole. Such as whole grains, vegetables, legumes, meats, even sugar. In order to keep the integrity of “nourishing” food, we will delete any recipes that utilize processed, boxed foods. We are definitely not going to be ingredient policeman, however, please note that this is a hop hosted by advocates of the real, local and sustainable food movements.

2. Please link your posts back to one of the hosting blogs. This is a common blog hop courtesy. This link helps build the Simple Lives Thursday community by sending your readers to all of the other participants posts. We all end up sharing and learning from each other.

3. No giveaway away or otherwise primarily advertising oriented posts. Keep your topics to fit our simple living theme of “consume less, produce more.” We will delete posts that don’t fit.

Continue Reading

The Cost Saving Benefits of Owning a Grain Mill

By On · 25 Comments

nutrimill

I was really excited to see the enthusiasm with the “Real Food” food budget series.  It seems like many of us are living on a budget and could learn from one another on how to save money, yet, keep good wholesome food on the table.

I wanted to start the series off with my favorite kitchen appliance, and most used, that saves my family real money in our grocery bill.

Owning a grain mill.

I have never actually spent time documenting exactly how much I save, so starting this month I’m going to keep real records on my end and hopefully share that with you in a month.  That will show me how much I’m spending and saving by owning a grain mill.

For now, I’m going to show you exactly what a grain mill does, the different kind of wheat berries that I use, with an estimate of what I’m spending a month on baked goods.

What is a Grain Mill?

A grain mill is a home mill that grinds wheat berries into homemade flour.  If you’d like information on wheat berries, check out my post on sprouting wheat berries.

Not only are we saving money by grinding our own flour, but we’re also getting the benefits of a flour rich in all of its nutrients.

Within 72 hours of the wheat berry being ground, most of its nutrients will be lost and the wheat germ will begin to go rancid.  Often, whole wheat flour you buy at the grocery store has been sitting in a warehouse for some time and can be void of any nutrients at all.

When you grind your own at home, you are able to use the flour immediately retaining all of it’s minerals and vitamins in your baked goods or store your leftover flour for up to 3 days in the refrigerator, or longer in your freezer.

How Does a Grain Mill Work?

There are many different kinds of grain mills on the market.  I own a Nutrimill and absolutely love it.  It grinds my wheat berries into a fine powder just like you’d find at the supermarket.

Below is a video which will show you how my Nutrimill grinds wheat berries into a fine flour.

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