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Farm Kitchen:  Your Frugal Tips  |
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tziporra
True Blue Farmgirl
234 Posts
Robin
Seattle
WA
USA
234 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 19 2006 : 09:22:30 AM
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Besides clipping coupons, buying in bulk, and preserving foods in season, how do you save money in the kitchen?
Here are my tips.
1. Bake bread. This is vital for us since we keep kosher and the only storebought kosher breads run about three dollars a loaf. I save ten dollars a week just by baking (our Sabbath requires a minimum of three loaves). Baking lots of bread also enables me to purchase flour in 50 pound bags, which cuts the cost even further. Also you can use a starter, since yeast in the air is free -- I'll admit to getting an enormous stash of yeast from a relative (see tip three) and have been using that instead of a starter for the last few months.
2. Don't eat meat. Buy turkey for the occasions when meat is a neccessity. Avoid the vegetarian "meat" substitutes, including cheese. A diet with lots of legumes, rice and other whole grain staples is a cheap diet. Potatoes are a wonder. Eggs and yogurt provide cheap protein. We love Indian and Middle Eastern foods and I've done lots of trial-and-error cookery perfecting tasty meals for pennies.
3. Get it free wherever you can. Neighbors and family have extra vegetables in their gardens (a friend just gave me a whole load of basil) and stuff they'll never use in their cupboards. In the northwest there are blackberries in every field. Remember to gift these wonderful friends fresh-baked bread, cinnamon rolls, or pizza dough to thank them for their generosity.
4. Plan your shopping trips around the sales. Since I live in the city I have the luxury of shopping at several different grocery stores, and I'm not too loyal (although if there aren't any great deals I'll shop the store that gives me a cash rebate on all my purchases). If eggs are 2-for-1 at one store, I'll plan my trip there and buy several dozen eggs. This requires having an idea of the regular price of items, so I make notes about the low prices I see so I know a good deal when I see it.
5. Make yogurt. Homemade yogurt is just milk. It's about fifty cents a quart compared to two dollars a quart purchased (in this neighborhood at least, more if you buy organic milk). Yogurt is an excellent food -- make smoothies, serve with granola, add to recipes instead of sour cream or sometimes instead of cream (curried pumpkin soup with yogurt swirled in, heaven!).
Now I want your tips!
Best,
Robin
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bybiddie
True Blue Farmgirl
267 Posts
susan
upstate
ny
USA
267 Posts |
Posted - Oct 19 2006 : 12:41:13 PM
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Robin - those are great tips! I only drink raw milk and was buying raw milk yogurt at a local organic farm but it was expensive! Up to $4.50 for a quart. Then I found a source for raw milk - $4 a gallon, which makes tons of homemade yogurt. I also buy oats, sunflower seeds, rice, grains, etc. in bulk. This allows me to make my own granola. And I found a brand new, never used (probably a wedding gift) yogurt maker at my local Goodwill on half-price day! It cost me 2.50. I also found a dehydrator for free on freecycle.com - so comb those thrift stores and yard sales for kitchen gadgets that will help you save time and money. I also bake my own bread. Cheaper and healthier. I am spoiled because I have chickens, so my eggs are fresh and plentiful. One of the best books I have ever invested in is the Tightwad Gazette Complete Collection. It's worth its weight in gold.
Susan
Lovin' my life |
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katiedid
True Blue Farmgirl
601 Posts
Kate
West Jordan
Utah
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - Oct 21 2006 : 11:03:58 AM
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Thanks ladies, you both gave me great ideas!! I have gotten out of the habit of baking bread, and you are both SO right on!! Homemade bread is both healthier and cheaper...(for me, I eat gluten free bread that costs up to $6 a loaf!)
Susan, I am going to try making my own gluten free granola..I miss it so much and again, buying gf foods at the health food store are soo expensive.
Here are my tips...
1. make the most of power by cooking and baking alot while the oven is hot. if I turn the oven on for dinner, alot of times I will bake cookies, or zuccini bread etc. while the oven is hot.
2. buy or trade locally in season..I will trade or buy food when it is in season...sometimes we eat peaches or cherries for every meal and snack during the "on" time! then I can or freeze for the future.
I try to do lots of other things, but you gals have mentioned most of it...
Robin, your pumkin soup sounds sooo good, perfect for a chilly autumn evening!!
Love and light to you
Kate
my new blog http/www.theknifemakerswife.wordpress.com |
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BarefootGoatGirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1495 Posts
Corrine
North Carolina
USA
1495 Posts |
Posted - Oct 22 2006 : 3:52:16 PM
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Eating healthy and organic demands that I am thrifty...
1. Make a menu. Sounds so basic, but it helps so much!
2. Rubber meat...streach it out! Hubby insists on eating meat at least once a day, so I have learned to cut it as scant as possable. Buy a roast and cut it into steaks for night 1 (only serve half the steaks), use leftover steaks to make beef veggie soup for night 2, pour the broth off of left over veggie soup and save for later add cheese and bread crumbs to make a casrole or cheese and biscuits for a bake over for night 3. You should still have enough left over to feed the kiddos lunch the following day.
3. Raise your own milk, meat, and eggs if you can. I am currently buying all 3 because the does are prego and dry, the hens are molting,we had a very busy spring so didn't buy any pullets, and hubbys dog at the ducklings. I almost choked this afternoon when I had to pay $3.19 for a dozen organic eggs!
4. I am echoing Kate on this one...BUY LOCAL! I just bought a bunch of organicaly raised pumpkins $1-2 each (the small ones will make about 2 batches of bread or pie, and the larger ones 3-4) and am about to buy a 40 lb box of organicaly raised sweet potatoes for $14. I will store them in my Mama's root cellar and we will feast all winter.
5. Cook on the wood stove. In cold weather it is going to be on all day anyway, so I might as well use it.
I also do most of the things you girls mentioned. I have eaten homemade yogurt so much that the last time I tasted the boughten stuff I thought it had gone bad and checked the date! I make mine in a cooler that I fill partialy with warm water and it sets beautifuly! I do not eat yeast bread, but make all my own biscuits and am trying some primitive Ezekiel bread recipies.
Great tips, ladies.
Trina
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Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. Proverbs 27:23 |
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Farm Kitchen: Your Frugal Tips |
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Your Frugal Tips
