October 2012 – That's Just Me

My Healthy Food Budget: October Month 12 / Week 3

Healthy Food Budget Weekly total: $101.33

My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. My husband occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

October – Month Twelve, Week Three

This week, I spent $101.33, with a monthly total of $297.04. That leaves $102.96 for the rest of October.

Dining Out: $30.63
Groceries: $70.70

I placed an unexpected order at iHerb.com because all the Frontier Natural & Simply Organic products were on sale @ 20% off. I couldn’t resist!

So, with 1½ weeks left in October, I think I’ll be okay sticking to my budget total. I’m excited to end my full year of budgeting at the end of the month too! And even more excited to start a new budget year in November!

Spending Details

Freebie! This week, DH went on an ocean fishing trip and came home with pounds of fish! I kept the haddock and “red fish” and packed in the freezer. We had enough cod and cutter fish to share with both sets of parents too!

Market Basket $3.95: 5lb bag o’ onions and bananas

Local Farmstand $2.95: local Cortland apples

Whole Foods Market $36.28: Cashews, 12pk Organic Valley milk, Costa Rican chocolate, organic celery, red grapes, organic Gala apples, avocado, ginger root, (1) whole chicken (sale @.99lb)

iHerb.com $20.29: Unexpected sale on Frontier Naturals. I love their products, so I stocked up: Caraway seeds, fair trade vanilla, active dry yeast, & poppy seeds.

Local farmstand $7.23: local Cortland apples, local white potatoes (sale! .25lb), green pepper, and red lettuce

Week of Meals

Sunday: Roasted potatoes & onions with fried egg
Monday: Pasta with freezer tomato eggplant sauce & salad
Tuesday: DH’s boss’s fundraiser dinner
Wednesday: Crockpot chicken with leftover potatoes & leftover tomato sauce
Thursday: Light dinner with sandwiches
Friday: Burgers & brownies at Fuddruckers
Saturday: Dinner out – DH’s boss’ treat

No More Bitter Tea – Lower the Water Temp

It’s been driving me crazy lately. Every time I make a cup of tea, no matter how long I steep, the tea tastes horribly bitter!

I think I finally figured out why. My water was too hot!

I boil my tea water using an electric kettle, and boy does the water get hot, I think too hot. Once I stopped the heat at just under a rolling boil, my tea has been tasting so much better.

Yay! Now that the cooler weather is here, I’ve been wanting to make more tea, and especially green tea.

My Healthy Food Budget: Oct Month 12 / Week 2

Healthy Food Budget Weekly total: $69.57

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. My husband occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

October – Month Twelve, Week Two

This week, I spent $69.57, with a monthly total of $195.71. That leaves $204.29 for the rest of October.

Dining Out: $20.00
Groceries: $49.57

I did very well this week. Last night, I made the choice to NOT go to a sit-down restaurant, but opted for take-out instead, saving $10-$20.

With 2½ weeks left for October, I am confident that I’ll remain within my budget. I’m shooting for $70-$75 spending for next week.

Whole Foods is having a month-long sale on whole chickens at $.99lb and I really want to pick up at least 3 or 4 for about $15-$20. I know it’s not “local” or pastured, but it’s nice to save a little money once in awhile on a loss leader product. I also am thinking of stocking up on a couple of packages of their 365 whole wheat flour, on sale for $2.50.

Spending Details

Local Farm $2.34: Pear and Apples (Cortlands are still .99/lb)

Trader Joe’s $22.03: Feta cheese, cheddar cheese, organic chicken broth, organic unsalted butter, organic raisins, organic gold potatoes, and fair trade chocolate (I was desperate, even though TJ’s isn’t on the list of trusted sources to buy)

Market Basket $4.21: Bananas and balsamic vinegar

Wilson Farm $14.49: (2) 3lb bags o’ carrots, scallions, Kendall apples, red leaf lettuce, green cabbage, white cauliflower, PLUS another freebie of beet greens from another shopper that didn’t want them!

Local Farm $6.50: 2 dozen xlarge eggs

Week of Meals

Sunday: Fried egg sandwich with salsa
Monday: Leftover meatloaf with leftover tomato veg sauce (freezer) topped over pasta and lentils
Tuesday: Garden carrot ginger soup with fried egg topped brown rice
Wednesday: (Leftover) chicken & brown rice soup (tomatoes, carrots, celery, greens)
Thursday: Chicken & brown rice soup (with homemade stock plus tomatoes, carrots, scallions, greens)
Friday: Take out Italian
Saturday: Family birthday party

Why Toss Away Those Greens?

I was shopping at Wilson Farm, and this was the second time I got a freebie bag of greens that another customer didn’t want.

The first time, I scored a huge batch of radish greens, and today I gained the tops of chioggia beets.

Funny, during both instances they asked what do I do with them? I eat them!

Raw or cooked. They are great in salads, soups, stir-fries.

In an economy where food prices are soaring, why would you pay $4 for a bundle of beets only to throw away a perfectly edible portion?

It could be the location I was in. Wilson Farm is in Lexington, MA, one of the snootier “higher income” towns in the state. Could be that money isn’t really an issue for most that live there, and they couldn’t be bothered to cook up some lowly greens!

But sadly, I bet that even consumers in my middle class town throw away their root veggie “greens” as well, maybe because they don’t look “perfect”, or maybe because no one knows that you can actually eat them.

Hopefully, my brief conversation sparked something in their minds, and maybe next time they shop, they won’t be so quick to toss the greens. Maybe they’ll actually take them home and try them.

But if not, I’m happy to take the throw-aways! Thank you very much! :)

Gardening Diary: Preserving Eggplant for Winter

I had an over-abundance of eggplant this season. Thankfully I planted the “little fingers” variety which resulted in small thin eggplants.

I added a lot to tomatoes (and peppers) to make sauces, which I froze in freezer bags. But my freezer was getting full, so I searched for a better, more compact way to preserve eggplant.

Yay! Oven drying (or dehydrating if you are lucky enough to own a dehydrator) to the rescue, similar to the process I used for my tomatoes.

First, I chopped the eggplant into smaller pieces. I used my “Vidalia Chop Wizard” – I’ve had this gadget for years. I don’t use it every day, but when I need small, even pieces, it works well. It’s very loud though, when you push down on it.
chop eggplant into smaller pieces

I scattered the eggplant pieces on a shallow grill sheet pan (included with my countertop oven) covered with parchment paper.
chop eggplant into smaller pieces

Drying at about 150° in my smaller counter top oven, it took a couple of hours. The pieces should be dried, but not rock hard.
chop eggplant into smaller pieces

I allowed the eggplant to cool for a few minutes, then scattered them on a large dish and put into the freezer to “flash-freeze” – this ensures they stay as individual pieces when bagged later. I’m storing in freezer to add to winter soups and sauces!

I’ve oven dried several batches of eggplant, and just kept adding to the freezer bag.

Gardening Diary: Canning & Preserving the Harvest

canned jelly and apple sauce

Wow, this year, surprisingly I found that I really enjoy the craft of canning!

It’s a lot of work, but once you get 2 or 3 batches under your belt, there’s confidence and organization that makes the process a little bit easier. The rewards will outweigh the work!

There was a lot that I was worried about in the beginning (like most newbie canners), most importantly was I did NOT want to kill myself and my family with deadly bacteria!

But after reading a lot of library books, and scouring the web for good information, I learned that if done properly, following the instructions, you do not have to fear the canning process!

This post is L-O-N-G, and it might be boring to a lot of visitors, so if you want to learn more about my canning experience (and see a few photos), read onward!

Continue reading “Gardening Diary: Canning & Preserving the Harvest”

My Healthy Food Budget: Oct Month 12 / Week 1

Healthy Food Budget Weekly total: $126.14

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. My husband occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

October – Month Twelve, Week One

This week, I spent $126.14, so that leaves $273.86 for the rest of October.

Dining Out: $22.53
Groceries: $103.61

Starting out a little strong, but that’s usually how it is at the beginning of the month!

Spending Details

Amazon Subscribe & Save $28.32: Tuna & maple syrup

Local Farm (Monday) $7.20: Cortland apples (sale @.99lb), pepper, cucumber, scallions, radishes w/ greens, red lettuce

Market Basket (Tues) $18.94: mushrooms, broccoli, bananas, and (2) California olive oil (big big sale – $6.99 for a huge 33.8 oz)

Whole Foods (Tues) $41.04: 4+lbs of split chicken breast (sale $1.99lb), (2) Frontier salsa (sale 3.50each), WF Costa Rican chocolate bar, organic chicken broth, Calrose white rice, organic short grain rice, peanuts, (2) local mozzarella (rain check for previous sale @3.99 8oz), organic celery and organic delicata squash

Local Farm (Tues) $4.12: Cortland apples (still on sale @.99lb) and green beans

Market Basket $3.99: Applegate Farms deli chicken

Week of Meals

Sunday: Veggie salad and buttered toast (making up for an extravagant weekend!)
Monday: Fried eggs with brown rice and salad
Tuesday: Baked chicken with winter squash, broccoli, garden carrots, & mushrooms
Wednesday: Chicken veggie soup (bok choy, celery, leftover carrots & broccoli) & homemade raisin bread
Thursday: Slow roasted garden tomatoes with garden carrot greens, garden carrot, scallions over pasta
Friday: Bread pizza with salsa and mozzarella
Saturday: Chinese take out – (steamed chicken & veggies with veg fried rice)

Gardening Diary: Carrots!

The other morning, I picked some of my carrots. They were delicious! I was so worried about them at the beginning of the season because the greens were eaten by critter(s) but they rebounded.

All it takes is a little time, and yum, fresh garden carrots! I’ll be planting these again next year for sure.

Oh and the carrot tops ARE edible, contrary to rumors that they are poisonous.

PS And the green tomatoes I harvested days ago are slowly turning red. We should have one or two more batches for sauce.

Update: 2012-10-9: Pulled up the last of my carrots. I’m so happy that they worked out this year! Now that I know how relatively easy they are to grow, next season I’ll definitely plant more.

I’m also updating the post with photos

Sept 16: The first full-sized carrot (all others prior were too early and way too tiny)
The first pulled full-sized carrot

Oct 2: First good harvest of a bunch of carrots
First carrot harvest

Oct 9: 2nd and last harvest of carrots (2.5lbs) – I think a nice hardy cream of carrot soup is in order!
2nd and last carrot harvest

October Unprocessed 2012

Okay, so I think I’m on board for the October Unprocessed – 2012, starting TODAY. I know I sound very hesitant, and I am.

Partly because I think some pledged people go a bit too far with their views of “unprocessed” and it can drain the joy out of eating. LOL.

I like to use “Food Rules” by Michael Pollan as my reference to unprocessed eating instead. Using the ole “if grandma had it in her kitchen” rule as my guide.

I’m also a little hesitant, partly because I did it last year and IT WAS DIFFICULT! I feel like I’m gonna fail before I even start…..but I have to have a better attitude than that!

On a positive note, last year was very eye-opening. I lost a couple extra pounds, and so many of the guest authors on Andrew’s blog were awesome! I learned a lot!

So, yeah I’m going to try it again this year.

I had a few “considerations” last year and I have a few this year as well.

Chocolate – I lean toward fair-trade brands. I feel it’s more important than worrying about a little soy and/or white sugar in the list of ingredients, which brings me to my second consideration.
White Sugar – yes, I have white sugar in my cupboard. Again, it goes back to grandma’s kitchen. No, I don’t make a habit of using a lot of it, but I do use it for canning my jams/jellies, but I’m using a much smaller amount than most commercial preserves.
White Flour – yep, I use white flour. I add it (sometimes up to half) in my homemade bread. What’s more important? Homemade bread with a little white flour or commercially made bread with only whole wheat? I’d rather control my ingredients and make it from scratch.
Eating Out – Okay, this one is tough. We don’t eat out a lot, and I’m gonna try my hardest not to eat at any fast food or chain restaurants this month, but there might be days when I just need take-out Italian or Chinese. I’ll hoping to stick to local restaurants, but I’m not going to go too crazy and worry about the ingredients on the menu. All I can do is my best!

Here we go! Happy October 1st! And good luck to anyone taking the pledge!