Living Healthy in the Modern World

February 2012: Menu Plan

2012-02-01T09:37:00.000-08:00

Here is my Menu Plan for the first two weeks of February or so. Much, but not all of it, is GF. The rest of the family eats "regular" bread items...but I sub GF ones for my portion.

Breakfasts:

We got a lot of bread products from "the cheap food store", and I put them in the freezer. The kids have been eating either a bread item (bagel, toasted bread, mini bagel or bagel thin) with a nut butter(some containing chocolate), or Oatmeal revolution! oatmeal, which we also got from the same store for fairly cheap. The oatmeals are flavored, but not as processed as, say, the flavored Quaker oatmeal packets are.

Fried Potatoes with a bit of onion and eggs cooked in at the end have been a hit lately

Pancakes/waffles have been requested

Hubby has a big bowl of oatmeal.

I go with hot tea/raw honey/milk, and maybe a couple scrambled eggs or toasted Udi's bread with Almond Butter.

Lunches:

Often/usually leftovers

Sandwich made w/Udi's bread and Almond butter, or Hormel Naturals meat, or homemade tuna/chicken/turkey salad

Soup--I can make a pot of soup early in the week for me to eat each day.
Salad-greens and whatever else I scrounge up for protein (lunchmeat, leftover meat, cheese, beans, cottage cheese) and veggies, topped with EVOO, a sprinkling of italian or pizza seasoning, salt and pepper

Dinners:

Ham sandwiches with apple slices on the side

Tacos- Fish/Salmon? Hillbilly Housewife's? Pastured Ground Beef? Use corn tortillas for myself, regular for the family

Homemade Pizza--Homemade non-gf pizza crust for the family, GF tortilla or Namaste Pizza Crust mix as a crust for me (made first to reduce cross-contamination risk)

Ham&Beans and GF Cornbread

Chicken (Teriyaki?), Veggies and Rice

Hamburgers(use bread for buns), homemade coleslaw and raw veggie tray

Box Macaroni & Cheese (I know, I know, but it's the request of my son and it's his birthday!) and ?

Ground Beef or Turkey Enchiladas (make tortillas from Masa Mix to avoid extra fillers/additives/etc in regular corn tortillas, plus my Masa is from white corn and less likely to be GMO)
Homemade burritos- using storebought tortillas and canned beans to make filling, mine will be tostada-style on a corn tortilla made crispy in the cast iron skillet
Turkey Soup--turkey meat and broth and frozen veggies in freezer, rice shell noodles if desired

Pork Loin and ???(Cauliflower and some sort of pasta, salad?)

Snacks:

What's left of the junk food from last month: pudding cups, fruit roll-ups

Popcorn (butter/salt or butter/nutritional yeast/salt)

Kefir smoothies (read: Healthier Morning Orange Drink)

Pretzels and cheese (haven't found a GF pretzel that I love though...they're all so starchy!)

Apple slices and Cheese (my personal GF favorite)

Molasses bars (more like cake, though) from the back of the Namaste bag

Carrots sticks and homemade Hummus

Yogurt(w/ or w/o frozen berries)

Handful of nuts/seeds/dried fruit

Homemade GF Chex Mix

Nature Valley nut bars (GF)

Cottage cheese, maybe with a canned fruit(apricots?)

So, looking at how I went over the last calendar month and what I have to work with so far this month, I suppose I didn't do too bad! Maybe I was just ahead of myself. That's the way it works sometimes.

I do need to go to the store for a few things, namely milk, mayonnaise, apples and some fresh produce.
(Can you believe we ran out of mayo the other day, yet I have 8 different kinds of mustard? Not saying how many JARS I have in the stash though, lol!)

Can I really feed a family of 5 on $450/month?

2012-01-31T04:51:00.000-08:00

As you know, I did not do posts for the month of January pertaining to grocery shopping and menu planning.

And guess what? I went over. Of course, the $40 of pork loin, going to "the cheap grocery store" and stocking up on a lot of miscellaneous food stuff, and taking the kids with me and giving in to junk food didn't really help.

It just goes to show that in order to stay within budget, I cannot lose my focus....and sometimes it's good to go over if it is for a good deal and will help in the next month or two (pork loin I bought this month...turkeys I got a few months ago, bread and bagels, oatmeal, etc).

I have had some comments in favor of continuing the grocery posts/menu plans, so I will try to keep that up. I may not stay within budget every month, but for me, putting my purchases on my blog is a good way to keep me accountable. :)

See you in February!

RECIPE: GF Tortilla Pizza

2012-01-25T10:25:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, so I thought I would share what I am having for lunch today. :)

I generally eat leftovers for lunch, but didn't want that today. I wanted pizza.

So, here's what I did with what I had in the house to make a tasty GF lunch.

GF Tortilla Pizza

1 Food for Life Brown Rice Tortilla

I put this in my biggest cast iron skillet and put it in a 425* oven to thaw and crisp up a bit (watch it closely!).

Meanwhile, I put a bit of olive oil in another cast iron pan and added the following:

1 sliced onion

3 or so sliced mushrooms

a clove or two of garlic, sliced thin

Some frozen bell pepper slices

some leftover cut up pork loin that was seasoned w/garlic, rosemary, etc.

A bit of salt

I took out 2 basil cubes from the freezer and thawed them in the microwave.

When my tortilla was sufficiently warmed/crisped, I spread the basil on it, then put some shredded cheese, the sauteed veggies (you may not want to put all the oil/liquid from the pan onto the pizza, or it might get too soggy), and topped with a bit more cheese and a sprinkling of salt.

I returned it to the oven and let it cook, checking often, until it looked done enough to eat. Cool, cut, and devour.

Yum!

BioAllergenix Update: January 2012

2012-01-04T08:46:00.000-08:00

I made an appointment to go in this week and get a chiro adjustment and test a few things I suspected are bothering me food-wise. I have suspected having issues with yeast as well (no surprise there with the holidays in the recent past!).

The testing was muscle testing, and the things that did come up for me were Oranges (I'd gotten an itchy throat the last time I ate one) and Yeasts (again, no surprise). The other suspects (corn, soy, molds, tomatoes...those things I check off and on just to be sure) muscle tested ok.

So, until tomorrow morning I am avoiding oranges, yeast, and sugars/white carbs.

I think that when I have the itchy throat thing, it's often a sign of yeast rearing its ugly head. Not always, but I seem to be making that connection in my food experiences...

My organs seem to be doing great this time around, so I don't think I will be doing any detox-type things that I have been considering doing.

I am going to continue on the Gluten-free diet, but plan to tend towards low-carb/sugar at the same time....it will probably look very much Paleo.

My 2001 Food Focus - No GMO

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

For a couple of years now, after reading a lot and with my own health experiences, I have suspected Genetically Modified Foods to have a negative impact on my immune system and one cause for the rise in allergies. (Just because Monsanto pats us on the head and assures us that GMO's haven't been proven to cause harm does not mean that they are safe to consume.)

Upon reading this article with documentation showing how GMO's do indeed effect our immune systems (they have the potential to change the DNA of our gut bacteria!), I think that my food focus this year will be to (ever more vigilantly) avoid Genetically Modified Organisms the best I can, both in our food and in the other products we use.

I hope also to increase awareness of just how prevalent GMO's are in our daily lives.

I realize that I cannot take GMO's 100% out of my and my family's lives, especially living in GMO corn- and soy- country, but I will do what is within my power to minimize their impact.

This will require that I rethink our menu and food choices. I need to do a lot of thinking and praying and updating myself on these things to see just how far I can take it and still live within our food budget of $450/month for our family of 5.

Here's to a non-GMO 2012!

December 2011: Can I feed a family of 5 for $450/month?

2011-12-31T09:49:00.000-08:00

I have gotten a bit behind in my grocery posts with the holidays. So, this post is meant to update from the last time I purchased groceries. :)

Health Food Store:
Honey $4.19
Organic Valley Milk $4.99
Organic Valley Half/Half $2.69
Namaste Pizza Crust mix $10.69
Namaste Biscuit/Pie crust/etc mix $10.99

Total: $33.55

Dollar General:
2 frostings for $1.80 ea
Nutella $2.95
Trident $1
Santa Coal for Stockings $1

Total: $8.55

Amount left after last grocery shop: $54.01 - 33.55 - 8.55 = $11.91 left for the rest of the month.

I can't believe we made it to today, the last day of the month, with money left over! The kids complained here and there about the dwindling snacks and the lack of macaroni and cheese, but we dealt fine with it, and there's still food in the house. :)

Thanks for reading!

December 2011: Can I feed a family of 5 for $450/month?

2011-12-22T00:40:00.000-08:00

(oops, posting this one a bit late---must have forgotten in the holiday hubbub last week!)

After making my menu plan for the rest of the month, I went back to the store (been doing a lot of that this month for some reason...not planning as well, I suppose).

Local Grocery:
3 pkg of large flour tortillas for burritos $6.27
1 family pack of small tortillas $2.59
S 2 loaves whole wheat bread $4.78
bag of mini pretzels $2.29

S 2 bags corn tortilla chips $5

S 2 pints Daisy sour cream $4
S Rediwhip (for the Elderberry cobbler I plan on making) $2.29
LaCreme Hazelnut coffee creamer (shhhhh) $2.59

S Nestle chocolate chips $2.50
Nutella (big jar) $7.29
Skippy Natural Peanut Butter $3.89

Bananas $1.80
Mushrooms $1.00

Trident $1.29

Total came to $50.67

Total from last update: $104.68 - 50.67 = $54.01 left for the rest of the month.

I anticipate needing to purchase milk, possibly eggs, and produce before the end of the month.
We'll see how it goes! :)

Thanks for reading!

December 2011: Menu Planning for the remaining month

2011-12-21T00:41:00.000-08:00

With just under $105 left in my grocery budget for the rest of the month, I am sitting down and writing a menu/snack plan. Smart idea, as the kids will be home for their school break.

Breakfast Options:

Cold Cereal

Hot Cereal

Pancakes/Waffles

Eggs

Bacon

Biscuits and Gravy (need to find a GF biscuit recipe)

Muffins

Cinnamon Rolls for Christmas (maybe, if I can manage to do a GF version AND a regular version)

Lunch Options:

Leftovers

Various canned soups I've had on hand "just in case" that need to be eaten and restocked

GF soup/s for me (maybe GF Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup or Healing Dahl Soup)

Sandwiches-nut butter and jelly, tuna/salmon, egg

Spaghetti

Snack Options:

Apples, Oranges, Carrots

Popcorn

GF Cereal Snack Mix

Cereal mix with odds and ends from the pantry: cereal, marshmallows, chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts

Cookies...if we do some baking in the next few days...

Zucchini brownies...still have a few bags of zucchini in the freezer

"cheesy tortillas"

Supper Options:

Ham & Beans and Cornbread

Curry/Dahl over Rice

Turkey Soup

Beef Stroganoff

Sausage/potatoes/other veggie

Pizza

Turkey and noodles?

Burritos (refried bean? black bean and sweet potato?)

Enchiladas (need to make masa flour tortillas)

December 2011: Can I feed a family of 5 for $450/month?

2011-12-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

Went to the grocery and the health food store the other day.

Grocery:
box of Stash tea (free w/coupon)
2lbs Great Northern Beans $2.79
S 2 bags Old Fashioned Oats $2.98
2 cans Ortega green chilies $3.18
S 2 jars Ortega salsa $4.00
Total came to $12.95

Health Food Store:
1/2 Gallon Organic Valley milk $4.99
Organic Valley half 'n half $2.69
Tea $3.59
2 dozen eggs (yeah!) $6.70
Total came to $17.97

Total from last shopping trip $135.60 - 12.95 - 17.97 = 104.68 left for the rest of the month.

Menu/Snack plan here.

REVIEW: Better Batter Gluten Free Flour and GF Snickerdoodle Recipe

2011-12-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

I recently got some Better Batter Gluten Free Flour from a friend. At first I tried using it 1:1 in my regular recipes that called for wheat flour, but that didn't work well for me. Not sure why.

So, tonight, after depriving myself of holiday cookie cheer on a few fronts this week, I decided to try making some GF cookies.

I decided on the recipe for Snickerdoodles on the Better Batter website.

I followed the recipe exactly, with the exception of using Spectrum palm shortening instead of "regular" (GMO soy) shortening.

They are delicious! I seriously just ate about 6 of them! They will be perfect for having with tea a couple times a day! (hehe) :)

I look forward to trying the Better Batter Gluten Free Flour in other recipes. :)

Yum!

December 2011: Can I feed a family of 5 for $450/month?

2011-12-14T10:31:00.000-08:00

Felt the need to go to the store.

Sour cream $2.79
S 2 lbs butter $5.98
eggs $1.79
S 3 cheese for 3/$5

S 5 bags frozen veggies $5
2 Nestle cocoas for $1ea
2 bags tortilla chips 2/$5
2 single serve chips to keep the kids happy $1 total

Cauliflower $3.99

Total came to $32.55

So, total from last shop $171.15 - 32.55 = $135.60 left for the rest of the month

REVIEW: Nature's Highlights GF Pizza Crust

2011-12-12T05:54:00.000-08:00

I've been hunting for a good GF pizza crust. One that didn't leave my eye twitching and my nose itching, that didn't gum up as I ate it, and that didn't leave me feeling like I'd eaten a ball of dough an hour after I ate.

I picked up a box of 2 Nature's Hilights brand Brown Rice Pizza Crusts the other day at the health food store. I made one of them last night and so far they have been the best option I have found.

They cost just over $6 for a pack of 2 crusts. I ate a whole one, though I could have stretched it out to two meals if I had something to eat besides just pizza the other night.

The instructions say to defrost first, but I put the frozen crust in the oven while my family's pizza was baking and followed the instructions after that and it turned out great!

It's not a "thick crust", but it's not exactly a thin crust pizza either. Once assembled, I baked it on the oven rack and it turned out wonderfully crispy on the edges and not very gummy in the middle (I could have baked it a bit longer to fix the slight gumminess in the middle--now I know for next time).

The toppings I used to make my pizza this time were: 2 cubes of Basil from my freezer, olive oil, a blend of cheddar and mozzarella cheese, and nearly a whole 8oz package of fresh sliced mushrooms sauteed with some sliced onion and a large clove of garlic, sliced, and a sprinkling of sea salt. YUMMY!

Ingredients on the crust are listed as: Whole Grain Brown Rice, Potato. Since there is a simple ingredient list and no yeast, I think this might be a possible corn-free product. At any rate, due to the simple ingredient list, I would classify this as a Real Food.

The company doesn't have a website as far as I can find, but they do have the following contact info:
Nature's Hilights, Inc.
P.O. Box 3526
Chico, CA 95927
1-800-313-6454

12/30/11 Note: Based on others' experience with this crust, you might want to overcook the crust/pizza a bit (longer than the instructions on the box suggest to minimize the "gummy" factor). Do watch it closely, though, so it doesn't burn!

December 2011: Can I feed a family of 5 for $450/month?

2011-12-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

Today I made my list of things I will need between now and the end of next week and went to the local grocery and the local health food store.

The health food store is still out of eggs (and now peanut butter--not surprised due to stuff I've seen on the news). I may have to hit up a neighbor to see if their chickens are laying...

Local Grocery:
2 pkg tortillas $2.09 ea
S 3 blocks cheese $2 ea
Daisy Sour Cream $1.65
Eggs $1.89

S Frozen peas and frozen mixed veggies $1/ea
S Ice cream $3.99

S/C 2 boxes Chex cereal, $2.99 on sale but I had a coupon for $1 off 2....so that makes them $2.50 ea

2 bags Gala apples $2.99 ea
Mushrooms $1.98
Baby Carrots $2.88

Total: $36.33

Health Food Store:

2 half-gallons Organic Valley Milk $4.99 ea
2 Organic Valley Pastured butter $4.59 ea
1 Organic Valley Half and Half $2.59

Local Pork Sausage $5.88

Apricots (unsulphured) $3.91
Sunflower oil $8.49
Spectrum shortening $5.99
Sea Salt $7.29
Cinnamon (bulk-enough to fill my spice jar and more) $1.50
Garlic granules (bulk-enough to fill my spice jar and more) $1.77

Black tea $3.99
Black decaf tea $3.99
Celtic tea (I love Irish Breakfast tea--hoping this is similar) $5.49

Total: $70.05

Total left from last week's shop: $277.53-$36.33-$70.05= $171.15 left for the rest of the month.

GF RECIPE: GF Oatmeal Buckwheat Pancakes

2011-12-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

In my quest for nutritious GF breakfast fare, I found a recipe online that fits my needs, plus it follows the concept of soaking grains: Gluten Freely Frugal's Favorite Gluten Free Pancakes/Waffles. (By the way, I have been finding Gluten Freely Frugal to be very helpful in my endeavor to eat Gluten Free on the cheap.)

I pretty much followed the instructions, with the exception of substituting a heaping 1/2 cup Buckwheat Flour for the 1/2 cup Buckwheat Groats the recipe calls for and subbing butter for oil. I adjusted my liquid as needed and followed other instructions as listed.

Here's the recipe with my alterations:

GF Oatmeal Buckwheat Pancakes

1 cup yogurt

1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats

heaping 1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1TB butter or oil (I used butter this time)

Put the above in your blender and blend for 2-3 minutes, adding a bit of water if needed to keep a vortex going. Leave on your counter at room temperature overnight. (The yogurt makes the grains more digestible and nutrients more accessible to the body.)

In the morning, add the following:

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

Blend for a minute or two until combined thoroughly, adding water as needed to keep a vortex going in the blender.
Heat your griddle and cook.
Serve with maple syrup and butter or your choice of toppings.
Enjoy!

The kids ate without complaint until I asked how they were, and of course they said that their aunt's pancakes were better (from a mix). I need to learn to quit asking and assume that if they are eating it, it's acceptable!

This recipe was enough to feed myself and the three kids breakfast before school, but if it was a Saturday morning and my hubby was eating them too, it wouldn't have been enough by itself. Still, it worked great and I can very easily double the recipe! I'm thinking next time I will see how well it works for waffles!

Here's to Real Food!

GF/Top 8 Allergy Helps: Meijer.com

2011-12-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

When someone is newly diagnosed with food allergies/sensitivities/intolerances/what have you, they often start with a "I can't have XYZ." outlook as they think about what they will be eating from day to day. Today's food stores are packed to the brim with food, but if someone has a list of ingredients they can't eat, shopping can quickly become a discouraging chore as many foods are taken off the plate. I know that I often felt very deprived during my year of avoiding so many foods and found it to be quite depressing.

I would like to encourage the thought of "I can't have XYZ." to become more like "Look at all these things I *can* have!", because that thought is much more positive, and opens up a realm of possibilities.

Awhile back, I found a helpful source of information that has opened up some new food options: Meijer.com. I'm not sure why I waited this long to share it!

I would recommend sitting down with the list and making your own list of foods that you *can* have, and working from there to add some interesting flair to your diet.

Multiple Food Allergies?
When striving to eat Gluten/Top 8 Allergen Free, it can be hard at times to read food labels and know for certain whether a product contains something you are trying to avoid--there's just so much to watch out for, it's overwhelming! One way to simplify things is to avoid processed foods (and even then it's still hard to avoid certain things), but it's also nice to have a list of safe items to have on hand for a change of pace.

One excellent resource I have found is the Meijer website, Meijer.com. Meijer offers many helps to those of us who are dealing with food issues, the most helpful to me being the Meijer Brand Allergen List .

Although Gluten is not technically a top 8 allergen, it is included on the Meijer Brand Allergen List, along with each of the top 8 allergens, Starch, and Phenyl. Meijer has generally been responsive to me when I've contacted them with questions regarding specific products in relation to allergies and derivatives (unlike some other store-brand attempts to find answers), but this listing simplifies the process.

Of course, if you have allergies beyond the scope of the chart, you would still need to contact the company. And do still pay attention to labels, because they can change without notice.

The way to get to the Meijer Brand Allergen List (rather than the link above) is to go to Meijer.com. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and under Do More, click Healthy Living. Then under Special Diets, click Meijer Brand Allergen List, and then click View the List here.

Only Avoiding Gluten?
If you are only looking to avoid Gluten, you can simplify your search by going to the Meijer Brand Grocery Gluten-Free Products List. There is also a Meijer Brand Gluten-Free Drug Store Product List.

If you don't have a Meijer store in your area, you are probably thinking you read this post for no reason. Have no fear--it's not all for naught! Peruse the Meijer site a bit further and Under Special Diets is a Gluten Free Resources listing, as well as a National Brand Gluten-Free Product List (last updated March of 2011).

Many thanks to Meijer for making this information available to us!

RECIPE: GF Cereal Snack Mix

2011-12-06T00:41:00.000-08:00

This mix has been a staple for me since the weather has cooled (and the cereal has gone on sale and I've had coupons). I altered the Kellogg's Crispix Mix recipe to make it Gluten Free.

Here's how I make it:

GF Cereal Snack Mix

7-8 cups Rice or Corn Chex (or other suitable GF cereal--Corn Chex is likely GMO but I haven't found a substitute for it other than to use only Rice Chex)

1 cup Gluten-Free Pretzels (I have used Glutino's, but am open to trying other options)

3 TB butter, melted

4 tsp GF Worchestershire Sauce (Meijer brand is GF, as is Lea and Perrin's)

2 tsp Lemon Juice (I used Lime juice today)

1/4 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp onion salt (I only have garlic and onion powder so I use 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp each garlic and onion pwd)

1. Heat oven to 250*.

2. Put cereal and pretzels in a 9x13 pan.

3. Mix remaining ingredients, pour over cereal and stir.

4. Place in oven for 20 mins, stir, then put back in for about 30 mins, stirring after about 15mins.

5. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

6. Store in airtight container.

Munch!

RECIPE: GF Crockpot Beef Stew

2011-12-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

Tis the season for a bowl of comfort food. For me, that means Beef Stew.

Here is the way I make it in the crockpot (spice blend curtesy of my mom's recipe).

GF Crockpot Beef Stew

1. Fill crockpot about 3/4 full with about a pound of beef stew meat(ground beef works in a pinch--brown it first) and a mixture of potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and garlic.

2. Add the following ingredients/spices and stir into veggies/meat:

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

1 tsp GF Worchestershire Sauce (Meijer brand is Gluten-free, as is Lea & Perrins)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika (I want to try smoked paprika sometime!)

dash of cloves or allspice

3. Cover with water or GF broth--I used chicken or turkey bone broth from the freezer (or, depending on how much liquid you like, don't cover completely with water--but do add at least a cup or so of liquid), put lid on and cook on high for 4 hours or so(or longer on low).

4. If you would like to thicken your stew, mix about 1/4 cup gluten-free flour mix (the more starchy ones come in handy here) with a bit of cold water and stir into stew and let cook a bit longer until it thickens up. A different starch would work too (such as corn starch)--just be sure you don't use wheat flour or another gluten-y flour.

Serve and Enjoy!

Pic to come!

December 2011: Can I feed a family of 5 for $450/month?

2011-12-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Posting about my grocery purchases has kept me rather accountable, so I plan to continue keeping an online record for a while longer.

In the interest of saving gas money (and avoiding impulse purchases), I opted to shop at our local health food store and grocery rather than to drive 20-30 mins to the larger stores.

Grocery:

Produce/Fruit/Veggies-
Head Lettuce: 1.49
Celery .99
5 3lb bags of apples(most of which I plan to dehydrate) 2.99 each
Mushrooms 1.50
4 red peppers 1.00 ea
4 bags frozen mixed veggies $1 ea
2 bags frozen broccoli $1 ea

Dairy-
9 8oz pkgs various cheese, on sale for 3/$5
Daisy Cottage Cheese $2.99
3 half-gallons rbgh-free milk $1 each
Amish Smoked Cheese $4.29 (this is my splurge item--for snack this week-real smoked cheese, not "smoke flavored")

Meat-
Bacon $2.49 (to help me vamp up breakfasts)
Meat Valu Pack- $19.99 Not great health food and not an awesomely healthy purchase, but I figured it was a good way to have backup food in case we are snowed in this winter or the electricity goes out and we need some quick to prepare meats: 2 packages sausages, ham slice, bacon, hot dogs

Other:
3 pkg burrito tortillas $2.09 ea
1 pkg fajita tortillas $1.59
2 loaves WW bread $2.39 ea
Baker's Chocolate $3.49
Freeze Pops for the sick kid $.50
2 Hunt's Snack Pack puddings $1 ea
2 Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce $.98 ea
1 pkg WW Spaghetti $1.79
Brown Sugar $1.50
5 cans pumpkin $1 ea
2 cans evap milk $1 ea

Total came to $114.16

Health Food Store:

(No eggs :()
Beef stew meat $6.71
Beef ground 5.89
GF Pizza Crust $6.65 (to be posted about soon!)
GF Tortillas $3.59
2 loaves Udi's bread $3.99 ea
Tea 3.39 and 3.59
Rice noodles $2.69 (new to me--going to try with fish sauce, below)
Fish Sauce $3.49 (new to me)
Tinkyada pastas $3.59 and $3.19

Total came to $50.76

Since the HFS didn't have eggs, I ran across the street to Family Dollar and got:
2 dozen commercial eggs $2.40 ea
1 carton Egg Nog (dh's favorite--I try to get it at least once/year for him) $2.75

Total came to $7.55

Grand Total Spent: $172.47

So, $450-172.47= $277.53 left for the rest of the month

Menu plan for the month is Here.

December 2011: Menu Planning

2011-12-03T08:44:00.000-08:00

Having gone through my food stores to see what I still have on hand, I made up a rough menu for the month of December.

Since I chose to shop local, I decided to only shop for this coming week and not to do a lot of stocking up unless stuff was on a good sale. Having done my menu plan and knowing what I have on hand gave me a pretty good idea of what to put on the list.

Rather than give you a precise schedule of what I put on what day of the week, I'll just give you a list of what we plan on having for dinner. Because I often change it up a bit, but usually pick something on the plan since I have the ingredients handy. :)

Pizza X 2 (purchased 2 GF crusts for me, regular deli pizza/making wheat crust for the fam)

Sandwiches for supper X 2 (Udi's bread for me, 100% Whole Wheat without hfcs for the fam)

Black Beans and Rice for the fam(because my allergies acted up for some reason when I was cooking this, I made a pot of GF Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup for myself and to share for lunch this weekend)

Beef Stew with GF biscuits if I can find a good recipe to use my Namaste or Better for Batter flour mix in...or just with garlic toast (regular for the fam/Udi's for me).

Roast Duck (in the freezer that really needs to be used), Beets (from the garden--Must Harvest!), Pie (made from Butternut Squash from the garden--> GF Crustless Pumpkin Pie style)

Beef Liver (that I have yet to figure out how to cook, lol), Homemade Mac and Cheese of some sort because I doubt the liver will go over well (hehe), Broccoli, Potatoes?

Regular Spaghetti (read: the kids want tomato based, not white sauce or chicken spaghetti, lol)....something else for dh and I, probably leftovers from another meal

Chicken Fingers and fries (maybe--if I can suck it up and buy the mega-spendy GF ones....or maybe I'll eat leftovers and the kids will get cheap ones--this is planned for a Family Movie Night instead of the usual *yawn* pizza )
Beans (cooked w/Ham Hocks) and GF Cornbread
Salmon Patties or Loaf and veggies, maybe some sort of pasta
Chicken/Turkey Soup X 3 (especially w/the abundance of turkey bone broth and the illnesses going around!)
Enchiladas (need to make corn tortillas w/the Masa Flour I purchased-way less additives than storebought corn tortillas and since the Masa is made of white corn, I think it's less likely to be GMO)
Hamburger Stroganoff and veggies(sauteed green beans/onions/mushrooms)
GF Chicken Spaghetti-knockoff from Pioneer Woman's recipe

Breakfasts will be what's left of the cereal, Bagels from the freezer, eggs and bacon, pancakes, Oatmeal/other hot cereal.
The kids generally eat school lunch, and dh and I generally have leftovers for lunch. I may also have a nut-butter sandwich and an apple or whatever I happen to find around the house. :-)
Snacks are: Carrots, Apples and Cheese, Oranges, Popcorn, Granola Bars, Chex Mix (that I need to make from cereal left from last month), and maybe some Muddy Buddies/Puppy Chow made from Chex as a treat. Monster Cookies, when I get around to making those. Pudding cups or homemade tapioca pudding or maybe rice pudding.

Farm Fresh Egg Shortage?

2011-12-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

I went to the local health food store to pick up some of their pastured chicken eggs (which I love). The eggs they carry are from a local farmer and well worth the extra $1 they cost when compared to "regular" storebought eggs. Turns out that the chickens have quit laying, though! The farmer even bought more laying hens to help remedy the problem, and those hens have also quit laying!

It's a bit early for chickens to quit laying, especially with our so-far very mild and warmish weather for this time of year.

In talking further with one of the health food store workers, their chickens had also molted early and are not laying much at all. She had thought this was due to not having heat/light on in the coop, but her friend's coop has light and heat and even she is having this problem.

Also, it seems an Amish family semi-locally has observed this same problem. It seems that the chickens molted not too long ago, had a little break, but now are molting yet again (and laying hardly at all).

I think I got the right details with the right people up there. At any rate, this is a strange thing to have happen to so many different flocks at the same time!

I wonder if possibly..
~the warmer weather and rain has led to the chickens not laying,
~the chicken feed companies are cutting back on their protein in the feed and that's causing the chickens to back off on the laying,
~or if they're doing an animal survival thing of reserving their energy for the (supposed) long winter ahead?

Just some thoughts....
Has there been an farm-fresh egg shortage in your local area?

A pic from Memory Lane....back when I had chickens...and my own eggs!

November 2011, Week 4+: Can I feed a family of 5 for $450/month?

2011-12-01T07:11:00.000-08:00

Well, folks, I did it! I was stubborn and refused to go to the store since my last shop, so I ended the month with $2.63 to spare. Even though I "needed" some things, I was able to make do with what we had for the rest of the month. (Having sick kids for a day or two also helped give me incentive to stay home.)

Of course, hubby says "there's nothing to eat". We aren't anywhere near going hungry, though. We just don't have much easy-to-grab-and-eat stuff around. And I'm out of easy proteins for him, such as cheese sticks. Being "out of regular food" isn't bad overall, though. If we're truly hungry, we can eat an apple, orange, carrot, bowl of cereal(hot or cold), popcorn, nut butter or tuna sandwich...etc. To me, that is still food.

For breakfast, my son requested pancakes. I am out of eggs and most "regular" flour....so I googled an eggless pancake recipe and subbed in GF flour (only because I didn't have enough regular flour left). Had to add a lot more milk, but it worked ok. Actually, it went over much better than did the oatmeal I served the kids for breakfast yesterday(the boys resisted, Ivy gobbled it up happily). :)

Looking forward to going to the store, though! But not today as planned...sick kiddo.
Menu planning for next month and hopefully shopping soon.

Has anyone found these postings helpful?
Is there any other info that you are curious about pertaining to the topic at hand?

Please comment below! :)

RECIPE: GF French Fried Onions

2011-11-23T16:21:00.000-08:00

Growing up, I remember always having the classic Green Bean Casserole for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I decided to bring it to Thanksgiving if I could figure out how to do it Gluten-Free.

I was directed to Gluten Free Mommy's Green Bean Casserole, which looks very promising. I think I will use it to work off of, using my Pacific Foods Cream of Mushroom Soup that is gluten-free instead of making soup from scratch. I think I will still saute some mushrooms to add to the green beans though. And I'll use a gluten-free soy sauce...maybe...not sure I will need it really.

The other problem I had to solve was the substitute for French's Fried Onions (man, I loved those things!), since they have gluten in them.

I read the instructions by Gluten Free Mommy as to how she makes French Fried Onions and went from there. I refuse to go to the store for more oil, so I was stuck using Ghee (expensive, but I've been wanting to use it up this month anyway...). I got out my smallest skillet and only did one onion, sliced thin. The flour I used was the end of the package of Bob's All Purpose Flour Mix and Better Batter Flour Mix, salt and pepper.

Let me tell you, these things are delicious! It's all I can do to NOT to eat them before making the casserole tomorrow! I better hide them from the hubby and kids!

Here's some pics:

Sizzling in the Ghee:

Final Product: French Fried Onions!

Voila!

November 2011, Week 3: Can I feed a family of 5 for $450/month?

2011-11-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

So, last week I was left with $48.17 left for the month.

Well, I had to return the Black Jewell popcorn I purchased earlier this month. I popped some up for myself and the kids, and it had an odd smell to it....turns out it was moldy or something. At first it smelled like corn on the cob smells when you are shucking it...but it got worse when it was popping...on closer inspection of the kernels left in the container, there were little white hairy things around the tips of the popcorn kernels. Ick! I've purchased this popcorn in the past and not had any problems. I'm not sure what happened. At any rate, it belongs to the store now.

So, I returned the popcorn, which raised my total to $55.66 left for the month.

And....then I went shopping. With a list. And it came to $53.03.

Insert Deep Breath here.

Here's what I got at the local grocery. (S= Sale item)

~S 8 half-gallons of non-rbgh milk for $10 (I rummaged through and made sure to get the dates furthest away, which happen to be Nov 29)
~S 1 1/2 lbs of Shredded Cheddar Cheese for $5.99
~S 3 bags frozen Bird's Eye broccoli, 2 bags Freshlike green beans, 1 mixed veggies, 1 peas for $.98 each
~S 1 turkey for $11.83 (I believe they are on sale for $.58/lb w/$15 food purchase--this one wasn't actually On The List, but I couldn't pass up a deal---this bird will be in many meals!)
~2 heads garlic $1.08
~Romaine $2.19
~Mushrooms $1.98 (I saw on Dr. Oz the other day how you can sub chopped mushrooms for half of your ground beef 1:1 and it's an extender and good for you. I'm going to try it! I've read that mushrooms can be a food source of vitamin D and we definitely need that up here in often-overcast OH!)
~Bag onions $4.99 (drat, I think I grabbed the wrong bag!)
~S Sweet potatoes $.67/lb--$1.91 to make sweet potato fries/add into roasted veggies or for a quick lunch for me
~Honeycrisp apples (ok, these were a splurge--tired of Red/Golden Delicious blahness) $6.20 for 5 apples (!) but better than soda, chips, or fast food, right?

Total came to $53.03

Which leaves me with $2.63 for the month.

I think the only thing I may absolutely NEED to get before the end of the month is eggs. The pastured eggs cost more than what is left of my food allowance for the month, so I may end up going to the local grocery and getting a dozen to tide us over. That is, if my husband and I eat through the 10 eggs we have in the fridge between now and the end of the month. And if I do any baking.

Although, this may be a good time to try some egg substitute options.

We shall see...

The ironic thing is that I have purchased 2 turkeys this month to the tune of about $23.45. I didn't NEED them for this month, and probably won't actually cook them this month. They were purchased as sort of an investment for the future months, if that makes sense. I'll cook them on a cold, snowy day in the wintertime. If I'd not gotten those turkeys, I'd have plenty of money left for eggs! (still, not very sorry I got the turkeys. Some things are just worth it in the long run!)

I am still going to strive to stay within my budget. I will endeavor to persevere! :)

November 2011, Week 2: Can I feed a family of 5 for $450/month?

2011-11-10T12:25:00.000-08:00

As promised, I am updating with my menu plan, as well as another shopping trip to "big town" while I happened to already be there getting some other needs (why does softener salt have to be so expensive in the town closest to me?).

Meijer:
3 cans refried beans .89, 2@1.29
Diamond Almonds 1.09, 5.99
Juice 2.79
Gum 1.39
2 Stonyfield yogurts @ 3.79 ea
2 rice pasta 3.99 ea
gf tortillas 4.49
Ham shanks 4.78 (one for the beans in the menu, one to freeze for later)
OG milk 6.29 (picked one with the most distant use by date)
2 burritos(my lunch) 2.19 ea
Daisy Sour Cream 2.29
Cershey dark cocoa 2.69
2 large boxes OF Oats 5.98
6 frozen orange juices @ 2.$3
2 sherbets@ 1.50 ea
3 cans of olives $1 ea
large bag string cheese (got the light kind so the kids would stay out of them, hehe--they're for hubby mainly) 5.99
Walnuts 6.49
cashews 6.99

Total came to 95.66

Last total: $143.83 - 95.66 = $48.17 left for the month

I have pretty much everything I need for the main menu for the rest of the month. I suspect I will need to buy milk, lettuce, and perhaps eggs by the end of the month. And maybe some loss leaders if I feel I might have enough for that.

Menu for Nov. 14-30

Chicken in the oven with roasted veggies and mashed potatoes
Enchiladas (with leftover chicken from above, or beef)
3 x Tuna Sandwiches with apples/cut up veggies on the side, pickles and perhaps chips
Ham and Beans and Cornbread
Cheeseburger Pizza
(Crockpot?) Chicken Spaghetti OR Macaroni and Cheese, veggies on the side
Liver and Onions(we'll see how this goes over...), Mac and Cheese as a cop-out side dish...broccoli
Turkey Veggie Soup?
Crockpot Beans seasoned and mashed to make Burritos with our many tortillas(and my GF tortillas above for me)
Biscuits and Gravy(going to try using a standard recipe with some GF flour mix)
Chicken done some new way, veggies, Rice

November 2011, Week 2: Can I feed a family of 5 for $450/month?

2011-11-10T06:37:00.000-08:00

Here are my purchases at the local grocery and the health food store:

Local grocery:
2 ice creams $2.98 each
10 bags frozen veggies $1 each
3 boxes Chex for $5
3 packs pudding cups $.88 each
2 bags white tortilla chips $2.59 each
2 packages chicken parts, $4.64 and $5.28
Pork sausage $3.18
2 heads lettuce $.88 each
2 5 lb bags apples $3.99 ea
pack mushrooms $1.98

Total came to $53.60

Health Food Store:
4 boxes tea $3.39, $4.25, $4.29, $3.59
2 half-gallons Organic Valley milk $4.89 ea
Fermented Pickles (Bubbies) $5.49
Pastured Butter $4.49
Raw Honey $3.58
Cacao Nibs $2.58

Total came to $41.44

So...total left from last shop $243.87 - $53.60 - $41.44 = $143.83 left for the month.

I will work on my menu for the rest of the month and post it soon!