March, Where did you go?

March was a bit of a write off.

Meaning, my writing of this blog was off, but I managed to stick to my guns with the challenge.

Yeppers, eating cheap, clean and sticking to the basics. Had to buy the 'cheap' toilet paper once (ugh), and say no to some "Mom, can we have_______?!(the usual crap kids see on TV and want, take your pick)

We did escape to sunnier shores for 10 days in March. It was fabulous to get away. I now see what the snow birds are on to! I usually save up my vacation days and take vacation in the summer, but after this year, I see the joys of getting away in the middle of a bleak winter to re-energize. I think we will try repeating this exercise next year....(you know, it's just science. I have to see if the results are reproducible.)

Food goodness still comes in the form of kale smoothies for breakfast and the kids still like them, too. I haven't eaten cereal in about 30 days now. I had a look at the nutrition information for my cereal of choice and I have to say I am getting far more nutrients with a kale smoothie in the morning than what is in that box.

The kids and I made some home-made macaroni which was delicious and very cheap. And my home-made I mean...we made the pasta. It is easy, but you need the tools.

So, what will April bring? Don't know yet...but I'm going to stick with good, healthful foods and keep to the budget. I hope to have more recipes and pictures coming.

Banana, strawberries, chia, protein powder, ice cubes and 2 cups of kale

The final product.

A new Month; a New Beginning

Beware the Ides of March- so said Plutarch in the play Julius Caesar.  Plutarch was also a character in the "Hunger Games"...of which we are not suffering on 400 dollars a month. After 2 months, I deem this a do-able challenge. A bit of work as far as food prep goes, but manageable.

February, was my freezer meals challenge. I could not for the life of me make a month's worth of meals all in one day. So what I did, as a time compromise, was triple up on meals I was making during the first week. I worked out quite nicely, and I have to say it was wonderful to have some healthy meals in the freezer on those days I did not want to cook...and this month there were many of them. Work got crazy, but I could still put some meals on the table. I will continue with this freezer meal idea. It's just as easy to make a triple batch as a single, then freeze up 2/3 of the meal.

Another food I discovered towards the end of the month was Kale! To me, kale was that pretty bush in the garden..not food. This past Christmas, my sister made a kale salad for a celebration meal and I thought it was pretty good. Then I forgot about it, until I was on a website trying to sell these health 'shake' powders for 119.00 a month..???....so I got my vita-mix out, some fresh fruit, whey powder and 2 cups of kale and voila "health shake", without the commercial hype. It was so good, in fact, my kids loved it. So for the past 8 days, I have been making green smoothies for breakfast. I make extras so the kids have that as a juice to drink with their Cheerios.

As a nice benefit, I have not had a migraine in 7 days...not a one. That is a damn miracle!

Here are some benefits of eating kale:

• fibre
• antioxidants
• anti-inflammatory
• vitamins (K, C, A)
• minerals (calcium)
• cardiovascular support.

Everything I read seems to extoll that kale really is a wonder food. I think the 'wonder' is that it is a fad and people are actually increasing their leafy green intake, which has always been touted as a good thing. I say so what! If we can turn good healthy eating into a fad, and one that sticks....give 'er!

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4408/Top-10-Health-Benefits-of-Eating-Kale.html

My budget will be a bit wonky this month, as I head to Florida for 10 days on a vacation. I'll keep you in the loop!

The House Smells So Gooooood!!

Today I put on the first of the freezer meals.

Sweet&Sour Pork

Trying to find recipes that go from freezer to table and maintain some sense of flavour and colour and nutrition is important. I did some research around the safest foods to freeze and how.

These were my favorite sites:

The Canadian Government Site for safe food handling practices. Some of it is plain common sense, but good to know.
http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/eating-nutrition/safety-salubrite/index-eng.php?utm_campaign=CHS1213&utm_source=google_en&utm_content=ADV0096-12_sem-ad-1_en&utm_medium=cpc&utm_keyword=%2Bcanada%20%2Bfood%20%2Bsafety#a2


Also, I liked reading about freezer friendly meals from Prevention magazine and Martha Stewart. I trust the preparation and advice on both these sites.

http://www.prevention.com/food/cook/freezer-friendly-recipes-make-ahead-time

http://www.marthastewart.com/274277/freezer-friendly-foods


There is lots of info out there on Pinterest regarding people making "make ahead meals", and the mixing of raw meat and veggies in a bag with sauce then whacking it in the freezer made me feel uneasy. And it should. Meat in one freezer bag and veggies in another if you must. Also, some veggies to not freeze well raw. It changes the cell structure and can modify the texture upon thawing.

 One biggie was potatoes....from everything I read, do not freeze raw potato...it won't kill you, but they turn black, can go mushy on thaw and turns the starch to sugars changing the flavours. Not worth it...cook the potatoes first! If it were okay to do, it would be on some trusted food sites like above....Pinterest is not a trusted food site to me. Good ideas, then do your research.


So, what did I cook first? I did the Sweet&Sour Pork. I was able to put away three servings for a later date. Just the thought of having three potential days of not pulling my hair out at 6pm when I get home from work was worth the effort.

All the ingredients cost me $11.21; making each meal to serve 4 a mere: $3.73

Complete: S&S Pork with Fresh Mixed Veggies

Spaghetti and Meatballs, Cabbage Rolls, Shepherd's Pie....hmmmm, what to do next?
At the very least, the house smells really good!

Till next time!

And can it be done? Without performance enhancing coupons?

As a New Year resolution I wondered, can the food bill be slashed to 400.00 for the month for our family to survive on?

In short: Yes

Long Answer: It took some skill and crafty timing of coupons. 

In total, the food bill for the month was 276 dollars plus change. I'll try to forget the 95 dollars spent in coffee shops and I didn't include it in the food bill for the family. a-hem.....

So how was it done? 

I did buy fresh food, made homemade pasta, pizza, curries, vegans dishes, casseroles, soups...you name it. 

We ate well, and no one re-enacted the scene from "Oliver" due to hunger.

We did benefit from using some coupons (one 20 dollar PC points redemption, and a Costco cash back cheque from Amex). I think this is fair, and I should not have to confess to Oprah for using illegal methods of saving money. These things are available to anyone to use (but, wasn't that Lance's excuse? hmmmm)

Anyway, all's fair in love and saving money!

So where do I go from here? 

I'm going to keep doing this...the challenge for February is to stay on budget and do the freezer meal pre-prepared meals. Superbowl Sunday will be "super chop" Sunday for me, as I prepare a months worth of meals in one sweep!

Luckily, I will have the parents deep freezer at my disposal. 

Do you have a favorite freezer meal? I'd love to hear about it and I may include it for the month.

Happy February, Cheap Peeps!

Leslie

Out of the frying pan...

...well, if the frying pan is the flu then I was crispy fried for a couple weeks there.
Note to self: when feeling off colour; listen to your body or you just may end up in hospital,forced bed rest and be chronically fatigued for a few weeks.


On the budget front, doing well...eating fresh healthy foods, sticking to my food plans and to date, have spent 252 dollars on food this month so far. It's only mid month, so I'm starting to be skeptical if we can keep it at the strict budget initially set out. We'll see....it's not over yet!

While I was resting up, I spent some time on Pinterest. Now, there is the place to find the seasoned cheapskates (which I say with respect and love, as I dream to be one myself...). I saw homemade cleaners of all sorts, budgets tips, couponing and a million things to do with old t-shirts.

Of most interesting was a site on making 'freezer' meals...i.e spending a weekend preparing a months worth of food, popping in ziplock bags in the freezer and voila, cheap meals and no cooking suppers for the month. Sounds absolutely dreamy!!

I'm going to head to the library for some slow-cooker recipe ideas and  make February my 'made ahead meal month'....though, I may have to do it week to week as I do not have a deep freeze. But even having a week of meals pre-done will be nice.

Tonight for dinner I made Faijitas! Those kits in the store are not needed and have too much salt and chemicals for my liking.
This is how it went down:

TBSP EVOO, heat in pan
add 3 boneless chicken thighs, and brown on either side
add 1tsp cumin and 2tsp paprika, mix around in pan with the chicken
cover and simmer for 10 minutes
uncover, break apart chicken with fork(like pulled pork, only chicken)
add 3 red peppers sliced into sticks and 1/2 onion sliced into rings.
Fire the pan back up to high and stir fry for about 10 minutes.
The veggies will blacken a bit on the edges (just like at the restaurants)
If you have a hot stove top, burner element, gas... adjust temperature in above step.
Last step, squeeze juice of one lime over mixture..it's ready to serve

serve with mashed avocado, cheese and wraps..yummo!!

It's Friday, Friday, gonna eat Pizza on Friday..

Ever since Rebecca Black came out with that song "Friday" it's the only thing I can think of when Friday rolls around.  Sad but true.

I made a homemade pizza tonight for dinner. I can make a pizza from scratch (dough as well) in about 30 minutes. The kids love it over anything from a pizza shop and I know that is it healthy, low fat, no preservative crap, low salt, gluten free...need I go on?

I have the instructions for my pizza on my Facebook site, so you may have seen this before, but here it is again. Now, it may not be cheaper in the end than picking up a 3.99 frozen pizza but is that ultimately better for your body? I think the end cost is 7 dollars, which is less expensive than a boutique pizza joint. So, here it is.....

Pizza, it is Gluten Free!!The Gluten Free pizza crusts on the market are expensive and the taste is unpredictable.Why not make your own, GF, homemade pizza. It’s amazing, every time. It’s cheap, and non greasy.

Batter(yup, not dough)

 ¾ cup GF biscuit mix (Bob’s Red Mill)

¾ cup pancake GF mix (bulk barn)

2 large eggs

¾ cup luke warm water(more/less)

½ tsp salt

Whaz is up in the mixer, it will be a thick batter, sort of like toothpaste.

Trust Me Step*

 Spread batter in a NON greased non-stick  8” pan

Once evenly spread turn on stove top to med high

Still Trust Me, “It’s Okay” Step

 Batter will begin to bubble and cook like a pancake and pull away from edges of pan.

Bottom will brown up nicely; turn down stove to stop it burning.

Let’s Decorate Step

 While it’s burbling away, and you are still thinking this is madness, decorate your pizza like you normally would…sauce, cheese, veg, and pepperoni….whatever you like.

Turn on the Broiler to Lo Step

 The bottom of the crust should be nicely browned and cooked with all the toppings, well, on top!

Turn your broiler on Lo. Set the rack up to 7-8 inches away.

Whack it in the Oven Step

 Put the whole pan (I hope you had a pan with good handles!) under the broiler and leave the oven door slightly jar.

It’s done when your cheese looks all bubbly and awesome!

Impress your Family and Friends Step

 Take the pizza out of the oven, and turn it onto a cutting board. 

Slice and serve.

This is the best pizza, takes no time to do.

Who said Gluten Free didn’t taste good?

*the idea for baking dough in a pan is from Jamie Oliver. All hail Jamie Oliver!

Soup Tonight! (baby it's Cold Outside)

I really must cook- (baby it's cold outside)
to the fridge I look- (baby it's cold outside)
I have stock and veggies-(baby it's cold outside)
Let's make a stew- (this stew sounds really good...)

At -25 with wind chill yesterday and the flu showing no signs of leaving our house it's time for some healthy warm soup.

One of the last acts of Christmas for me is boiling the turkey bones to have some stock ready for the inevitable winter stews. I do buy stock, but whenever I have the opportunity to make fresh stock I grab at it.
If you have never done this, it's 'souper' easy and gets the full value out of any bone-in meat you use.

With the stock(which contained lots of turkey chunks), I will add nice chunky potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and some seasonings. Serve with some crusty bread or slightly stale bread.

Here is a little article about the health benefits of a bone broth. Let's hope this will act as a curative for this flu and I can get to work tomorrow!

http://www.doctorauer.com/benefits-of-bone-broth/

Thanks to all the people all over the world looking at my blog. I appreciate your views and any comments.

Yours in health and wealth!

Leslie

Pop, goes the budget!

Round and round the Costco aisles,
Leslie chased the bargains.
Stood in line and paid the bill..
Pop, goes the....

Well, not quite blown yet. But it is always amazing how quickly groceries add up.
 I talk to many people (friends, family co-workers) who all mention the increases in the grocery bills over the year. Or, you head to the store for 'a few things' and come out with a hundred dollar food bill and a dazed feeling like you had an out of body experience while you were in there. The way grocery stores are laid out and the music they play are all part of the marketing plan to make you buy more. Which is fine if you use the food and if the food is good for you.

I came away with 6 2L bottles of apple juice, 3 loaves of bread, 12 salmon fillets, 4 pounds of broccoli, some hummus, 2kg of bananas, dog food, milk and some pharmacy items for 93.34. Some of these items will last a few weeks. I've included some items which are not part of the food statistics kept by the last government survey, but I thought it would be interesting to see if we could get by on the budget including those non-food grocery items.*

Start budget:       430.00
todays spending:   93.34
left for the month: 336.66*


* areas to insert laughter

Tonight for dinner will be a curry chicken dish which makes a lot of left-overs which is great for lunch.(serves 6)

3 chicken thighs/boneless

in an 8 by 8 pan place 1 1/3 cups Basmati rice, 1/4 cup sliced almonds, 1 TBSP raisins, and place chicken on top.

on a sauce pan heat 1TBSP olive oil or ghee, 1/4 chopped onion, 1 heaped tsp curry powder until fragrant. Add 1 cup rice milk and 2 cups water and heat until steaming, not boiling.

Pour hot mixture over chicken and rice, cover with foil and bake at 350F for about 40 minutes or until cooked and liquid is absorbed. Sometimes I leave it for 50 minutes. Tonight I will serve it with some bok choy I have, but you can serve it with any veg you have in the house, or add the veg right to the casserole to bake. Cauliflower and broccoli work best.

Recipe adapted from Bette Hagman (the Gluten Free Gourmet, my apologies to her for changing it)

All of these ingredients are staples I keep in the house.

Day One- Illness Makes the Wallet Grow Fatter...

We had panini sandwiches for lunch. Why is it that if you make any plain sandwich it will  magically transform into a delicious masterpiece once squashed between too hot surfaces? We had some leftover vegan curry ( homemade that hubby did up for NYE dinner) and a few shreds of Balderson cheese; rolled up in a gluten free rice wrap.

Cold, plain.
Hot, mmmhawt!

I think the panini grill is one of the best gadgets we have ever bought*. We saw it at a boxing day sale last year and, after listening to my sister go on about how great her panini press was, I had to join the panini club (Ha, see what I did there?). We chuck any veggie, leftover spaghetti, rice, cheese, pickle(the sky is the limit, we have paninied many crazy concoctions  they always taste good) into a wrap and a few minutes on the press and we have great deli meal.

For dinner, all I could muster was beans on toast. A cheap meal that we always have on hand. Topped off with couple clementines and a cuppa tea.  Not very inventive but legumes are a cheap healthy food we should include in our diet.

PS if you don't own a panini press, a fry pan and a brick covered well in tin foil works just as well.

Total food expenditure to date: 0.00


*I digress, I like all my kitchen gadgets.

The Beginning-an easy start

Happy New Year!

Starting off this challenge is not going to be too hard. As the holiday season is behind us, I still have a huge stash of food in the house left over from the over indulgence that is par for the course at this time of year. That and no stores are open today and the family is laid up with the flu. I see soups for a few days.

The challenge may start to hit the rails when I have to begin replenishing, or decide not to do so. We do shop at Costco and you can easily drop a few hundred in there and still not come out with everything you need.

As it's New Years and everything is closed up tight, I have the day to do my pantry inventory and reflect on how to save money on food. Here are some changes I know we can easily make:

1. buy bread from the bakery factory outlet.
2. buy fruit and veggies from the farmers market (this is next door to the bread outlet!)
3. buy meat from the butcher.

All three of these places are close to our home and I have known this to be a cheaper option to buy food supplies. I always figured the convenience of hitting one or two stores is better than hitting 5. But, if it can help me stay on track to save, so be it. I would not go out of my way to do this, not with gas prices what they are, but as these stores are close and I drive past them daily anyhow this should be an easy change to our routine.

We are very lucky to live close and have a car to hop around to these various stores.

So, off to do an inventory, plan meals for the rest of the week and see how far the monthly budget will go.

Fisherman's Cove, Nova Scotia
photo by Leslie Hill