another story on how cheap eating healthy can be. This writer crunches the numbers on baking/making several household staples vs. buying them at the store. I thought what she came up with was quite interesting.
http://www.slate.com/id/2216611/
A note: I have never made my own crackers, but after having some housemade crackers lately at a restaurant (fancy restaurant, but simple crackers) and from BCoops post a few months ago about making her own crackers, I have been a bit obsessed with the thought. However, I don’t generally buy crackers for the home, because I would eat them excessively. I would imagine the same would be the case for yummy homemade crackers.
the bf loves homemade crackers!. I made garlic herb ones for him, parm and garlic for me.
its really easy and cheap to make goat cheese to. My mom just told me she did it, I will probably try this weekend.
Take whole goats yogurt and wrap it tight in a cheese clothe and let it strain overnight in the sink and VOILA! All done. you can roll it in herbs or not. It only lasts a few days though, but so easy and much cheaper.
except. I don’t think I’ve ever seen whole goats’ yogurt in a store… and I frequent a lot of stores!
I get it at Trader Joes §.
Seen it there too & I’m in Southern Calif §.
ObMeToo. Whole Paycheck as well. Oh, did I mean Whole Foods?
Whatever.
hahaha love it §.
no joke there!. It does cost an arm and a leg compared to TJ’s.
You can do OK, but you have to …. … shop very carefully.
Oats and whey powder are priced the same. It’s the premium products that really get a mark-up.
I make selected purchases at WF (they’re very convenient to work), but TJs for most home eating.
I can’t see myself shopping there again.. After what I paid for red lentils, and just browsing some other items (other dried beans/peas, fruit)…it’s way out of my range. Plus I’m not someone who needs to eat organic everything. I pick and choose hit and miss organic items, but each of those I can get at TJ’s.
TJs is weak on veggies. It’s getting better, but it’s still a limited selection. Quality’s improving. I’d like more in the way of greens and colored stuff. Mostly down to spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower.
For WF: I’ve got a very small set of items I pick up there, and it’s close by. That’s about it.
Ours has tons!. They are expanding their selection of frozen veggies, but the one I go to has tons of veggies (pretty much anyone I eat!). Maybe it’s a regional thing?
Frozen …. … there’s “soycuttash”, broccoli, spinach (still trying to figure out what to do w/ frozen spinach), a good selection of berries, mango, pineapple, etc. But much of the rest is corn and beans. Then again, leafy stuff doesn’t freeze well, so I shouldn’t complain.
I’m in California, less than 100 miles from the vegetable garden of the country (Salinas / Watsonville area), so it’s not as if access is an issue.
Some of the products are real winners. I love the sweet nantes carrots.
Spinach. Throw it in an omlette, toss it in a wheat tortilla with an assortment of vegtables and a little protein. It doesn’t have that much of a taste that you can’t mix it with just about anything especially raw.
Thanks, added to the bag-o-tricks §.
Veggies. The statistics say that frozen veggies are probably the most healthy and fresh because there flash frozen in their prime. TJ’s frozen green beans are great.
Their brussel Sprouts are awesome. And don’t get an attitude about brussel sprouts, their on the top 20 for healthy foods. Cut them up nuke them in some water,toss them with a condiment such as teryaki sauce!!Ohla!
I *love* b-sprouts …. … and yeah, I’ve heard from multiple sources that frozen veggies keep their nutritional value.
I’m looking for more of the green (and colored) dark leafy stuff. Unfortunately the better groceries and my work/commute hours don’t mix well (though I’ve got an excellent local grocer just a few blocks from home).
Sproute. Sprouts has great prices on their food
Crackers. Try Wasa Fiber Crisb bread Walmart 35 calories per slice. It’s Great.
If you want something healthy to taste good it will. Many things in life are an acquired taste not just food.
aka Attitude, Love, Life.
We are in control, are Mind is our most powerful weapon, tell it what You Want and It Will Listen!
At least if you make your own you. control what’s going in there and you can make a smallish batch.
But it is hard to pass by the cracker container when they’re calling your name
I had to put mine in an opaque container so I’d be less tempted.
I made vegetarian split pea soup for dinner last night and I think the total cost came to $1.50. You’re right — it doesn’t have to be expensive!
good point!. on the small batch thing. I guess it’s budget- and calorie-conscious!
I blew my budget (knowingly, willingly) on new running shoes last night and started calculating what I had in my pantry that would help me last until my next payday. I was like, “I have this, that, and… 80 pounds of various lentils! Oh yeah! I’ll eat for years!”
I remember once sitting in the car at a drive-up window with my mom. I told her I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich. She got upset with me and told me if I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich, she could make one for me at home. I think about that a lot now when I’m in a rush for a week and buy lentil soup or chili. I could have saved myself so much money – and calories – by just taking an extra 15 minutes and throwing all the ingredients in a pot.
I struggle with “healthy” and “baked products”. together.
The craft of taking whole grain and grinding it to a powder, then adding sugar and yeast, does a lot to decrease the nutritive value of the foods. It would be less costly to simply eat the grains whole.
Since the early days of dieting and weight loss, bread and bread-like products have been considered to be the arch-nemisis of the dieter. Well, at least until we had commercially produced candy bars, cheap soda and fast food.
It is only by comparison with things like McDonald’s that home-made bread appears “healthy” in any way. It is, always, less “helthy” than consuming the grains before they’re ground up.
Another DiFo poster on here recommended “Simple Food for the Good Life” by Helen Nearing. I don’t know who that was, but the book is a treasure. There’s a whole chapter on “breads” and she shows how ot make REAL bread, not the pasty, soft ,scrunchy, spongy, risen stuff. Egg whites instad of flour can be used as a binder, and you end up with a bread that has the same ratio of protein per calorie and fiber per calorie as the whole grains (unground) which you use to make it.
And, in a happy coincidence, bread made without yeast is easy…no rising required. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another, then combine and shove into oven. Prior to going into the oven, it’s 10 minutes’ prep time.
And the cost in terms of dollars per gram of nutrient is less than yeast-and-flour based bread.
!!!!. You have no idea how happy this article just made me!
My sister has a huge garden with an abundance of fruit and vegetables growing.
I never though about making jam. They have blackberries and tons of lemons. They also have peach and apple trees, but I am not sure if they’re bearing fruit.
There’s tons of tomatos and tomatillos– I make loads of marinara, salsas, and chutney.
Can’t wait to try making my own yogurt!!