Good morning boys and girls and welcome to another edition of the Frugal Mom! So glad you stopped in today… so tell me… how are ya? I am doing pretty good. I was up late last night and I have a busy day planned for today, but I’m good
Alright everyone… after searching and planning, I have found a site to host a small web store for free until I can pay the selling fees to open it up with lots more listings. I started working on it late last night until I went bug-eyed. I used to have an extensive yahoo site, but they shut it down (everyone not just me LOL). So this is going to take some time to get it up and running, so be patient with me LOL! But I am proud to say that
Goodies Galore is back up and running! Go check it out on webs and even bookmark it LOL!
Well today for frugal, I’m bringing you an article about one of my favorite things… FOOD! Yes there are tons of ways to be frugal with food costs, and this article shows one guys perspective. See if you agree!
50 healthy foods for under $1 a poundby Jeff Yeager, The Daily Green If you are what you eat, then I should weigh-in at under $1 a pound. That's because, as a general rule of thumb, I try to only buy foodstuffs that costs under a buck per pound. Under $1 a pound, year-round -- that's my grocery shopping mantra.
It's not just because I'm a world-class penny-pincher and smart shopper; believe it or not, it's also about eating healthier. When you look at the USDA's "food pyramid," many of the things we should be eating the most of -- grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables -- happen to cost the least.
It's often the stuff that's bad for us (at least in large quantities) like red meat, fatty dairy products, and processed foods high in trans saturated fats, that cost the most, on a per pound basis.
To prove my point, I've put together this list of 50 healthy foods that I've purchased at least once in the last six months for under $1 a pound.
So rev-up your shopping cart, but be careful: There's a Green Cheapskate loose on aisle five!
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Apples - One a day keeps the cheapskate away.
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Asparagus - HUGE store special at 99 cents a pound during Easter week. I bought 10 pounds, blanched it, and then froze it.
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Bananas - Potassium for pennies.
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Barley - A tasty alternative to rice and potatoes.
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Beans - Canned or dried. Kidney, pinto, navy, black, red, and many more.
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Bok choy - Steam and serve with a little soy sauce.
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Broccoli - Yes, a store special. Usually closer to $2 per pound.
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Bulgar wheat - Try it in pilaf or a tabouleh salad.
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Cabbage - Green and red. I like mine fried.
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Cantaloupe - No, sorry, I can't; I'm already married.
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Carrots - Raw or steamed. Rich in carotenes, a healthy antioxidant.
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Celery - Stir-fry it for a change.
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Chicken - Whole or various parts, on sale.
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Chickpeas - AKA garbanzo beans -- mash 'em up as a healthy sandwich spread.
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Cornmeal - "Polenta" is all the rage these days, but I loved it 40 years ago when Mom called it "cornmeal mush."
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Cucumbers - Try peeling, seeding, and steaming with a little butter and salt.
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Daikon radish - My new favorite raw veggie.
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Eggs - Don't overdo them, but eggs provide high quality protein and still cost about $1 per pound. (Plus, there are many eggscellent things you can do with the shells.)
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Green beans - Frozen, but fresh are sometimes on sale for under $1 a pound in-season.
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Greens - Kale, mustard, turnip, and collard greens are rich in vitamins and a good source of fiber.
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Grapes - Store special at 99 cents a pound.
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Grapefruit - Bake with a little brown sugar on top for a healthy dessert.
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Lentils - Perhaps the perfect food -- healthy, cheap, and versatile. Think soups, salads, sandwich spreads -- and those are only some of the "s" possibilities.
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Liver - Chicken livers usually cost under $1 a pound, and sometimes beef and pork liver can be found in the DMZ ("Dollar Maximum Zone").
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Mangoes - High in fiber and vitamins A, B6, and C.
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Milk - Yep, on a per-pound basis, milk still costs well under $1 a pound.
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Napa cabbage - Delicious steamed or raw in a salad.
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Oatmeal - The good old-fashioned "slow cooking" kind ... that takes all of five minutes.
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Onions - Try baking them whole in a cream sauce.
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Oranges - Frequent sale price when in-season.
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Pasta - Store special at 89 cents a pound -- I nearly bought them out!
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Peanut butter - Special sale price, but stock up because it usually has a long shelf life.
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Pork - Inexpensive cuts of pork frequently go on sale for 99 cents per pound or less; sometimes even ham during the holidays.
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Potatoes - White and red, Baked, mashed, boiled, broiled, steamed.
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Pumpkin - Yes, you can eat the same ones you buy as holiday decorations, and they usually cost under 50 cents a pound.
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Rice - White for under $1 a pound; brown, a little more expensive but better for you.
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Rutabagas - Hated them as a kid; can't get enough of them now.
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Sour cream - 99 cents on sale, but long shelf life, so stock up. My cucumber awaits.
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Spinach - Frozen (but Popeye doesn't care).
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Split peas - Add a hambone and make the ultimate comfort soup. Try it in the crock-pot!
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Squash - Try baking acorn squash with a little brown sugar.
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Sweet corn - Canned or fresh on the cob, in-season.
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Tomatoes - Canned are often better than fresh to use in cooking, and occasionally you can find fresh on sale for under a buck, in-season.
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Turkey - A popular bargain-priced, loss-leader around the holidays -- buy an extra bird and freeze it for later.
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Turnips - Make me think of my grandparents, who always grew them.
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Watermelon - Whole, in-season melons can sometime cost less than 20 cents a pound if they're on sale and you find a big one.
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Wine - Well, at least the stuff I drink -- a 5-liter box (approximately 11 pounds) for about 10 bucks, on sale. (BTW, the beer I drink is even less expensive per pound.)
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Yams/sweet potatoes - One of the healthiest foods you can eat, and usually available year-round for under $1 a pound.
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Yogurt - 8-ounce containers on sale, two for $1.
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Zucchini - OK, they're a type of squash (above). But I love them so much they deserve their own place on the list. Plus they look great in pantyhose.
Here are a few disclaimers about my list-o-50:
No, I don't live on another planet or in a part of the country where the cost of living is deflated. In fact, I live and shop in the Washington, D.C., metro area, which has one of the highest costs of living (and groceries) in the country.
No, I'm not saying that all of these items are available in every store, at all times. But if you shop carefully, you can always find at least some variety of these foods around which to plan your meals.
Many of the items on the list (e.g., most root vegetables, bananas, beans, etc.) can usually be purchased for under $1 pound even when not on sale or in-season. Other items on the list were "store specials" and typically would cost more than $1 a pound, and/or they were in-season so cost less.
No, none of the items on my under $1-a-pound list are organically grown. The pros/cons of that debate aside, for most people with a limited budget, the choice isn't whether or not to buy expensive organic, it's whether or not to eat highly processed crap like fast food or eat inexpensive healthy foods like those on my list.
No, I'm not saying that by eating only these foods you'll have a complete, healthy diet. But they certainly can be the backbone around which to plan healthy, inexpensive menus for your family.
No, I don't burn up a lot of time and gas by running around to a lot of different grocery stores, and I rarely use coupons. I shop only once every week or two, and I usually shop at only one or two stores.
I plan my meals around the-best-of-the-best weekly store specials (aka the "loss-leaders"), the sale items that are usually on the front page of the weekly circular most stores publish. If you're not a creative cook like me, try a website like Delish or Epicurious, where you can enter the ingredients you have to work with and get all kinds of recipes.
Now look at all the money you've saved!
Jeff Yeager is the author of The Cheapskate Next Door and The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches.I spent quite a bit of time checking out the website
“The Daily Green” yester-night and let me tell you… LOADS of great information there! You should check it out! Now… lets get crafty! Remember that I brought you the
reusable swiffer mop cloth back in April… well today I have found the matching duster. No more wasting your money… recycle and be green! Go on over to the blog Sew Much Ado for a great step-by-step tutorial with some great photos!
Craft Idea of the Day:
Reusable Swiffer DusterMaterials:
4 7"x7" pieces flannel
4 4"x7" pieces flannel (can be co-ordinating color)
Swiffer duster handle
Thread
Note: I found that flannel works best at dusting. I also tried using microfiber (you can get microfiber cloths at the dollar store for a couple of bucks), but personally didn't like it as much as flannel. It didn't seem to hold as much dust, and made a HUGE mess as I was cutting it up. Polar fleece may also be a good alternative, but I would still prefer flannel, in my very humble opinion :).
Directions:
1. Place two pieces of 4"x7" flannel on two pieces of 7"x7" flannel, centering smaller pieces on top. Repeat with remaining flannel squares.
2. Join small and large pieces together by stitching down center of all four layers of fabric as pictured. Stack the two sets of flannel on top of each other, with the small pieces on the top and bottom.
3. Next, make the casing for the Swiffer duster handle. Fold the small pieces of fabric to one side, align the base of the prongs at the edge of the fabric, and center the prongs over the middle seam where the small and large pieces were joined together.
4. Trace close to side edge of prong all the way to the edge of fabric, leaving spaces where the curved areas of the prongs are. It is better to leave a little extra space where the curved areas are than to leave too little space. Fold small piece of fabric to opposite side and trace prongs again the same way.
5. Fold top and bottom small pieces to one side and stitch along traced lines, through all four layers of flannel.
6. Fold top and bottom small pieces to opposite side and stitch along traced lines, through all four layers of flannel.
7. Open up top and bottom small pieces at middle seams and lay flat. Slide Swiffer duster handle into the casing you have sewn, in between the 4 large pieces of flannel. Curved areas on prongs should slide into the spaces you left when you stitched the casing in step 6 and hold the handle in place.
8. Beginning with top layer of large flannel piece, trim approximately 1" of fabric from edge on both sides.
9. Continue trimming each layer approximately 1" shorter than the layer beneath it.
10. Turn duster cloth over and repeat steps 8-9 with opposite side.
11. Beginning with narrowest layer, clip edges of flannel at 1/2" intervals along length of duster.
12. Repeat with the next flannel layer beneath.
13. Continue clipping edges of all layers on each side of duster cloth.
14. Ruffle up all clipped edges.
15. Throw your new reusable Swiffer duster cloth in the washer and dryer to let the edges fray. You may need to clip some loose or dangling strands of thread.
16. Let your kids, husband, and even you (ya, you) fight over who gets to do the dusting!
Today’s Russian food focus is appetizers and breads. From olden times bread in the Russia was the evidence of hard work, prosperity and fortune. Guests were welcomed with Russian bread, holiday tables were decorated with delicious ruddy pies; pancakes are the attribute of winter seeing-off. Bread is everything’s head, says Russian proverb. Appetizers, as in any cuisine culture, and Russia is not an exception, serve as small snacks before main course. Russian appetizers (in Russian, they are called “zakuski”) were meant mainly not to provoke keen appetite but to have them with strong drinks. So, most favorite Russian appetizers were all kinds of pickles and cold meats which go best with ice cold vodka. But not only vegetable pickles were used in Russian cuisine, the abundance of sea and river food provided cooks with a wide range of various fish appetizers. So here are today’s picks to please your palate. Eat & Enjoy!
Dolmasy ( Stuffed Grapes Leaves )Ingredients:
3 tb butter
1 c onion finely chopped
1 tb coriander finely chopped
2 tb fresh dill
1/4 cup fresh peas
black pepper
28 pickled grapes leaves
1 c chicken stock
1/2 c long-grain, white rice
300 g lean lamb ground
2 l plain yogurt
1 tb cinnamon
Method:
Melt the butter in a skillet set over moderate heat. Add the onions, lower the heat and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until they are lightly colored. Transfer them to a large bowl. Bring 2 c water to a boil in a saucepan set over high heat. Stir in the rice, lower the heat and cook uncovered for 8 minutes, then drain through a sieve. Stir the rice, lamb, coriander, dill, peas, salt and pepper into the onions and stir all the ingredients together lightly but thoroughly. Taste for seasoning. Bring 4 c water to a boil in a saucepan and drop in the grape leaves. Boil for 3 to 4 minutes, uncovered, then drain. Flatten them out. Put each leaf the inner side up. Place 1 tb stuffing in the center of each leaf. Roll leaves, covering stuffing from sides like an envelope. Arrange the rolls, seam-side down, in a pan just large enough to hold them in one layer. Pack them in side by side so that they retain their shape while cooking. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover the casserole tightly, lower the heat, and stew for about 45 minutes. Serve the grapes rolls with a bowl of yogurt sprinkled with cinnamon.
Galushki Ingredients:
3 cups wheat flour
2 eggs
4 oz butter
1/3 cup water
salt to taste
Method:
Knead the dough, let it stand for 20-30 min (so it would become more sticky), roll the dough finger thick, slice into small squares (2-3 fingers wide). Drop into a boiling salty water and boil until they float on top, or a bit longer if the middle is raw. Place on a rack, let the water run off well. Fry quickly in butter on a pan, shaking the pan occasionally. You can add cubed bacon to the galushki on the pan at this point. Serve with sour cream.
OK kids, that’s about all for me today! Gonna take mom to therapy today and then once I get home spend the day getting my shopping lists and bills and such in order first so that I can relax the rest of the day with some fun crafting and kitten play. I hope you have a wonderful day and be safe in your journeys! I will see you tomorrow! HUGS!
