Today, I made brunch for the bunch. Total damage is as follows:
french toast (10 eggs, 1 loaf whole grain bread, 1/2 loaf apple danish bread, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, sugar).
bacon (26 slices)
milk (1/2 gallon)
and no leftovers.
Donations of farm animals would be appreciated. kthxbye.
Showing posts with label Three Bucks A Day Gourmet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Three Bucks A Day Gourmet. Show all posts
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Three Bucks A Day Gourmet: Beverages
When you are on a limited budget, beverages can break your bank. Here's how we manage the beverage beast on three bucks per person per day:
1) Water is your best friend. Seriously, what a great country we live in that we can walk into our kitchens, turn on the tap, and have (reasonably) clean and healthy water at the turn of a knob. We are made of over 70 percent water, and dehydration can often present as hunger. So do yourself and your family a favor and drink more water. I happen to have a handy dandy ice and water in door fridge with a filter and all that, but if the taste of tap water gives you the willies, get yourself a Brita or Pur filter for the fridge or faucet. If you require it bottled, buy a reusable bottle. Better for the environment and for your pocketbook. Cost: free to pennies (if you are filtering and springing for a nifty bottle).
2) If you must have flavor in your beverages, consider teas. Iced tea is a very cost effective beverage: water, a couple nickels for a couple tea bags, and some sweetener if you need it. We usually don't. There are decaf herbal teas for those of you who can't handle the leaded variety. Drink it hot in the winter and cold in the summer.
3) Coffee (at home!). Look, any single-serve beverage you pay for in a retail outlet is going to be a moneymaker for them and a money pit for you. A pound of high quality gourmet coffee beans makes at least sixty cups of java for the cost of 2 or 3 trips through the drive through. Keep the coffee out, but make it an occasional treat. Otherwise, brew and drink the good stuff at home. If you must have the froufrou drinks, make them yourself -- get some whipped cream in a can, put some caramel in a squeeze bottle, and go to town.
4) Milk. I know I am about to offend some people, but humans do not need milk to be healthy past their first year of life. That said, we drink it, but we do not drink it with reckless abandon. The kids have it with cereal and at dinner. The rest of the time, they drink water (and sometimes juice). We probably drink one or two gallons per week.
5) Juice. We are now getting into the top end of what I consider a regular beverage for my budget. It is a rare occurrence to have premixed juice from the grocery store. My price point is one dollar for a half-gallon of any type of juice -- so short of a bodacious coupon, we generally buy concentrate and add the water at home. We add an additional can of water to stretch it to one half gallon. One half gallon of juice lasts maybe for two meals.
6) Seasonal drinks: lemonade is cheap and refreshing in the summer, as is homemade gatorade. In the winter, hot cocoa made with milk and chocolate syrup is a big winner after playing outside in the snow. They are inexpensive and relatively health affirming.
7) What is important to note is what does not regularly fit into a three dollar a day per person budget: soda is a no-go, as is alcohol or anything pre-bottled at the grocery store or poured into a cup at a restaurant or retail store. This is not to say that you cannot periodically have a soda or a beer or some wine or a froufrou coffee as a treat: not at all. In fact, you will enjoy them more when you have them less often. Your wallet will thank you, too.
1) Water is your best friend. Seriously, what a great country we live in that we can walk into our kitchens, turn on the tap, and have (reasonably) clean and healthy water at the turn of a knob. We are made of over 70 percent water, and dehydration can often present as hunger. So do yourself and your family a favor and drink more water. I happen to have a handy dandy ice and water in door fridge with a filter and all that, but if the taste of tap water gives you the willies, get yourself a Brita or Pur filter for the fridge or faucet. If you require it bottled, buy a reusable bottle. Better for the environment and for your pocketbook. Cost: free to pennies (if you are filtering and springing for a nifty bottle).
2) If you must have flavor in your beverages, consider teas. Iced tea is a very cost effective beverage: water, a couple nickels for a couple tea bags, and some sweetener if you need it. We usually don't. There are decaf herbal teas for those of you who can't handle the leaded variety. Drink it hot in the winter and cold in the summer.
3) Coffee (at home!). Look, any single-serve beverage you pay for in a retail outlet is going to be a moneymaker for them and a money pit for you. A pound of high quality gourmet coffee beans makes at least sixty cups of java for the cost of 2 or 3 trips through the drive through. Keep the coffee out, but make it an occasional treat. Otherwise, brew and drink the good stuff at home. If you must have the froufrou drinks, make them yourself -- get some whipped cream in a can, put some caramel in a squeeze bottle, and go to town.
4) Milk. I know I am about to offend some people, but humans do not need milk to be healthy past their first year of life. That said, we drink it, but we do not drink it with reckless abandon. The kids have it with cereal and at dinner. The rest of the time, they drink water (and sometimes juice). We probably drink one or two gallons per week.
5) Juice. We are now getting into the top end of what I consider a regular beverage for my budget. It is a rare occurrence to have premixed juice from the grocery store. My price point is one dollar for a half-gallon of any type of juice -- so short of a bodacious coupon, we generally buy concentrate and add the water at home. We add an additional can of water to stretch it to one half gallon. One half gallon of juice lasts maybe for two meals.
6) Seasonal drinks: lemonade is cheap and refreshing in the summer, as is homemade gatorade. In the winter, hot cocoa made with milk and chocolate syrup is a big winner after playing outside in the snow. They are inexpensive and relatively health affirming.
7) What is important to note is what does not regularly fit into a three dollar a day per person budget: soda is a no-go, as is alcohol or anything pre-bottled at the grocery store or poured into a cup at a restaurant or retail store. This is not to say that you cannot periodically have a soda or a beer or some wine or a froufrou coffee as a treat: not at all. In fact, you will enjoy them more when you have them less often. Your wallet will thank you, too.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Three Bucks a Day Gourmet: Breakfast
Ahhh, breakfast! The most important meal of the day. It's not too difficult to fit a good hearty breakfast in on three bucks per person per day. Breakfast foods are generally cheap, filling, and healthy. Here's how I do it:
(1) Fill them up with oatmeal. Oatmeal, butter, and maple syrup are bought in bulk; the oatmeal is less than .70 per pound; butter is 2 bucks a pound or less (I buy it when it goes on sale and freeze it). All liquid sweeteners are bought in bulk, and we use very little. I got one of those very small-tipped squeeze bottles used by high end restaurants for saucing plates (.98 at Target or Wal-Mart) and decant the maple and honey into those so my heavy pourers can't OD on the syrup. We do keep instant oatmeal packets around for "those mornings." I have a great baked oatmeal recipe which my husband and a couple of my kids love; in the fall and winter it is used heavily.
(2) Bagels and cream cheese. Very inexpensive, lots of protein. I buy whole wheat bagels in bulk at Costco or Sam's Club. Cream cheese is bought at Trader Joe's for 1.29 per 8 ounces (it is hormone free, and though I can get it cheaper elsewhere it is worth the money for me). I whip a couple of bricks of cream cheese bricks up into whipped cream cheese and that stretches it and makes it easier to spread. I do the same thing with butter -- whip it with some canola oil or skim milk and it stretches the butter (don't use this for cooking or baking, just spreading and grilled cheese).
(3) Baboo and I drink coffee. We spend about 20 bucks a month for organic chem-free decaf. Real half and half is 3.79 for a half-gallon, which lasts all month.
(4) Cereal is either bought with a coupon, on sale (never more than a dollar a box). Many times I can get it for less than a dollar a box and I stock up. I try to minimize cereal breakfasts, they don't fill the kids up as well as the options above.
(5) On weekends or days off, I sometimes make cinnamon toast, or a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls, or homemade muffins (carrot/pineapple, sometimes cranberry orange, sometimes pumpkin). I use at least half whole wheat flour.
(6) In the summer, we drink a lot of breakfast smoothies. Seasonal fruit (berries and peaches) with some low fat yogurt, low fat milk, protein powder, flax seed, and crushed ice make a really filling, really refreshing breakfast.
(6) I batch-bake whole wheat waffles and pancakes and freeze them. They defrost and crisp up nicely in the toaster.
(7) Once in a blue moon (every 6 months or so) I get a screaming deal on toaster waffles or (gasp) Pop-Tarts. I never pay more than .50 per box for this stuff; I just don't buy it unless it is this cheap. Each kid gets his fair share of the loot, which is divvied up and labeled with the kids' names. When their share is gone, it's gone. It is always interesting to see who eats theirs up first and who rations theirs out.
(8) Hard boiled eggs are a great quick breakfast, paired with some whole wheat toast and juice. We keep about a dozen around for snacks and breakfasts.
(9) In a pinch, we have had a granola bar, string cheese, and an apple for breakfast in the car on the way to school or church. Quick, relatively nutritionally sound, and not messy.
(1) Fill them up with oatmeal. Oatmeal, butter, and maple syrup are bought in bulk; the oatmeal is less than .70 per pound; butter is 2 bucks a pound or less (I buy it when it goes on sale and freeze it). All liquid sweeteners are bought in bulk, and we use very little. I got one of those very small-tipped squeeze bottles used by high end restaurants for saucing plates (.98 at Target or Wal-Mart) and decant the maple and honey into those so my heavy pourers can't OD on the syrup. We do keep instant oatmeal packets around for "those mornings." I have a great baked oatmeal recipe which my husband and a couple of my kids love; in the fall and winter it is used heavily.
(2) Bagels and cream cheese. Very inexpensive, lots of protein. I buy whole wheat bagels in bulk at Costco or Sam's Club. Cream cheese is bought at Trader Joe's for 1.29 per 8 ounces (it is hormone free, and though I can get it cheaper elsewhere it is worth the money for me). I whip a couple of bricks of cream cheese bricks up into whipped cream cheese and that stretches it and makes it easier to spread. I do the same thing with butter -- whip it with some canola oil or skim milk and it stretches the butter (don't use this for cooking or baking, just spreading and grilled cheese).
(3) Baboo and I drink coffee. We spend about 20 bucks a month for organic chem-free decaf. Real half and half is 3.79 for a half-gallon, which lasts all month.
(4) Cereal is either bought with a coupon, on sale (never more than a dollar a box). Many times I can get it for less than a dollar a box and I stock up. I try to minimize cereal breakfasts, they don't fill the kids up as well as the options above.
(5) On weekends or days off, I sometimes make cinnamon toast, or a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls, or homemade muffins (carrot/pineapple, sometimes cranberry orange, sometimes pumpkin). I use at least half whole wheat flour.
(6) In the summer, we drink a lot of breakfast smoothies. Seasonal fruit (berries and peaches) with some low fat yogurt, low fat milk, protein powder, flax seed, and crushed ice make a really filling, really refreshing breakfast.
(6) I batch-bake whole wheat waffles and pancakes and freeze them. They defrost and crisp up nicely in the toaster.
(7) Once in a blue moon (every 6 months or so) I get a screaming deal on toaster waffles or (gasp) Pop-Tarts. I never pay more than .50 per box for this stuff; I just don't buy it unless it is this cheap. Each kid gets his fair share of the loot, which is divvied up and labeled with the kids' names. When their share is gone, it's gone. It is always interesting to see who eats theirs up first and who rations theirs out.
(8) Hard boiled eggs are a great quick breakfast, paired with some whole wheat toast and juice. We keep about a dozen around for snacks and breakfasts.
(9) In a pinch, we have had a granola bar, string cheese, and an apple for breakfast in the car on the way to school or church. Quick, relatively nutritionally sound, and not messy.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Three Bucks A Day Gourmet: Introduction
This is the first post on a multi-week series on how I feed seven people on about 3 bucks per person per day.
What? WHAT? Yes. Three bucks per person per day. Totally doable, and totally yummy.
I feed my family of seven, 2 adults and five kids, on three bucks per person per day. We are all very well fed (in fact, one of us a little too much so . . ahem). We eat at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies per day. We eat meat. We have snacks. Much of what we eat is organic, and hormone and antibiotic free. And we don't believe in sacrificing quality for quantity.
Why three bucks per person per day? That number may seem arbitrary, but it is actually roughly the amount the federal government provides to people who recieve food stamp benefits. The USDA has calculated the average cost of feeding a person in America and posts that information here, and those are the numbers, adjusted for certain personal factors which I will explain later, that I used to set this guideline.
Why do this at all? I had a couple of reasons. The first was that I wanted to be conscious of how much I was spending on feeding my family to control our grocery budget. As a family, we have financial goals we would like to meet, and one of the non-fixed line items in our budget is food. The second was that I wanted to be a better steward of the resources God has given me; not just money, but a good mind, a healthy body, time, and the desire to cook. And third, because of the recession there have been lots of stories in the mainstream media about how "impossible" it is for a family to survive on food stamps. Just on general principle, I bristle at the thought that something like feeding a family on a fixed amount of money is "impossible." I believe in choices! And I wanted to prove, if only to myself, that we could eat a healthy, abundant, tasty diet on what the government believes is the bare minimum to keep body and soul together and what the mainstream media believes is "impossible."
How? I will show you how, over the course of the next few weeks. I'll include recipes and prices. But first, a couple of preliminary matters.
I do happen to have the benefit of an economy of scale. I feed seven people on a regular basis. Three bucks per person per day in my household is $21.00 per day, or an average monthly total of $638.75. It is actually less than the thrifty plan the USDA would say I am entitled to. If I calculated the "thrifty" plan based on the amount of time I have my children (half time for my three stepsons, 75 percent of the time for my two children), plus the full allotment for me and Baboo, I would be "entitled" to spend $695.41 per month. So I do three bucks per person per day to keep me sane; it's a nice round number, and $21.00 per day is a number I can work with. I feed 2 adults full time, 2 nine year olds and a six year old half the month, and a six and seven year old seventy five percent of the time.
My actual budget is a "household" budget, and it is $700.00. The difference between my $21 per day and that $700.00 must absorb all other consumable household goods (paper products, laundry and cleaning products, health and beauty aids, school supplies, light bulbs, etc.) For purposes of this series, I'll be including info about how I do that too.
Are there people who do better than me? Absolutely. One nice lady, Gayle, feeds her family of six for sixty bucks per week here. I love her blog and I love her ideas. Another lovely lady feeds her family of five (newborn included) for forty dollars a week here. Mary Ostyn just wrote a book on feeding a gaggle of family members for $75 per week. I have much to learn; but I'd say that I am doing fairly well, and with your help I'll be challenging myself to go even lower. Maybe next year it will be Two Bucks a Day Gourmet. *smile.
Look for posts on how I do breakfast, lunches, dinners, hospitality, beverages, snacks, and other household needs on three bucks per person per day in the coming weeks. And have a great weekend!
What? WHAT? Yes. Three bucks per person per day. Totally doable, and totally yummy.
I feed my family of seven, 2 adults and five kids, on three bucks per person per day. We are all very well fed (in fact, one of us a little too much so . . ahem). We eat at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies per day. We eat meat. We have snacks. Much of what we eat is organic, and hormone and antibiotic free. And we don't believe in sacrificing quality for quantity.
Why three bucks per person per day? That number may seem arbitrary, but it is actually roughly the amount the federal government provides to people who recieve food stamp benefits. The USDA has calculated the average cost of feeding a person in America and posts that information here, and those are the numbers, adjusted for certain personal factors which I will explain later, that I used to set this guideline.
Why do this at all? I had a couple of reasons. The first was that I wanted to be conscious of how much I was spending on feeding my family to control our grocery budget. As a family, we have financial goals we would like to meet, and one of the non-fixed line items in our budget is food. The second was that I wanted to be a better steward of the resources God has given me; not just money, but a good mind, a healthy body, time, and the desire to cook. And third, because of the recession there have been lots of stories in the mainstream media about how "impossible" it is for a family to survive on food stamps. Just on general principle, I bristle at the thought that something like feeding a family on a fixed amount of money is "impossible." I believe in choices! And I wanted to prove, if only to myself, that we could eat a healthy, abundant, tasty diet on what the government believes is the bare minimum to keep body and soul together and what the mainstream media believes is "impossible."
How? I will show you how, over the course of the next few weeks. I'll include recipes and prices. But first, a couple of preliminary matters.
I do happen to have the benefit of an economy of scale. I feed seven people on a regular basis. Three bucks per person per day in my household is $21.00 per day, or an average monthly total of $638.75. It is actually less than the thrifty plan the USDA would say I am entitled to. If I calculated the "thrifty" plan based on the amount of time I have my children (half time for my three stepsons, 75 percent of the time for my two children), plus the full allotment for me and Baboo, I would be "entitled" to spend $695.41 per month. So I do three bucks per person per day to keep me sane; it's a nice round number, and $21.00 per day is a number I can work with. I feed 2 adults full time, 2 nine year olds and a six year old half the month, and a six and seven year old seventy five percent of the time.
My actual budget is a "household" budget, and it is $700.00. The difference between my $21 per day and that $700.00 must absorb all other consumable household goods (paper products, laundry and cleaning products, health and beauty aids, school supplies, light bulbs, etc.) For purposes of this series, I'll be including info about how I do that too.
Are there people who do better than me? Absolutely. One nice lady, Gayle, feeds her family of six for sixty bucks per week here. I love her blog and I love her ideas. Another lovely lady feeds her family of five (newborn included) for forty dollars a week here. Mary Ostyn just wrote a book on feeding a gaggle of family members for $75 per week. I have much to learn; but I'd say that I am doing fairly well, and with your help I'll be challenging myself to go even lower. Maybe next year it will be Two Bucks a Day Gourmet. *smile.
Look for posts on how I do breakfast, lunches, dinners, hospitality, beverages, snacks, and other household needs on three bucks per person per day in the coming weeks. And have a great weekend!
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