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This is the recap of food purchased for the past week. The big thing was my Azure Standard order arrived. Yippee!
What I ordered:
25 pounds of Hard Red Wheat
10 pounds Frozen Strawberries (not pictured)
Toasted Sesame Oil
5 pounds Bulgar
1 pound Cinnamon
Sea Salt
Fermented Cod Liver/Butter Oil (Cinnamon Tingle)
My total spent was $90.40. Here is a question for you though, do you think of the Cod Liver Oil as a food product or as a supplement. In my mind it should count in our food purchases but I can see how others might not include it. I think I’ll include it for now.
Also this week I picked up some eggs (combination of chicken and duck totalling 4 1/2 dozen) and 3 chickens from my friend
JLB who has a small farm. She also threw in a box of antelope (steaks, roast and meat strips) for a total of
$30 (yes, this is an amazing deal).
Joe grabbed some lettuce and a cucumber to go with our dinner of Pita Sandwiches one night total spent $2.58.
On Saturday we met up with the lady that does our Beef CSA and bought 4 more steaks to add to what we have in the freezer (from our previous CSA delivery) for our Christmas Dinner. Total cost $21. 38. While Joe and I were out and about on Saturday we tried a new Mexican Restaurant in town that was advertised as having authentic food. It was pretty good and the cost was $19.25.
Also, I should have mentioned last week but didn’t think of it that we were given a plastic grocery sack of elk and venison by our Pastor the previous week (so if you see that on my menu in the next weeks you’ll know how it magically appeared). And we received more free food this week in the form of 10 pounds of kumquats from Joe’s work (they didn’t want to keep them over the school break). I have a few ideas how to use the kumquats so stay tuned to see the results.
My previous spending total for December was
$211.54 (
Week 1,
Week 2) new total is
$375.15 and I’m sure I’ll be adding to that this week.
A couple of things that you may have noticed this week. I got an amazing deal on my chicken and eggs from JLB. The chickens are her young ones from this year that she wasn’t able to carry over through the winter (she had too many). If you can find a ‘hobby farmer’ who does like JLB does than you might be able to find some great deals too. JLB’s chickens are free range (pastured) and not treated with hormones or anything. Whenever I see JLB, I also get eggs from her. She raises not only chickens but ducks (we also got our
Thanksgiving turkey from her this year and a couple of meat ducks) so I always get a mix of chicken and duck eggs. Yum.
The other thing is the free food that I mention this week. If you know someone that hunts or fishes that may open new food opportunities. I’m always happy when we are offered game since it is obviously not treated with anything and has a completely natural diet. What about free fruits or vegetables? Joe works at a school and on occasion (like when a long weekend or holiday is coming up) they will clear things out. They have a fruit and vegetable program at the school and most of the produce is organic. You might be able to find free or reduced produce through your local grocery store or grocery liquidator and of course during growing/harvesting season extra from people who have garden surplus.
What is your favorite tip for reducing your amount spent on groceries but still eating Real Food?
What I ordered:
>Hey Millie!!
I made antelope stew tonight …. followed your recipe as well as I could (I didn't thaw out enough stock, so I just added water to make up the difference) and YUMMY!! SO good!! Gabriella and Hannah loved it too … though Gabriella wasn't a big fan of the antelope (hey, least she tried it!) and I didn't give Hannah any antelope at all. Jason's NOT a fan of cooked cabbage, but he said he'd give it a try on his dinner break tonight … I'm pretty sure he'll like it though.
>Brandy,
I'm glad it turned out good for you.
>I've been debating your question on my favorite tip…and honestly I don't have one.
Raw milk is expensive. Yes, we have year round farmer's markets, but the price isn't that different from local markets and our town's market is on Sunday Morning…we're at church then. I do get a veggie/fruit box from a CSA that comes with a dozen pastured eggs each week. And my staples in bulk from Azure Standard. And my beef by the quarter from a "local" grassfed ranch. But short of eating less…
>Angela,
Eating less is a tip. Portion control is something that Joe and I focus on occasionally and we should more-not just for cost savings but for health. Did you see this article that Jenny did about eating until you are 80% full?http://nourishedkitchen.com/hara-hachi-bu/
I love that concept but confess to rarely following it.