FOOD PART II

FOOD PART II

GARDENING ON A BUDGET

Planting and growing your own produce is a great way to save some money.  There are few materials required to maintain a garden, and depending on which plants you grow, the yield can be huge!  Even if you have a small area, or even an apartment balcony, with some careful organization you can grow a variety of plants. 

SOME TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED:

• Check yard sales or secondhand shops for gardening tools.  I've seen rakes, shovels, tomato cages, and ceramic pots at Goodwill for under $5 each. You will probably want to own your own gloves and have a hand rake for weeding, but many tools you will only need to use once to set up your garden. Check with neighbors and friends to see if you can borrow!

• Use old soda bottles to make hanging soda bottle planters. If you aren't a soda drinker, and don’t know anyone who is, you can always check in a local recycling bin.  These can be hung over a balcony, from the ceiling, or anywhere out of the way. Great for upside down tomato plants! Check in with your local grocery store to see if you can get empty crates or shipping containers to use for your plants.

• Use an egg carton instead of buying peat containers to sprout seedlings.  Fill each space with a little soil and plant one seed in each.  You can bury each carton section to make transferring seedlings outside to your garden bed a snap. You can also help your seedlings grow quicker by putting a small plastic box cover (like the kind bakeries put cupcakes in) over the egg cartons. Just place it in sunlight and this will create a mini greenhouse!

• Check Craigslist under the “free” or “farm and garden” category for mulch, compost, seeds, or seedlings.  Many farmers will consider themselves lucky for someone to take mulch and manure off of their property.

• There are many “garden club” websites that will send you packets of seeds each month for an annual fee.  If you receive gifts for birthdays or Christmas, make sure you friends and family know that this is on your list! Some of these sites also have forums where people are willing to trade plants or seeds.

• If you grow plants that will require a stake or cage, you can find a lot of material curbside to use.  You can build a simple trellis with scrap wood and a few nails.

  

 DESIGNING YOUR GARDEN: 

To make the most of your garden, it is important to plan ahead. 

Decide which plants you would like to grow. Some plants that have produced the best for me are: Summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, and herbs.   These plants offer multiple harvests per year and you can pluck the produce without killing the plant.

This summer squash currently has 7 veggies growing on it!

You'll know your produce is fresh and pesticide free.

Decide on a layout for your garden.  If you have an apartment or limited space, a container garden will work well.  The internet is a great resource for ideas and blue prints.  I've seen vertical gardens made out of canvas shoe holders, DIY hanging tomato gardens designed for apartment balconies, and instructions on how to re-purpose old furniture into a garden rack. Even just a windowsill is sufficient for a potted herb garden. 

Example of an Urban garden

Home made hanging garden

If you don't live in an area where you can garden year round, collect your seeds at the end of the season for use next year. You can use a dehydrator to dry your herbs to fill a spice rack. Dried squash and zucchini can be used in soups. The freezer will become your friend. Try freezing zucchini bread or batches of tomato sauce.  You can use an ice cube tray to freeze individual servings of sauces like pesto for easy use.  If you can't use everything you grow, you can probably sell your excess at a yard sale or farmer's market. 

HAPPY GARDENING!

I'm Lauren.

My name is Lauren. I've been friends with Kait since we went to high school together way back in the day in a tiny little town on a lake in Northeast Pennsylvania. I'm allergic to animals, so I collect and care for plants,  which of course I name. So far I have five - Begonia, Campanula, Rosie, Pepper, and Rainbow. I'm always looking to expand my brood, and I love talking about my plants as much as I enjoy crafting and decorating on a budget.

My wonderful plants!

My family is chock-full of traditional crafting, from Hungarian embroidery, to needlepoint, to crewel, and crochet. My parents taught be not to be afraid to get my hands dirty, and I'm not. I spend my free time dumpster diving and scouring Craigslist for amazing and simple finds that I can strip down and make it a little more awesome, usually with nothing more than some fresh fabric or paint. With all the websites dedicated to crafting out there, it's easy to find a lot of projects to set out for yourself and end up spending a lot more money and time than you had planned to, and in the end it doesn't end up being what you thought it would. I've done it myself dozens of times before. Hopefully you, dear reader, can find some wisdom in these pages!

The next few projects I have coming up include a couple kitchen chairs that need to be refinished, a very beat up coffee table, and a hope chest in need of a little hope. As soon as I get my hands on an orbital sander... until then, I think our next lesson will be making very cute and easy balloon curtains!

CIAO.

FOOD - PART I

LET'S START WITH THE BASICS HERE

FOOD:

“You’d better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.”

 –Yogi Berra

Apart from being, you know…necessary, food can also be a source of comfort, delight, and an integral part of hosting a get together with friends. However, when you’re on a budget, the time and money associated with grocery shopping may make food seem like a hassle. Maybe it’s the hit to his checking account that’s got Chef Ramsay so fired up.

While you won’t be eating tuna tartare and filet mignon every night, you can definitely create healthy, filling meals without breaking the bank.  Let’s make this easy and break it down into a step by step process.

STEP ONE: ACQUIRE FOOD

GROCERY SHOPPING:

Grocery shopping is a basic and frequently reoccurring task, so it is best to get a grip on this first.  Once you come up with a system, you’ll be able to get in and out of the store quickly, without spending too much.  You’ll also know how much groceries will run you, so you can create a monthly budget to follow.

Here are some helpful tips to get you started:

• Try to plan out your week’s meals first to avoid buying more than you can eat before it goes bad

• Make a list before you go grocery shopping. I only buy up to two items that are not on my list per visit, provided they are under $5.00 each. Try to be practical and avoid packaged or "ready to eat" meals, as it is generally cheaper to buy the ingredients separate and make it yourself. 

And for only $15 more, we'll put it in a box FOR you!

• Grocery stores are cleverly designed to get you to spend more. “Special Deal” displays are set up on the end of the aisles that are most visited by shoppers (think: bread aisle, dairy aisle), free samples prime your body to expect food quickly (you’ll find yourself buying more packaged or ready to eat meals), oversized shopping carts and “bulk deals” encourage you to spend more.

Yeah, they know what they're doing...

• As ridiculous as it sounds, do not go grocery shopping immediately after work or if you are very hungry. When you are pressed for time, stressed, or hungry, everything will look amazing and you’ll wind up with a lot more impulse buys.

• Shop around for pricing. If the stores are close in proximity, it’s worth it to visit more than one to get the best prices on the items on your list

Need an example? Note the difference in generic store brand olive oil price

Aldi: Carlini Olive Oil (16.9oz) = $2.59

Walmart: Great Value Olive Oil (17.0oz) = $3.76

ShopRite: ShopRite Brand Olive Oil (16.9oz) = $4.49

SOME STAPLES TO KEEP ON HAND:

These foods were chosen for their low prices, versatility, and health benefits.  This is by no means a complete grocery list, but it's a good practice to have these items available. 

CABINET:

FOOD	TELL ME WHY
dried beans	protein, fiber, vitamins & minerals, lipids
rice	Protein, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins A,C & E
nuts/peanut butter	protein, fiber, monounsaturated fat (helps manage cholesterol)
oatmeal	Fiber, manganese, zinc, phosphorus (helps manage cholesterol)
pasta (whole wheat)	Protein, fiber, promotes healthy digestion, makes you feel fuller
canned tuna	Protein, omega-3 fatty acids (help brain function)
potatoes	Fiber, potassium, vitamin B-6 & C
tomatoes	Fiber, potassium, Vitamins A, C, K
olive oil	Monounsaturated fat, health promoting nutrients
onions & garlic	Vitamin C, chromium, flavonoids

FRIDGE:

apples	Fiber, Vitamin C
Greek yogurt	Calcium, potassium, zinc, protein, vitamins B6 & B12
2% milk	Calcium, protein, potassium, phosphorus, vitamins D, B12, A
eggs	High in protein, amino acids, omega-3
chicken breasts	Niacin, protein, vitamin B6

FREEZER:

spinach	Calcium, iron, antioxidants, vitamins A, C, E, & K
broccoli	Calcium, fiber, vitamin C
frozen fish filet	Protein, omega-3 fatty acids,

FAVORITE PLACES TO SHOP:

Asian Market: I do much of my shopping at Asian markets (H-Marts are our local shop). The seafood is very fresh; most of it is marked as “sushi grade”. If it is fresh enough to be eaten raw, you’re pretty safe. A lot of the produce is cheap and local. They carry a lot of delicious sauces, and seasonings are well priced (sriracha sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce).  There are a variety of rice and noodles for sale here.

 

H-Mart fresh fish selection

Aldi: If you have any Aldi by you, I highly recommend giving it a try. Aldi has all of the basics, and a few extras. Their stores do not have phones, cart/lot attendants, or brand names to help keep prices very low.  The majority of their foods are relatively healthy. I’ve bought chicken for as low as $1.19/lb here! My favorite items to get here are their all natural guacamole,  hummus, and multigrain flat bread. The downside to this store is that their produce tends to go bad quickly, so do not buy more than you can consume in a week.

Check the weekly circular for extra savings

Local:  Farmer’s markets offer fresh, usually organic produce at low prices.  In season fruits and vegetables will typically be cheaper at a market than at a chain grocery store.  Many local bakeries offer steep discounts on day old or misshapen goods, such as bagels and bread, that are still fresh and tasty.  Many butchers offer a daily deal.  You also get the added bonus of helping support your community!

If you toast them, they taste the same

NEXT UP: GARDENING - HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN FOOD

WHERE TO BEGIN

Allow myself to introduce....myself.

It's Kait.

I'm a simple girl who enjoys the great outdoors (fishing, gardening, hiking) and the sometimes equally great indoors (cooking, reading). I enjoy learning new things. Some new adventures in education include: Learning how to swim, finding out that it's going to take a lot more practice until I can truthfully describe myself  as being "okay" at baseball, and learning that while humans have 4 different photosensitive cells in their eyes for distinguishing and determining colors, a mantis shrimp has 16! 

Anyways...

I recently found myself reflecting on how fortunate I am to enjoy a multitude of free or relatively cheap activities, since it turns out that there are a lot of expenses in life that you cannot control. My hope is that I can use this blog to share with others some of my favorite ways to save money, DIY projects, and how to live a fun and frugal lifestyle!