A Month of No Groceries!

Yes, you read that title right. We are currently in a month of buying no groceries. We did this in November of 2015 and you can read about it here. This time, there are a couple of reasons why we are doing this. The first of course is to try and save some money in an overly tight January budget. The second reason however is more exciting. Our steers are going to be butchered in a week and we need all the freezer space we can get!

When we did this in the past, we had done it on a whim, and during November. I really didn't think it through, knowing that we would end up having to buy somethings for Thanksgiving, but we plunged forward and made it through.  Yes, we still bought a few groceries, but not nearly as many as we would have during a regular month.

This time around is going to be a little different. We really are under than gun to clean out some freezer space for the beef that we will soon have. Also January is always a tight month for us. There is Christmas that we just spent money on, taxes that we just paid, plus this year our Christmas present to ourselves was a little pricey...a fireplace. A gas log fireplace. It is something that we built ourselves and are so proud of. It is not quite finished yet, but when it does, I will post pictures and how we built it. We are hoping that since it is gas, it will save us money on our electric bill. So in the end, it will end up paying for itself!

So back to the month of no groceries, I really do mean what I say. We are not going to be spending money on groceries during the month of January. Each week on Monday, I will update you all on how we did with the groceries and what I cooked using food out of our pantry and freezer.

So for week one's update: yes we bought a few grocery items. We bought two cartons of almond milk (as soon as I get a decent blender, I will be making it myself!) and some cheese.  We spent all of around $7 for the three items, but it should get us through the rest of the month.

So what did I cook? Well our meals looked a little like this:

Homemade lasagna...take that Stouffer's!

Monday: Salad and Chicken Wings (left over from New Years Eve)
Tuesday: Vegetable Soup and Stuffing Muffins (left over from Thanksgiving that I had frozen)
Wednesday: Smothered Pork Chops (slow cooked with potatoes and onions)
Thursday: French Dip Sandwiches (used left-over pork chops and the juice to make these)
Friday: Pizza (this was at my mom and dad's house and was not planned)
Saturday: Lasagna and Beer Bread (I didn't have ricotta or cottage cheese, so instead I used cream cheese which I did have, and it was amazing!)
Sunday: Left-Over Night (Or clean out the fridge, as I like to call it)

My yummy beer bread! A quick and easy way to make bread.

So you can see that everything that I made was something that I had in my freezer or pantry, but mainly freezer. While I was cooking the hamburger for the lasagna I decided to cook some extra and I will be using that for a Mexican meal this evening.

I love that I was able to take my left-overs from Wednesday and turn them into a whole new meal for Thursday. Doing this challenge really helps me plan out what I am going to cook, and how I can use the left-overs for other meals. The best part is that I am using food that I already have, I am not wasting anything, and I am saving money that we need for other things this month.

Have you ever done this challenge?  Want to join me? Let me know in the comments below!

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Our Journey Towards Healthier Eating

My darling hubby, Steve was diagnosed with diabetes 6 years ago.  It's hard to believe it has been 6 years! It was a shock to us, but when we really started thinking about our diet, it was easy to see why.  Steve had this habit of eating one meal a day, and that meal would be huge to make up for not eating the rest of the day.  This reeked havoc on his blood sugar without him ever knowing.

Once the diagnosis was made, and we attended nutrition classes, we really got on the ball and stuck to a diet that not only helped him lose weight, but also lower his blood sugar.  It took a couple of years for this to happen, but it did happen.

The beginning of a beautiful bone broth.  Nature's elixir of youth.

I was bound and determined to be as supportive as I could so I decided to follow his diet as well, only tailor it to female proportions.  In doing so, I lost 45 pounds over a year's time.  I was able to keep the weight off, until the past year and a half.

Beautiful purple potatoes, high in antioxidants, they can help lower blood pressure and strengthen the immune system.

It is so easy to ease back into bad habits.  Life can get pretty hectic, and during the winter, when we don't have the fresh veggies coming out of our garden to eat, we end up taking advantage of fast foods and convenience foods.  But once we start eating those, the pounds pack back on.  And Steve's blood sugar starts creeping up (he had lowered it with diet and exercise), and his cholesterol started to rise.

Here's the kicker.  It isn't just our health that is of concern, but it is our children as well.  We can tell our kids all we want not to drink soda or eat junk food, but if they see mom and dad throwing back a can of soda and a bag of chips, then what does that tell them?

I love this quote.  It says so much about our society.

So in order to get us back on track and teach our kids good nutrition, we have started eating healthier. I won't say we are on a diet. In fact I absolutely hate that word and how people have used it in a negative way. Really there is nothing wrong with the word. The actual definition from Merriam Webster is "food and drink regularly provided and consumed" and the next one is "habitual nourishment." I kind of like that last one. It is not until the fourth definition provided that it talks about diet being a way to lose weight.

I have already shared a couple of recipes with you that would fall into the almost healthy range.  I say almost healthy because they could do with a little tweaking to make them even better. One of them is Lentil Sloppy Joes. We made these again last night, but I used red split lentils instead of the green lentils.

Isn't the color gorgeous! They are a great source of fiber and protein and are also packed with B vitamins and iron.

I also cut way down on the amount of sugar. Instead of the 1/2 of cup that the recipe calls for, I used 1/4 of a cup.  The rest of the recipe stays the same, but this time, I added some fresh mushrooms and diced tomatoes to the sauce.  It was yummy!  In fact Carly loved it so much that she took the leftovers to school with her for her lunch.  Now I call that a win!

We are trying to eat foods with an abundance of color (like the purple potatoes pictured above).  We also have cut down on our snacks, unless they are healthy (like yellow, orange, white, and purple carrots!) and we have cut down on our portions.

One of my favorite breakfasts, plain organic yogurt with frozen fruit and pumpkin flax granola.

The other thing that we are changing is purchasing organic. Not only is it healthier for you, but the food really does taste better. Think you can't afford organic? Then you need to revisit the stores. The organic versions are only a few dimes higher than the non-organic. Some of them are even the same or less if they are on sale!  Another way to get inexpensive organic veggies is to grow them yourself. You don't need a big plot of land, you can plant seeds in flower pots. Don't want to grow them yourself? Another great place to get organic produce is at your local farmer's market.

My organic and non-GMO groceries from Aldi!

So from here on, you will be seeing healthier recipes from me.  And with the garden season starting, it will (hopefully) be with veggies that we grow ourselves.  I hope that you will stick with me through this and that you will make baby steps as we are in striving to eat healthy!

Leave a Comment food, health, lifestyle, meals, organic

Throw Back Thursday: Loaded Baked Potatoes

One of our favorite, easy, and budget friendly meals to make are baked potatoes.  In the winter time, this is the perfect comfort food, and can be a meal in itself.  In the summer, we love to throw a couple on the grill with our steaks or pork chops.  Either way, you can't go wrong.

Several years ago, we were in one of our favorite (locally owned) grocery stores and we saw that they had potatoes already to cook.  They were seasoned and wrapped in foil so you could either bake them in the oven or throw them on the grill.  We decided to try them (even though they were a little pricey) and man were they the best potatoes I have ever had!  I'm not exaggerating.  They. Were. The. Best.

Every time we went by the store, we always picked some up to bake.  I had played around with trying to make them myself, but I didn't really get serious about it.  Then the price increased and we were paying $1.00 per potato.  I know that doesn't sound like much, but when you can get a 5 lb. bag or even a 10 lb. bag on sale for a couple of dollars the price of $1 per potato is expensive.

So it took me awhile, but I think that I have the recipe figured out.  At least, I have it figured out so that my family loves them!  Of course I don't know what herbs and spices they use to help season the potatoes, but that's okay.  We have figured out what we like and I want to share it with you.

The first step is to pick out potatoes that are very similar in size and shape. That way they will cook evenly. I like to use Russet potatoes.  There is something about the starch content in them, that makes the perfect baked potato.  Once you have your potatoes picked out, you will need to scrub them  until they are clean, but don't scrub so hard the skin comes off, and then dry them (very important!)

My potatoes, all nice and clean and waiting for the next step.

When they are clean and dried, you can then season them.  I first get my foil ready by tearing off sheets that I need.  Then I get my other ingredients ready.

Baked potato ingredients...super simple!

I first put a little bit of extra virgin olive oil (you can use regular olive oil) on a piece of foil.  Then I roll the potato around in the oil.  You can also use your hand and make sure that the oil is completely covering the potato.  Then comes your salt.  You want to use coarse salt.  DO NOT USE TABLE SALT.  You will end up with an extremely salty inedible potato.  Trust me! You can see my little baggie above is full of apple wood smoked coarse salt and other seasonings.  I got that from my local farmer's market and love it!  You can use just regular coarse salt such as sea salt, or kosher salt, or even Himalayan salt.  Make sure that the salt and seasonings completely cover the potato.

Oiled, seasoned and ready to bake!

As you can see from the picture above, it is not plastered with salt and seasonings.  You don't want to get too wild. :-)  Next just wrap up your potato and let it sit.  Try and let it sit for a couple of hours.  I made these in the morning and didn't bake them until the evening.  It allows the oil and seasonings to penetrate the skin and flavor the potato. 

Then bake in a 450°F oven for 1 hour, or until potatoes are soft when slightly squeezed.  You can also put these on the grill, or you can put them in your slow cooker on low and cook them for 6-8 hours.  I personally love the oven the best, but I have cooked them in my slow cooker and on the grill.

Our potato bar

As you can see above, I got our toppings ready.  I tend to use whatever we have on hand or leftover.  For this meal, I steamed some broccoli, and also had some salsa, shredded cheese, onions, and bacon pieces.  And of course butter!  I love it when we have chili left over and I can use that as a topping for our potatoes. 

My baked potato!

Here is my baked potato ready to eat!  I made these during one of the no groceries during the month of November weeks.

I was able to use things that we already had in our pantry or fridge which accounts for the white onions rather than the green, and the addition of steamed broccoli.  These were so good!  This recipe is the only way that we make potatoes now.  I have microwaved them a couple of times since, but they just aren't as good.  They are definitely not as flavorful.  To us it is worth the time to season them up and bake them in the oven.  And you know what the best part is?  The kids will actually eat the potato skin!

If you would like a printable version of the recipe, click HERE.

Please let me know in the comments below what you think of the recipe!  I hope you enjoy it!

1 comment budget, cooking, meals, potatoes, recipes

Throw Back Thursday: Goulash

I love today's post, because I get to share with you one of my family's favorite meals.  In fact, I believe this is probably the most requested meal that I get from my family.  It is also a dish that I grew up with, and one that is easy to make, and budget friendly!

My mom always called this goulash.  I know that there are other variations of goulash and I have tried a couple of those recipes, but I always come back to the variation that I grew up with. Well, kind of.  My mom made her goulash with hamburger meat, diced onions, elbow macaroni, and home canned tomato juice.  For us, I use my home canned pasta sauce so that there is a thicker sauce that already has spices added.

Goulash ingredients, yep that's all there is!

You can see from the picture above that there really isn't much to it.  The ingredients I use are:

• 1 pound hamburger meat (this would be good with ground deer meat for you hunters out there)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups dry pasta, we prefer elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions
• 1 jar pasta sauce of your choice

For this recipe, we like to use elbow macaroni, but when I made it this time, I didn't have enough. You can see in my picture of the finished recipe that there is also penne pasta thrown in as well.  Remember this is my no grocery month, so I had to use what I had on hand.  The bowl in the picture has my homemade pasta sauce in it.  I opened a jar to use some for pizza, and needed to use the leftover sauce for something else.  This was the perfect dish to do that!

To make the goulash:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions 
2. While the pasta is boiling, brown 1 lb. of hamburger meat.
3. After the hamburger meat is cooked through and chunked - my husband loves bigger chunks - add any spices you like.  I add a little minced onion (remember I'm using already seasoned sauce).
4. Pour the pasta sauce in with the hamburger meat and let it simmer on low heat.
5. When the pasta is done (I cook it to al dente), drain the pasta and add it to the sauce.

 And that's it!

There almost wasn't any left to get a picture of it!

Once I finished cooking this batch, I set the pan on the table and went to get my camera to take a picture.  When I came back, there was hardly any left!  I had to scrap together a small pile just to get a picture. That is how much my family loves this dish!

I like to serve this with a salad and homemade french bread.  Of course some nights, we don't even bother with a veggie or bread, we just grab a big bowl of this pasta dish and enjoy.  This is comfort food at its finest!

Let me know in the comments below what you think of this recipe, and let me know if you have made this recipe before!

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