Creating a Home Management Binder- Part 3: Grocery Shopping

I use coupons to shop. I LOVE coupon shopping. I stock up when I can on what I know I will use, and I fill in the rest every week when I grocery shop.

When I am creating my weekly menu plan, I rely heavily on what I know I need to use up. Some things, like pasta (that will keep forever) won’t go on my plan more than once or twice. More perishable items like salad will be on the menu for several days so that we can try to eat it before it goes bad. (A bag of salad can take too long to consume with just the two of us!) I also rely on the grocery sales for that week to determine what I will focus on cooking.

After my menu plan is in place, I pull together my grocery list. In order to make sure that I’m not running to the store all week, I gather my grocery store matchups, my list from the fridge where I jot down items that are running low or gone, and my menu plan for the upcoming week. I start to condense all of this onto the shopping list printable that I like to use. (I do usually take my list of grocery store matchups shopping with me, because I don’t want to write down all of my little coupon notes on my grocery list- it takes up too much space!) Once I have everything written down, I evaluate whether or not anything can be removed. Do I really need everything on here? Did I forget that I already have some of these items in my stockpile? Sometimes I need more than I had realized, and I reevaluate my menu plan to use up something that I already have or make something that costs a little less. Just a note here: in my binder, I have my menu plan and grocery shopping combined. I like to alternate the pages in this section, placing a grocery shopping list behind each menu plan. At the beginning of each week, I do post the menu plan on our fridge so the husband can see what he is in for each day! :) I usually toss the grocery list when I’m done shopping, but I like to hang onto my old menu plans for inspiration when I can’t think of meals to make!

Something I feel is important to note here is that you can’t buy everything with coupons. I think that sometimes people are discouraged from shopping frugally when they have a certain way they want or need to eat. For example, I strive to cook with whole foods. This isn’t always easy, or feasible, or even affordable, but every small choice makes a difference. I struggle with food allergies, and a lot of what I can’t have is processed food. This has been a blessing in disguise! I have to cook real, actual food, as we all should! Yes, it increases the grocery bill when I choose a smaller whole grain loaf of bread over a loaf of processed white bread that costs 70 cents, but it is worth it to me. And take heart! You can build things into your stockpile that will help you out as you try to be frugal and healthy. There are even coupons out there for organic products! Natural food stores and distributors have to stay competitive just like everyone else. For example, I get Muir Glen organic canned tomatoes for cheap or free all the time! I am steadily building up my stock of these whenever they go on sale, and they are a staple in many recipes. Every little bit of bad food that you eliminate is a good step for your family. Don’t feel like you have to get everything on your list at Trader Joe’s, especially when you are on a budget. Slowly replace your staples, and you will see your grocery bill decreasing, like every other couponer!

Like I have talked about before, lowering my grocery budget is a goal that I have this year. So is increasing the health factor in our food, although we do pretty well right now! I’ll keep sharing some of the good deals I find on products that are good for you! You don’t have to eat boxed macaroni and cheese to be an extreme couponer! Yay!

How do you complete your grocery shopping each week? I hope you enjoyed these tips, and got some encouragement to be frugal and still eat well!

DIY :: homemade English muffins ::

I was excited to make these and I am so glad that they turned out! They are even better than packaged, I think. They are thicker and more filling. Plus, I know every ingredient that went into them! (Even if there are a couple of not-so-great ones!)

Recipe:  

1 cup of milk
2 tbsp. white sugar
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 cup of warm water
1/4 cup of melted shortening
6 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

Yield: about 14 muffins

 1. Warm the milk in a saucepan until it bubbles. (I actually used soy milk, and it went just fine.) Remove from heat, and stir in sugar until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm.

 2. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

 

3. In a large bowl, combine the milk mixture, the yeast mixture, shortening, and 3 cups of flour.

4. Beat until smooth!

 5. Add the salt, and the rest of the flour, or enough to make a soft dough. (I think I ended up using a little less than 5 cups total. It definitely didn't need 6!) Knead. Place in a greased bowl; cover, and let rise. (I left it for about an hour.)

6. After it rises, punch it down.

 7. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with a biscuit cutter, drinking glass, etc. (I used a small round Ziploc container.)

8. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust the tops of the muffins with cornmeal also. 

9. Cover and let rise for half an hour.

 10. Heat a greased griddle. Cook muffins on the griddle about 10 minutes on each side. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. 

11. Or, if you are the chef, and get hungry, split one open and load the hot yeasty goodness with cinnamon butter and devour. :)

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What's on the Menu: 1/29- 2/4

I was feeling pretty low on cooking inspiration a few weeks ago, when I started trying recipes on Pinterest. Last week, I tried a whole bunch of new things that I found on skinnytaste.com via Pinterest. I really LOVE recipe sharing! I love to cook, but I lack the creativity to whip up healthy, interesting meals on my own. These sites have been invaluable to me! Plus, I think hubby has liked every single one so far. Not that he's picky, but still, it's nice.

Here's what we are eating this week:

Sunday: Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza w/ Pineapple

Monday: Homemade Chicken Nuggets, Roasted Potato Wedges (We ended up not having this last week)

Tuesday: Small group! I get off easy this week- I'm bringing drinks!

Wednesday: White Bean & White Wine Soup

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Skinny Salisbury Steak w/ Mashed Potatoes/Cauliflower & Mushroom Gravy, Tossed Salad

Saturday: Grilled Chicken w/ Lemon Basil Pasta, Tossed Salad, Garlic Bread

I also plan to try homemade granola bars, homemade English muffins, and Baked Oatmeal with blueberries & bananas. We'll see how it goes! I am really attempting to make as many "convenience" type foods that we like from scratch. We really don't do very much boxed, prepared, or convenience food due to my food allergies and trying to eat well. But in an attempt to go completely to a whole foods diet, I am trying to get rid of the few things I do just grab from the shelf. We may never be 100% there, but I think every little bit helps!

{friday's featured female} :: The Proverbs 31 Woman, vs. 14

Vs. 14- "She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar."

I watched a documentary last night called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead." ( I know you're wondering what that has to do with Proverbs 31!) Well, I've been thinking a lot about food, recipes, growing food, whole foods diets, and so on. This film talked about many interesting things that I won't get into right now. But one thing that stood out to me was a section where they talked about how convenient our food is. I don't just mean fast food. But in general, food is very easy to come by and prepare in our culture. They talked about how much healthier it was in older days to have to work for every meal. To have to hunt it, or grow it, or figure out how to store it. Not only did people eat more naturally this way, they also got a lot of physical activity while acquiring their food supply. We don't have to grow anything if we don't want to. We don't have to clean the game in order to have meat, or grind our own wheat for flour. If people do those things, it is usually by conscious choice, not necessity.

I wish I knew more about the culture and times of the Proverbs 31 woman. I hope to read more to discover some of the ways she lived! I connected that clip of the documentary with this verse in Proverbs. I wonder what food choices were available in her village. We see over and over again that this woman finds ways to provide her family with the best things. Did she have to get her food from far away? Or was that in an effort to have better eating choices for her family? Something tells me that not every homemaker in her village was going through the same trouble. I think this was a woman who stood out; maybe she did things a little differently! I wonder if there were ingredients that she wanted that she couldn't get down at the open market. I wonder if she waited for her shipments to come in so that she could stock up on the things she needed to make healthy and wholesome choices for her family's meals. I also secretly wonder if she would have loved the world of homemaker's blogs and exchanging healthy recipes! I know that sometimes online is where I find kindred spirits- other ladies devoted to their homemaking, and trying to feed their families healthier, more homegrown, and more organic foods. As I find an online community of other women all across North America, I wonder if she felt alone. Maybe even a little weird for choosing to go against the grain. Maybe everyone else was buying convenience foods down at the market, but she was down by the docks, waiting for her shipments to come in. Maybe- I don't know!

I think this verse, above all, speaks encouragement to those trying to do things a little bit differently. Maybe against what our culture deems "normal." It's old-fashioned to bake bread, to stay home with your children, to even utter the word "homemaking." Let her encourage your heart today that it is the best choice to go the extra mile for your family, no matter how big or small the act may be. It is always right to be wise in your decisions on how to feed, clothe, educate your children and organize your home. I don't believe that God specifically calls us as women to work, or to stay at home, or homeschool, or send our kids to school, or have a brood of children, or have one, or even to marry or stay single. I know some would disagree with me on this, and that's ok. I do know He calls us to be keepers of our homes- whether that is just you, or a dozen people! So make wise choices in your home. Gather your food from afar, whatever that may mean today in your life. Whatever it is you do that is best for you and your family, even if it's a little unconventional in our world- do it boldly!


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:: yogurt. {round 2} ::

I didn't want to show you round one. I didn't even want to talk about the 1/2 gallon of organic milk that ended up dumped down my drain, ruined. :( So I waited for a success story to blog about. Haha! I believe in being real, though, and want you to rest assured that this is Try #2!!! The first recipe I used relied totally on the yogurt cultures "taking" to get thick. While I am SURE this is the healthiest, most sustainable way to do it.......

This time I used a recipe that called for gelatin. Oh, and I didn't waste money on organic milk, in case of another flop. If we really enjoy this homemade yogurt, I will start using fine ingredients. This makes a LOT! So, even if I buy great, slightly pricey, organic ingredients, it will still work out to be very inexpensive healthy and organic yogurt. I got this recipe from a lady at work!

RECIPE:

1 gal. milk (whole will work better)
2 tbsp. unflavored gelatin
1/2 cu. water
2 cu. sugar (I might cut back on this next time; it's really sweet!)
Dash of vanilla
8 oz. plain yogurt

This is how it went:

 Put gelatin and sugar in a bowl. (I just kind of layered them at this point.)

 Add your wet ingredients: vanilla, water, yogurt. I mixed it up a little, because I wasn't really sure about this step. It seemed to be fine when I used the mixture later. Let this sit while you work on the milk.

 Heat the gallon of milk on the stove. I used pretty high heat. Just make sure you stir often, as milk scorches pretty easily!

 Oh, yes....and use a pot that is large enough! I had to switch once I got my milk on the stove and realized I would not have enough room for my sugar mixture. I used a large stock pot, and this worked out well, because the mixture was very "splashy" when I was adding it in!

 Heat the milk to 190 degrees (which was at right about the boiling point), then remove from heat and cool to 130 degrees. Stir in your yogurt mixture vigorously with a whisk, a little at a time. I found that my mixture had gotten very globby, for lack of a better word, but that once it was in the hot milk, it dissolved nicely, and wasn't an issue.

 When it is mixed in well, put the lid on your pot, and wrap the whole thing in towels to keep it warm. Leave it for 8 hours.

Toward the end, I prepared my containers, and added fruit to the bottom of some of them.

 It was still a little soupy at the end of my 8 hours, which made me nervous. I wasn't sure if it was going to turn out, but I went ahead and put it in my containers anyway. At this point, I did wrap all of the containers up in a towel again, because it didn't seem finished to me. I left them for another hour, but I am not sure it really made a difference.

 This is how much product I got from one batch! I went ahead and put them all in the refrigerator to chill overnight, and they were nice and firm and yogurt-like in the morning! Yay! Success! The only think I think I would do differently is add less sugar. I don't know if this would change the consistency at all, but I thought it was very sweet. Almost more like a custard, really.

This is the breakdown of cost:

1 gallon of milk- $3.09
Unflavored gelatin- $1.25
Water- Free :)
Organic cane sugar- $2.18
Vanilla- .99
Plain Fage Greek yogurt- $2.48

Total cost:$9.99

Yield: 13 containers of various sizes, but probably equal to about 35 individual cups of yogurt. This would be about 29 cents per cup. Now, if I switched to organic milk, my cost would probably be about $13, making it about 37 cents per cup. I don't know about you, but organic yogurt, or even just Greek yogurt, is running around $1 per cup around here. So this is a savings of about $22 based on 35 cups of Greek or organic yogurt. Not bad!

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