Going Back to Basics

[Kaos Kitty]

For the last month, I've only been buying basics. Flour, milk, eggs, butter, oil, yeast, sugar, whole grains, fruit, vegetables, meat. I'm city-folk so I can't grow much or raise meat but otherwise it's a real pioneer grocery list. Nothing processed, or pre-made. Not even BQ sauce or salad dressings. I tell myself if I really need it, I can make it!

So far I've found my fridge looks really different. Kind of bare actually. I buy just enough in season fresh produce for the week and make it really work hard. My family has discovered the joys of cabbage (unrolled cabbage rolls, shredded cabbage in soup, casseroles and sandwiches). And that fresh beets can cause some colorful but unfounded worry in the bathroom the next day.

I'm trying to add in more preserved/dry foods in our meals as well. Items that once I get into canning and use my dehydrator more I can make myself. I opened up a can of dehydrated onions from our food storage and have been seeing how it works in meals. Long term food storage is great, but why wait for an emergency to figure out how to cook with it? I've already discovered that I prefer canned peaches to freeze dried ones (they taste okay, but in terms of texture and amount, definitely not worth the money I spent).

I'm more tired for sure. I feel like I'm baking something almost every night, and that's after a full day of work and making supper. The problem is that Dh has no problem eating 1/2 dozen fresh buns in an evening. Store bought bread was never under such threat.

But going back to basics is what has allowed me to slash my grocery budget in half for January (from spending $848 to $400). I'm learning the skills I want to be more self-sufficient now, rather than waiting until I'm can afford my own small farm. I want my family to be used to eating that kind of diet. It makes me feel good to save money and "know how" to make something, know what's in the food I'm eating. (I looked at crackers today and there were at least 4 very scary and unpronounceable ingredients on every box I checked).

So here's to going Back to Basics and staying there!

[Karla]

Good for you...thats got to be so much healthier for you and your family.

[mamamia]

How ispirational! You're certainly doing your health and your budget a big favor. So many of us here are trying to get back to basics and live simpler lives. I can't say I've made a big effort to do so, but when I read posts like these, I certainly get to thinking more. And I agree about some of the ingredients in things. It's no wonder so many kids are overweight and sick so often. It really is time for me to make our lives better.

Good job!

Theresa

[Bajasarah]

That's wonderful! I've been trying to do this more often as well...trying to buy more things around the outside edges of the grocery store rather than the middle aisles . Right now I do bake my own bread and bake cookies instead of buying them. You're definitely right about homemade bread going faster than the store bought stuff.

I have recipes for salad dressings and such and I should be using them more often. I need to do some more learning about canning and other ways of preserving foods as well. Its good to hear that you have been able to save so much on your grocery bill. I'm definitely looking for ways to save there.

[phoeny_moonstar]

Man, most of the stuff you mentioned especially the homemade rolls sound delish!

This post is inspirational as some one else said. Bravo for going back to basics!!

[lilk]

I bet your family is real proud of you. Everyone will be healthier and have better tasting food. My ds's love it when I make muffins from scratch.

Have you tried to bake up a couple loaves of bread at a time? When you find out how much you will need for your family, maybe you could do a OAMC, or a baking day once a week.

I need to learn to preserve more food also. Canning is on my list for this year.

I think you have done a wonderful job of getting your food bill down. Keep it up. I'm am trying to get ours down as well.

[Luv2BeFrugal]

Sounds wonderful!! And so healthful for your family!!

Yes, that sounds like a VERY full schedule! I like the idea of a once a week baking day... Would that work for your schedule?

[joyofsix]

Good job! I do much the same thing and drove myself nuts trying to keep up with the appetites around here. Two tips
popcorn-I set an amount on cookies (4) and bread/rolls (2 svgs) for snacks and then it's popcorn baby!
If you can set aside 2 or 3 days and bake like mad. Bread, cookies, cake, time consuming things, freeze them and pull them out slowly. It saves being up at 10pm baking bread for the next day's breakfast. You're doing awesome

[rachelMcK]

I found that when I buy just the basics, my fridge looks ridiculously bare as well, but amazingly enough, it gets us through the week!

[Momto2Boyz]

I did this for a while last year and have really been meaning to do it again! You're right, when I did it last year, my fridge was empty! Everything was in the freezer or cupboards. And the only things in my fridge were mason jars full of the homemade goodies I had made like ketchup, chocolate syrup, salad dressing, butter, etc!

DH and I both found that when I did this before (I was literally making everything from scratch, bread, noodles, etc.) we actually felt much better. No tiredness, more energy etc. I swear, eating foods with lots of preservatives just saps us of our energy!

It doesn't surprise me that you cut your budget by some much! All those convenience foods take time & tons of ingredients to make, and someone has to be "paid" for that stuff..it might as well be you!

I've found the only thing I can't replicate at home, is mac-n-cheese. My kids HATE homemade macaroni noodles with real cheese! I guess there is just no substitute for kids and blue box mac n cheese!

[lmbaker520]

It sounds like you are doing great! You are very inspirational. I have been trying to cut back on processed foods as much as possible. We have not been buying any packed cookies, chips, bread, etc over the past few months. I have actually enjoyed the extra baking and I want to try to incorporate even more into our diet. The things that I will struggle the most with replacing are things like ketchup, dressings, etc.

[MRAHoffman]

I'm close, but need to be closer. Take care and God bless.

[Spirit Deer]

Wow, I'm impressed, and I don't impress easily! Shaving, no SLASHING $400/month off the groceries is a HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT. Good for you, and for your lucky family. That's adding almost $5,000 tax-free dollars to your income. Pretty good pay monetarily, and priceless in the higher quality of your food, too.

I'd second the idea of making double batches of breads and rolls if you go through them quickly, if you have a freezer. It's not much more work to double the batch, much less work than making two separate batches. Zap the bread in the microwave just till it's warm and it'll taste fresh.

I'm working on getting closer to basics, too. And like others, one of the big problems I'm having is with salad dressings, particularly since they need to be low fat in my case. But I keep trying.

Has anyone besides me noticed the difference between the newer church and community cookbooks and the older ones? So many recipes in the newer ones call for some kind of processed food in the recipe now. Makes it harder to avoid some of the bad things. The older ones were truly scratch cooking, while the new ones really aren't.

Here is a recipe my mom used to make all the time when I was a kid, and which I've used quite a bit but not recently. It may be of some interest.

Overnite Buns
(start at six PM)
1 pkg. dry yeast
3 c. warm water
Dissolve yeast in water. Add:
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
2 eggs, beaten
10-11 c. flour
Mix and knead as usual and form into a ball. Grease the top. Let raise in warm place and punch down every hour till 10 PM. Shape into rolls and place on greased cookie sheets. Cover with towels and let raise till morning. Bake at 400 degrees ten minutes.

I can still recall making these with my mom, and hearing the dough squeak. Mom always said if the dough squeaked, that was a sign of good buns.

We always greased the tops of breads and buns after baking with a brush and bacon grease, to keep them soft. Of course people are more worried about salt and fat and cholesterol these days so you may not want to do that. Margarine would work, too, or just skip it entirely.

Now that I dug that recipe out, I might have to make a batch of these. As I recall, they're fairly sweet (I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to cut down the sugar if you want) and very delicious.

[annymoll]

In our house, it seems the opposite.Our fridge is crammed packed, and the cupboards are bare.The fridge is full of fruits and veggies, eggs, skim milk, lowfat cheeses, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. No condiments- I think mustard may be in there. In the pantry- no white sugar(I have had a 5 lb bag so long I forget when I got it.Need to pitch it.) A small 5 lb bag of wheat flour, some brown sugar,some brown rice, rolled oats, popcorn. No pies, cookies, cakes, rolls. Of any sort. Baked or bought.When I want a snack or a side I wash or peel.Different here.

[Kaos Kitty]

Thanks everyone for all the encouragement! I keep thinking back to the pioneers, and how every day was for something different. One day was for baking, another for washing clothes ect. I need to declare an Official Baking Day!

I have been experimenting with a recipe from Mother Earth News, where you make the bread dough once a week, and can use part of it every day to bake a loaf of bread, make pizza or cinnamon rolls. As it ages in the fridge it takes on a sour dough flavor. So far I've discovered that table salt cannot be substituted for kosher or sea salt. (My family ate some really salty bread and pizza all week! But I'm proud of them for eating it!) I'll post the recipe when I'm sure it's works (and it's not just me). I will definitely try to bake more at a time and freeze it. (The freezer is my friend).

You're right Joyofsix, popcorn is the way to go! I put a jar of popcorn kernels on the counter, (if they see it, they'll eat it). Dh is just a snack-a-holic. He eats my cookies, muffins, buns, and a bowl of popcorn every night. I try to minimize the damage to his health by buying unroasted, unsalted nuts he has to shell (limit 1 cup a night) and keeping pieces of frozen fruit in the freezer for snacking. But from now on, I'm adopting your rules! 4 cookies and 2 bun snack limit! And if he wants more - I'll point to the popcorn jar! Thanks!