What I believe about food

I believe I am a thinking woman who makes the choice to be content.
I believe we should do the best we can with the budgets we have.
I believe in encouraging one another.

That said, there are some very real questions brought up in our discussion this week. Here are a few I struggle with:

• Are my children entitled to a balanced and nutritious diet, or foods as optimal as my husband's paycheck can afford?
• Should I strive for balance and use the rest to sponsor a Compassion child?
• Is it better to drive 10 miles farther for local food, or walk down the street to buy groceries instead?
• Am I discouraging you because I can do this for $50, or does this give you hope that you could eat for less if you needed to?

Laying down the skillet

I resisted meal planning for so long. Below, an evolution of my budget menu plan:

1. Improvise with loss leaders and perishable foods. Catherine at Wise Bread shares her techniques for freestyle frugality in the kitchen.
   
2. Realize that the freestyle plan was entirely dependent on my whim and energy level. It was too easy to fall back on PB & J or frozen pizza.
   
3. Develop a dinner plan loosely based on sales flyers. But lunch, oh lunch, how weak my will! We are running errands, and everyone is hungry!


4. Lunch at home, even if it's the same thing every day. Jeana's in-for-lunch series nudged me back into the frugal zone.
   
5. Cook like a 1950's woman and realize that more planning = less thinking, less temptation.
   
6. Sketch out 3 meals a day based on seasonal produce and sales.

Sales-based menu + no thinking = I can do this!

--My friend Christy eats well on less by cutting nonessentials.
--Barb tells how she feeds a family of 6.
--Money Saving Mom on balancing health and frugality.
--Kim C.'s children calculate the cost of their favorite meals.

(Have a post about healthy budget menus? Leave your link in the comments!)

Al fresco

I looked long and hard at this round tablecloth. Linens were 1/2 price, but I made myself walk away.

Two weeks later, linens 1/2 price again. 8 matching napkins hung next to the cloth! Now I have a $3 set for my outdoor table.

The $50 menu

Some people suspect that a $50 menu can't be healthy. I disagree.

Below you will find my scratched out, scribbled plan for the week, incorporating a few tricks from the 1950s menu experiment. Click to enlarge.

Health and cost don't have to be mutually exclusive. I'm no expert, but I'll be sharing some resources that you may find helpful.

In the meantime, how do you cook healthy without spending a lot?

How I spent my $50

How did I do it? By shopping smart and substituting effort for convenience:

When I saw organic milk reduced to $2.48/gallon, I froze 2 for later and made my own yogurt. I crafted the week's meals based on what was on sale (potatoes and spinach, $1/bag). I chose fresh crudite like carrots and celery sticks over variety. It's February, after all.

Look what $50 doesn't buy--convenience foods, sodas, fancy coffee and cream. Snacks are affordable fruits like raisins, apples and bananas for the kids, nuts for my husband.

Whenever I fret about going all natural, I remember my friend Jordana's observation: I can't get obsessed about organic when there are people who don't have enough food at all.

Lord, help me to buy the best I can within my budget. Teach me not to complain while others hunger. Give me the energy to be creative with what I find.

Make more money at your yard sale

Put on your hat and gloves. Grab a steaming cup of coffee. You're having the first yard sale of the season!

If you'd like to make more money at your yard sale, don't wait till July. Hold it now, when the yard salers are hungry. The first sale to break the fast is guaranteed more traffic than an all-you-can-eat-buffet.

Ebay inventories are at their winter low. I see the desperate-eyed pros at every thrift store; they're downright tense at overpriced estate sales.

Just put your junk out there, price it fairly, and watch it disappear before your very eyes.

Why, someone might even buy your mom's old Thanksgiving napkins--in February!

Ask me how I know.

(Need help? My friend Lynnette wrote the book on making the most of your yard sale.)

Birthday table

In our house, the birthday kid wakes to a table decorated just for him.


This tradition doesn't cost a cent, but it always produces that little gasp of surprise.

A blue-and-green gift arrived in the mail, so we pulled out all our blue bags and paper for wrapping. All the fluff makes even modest presents seem grand.

We spread a blue fabric remnant and hung balloons from the chandelier. See how extra balloons fill gaps between presents?

I scatter sweet candies and sweeter memories in the empty spots.

We were all so sick, I let Andrew make his own cake and decoration the day before.

Don't hate me, but I also made him wear a spring green shirt.

Me, micromanage the details? It looks better for the pictures.

Catering your own wedding reception

Tracy asked if I knew how much fruit to buy for a wedding reception. Hmmm...

Whether you're hosting a wedding or just planning a breakfast, buying the right amount of food saves money. (Remember the potato salad that never quit?)

I recommended she read a library copy of the oldie-but-goodie, How To Have A Big Wedding On A Small Budget Brush away the tacky ideas and concentrate on the plans for catering your own reception.

I always like to copy the professionals. We found these photos of fancy fruit displays. Wow...and yikes! These could be a disaster if you're not artistic.

The good news? Elegance is a silver platter piled only with strawberries in season. Add a crystal bowl of freshly whipped cream or powdered sugar for dipping.

Finally I stumbled upon EZ Wedding Planner, which tells you exactly how much of each food to buy per person. Bingo!

What tips do you have for catering your own wedding reception?

Calling all math nerds!

Or, why strawberries are not as pricey as they seem.

I'm discussing the merits of frugal hair splitting today. Bring your calculators.

Project paint

Do you have a chair or dresser you've been waiting to transform?

Habitat Homestore on 8th is selling quarts of recycled paint for 25-cents right now. Brands and colors vary. Gallons cost $5.

1950s budget menu: conclusions

After cooking 21 meals straight, with a $67, one-stop shopping trip:

Pros:

• Lost 4 more pounds, despite desserts and bacon grease.
• Cooked at 5 am without losing mind.
• Defeated urge to eat out because I had a firm plan.
• Thrilled my husband beyond words.

Cons:

• Needed an entire bottle of dishwashing soap.
• Lost time with the kids.
• Ended week with nothing in the fridge.

Thanks for cheering me on with your helpful advice and recipes. Now someone better pass me a big bowl of salad before I start making a festive dinner out of sausages, noodles, and peach halves!

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

1950s budget menu: cheese rabbit

I immediately dismissed the thought of cheese rabbit/Welsh rarebit/whatever that is. Wouldn't grilled cheese sandwiches be easier?

Curiosity got the better of me.

Cheese rabbit is made by heating milk in a double boiler, thickening with flour, fat, and egg. Cheese and cayenne/Tabasco/Worcestershire flavor the surprisingly light mixture.

Here's how I made the basic recipe cheaper:

• powdered milk (1 glass whole milk left till tomorrow)
• smidge of bacon grease for roux (out of butter)
• hard ends of cheese left uncovered in fridge by kids
• leftover dinner bread I saved in the freezer

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

Food processor egg salad

Q: In what ways does this menu differ from your regular meals? I thought you cooked like this every day!

A: I might serve 3 meals a day, but I rarely cook 3 meals a day. Take yesterday's egg salad. If I'm going to boil eggs, might as well make enough for 2 lunches and skip today's Welsh rarebit. That's being frugal with time and money.

I'm also more of a 1-pan/1-bowl cook. This menu leaves me washing a sinkful, 3 times a day. I'm adapting, though. I got smart and mixed the egg salad in the food processor after crumbing the pork chop coating.

Now I know why children of the '50s roamed all over the neighborhood by themselves. Their mothers were too busy in the kitchen!

1950s budget menu: Thursday spaghetti

I should never have let him know that cooking like this is possible on a budget.

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

Canned vs. frozen vegetables

When the 1950s budget menu was developed, canned vegetables were cheaper than frozen convenience packs.

I had always imagined that frozen vegetables are the better value in today's world. After all, don't cans contain a lot of water? When is canned a better buy than frozen?

• 48 cents for Walmart's can / 15.5 oz = .03 per ounce (including a small amount of liquid)
• 84 cents for Great Value frozen bag/ 16 oz = .05 per ounce

The results are deceiving. The canned corn is cheaper per ounce, but it's not the better buy:

Though each net weight is ~ 1 pound, the frozen package contains twice the food volume. Two cans of corn would cost 96-cents, or 12-cents more than the frozen bag.

The key is to consider one bag as TWO cans' worth. A good rule of thumb: cans 42-cents and under are cheaper than frozen, at least using the Walmart standard of pricing. This USDA article explains the quality and grading of both products.

There are benefits to buying both: taste, nutrition, and shelf stability. Do you buy canned or frozen, and where do you find your lowest prices?

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

1950s budget menu: pork chops

Score one for 1950s porkchops! This baked recipe from Emeril was a winner (minus the Pecorino and subbing a little broth for the wine).

When the sun rises, let's compare photos of canned vs. frozen peas--which gives more value?

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

1950s budget menu: frankfurter picnic

Four days into the 1950s budget menu. How did our grandmothers do this every day?

The toddler busied herself shaking sugar on the floor. The kindergartener burst into tears at the smell of boiled cabbage.

The homemade hot dog buns swelled and spilled all over the oven. Quick, open the windows!

I give up. Let's make cole slaw. Warm up the beans.

Andrew, get the picnic basket.

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

Saving money for beginners

While I've been busy cooking, both Crystal and Amy are getting back to the basics:

• Money Saving Mom's Budgeting 101
• Mom Advice's Baby Steps
  

1950s budget menu: desserts

If daily potatoes don't send you into a starchy stupor, the desserts might. This low cost menu serves them up at lunch AND dinner.

I won't kid. A sweet end makes the meals taste better. I'm curious if a week without high fructose corn syrup will leave us more satisfied.

At the same time, it's a lot of baking--and a challenge to find recipes which won't use all my butter and eggs. (Above, cocoa cupcakes with half batch of 1-minute frosting.)

My mom wants to know if these are really less expensive than a pack of Hostess. Thoughts?

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

1950s budget menu: 1 potato, 7 days

I haven't cooked potatoes in a couple of years. I crossed them off the shopping list when my husband became diabetic.

So you can imagine our bliss at Saturday's hashed brown potato lunch...Sunday's roasted potatoes...the unexpected creaminess of Monday's bean and potato soup.

I had to research last night's scalloped potatoes. Using a boxed version was verboten, and most of my cookbooks called for Gruyere.

The thrifty 1949 version from Everyday Foods made a golden crust even without cheese:

I like Everyday Food's method over a specific recipe. I was able to slice just enough to fill a small glass casserole. The last thing I want is leftover potatoes!

Potatoes in our near future: hot potato salad, mashed potatoes, corn and potato soup, followed by baked potatoes.

Anyone else wonder why this menu is so packed with potato goodness?

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

1950s budget menu: roast beef, 3 meals

I thought I knew a lot about reducing food waste.

I have a lot to learn. This budget menu alternates "company fare" with meatless meals and leftovers, creatively repackaged.

Take yesterday's pot roast. Tonight, it's thinly sliced against the grain. The pan juices reduced to a gravy for french dip with rolls.

Normally, I would stop right there. But tomorrow we are scheduled to lunch on beef hash.

I chopped the "irregular" end of the roast beef and cubed the remaining pot roast potatoes. Leftovers will be shredded and thrown in the mix.

Thus a $5 sirloin tip roast stretches through 3 meals, '50s style.

What do you do to stretch roast beef?

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

1950s budget menu: Monday breakfast

• French toast from day-old cinnamon swirl bread
• Brown sugar syrup (a first for me!)
• Grapefruit juice--whole grapefruit were less expensive than canned juice this week.
• Milk
  

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

Feeling like Donna Reed

The menu dirties a lot of pots and pans in pursuit of thrift (<$5 for pot roast, rolls and dessert, plus leftovers). But the result is extremely man-pleasing!

I'll let you imagine the groan when I sliced apple pie for dessert.

1950s budget menu: Sunday breakfast

Coffee cake and oatmeal? No problem. I have a handful of rich recipes I use for brunch.

Wait! This budget menu doesn't include sour cream or cake mix; neither can I spare 4 eggs. Retro Food rescued me with a tasty 1-egg version that calls for shortening instead of butter.

The family approves.

Bonus: I can use this recipe for company without so much expense.

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

Debate: canned vs. dried beans

Last night the 1950's budget menu called for baked beans--and they couldn't come from a can.

My Southern family recipe doctors Van Camp's pork and beans with ketchup and brown sugar.

I dutifully pulled out Joy of Cooking and began an all-day process of boiling, soaking, and baking--with at least one hour of simmering and five hours of baking. After all that fussing, the taste was disappointing.

I decided to open a can of pork and beans to compare amounts. Both recipes made the same total amount of food, but the can contained slightly fewer beans. (In the photo, the liquid rises to the top)

For baked beans, is it truly cheapest to use dried beans? Let's debate.

Dried Navy Beans (99-cents/l lb)

1. can control the type of sweeteners
2. paying for more beans and less liquid

Canned Pork and Beans ($1.25/46 oz can)

1. uses far less electricity for cooking
2. already includes molasses, onion, bacon, and flavoring
3. can bake to thicken texture

What do you think? Do canned beans ever compare to dried, price- or flavor-wise?

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

Yard sale season!

In my neck of the woods, yard sales start popping up in late February. Here's my fourfold approach to finding them:

1. Check the Tennessean classifieds online, use Mapquest when necessary.
2. Check craigslist.org "garage sale" listings.
3. Receive free email alerts from estatesales.net.
4. Teach the kids to yell hysterically whenever they spot signs!

Are you getting the fever yet? When do yard sales start in your area?

1950s budget menu: Saturday lunch

Above, saving celery tops for flavoring soup later in the week

Today's lunch: scrambled eggs, diced potatoes, celery and carrots, bread, milk

"Because the number of eggs allowed is not large (1-2/3 dozen)...most of the eggs purchased are used in puddings, baked products, and main dishes (like today's lunch). Since the eggs are used in cookery, they may be Grade B or C quality."
--Meal Management, p. 92.

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

Cooking The 1950s Budget Menu

Stuck home without library books for a week, I resorted to reading an old college textbook I bought from Goodwill: Meal Management.

Its chapters on the food dollar and budgeting were surprisingly complex. I laughed at stewed prunes for breakfast and dessert with every lunch.(Click for a larger view.)

Then I wondered, "What would I learn about saving money if I cooked this way for a week?"

Let's find out.

Here's a complete list of my 1950's Budget Menu posts:

How To Shop With $67, 1950s style

Saturday: eggs for lunch and canned vs. dried beans

Sunday: breakfast coffee cake without sour cream

Monday: no store bought syrup? and roast beef for 3 meals

Tuesday: potatoes 7 days of the week and desserts at every meal

Wednesday: Mom, what are frankfurters?

Thursday: husband-pleasing pork chops and comparing canned vs. frozen vegetables

Friday: spaghetti is better with meatballs and even I had to Google cheese rabbit

Saturday: conclusions after a week of kitchen servitude

Meal Management: Shopping List

I never would have bought this many groceries at once, had my fridge not been completely emptied by repairs and flu.

According to Meal Management, ingredients for these 21 meals should cost between $18 and $20 (1956 prices).

2008 price? $62 at a small local grocer, with flour and oil from my pantry.

The book recommends 38 pounds of fruits and vegetables, both fresh, canned, and juiced.

I had the hardest time working the low cost menu's meats within my budget. The grocery had reduced prices on pork chops ($3), 3 lbs of bacon ($3), and turkey frankfurters ($1.49).

Good taste in tables

I've been reading a Goodwill copy of Vogue's Book of Etiquette, circa 1948.Thought you might enjoy this advice from the table decoration chapter:

Happy St. Valentine's Day to you!

Oh, no. Spaghetti again. You can't cook a very special Valentine supper from the sofa.

At least it's red.

Good thing we squirreled away some Valentine's finds earlier this year.

Super soft Gund animals (25 cents), Little Me heart jumper ($1.29) and bow (.25).

Would you kiss a monkfish?

Edi, this one's for you...
During Valentine's Day, Whole Foods' Nashville will give 1 free lobster tail to each person brave enough to kiss this ugly beast. While supplies last.

If only we weren't so contagious...

Scenes from the kitchen sink

There's going to be a lot of clean up when all this is over.

I picked up all my blue-and-white plates secondhand.

PS--I enjoyed Sandy's post on dish swapping with a friend and other low-cost valentine ideas.

Favorite cookbooks

Dan at Casual Kitchen has compiled a short list of bloggers' favorite cookbooks. I'm far from a foodie, so it was an honor to participate!

What is your favorite cookbook?

Comfort me with apples

And then there were 3

There is only so much lying on sofa a girl can stand, staring at a bare tabletop.

Where is the Valentine's love? Not up to shopping for apples and construction paper, that's for sure.

Gratitude

Joy brought by a forgotten pack of markers, just when we needed them most.