Babysteps and Food Budgets

One of the things that I constantly run into when someone hears that we eat a lot of locally produced food that is either organic or naturally grown is the idea that you can't eat this way on a budget.  For some reason everyone seems to assume that you have to spend an arm and a leg in order to eat a healthy diet and one trip to Whole Foods generally confirms this.  However, there are more ways to source good food than from the aisles at Whole Foods and even more ways to eat well while saving up to eat even better.  The first step we took in our journey to eating a more organic, local, humanely-raised, socially responsible diet was to cut our grocery budget.  I know that this seems a strange step to take, but the grocery budget was the only place we really had enough wiggle room and we were, after all, saving the money we cut to play for food (aka groceries).  This begs the question of how to cut the grocery budget without sacrificing nutrition.  For us that answer was simple, I cooked simpler meals and everything I could I made from scratch.  If you aren't used to cooking from scratch this can be a rather drastic step, but I'd had practice when A was tiny and had issues with any food containing even the slightest trace of cow's milk, soy, or corn.  Let me tell you, compared to avoiding corn, cooking basic meals with no food restrictions from scratch is pretty easy.

This simple, one-pot pork and greens dish takes maybe 15
minutes of prep followed by 30 minutes simmering on its own.

About now I'm sure that some of you are envisioning me slaving over a hot stove all day or us sitting down to skimpy meals and going to bed hungry.  All I can say is that this was not the case.  In many ways we actually started eating better because the tighter budget forced me to plan better and made it almost impossible* to buy much junk.  I know that there are a lot of people out there who claim that junk food is the cheapest form of calories, and it is.  However, I budget by the meal, not the calorie when it comes to making my food choices.  And seriously, how many people really sit there and count the calories on the cookies, candy and soda that they buy?  Do you really feel as satisfied after eating a whole bag of potato chips as you would after eating a nice meal, even if the meal has fewer calories?

Sloppy joes on homemade buns and broccoli slaw

 When you are buying by the meal you realize that a bag of apples costs the same as a big bag of chips and will cover several snacks where the potato chips have to be doled out carefully if you don't want them to be inhaled by the kids the second you open the bag.  You realize that a bag of dried beans costs $1 and will cover 2 or 3 meals while that box of Hamburger Helper also costs $1, but will only cover one.  Furthermore, you realize that a complete meal with the beans can be made by adding brown rice, cabbage, cilantro and tomatoes which works out to being WAY cheaper than the ground beef you would need for the Hamburger Helper, not to mention better for you.  When you are budgeting by the meal you might even realize that water is not only better for you than juice or soda, but also far and away a cheaper beverage option.  When you are budgeting by the meal you walk down the cereal aisle at Costco and notice that the 10lb box of rolled oats costs about the same as the giant boxes of sugary breakfast cereal, but realize that the rolled oats will cover breakfast for several weeks instead of a few days when your kids insist that they are hungry by 10am despite eating 3 bowls of Cheerios just a couple of hours ago (or maybe that's just my kids).

Eggs on a bed of sauted greens with
sliced oranges from our CSA.

 The hard part, of course, is that we have all gotten used to thinking of the dried beans and the rolled oats as an ingredient that will require a lot of work before it turns into food while we think of the Hamburger Helper and the breakfast cereals as ready made meals that save us time and money.  In truth, this is really all just a product of marketing.  You can toss old-fashioned rolled oats in a bowl with some brown sugar, salt and cinnamon and pour boiling water over it just like you would instant oatmeal.  Within 5 minutes you can stir it and start eating, just like you would with the more costly packets of "instant" oatmeal.  If you cover the bowl after you pour on the water you can grab a shower and get dressed and come out to a nice, hot breakfast waiting for you.  If you have a lot of busy mornings you can even make up several containers with oatmeal, sugar, spices and dried fruit to grab on your way out the door.  Either add water, seal it up and toss in your bag to eat when you get where you are going or add hot water from the office water cooler when you get in and eat it while checking your morning email**.  Beans are just as easy.  Simply rinse them off toss them in a pot on the stove with water and seasonings for 2ish hours or throw them in the crockpot on low all day so dinner is waiting for you when you get home.  Save some of your beans in 2 cup containers in the freezer for recipes that call for canned beans or to bail yourself out when the day gets away from you and eat the rest while they are still nice and hot.  Beans keep and reheat well and can be dressed up so many ways.  Below are two of my favorite recipes.  We eat them so often that I can't believe I can't find a picture so you'll have to deal with pictures of other meals we've eaten recently.

Humanely raised pork roast with applesauce and greens.
This is a 100% local version of longtime favorite meal.

Black Beans and Rice                             

1lb black beans

1tsp salt

1tsp cumin

1/4-1/2 onion (dice or leave it as a big chunk that you can fish out later)

1 dried chili pod (optional, but good)

2 cloves garlic (optional, but good)

Rinse beans and pick out any discolored beans, stones, etc.  Put beans in a pot or crockpot and cover with 1"-2" of water.  Add seasonings and give it a quick stir.  Simmer on the stove for ~2 hours or in a crockpot on low for 7-9 hours or in a crockpot on high for 4-6 hours.  If you have lots of extra broth you can boil it down, discard it or just pour it over rice to add extra flavor.  If you don't have enough water towards the end of the cooking time just add more and give it a quick stir.  You will need to keep a closer eye on it if you are cooking on the stove instead of a crockpot as more water boils off.  These are great in burritos or served over brown rice in a bowl topped with just about any veggies you would put on a taco.

White Beans

1lb navy beans

1tsp salt

2 cloves garlic (peeled, but left whole)

Rinse beans and pick out any discolored bits, stones, etc.  Put beans in a pot or crockpot and cover with 1"-2" of water.  Add salt and garlic cloves.  Simmer on the stove for ~2 hours or in a crockpot on low for 7-9 hours or in a crockpot on high for 4-6 hours.  If you have lots of extra broth you can boil it down, discard it or just pour it over rice to add extra flavor.  If you don't have enough water towards the end of the cooking time just add more and give it a quick stir.  You will need to keep a closer eye on it if you are cooking on the stove instead of a crockpot as more water boils off.  I also made these in our new solar oven and they were amazing.  Baby L ate them straight from the pot, but they were also great added to a pork stew and would make a wonderful side for anything mild like fish or chicken or even served cold with a big salad on a hot day.

*I use a cash budget for my groceries.  It took some getting used to, but it really forces me to keep track of how much I'm buying or risk the embarrassment of standing in the check-out line digging in my purse for enough to buy what was just rung up.  It also forces you to buy the basics first and only get treats if you have enough left which encourages smart choices.  I started by giving myself a bit of a buffer to ease the transition. 

**I know, I don't have an office and rarely check my email, but my husband has both and he regularly takes jars of oatmeal in.  Sometimes he'll even keep a bottle of half and half in his office fridge to pour over the oatmeal for that extra layer of tastiness.