Affordability--Let's be Practical

Summer Watermelon Refresher

The ingredients in this came about from when my son had a UTI.  He drank this homemade concoction almost every morning for about a week.  Along with some herbal treatment, the infection was gone within 8-9 days!  So, thanks to Aiden, we have another tasty recipe.  This is great when you have some leftover cut up watermelon that needs to be used.  Our other favorite thing to do with our leftover bowl of watermelon is to go out on the front porch together with some forks and eat out of the bowl together, watching the people go by.

1 Cup Cranberry Juice

3 Cups Fresh Watermelon

1 Cup Plain Yogurt

1 Scoop Vanilla Rice Protein (Sun Warrior)

1 Cup Spinach

½ Cup Fresh Parsley, Stems Removed

1 Frozen Banana

2 Cups Frozen Blueberries

In a blender, combine the cranberry juice, watermelon, yogurt, and protein powder.  Then add the spinach and parsley, and blend well.  Add the banana and blueberries at the end, blending well one last time.  Sip through a straw as you sit out on the back porch.  

Looking Back~

When Connor and I had been married for a short first year, we took off to live in Georgia.  It was exciting to move out there far away from the familiarity of our home in Utah.  We were financially struggling to become independent, and learn to make a living on our own in a new place.  We were both up for the challenge, and remained somewhat positive, even when our income ran low.  I remember when I had one cardboard box of food to draw from to make our meals. (We had been moving place to place, and so I kept some things packed.)  I made a lot of bread, and oatmeal.  I shopped at the dollar store for food items and bought the occasional fish, or produce.  I remember we ate on some plastic pink plates from the dollar store and washed them after each meal.  Connor had good cause to say, "You could have at least picked a better color!"

Looking back at that experience now makes me so grateful for what I have in my kitchen today, let alone my other blessings combined.  Sometimes I feel a little guilty indulging in buying things like fresh berries at the market, or wild caught fish, or raw local honey.  I'm discovering though, that there are ways to make this affordable, if you are willing to make it a priority, and a way of life.  If you'll notice, the things I just listed to buy, are also things we can produce ourselves, with some added effort.  You don't necessarily have to buy fish, when you can catch it.  You can grow berries, fruits, veggies, and herbs.  If you're really ambitious, you can own your own bees.  In our culture of convenience, the work that used to go into raising the food for our own families has changed drastically.  More and more I realize, that if we work to save money, we spend just as much time working to provide our own food as we would outside the home to earn an extra paycheck.  This is why most people opt out.   However, the difference is in living a higher quality of life.  I have often had to work outside the home just enough to help out with our bills, but sometimes I wonder if I was brave enough to just let go of my employment that I would have more time to be the homemaker I want to be.  This is something I've balanced for the last ten years, and so I do as much as I am able.  I don't have a complete garden right now, but I do have some herbs, and a tomato plant.  I grow sprouts indoors, and experiment with kefir grains, wheatgrass, aloe plants, and other things that provide nutrition with a little effort.  I now show gratitude and celebrate what I have in terms of health, and resources by taking care of my family, myself, and making delicious healthy food!

Tips to Help Save a Buck:

-Always remove something you can live without from your shopping cart before you go check out.

-Buy your fruits and veggies in their whole form, not pre-cut, or pre-prepared.

-Stick to your budget, and limit the time you spend in stores.

-Scrap the coupons, and just buy what you know you need.  This is a bold statement in these times, but honestly, give it a try.  Only use coupons for things you were planning on buying anyway, not for things that draw your attention.  I love grocery stores that will give you coupons based off of what you normally tend to buy.  From a psychological perspective, notice how much more frequently we enter the store just to buy one thing, that ends up being twenty, just because you had a coupon that needed to be used by a certain date.    You'd be surprised how much more you can spend thinking that you are saving something!  (Also, you'll have more time to cook from scratch, or weed your garden, instead of clipping adds.)

- Buy one less than you think you need.  For example, if I think I need 8 lemons to make lemonade, maybe I only need 7.  Sounds silly, but it adds up. 

-Try to limit buying in bulk to only one time per month.

-Cut out convenience foods, & extra snack foods.  For example, when we are in the store and my kids want to buy cookies, I'll tell them we can make our own later.

-Keep well stocked on items that will help you to cook more often from scratch.  Before the holidays, I gradually make sure I have nuts, seeds, flours, and herbs and spices on hand.  This is so I can be prepared to make baked goods, and party foods.

- Make a list, but don't feel obligated to buy everything on it.

-I read recently in a magazine article that we can optimize our produce dollars by following Aggregate Nutrient Density Index ratings for Produce by USDA cost per edible cup.  (Watermelon happens to be number one on the list for fruits.  Yay for today's recipe!)

-Sometimes organic is actually cheaper.  Pay attention to prices in the store.  If an organic apple costs the same as a pesticide ridden one, buy the organic of course!  If not, just wash your produce well, or stick to buying a selective amount of organic items from the "dirty dozen" list.  (You can internet search that one.)

-If you can make it, don't buy it.  There was a time I made huge batches of homemade frozen burritos to send with Connor for his lunch at work.  He was so good to not complain. 

-Eat your leftovers. Try not to waste food.  Again, this helps us cut back on buying fast food, when we are willing to bring a lunch from home.

-Don't overeat.  Eat as much as you need, and be satisfied.  Then there will be more for tomorrow!

- Set up monthly meal plans so that you know what you want to buy in advance.  I'll often plan on making three or four different recipes with similar types of ingredients, so that I know it won't go to waste.  This way I can be flexible about what I want to make on a daily basis, and I don't feel rushed to use things up too fast.

-If your produce starts to go bad, freeze it.  We use a lot of frozen fruits and veggies in our smoothies.  I'll cut up veggies and freeze them for later use in a skillet.  This way, you can buy more fresh, and less frozen. 

-If a recipe requires that you make a sauce, double it, and freeze the other half.  This will help with convenience as well.

-Learn how to take care of little discomforts the natural way, and eat more healthy.  You'll have less expensive trips to the doctor, and dentist.  You won't have to buy much from the pharmacy either.

-Have some meatless meals.  Beans and rice will go a long way.

-Suck it up and eat things that go wrong.  Sometimes, my meal doesn't turn out as well as I would have liked, but we'll eat it anyway.  This just motivates me to make it better the next time.

-Buy some of your health food items and supplements online!  Vitacost.com gives you free shipping when you spend $50.  

-I'm sure you can think of more ways to save money, and be more willing to put in some effort...