Saturday, December 29, 2012

A (Scary) Food Waste Update - Plus, What to Do with Those Leftovers!

It's been much longer than I planned for it to be since I last weighed in on my Holiday Food Waste Challenge. Unfortunately, a *really* nasty virus swooped in and felled our family the week before Christmas and we've been trying to get out from under it ever since. I'm still not 100% recovered but I managed to stumble over to the fridge and do a bit of an excavation.

There's nothing like being laid up in bed to throw you off your game, and add the biggest holiday of the year into the mix, and it's pretty much a recipe for a food waste disaster! The irony of having the most food waste we've had in a long time during my official Food Waste Challenge has not escaped me.

Here's what I dug out of the refrigerator that is no longer fit to eat:

Some leftover cheese sauce from Taco Platters, 3 blueberry pancakes, a couple spoonfuls of leftover cooked vegetables, and, most unfortunately, an entire head of broccoli.

Since my last update, I also had to toss out two horrifically moldy organic lemons from a 2 pound bag I bought on sale. Whenever I buy organic lemons I always seem to forget that they spoil a lot faster than their non-organic counterparts. I also had to toss a clementine that was rotten in the middle - I don't think there was much I could have done to prevent that one, as the rest of the oranges in that box still appear to be fine.

Yeah, it's a half decent amount.of spoiled food. It does represent a full 4 weeks of food wastage, so it's still much, much less than the average family throws away. That doesn't mean I'm happy about it, it just could have been a LOT worse all things considered.

I'm hoping that you have avoided this unpleasant bug that's been going around, and that you've done better than we have on the food waste front.

If you have some holiday leftovers that still need using up, now's the time to make sure they don't go to waste!

My Everything-But-the-Kitchen-Sink Lentil Soup is perfect for using up any number of leftover tidbits - vegetables, bits of meat, and even gravy easily slide into this soup and it always comes out tasting great.

Leftover turkey or ham both make delicious versions of this coconut curry and these pinwheels.

If you need more inspiration dealing with the remnants of the Big Bird, you can find my Making the Most of Roast Turkey post here.

Swimming in a sea of leftover mashed potatoes? They can be frozen in 1 cup portions for use in my Refrigerator Bread Dough.

If it's sweet stuff that's overrunning your kitchen, most desserts lend themselves well to freezing (except things like puddings and custards, so eat those first!) Whipping cream can be whipped and dropped onto a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet in spoonfuls for freezing. Once the mounds of cream are solid, pack then into freezer bags for longer term storage, and you have the perfect amount to top a single dessert or a mug of hot cocoa!

How was your food waste over the holidays? Do you have a clever way to use up those festive leftovers?

Monday, December 17, 2012

Weekly Menu Retrospective #92

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes,
check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here.   Cookbooks make great Christmas gifts :)

Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92), Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins (variation of this recipe on p. 96), leftover cornbread, leftover Coconut Milk & Millet Porridge, blueberry buttermilk pancakes

Lunches: 
leftovers, sandwiches, pizza 

Dinners:

Monday: I was out at a potluck (I brought the Red Lentil Dal on p. 113), everyone else had leftover pizza for dinner!

Tuesday: Taco Platters

Wednesday: Black Bean Chili (meatless version, p. 160), cornbread (p. 212)

Thursday: Lemon & Garlic Chicken (p. 184), Roasted Root Vegetables (p. 202)

Friday: Pasta e Fagioli (p. 168)

Saturday: Classic Beef Burgers (p. 125), Easy Oven Fries (p. 194)

Sunday: Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots and peas, selection of Christmas cookies

In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), coconut milk, canola oil, raisins (in granola), sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), bananas, coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), tortilla chips, lentils, corn (in chili), mustard, parsley, orange peel, Fairytale tea

Local: potatoes, carrots, onions, apples, garlic, red peppers, salsa (home-canned), pickles (home-canned) ground beef, chicken legs and sausage (from VG Meats), honey (unpasteurized), milk, eggs, sour cream 

Local AND organic: peanut butter,
sesame seeds (used to top bread loaves), oats (in granola), cornmeal, apple cider vinegar, millet, popcorn, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com.

(P.S. Want to join in on my Holiday Food Waste Challenge? All the details are here.)
  
Love what you read here? Find out how you can help support this blog. 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

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Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Our Frugal Stocking Stuffer Plan


Last week I shared our frugal gifting plans for this Christmas, and I promised to come back and share our stocking stuffer plans this week.

(BTW, if you're a member of my immediate family, you better not be reading this post or you won't be very surprised on Christmas morning ::grin::)

There's no doubt about it, you can rip right through your entire holiday gift budget on stocking stuffers alone if you're not careful. Our stockings are by no means extravagantly filled, but I'd rather have a smaller amount of good quality items than a large amount of crap! Since we are all foodies around here, you'll notice most of the items are of an edible nature :)

I actually happen to (mostly) know what's going in my own stocking this year, too, which is fine with me. I think hubby also has a couple of small surprises up his sleeve to add to the goodies I already know about.

What goes in ALL of our stockings:
-Homemade candies (cracker toffee, candied peanuts)
-Chai-Chocolate Chip Biscotti
-An apple and a clementine or two (traditional for the very bottom of the stocking!)

What's going in the boys' stockings:
-Mint Meltaway chocolates (from Walker's Chocolates, a local business)
-Gift cards for Subway and Tim Hortons (These will cost us nothing out of pocket as my husband received them as gifts. There are locations of each right in our neighbourhood, and since the boys are now teenagers they enjoy going there with friends)
-Glee Gum (an all-natural chewing gum)
-Gingerbread Spice tea (a favourite with both of them)
-a can of Blue Sky natural soda (These were on sale for 69 cents each at Fortinos. I used a $1.00-off-when-you-buy-2 online printable coupon from The Healthy Shopper and got both cans for 59 cents total, including tax!)
-Assorted pens, pencils and erasers (they've almost used up their stash from the fall)

What's going in hubby's stocking:
-Camino chocolate covered coffee beans (Fair Trade, organic, and yummy, purchased through ONFC)
-Camino Dark Mint chocolate bar (purchased on sale at Fortino's)
-A homemade citrus-spice herbal tea blend
-A bar of the manly-scented "His" glycerin bar soap from The Guelph Soap Company (locally produced)

What's going in MY stocking:
-Camino raw cacao nibs (Fair Trade, organic and kind of addictive - purchased through ONFC)
-Vanilla Body Butter from The All Natural Face (I received a $5.00 gift code from this company, no minimum purchase. I ended up paying only $3.00 *with* shipping for this product. This contains both mango butter and jojoba oil, neither of which I've tried before, so I look forward to giving it a whirl).
-A bar of Honey, Goat's Milk and Oatmeal soap from The Guelph Soap Company

There may be some other last-minute additions to this list, but these items will make up the bulk of our stockings. I don't have an exact total spent because I still have to buy a few of these items, but my rough estimate is that we will come in under $30 to fill 4 stockings! The cost for the homemade food items comes out of our grocery budget so I'm not counting them in the total, but that would probably add only another $5-$10 even if you did add those expenses in. I'm pleased that we were able to include a variety of locally and/or ethically produced items, while staying within our modest budget!

What are you filling stockings with this year?

Monday, December 10, 2012

Weekly Menu Retrospective #91

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes,
check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here.   Cookbooks make great Christmas gifts :)

Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92), Banana Blueberry Muffins (variation of this recipe on p. 96), peanut butter toast, Coconut Milk & Millet Porridge (recipe coming soon!)

Lunches: 
leftovers, sandwiches, pizza 

Dinners:

Monday: Cheesy Mac & Beef Skillet (p. 148)

Tuesday: African-Style Vegetable Stew (p. 161)

Wednesday: Spinach, Sausage and Mozzarella Egg Puff (variation of the recipe on p. 181)

Thursday: Pizza in a Flash (p. 133) (this was for the boys only, hubby and I were out for the evening)

Friday: Whole family out for a pasta dinner fundraiser

Saturday: Cabbage and Beef Soup (p. 167)

Sunday: Leftover Cabbage & Beef Soup (hubby was out for the evening and I was baking all afternoon so we just had a quick reheated meal so I didn't make even more dishes!!)

In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), coconut milk, bananas, canola oil, raisins (in granola), sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), Fairytale tea, peppermint (for tea), Dijon mustard

Local: potatoes, carrots, onions, apples, cabbage, red peppers, garlic, salsa (home-canned), ground beef and sausage (from VG Meats), honey (unpasteurized), milk, eggs, sour cream 

Local AND organic: peanut butter,
sesame seeds (used to top bread loaves), oats (in granola), cornmeal, apple cider vinegar, millet, popcorn, whole wheat flour

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com.

(P.S. Want to join in on my Holiday Food Waste Challenge? All the details are here.)
  
Love what you read here? Find out how you can help support this blog. 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Our Frugal Christmas Gift Plan for 2012


Our Christmas plans for this year look a lot different than last year's did. Our gift budget is MUCH smaller this year and basically we are aiming for another Hundred Dollar Holiday, more or less (well, hopefully not much more!)

(If you're on my gift list, please stop reading NOW as there are major gift spoilers ahead!)

Hubby and I have agreed that we are going to be very modest with gifts for each other this year. In fact, there are not really going to be any surprises for either of us as we have made specific requests of what we would like. I don't really mind this at all as I know I'll receive things I want and/or need and that no money or effort's been wasted on something I will eventually consign to the "donate" bin.

I've asked Joe to get two things fixed for me this year: my sports watch, which needs both a new battery and band, and the Lagostina Dutch oven I bought at a yard sale for $4 on the Victoria Day weekend. Although the Dutch oven appeared to be in very good condition when I gave it a quick inspection pre-purchase, as it turns out a tiny part of the bottom is coming away from the main part of the pot. It looks like it should be fixable with a small solder, and Joe knows someone who should be able to do this repair. I'm also getting one new item, the Celestial Tea Strainer from Mountain Rose Herbs (more about them later in this post). I'm experimenting more and more with loose blends of herbs for teas, so this is both a functional and beautiful addition to my tea making supplies.

Joe has requested new flannel pajama pants and boxers, both of which he definitely needs! We may also end up doing a quick thrift store shopping trip and picking out a small item each that we both want, depending on how much gets spent on other gifts.

Christmas gifts on a budget for teenage boys can be pretty tricky, I have to admit! I have come up with what I believe to be a decent plan, though: NEW BIKES! Both boys really need new bikes and have been riding bikes that were a bit too small for them for the last year or so. They are now both adult size (both taller than me!) and need adult-sized bikes. We are hoping to put together two suitable bikes for under $50. Thankfully Joe has a lot of experience rebuilding bikes so hopefully we can make this happen. We already have the bike for my older son, a good quality Peugeot that Joe trash-picked a couple years back (it's appallingly easy to trash-pick decent bikes when you live close to a university). It's been patiently awaiting some TLC and repair. Thankfully it doesn't need too many parts replaced - just a few broken spokes and some elbow (and bike) grease! My younger son really wants a road bike rather than a mountain bike, so we're hoping to track something down at Recycle Cycles or New Hope Bikes. Kijiji is another possibility; however I'd rather purchase from one of the bike organizations as it will help support cycling promotion in our city. We definitely need to get a move on this to get things done before Christmas!

For my 15 year old, a passionate climber, we're also going to purchase this Knots & Ropes for Climbers book from Mountain Equipment Co-op. For my 13 year old, (my artistic kid) I'm planning on buying some decent quality markers from the Canadian-owned chain Curry's Art Store (and the local store is conveniently located within walking distance of home, too!)

Of course there will be stockings, too - I'll discuss what we're filling those with next week, so stay tuned :)

As far as friends and family go, I am keeping it simple this year and everyone is basically getting a combination of books, homemade salve and a food basket.

The books are from two sources: my gift cupboard stash (yard-saled for under a dollar apiece) and an unexpected but gratefully received recent windfall of free books passed on to me by a friend - about 4 dozen books! I divided these into 3 categories: books someone in our house would like to read, books in brand-new giftable condition, and books that we didn't need and were too worn out for gifting. The final category got passed on to a new home through Freecycle, and quite miraculously, there is something to suit nearly everyone on my list in the "giftable" book pile (thank goodness my friends and family are all avid readers!)

The homemade salve I am making is a variation of this Simple Lavender Salve from A Delightful Home - I am going to double the recipe and use half lavender, half calendula to provide a truly skin-soothing salve for our harsh Canadian winters!

Food baskets are something everyone on our Christmas list has come to expect from us; we've been doing them for years and I think if we ever stopped there would be some very disappointed people in our gift-giving circle :)

This year we'll be doing the "standard" items we always include like pickles and Cran-Raspberry Jam (I have some Ontario-grown cranberries stashed in the freezer for this recipe), herb vinegar, homemade candies (Cracker Toffee, Chocolate Barks and Candied Peanuts), Granola and Chocolate-Peanut GranolaI'm also going to be trying my hand at something new: creating my own herbal tea blends using herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs. I'm anxiously awaiting my first order from them right now and hoping it arrives early this week! I usually include some type of quick bread in my gift baskets too, but I haven't made up my mind what I'm making this year (although I guess I better do that soon, huh?)

Want more ideas for creating a great holiday on a small budget? Find all of my Christmas on a Dime posts here, and check out my Homemade Christmas board on Pinterest - I'm always adding new ideas to it!

What are your plans for frugal gift-giving this year?

(P.S. If there's someone on your gift list with a tight grocery budget, please consider giving them a copy of my book. It's successfully helped lots of people reduce their food bill by 40-60% while still eating well (no extreme couponing required!). You could even make a gift basket with some of the staple items necessary for the recipes. YOU can help make a family's life a little easier this Christmas with this thoughtful gift).

Love what you read here? Find out how you can help support this blog. 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

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Monday, December 3, 2012

Weekly Menu Retrospective #90

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes,
check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here.   Cookbooks make great Christmas gifts :)

Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92), Aloha Muffins (p. 99), peanut butter toast, French toast

Lunches: 
leftovers, sandwiches, pizza 

Dinners:

Monday: Everything-But-the-Kitchen-Sink Lentil Soup (p. 162), leftover Creamy Cucumber Salad (p. 205), leftover Chocolate Quinoa Cake

Tuesday: Sausage and Apple Saute (p. 137)

Wednesday: Macaroni and Cheese (plain version of this recipe on p. 174), broccoli and carrots

Thursday: Taco-Spiced Beef and Bean Pocket Sandwiches, Colourful Cabbage Salad (p.207)

Friday: Potato, Bacon and Egg Hash (variation of Make-It-Your-Way Potato Hash, p. 140)

Saturday: Sausage and Lentil Stew (p. 158), Cornbread (p. 212)

Sunday: Pork and Apple Stew (p. 156), leftover cornbread, Pear Crisp

In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), canola oil, raisins (in granola), sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), quinoa, lentils

Local: potatoes, carrots, onions, apples, cabbage, cucumbers, garlic, salsa (home-canned), ground beef, pork and sausage (from VG Meats), honey (unpasteurized), milk, eggs, sour cream 

Local AND organic: peanut butter,
sesame seeds (used to top bread loaves), oats (in granola), cornmeal, apple cider vinegar, millet, popcorn, whole wheat flour

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com.

(P.S. Want to join in on my Holiday Food Waste Challenge? All the details are here.)
  
Love what you read here? Find out how you can help support this blog. 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking

Friday, November 30, 2012

Does Bulk Buying Lead to More Food Waste?


Here I am with the first weekly check-in of my Holiday Food Waste Challenge!

This was a good week in food-waste land in our house. The only thing I tossed was about 1 1/2 very small potatoes that had spoiled in the bag. Considering the huge volume of food that goes through our house, I think that's pretty good! I don't have a pic as the casualties occurred on a night I was trying to get things done in the kitchen extra quick.

One thing I keep reading in articles about food waste is that the trend to buying larger quantities of food to save money is leading to increased food wastage. As someone who is an advocate for the bulk-buying approach to food shopping, I don't think that bulk buying itself is necessarily the problem. I think it's a combination of two things: buying the WRONG foods in bulk and improper food storage/food management techniques in the home.

I buy quite a few foods in HUGE quantities (think 12 kilogram bags of oats, coconut and raisins). I haven't wasted any of them to date. Why? Because they are stored securely in the freezer until I'm going to use them. I keep small quantities in containers in the kitchen for easy access and simply refill them from the freezer stash as needed. Since I have 4 hungry people at my house, even these large quantities of staples are used up fairly quickly (the oats we go through in 3-4 months, the raisins about 6-9 months and the coconut about a year).

Where I think the problem lies is in people buying huge amounts of highly perishable items like salad greens, prepared hummus and the like. This stuff has a very short shelf life, and unless you're feeding an army you're not likely to finish them off before they disintegrate into mush in the bottom of the crisper. Another related issue is buying infrequently-eaten foods in huge quantities. If you're only eating something once a month, you don't need to purchase several kilograms of it at a time!

Produce in general can be tricky to manage well. I know it can be hard during the growing season not to overbuy when there are a lot of great deals out there. If you're properly prepared with freezer space and canning supplies, much produce wastage can be avoided by freezing and canning these items while they're still good and fresh (and then you'll have a wonderful stash for the winter months). This does take a bit of planning and forethought, but it's certainly not difficult.

Finally, it's important to keep reasonably good tabs on your food stash. Make sure you're using the food that's been in your pantry and freezer the longest before you start in on more recently purchased items. A good way to do this is to have one week every few months where you "eat from the stash" and try to use up all the odds and ends that have been hanging around a while (this helps get your grocery bill for the month down, too!) I always try to make sure that more recently purchased items go at the back of the pantry cupboard and the bottom of the freezer, keeping the older items front and centre. Of course, this not being a perfect world (and sharing a house with 3 other people who might not be as attentive to these details as I am), this doesn't always happen so the "eating from the stash" routine helps keep us on track.

Do you think you waste more foods when you buy in bulk? If you're joining me in the Food Waste Challenge, how was your food wastage this week?

Love what you read here? Find out how you can help support this blog. 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Make it From Scratch: School-Friendly Granola Bars


As some of you are aware, my younger son, who has previously been homeschooled, decided to go to public school this year. This has brought about a number of changes for our family, not the least of which is that I have to pack a nut-free lunch for him five days a week.

Granola bars are standard fare for school lunches and since you know I'm way too cheap to buy premade ones (plus most of the store bought ones are full of questionable ingredients) I've been on a quest for a good homemade granola bar recipe that: a) only uses staple items from my pantry and b) doesn't contain peanut butter, which happens to be an ingredient in the majority of recipes I think look most promising! Yes, I could sub in some sunflower seed butter for the peanut butter, but I'd rather save it for making sandwiches on days when I don't have any other options handy.

After a little experimenting, I've come up with these bars, which are good and oaty, and have a satisfying texture (a bit chewy with a hint of crunchiness on top). You can easily change out the dried fruits and seeds to create a variety of flavour combos.

Ingredients:

3-6 tbsp of brown sugar (adjust depending on your desired level of sweetness)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups rolled oats (I use old fashioned, but quick oats would probably work fine)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup coconut
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 - 1 tsp ginger (I prefer it with the higher amount, but I'm a ginger addict!)

Instructions:

In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey and butter over medium-low heat, until butter melts and mixture is thoroughly blended together. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

In a medium bowl, combine oats, raisins, coconut, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, cinnamon and ginger. Pour honey-butter mixture over top and stir until oat mixture is thoroughly coated.

Press firmly into a greased 9" x 9" pan (I put a bit of butter on my fingers to do this so the mixture doesn't stick to me!) Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before cutting into bars.

Makes 12 granola bars (I cut them into 6 pieces in one direction and in half the other direction to get a proper "long and skinny" granola bar shape).

Monday, November 26, 2012

Weekly Menu Retrospective #89

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes,
check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here.    

Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92), Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins (variation of this recipe on p. 96), Baked Oatmeal (p. 91), peanut butter toast

Lunches: 
leftovers, sandwiches, pizza 

Dinners:

Monday: Cheesy Mac and Beef Skillet (p.148)

Tuesday: Western Omelette Wraps (p. 124), Colourful Cabbage Salad (p.207)

Wednesday: Chickpea and Vegetable Coconut Curry (variation of this recipe, p. 136)

Thursday: Pasta Alfredo with Sausage, peas and carrots

Friday: Potato, Bacon and Egg Hash (variation of Make-It-Your-Way Potato Hash, p. 140)

Saturday: Basic Bean Burritos (p. 130), Creamy Cucumber Salad (p. 205)

Sunday: Classic Beef Burgers (p. 125), roasted mini yellow potatoes, Chocolate Quinoa Cake

In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), coconut milk, canola oil, raisins (in granola), sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), quinoa

Local: potatoes, carrots, onions, apples, cabbage, cucumbers, garlic, salsa (home-canned), ground beef and sausage (from VG Meats), honey (unpasteurized), milk, eggs, sour cream 

Local AND organic: peanut butter,
sesame seeds (used to top bread loaves), oats (in granola and baked oatmeal), cornmeal, apple cider vinegar, millet, popcorn, whole wheat flour

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com.

(P.S. Want to join in on my Holiday Food Waste Challenge? All the details are here.)
  
Love what you read here? Find out how you can help support this blog. 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

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Friday, November 23, 2012

Holiday Food Waste Challenge 2012


If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know how much I can't stand wasting food. When I was doing research for my book, I learned that the average North American family wastes a full 25% of the food they buy. Yes, really. That's a shocking amount of money that's wasted on food that never gets eaten (if your monthly grocery bill is $800, that equates to $200 a month down the drain).

Aside from the fact that wasted food = wasted money, the environmental impacts of throwing out food are staggering. When you consider all the water, soil, and fertilizer used to grow that food and the fuel used to transport it to you, it soon becomes a mind-boggling amount of resources that are being wasted on food that never gets eaten. If wasted food is tossed in the trash rather than composted (and unfortunately, the majority of it is), the decomposing food then becomes a huge producer of methane gas.

I've become more and more determined to make people aware of this important issue as my own awareness of just how big and how widespread a problem this is across the continent has increased. Nearly 50% of the food that's grown in North America is wasted, about half before it reaches us consumers, and the other half after it's lingered in our refrigerators for too long. Actually, from garbage studies that have been done by various researchers, a significant portion of the food that's tossed from our homes isn't even spoiled!

The good news is that this is a problem we can all address, since half of food waste is occurring in the home. Although I have yet to achieve the holy grail of 0% food wasted on a regular basis, our family's food waste is minimal, and I've found that most of the time it's not a big deal to prevent food wastage *if* you have key food management strategies in place. Grocery shopping effectively, storing food properly, and using leftovers strategically are all key pieces of the puzzle when it comes to reducing a household's food waste.

As we head into the holiday season, there is likely to be even more food than usual in our homes, and a larger than normal potential for wasting it. So, I thought this would be the perfect time of year to get you all thinking about ways you can avoid tossing out food. I'm issuing an official Holiday Food Waste Challenge starting today and finishing on New Year's Day. How close to zero can you keep your food waste over the holidays? 

During the challenge, I'll be sharing photos of my family's food waste, as well as tips and strategies for keeping that waste to a minimum. I'm hoping you'll join me by sharing your own tips, too - either in the comments or via email if you want to remain anonymous (you can send them to abundanceonadime AT gmail DOT com).

Let's make this a festive *and* food-waste-free season!

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Monday, November 19, 2012

Weekly Menu Retrospective #88

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes,
check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here.   

Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92), Aloha Muffins (p. 99), Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes, peanut butter toast

Lunches: 
leftovers, sandwiches, pizza 

Dinners:

Monday: Smothered Meatballs (p. 143), mashed potatoes, carrots and green beans

Tuesday: Thai-Style Peanutty Pasta (p. 147)

Wednesday: Apple and Bacon Baked Beans (p.177), Cornbread (p. 212)

Thursday: Potato and Sausage Hash (variation of Make-It-Your-Way Potato Hash, p. 140)

Friday: Leftover Buffet

Saturday: Sausage, Millet, and White Bean Soup

Sunday: Crispy Parmesan Pork (variation of the recipe on p. 186), Colourful Cabbage Salad (p. 207), roasted mini yellow potatoes, Apple Crisp (p. 220)

In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), coconut milk, canola oil, raisins (in granola), sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), bananas, pineapple, coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!)

Local: potatoes, carrots, onions, apples, cabbage, cucumbers, garlic, salsa (home-canned), ground beef, sausage and pork (from VG Meats), honey (unpasteurized), milk, eggs, sour cream 

Local AND organic: peanut butter,
sesame seeds (used to top bread loaves), oats (in granola and baked oatmeal), cornmeal, apple cider vinegar, millet, popcorn

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com.
  
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Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

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Thursday, November 15, 2012

My Latest Food Find: Affordable Local Free-Range Eggs!

I'm thrilled about my latest adventure in hunting down affordable local foods: some awesome free range eggs from a small-scale local producer.

If I had the choice, my preference would be to keep my own backyard chickens to have easy access to fresh eggs from happy chickens. Unfortunately, it's currently illegal to keep backyard chickens in my city, and while the issue is currently under debate, I'm not sure it's going to be resolved any time soon.

So, while I wait not-so-patiently for a verdict on backyard chickens, I've been hoping to find some good local eggs that were affordable enough to buy on a regular basis. We just can't afford to shell out over $6 a dozen for the ones at the grocery store! I was Skyping with an American foodie friend one night recently and lamenting that I couldn't seem to track down eggs from a small local producer. She mentioned that one of the ways she has found some of the smaller local food producers in her area is by looking on Craigslist, and suggested that I do a search on Kijiji to see if anything came up (Craigslist is not really active in my area). Well, sure enough, I typed in "free-range eggs" and a few different options popped up! I zeroed in on one listing that was located closest to us and also gave the most information about their eggs.

After a flurry of texts back and forth between the"egg lady" and my husband, we set off on Saturday afternoon to acquire our first non-supermarket-purchased eggs. Here is what we came home with:

We had originally requested 3 dozen chicken eggs, but she didn't have that many available so we came home with an interesting mix of eggs from three different kinds of birds. The top carton is a mix of different coloured chicken eggs. The two large eggs in the bottom carton are duck eggs, and the small speckled eggs are quail eggs. We paid a grand total of $4.50 for all of these eggs, which is ridiculously inexpensive for the quality of the eggs. They are not "certified organic", but they are definitely from happy, free-range chickens. We were told they receive organic feed (as well as whatever insects, greens and other goodies they munch on while they're wandering around) and no antibiotics.

 Aren't the quail eggs just gorgeous? I'd never seen one before! They look so much like a work of art that it's almost a shame to eat them...

 

We got to visit the birds while we were there. Here are some of the lovely ladies who laid our eggs:


This hen is known as an "Easter Egger" and is the one who laid the greenish coloured eggs:


We also got to pet a turkey while we were there! Specifically, this friendly female:


 She stuck close to us the whole time we were wandering around her turf, kind of like dogs sometimes do :)

It's pretty neat to meet the birds that laid your eggs!  As we were getting back in the van to come home, I glanced up and noticed that a whole parade of birds had followed us out of the yard. By the time I thought to snap a photo, the little crowd of fowl had already started to disperse, but it was awfully endearing in the moment. Our two boys, who declined the offer to come with us to get the eggs, have been busy showing them off to all their friends (with accompanying "oohs" and "aahs"). After we showed them pictures of all the birds, I think they wished they had come with us after all. Maybe next time they will decide to join us.

When I was making a blueberry clafouti for breakfast on Sunday morning, I couldn't resist an opportunity to do a visual comparison between one of our newly acquired eggs and a grocery store egg:


Can you guess which is which? The free-range egg is on the left and although it's not as dramatic in the photo as it is in person, the yolk of the free-range egg is definitely much darker than that of the grocery store egg.

One of the advantages of buying directly from food producers (aside from knowing a lot more about how the food was produced) is that you often end up with a more eclectic and interesting selection of offerings than you would at the grocery store. I doubt I ever would have purposely set out to buy quail or duck eggs, but since the opportunity presented itself, it's fun to explore these less familiar options. I was told by a friend that duck eggs make particularly moist and fluffy baked goods, and the muffins we made with one on Sunday do seem to have turned out particularly well. We still haven't cracked open the quail eggs, but I have plans to use them in a potato hash later in the week. It's a pity none of us like poached or fried eggs as I suspect the quail eggs would make really quaint little versions of each!

While this method of purchasing eggs is certainly not as convenient as grabbing them from the neighbourhood supermarket, it's definitely a lot more fun and interesting. Plus, it's good to know we are helping to support a local young couple (even if it's just in a small way) and that these are well-treated, happy birds supplying our eggs.

Have you made any great local food discoveries lately?

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Monday, November 12, 2012

Weekly Menu Retrospective #87

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes,
check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here.   

Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92), Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins (p. 96), Blueberry Clafouti (variation of this recipe, p. 223)

Lunches: 
leftovers, sandwiches, pizza 

Dinners:

Monday: Leftover Buffet (lots of leftovers from my son's birthday dinner the day before)

Tuesday: Kusherie (Egyptian lentils and rice with a spicy tomato sauce and sauteed onions)

Wednesday: Spicy Peanut and Tomato Soup (p.163), Cornbread (p. 212)

Thursday: Leftover Buffet again (I don't know how I managed to have this many leftovers in one week - I wish it would happen more often, lol!)

Friday: Broccoli and Bacon Alfredo Pasta (just invented this one - super yummy!)

Saturday: Cabbage and Beef Soup (p.167), Pizza Breadsticks (variation of this recipe, p. 214)

Sunday: Pork and Apple Stew (p. 156), Old-Fashioned Butterscotch Pudding (p. 233)

In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), coconut milk, canola oil, raisins (in granola), sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), bananas, pineapple, coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!)

Local: potatoes, carrots, onions, apples, cabbage, cucumbers, garlic, salsa (home-canned), ground beef and pork (from VG Meats), honey (unpasteurized), milk, *eggs, sour cream 

Local AND organic: peanut butter,
sesame seeds (used to top bread loaves), oats (in granola and baked oatmeal), cornmeal, apple cider vinegar, popcorn

*I'm SO excited about the free-range, organically-fed chicken, duck and quail eggs we bought this weekend from a local small-scale producer. I'll be sharing more info on them later this week :)

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com.
  
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Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

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