I know I haven’t updated this in a while. It’s been an awfully busy few weeks at our house! But that’s a story for another post…
We managed to stay on budget for our Eat From the Pantry Challenge this month, even the week we had company for dinner twice in one week!
One tip that has helped us tremendously: shopping at the farmers’ market each week. I’m able to pick up a ton of great quality produce really inexpensively. I really learned how big a difference it is when I went grocery shopping at Publix yesterday. Normally I can buy 2 large red onions for $1 at the farmers’ market. (We love our Mexican nights here!!!) Well, when we were there on Saturday I neglected to pick one up, so I just grabbed one in the produce department of Publix when I did my weekly shopping. Big mistake. I paid $1.85 for ONE red onion! And to think there was a time in my life I didn’t even look at the prices on these things…
I realize that for all of you out there who don’t live in the paradise I call home, a weekly farmers’ market is not an option. Take comfort in the fact that during the summer when you’re enjoying your farmers’ markets, it’s too stifling hot here for them! They stop at the end of spring, so I’ll be looking at alternatives for summer produce buying.
One thing I would suggest to those who don’t have a weekly farmers’ market is to try looking at your local farms. You’d be surprised at what you can find locally very cheap. It can take a little legwork and maybe a couple field trips to check things out, but if you find one you like it’s totally worth it. This is actually on my (endless) list of projects I’d like to get done – I’d like to find a local farm to buy dairy from. Milk is so darn expensive at the store ($3.19 per gallon!), there has got to be a better way!
Another option for produce is a co-op. We have them locally but I don’t participate because it ends up costing more per week than what I spend, and I have the time and inclination to do the work of a weekly farmers’ market trip. But, I know there are a ton of people who just don’t have time for that! So a co-op is a great alternative – you simply pick up your weekly crop and get to enjoy a variety of freshly picked produce. It can also really broaden your horizons with the types of vegetables you eat. It’s a great way to try different vegetables you would never normally buy, because you’ll be getting them at their freshest and best tasting.
So all in all, we came out of our Eat From the Pantry Challenge completely unharmed. I got to experiment with different combinations of food, and although we didn’t always stick closely to the meal plan, I got to flex my creative muscles with making meals from what we had. We actually didn’t eat much differently than normally!
I’ll most likely do another Eat From the Pantry Challenge in May, so stay tuned!
Saturday, 19. June 2010
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Wednesday, 7. July 2010
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Monday, 12. July 2010
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