Today I took our cash out of the bank, $250. I left $50 in the bank to cover our Bountiful Baskets for the next month. I went to Costco and raided the dairy shelves. I like to call that place the Hundred Dollar Store, as in the antithesis to the Dollar Store, because it's tough to get out of there without giving up at least a hundred dollars. Thankfully, today, I did it for $67.
So, now I have $183 in cash, and a lot of food in my house. Saturday's $15 Basket o' Bounty provided us with about 15 lbs of fresh produce. Add to that a well stocked pantry and a freezer full of food and you won't be worried about us this Holiday Season.
Tonight's dinner was simple and delicious. We ate red meat two days in a row, which rarely happens for two reasons:
We don't generally have red meat in the house because it is more expensive and less healthy than other meats, and
When we do have it, we tend to eat it ALL gone in one meal.
However, when I went to donate blood last week I was DENIED because my hemoglobin was low. Because I want to try again tomorrow, the phlebotomist recommended red meat, spinach and a few other key foods to beef up my red blood cell count. Thankfully, I happened to have a large roast in the freezer. And, yesterday I was smart about stretching the meal.
I'm sure lots of you have already stumbled upon the concept of portioning out certain foods before you bring it to the table, but I hadn't. Plus, we have company almost every Sunday and we generally eat most of what is prepared. But, as I was looking at this big piece of meat, and knowing it was just the six of us, it occurred to me that if I filled one serving plate, and put the rest aside, no one would really notice. When I brought the plate to the table, no one did notice and everyone ate their fill. I even had a little left over on the plate to add to the other I had set aside.
So, tonight's meal was shredded beef tacos with fresh spinach salsa. Take that Mr. Blood Draw Man. I better pass that darn hemoglobin test tomorrow or it's going to really make me mad.
Here's the recipe on the salsa. I figure everyone who wants to know already knows how to make a roast in a crock pot, and if not, there are entire websites devoted to that sort of advice so I'll spare all my vegetarian friends the gory details about that. Here's a feel-good veggie recipe instead. Also, in the winter when tomatoes from the store taste disgusting, I omit them and use spinach as the main bulk in this salsa.
Fresh Spinach Salsa
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 jalepeno, finely diced
2 large handfuls spinach, finely chopped
2 Tbs. lime juice
1 tsp salt
It’s the Sabbath and all is quiet in my house. My husband, Don, is long gone for a full day of service and all the kids are still peacefully sleeping in their beds. I have one hour to write. At the very beginning of this round of experimentation, one friend commented that he knew this plan would “change our lives.” Well, I have to say honestly, that I am a pretty stubborn soul, and real change is hard for me. So, I’m still waiting to see the life-changing impact in myself. But, we did it. This month we lived on what we gave, and there are a number of small and simple blessings, as well as major interventions, which I count as miracles as a direct result of our experiment, especially the last one on the list to follow. Here are highlights from my list:
A Ride – Don has a degenerative eye disease. He is legally blind, and seven years ago he lost his drivers license because of it. Since then, we have witnessed many miracles relating specifically to transportation. Don’t get me wrong. Aside from driving a car, he is probably one of the most mobile and independent blind guys you’ll ever meet. He rides miles and miles on his bike, runs marathons and is more athletic than most men I know. He just can’t drive. This August he began a new job, far away. He had a ride to work from the beginning, but coming home was another story. Most days Bren and I would go get him. Bren’s 15, driving on a permit, and thrilled to be on the road. I, however, always felt torn between getting my husband home and meeting all the afterschool and early evening needs of the kids. The drive was beautiful but took at least an hour and a half round trip. The day we began this experiment, the very day we agreed to take it on, a new ride presented itself and he now enjoys door-to-door service to and from work. I am SO grateful for co-workers who care and I hope the extra gas money blesses them as much as the ride blesses us.
A Flat Tire in the Driveway – After a weekend of camping as a family in the middle of nowhere, Don and I got up early to go to a mountain resort where he had to give a presentation. Thankfully, we were up and out the door 20 minutes earlier than we needed to be. As I pulled out of the drive we could feel that something wasn’t right. I turned around and pulled back in to find a flat tire. The miracle is that I had driven an easy fifty miles back and forth down a deserted dirt road over the weekend and this flat waited for our car to be in our driveway before it gave us any problems.
Don was anxious to get up the mountain to his presentation, “Well, maybe it’s time for you to learn to drive Bren’s car.”
Alarm arose in me, “Are you serious? I know I need to learn to drive a stick, but I promise you, now is not the time. We will not get there.”
He was serious, “Mariah, you can do it.”
I held fast, “I know I can, but not now. You cannot miss this presentation because your wife could not pull it together under the pressure of a manual transmission and a deadline. Please, let’s change the tire. We have plenty of time.”
Not waiting for his response, I said a quick prayer, jumped out of the driver’s seat, opened the back and went for the spare tire. He took his jacket off, got the jack and went to work. In heals and a skirt I brought him the spare, on his knees in his suit he put it in place. In under twenty minutes we had the job done. We said a prayer of thanks and enjoyed a beautiful fall drive up the canyon. He walked in to his convention just as they were getting ready to announce him.
Sickness and Health – This month several sicknesses have come and gone through our house. And, while we have good medical coverage, we hate to go to the doctor. Between waiting to be seen, paying co-pays and filling prescriptions, the whole undertaking cn be quite costly, even with decent insurance. No one had to go to the doctor and, though some sicknesses lingered longer than I prefer, everyone is well and whole again.
Gifts from Grandma’s Farm – One day we came home to find a freezer basket full of ground venison (when it’s ground, you mix it with a little beef and it is great in tacos, marinara sauce, chili and other highly seasoned dishes). Grandma and Grandpa had also brought a box full of potatoes, apples and onions.
Gifts from Heba – Our honorary Egyptian family member shares so much with us. From recipes to her favorite foods from Costco, she has helped a lot. She is amazed by the abundance we enjoy in the US and wants to partake of it all. She gets antsy if we have fewer than four gallons of milk or five dozen eggs in the fridge. I am overwhelmed by her generosity and her desire to always see the fridge full of the right stuff.
Inspiration - I’ve had several small epiphanies on how to keep my family close this season when we are all going so many disparate directions. I'll elaborate on them all another time if anyone is interested. They are:
The Thankful Things Jar
Meal Time Helpers
Candle Time
Short and Sweet Traditions
I came from a home rich with weekly and seasonal family tradition. I married into a family where tradition isn’t in the details of WHAT we do when we get together, their tradition is just BEING together. So, in this home I’ve made with my husband, I often feel like the primary guardian of all things sentimental. What can I say, left to my own foolish machinations I overly-romanticize scenes of hearth and home and am inclined to perpetuate them whenever possible. And, it’s not that Don isn’t supportive and creative when it comes to making family memories, he absolutely is. But this year, I’m thrilled to watch my older daughter jump on the Nostalgia BandWagon with me, drink deep from a cup of cheer and catch the sap before it starts pouring to thick. She’s my new check for overdoing it.
I count it a rich blessing to have another someone to share the work and fun of family traditions with. KC made a goal this season to spend ten hours in the kitchen with me learning the ins and outs of bringing holiday, and everyday, meals to the table. From menu planning, budgeting, shopping, and preparation she plans to be my partner in the high and holy work of nourishing our family at the dinner table. Wahoo! I told you I was going to get sappy.
Grateful Girls and Boys – On Hannah’s birthday, after all the gifts were given, cupcakes were devoured and everyone was in bed for the night, I found a note from Hannah on my bed. It summarized her grateful feelings of the day:
“To My Family. I am so glad to be in this family. I love you. Love – Hannah.”
This from the girl of great expectations that can rarely be met to the level of her dreams or fully realized as she imagined them. For her, this token of gratitude was huge. No wishes that things had been different, no talk of what she wanted and didn’t receive, no mention of anything lacking. Her note epitomizes the spirit in my house, among all of us this month and I am grateful for that feeling above all else.
Okay, we are at the end of round one. I draw new fund out on Monday. It's Saturday night and we have $8.50 left. No shopping on Sunday. As a family, we went one month on $291.50. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities a family our size can get up to $952/month in food support if their need is sufficient. I think the government has different priorities than we do. After reading this article about living on a food-stamp budget, I actually feel REALLY great. The author of that experiment was living on $44/week. Another blogger spent $15 week. We did it on $12.50/week per person. That feels like an accomplishment.
Several people have asked me if we are doing this of necessity, and the answer is tricky. No, we are not cash strapped to the point that we can't spend beyond $300 a month on groceries. But, yes, we are determined to accomplish a few significant goals that make this sort of self-imposed squeeze necessary. They are -
Feed another family on the funds we spend for food each month
Show ourselves and our kids that it can be done
Get out of debt
I've learned a few little lessons with this experiment so far. They are:
Food storage is key - some might say this actually inflates the numbers I'm working with, but I would argue that. Most of the food in my cold storage was purchased at least a year ago with only periodic replenishment. Plus, I say we've got three Boy Scouts and three clever girls in this house and "Be Prepared" is one of our most important mottos.
There are lots of ways to make preparation of "slow foods"quicker and easier. Cutting and freezing onions, making soups and sauces ahead of time and freezing or refrigerating them, and having pastry and pizza crusts ready to go and in the freezer until we need them slashes prep time significantly.
Staying out of the store is key – This week, at the end of my self-imposed limit of funds I have had several hankerings to go to the store, “just to get a few things.” Most of the things I wanted were dairy/fat foods; heavy cream, sour cream, cream cheese, mayo, to name a few. I’m not sure about the theme. I don’t think I was feeling super deprived, I just ran out of all of my favorite fats at the same time. However, I knew going in for a even those few items would probably push me over my limit, and once I was ten bucks over, why stop there? I’m like an addict, so staying away was my best strategy in the end.
A few things I hope to do better next month are:
Keep more accurate track – day to day – of exactly what money I’m spending, where and when, so we can all follow the funds from the cash envelope to the table.
Master the menu – show the range of cuisine we consume beyond the predictable beans, rice and pasta.
Record recipes – Right now I have two kids working on goals that center on improving their skills in the kitchen. It’s sad for them that their mom relies more on intuition than written recipes. I intend to record and share more recipes this month.
Anything else you’d like me to show better? Leave a comment here or on facebook. Tomorrow I’ll post the blessings that have come this month from attempting this experiment.
This recipe is brought to you by my first experience with Bountiful Baskets and a long-standing request for more ideas on how to use powdered parmesan in recipes.
Of course, we have to begin with back story. I have to say, that when it comes to parmesan, romano and other hard Italian cheeses, some people might call us snobs. I prefer connoisseurs. Or, you could call us purists. Snob just sounds so harsh.
A few years ago, we hosted a cooking class in our home and taught a crowd of women how to make pasta from scratch with several sauces besides. Brennan, our oldest, is a local legend for his famous alfredo, in which he uses heavy cream, butter and the best pecorino romano we can get - from Costco. When one of our guests asked him, "So, can we just use something like powdered parmesan?" He wrinkled his nose, shook his head and said, "Why would you use that when a hunk of pecorino romano is the same price and it tastes WAY better.”
I think he was 12 at the time. And, he was right. Costco and other specialty stores have great prices on fresh hard cheeses. Additionally, hard cheeses still in their wedge last a LONG time in the fridge. But, not everyone can get to Costco, or wants to grate their own every time they need it. And, sometimes all you may have on hand is powdered parmesan. Well, no shame in that, and actually, there is a lot you can do with it. So, stick with me and I’ll give you a great recipe you’ll want to try as soon as you can.
On Saturday we got our first Basket o’ Bounty (see the link if you are still wondering what this is) and it was full of great stuff for $15. On the veggie side we got potatoes, onions, celery, yams and summer squash. For fruits we got a little gem case of huge blackberries, 5 kiwi, a bag of apples, 2 pounds of grapes, 2 persimmons (I don’t know what to do with those yet), 4 grapefruit and a bunch of bananas. It was all in good shape.
The summer squash was the one thing I thought my kids might be picky about. I decided if I cooked it right, they’d love it. As I pondered what “cooking it right” would look like for them I thought about the grilled veggies we’ve enjoyed at a local Brazilian grill. I fired up the barbecue, tossed the squash in a mixture of olive oil, minced garlic, powdered parmesan, salt and pepper.
It was a huge hit. They came off the grill sizzling with savory crumbs of cheese crusted to them. When I brought them to the table, this is what happened:
“You guys are gonna love these. They turned out so good. They are spicy and salty and the cheese makes an awesome coating.” I serve them all a few.
First Heba, our honorary family member from Egypt says, “Perfect. They are perfect.” I’m always pleased when Heba likes something because she’s an excellent cook and her opinion is highly valued.
Next, my husband, Don, “These are so delicious. It’s like eating a piece of meat. How did you do that?”
KC responds, “Well, it’s ‘cause she grilled it on our grill and we have so many charred meat remnants on it, of course it tastes like meat.” I shoot her a quick look, because the last thing I want is for Heba, an observant Muslim, to worry about is what kind of meat may be contaminating our veggies. That would NOT be Halal,
Heba only eats meat that is slaughtered and prayed over in a certain way.
Don picks up on my concern right away, “No, I scrub that thing off after every time we use it. There are no meat bits on these.” Nice save, partner. And the gospel truth.
Caleb, however, is inspired by the “meat” theme, and takes it to a new level “Yeah, these taste like you could make an awesome burger out of them.”
Brennan is out late acting as assistant stage manager on a big production at his school. When I pick him up, I have a warm plate of food in the car with me. He unwraps it and wordlessly devours the entire meal. When he is done he says, “Thanks, Mom. That was really good.” He usually has more to say about his food, but it was 11pm, he’s been up since 5:45am hasn’t eaten since lunch, so I take it as a high compliment.
The littlest among us takes one look and says. “I am not eating that. Please pass the rice.” She missed out.
Sizzling Summer Squash
2 medium summer squash, cut in ½ inch coins
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons powdered parmesan
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Toss together in a large bowl. Place on a plate and be sure the parmesan coating is even on both sides of the squash. Grill over medium-high heat until golden all around, maybe 5-7 minutes per side. Keep an eye on them.
A good friend of mine recently presented me with an offer I couldn’t refuse. She had inside information on an amazing discount grocery store in Salt Lake, and in the spirit of sharing, took me with her on a tour of the place.
“Have you ever been to NPS?” she asked. “It’s my yogurt super store.”
“No. I’ve never even heard of it.”
“What? We’ve got to go there.” She was clearly, and deservedly, excited to be the source of information on a vital new hotspot for my grocery shopping adventures. “How much money do you have?” was her follow up question.
I fessed up about the newly separated black and white of my finances, “Fifty bucks as soon as I return my unopened food processor. I was going to do that today because I need a few things. When do you wanna go?”
We haggled over our schedules and then discovered that there is no time like the present, so we got in my car and headed out. Costco actually gave me $55 for my returned merchandise and I was good to go. We drove the 25 miles or so to get to this super store and I felt like I was in familiar territory.
A number of years ago we mentored a family of refugees from Somalia. Their first apartment in the states was located in the neighborhood where we ended up. Also, the Arabic store that sells Halal meats is just down the road, and I’ve been there a few times since Heba has come to stay with us. If I didn’t know the area I may have been a little concerned, at first glance you might put it on the ghetto end of the economic development spectrum.
“I feel bad bringing you here when you have such limited funds,” she said.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll just keep close track and we’ll leave before I hit my limit.” I’m not worried, I thought smugly, I know how to add.
We pulled in, got out, and went in. Our first stop was in the Dollar Clearance section of the store. We both found a killer deal on gift items that I will not go into further detail until after the holidays, but suffice it to say, we got some crazy vintage stuff for $1. Unbelievable.
Then we went to the grocery clearance section where I got salad dressing, barbeque sauce and spice packets all for under 20 cents apiece. The prices of these items were slashed because they were past their expiration date, but I’m the queen of maximizing the longevity of a “best by” date and was undaunted.
Next we found bottles of imported balsamic vinegar for 69 cents. Um, does vinegar go bad? No. I got individual Greek yogurts 4 for a dollar. Three pounds of onion rings for $1.50, five pounds of French fries for $2.50, thirty-six white bread dough rolls for $2.50. It was amazing. I bought a case of 30 cheddar popcorn snack bags for our play practice contribution to the treat tote. Those were 10 cents each. Roma tomatoes in perfectly good condition were 49 cents a pound. My favorite find, only because I’d been thinking of it just that morning, were the mega-mix-packs of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing that make a gallon of dressing each. 79 cents is what I paid for those babies, I got 4 of them.
After I found some dollar cereals and dollar loaves of bread and 69 cent specialty cheese spreads, my ability to add got all muddled and alarms started going off in my head.
“Hey, let’s go,” I said abruptly as we were perusing the frozen bakery section, full of all sorts of pre-made, deeply discounted bakery delights. There were frozen, unfrosted sheet cakes in all varieties. Cupcakes and cake pops, pies, cream puffs and innumerable other dainties. “I think I met my max,” I said as I felt my head swim with the effort of trying to keep track of all that I put in my cart.
“So, did you just hit $50?” she asked?
“Yeah, I think so. I think we’d just better go.”
I walked to the cashier with some trepidation and unloaded my cart onto the conveyor belt. I held back my most expensive items (which were $2.50) to the last. But, it was in vain. All in all, I got out of there with a basket full of groceries and some fun gift items for $30. I still had 25 bucks in my pocket. It was awesome. Thank you, Carolyn, for a great adventure and grocery blessings.
Our Sabanekh turns out just a bit more red/brown than this.
People have asked what we are eating on this here experiment of ours, wondering if rice and beans are our main staples, or maybe ramen noodles. Well, actually, I have a recipe that incorporates some of those elements, but is far from the "poor people food" we're used to. See what you think and I promise, next month, to give a better play-by-play of each meal.
Today KC and I made a big pot of Egyptian Spinach Sauce, a hearty, new family favorite. This is a recipe we learned from our favorite resident Egyptian, Heba. She's living with us for the school year and teaches Arabic at our school. I was introduced to this dish a few days after she moved in. It was our first real culinary expedition together, and it ended so beautifully, my whole family frequently requests this awesome one dish wonder.
"Heba, do you know any recipes for spinach?" I asked as I peered in shame at the bunch of spinach in the fridge on the brink of going bad. I felt ashamed because, since Heba moved in, I realize how much food we still waste, even though we try to be diligent and careful. Egyptians waste nothing.
"Yes. I have one." She reported. Then she got a gleam in her eye, "It is called Sabanekh and I think you will like it." Just so you know, Sabanekh is easy for her to say, but not me.
I had made several of our favorites for Heba previous to this, and she had gotten to know the spices and variety we enjoy in our cooking, but this was her first time to show me something new and she was excited.
"It's very quick and I think you have everything. You have tomato paste?" she asked.
"Yes."
"You have vegetarian soup stuff, what is this called? The water from the soup?" she mimes ladeling broth from a bowl of soup and bringing it to her lips.
"You mean broth?"
"Yes, broth."
"The only vegetarian soup stuff I have is some seasoning packets from ramen. Will that work?" Everything we make together starts out vegetarian because all of her meat has to be Halal, which is a Muslim form of Kosher. Heba eats plenty of meat, but it has all been slaughtered in a specific way, prayed over and purchased in a Halal market.
"Yes, that will work."
Heba smiled and went to work, so excited to bring us one of the great Egyptian comfort dishes. It takes about an hour, tops, to prepare, and truly it is the soul food of Pharaohs.
Sabanekh – Egyptian Spinach and Rice
This recipe comes is borrowed from egyptianfoods.org, with some adaptations.
Ingredients
1 bunch fresh spinach (cut into small strips)
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped fine
2-3 bouillon cubes (or ramen packets)
3 tablespoon tomato paste
1 T coriander
1 T cumin
1/2 tsp. hot chili powder (cayenne is great)
3 cups water
salt
pepper
Directions
Wash spinach well and cut into small sized strips. I usually take a few leaves, and slice them together into strips, leave the stem, not problem. (This technique is called a chiffonade. It does not have to be perfect, you just want to get them into longer, smaller strips.) Set aside.
Add spinach, tomato paste, bouillon, spices, and stir around until well coated. This is actually such a rich sauce that you can hide all kinds of pureed veggies in it, I espescially like carrots and zucchini.
Add 2-3 cups of broth. (You can add or decrease broth, depending on how thick you’d like it to be, check while cooking and add more or less broth. End result should be thick, but watery enough to be like a thick sauce — hope that makes sense.).
Bring to a boil, and simmer for 20- 30 minutes on low heat.
Serve next to (or on top of) rice or browned fideo noodles and with pita bread for scooping.
It was the end of the afternoon on Wednesday, the kids and I shared a snack in the living room and talked about our current state of affairs.
“So, we used our last three dollars of the grocery money I set aside for the month. We spent it on our pop yesterday afternoon.”
“Well, thank goodness for the treat jar.” Brennan, the oldest, says. “We probably have at least twenty bucks in there.”
“And, with the new system of putting money in the jar when we don’t do what you asked us to do, when you asked us to do it, is going to add A LOT.” This comes from Caleb the ten year old.
“I hope not. You guys are never just disobedient by telling us ‘No, I won’t do that,’ but I hope you can get better at not blowing us off so much when we have to ask you multiple times to do something.”
“I had to put a quarter in yesterday,” says Hannah, the youngest. “I waited until the second time you asked me to come to the table and I had to pay.”
“The thing is, guys, we’re almost always willing to negotiate, ‘just another minute while I finish what I’m doing,’ but you all have gotten to where we don’t even have that conversation, you just wait until you are ready, rather than coming when I ask you.”
“Yeah, I had to give $2 on Monday, $1.25 to the jar yesterday, and I haven't put any in today. I think Monday was an all time high.”
“Well, considering it’s costing you a quarter for each time you don’t respond when you’re asked to do something, it does seem pretty high, but you are getting better.”
“True, but that day you were standing over me, ‘KC, please do your chore. Oh, you didn’t get up, that’s 25 cents."
"Yeah and you just laid there on the couch."
" 'KC, you need to do your chore. Oh, you're still laying there. Okay, now it’s 50 cents.’ "
"And you were laughing like it was a funny joke, but you still didn't get up."
"You got all the way up to a dollar before I got to it.” She’s right, I stood there like a taxi ticker, hiking up the price every time I had to ask her. I don’t generally set my kids up to fail, but this has been an interesting new plan, and it has gotten quick results.
“Anyway, even today has been better than yesterday for all of you. Do you think it’s in keeping with the spirit of our experiment to use that money for whatever we need in order to get by until the end of the month? “ I ask.
Brennan gives an emphatic, “Yes! Don’t you always tell us about when you guys were broke and you’d go searching for change so you could buy a diet Coke?”
“True,” I said.
KC turns the conversation. “And, did you match what we gave, too?”
“No. But I think I might.”
“I think you should. It’s not a ton of money, but even ten or fifteen bucks will go a long way at this point, right. Especially if we mostly just need milk and stuff. Plus, did you take that food processor back?”
“Not yet, but what do you think?”
“What are you going to get for it?” Brennan asks.
“Something around fifty dollars.”
“Fifty dollars! Take it back. We’ll be fine. We can totally make it 10 days on fifty dollars.”
I love these kids. All the little gray areas I was grappling with separated quickly into black and white at their counsel. Good enough for me.
*2008 - No More Grocery Shopping - no grocery store shopping for 6 weeks *2009 - Buy Nothing New - Nothing new through other than food through the whole holiday season *2010 - Live on half - cut the grocery budget in half and figure out how to make it work. This year's experiment was entirely out of necessity and not very well documented. *2011 - Live on What You Give - Donate to various charitable causes an amount equal to our food and grocery budget *2012 - Tithe Your Time - this one was abt the economics of time and how we use it/share it.
*2013 - Undocumented experiment derailed by a home renovation and wedding in newly renovated home. 80 wedding guests, 250 reception guests, all home made fair. Details coming soon.
