Affording to Eat Healthy

I have had a couple people ask me this lately. In this day and age, how can we afford to eat healthy? It sure isn't easy. Admittedly, our grocery bill has went up some weeks more than others, since we started eating healthier.

Our family has had to make some sacrifices. We started off by trimming down on other items we were buying (services like Netflix, phone bills -- better plans, eating out -- which can cost a fortune, vehicle w/better gas mileage, etc.) and we looked for ways to make things ourselves.

Very seldom do we buy "snacky" items anymore. Instead, we make them from scratch. I stopped buying granola bars, fruit grain bars, bagged popcorn, cake mixes, and other prepackaged mixes. If it wasn't in our house, we had to make things if we wanted to eat them. This forced us to eat better, but also saves tremendously on our food bill. Now, the biggest sacrifice for me, has been TIME! Yes, it all requires time. Fortunately, I have three able-bodied children who live in my home and eat my food. Therefore, their room and board is paid by manual labor! Yes, they all take turns cooking and baking.

The bulk of my shopping is done at Giant and then my specialty items are purchased at Sonnewalds Natural Food Store, Common Market, or Costco. Common Market and Costco are monthly to bimonthly trips with trips to Sonnewald usually weekly to bi-weekly. I made a price comparison between all these stores with items that we use regularly. Yes, it did take some time, but was/is worth it. When I buy meat at Giant, I catch the sales and stock up big time (sometimes even saving $2 per pound). Also, they have a coupon kiosk that when you scan your bonus card, it will give you 4 coupons per week. These coupons are tailored to each individual and based on items that you puchase on a regular basis. The same goes for the coupons that are printed out with your receipt at the register.

Another huge savings for us this spring/summer/and even fall, has been our garden. We have had many vegetables from our garden this year. We just picked green beans (second crop this year), have a second crop of lettuce growing, and are still getting peppers and some tomatoes! I had one bag of lima beans, several bags of green beans, 12 jars of tomatoes, and made 10 jars of peach jam. I didn't do a lot of canning, freezing, and preserving, but every little bit helps. We had many fresh salads, vegetable stir-fries and vegetable soup made from what we reaped from the garden too. Yes, all of it does take time. The kids did help when needed too. After all, they live here too! Now is the time of the year that I am not looking foward to ... having my grocery bill go up as we won't have anything coming in from the garden this winter. Since this was my first year to garden in awhile, I can sit down now and evaluate what did work and what didn't work and what we would plant again next year and what we wouldn't quantity wise.

I encourage you all to look for ways to trim down other things in your life to help you to eat healthier even though you may not be able to trim down the grocery bill. Before we looked at what we were spending and trimmed down on things, I thought we couldn't possibly live more frugal. Sometimes those home repairs have to wait. Sometimes activities have to cease. Try a family movie at home for entertainment ... instead of the kids going out with a group. We've had to do that too. One more notation ... gas. Yes, gas is expensive. Our best way to save is to use our gas points from Giant. We have saved 80 cents a gallon before. Sheetz has a Sheetz card (like a store rewards card NOT a credit card as that is what I thought it was a first) and when you obtain one, you save 3 cents a gallon on gas each time you fill up. This has helped us too.

Please take the time to share with me any things that you have done to help your family trim bills in your house that might help me or others out. Thanks and have a blessed weekend.

Pumpkin Cookies

Today my daughter made Pumpkin Cookies. Yummy! Thought I would share the recipe. I would recommend putting the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour or so before baking. The first batch was a little flat and soft. She used 1 1/4 Cups of Teff Flour and 1 1/4 Cups of Quinoa Flour; however, I am pretty sure you can use whatever flour your family usually uses (as this is what we did) for this recipe. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cookies

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil 2 1/2 Cups Flour

1/4 Cup Butter 1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 Cup Coconut Nectar or Maple Syrup 1/2 tsp. Salt

2 Eggs 1/2 tsp. Ground Nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1 1/4 Cups of Pumpkin 1 Cup Raisins, Chocolate Chips, or Carob Chips

In a large bowl, cream the coconut oil and butter together. Add maple syrup (or Coconut Nectar), eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin, and cream again. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir in raisins, chocolate chips, or carob chips. Scoop dough with a cookie scoop and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Coconut Nectar and Coconut Crystals

Wow! Has it really been that long since I last posted? Ugh. What does the time go. We are still plugging away here and trying to eat healthy. We have all been hit with our first colds for the fall/winter season. Hopefully, our last!

I am so excited as we are still reaping produce from the garden! I picked green beans this evening and have broccoli, lettuce, and cabbage that aren't quite ready yet. Peppers are still growing and I harvested the beets the other day. I love the extended growing season! Wish I had the time to make it last longer.

I would like to share two NEW (to me) products with you today. We have been using Coconut Nectar and Coconut Crystals in our baking. The Coconut Nectar would be a more healthy substitute for honey and the Coconut Crystals would be a more healthy substitute for brown sugar. Both products are a low glycemic sugar alternative with no chemicals, pesticides, or herbicides. They are gluten free, unbleached, unrefined, and GMO free. The coconut crystals and coconut nectar can be used in tea, cereals, or baked items. The Coconut Nectar can be used on pancakes too and is more nutritious than agave! They are both made from the sap of the coconut tree. I usually purchase these from www.vitacost.com. Believe me, they are both worth checking into.

Seriously, I need to get better at posting. I will try to make it my goal for the week. Hope you all are enjoying the fall weather. I hear more rain is in the forecast for next week!