Saving Gluten Free Bucks, Part 2

Hmmm- Holidays coming up fast- I think our minds are more on spending than saving. I really should be getting my new (happy dance) pumpkin pie recipe posted. In the meantime- a few more money saver thoughts:

6. Price shop. Many home economizers suggest the use of a “shopping list” that you keep the prices on all the ingredients that you buy. Okay, if you must. But restaurants don’t price shop that way- do a Top 20 list- your 20 most commonly used/ most expensive items- and price shop those. If it’s like mine- it’s proteins, milk, breakfast and lunchbox items- and not even all people food (darn dog), Beyond your, just keep an eye on categories- who has the best prices on spices, health and beauty, etc, and watch for sales or special buys.

7. Seasonal/ Local. Yup, it’s hip, it’s green, and it’s . . .less expensive? Farmer’s markets have the best selection at the crack of dawn- and very willing negotiators in the hot sun 20 minutes before closing time. Check out the prices buying beef or pork by the quarter or half and freezing it (you have to take loss into account when you do this) It also gives you the fun of trying to figure out what do with a cut that you might not pick up at the grocery. A neighbor or friend of a friend with chickens is likely to make deals on eggs in the middle of summer when the hens are happily laying away.

8. Learn a little about the “old ways”. Understand enough about meat “science” to translate the cuts at the grocery store. Learning a little about gardening and preserving food can fill in around the edges- a basket of apples from the neighbors, the patch of Swiss chard that took over the garden and what-do-I-do with all of this winter squash can be preserved, but also a favorite (or child’s favorite) berry or fruit can be frozen when it’s in season and a good price at the grocery. Making sausage your family likes from the free “my family doesn’t eat wild game” venison that your neighbor hunts is one of the options open to you when you learn these skills. Some salad greens can be grown nearly year round with a minimal effort. Foraging- hey- it’s a great home-school or science project theme if done carefully. And way more interesting than the baking soda volcano thingy.

9. Health is always a bargain. Trans fats, HFCS, and things you can’t pronounce may be cheap, but they should still be treated as foreign invaders. Organic, gluten free, cookies are still, well, cookies. They are treats- wonderful additions to balanced meals, not replacements for them. If your great-grandma (or mine) would have frowned on the quantity of food-from-packages you are eating, perhaps you should reconsider. The USDA is not your best source of health information. Be an informed consumer.

10. Enjoy what you cook. If you only feel virtuous eating rice and beans, hating every minute of it, take rice and beans off the menu. Make refried bean quesadillas with Spanish rice instead, or don’t. Food is fundamental part of everyone’s life- it is a pleasure. Change can come slowly- it took three years at my house of gradual introductions of new, but not too new foods, and not taking “no” for an answer. Now, no one blinks at what we prepare- well except the three year old- and her problem is that she is too busy to eat, not that she doesn’t like the food. We are still a work in progress, too. One meal at a time.