Friday’s Frugal Five & What’s Cooking 4/8/16?

My hours at work changed this week, which means I go in earlier and get out later. It also means I work six days a week from now until the end of September. It doesn’t leave me a lot of time to get all the things done that I “want” to do, but I do look forward to the over time income. However, I’ve learned that if I don’t plan well and stay organized it’s easy for the extra income to get sucked up into little emergencies like what’s for dinner and such. Gotta have a plan!

Friday’s Frugal Five:

I purchased a new router for our internet service so the provider we use would stop charging me $10 a month to rent theirs. Got my first invoice after installing the router, and the $10 charge was still on the bill. So annoying! But, I called and had the charge removed. I swear I think they do this on purpose in hopes that we wont notice it or they know some people wont take the time to call and have it removed. Either way it’s frustrating…. I’m guilty of getting so annoyed with all the questions when I’m just trying to speak to a customer service person that I hit the “0” button on my phone like 1,000,000,000 times. It seems to work after about the first 5 questions and you’ve reached a moderate level of frustration.
I’ve set up my direct deposit savings for my overtime income to be automatically deposited. If I don’t see it I wont miss it and won’t be tempted to spend it.
Checked out 2 books of interest from the library prior to purchasing them to make sure they are what I wanted. I did buy the books as they are cook books geared toward the direction we want to go in changing our diet. Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Nourishing Broth by Sally Fallon. Both very good books that I’ll use for years. Yes, I could’ve continued to check them out of the library, but I’m sure over time these books will show much use with many food spots and dog eared pages, not something I would want to do to a library book.
I’ve been saving my used deodorant containers waiting to make my own deodorant. I’ll be making it this weekend, so I’ll let you know how it turns out. The true test of how well it works will be when I’m lifting 50lb bags and buckets at work this spring. I’m going to use a recipe of coconut oil and baking soda. I’ll keep an open mind because the goal is to get away from all the chemicals I’ve been putting in and on my body as much as possible. The recipe looks easy to just mix coconut oil and baking soda together well and put it in a used deodorant container. I may need to put it in the fridge to get it to set up quicker, and then of course store it in a cool spot.
Eat Dirt by Dr Josh Axe is another book I checked out from the library. It is a good book with a lot of valuable information in it about gut health. It is his opinion that we have become a germaphobe clean freak anti bacterial nation which has done us no favors for our overall health. And like the title says, he mildly suggest that we should “Eat Dirt” meaning for example don’t be afraid of the vegetables at the farm stand that still have dirt on them, because those are the ones that will provide us much more nutrition than those that have traveled thousands of miles. It’s a good read, and I suggest it to anyone interested in getting (back) to real food and good health. It also gave me fond memories of working in the garden with my Dad and remembering how he sometimes would pick a vegetable and take a bite out of it right there on the spot, then convince me to do it too. Dirt don’t’ hurt 🙂

As always, meals came from the freezer and pantry, except for those hamburger buns on Wednesday night. There were no meals eaten out or taken out this week, lunches were from leftovers, bills are paid, money is in the pickle jar and still breathing fresh air and loving it.

What’s Cooking 4/8/16?

Breakfast: overnight oats with dried cranberries, walnuts, sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup
Lunch: the last of the stir fry veggies with jasmine rice
Dinner: homemade pizza night

Here is a picture of yesterday’s (and today’s) lunch.

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How about you, what frugal fun things did you do this week.

Till Next Time,

Lori

What’s Cooking 4/7/16?

I was craving a good hamburger yesterday, so instead of chili last night I fried up some grass fed hamburgers in the cast iron skillet and made some fried potatoes to go with. I did stop at the store on the way home from work and picked up a pack of hamburger buns, which was the first pack of bread I’ve bought in over a month. Mainly because I’ve been wanting to make my own because what’s on the shelf at the store isn’t actually bread, it’s a bunch of ingredients that we can’t pronounce or digest. But, I have to say that those burgers were the best burgers ever! Maybe it’s because it’s not something we eat often or maybe it’s because I wanted one so bad. Don’t you love it when you have a craving for something and it turns out to be really really good, especially when you made it yourself. 🙂

What’s Cooking 4/7/16?

Breakfast: leftover fried potatoes with leftover sausage gravy on top

Lunch: leftover veggie stir fry with jasmine rice

Dinner: I made the chili last night and put it in the crock pot for the Z Man to put on today. Chili and cornbread for dinner.

I’m glad dinner is already made because I want to get my yoga in and I’ll be making yogurt tonight too.

Now, if I only had some interesting pictures for you to see! Here I’ll show you a picture of the squirrel in our yard.

You thought it was going to be a real one didn’t you? Nope 🙂

Have a great day!

Till Next Time,

Lori

The Right Tool For The Job

Last week I was whining about being a frugal fraud because I had made quite a few purchases lately. And I do need to rein it in and focus more on making do instead of adding to cart. But one of the purchases I made was a meat slicer, and I’ll now be adding that tool to my list of must haves on the homestead.

I had reservations about buying a meat slicer and bringing another appliance into the house, but I’m so glad I did.

We raise our own pork, which means we also process and smoke our own bacon. However, no matter how hard I tried I could not slice the bacon thin enough and consistent enough to get the texture of bacon. I mean come on, one of the best parts of raising and processing your own pork is the bacon. I was meticulous about processing and curing the bacon, so why would I not be meticulous about the finished product? I don’t know.

What I do know is that now I have a lot of perfectly sliced bacon packaged and in the freezer just waiting for us anytime we want it. Bacon that is homegrown and free of nitrates, steroids and antibiotics… the best bacon I’ve ever eaten.

Having the right tool for the job can make the difference between good and great, and it can make the job a lot easier.

Till Next Time,

Lori

Nurtured By Nature….

We Eat By The Grace Of Nature, Not Industry – Michael Pollan in Omnivore’s Dilemma

To say that Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s dilemma has made an impact on my life would be an understatement. I had an interest in this book because I wanted to learn more about clean eating. “Clean Eating” is the newest term in the food world. But I’m beginning to realize that most people including myself are utterly confused about what “clean eating” actually means. Also what I’m learning is that it means different things to different people. For me it means knowing where my food is coming from, well as much as possible. Organic as often as possible and consuming processed foods a little as possible.

The title of this post “Nurtured By Nature” has so many meanings for our homestead lifestyle. Nurtured by nature on a physical level in regards to the food we eat, but also on spiritual level for the beauty that surrounds us. I am fully aware that the homestead lifestyle was not the intended perspective for Mr. Pollan’s book, but written words take on different meanings for people. This is the effect it has had on me…..

Each day I can feel a stronger pull to live a more simple life, a more natural life, a more grateful life. Does this include my relationship with God? I can wholeheartedly say yes it does. By not forgetting to give thanks to God for the gifts he has blessed me with. A wonderful marriage to a loving husband, healthy and happy children and good family. Also a roof over our heads with a little land so we can play in the dirt and raise a few animals, but also the skills to take care of ourselves.

“We eat by the grace of nature, not industry” These words that Michael Pollan wrote in the Omnivore’s Dilemma rang such a chord with me that I had to replay it over again at least three times. (As I mentioned in an earlier post I’ve been listening to the book on cd in my car)

We eat by the grace of nature, and we are blessed with nature by the grace of God. It made me wonder if I have been honestly linking these two most important facts together. Perhaps I have been thanking for the ability to drive to the grocery store and buy groceries, or the skills to cook those groceries into a meal, I don’t know. And I’m not implying those aren’t worthy things to be thankful for, they most certainly are. I’m just saying for me, I haven’t been truly aware of the depth of my blessings or even honestly understanding what I’ve been thanking God for.

Going forth I wonder if I will make a conscious effort to focus on where the food that is nourishing our bodies is coming from and will that give me thankfulness of more specific meaning. The fact that I’ve recognized this and the lack in which I have shown my gratefulness in my blessings, I simply can not see how it couldn’t. I also expect that I will gain more pleasure in the processes of living a more simple wholesome life. I did not expect this book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma to have such a strong impact on me in areas of more than just food. It’s shocking really, because there are no glaring religious tones in the book.

It left me with a look inside, a reflection of the bigger picture, which for me will always include God.

In the spirit of being fed by nature, which is created by God, and if I’m being honest also in the spirit of Michael Pollan’s writings leading me to a further appreciation of our blessings and our food, I have made the decision that our Easter meal will not only be a celebration of the life of Christ, but also will be made from foods we have harvested in one form or another. A celebration of God’s love for us.

Till Next Time,

Lori