Friday, November 30, 2012

11/29/2012 Grocery Trip and Simple Paleo Frittata

I have traditionally purchased my groceries at Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, Wal-Mart Superstores, Aldi, or Harps. Today's trip was at Aldi.  In preparation for our totally Paleo Thanksgiving, I went to Cooks Natural Market for the first time, and I will definitely be returning  I will state unequivocally right now that I am not as of yet going the total organic / grass fed foodstuffs route.  I do not know for sure that I ever will.

I do know that I like the eggs that I get from the woman down the road, they are from cage free chickens that eat crickets, worms, etc...  and the yolks are a deep yellow and the whites are firm.  Downside: they are $3.50 per dozen.  During the summer, my cage free wonderful eggs are much more available, since hens apparently lay more during the spring and summer seasons.  They slow down in the fall; and at winter, I am not able to buy them at all, since my egg lady gets pretty much only enough for her own family during the winter months.  As a result, she does not offer them for sale at this time of year.  Conversely, eggs at Aldi are $1.59 per dozen, and the Goldhen brand eggs come from chickens that are not given growth hormones, and that is better than half the commercially available eggs out there.  So, for the winter months, my egg source will be Aldis.

Today's trip was to Aldi, and among my purchases where:
Flat Leaf Spinach - $1.79 per 9oz bag (2 bags)                      = $3.38
Mushrooms  -  $1.49 per 8oz clamshell (3)                             = $4.47
Banana  - .29 per lb (crazy low price - woohoo!) 15.5 lbs       = $4.50
Broccoli - .85 per 1lb bag - frozen  (6 bags)                            = $5.10
Granny Smith Apples 3lb bag                                                  = $1.99
Gala Apples  3lb bag                                                               = $1.99
Almond Milk $2.49 per 1/2 gallon (4)                                      = $9.96
Eggs $1.59 per dozen (6)                                                         = $9.54
Diced Tomatoes .59 per can (7 cans)                                       = $4.13 
IQF Boneless Thigh (3lb bag)                                                  = $ 6.29
Tilapia Fillets 3.99 per 1lb bag (2bags)                                    = $ 7.98
Hot dogs .75 per 12oz packs (6 packs)                                   = $2.79
Unsalted butter 1.99 per box (4 boxes)                                    = $7.96
Sweet Potatoes 1.49 per bag (3 bags)                                      = $4.74

$74.82 is not too shabby for what will become many meals.  Broccoli soup, Tilapia, Frittata, Chicken in Mustard Sauce, and several more.

About the hot dogs that you see on this list...
I know that the hot dogs that I currently buy are not Paleo in the least.  They are processed tube meat of questionable origin, and I know it.  My kids have been surprisingly easy to transition to our current Paleo adjacent diet.  I have had some very frank discussions with them about the foods that we eat, and how Husband and I are working on eating more healthfully ourselves, and learning and teaching healthier eating habits all around the family.  They totally get the goals that we are working towards, and are very enthusiastic about putting their 2 cents in for menu planning.  I was surprised at the reaction from both girls when I stopped buying hot dogs.   They made me aware in no uncertain terms that hot dogs are a dear and beloved part of their diet of choice, so 79 cents per package hot dogs went back on the grocery list

Thing1 is always up for trying new things in the realm of food.  If I keep putting good things in front of her, she will try them all.  Thing2 is the polar opposite.  She rejects everything that is not a chicken nugget or cinnamon toast.  She believes there are only 3 food groups, and they are carbs, sugar, and bacon.  She would not eat 90% of what I put in front of her before.  She will not eat 90% of what I put in front of her now.   She did wind up transitioning to Almond Milk and water seamlessly from juices and cow's milk, so I am counting my blessings on that score, and know that she will eventually come to like the Paleo meals that we serve her now. 



Looking at what we had transitioned from, and in which direction we were heading as a family, I figured that in the grand scheme of things, keeping hot dogs in their world was not a bad thing.  Plus, when I find a Paleo hot dog (like Applegate Organic & Natural Meats brand) locally, it will be no fight to get them to start eating them.

For dinner tonight, I will be making a frittata with mushroom, onion, and broccoli.  I will also be making broccoli and pine nut soup.




I tweaked a recipe from Budget Bytes (http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2011/11/spinach-mushroom-feta-crustless-quiche.html) for the frittata.
 Sautee:
4 oz mushrooms
1/2 an onion
1/2 bag frozen broccoli (1lb)
Dump the sauteed veggies into a buttered pie plate.  Cover with eggs (6 whole eggs, 6 egg whites / or 8 whole eggs), then put into 350 degree oven for 45-60 minutes.

Broccoli and pine nut soup recipe:
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp oil or butter
1 bag frozen broccoli
5 or 6 cups chicken or veggie stock (I use home-made bone broth)
1/4 cup pine nuts
I caramelize the onion in the bottom of a sauce pan with butter.  While that is going on, I put half the broccoli and half the broth into my blender.  When the onions are done, I dump all of them into the blender.  Blend until smooth, then pour the finished product in the pan.  Put the other half of broth and broccoli into your blender, blend and pour into the pan.  Salt and pepper to taste.

1 1/2 bags broccoli   $1.28/  4oz mushrooms $.75 / 1 1/2 Onions $.30 / Eggs $1.59 / Butter $.15 / Bone Broth $.15 / Pine Nuts $.35 / Spices $.10

Total for dinner = $4.32

Feeding all 4 members of my family a Paleo meal for under 5 bucks?  Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. :-)

t

Bone Broth

I like to make my own broths, and I have been making them for a couple of years now.  Just 2 months ago, I ran across a recipe, and I wish I could find the link again.  The blogger talked about the benefits of bone broth, and how she sometimes drinks it straight like an early morning coffee or tea.  She also included her recipe.

For a long time, I have purchased bone in and skin on chicken breasts, because it is cheaper that way. A couple of years ago, I started using the bones to make my own broth.  Toss used bones in a pot of water with the odds and ends from vegetable preparations for dinner; the chopped off ends and skins of vegetables.  Add spices like herbs de provence, and some older garlic cloves that are starting to go hard, and you have made, from kitchen scraps, a great basic stock.  Keep on stove on medium low for 6-8 hours, and you have some good and basic stock with which to cook.  I was quite satisfied with my stock until I read the bone broth information, then I just had to try it, and I am so very glad that I did!

For the bone broth, you will need 1 set of bones from a whole chicken or equivalent.  When I bake chicken breasts, I make 4, so it is about the same as a whole chicken.  I will put them 2 at a time into freezer bags, then toss into the freezer until I need them.  When I make Chicken in Mustard, or any other recipe that requires legs or thighs I put their bones 2 or 3 at a time into freezer bags.  When I am ready to make broth, I grab a bag of leg quarter bones, and a bag of breast bones.  I try not to make it without a breast bone, so that I do not miss out on dissolving all that heavenly collagen!  Mostly, though, I just bake a chicken whole for dinner and then use the bones for the broth.

When I prepare vegetables for dinner, I put the skins and ends in a quart sized freezer bag.  I try to tamp them down as I go, so that I get a decent amount of mixed scraps per bag.  When it comes time to make broth, I toss a chicken skeleton and a bag of veggie scraps into my crock pot.  I add 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.  The vinegar helps to draw the calcium out of the bones, making the bone broth even better for you.  I then add herbs de provence, salt, pepper, and some red pepper flakes.  Cook on low for 24-48 hours.

When it is done, I use the spaghetti strainer pot (finally found a use for it after going Paleo) and dump the whole thing in, lifting the colander component and tossing the bones and scraps back into the crock pot.  I add another bag of vegetable scraps, 3 more tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and spices, starting the whole cycle again.  When that cycle is done, I toss the bones and scrap pulp into the trash.  I considered separating the scraps from the bones for composting of scraps, but after 48 hours marinating with the bones (twice), a friend told me that they will smell like rancid chicken in the compost pile. 

Then, I ladle the broth into ice trays, and when they are frozen through, I put the cubes into freezer bags for use in recipes.  I also fill freezer bags almost full for use in larger recipes, when I would have gone through bags and bags of the cubes for a recipe, I can use the larger bags.

So, for the negligible amount that filtered water, tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and some spices have cost me; I get an abundance of healthy bone broth, which I think is superior to any broth that I could get from the store.  I have yet to drink it straight, but I am fairly sure that I will try it sometime soon.

t

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Pumpkin chili and naan bread

Yesterday, I made pumpkin chili and naan bread for dinner, and the husband and I loved it.  Thing1 and Thing2 loved the naan bread, but not the pumpkin chili.  Thing2 tries to avoid anything new that is not fried, sugar coated or bacon flavored, and Thing1 gave it an honest try.  She finished half her bowl, but it is not a favorite by any stretch of the imagination. I think that next time I try the chili, I will punch it up with some sriracha or a little more chili powder.

Recipe for Pumpkin Chili (from Maria Mind Body Health  http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/ )

Here is the recipe from the website:

1 lb grass fed ground beef  (I used ground turkey because it was what I had in the freezer already)
1 Yellow Onion, diced
1 Bell Pepper, I used a yellow one
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (I did not have the fire roasted variety)
2 4oz cans of green chiles
1 15oz can pumpkin puree
1 C. Organic beef stock (I used bone broth that I had made from my T-giving turkey carcass)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp chili powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
Add all ingredients to slow cooker  and cook on low for 7 hours

I also added some onion powder, red chili flakes, and garlic powder to the pot.  I will definitely be making this again!!

Ground turkey $1.19 /   Yellow Onion 20 cents /  Bell Pepper $1 / Garlic cloves 15 cents / Can Tomatoes 59 cents a can / 2  4 oz cans of green chiles $1 / 15 oz pumpkin puree 20 cents (I make my own) / 1 C. bone broth 15 cents (I make my own) / Spices - let's call that about 50 cents.  Thus, the whole pot cost about 5 bucks to make, and it is hard to beat that! 

Naan bread!!  I lifted this recipe in it's entirety from "Southern Girl Goes Paleo"

http://southerngirlgoespaleo.blogspot.com/search?q=naan

4 whole eggs
1/4 c coconut oil
2 pinches salt
1/2 c coconut flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
2/3 to 1/2 c coconut milk or water
Mix everything together (except the water/coconut milk component) until it is thick, then add water/coconut milk until it is like thick-ish pancake batter.  Butter your griddle, then spoon mixture onto griddle, you will probably have to tap down the mix to a thin cake.  It made 12 cake like naan breads for me.

The cost breakdown for the naan: 4 eggs  53 cents / coconut oil 70 cents / coconut flour $1 / baking powder, salt, and water, let's call it 20 cents.  Total $2.43

They turned out in texture, and a little bit in the flavor, to be very much like the Johnny Cakes that my grandmother made, so with this recipe, I also got a sweet connection with my grandmother, whom I miss quite a bit.

Things 1&2 loved them so much that I plan to start making this recipe in place of pancakes in the morning.  I have been looking for versions of pancakes and waffles that are more in line with Paleo than the traditional recipes, since pancakes and waffles are a favorite breakfast around our house.  Paired with pure maple syrup, and some bacon, and this coming Saturday promises to become a family favorite for weekend breakfasts!

T

UPDATE:  Alternate naan takes egg and coconut flour:  separate an egg, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, then mix the egg yolks with coconut flour, then fold in the egg white until blended.  I do a teaspoon per egg.  I like that consistency, and it seems to cook up well.  For breakfast pancakes, I add some honey and cinnamon.  For Naan bread with chili or stews, I leave the sweeteners out.  Cook it up on a griddle, and serve.  (Waffles work well from this recipe also...  Check out my entry about waffles... http://paleoonthecheap.blogspot.com/2013/01/waffles-and-tikka-masala.html




Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Thanksgiving Goodness

Thanksgiving was kind of a revelation for me.  In searching for dishes, I found an abundance of options, all low on the glycemic index, all grain free, and all DELICIOUS!!!

I have found my all-time favorite pie crust.  It winds up having the texture of a graham cracker crust, and it is fabulously tasty!
1 1/2 cups of nut flour  (I used 1/2 C hazelnut flour and 1 C walnut flour)
4 tbsp grass fed organic butter
melt butter and mix with the nut meal/flour until it becomes a ball, then press into 8in pie plate.
Cook at 350 for 10-15 minutes

The finished product - TADA!!


In all of the recipe searching, I do not remember where I got this gem from, I am sorry. 

Another thing that I have learned is how incredibly easy it is to make my own nut meal/flour.  Dump whole nuts into a food processor and pulse until you have the consistency that you prefer.  I lucked into bags of walnuts for 99cents per 2 cup bag at Wal-Mart, so I bought all 18 bags and made walnut meal.  Therefore, walnut meal is my current favorite flour substitute. 

What about the worry of my nut meal going rancid, as nuts are wont to do, you ask?  I tossed the walnut meal into freezer bags and stored it in the freezer.  I have yet to have any nuts go bad before I can use them if I store them in the freezer.

I lifted most of my recipes directly from The Paleo Secret's website...  http://www.thepaleosecret.com/category/recipes/thanksgiving-recipes/

I made the Cranberry Relish, the Paleo Stuffing, The Sweet Potato Casserole, and the Raw Banana Pie from Paleo Secret's site.  OMG, the pie was SOOOOO good!

I had purchased some avocados very cheaply earlier this year, because I had read that they froze "beautifully".  It was not my personal experience that they freeze beautifully at all.  The texture was a little off for the guacamole, it would not chunk up well.  Guacamole loss is Raw Banana Pie's gain.  I was able to use my frozen avocados, and since it was blended in the food processor with bananas, the fact that they tend to mush up was actually an asset.

As I learn more and more to cook in a Paleo/Primal way, I am finding that I do not have to give anything up by way of taste.  I have been shocked by how colorful our dishes are now.  I had thought that Paleo would be a plainer diet, not as tasty as the diet that I was currently eating at the time.  I am happily wrong on that score.

At the end of this week, I will be doing some grocery shopping, and should be able to have a meal plan and grocery tally for a blog entry.

Cheers!
T

Coming to this point

5 years ago, our food bill was out of control.  For our family of 4, we were spending between $900 and $1100 dollars a month between groceries and eating out at least 2 times per week.  That was doable, if a little crazy in retrospect, when my husband and I were both working; but when we came to the decision that I needed to stay home with our two children, it became a big problem.

For about the first 2 months, we continued to live as we had before; then we hit a nice, big, financial brick wall.  Looking at our accounts payable and accounts receivable, it became immediately apparent that eating out would henceforth be only a "special occasion" kind of a thing.  Food, and controlling the costs of food, was the most obvious choice for monthly savings.

Serendipitously, I saw a news clip about the Economides family.  I bought their book "How to Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest family" and read it cover to cover in a couple of days.  I started making meal plans, and buying groceries according to the ingredients on the meal plans.  I started doing my grocery shopping once a week, instead of running to the store 2 or 3 times a week.  Then, I moved to every two weeks; then once a month.  I wound up going back to once a week for produce, milk, bread and eggs.  Yet, it was still much more manageable financially to do a large push once a month, with fresh supplementals each week for more perishable items.  Setting aside $20 or $25 per week, and keeping my goal at $250-$300 for the large monthly trip worked well for me.

It took a little over a year, but I had finally tamed our food bill to a range from $350 to $420 per month.  And, on that $350 to $420 per month, we were eating what is traditionally accepted as healthy meals with whole grains, 2 vegetables on the table at dinner every night, fruit smoothies to round out breakfasts of spinach and mushroom omelets, french toast with turkey bacon, or oatmeal with cut up fruits.  Brown rice and whole grain pastas, 12 grain bread, lean meats, seafood.  No juices and no sodas, because they were sugary and expensive when compared to decaffeinated tea with Splenda or water. 

I made a 30 day meal plan full of "good for you" foods.  Lentils and rice, red beans and rice, meatloaf and mashed potatoes with steamed carrots, broccoli and cabbage with broiled tilapia.  The challenge of putting together meals that my family would like, according to the choosemyplate.com guidelines gave me a little bit of a thrill - I am not going to lie.  I felt better feeding my family meals that I had assembled in my own kitchen.  They were better for us than what we could get at a restaurant, and much cheaper too.   Even going to McDonald's made me cringe.  Not only because it was not the most nutritionally sound food I could feed my children, but for the cost of a single happy meal, I could make a meal of red beans and rice, with a side of steamed vegetables. 

Taking what I had learned about meal planning and food budgeting, I started teaching an informal class on grocery budgeting at a local transitional housing situation for young women aging out of foster care.  At the same time I started doing small challenges for myself.  I had heard of the SNAP challenge, in which you do not spend more than the allotment provided to a family of your number under the federal guidelines of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or the Food Stamp program.  Looking up the amount for a family of 4, I found out that our states assistant amount is $668.00 - much more than the amount that I was already staying under. Then, I did various personal challenges; including the $55 dollar challenge, feeding my whole family for the week for $55.  That one was the hardest, and probably the un-healthiest challenge - in retrospect.  I provided only one vegetable choice per dinner, and we ate loads of pasta dishes.

I could not find my meal plan for that week, but I do remember some of the meals:
Breakfast: French toast, fruit smoothie
Breakfast: oatmeal with an apple peeled and chopped into it, topped with a sprinkle of sugar.
Breakfast: pancakes from mix and grapes
Lunch:  Sandwiches, carrot sticks, yogurt cup
Dinner: 2 boxes of 40 cent mac and cheese mixed with a pound of ground turkey and onion powder and garlic powder for a very cheap version of hamburger helper; salad of iceberg lettuce, a chopped up tomato, and 1 carrot - grated.
Dinner: Red beans and rice, broccoli.
Dinner: Spaghetti and iceberg lettuce salad.
Dinner: Split pea soup, and I forget what the vegetable was.
Dinner: Spaghetti a la carbonara with steamed zucchini.

Knowing that I could, if push came to shove, feed our family in a healthful-ish way on very little money was a source of pride and accomplishment in this climate of financial insecurity.  It made me proud, and feel like I had achieved something.

Then, someone within our circle of friends wrote a book.  An honest to goodness book, and he got it published!  Titled "Don't Die Early",( http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Die-Early-Life-Save/dp/0985404507)  it chronicled his decision to take his own health into his hands after an episode of atrial fibrillation sent him to the ER.  I bought the book, because that is what you do if somebody that you know writes a book, you buy it.  Then I started reading it, and it made a lot of sense.  He wrote about inflammation, and the effects that it has on your body long term, and how grains can cause inflammation.  At the same time, some friends with whom my husband is closer began to eat the diet advocated in Rocky's book, with very clear and beneficial results.  My husband approached me about changing the foods that we ate, and I was right there with him.

Researching an anti inflammatory diet that we could live with our whole lives, Paleo seemed to be the one I kept coming back to.  I guess what you could call our diet now would be closer to a Paleo/Primal hybrid, or Paleo adjacent.  We have eschewed all processed foods, so I guess we are also incorporating "eating clean" into how we are doing all of this.  The source and diets of your foods also matter.  Butter should come from grass fed cows, beef should also come from grass fed cattle, not grain or corn fed.  Eggs should be from free-range chickens, and poultry meats should also be cage free and fed on insects and seeds.  We have not transitioned to grass fed and organic food totally yet.  Honestly?  We may never totally transition in that way.  I am still navigating my way in this.  Check back later.

I am lucky enough to live right on the border of suburban and rural areas.  20 minutes either way from my home, and I can be on country dirt roads with farms on either side, or I can be on very suburban roads with shopping opportunities and restaurants lining the 4 lane street.

I have found a source for cage free eggs.  A stay at home mom down the road runs a small side business raising organic chickens and selling their eggs.  She also takes chickens to be processed locally for sale as whole fryers, so I may start buying whole fryers from her.  But, that is something that I will address later.  I am still going through some of the meat that I bought during "stock up" sales.  Aldi had leg quarters on sale for 69 cents a pound a few months ago, so I bought the 10 lb limit that they would let me (so other folks could get some too, otherwise I would have cleaned them out) and then I price matched at Wal-Mart for another 50 lbs, came home and separated the thighs from the drumsticks, double freezer bagged them, and put them in the deep freeze.

I also do this when they have the bone in skin on chicken breasts for 89 cents per pound.  I will buy 60-70 lbs, double bag them and put them in the freezer.  Same for tubes of ground turkey.  When they are 99 cents per pre-packaged tube of meat, I buy 60 of them and put them in the deep freeze.

Sorry, I got derailed a little bit.  What I hope to do here is chronicle my grocery shopping, all the tips I learn along the line, and some of the recipes that I gather along the way.  My goal is to sit down every week and blog about what I have learned, and how I have incorporated that into how I feed myself and my family.