Crunchy Me

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So I guess you could finally call me crunchy. I feel like Tom Hanks in Castaway "I HAVE MADE GRANOLA!" It was a cool experience. And a tasty one too. And to think I made a ice cream bucket-full of the stuff for a fraction of the cost of the store bought stuff. And it's better. And it was so easy. And I know what's in it. And Nadia likes it. So does Andrew. Here is the website I obtained the recipe from. I did add cinnamon and used .5c of flax seed, other than that, I pretty much followed the recipe. When it comes to cooking I don't really follow the recipes much anymore. It's more of a guideline, really.

We became 'crunchy' more out of necessity. Money was tight and we figured out that the 'poor' people of old actually probably ate a ton better than we do now. We had to cut out most meat and when we did use meat it was chicken, fish, turkey, or TVP. And it was used in a stew, or soup, casserole, something like that. It was hardly ever a slab of meat on our plates. We used a lot more beans and spent more money on fresh vegetables and fruit. I began to make all of our bread products and we ate more rice. And you know what? We found out we liked it!! Actually preferred it to the way we used to eat. So when money got better, we are still eating that way. I like it because I go to the store once every two weeks. If I run out of something for something I am making I either make a substitution, or go without it. We eat a lot of leftovers around here too. I sew a lot for the whole family. I watch ads for the grocery store and make a menu based around that and what I already have in stock. Here is a list of the resources I use to make our money stretch:

Frankferd Farms Foods - A co-op that, incidentally, sells a lot of organic stuff. Organic is more expensive, I don't buy from them for that, I do buy from them because a lot of the stuff I get is cheaper in say 50lb bags. And we use it up quickly because I make everything from scratch. This has only regional delivery, like most of PA, and Ohio, not sure of other places. They will ship. And you can pick up at the farm too.

More With Less Cookbook - This cookbook was and is a lifesaver. It's 30 some years old, but the recipes are so frugal, yet so healthful and so delicious! Nadia eats them and Andrew loves them. This cookbook not only gives you great recipes but it also has an educational part about pairing grains with beans for a complete protein, so that you can omit meat for meals.

Miserly Meals - Written by Jonni McCoy from the Miserly Moms books. This is another great cookbook for frugal meals. Again the meals are tasty and easy to put together. Mine is falling apart, I need to tape this one!

Cindy's Porch - Taught me how to 'shop' at home before I shopped at a grocery store. At the time our pantry was non-existent, but I did make good use of her advice and her lists.

The Hillbilly Housewife - This is a goldmine of information, recipes and menus. She has a $40 and $75 emergency menus and they are nutritionally complete. This is amazing. She even has health information and nutrition education. And she is a Christian. That is important to me, because she is exampling how to be a good steward of the money God has given us.

Sam's Club. I am a clubber. But only for certain things. And I have researched those items to be sure I am getting a good deal. I only go about every other month. It does have a club cost, but the fact that I can get 2# of yeast for a few bucks, as compaired to three tiny little packets for $2-$3, I'm sold. Like I said, I have a list for what I need and what I need is what I get. No more.

Tammy's Recipes - This is also another great wealth of kitchen information. She has everything from recipes to childcare on here and she is also a Christian. She just had a new baby, so I am watching this closely to see how she does food prep for a family with a new baby while nursing!! Ok I don't know if she nurses while she cooks, but you get the picture.



Anyway, since I like seeing pictures on blogs, I figured I'd post a few on here, as I have zip energy for writing right now. I'm just exhausted!! Anyway, enjoy!Handsome hubby....

My beautiful daughter.....

And my man and me.... (Nadia took this picture, can you believe it? She's not too bad for a toddler!)

Well I'm getting a strange craving for cottage cheese. These days when hunger strikes, I eat. Hunger doesn't strike much. Nausea does a lot though!

Hey can you pray for our house to sell? It's been 7 months and we are feeling the drag.

Have a great evening!