codegoat - The Frugal Mama

The Frugal Mama: Organic vs. Nonorganic Milk in Canada

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:12:37 -0500

With Eli nearing his first birthday and getting close to starting on whole milk, I have considered switching the whole family or just Eli onto an organic milk. It only took a few minutes of searching to find a milk delivery service in Victoria that would deliver cute little glass bottles to my door. It doesn't get much better than that does it? Well at the same cost for one litre that I currently pay for four litres, it had better be darn better! I must admit I was fully prepared to pay but when I mentioned switching our milk to Travis he pulled my happy Utopian land of organic milk and honey into check with one question: Why?

I quickly spit back these reasons:
1. there are no growth hormones used on the cows
2. there are no antibiotics in the milk

Then I hit google so I could have some facts to backup my statements and I found other people with the same quandaries about regular old Milk. They were concerned about the same issues as me but also added two considerations which added to the argument for Organic milk.

3. livestock are treated better
4. livestock can only eat organic feed

To me, being frugal isn't always about buying the cheapest thing, it is about knowing when you can make that cost shortcut and when you really should spend the extra money. So, I continued my research. I found a curious article that pointed out a few differences between Canadian Dairy Regulations and the American Dairy Regulations...
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The Frugal Mama: Make it at Home: Gnocchi via Pâte à Choux

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:34:09 -0500

I know. Three posts in one day! I've been banking up material for a while now but I never seem to get around to posting in the evenings. Today I had a super lazy day so I'm ripping down my todo list and trying to finish some small things to make me feel like I accomplished something.

I had an extremely impromptu discovery tonight. I decided to make spaghetti and meatballs and when I was just about ready to mix all the ingredients together for meatballs, I realized that we were out of pasta. Never fear, because I am reading this great book which I know I have previously mentioned but I'll throw another plug in here because I am still really enjoying it. It is going to be one of those books that I read two or three times and get something new out of every time.

Just last night I had read a chapter on Pâte à Choux dough which is also known as puff pastry dough. This simple preparation of flour and water can also be used to make Gnocchi so it was on! I quickly whipped up the dough and threw it into a plastic bag, cut a corner off and piped the dough into boiling water using scissors to cut at even intervals. It was amazingly easy and tasted great too. I served it under spaghetti sauce and meatballs with some oven roasted tomatoes and red peppers. Eli was a fan of his dinner even though he doesn't look incredibly pumped! This picture captures his mood tonight well. He was a bit of a grump.

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The Frugal Mama: Make it at Home: Sausage

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:11:32 -0500

I've never been a fan of breakfast sausage until my Mom cooked me some of her homemade sausage patties. These pork sausages have some serious bite but none of the noxious grease when you bite into a casing (ew!) and none of that "I feel like I'm going to hurl" after effect. I know that anyone who has eaten breakfast sausages in a cheesy restaurant (read as Denny's or bad hotel breakfast or in the Pacific Buffet while riding on a BC Ferry) will know these feelings I am referring to. I now make my own sausage with my wonderful Mother's recipe. I purchase a big package of ground pork from Costco about every 6-9 months and make a batch of sausage and freeze it. To make the breakfast patties, defrost the meat in the fridge overnight or even in the microwave on defrost and make mini burger patties. Then cook! This sausage is not only great for accompanying a feast of pancakes and eggs but is also great for pasta dishes. And it is already fully spiced.
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The Frugal Mama: Make it at Home: Syrup

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:41:37 -0500

I stopped buying the real stuff about a year and a half ago when the price of a medium jug of maple syrup increased by about five bucks over night. On special special occasions we'll still splurge for a little taste of the good stuff but most of the time we are buying whatever is the cheapest. My Mom has made Maple Syrup for as long as I can remember but it never occurred to me just how easy this might be.
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The Frugal Mama - Part 1: The Mandate

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:31:25 -0500

I have a little voice in my head whose job is to justify purchases I make. In the golden olden days, like about a year ago, we were a happy double income family with a fairly hefty bank account and two mouths to feed. During this era, that little justification voice remained dormant until a substantial purchase was in the pipe. When I was in the grocery store, there was never a need for justification on any item. It just went in the cart. These days, we are a little poorer and the threshold for purchases that require justification has lowered a whole lot. In the grocery store, I now stop to look at $5 jars of peanut butter and carefully try to reason why I have to buy the blue jar with the peanut on top when it is a whole $1.50 more than the no namer brand on the bottom row.

In the last year I have come a long way in optimizing our money that we spend on groceries. The one thing that has had the largest impact on our grocery bill is buying bulk meat at Costco. Once every two or three months, we spend about $100 in bulk meat and freeze it. Then, the rule is... DO NOT BUY ANY MORE MEAT UNTIL THE FREEZER IS EMPTY. This ensures that I don't have things freezer burned and buried in the bottom of the freezer. It also prevents me from splurging on that really expensive but great looking steak when I go to the grocery store. I don't even have to go into the meat department any more. This setup also forces me to craft the food I have into recipes instead of buying groceries for specific recipes. I used to truck off to the store, recipe in hand, and easily drop $40 on one meal for two people!

Now, I am going to take this frugality to the next level.

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