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Peggy
Thanksgiving is just a couple weeks away and for many of us that means lots of great food. But it doesn’t have to mean a lot of calories, extra weight, and an empty wallet. Last weekend we figured out a traditional menu that will serve 8 people a healthy meal for $30.
Why is it healthy? The turkey is roasted—not fried, the food is homemade so it isn’t loaded with sodium like many of the convenience foods, the vegetables and fruits are prepared letting the natural flavors shine rather than be smothered, and we have skipped the crust on the pie and gone right to the ‘good for you’ pumpkin filling.
My sister is trying to promote a “Turkey Trot” on Thanksgiving morning for us—just like they do in her husband’s hometown. The Turkey Trot is a 3K route and everyone walks or runs as far as they want and are able. This sounds like a great plan to me, and I think it would work with our family since we share the cooking. Walking and talking sure makes the exercise go more quickly.
Check out the recipes and see how we figured the costs.
-pointers from Peggy
Planning meals is important if you want to save money at the grocery store, but most people admit they don’t do it.
I know people who have 10-20 meals that they know their family likes and they just rotate them throughout the month, adding in seasonal foods and specials. Others just buy food when it is on sale and then plan meals based on what they have that needs to be used up or how much time they have. I am in that last bunch. I grocery shop about once a week rotating between two stores that I think have the best prices. When there is a good sale, I stock up. When planning meals, I include at least one food from each food group and sometimes more than one vegetable. Planning meals this way is called the Plate Method.
The Spend Smart. Eat Smart. web site has a whole section on planning meals. You can find a 4-day menu planner, flyer called 3 Steps to Quick Healthy Meals that includes recipes, and 6 weeks of menus that are very low cost, yet meet nutrition guidelines.
-pointers by Peggy
My sisters, dad and I share a garden spot. We try to coordinate so that we all work in the garden at the same time because it is more fun that way, but with our schedules that doesn’t happen very often. This spring when we were planting, a couple of times someone planted over the top of something that was already in the ground (this is why we had peppers growing in the bean rows). I was determined to have some winter squash, so I planted a whole row of seeds about 3” apart and put milk cartons filled with water every foot to mark the row. To make a long story short, I didn’t thin the plants, so the squash took over a corner of the garden and now we have lots of acorn squash. If you have an abundance of winter squash or pumpkins, here are some helps.
Tips to freeze pumpkin and winter squash
Harvesting and Storing Vine Crops
All about squash with pictures of various varieties and directions for roasting the seeds
-pointers by Peggy
Ten pounds of chicken quarters (leg and thigh with a little back bone) are $3.90 this week. What a deal! Leg quarters weigh about a pound, so a 10# bag will have around 10 quarters. Each one weighs 15 to 16 ounces, but since there is a lot of skin and bones, you end up with about 4 ounces of meat.
When I buy the chicken quarters, I bake or grill a few and then I boil the rest with vegetables and seasonings, creating great broth at the same time. I remove the meat from the bones and then use the chicken in a variety of dishes, or freeze it for a later meal.
USDA has created a flyer on chicken leg quarters with information and some basic recipes. I would like to expand on this and make a handout focusing on how many different meals you could make with 10# of chicken quarters. What would you do with a 10# bag of chicken quarters? If you have ideas or favorite recipes, please put them in the comment section of this blog, or send to me at peggym@iastate.edu. If I use your recipe, I will send you a copy of our 2010 nutrition calendar—which is just out!
-pointers by Peggy
What is cheaper? The slaw mix or the entire head of cabbage and shredding it yourself?
This was a question I encountered recently when I was planning to make broiled fish tacos. (If you have access to fresh fish, this is a way to prepare the fish without drowning it in grease by breading and deep fat frying!). I discovered I could pay $ .22 per cup for the prepackaged cabbage slaw, or just $ .11 per cup if I shredded it myself – half the price! That’s pretty impressive. But whether you use the slaw mix or the whole head, either is an inexpensive source of nutrient rich vegetable.
-pointers by Peggy
Is your garden overflowing? I don’t have many tomatoes yet, but lots of everything else! I know some of my neighbors have been busy canning and freezing beans and other garden goodies. Canning and freezing may or may not save money (depending on how many supplies you have to purchase), but the end result definitely tastes good. Although home food preservation has been done for years, we learn more all the time about how to do it more safely and with better quality results. The ‘way Grandma did it’ may not follow current recommendations. For example,
Did you know you are supposed to add acid (lemon juice or citric acid) to every jar of canned tomatoes to keep them safe?
Did you know you are supposed to follow a tested recipe (not just one you got from a from a friend’s friend) for things like salsa, relish, and—in fact—all home canned items?
Did you know that ‘steam canners’ are not safe, even though you still see them sold in stores?
Did you know there is a new recommendation to leave jars in a pressure canner for 10 minutes after processing and leave jars in a water bath for 5 minutes after processing?
For all the latest info on home food preservation, including delicious tested recipes, check out Food Preservation Resources.
-pointers by Renee
Jan Temple provided some great ideas for Cool Cookin’ in the Kitchen. She provided a list of equipment that doesn’t heat up the house, some no heat ingredients, and two recipes for easy one-dish meals. Just what I am looking for on these hot summer days!
Jan’s article was written for the SHARE Iowa newsletter. SHARE Iowa offers food packages at half the retail cost in exchange for two hours of volunteer service in your community. Choosing where you volunteer is up to you - any good deed qualifies.
There’s more on where to find food assistance under Related Resources on the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. website.
-pointers by Peggy
This spring, Dietetic interns at ISU were asked to develop a menu plan for a week for a low-income rural family with one adult female and three children (one in preschool, two in elementary school). First they had to figure out how much money it would take to feed the family using USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan. This is the amount that Food Assistance (formerly Food Stamps) is based on. Then they developed menus, recipes, costs, nutrition analysis, and shared their reflections. The ISU Food and Nutrition Department instructors shared the six best papers with us. Click on the names below to see the edited versions. If you want to know how much your family would spend on the low-cost plan (which is a little higher than the thrifty plan), use our online calculator.
Kathryn Elenewwich
Kelsey Ermels
Caitlin Heaney
Jeannine Lise
Laura A. Merrifield
Mary Jo Schechinger
-pointers by Peggy
My husband loves pickled beets, and I am also fond of them. He tends a small garden and the beets are ready for harvest. I have a recipe for making a small batch of pickled beets in the microwave. I was curious as to the cost of my homemade beets compared to commercial ones.
When I figured it out, it was a bit depressing. The ones from the store (in a nice resealable glass jar) cost $ .37 per serving. My homemade ones cost $ .30 a serving; but, that didn’t figure anything for the beets! It also didn’t allow for canning costs including jars and flats. One of my biggest expenses was the stick cinnamon. I needed one stick and a little jar cost $4.29, meaning 10 cents of the cost per serving of the homemade was because of the cinnamon. I suppose you could use ground cinnamon and it would taste the same, but you wouldn’t have the pretty clear liquid. By purchasing commercially canned beets, you would miss the personal satisfaction of doing it yourself and knowing exactly how the food was grown and prepared.
Home food preservation doesn’t automatically save money. It depends if you have the interest and time, as well as what value you place on knowing the exact source of your food.
If you are interested in the recipe, Microwave Pickled Beets is found in the July 2009 issue of Food for Fitness and Fun.
-contributed by Jan Temple
