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So, I finally created my grocery list and I am now working on our menu for the month. This took me a couple of days (actually a week) to figure this out! Now some of that time was used to procrastinate (I will admit), but also this isn't a simple “whip it out” menu! Why? Because next month my refrigerator will be turned off, and I don’t want to waste the food that I have had stored in the freezer! I think freezing food for me became a form of denial! I don’t want to throw away food even when I am sick of eating it or simply don't like the taste of it...so I freeze it and I don't think about it until it has freezer burn! By attempting to save, I am actually being wasteful...a waste of space, plastic/foil and food!? The philosophy behind “freeze it now deal with it later” is not going to be a convenient option/habit when the fridge is off! So I need to not only focus on how we will store our food but to keep in mind that I need to only cook what we will eat in one sitting! In other words, smaller quantities! This way I feel I will be decreasing the risk for potentially being wasteful.
Since camping has been a big part of my life (not so much these days but in the past), not having a fridge seems…okay! The only difference is, this will not be for just a weekend fun thing…this will be how we live every day! I will not be able to store perishable items for long periods of time, so I will be shopping weekly as opposed to monthly. Especially if we want foods like meat, which obviously needs to be refrigerated! We will have a cooler packed in ice, but that will last for only so long...and I am NOT going to buy ice every 2-3 days! Within the 2-3 day period we will plan our meat meals…outside of the 2-3 time period we will focus on fresh foods! In the end this will help us to eat healthier! In the future, we will find ways to preserve our meats through drying, canning and so forth, but for now…we are going to have to be thrifty! I also have a future idea on how we can have fresh meat available in our back yard at all times! More on that as we get to it! Remember…this is going to take us time to live completely sustainable!
NOTE: What will we do with our melted ice from the cooler? Flush our toilets with it…water plants with it…boil it and wash dishes with it…you name it, we will use it!
As far as storing milk (I am a huge milk drinker)...we will use powder milk for cooking and drinking. Ideally I would want to use powdered goat milk, but it is very expensive ($16 for a gallon once mixed--If I find a better deal I will post it)…so we will have to interchange between powdered goat milk and powdered regular milk! It simply fits our budget better this way! If we could afford it and if it were easily accessible we would drink fresh raw milk everyday! But that is not an option for us right now due to finances and bullshit state laws, but I have a future plan on how we can make that happen! I am thinking a future family pet! We will name her Bahhhhhhhrbara…I mean Barbara!
Gosh…so much detail… okay, another option (which seems to be a popular idea these days, though this method has been used forever)...a Zeer! In case you do not know what a Zeer is…I will post a picture of one! I don’t feel I have to go into detail about how it works, for it is pretty visually explanatory (wet sand cools down clay-cool clay keeps food fresh). If you are curious, you should read up on it, but for now...here she is, a Zeer…
http://rebuildingcivilization.com/content/busting-myths-about-zeer-pot
http://rebuildingcivilization.com/content/busting-myths-about-zeer-pot
See…pretty simple! The only thing is, I have tried this technique before and it really doesn't work in a way that we need it to work. It might increase the shelf life of your produce for a few more days than usual, but it will not keep meat, dairy or a 6 pack of beer cold...not that I drink beer or anything! Since we are a small family (just the 2 of us) and we have the convenience of buying fresh veggies as we need them, the only purpose the Zeer would have in my family, would be to make ((us)) feel “cool” because it looks cool…that is all! I mention it as an option because for some it could be, but not necessary for ((us))...
NOTE: As far as eggs go, come Easter we will have chickens! So fresh eggs will be on the menu daily! Very exciting! A chicken coup is a prioritized project! Dang…I have a TON of work to do! Also, unwashed eggs do not need to be refrigerated and can last up to 30 days before spoiling! How do you check to see if an egg is bad? If you don’t already know this trick, you simply place the egg(s) in a deep bowl of water…if they sink---they are good; if they float---they are bad; if they hover in the middle---they need to be eaten soon! How do you remember this little tip? What does a dead fish do…floats! So if the egg floats, don’t eat it! Reason why the eggs float is because gases that are released as it begins to age…! I could offer more on that, but I will spare you!
APPLIANCES: What will we do with our refrigerator? We will use it as a pantry to store fruits/veggies…seeds…dry goods, canning goods…and our cooler filled with ice! What will we do with our microwave? What a perfect air-tight place for bread rising!! What will we do with our dishwasher? We will use it as a dish drainer/dryer! I don’t know about you, but I see more counter/cabinet space!!! Eww-lahlah! What about the oven/stove? SELL IT!!!! My original plan was to build a dirt oven…or dutch oven, whatever! But I have sooooo many more things that require building, so if I can save some time I will! What will be our quick solution to an oven? This bad boy…
Yes, I will spend money to buy this…but I see it as an investment! It is portable, so we could use it while travelling/camping as well. As far as any used empty propane tanks…we will either refill them or make art out of them...
(This is not my artwork---this sweet little piggy was created by an Artist friend of mine! He has an Etsy site…you should check it out! I love his “happy” little critters)…!
I am still researching all my options as far as the "stove thing" goes …so if I come up with a better solution I will post it! Until then...the above is it folks!
Back to the menu...
BORING WARNING: I am only posting this for my own benefit! This is my way of keeping up with food inventory while creating a monthly budget…I really don’t see how the following could possibly be of any interest to anyone else (everyone’s budget and food preference is different—it’s not like I am including recipes or anything like that...hmmmm, but maybe I will!?)…but hey, if anyone is curious have at it!
After taking inventory of our food, this is what we have to work with, or rather cook with...
Freezer: corn, greens, rice, ham, perogi's, pico, hamburger meat, shrimp, egg drop soup-take out (I don't know why I froze this? An example of what I mentioned earlier about freezing everything? If it fits in a baggy, its freezer material!), pork/soy patties, Italian bread, spaghetti (a TON of it--in fact it might end up being dog food), fruit...
Fridge: spinach, raisins, carrots, tortilla wraps, cereal, cooked turkey (the entire bird)...
Pantry: canned chicken, pork (this was given to me and I don't know what the hell to do with it? I don't like throwing food away, so if someone decides to toss something...I will take it! I end up with some bizarre food items?? Not that canned pork is bizarre...more weird than anything--and not that bizarre and weird mean the same thing, but hey...it was free! We will think of something to do with it?), salmon, tuna, kidney beans, pineapple, applesauce, corn, re-fried beans, dried soy, almond butter, rice/pasta out the bazooka, oatmeal, grits, frittata, clog up your intestinal track Hamburger Helper (another free-bee), jello, pudding, cake mix, instant breakfast...
Any other day I would glance at this inventory and say, "Ew, we need groceries!" Well ya know what, we HAVE groceries and we need to eat what we have before buying more! This is a lot of food, though it probably doesn't seem like it! We just need to cook it...and eat it! Even the weird pork! Yepper...I am up for the challenge! If Les Stroud can eat left over rotted fish carcass glued to a rock out in the middle of no man's land, I can eat canned pork! By George I might be sitting on the toilet for a week, but I will live! I'm a survivor baby...and very curious...?
Goodness, goodness, goodness..
After taking our food inventory, I made a grocery list of food items we would need to make meals out of what we already have.
Here is my list:
Syrup, frito's, barley, popcorn, canned whole tomatoes, canned diced tomatoes, pineapple, pears, corn, canned green beans, coffee creamer, sausage, shortening, cheddar cheese, pretzels, chicken nuggets, instant coffee, pancake mix, banana's, zucchini, avocado's, link sausage, milk, ramen noodles, eggs, white wheat bread, whole grain bread, sweet potatoes, ginger root, parsnips, new potatoes, and apples! I spent a total of $93.74! WHAT!!!!? A hundred bux!? Yes...but this is for the entire month for a family of 2....! YeeHaw!
Not sure if you noticed that no beverages were purchased outside of milk...? Well, it goes like this: I am HORRIBLE about drinking water, because I cant stand it! I need to drink more water, but it "aint gonna' happen" (yep, I said aint...and yep) if I have other options! So, I am forcing myself to drink water by having no other alternative...and you know what? I might just have to argue with the ole' saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you cant make it drink"...oh hell yeah you can! It has worked! I have drank more water this week than I have in months! I am pretty excited about it actually! And no, I have no problems comparing myself to a horse...
Goodness, goodness, goodness..
After taking our food inventory, I made a grocery list of food items we would need to make meals out of what we already have.
Here is my list:
Syrup, frito's, barley, popcorn, canned whole tomatoes, canned diced tomatoes, pineapple, pears, corn, canned green beans, coffee creamer, sausage, shortening, cheddar cheese, pretzels, chicken nuggets, instant coffee, pancake mix, banana's, zucchini, avocado's, link sausage, milk, ramen noodles, eggs, white wheat bread, whole grain bread, sweet potatoes, ginger root, parsnips, new potatoes, and apples! I spent a total of $93.74! WHAT!!!!? A hundred bux!? Yes...but this is for the entire month for a family of 2....! YeeHaw!
Not sure if you noticed that no beverages were purchased outside of milk...? Well, it goes like this: I am HORRIBLE about drinking water, because I cant stand it! I need to drink more water, but it "aint gonna' happen" (yep, I said aint...and yep) if I have other options! So, I am forcing myself to drink water by having no other alternative...and you know what? I might just have to argue with the ole' saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you cant make it drink"...oh hell yeah you can! It has worked! I have drank more water this week than I have in months! I am pretty excited about it actually! And no, I have no problems comparing myself to a horse...
MENU (I will add to this every day...the day after, actually):
Monday:
Breakfast=Oatmeal & banana
Lunch=Chicken salad sandwich with extra-extra garlic & avocado
Dinner=Turkey and rice (made with that egg drop soup in the freezer, btw! Tasty, actually!) & sweet potato
Beverage= WATER damn it! Yayeyah!
Tuesday:
Breakfast=1 large glass of milk with a chunk of protein powder mixed in (I forgot to mention I have soy protein powder)
Lunch=Turkey and rice (leftover's) & sweet potato
Dinner= Chicken salad and rosemary whole wheat crackers (I forgot to mention I had crackers too--boy, I didn't do very well with precision on that inventory...did I?)
WOW! This is easy!
Wednesday:
Breakfast=Vitamin drink; uno banana; uno avocado
Lunch and Dinner: Take a wild guess!!!
See, this just goes to show how much food I have wasted in the past, by sticking it in the freezer and forgetting about it! I am still eating off of what I cooked 4 days ago! I (actually) gave a good bit of the turkey and rice away because I cooked way too dang-darn much! I need to go easier on "yield"...!
Breakfast=Oatmeal & banana
Lunch=Chicken salad sandwich with extra-extra garlic & avocado
Dinner=Turkey and rice (made with that egg drop soup in the freezer, btw! Tasty, actually!) & sweet potato
Beverage= WATER damn it! Yayeyah!
Tuesday:
Breakfast=1 large glass of milk with a chunk of protein powder mixed in (I forgot to mention I have soy protein powder)
Lunch=Turkey and rice (leftover's) & sweet potato
Dinner= Chicken salad and rosemary whole wheat crackers (I forgot to mention I had crackers too--boy, I didn't do very well with precision on that inventory...did I?)
WOW! This is easy!
Wednesday:
Breakfast=Vitamin drink; uno banana; uno avocado
Lunch and Dinner: Take a wild guess!!!
See, this just goes to show how much food I have wasted in the past, by sticking it in the freezer and forgetting about it! I am still eating off of what I cooked 4 days ago! I (actually) gave a good bit of the turkey and rice away because I cooked way too dang-darn much! I need to go easier on "yield"...!
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