beauty that moves

$400 grocery challenge, weekly check-in

 

I spent $3.50 this week! One dozen eggs... that is it! 

Last weekend I did a pretty big fruit and vegetable stock up, and it all seemed to carry us through just fine. I wouldn't even say we running low quite yet. I will need to get some greens before the week is up though. That is probably it. 

Gone are the summer days of delicate produce such as cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchini. Now I have a produce bin filled with turnip and rutabaga, and a pantry basket holding sweet potato, butternut, and red kuri. 

Being in the season with vegetables that last longer means less trips to the store. And less trips means less opportunity to spend an extra ten or twenty dollars on something that wasn't planned/budgeted for. 

I actually didn't go to the store once, Adam picked up the eggs for me. He's better about only buying what is on the list; I get distracted... ooh, fresh organic cranberries are in!

 

 

A few notes and thoughts from the week:

I ran out of coffee this week. I decided not to use any of my precious budget to replace it. Coffee is certainly not top priority. Instead, nettle tea in the morning. My body and mind are much happier. 

If you work outside of the home and are having a hard time making all your food from scratch, consider doubling recipes so you can eat one meal twice. I tend to freeze soups and stews so we aren't having the same thing two nights in a row, but I am able to pull a meal from the freezer a couple times a week if needed. 

Freezer meals also help to avoid the "let's just go out to eat" budget stretching moments. We all feel like a night off, or the afternoon gets away from us - freezer meals keep me on track during those moments. 

Cook things like grains and beans in bulk. Either make enough for the week or enough to freeze some for later meal starters. This will help to cut weeknight meal-prep time significantly. 

The savory cashew cream sauce that I refer to is based on this recipe. A high speed blender helps tremendously to create silky smooth nut sauces. 

I made Heidi Swanson's Sprouted Chickpea Patties with the following substitutions: parsley instead of cilantro (the garden still has plenty of parsley), and chopped collard greens for the cup of sprouts (I had no sprouts but I had plenty of greens on hand). 

Rhonda wrote a great post about cooking from scratch. Menu planning and cooking from scratch are truly the two greatest money saving tips for the kitchen. They both offer the greatest nutritional value as well. 

 

It looks like I'll make it! It seemed like a good idea to stock up on things like nuts and grains during the first couple of weeks. My grocery bill sure did seem high in the beginning, but it has leveled off as I hoped/planned it would. Makes me realize I return to once a month shopping for dry goods and then weekly trips for the more perishable items. I used to do that and remember it helped keep my spending on track. 

Because I have a natural foods co-op so close to my house (2 blocks away), I tend to market European style, stopping in every couple of days. Tightening this up a bit and paying less visits to the market will improve my grocery expenses moving forward. 

 

A recipe to share with you this week:

Download Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

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Money spent this week - $3.50

Bringing my total so far to - $332.80

Remaining budget - $67.20

 

Well, I think that will do it for today. How was your week?

Off the Trail... at Unplugged Sunday

After many days of seemingly unending rain, it finally stopped. Always eager to get outside on a crisp fall day, my family went foraging for mushrooms...

Carrie shares some beautiful thoughts today. 

Living Beautifully-Online Retreat with Pema Chodron ~ A Giveaway

I'm interrupting my October blog break for something spectacular...

This is going to be good friends.

A live, real time, Living Beautfully Online Retreat with the lovely and wise, Pema Chodron. 

I'll be there (well, I'll actually be tucked away in the quiet of my bedroom). I'd love to invite one of you to enjoy your own retreat, as well.

Shambhala Publications  would like to offer one Beauty That Moves reader complimentary access to the full 3 day online retreat!

 How beautiful and generous is that!?

{Source}

The details:

Online Retreat with Pema Chödrön

• How do we work skillfully with rough times?
• How do we transform our lives during times of upheaval and unpredictability?
• How do we broaden our tolerance for uneasiness?

The online retreat includes:

• Full access to the three-day event in real time via live webcast.
• Post-event access to the on-demand video with streaming video playback until December 31, 2011

Schedule - Streaming Live from Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28

7:00pm – 9:30pm: Workshop

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29

9:00am – 12:00pm: Workshop

2:30pm – 5:00pm: Workshop

8:00pm – 10:00pm: Optional Meditation

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30

9:00am – 12:00pm: Workshop/Class Ends

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Doesn't this sound wonderful? I especially love the very generous (and realistic) post workshop on-demand streaming video of the entire retreat!

So, even if you can't attend all of the workshops and meditations over the weekend, the entire retreat will be available to you until December 31st.

To Enter the Giveaway:

Simply leave a comment on this post expressing interest and you will be entered. Easy! For extra karma points share the love on facebook, twitter, and with your friends. Let everyone know!

Don't forget to visit the retreat page to take note of all details and view a wonderful video contexting the weekend. 

The giveaway will remain open through the weekend and a winner will be announced Monday. Best of luck to you! xo

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The Winner Is Claire!

"I would love to be included in this workshop, especially during this time of the year when the darkness grows longer and I'm feeling more introspective. Pema Chodron is such an inspirational and wise teacher! Thanks for this chance."

Check your email Claire for a note form me, congratulations!

Thanks to everyone for entering the giveaway and to Shambhala Publications for offering a generous, life-changing opportunity. 

Just Make It... at Unplugged Sunday

Jonah Lisa writes about using her unplugged time for creating... recipes, crafts, etc. We bloggers tend to collect project ideas and inspiration as we peruse the internet. Check out her approach to actually trying some of those ideas!

$400 grocery challenge, weekly check-in

Let's just forget about the number, shall we? If you feel the number ($400) my family is using this month is too much, or too little... let the number go. 

It's about spending less, because I felt there was room (for me) to spend less. 

 

{Homemade tortillas.}

It's been a pretty good week over here.

A few thoughts and highlights from the last several days:

• • Fruits and veggies are the bulk of our budget. They come before anything else.
  • Raw dairy and pastured meat (the type we tend to buy in both categories) is expensive. $12 per gallon for milk and $25 for one modest size roasting chicken. My daughter feels better fortified by having a small amount of animal protein in her diet. 
  • Quality animal foods are the reason this budget would be difficult long term. If we purchased commercial/factory raised dairy and meat it could work, but we don't. 
  • Beans are an important piece to the budget puzzle. We normally eat lots of beans throughout the week, often daily. Now? Every single day. Highly nutritious , very affordable. 
  • Nicola made Sprouted Garbanzo Bean Burgers from Super Natural Cooking. I'm making those today. Super yum.
  • Still eating big salads everyday with some sort of bean/grain protein added. 
  • Reconnecting with the importance of menu planning and being organized, I've been enjoying time spent on my recipe binder and filling out (long overdue) recipe cards. This little project alone has made the entire month feel fun and creative (really!).

Now, onto the recipes:

 

 

 

Yummy Pintos

•  
  • 2 cups dry pintos, soaked overnight and rinsed well
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6-8 cups veggie broth (I use Frontier broth powder, Renee has a DIY recipe)
  • 2 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1-2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 Tbs. chili paste (I had this on hand)
  • 2 Tbs. maple syrup or honey
  • 2 tsp. worcestershire sauce (Annie's makes a great vegan one, I think it's better than regular.)

Directions:

1. In a large stock add pintos, onion, garlic, bay leaves, veggie broth, and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that appears on the top of the water, at any point while the beans are cooking.

2. Turn the heat down to medium/high. Add the cumin and thyme. Maintain a gentle boil for the beans to cook. This should take anywhere from 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Just check for tenderness. Stir occasionally. Add water as/if necessary while cooking.

3. As the beans approach being done (still slightly uncooked) add the salt, chili paste, maple syrup, red pepper flakes, and worcestershire sauce. Turn the heat down a little to a simmer. Stir regularly. Slow cook until beans are tender and much of the liquid is absorbed. What liquid remains will begin to thicken. 

4. Once the beans are tender and the broth reduces and thickens, check for flavor. Adjust seasoning to your liking if needed. Serve.

These freeze wonderfully!

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Bean, Kale, Rice & Sausage Soup

•  
  • 1/2 cup dry white navy beans, soaked overnight and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup Jacob's Cattle Beans (Kidney beans would be fine), soaked overnight and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup brown rice, soaked overnight and rinsed
  • 1/2 pound venison sausage (Any sausage of your choosing is fine, and you could easily use 1/4 pound.)
  • 6-8 cups vegetable or chicken broth/stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
  • 1/2 bunch of kale, chopped (we like it chopped fairly small)

Directions:

This soup has a simple list of ingredients, but the flavor is rich and complex. 

1. In a large stock pot, add the soaked beans, bay leaves and stock. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to medium high and cook for 45 minutes. Skim any foam off the top as the cook. Add the brown rice and continue to cook until the beans are tender. Add a little more water if necessary. Don't worry if the rice is not 100% cooked at this point.

2. Once the beans are cooked, carefully pour the beans, rice and liquid to a large bowl. 

3. In the soup pot, saute the sausage until about 1/2 way cooked (using your spatula or a wooden spoon to break up the sausage really fine), add the onion and continue to saute until sausage is fully cooked and onion becomes tender. Add the garlic and saute for one more minute. Drain off fat, if there is any, and if that is your preference.

4. Carefully add the beans and rice back to the soup pot. Bring just to the boiling point then turn down to low and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes.

5. Add the chopped kale and stir. Cover the pot again and simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Serve.

I don't serve this with cheese but some Italian cheese would be lovely on top.

As with most soups, a bit of resting time (with the heat off) helps to marry the flavors even further. I hope you enjoy this soup, it is a new favorite in our home. You could substitute a few slices of bacon for the sausage. Also, this could easily be made vegetarian but would lack the smokiness the sausage brings.

Money spent this week - $98.43

Bringing my total so far to - $329.30

Remaining budget - $70.70

{Veggies and Soba Noodles in a Cashew Cream Sauce - Vegan}

{An almost daily snack around here.}

It's getting a little close now... but I can do it. 

Well, that is about it for today. Thanks to those of you who are joining in, and to those of you who are just visiting and cheering us on. Your kindness and encouragement are truly appreciated. How was your week?

Edited to add ~ I forgot to mention that Emily (my 13 year old daughter) has started asking, "Is this* in the budget?" when we are out shopping. (*Insert any sort of food or special shampoo a young teen might be interested in...) And she is perfectly okay with it if I say no, it isn't.  The increased awareness around budgeting and finances is good for all of us.