waste not

Eat From the Pantry Challenge (Thrifty Thursday)

May 24, 2012

It’s been nearly two weeks since I went shopping and we’re still eating food leftover from our sisters’ visit last week. Talk about way over planning! Though we’re running low on a few things and I’m tempted to go shopping, I thought it would be fun to join Penniless Parenting’s Eat from the Pantry Challenge.

I plan to buy milk from a friend who runs a farmer’s market, but that’s all until next weekend when birthday season starts at our house.

Our garden is just starting to produce vegetables and we have odds and ends left in the fridge to ensure that we won’t be skipping vegetables. I’ve been feeling stuck in a rut lately and the challenge has already started to spark my creativity.

Plus, we’re saving to replace my husband’s car (yay!) and every little bit helps, right?

So, here’s my menu plan for the next eight days.

Photo creditThursday– Tacos (with homemade tortilla shells–yum!)

Friday– Grilled chicken with Pope’s Bean and Rice Salad (a new recipe I can’t wait to try)

Saturday–Homemade pizza topped with leftover grilled chicken and vegetables

Sunday– Homemade Beef and Vegetable Lasagna (from the freezer)

Monday– Bbq chicken with sweet potato fries

Tuesday– Baked Potatoes Stuffed with Leftover Bbq chicken, broccoli, sprouts, cheese, etc.

Wednesday– Spinach, Bacon & Sprouts Quiche

Thursday-- Spaghetti Pie (from the freezer) with fresh green beans from the garden

Friday– Chicken fajitas (once again with homemade tortillas)

Um, that hardly feels like a challenge. I didn’t realize quite how much food I still had in the fridge. I’m so glad I didn’t go shopping because otherwise I’m sure I would have let some of this food go to waste.

If it weren’t for a birthday girl’s special request, we could probably go longer.

What about you? Do you like to challenge yourself to eat from the pantry (and fridge/freezer?)

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(Grab code for the button from the sidebar)And now, Jenn (from The Purposeful Mom) and I would love to have you join us for our weekly Thrifty Thursday Blog Hop!

Posts about living frugally, thrifty tips and tricks, money-saving DIY projects and gardening, frugal recipes, and encouraging posts on financial stewardship are all welcome. Link up to either of our blogs–your post will be displayed in both places.

We’d be very grateful if you’d share only thrifty-themed posts. (Read full guidelines here)

Vote With Your Money

November 25, 2011

Every time we shop, it is like we are stepping into the voting booth. Each purchase made (or avoided) is a vote, whether made consciously or not.

A vote for Walmart or the farmer down the road.
A vote for a new dress or money put towards a student loan.
A vote for a friend’s hand crafted soap or factory produced soap
A vote for contentment or consumerism

photo by Alessandro Paiva

We are a consumer driven society. Our purchases change the marketplace. It is just a small example, but in less than three years, consumer demand changed the type of milk offered in local stores.

Three years ago, only one store carried RBGH/RBST free milk [milk that's free of these artificial growth hormones.] The FDA position hasn’t changed, but now even store brand milk displays a hormone-free sticker.

What happened? Consumers demanded change. Fellow milk lovers and I went out of our way to buy hormone-free milk at the one store that carried it. My guess is the other stores wanted our business back!

Of course, there is a problem for us consumers: funds are limited. (Unless we could find a way to tap into the Fed’s printing privilege!)

If I had unlimited funds, I’d only purchase yard raised eggs, milk from pastured cows, clothes made in factories that paid high enough wages to support a family (without forcing kids to work to supplement the income.)

I would support cottge [home based] industries so that more women could contribute to the family income while pursing the best job on earth, making a home!

But shopping is a balancing act. We must juggle budget and convenience, quality and quantity.

That is part of why I choose to shop at our local thrift store. It’s economical. But it is also a vote for less waste and less consumerism. It’s a vote to support a local charity. It is a vote to reuse what still has plenty of life left in it. It is a vote to free up money to save or put towards student loans or purchase higher quality beef or handmade crafts.

We may not always be able to pursue our first choice in every purchase we make, but it is so exciting that we can make a difference, however small. Our purchases are a tiny vote cast in the ballot of the marketplace.

Want to join me in supporting home based gifts this Christmas season? My real life friend Heather, from Raising Mighty Arrows, is hosting a virtual Christmas Marketplace!

Tagged with: contentment • crafts • thrifitness • waste not

How to Turn Apple Pie Scraps Into Applesauce

November 17, 2011

Recently we bought a big box of apple seconds and (despite the munchkins eating apples at breakneck speed) had lots of apples to turn into apple pie filling.

As I peeled and cored the apples, the pile of scraps kept growing. Rather than tossing them in the trash, why not turn them into applesauce?

First, soak the apples in vinegar water or fruit cleaner and rinse well.

As you peel and core the apples, just dump the peels (and cores, if you want!) into a crock pot.

Maybe I’m not as good a peeler as you, but my apple peelings still had a decent bit of flesh on them (and this way I didn’t feel guilty about that fact!)

Cook the peels for a few hours, stirring occasionally. When the apple scraps are nice and soft, transfer to a strainer/colander.