Keeper of the Home » Frugality

Preserving Summer’s Bounty: Recipes and Tutorials to Keep You Busy Until Thanksgiving

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:00:32 +0000

Preserving season is in full swing! I've taken a brief break from it myself the past couple of weeks, after a busy bout of preserving in July. Now it's time to jump back in with both feet, as I get set to tackle pears, peaches, tomatoes, pickles, herbs, apples and probably more.

Wanting to provide you with a very extensive resource for all your real food, summer preserving, I scoured the web so that you don't have to. These recipes are made with whole foods, natural/wholesome sweeteners, and give you a wide variety of different ways to put up local and seasonal foods to feed your family throughout the rest of the year.

With that, I give you...

The Real Food Preserve-Till-You-Drop Resource Roundup:

Image by goodncrazy

Canning

Canning 101- The Basics

Canning 101

Canning Basics for Preserving Summer Produce

Tomato Canning Tutorial

Canning Pears

Homemade Salsa Tutorial

Sweet Cherries for Winter Days

In the Pits: Canning Stone Fruits

Garlic-Dill Pickles

Canning Peaches

How to Make Sweet Pickle Relish

Awesome Easy Tomato Soup

Canning Tomato Juice and Tomato Sauce

How to Make and Can Applesauce

Canning Peaches

Image by vieuxbandit

Dehydrating

Dehydrating Tomatoes

Drying and Grinding Herbs

Dehydrating Blueberries

Drying and Freezing Fruit

How to Dehydrate Vegetables

Homemade Fruit Leather

Image by epSos.de

Freezing

Freezing Raspberries and Strawberries

Blanching and Freezing Vegetables

Freezing Blueberries

Freezing Spinach

Freezing Garlic

Go Bananas Preserving (freezing bananas)

Freezing Broccoli

How to Freeze Sweet Corn

Preserving Produce by Freezing

Freezing Peaches

Putting Up (Freezing) Green Beans for the Winter

Putting Up Corn for the Winter

Image by llsimon53

Jams, Jellies, Syrups and Butters

How to Make Homemade Jam in 30 Minutes (With No Special Equipment)

"Raw" Berry Freezer Jam (Honey Sweetened)

Fruit Butter (Recipe- Rhubarb Pear Butter)

Freezer Jam (Recipe- Nectarine-Raspberry Freezer Jam)

How to Make Your Own Blueberry Syrup

Chunky Spiced Pear Jam

Raw Naturally Sweetened Berry Freezer Jam

Peach Pit Jelly

Rhubarb Rose Jam

Image by dnfisher

Lacto-Fermentation and Other Traditional Methods

Pickles- Dill and Bread & Butter

Lacto-Fermentation: An Easier, Healthier and More Sustainable Way to Preserve

Preserve the Bounty (blog carnival of traditional preservation methods- still happening!)- Week 2 (Fermentation), Week 3 (Vinegar Preservation)

Lacto-Fermented Dilly Carrot Sticks

Cultured Salsa

Dill Sun Pickles

Other References:

Heavenly Homemaker's Guide to Gardening and Preserving-- A wonderful, affordable ebook ($7.95) to get you started, full of helpful photo tutorials.

Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation-- I am LOVING this book this year!

Putting Food By -- An excellent, basic guide to canning safety, times, headroom, acidity, etc. I reference this multiple times every year for all the important details that I forget, like how long I need to process a quart of peaches, or a pint of diced tomatoes

Putting It Up With Honey: A Natural Foods Canning and Preserving Cookbook-- Perfect for those who prefer to use honey as a natural sweetener.

Do you have any more real food preserving recipes or tutorials for me to add? What do you usually preserve each summer?

Top image by thebittenword

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Back to the Basics: Frugal, Non-Toxic Green Cleaning

Emily McClements — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:56:30 +0000

Written by Emily McClements, Contributing Writer

If you are somewhat new to going green, or are just beginning to dabble in homemade and non-toxic cleaning, you may be a little overwhelmed about where to start, what products to use and where, and how to get rid of toxic cleaners from you cupboards once and for all.

The thing that I love the most about homemade, green cleaners is how simplified my cleaning cupboard, and cleaning routine in general, has become. Gone are the days of needing a separate cleaner for each different job, and each different room - kitchen cleaner, floor cleaner, bathroom cleaner, tub & tile cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, window cleaner, dusting spray, multipurpose cleaner - these can all be replaced by a few basic products that you probably already have in your kitchen cabinets or somewhere around your home.

To create simple, green, and frugal cleaning products, I have found that the following 5 items are the ones that I use the most, are the most multi-tasking, and the best performing.

Basics for Frugal and Green Cleaning

:: White Vinegar

This is probably the most frugal and versatile non-toxic cleaner. It is a safe and natural disinfectant that, mixed in a 1/1 ratio with water, can clean everything from floor to ceiling in pretty much any room, including mirrors and window. You should not, however use vinegar on porous natural surfaces like marble or granite.

I use vinegar to clean my kitchen counter and floors, and wipe down cabinets (although that doesn't happen very often!), it's great at cutting grease. I also use it to clean my bathroom, it's especially good at cleaning up stainless steel fixtures and making them shiny. The vinegar and water mixture is also works as a stain remover on carpets and rugs!

Some people, like my hubs, have a hard time with the smell of vinegar. I find that the scent disperses pretty quickly, especially with a fan or window open. But, you can also try adding essential oils to your vinegar and water mixture to achieve a scent that you can live with, and maybe even enjoy!

You can also use vinegar in the rinse aid compartment of your dishwasher instead of a commercial brand like Jet Dry. It helps to keep residue off dishes and keep them spot free.

Vinegar is also a great replacement for fabric softener in you laundry. Add it to the fabric softener dispenser, or fill an old Downy ball with vinegar. While it doesn't leave a scent like store-bought fabric softener does, it does help to repel static cling, and I have learned that I like the smell of just plain clean, and that artificial scents are actually irritating to me now.

Image by cjmartins

:: Baking Soda

This is an essential replacement for abrasive toxic cleaners like Comet. You can keep it in an old Parmesan cheese container, or other type of shakeable container so that it is easily accessible for cleaning. Use it alone, or make a paste by mixing it with water, it is great for scrubbing off all different types of surfaces.

I pretty much exclusively use Baking Soda to clean my toilets. Just a few shakes around the bowl and a good scrubbing with a toilet brush and we're good to go. It's also great for scrubbing off burned on food on my glass top stove, cleaning and whitening my white enamel kitchen sink.

Sprinkle baking soda on your rug or carpet and wait a few minutes and then vacuum it up for a natural freshener and deodorizer. This is especially nice if you add a few drops of essential oil to your baking soda, it adds a lovely scent to your home as you vacuum.

:: Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen Peroxide is great for cleaning areas that you want to be disinfected. It breaks down when exposed to light, so it's best kept in an opaque bottle. I leave mine in it's original bottle and add a spray nozzle from a cheap dollar store spray bottle. You can mix hydrogen peroxide 1/1 with water to stretch it even further.

Spray down surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom with hydrogen peroxide to disinfect and kill germs. It's not the best cleaner in the world as far as actually scrubbing and cleaning, but I like to use it on my kitchen counters after I have already wiped them clean, just to make sure they are disinfected.

The mix of hydrogen peroxide and water also is great at removing certain types of stains on clothing. Dark stains, like blood, blueberries or other berries, or juice, come out easily when you spray them before putting the clothing in the wash.

:: Castile Soap

Castile Soap has many uses for both cleaning and as a personal care product. Along with tea tree oil and water, it makes up my favorite homemade multipurpose cleaner. Just add water to a spray bottle and add a few quirts of castile soap and a few drops of tea tree oil and you have another multi-tasking cleaner for all around the home.

This multipurpose cleaner is a great alternative if you don't like the smell of vinegar, because it is just as versatile. I use it whenever I'm cleaning around my hubs, and for cleaning and dusting in my living room.

:: Natural Dishsoap

This is just one more great multitasking cleaner that is, obviously, excellent at cutting through grease. Not just for washing you dishes, you can dilute it with water in a spray bottle to clean pretty much any area of your kitchen. It's great for cleaning out your sink and washing down counter tops.

A spray bottle with dishsoap diluted with water (actually mostly water and a few squirts of dishsoap) makes an acceptable laundry stain remover. While it doesn't work for some stains, like grass or dirt, it is good on food based stains and those annoying little grease spots that are hard to get out of clothes. Keep a bottle handy in your laundry room along with the other natural stain removers we've been talking about here the past few weeks.

:: I have to mention one more product that finds it way into several of my homemade cleaning products, so an Honorable Mention goes to Tea Tree Oil. TTO is a natural antiseptic and disinfectant and is great to add to homemade multi-purpose cleaners. I also use it in my cloth wipes solution, as well as when I make homemade disinfecting wipes (like reusable Clorox wipes).

Those are the basic items that I use for cleaning all around my home. What are your top green and frugal cleaning products?

Emily is a blessed wife and mama to two little ones. She is passionate about caring for God’s creation and people by being a good steward of the resources He has provided. As part of her journey towards living more “frugally green” she blogs about the things she is learning and the changes she is making at Live Renewed.

Top photo by Chiot's Run

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Introducing my New Blog: Saving Naturally!

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:30:27 +0000

At last, no more hints and secrets. My long awaited project is out in the open...

I am so excited to finally announce my new blog, Saving Naturally!

If you love natural and healthy living, and you love learning how to spend less money, then I think that you will LOVE my new site!

Rather than tell you about it, I'd rather just show you. Why don't you come on over and take a look?

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Learn to Cook Nourishing and Frugal Food from The Nourishing Gourmet (And a Giveaway!)

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:00:42 +0000

Do you struggle with knowing how to balance the time and budget demands of making food for your family, with your desire to cook whole, nourishing and traditional foods?

If so, you will love this new eCourse being offered by my dear friend Kimi of The Nourishing Gourmet! It's called "A Peasant's Feast: Nourishing Food on a Budget".

Eating real food sounds great, right? But how do we fit it into our daily life? We want real food, but we also have real life schedules and budgets. We want to eat healthier foods, but aren’t sure where to start. And isn’t real food just for the rich? Grass fed beef, free range chicken and organic produce can be expensive! How does one afford it on a normal budget? My ecourse is aimed at showing you how to eat real food on a realistic budget.

Kimi Harris, taken from the A Peasant's Feast page.

I've been following her blog, The Nourishing Gourmet, since it's inception over two years ago. Kimi has a very solid grasp on nutrition, but even more than that, she focuses on making foods that appeal to the senses and taste fabulous, all on a frugal budget. Many of the recipes from The Nourishing Gourmet have made their way into our family repertoire and we eat them frequently. They are inexpensive, simple to make and winners at the dinner table.

What the Ecourse Includes:

I have been privy to some course previews and I can tell you that this is a high caliber course and worth much more than she is charging for it! The videos are excellent, showing you recipes step-by-step, while Kimi shares cooking techniques, ideas for ingredient substitutions to use what you have on hand, nutritional tidbits, and plenty of frugal tips.

Each weekly lesson includes a cooking demonstration video, as well as downloadable PDF files with lectures on the why's and how's of preparing real food, help for finding resources for high quality ingredients, shopping guides, health and nutrition information, as well as several recipes for each lesson. The course material is beautifully presented, easy to follow along with and could actually be a book in and of itself!

Click here to sign up for the course!

Here is an overview of this 13 week course:

Week One: Intro to Nourishing Food, How to Find Local Resources, Guide to Nutrient Dense Foods, and How to Find the Right Budget for You

Week Two: Why I am not a Vegetarian when Beans are so Cheap, Shopping Guide to Beef, Beef Stretching Recipes and Video Demonstration

Week Three and Four: How to Stretch one Chicken into Three Meals, The Health and Frugality Benefits of Homemade Chicken Stock (Recipes and Video Demonstrations)

Week Five: Why Seafood? Health Benefits of Seafood and What to Buy, Seven Tips for Saving Money on Seafood, Recipes and Video demonstration.

Week Six: The How’s and Why’s of Soaking Grains, Shopping Guide to Buying Grains, Video Demonstration and Recipes

Week Seven: Sourdough, How to Maintain a Starter, How to Make Sourdough Bread, Video Demonstration and Recipes

Week Eight: Eating Dessert like the French (Fruit based Desserts). Naturally Sweetened, fruit based desserts

Week Nine: Sprouting, The Benefits of Sprouting, Sprouting Guide, Pictorial Guides, Video Demonstration and Recipes

Week Ten: Lacto-Fermented Foods: The Benefits of Lacto-Fermenting, Demonstrations of two methods, and recipes.

Week Eleven: Dairy-Shopping Guide to Dairy, Making Homemade Yogurt and Creme Freshe, Video Demonstration and Recipes

Week Twelve: The Joys of Vegetables: Where to buy Quality Produce for Less, Making Main Dish Salads, Homemade Salad Dressings, Recipes and Video Demonstrations

Week Thirteen: Meal Planning Tips and Sample Menus.

The Details

Kimi actually teaches cooking classes out of her home in Oregon. These classes run for $35 each and contain similar information and cooking demonstrations.

With the A Peasant's Feast ecourse, each weekly lesson breaks down to just over $9, which is a significant savings! The entire course is only $120 for all 13, compared to $455 if you were taking each course in her home!

Kimi has also generously offered a limited number of partial and full scholarships for those who are financially unable to take the course, but feel that it would really benefit them and their families. You can directly contact her if you feel that you fit into this category.

Registration ends on June 26th, and then the course will begin on June 28th.

Click here to sign up for the course!

I am also delighted to announce that one lucky reader will win a free ecourse membership!

You can enter by:

1) Leaving a comment, telling me what you would be most excited to learn from this ecourse!

2) Share this giveaway on Facebook.

3) Tweet this giveaway. "Want to learn to cook nourishing food on a budget? Enter to win A Peasant's Feast Ecourse from @keeperhome-- http://bit.ly/aDQwCl"

4) Subscribe to Kimi's blog, The Nourishing Gourmet

Giveaway ends Monday, June 14 at 4pm (PST). Good luck! Giveaway has now ended.

Disclosure: If you sign up for A Peasant's Feast through one of the above links, I will earn a small commission. You are by no means obligated to use these links, but it is one of the ways that you can support this site. Thank you!

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Cook More Real Food: Make a Meal Plan

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 06:45:45 +0000

So far during the Cook More Real Food event we've completed inventories of our pantry and of our freezer, and now it's time to get really practical and a make a plan for what we'll actually eat with all those foods!

Your Tasks This Week Are:

1. To do a quick 5 minute or less inventory of your fridge.

Honestly, this should be fast. Just scrawl it on some scrap paper if you like. Don't write down your fridge staples (soy sauce, lemon juice, etc.) but instead write down things like dairy, fresh produce, meat, eggs, etc. that will go bad if it doesn't get used up!

2. To create a meal plan.

As I mentioned in the video, it can be for just one week, or you could do as I did and make a plan for the entire month. It's completely up to you. If this is new for you, start a bit smaller so that you can ensure that you'll be successful.

For those in need of some meal planning assistance, here are a few previous posts to help you out:

Organization in the Real Food Kitchen: Meal Planning

Meal Planning Primer

3. Make sure that you reference your pantry, freezer and fridge inventories often as you create your meal plan.

The point of all this is to actually use the foods that you already have, so have a look at the video and see how I did it, and then have a try at it yourself!

One thing that I always find helpful is to look at the ingredients on my inventory and try to think of what meals we love that include those things. I might still need to buy a couple of things to make the recipe work, but at least I'll use up what I have and it gives me inspiration for what to put in my meal plan.

4. Decide what food you'd like to make next week (June 7/8th) to put in your freezer.

This can be either complete meals, like casseroles, soups, burritos, etc. or it can be meal components, like pre-cooked and seasoned meats, beans, soup broth or anything else that will make your meals come together more quickly and easily.

It's always good to make some baked goods to freeze as well. Make things that will make breakfasts faster, that will serve as easy snacks, or bake things like bread so that you can just pull a loaf from the freezer when you need it.

I know that I can't dedicate an entire 2 days, just because of the reality of having 3 little ones at home with me. I will probably take an hour or two each morning, as well as each afternoon. I might also do some work in the evenings once hubby is home or when the kids are in bed. Just do your best to come up with as much time as you can. If you can enlist any help (from a family member, a mother's helper, your husband, etc.) then do it!

For more help as you begin to plan for your freezer cooking day, here are some amazing resources:

Preparing for Freezer Cooking @ Life as Mom (she is an expert on this topic and this post is FULL of links to very helpful posts on every freezer-cooking related topic you can think of!)

How I Plan My Freezer Cooking @ Money Saving Mom (another freezer-cooking expert, this post also includes wonderfully helpful free printout sheets!)

5. Write a grocery shopping list based on your planning.

One tool that saves me much time and hassle is this grocery shopping checklist. If you have a ListPlanIt membership, you could print one off of there.

6. Reward yourself for your hard work (chocolate, anyone?)!

This will probably take you 2-3 hours over the course of the week. It will probably be easiest to do this by setting aside a couple of chunks of time when you can do the work.

I know that it seems like a lot of planning, but you will be so grateful when you see how much easier your meals come together, and when you find that you are able to shop less and save more money as well!

I'm looking forward to having you all join me on Monday and Tuesday (June 7/8th) to do some major freezer cooking!

What is your plan for the freezer cooking days? Please share what you'll be making, so that we can help each other out with ideas and inspiration!

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Want to Buy the Healthy Snacks to Go Ebook? Here’s a Coupon Code!

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Fri, 28 May 2010 21:00:55 +0000

**Please note-- Although the coupon code was not working yesterday, it is definitely working now!!! Sorry for the inconvenience. Go ahead and grab your books at this great price!**

If you've been eyeing the Healthy Snacks to Go ebook from Katie at Kitchen Stewardship, here is your chance to grab it for a steal!

To get 25% off the book's regular price ($6.95), making it just over $5, use the coupon code: KEEPHOME

You can read my review of Healthy Snacks to Go here. I am still using mine frequently and we continue to love each of the recipes we try!

Honestly, we love them. My husband keeps asking me if I've told you all again how yummy these recipes really are. Passing the hubby test is a true indicator of a great recipe book!

Code is good until Friday, June 4th, so hurry and get your copy!

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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Cook More Real Food: Take Inventory of Your Freezer

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Fri, 28 May 2010 10:00:30 +0000

Welcome back for the second part of the Cook More Real Food event!

It's so great to see so many people joining in, through the Facebook event page and also just through the comments. I've noticed a number of people blogging about the event and the progress that they are making as well, which is fantastic!

Today we're going to take inventory of what's in our freezers. Join me as I tackle my own freezers...

I realized as I watched the video afterwords that my deep freeze really isn't too full, which is perfect. We're about to move and it's time to get ready for filling it with fresh summer produce from the garden and produce market.

Cleaning out your freezer before summer is ideal for those of you who are trying to preserve as much food in season as you can. I stock mine with garden produce (peas, zucchini, turnips, tomatoes, pumpkin, etc.) and with tons of fresh, local fruit like berries, peaches and more!

Here's how to take inventory of your freezer:

1. Set aside about an hour or hour and a half for this project.

This one actually took me even less time than the Pantry challenge did (about 40 minutes compared to 60-70 minutes). However, I wasn't digging through a big chest freezer like some of you may be, so I would still allot over an hour in case you need it.

2. Print off or create an inventory sheet.

Just like last time, I printed one off from my ListPlanIt membership. Once again, you can also just make one by taking a blank sheet of paper and separating it into categories of the types of food that are in your freezer (meat, fruit, veggies, meals, breads, etc.). There was also a great tip in the comments section of the Pantry challenge for some printable inventories available from Organized Home.

3. Open up your freezer and empty it out.

Honestly, you have to take it all out. This is simply the most effective way to do it, unless it is like my garage stand-up freezer and isn't very full or is very well organized. Floor, counters, table, etc. You can do it anywhere you like.

4. Use your inventory page and write down what you find.

Write down absolutely everything in your freezer. Unless it needs to chucked (due to extreme freezer burn or complete lack of indentifiability- I confess to having a few items that fit into those categories), it should be written down. No matter how random or how little there is.

5. Spray it down and wipe it out.

Having an empty freezer is a perfect opportunity to clean it out!

6. Consolidate what's in there.

I found a box of sausages that only had a few left, so I ditched the box and put them in a smaller bag. I also found 3 partially filled bags of bananas, so I put them all in 1 bag. If you can cut down on packaging or unnecessary bulk, do it.

7. Take some time to re-organize.

Particularly if you have a deep chest freezer, careful organization is crucial. My fridge freezer has no shelving at all, but it helps to have a small plastic shelf in there, as well as large basket. Check out this post for a few more tips for freezer organization.

8. Store your inventory somewhere useful.

I'm keeping my inventories in my homemaking binder for now, but after next week's meal planning, I will be putting my pantry inventory on the inside of my pantry door. Your freezer inventory could be taped onto the top of your deep freeze.

9. Take the weekend off and come back next week!

Congrats! You've done inventories (and perhaps some cleaning/organizing) of both your pantry and freezer in one week, and it really wasn't that painful.

Next Tuesday, June 1st we will do a really quick fridge inventory and then do some meal planning. We'll also do a bit of planning for some food prep/freezing cooking days on Mon/Tues June 7 & 8th.

If you haven't already, make sure you join the Facebook event page to stay up to date with everything that's happening!

How is it going for you so far? Did anyone else find mystery meat in their freezer? I'd love to hear about your progress!

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
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Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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Organic Food on a Budget

Angela Beery — Wed, 26 May 2010 20:30:05 +0000

Written by Angela Beery, Contributing Writer

Now that the spring season is upon us, it is the perfect time to talk about fresh, local produce! Many exciting opportunities are ahead of us in the coming months.

I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to taking a stroll down to the farmer’s market, grilling locally grown vegetables and picking my own strawberries at a local farm!

During this tough economic time, many families who normally buy solely organic food are finding it more difficult to do so. Although it is always best to buy organic (for the sake of the soil and the farm workers), for many this is just not possible right now.

So, how can we balance the undeniable need to eat right with the financial pressures we are facing as a society? How can we provide the maximum amount of safe and healthy foods while staying within a tight budget?

Be encouraged - it can be done! With a little bit of planning and creativity and by eliminating refined and processed foods completely from our grocery lists, eating organic foods can really be affordable!

Selecting food for our families is a huge issue that cannot be addressed in one post, which is why I have provided links that I hope will inspire further research.

Safe/Healthy Food

When feeding a family the rule is as simple and as obvious as this – if it’s not food, don’t eat it. Food full of harmful chemicals found in pesticides, hormones and antibiotics are simply not an option. Refined and processed foods, too, are expensive and of little to no nutritional value.

The Dirty Dozen

Most likely you are familiar with the “Dirty Dozen,” a list of the twelve most highly contaminated fruits and vegetables put out by the Environmental Working Group. The produce on the “Dirty Dozen” list have thin skins, which provide little or no barrier to pesticides entering into the food itself.

Try Substituting!

If you are finding the organic versions of the "Dirty Dozen" to be too expensive, try substituting! There are safe, non-organic, alternatives to the “Dirty Dozen.”

Listed below are the “Dirty Dozen” and some alternatives.

Peaches - watermelon, tangerines, oranges and grapefruit

Apples - watermelon, bananas and tangerines

Bell Peppers - green peas, broccoli and cabbage

Celery - broccoli, radishes and onions

Nectarines - watermelon, papaya and mango

Strawberries - blueberries, kiwi and pineapples

Cherries - blueberries, raspberries and cranberries

Kale - cabbage, asparagus and broccoli

Leafy Greens - cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts

Grapes - blueberries, kiwi and raspberries

Carrots - sweet corn, sweet peas and broccoli

Pears - grapefruit, honeydew melon and mangos

Potatoes - eggplant, cabbage and earthy mushrooms

The "Clean Fifteen"

Much emphasis has been put on the “Dirty Dozen” in the media lately, but very few people have heard of what is called the “Clean Fifteen.”

The items on the “Clean Fifteen” list are those with thick, protective skins that are the least susceptible to pesticides.

The list includes: Onions, Avocados, Sweet Corn, Pineapple, Broccoli, Mango, Asparagus, Sweet Peas, Kiwi, Tomato, Cabbage, Eggplant, Papaya, Watermelon and Sweet Potato.

According to the Environmental Working Group, families can reduce their intake of pesticides by 80% by eating fruits and vegetables on “the Clean Fifteen” list and only organic versions of “the Dirty Dozen.”

It is important to note that there are a few food items that are just not safe unless in organic form. Among the produce listed on the “Dirty Dozen,” the Environmental Working Group also recommends organic, hormone and antibiotic free milk, coffee and meat products.

Budget Tips

Feeding organic food to your family truly can be affordable.

Here are ten tips that will help you make it happen:

1. Commit to buying organic versions of those foods with the highest levels of pesticides and hormones. This includes milk, meat and produce items found on “the Dirty Dozen” list.

2. Buy in season. Seasonal fruits and vegetables usually cost less. For a list of seasonal foods in your area, check out Sustainable Table.

3. Shop the sales. Base your meal plans off of what is on sale and buy in bulk when items you use frequently are on sale.

4. Buy local. Purchasing locally grown food cuts down on transportation costs and supports the local economy. As a result you will save money, too!

5. Pick your own produce. For a list of farms where you can pick your own produce visit www.pickyourown.org. Picking your own food can save you money and it’s fun, especially for kids!

6. Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). It’s local, it’s healthier and you get a TON of produce for your money – what more could you ask for?

7. Shop the Farmer’s Market. Buying directly from the farmer saves you money and gives you the added benefit of knowing exactly who your food comes from.

8. Grow Your Own Organic Garden. Keeper of the Home is one of the greatest resources on organic gardening. There are also numerous blogs/websites available that provide information on how to grow your own organic garden. For the greatest success, search for sites that apply specifically to the region you live in. Hone your gardening skills by taking a Master Gardener class this summer at your local cooperative extension.

9. Try Freezing and Canning. Freeze and/or preserve bulk items from the farm stand or home garden to last throughout the winter months. You can read up on safe freezing and canning methods at your local library or at Pick Your Own. The best resource available on freezing baby foods is Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron.

10. Commit to buying only whole, unprocessed and unrefined foods. Highly processed and refined foods provide little nutritional value and are very expensive. Eating whole foods means your family will consume less, maintain a healthier body weight, and have a higher resistance to illness, more energy and better moods. By eliminating processed and refined foods from your grocery list, you will find that you have more money to spend on whole/organic food.

Is buying organic important to you? If so, how do you make it work in your budget?

Photo Credit: flandersfield

Angela Beery, former So-Cal city girl and world traveler fully embraces her simple, yet abundant, life in a small town at the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. She and her husband love serving the Lord with The Salvation Army - Angela, as a volunteer and her husband as a youth and music pastor. When not chasing around her 18 month old daughter, Angela enjoys spending time outdoors, cooking low-fat meals and crafting of every kind. You can read more about her journey as a homemaker at her blog, Domestic Godliness.

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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Cook More Real Food: Take Inventory of Your Pantry

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:00:44 +0000

Wondering what Cook More Real Food is all about? Learn more about this event that's taking place here at Keeper of the Home over the course of the next several weeks!

For those on Facebook, join over 185 other women and be a part of the event!

Today we are tackling our pantries! I hope you'll join us! Watch me as I clean out, re-organize and take inventory of all the food that's in my own pantry!

Are you ready to do it yourself? Here's a recap of what you need to do:

1. Set aside about an hour or hour and a half for this project.

For some it may take slightly less time, but this is probably a reasonable time estimate for most people. I did mine at night, once the kids were in bed. Naptimes are another great possibility.

2. Print off or create an inventory sheet.

I simply printed one off from my ListPlanIt membership (so valuable- I love mine and use it all the time!). You can also just make one by taking a blank sheet of paper and separating it into categories of the types of food that are in your pantry (canned goods, grains, baking supplies, pasta, etc.).

3. Open up your pantry and empty it out.

Yes, completely. Pull every single thing off of those shelves. I put mine all over the kitchen floor. You could also use your table or your counters for storage.

4. Grab your list and start writing and checking things off.

Write down absolutely everything that is in your pantry. Nothing is too small to skip. I even wrote down things like 1/2 cup of pearl barley, or a handful of dried tomatoes. Everything!

5. Wipe down your pantry.

It's an easy job when the shelves are empty. Take advantage of this opportunity to get it nice and clean.

6. Re-fill containers with any bulk items.

If you have extra bulk items, fill up your smaller containers before you put them away. I topped off my cocoa, shredded coconut, rice, etc. from the larger bulk bags that I buy.

7. Consider labeling your shelves.

You'll notice in the video that I have labels on my shelves that indicate where different types of items belong (canned goods, bulk grains, extras, herbs and so on). Though it's not necessary, I do find it helpful in keeping my pantry tidier for the most part (but if you watch the video, you'll know that my pantry was NOT tidy a couple of days ago!). Life happens. :)

8. Put everything away as neatly as possible.

I like to sort like items with other like items, so all of my grains together, all canned good together. I use my shelves all the way to the very back, by putting items that I have extra of in the back, and keeping at least some of everything a bit closer to the front for accessibility. It's never possible to have absolutely everything immediately accessible, but I manage to have most things where I can grab them quickly, and only a few that require me to shift items around to get to what I want.

9. Post your inventory list on the inside of your pantry door.

This way you will know exactly where it is when we go to use it for the Meal Planning event on June 1st. You will also want to keep it handy as a reference for grocery shopping and future meal planning. Being able to see what you have (and don't have) at a glance makes planning easier and helps you to make the best possible use of what you have so that you can save more money.

10. Breathe easy.

You're done until Friday! Relax for a few days and then get ready to do the same process with your freezer on May 28th!

Just for fun... what was the most random thing that you found during your pantry inventory?

Is this something you've ever done before? Did you find it helpful?

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
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Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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Cook More Real Food Event: May 20th-June 12th

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Thu, 20 May 2010 10:00:14 +0000

I've been writing lots about saving money on a whole foods diet, especially around the launch of my new book, Real Food on a Real Budget. Hearing about concepts that will help you to cook more from scratch, improve your diet and lighten up your grocery budget is a really good thing.

Actually DOING those things and putting into practice what you've learned is even better.

That's why over the next 4 weeks, I will be running a special, practical series here at Keeper of the Home. The goal?

help you cook more real, whole foods
from scratch
in less time
in order to save money.

Sound good?

Here's the plan:

May 20th (today) :: Introduction

Get you on board, starting to think about how you will implement these upcoming activities into to your life. Also, start spreading the word and inviting others to join in with us!

May 25th (Tues) :: Pantry Inventory

I'll walk you through my own process of taking stock of what I already have in my house, figuring out what needs to be used up, and getting things more organized and accessible.

May 28th (Fri) :: Freezer Inventory

We'll do the same thing as with our pantries, but focusing instead on our freezers. Surely you're like me and also have things that have become burried and forgotten, and need to be put to good use!

June 1st (Tues) :: Meal Planning

Using the knowledge of what we have available to us, together we'll create meal plans with 3 purposes:

to use up what we have, so that we can shop less in June and save up some money (this is a great opportunity to start saving up some extra money for bulk food purchases!)
to get you more used to meal planning in general and see how it can help you make better food, with less time and stress
to prepare for a couple days of food prep and cooking ahead (see below), to stock our freezers with meals and snacks for busy days!

June 7th and 8th (Mon/Tues) :: Freezer Cooking and Food Prep Event

I will be spending as much time as I can spare over the course of 2 days, to do food prep that makes meals come together easier, and to put away meals (or meal components), baking and snacks in my freezer and pantry.

This isn't necessarily Once-a-Month-Cooking. It can be, if you have the time and desire. Personally, I find it hard to get enough solid cooking time with 3 little ones to do true OAMC cooking.

I will, however, be squeezing in every bit of kitchen time I can get during those 2 days, to cook ahead and do the things that will make pulling together real food and wholesome meals much, much easier for the rest of the month. I have the additional goal of having pre-made food to make our upcoming move (July 1st) that much easier by not having to think about cooking.

I will be live tweeting and updating Facebook during those 2 days with my progress, and I will invite you to do the same. At the end, I will blog my own results, and then post a link-up so that you can share your own results with everyone one.

Want to join in?

Visit the Event page on Facebook and confirm that you'll be joining in! Share it with your friends as well.

If you haven't already, you can follow me on Twitter or "like" my Facebook page, to keep updated.

Or simply leave a comment below and tell me that you're in!

Looking forward to working together with you all to cook more real food and save some money in the process!

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

You might also enjoy: