Berry Sale!

Stock up on strawberries (99 cents) and blueberries ($1.49) at Aldi this week!  

Not sure if they will go lower, but it's the best I've seen so far.

I hope to freeze some if I can keep the Fish Sticks from devouring!

Ordering in Bulk

 I showed you my bulk foods in my pantry a while back.  I mentioned Bread Beckers and their local co-op that I participate in.  I've also discovered 2 other co-ops for bulk foods.  Not only do these companies provide great prices, but high quality, nutritious and organic foods.  I started ordering fresh fruits from Bulk Natural Foods last year.  They take a truck load of orders and travel across the USA stopping along the way to deliver.  They also offer dry foods.  My first dry foods order came in today.  I drove to the closest town and picked it up at my specified time.  I got pinto beans, black beans, kidney beans, couscous, alfalfa seeds and banana chips.  I stored them in gallon buckets that I labeled and can't wait to use it for feeding the Fish Sticks.

Check out Bulk Natural Foods and Azure Standard to see if they deliver close to  you.  I used to buy a gallon of food grade glycerin to make my herbal tinctures from Azure Standard.  I would have to pay just as much for shipping from WA state that I did for the glycerin.  Now they deliver to my area and shipping is less than my state's local tax.  Can't beat that.  They also offer dry goods, health foods, and produce.  It's as simple and signing up.  I felt the need to pass on a good thing or 2.  Hope you can benefit.

Canning

 My MIL taught me to can my first year of marriage when I came to her house and she was preserving her garden vegetables.  Little did I know that years later, I would have my own garden with vegetables to can myself.  Canning vegetables is nothing to shy away from.  Even if you don't have a garden, buying homegrown vegetables at a good price and preserving them is a smart thing to do. I have a friend here who is a grandma.  She spent years working in her garden but now prefers to drive 1 hour to the closest Amish community weekly all summer.  She buys large quantities of their produce at an excellent price and preserves them herself without the backbreaking work with manning her own garden.

I was going to do a tutorial on canning but realized there are so many good ones out there, that I won't try to compete.  Basically, you will need a pressure canner like this one. I think I got mine at Walmart 10 years ago for about $30.

 These are a few tools that I didn't start out with but have found VERY helpful:  funnel, strainer, can grabber (that would be my own redneck term - not sure what it's really called).  They don't cost much either.  Of course you will need canning jars with lids too.  They run about $1 a can regular priced.

 After cooking the vegetables (in this case, green beans) for just a few minutes (each veggie is different so check a chart on line to see how long), then place them in hot jars, add cooking water to about 1/2" of top, add 1 tsp. canning salt and seal with lid.

 Charts on line will also tell you how long to can them, as will your canner handbook with directions on pressure canning.  Tomatoes are acidic and don't have to be pressure canned.  You can just cover them with water (called a water bath) and can them that way.  It's a tad bit easier.

Canning is a beautiful thing.  At the time it might seen tedious and you might feel you have better things you should be doing, but when the winter comes and you open one of your cans of summer, garden vegetables, well....there's just nothing better tasting!

To Buy in Bulk or Not?

 I seem to always be about tweaking our grocery budget and the way that I grocery shop.  I wish I could tell you that I have arrived with the perfect plan for my family that works every month, but it's just not true.  To be honest, I have struggled with staying within our budge for years and years.  It highly frustrates me and I feel ashamed to burden my husband in this way because I feel that he is generous with our budget for groceries.  I don't splurge on luxuries.  We don't eat out any more.  I don't blow it on myself.  I'm not frivolous.  It just is hard to keep things under budget. 

I have had a Sam's card before and tried to purchase all of our grocery needs for the month at one time.  I learned after a few months that that just didn't work for us.  Fresh produce can't be bought once a month and I was sucked into the "good" deals at Sam's and wouldn't stick to my list only.  I always spent more than I planned on.

 I just bought another Sam's membership in January.  I have been there 3 times in the last 2 months.  So far, so good.  My plan is to check their web site for prices, keep a strict price list that I stick to and set goals for myself as to how much to spend in Sam's.  What I have loved is when I have figured out prices per ounce as compared to Aldi or my coupon attempts, Sam's comes out really well.  For my large crew, it's nice to buy in bulk and not have to shop so often.  I think and hope it will save me in the long run.

As for the barrels you see in the photo, 2 years ago I started buying dry bulk foods from my bread making coop.  I buy wheat by the bulk to make into flour for making bread.  I have added gallon buckets of lima beans, brown rice, millet and other things like that plus huge buckets of rolled oats and popcorn kernels.  Buying these types of products in bulk means I always have them on hand and it aids me in my attempts to feed my family healthy, hearty  meals.

So does buying in bulk work for you?