Recession-Proof GLP... Saving Food $ & Finding Local Food Sources

1. Farmers Markets: This map shows Farmers Markets, local farms, and other resources.
[link to www.localharvest.org]





I walked through a farmers market Saturday..


hot damn....they have all the things I need each week..

the people were great..

it shocked the hell out of me........

I will go back next week.....I will cook a lot to freeze

Thanks for the pin, Paladin.

Peace.

I make a big pot of split pea soup with tons of veggies--onions, celery, carrots, and a tomato or two every weekend and take it to work for lunch every day. It has protein, antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, etc. If you have a blender or hand-blender you can pulverize it, and not worry about chopping the veggies up much since you're just going to blend them into a puree. Anyway, I figure seven or eight generous meals of this "staple" dish cost about seven dollars. $2.50 for two bags of split peas, 50 cents for half a bag of carrots, two or three dollars for the celery and onions, and a couple dollars at most for the tomatoes. You can do similar things with other legumes. I make a cuban black bean version of this as well. Oh yeah...if you have it throw in a dash of olive oil at the end of cooking. Just thought I'd pass this idea along...healthy food can be cheap.

[link to www.localharvest.org]



put in your zip code..

The folks at our local market DESERVE the business, too. Very nice people with a commitment to organic or at least pesticide-free growing. They are cheaper as well, and though the produce isn't always as shiny and perfect as we find at the store, it's the real deal, locally grown. Really we should all be shopping this way.

Right on, I've been doing this for years. A different soup or stew every week; I don't follow any recipes but throw together whatever veggies I have on had. If it's a split pea soup, sometimes it will have carrots, onions and garlic and depending if I have any of these other items, brown rice, potatoes, jerusalem artichokes, parsnips, etc. etc. It's never the exact same dish twice!!!!!!

that is hat I am having now....got in late...



after the X-Mass and New Year...

the food store had carrots 5 lbs bags $1.50


potatoes...10 lbs bags....$2.50


I made potato soup......I have 20 meals..

Also, to those of you who have never grown swiss chard...what are you waiting for? I'm growing it in pots and in the ground. It thrives through 100 degree heat, heavy frosts, shade, sun, good soil, bad soil, whatever ya got. You pick the outer leaves and cook them like spinach, and presto, the plant grows more leaves. The only difficult thing with chard is getting them through the floppy seedling stage...they do seem to appreciate lots of sunlight to help them get strong in their first few weeks of life. Fordhook giant is the most vigourous but bright lights is very attractive. Anyway, no need to do without greens. A single person who wants greens a couple of times a week should probably have ten plants, more for a family. Luckily they don't mind crowding.

Thanks for the info on Angel Food Ministries. There is a church in our hometown that participates!

Right, both maps allow you to put in your location (in the USA & Canada) and they'll zoom in to your specific area.

what I saw was some of the growers had a lot of something that were on sale..


when I go back I will plan what I will cook that weekend..with what I buy..


that way... I will eat what is in season..

I think this is the future. Everything is going to become more local. Communities will be tighter. They will have to be or else...?

I always remember Farmers Markets, but recently they're growing to enormous proportions.

no need to store food or make garderns

just eat local stray cats/dogs and dead humans.

food for loooong time.

The place to buy groceries - A HUGE savings over your local supermarket.

[link to www.aldi.com]

The place to buy bread at a fraction of the price of your local supermarket.

[link to www.bakeryoutlets.com]

Actually, that's a true statement.

I didn't even know they had Aldi in the US.

Nail a rat trap onto an oak tree. Fresh squirrel!

Just make loops with string, twine, rope on a branch path. They'll walk through the snare every time. If there are more than one, and one gets caught in the loop, the other one will just keep walking into the next snare. Not too smart.

I've been going to Aldi since the early 90's.

Eating whats in season of course varies from one latitude or growing zone to another, and from one farm to another, but here's an example of a harvest chart for a large CSA farm in Texas, showing what's grown there & when it's in season:

[link to www.homesweetfarm.com]

With such charts from your local produce farmers, you can plan your meals seasonally.

last week I got ground beef for .99 cents a lbs..

I was also able to get 1 gallon whole tomatoes for $1.10 each

so I will make 4 gallons of spaghetti sauce


the way I cook cheap ground beef....I have a large plastic colander....I cook in batches......I line the colander with the beef...leaving the bottom open and free.....I place this in a plastic tray with paper towels..


in the microwave I cook it......with a food processor I chop it..


it is fat and grease free

i didnt even know they had ALDI's 'outside' the usa....

yeah the farmers market is great, BUT.......

grow your own garden, even if you live in apartments

Thread: Recession Proof GLP... Community Garden

You have to be one of the dumbest GLPers. You bring down the whole IQ of this site!!

Many money saving ways are common sense things that we've somehow lost along the way. Before there was instant hot chocolate mix, cocoa, sugar, hot water and canned milk was used.

We buy instant oatmeal at an increased price, when all we'd have to do is put some quick oats in the blender. Voila, instant oatmeal, ready for the microwave.

We pay a fortune for granola when we can mix some oats in with some honey and melted butter, dry it, and have our own granola with no artificial additives. Dried fruits, cranberries, cherries, and nuts can be added.

The same granola you eat with milk can be formed into bars, dried, and make a tasty granola bar.

We toss little bits of leftover roast or beef that could make a fine beef barley soup by adding some bouillon cubes and barley.

We buy Krispy Kreme for the kids, when, if you don't want to make your own from scratch, you can take a package of store tube biscuits, cut them in half, fry them, and roll them in sugar, confectioners sugar, or make a confectioners sugar glaze and have a quick, cheap, almost as good treat.

We buy tortilla shells for tacos and feel good we're making them from scratch. But the cost could be a fraction of what we pay if we mixed some flour, salt, oil, baking powder and hot water to make our own.

Home made tortillas taste better and can be used in place of bread. They make fine peanut butter and banana roll ups, filled with tuna topped with shredded lettuce, chicken with sour cream and chives, refried beans, or whatever you want to fill them with.

The taco seasoning powder in expensive packets can be easily made at home by combining chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.

Pudding packets are another expensive treat. You can make your own pudding mix with powdered milk, sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch.

The little boxes of corn muffin mix are handy, but in minutes a large batch can be made at home by mixing flour, corn meal, sugar, salt, baking powder and powdered milk. Once mixed, all you have to do is pour out the amount you need.

We pay a much higher price for self rising flour when we could add a teaspoon of baking powder to 8 ounces of all purpose flour and have self rising flour.

We pay for corned beef hash when we could make many cans worth for a fraction of the cost by frying some potatoes with onions and chopping up a can of corned beef in it. And it tastes much better.

Or better yet, use a half a can of corned beef in your hash and use the other half in your homemade tortilla shells, topped with some sauerkraut and cheese and microwaved. Tortilla reuben.

Pop tarts and instant breakfast might be a quick, easy breakfast, but browning some sausage, ham, bacon the night before, beating some eggs mixed with milk, and cubing some bread to mix in, along with a little cheese, makes a nice casserole that can set in the refrigerator overnight and bake while you get dressed and showered in the morning. Peppers, mushrooms, hashed potatoes or potato cubes can give some variety.
Many times the ingredients can be mainly leftovers.

So many conveniences, but a price to pay. Making you own is cheaper, healthier, and gives knowledge to pass on to the next generation

Thanks OP for such a wonderful and helpful posting.

There isn't an Angel Food Ministries here in SD, but there is one in MN just about 2 hours away. I figure, if I order around $250 worth of goods, it'd be more than well worth the trip, and it would also give me an excellent reason to go visit my brother on the way 1x per month. I just need to contact the site (2 hours away) to figure out a means to pay them, since I cannot afford to make the trip 2x's (to order then pick up). Maybe my brother will drive the 20 minute trip to make the payment in my name? Will have to check with him on that one...and maybe he will even join me on the trips.

Blessings

Slow cooked a chuck roast tonight and served with potatoes and asparagus.

Will cook remaining roast tomorrow in a little gravy and serve over egg noodles.

We throw nothing away, ever. Letting food go bad or not using leftovers is a huge waste of money.

Winco is the best grocery store I have found for prices. I drive to the next town to shop there.

Cheaper cuts of meat cooked right are delicious. Then we have more money for fresh veggies, which are a must for me. No canned or frozen thank you.

Depending on the church, you might be able to mail the church a check or money order well in advance. Some will even do credit cards, but don't count on it.

Also, do you know any churches in your area that might be willing to join the Angel Food Program? It only costs $50 for a church to join. I'm sure they'd have to work out the transportation arrangements though. It might be worth a shot.

Local foods don't come much more local than your own walking area. Aside from being good exercise and seeing nature at speeds less than 70 mph, it gives you a heads up on what's there if you need it.

Within my immediate area, there is wild asparagus, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, morel mushrooms, apples, crabapples, cattails, and garlic. There are probably more waiting to be discovered.

Read about plants and find out what they were used for. Most people turn up their noses at crabapples, but if the day comes that you can't get sure-jell to make your jellies, you'll think of those crabapples. They are rich in pectin and do a fine job of thickening jellies and jams.

Wild roses are abundant in many places and the hips make a powerful tea, rich in vitamin C. Mullein and goldenrod are good decongestants.Common weeds can be lifesavers.

So much to learn, so little time.

Nice Post!
Thanks OP