Real FOODies!

rmccully

real food is awesome!!!

I am working on a raw food way of life. I love it. Working toward 100% I think I am getting pretty close to it.

No processed or cooked food.

This started a couple months ago when I realized that I can not have dairy or soy, (bad things happen)
So being that those two things are in sooooooooooooooo many things I figured if I just at raw that I would not have any problems.

I visit the farmers market every thursday and look forward to it. I schedule other thing around going to the farmers market.

I use my juice and or blender EVERY day. Fresh juice drinks, fruit or veggie..... with the blender I make smoothies and cold soups.
It is so fun.

kayemme

real food is awesome!!!
I visit the farmers market every thursday and look forward to it. I schedule other thing around going to the farmers market.
I use my juice and or blender EVERY day. Fresh juice drinks, fruit or veggie..... with the blender I make smoothies and cold soups.
It is so fun.

i would love to try some of your raw food recipes, if you have them somewhere. i use my food processor CONSTANTLY.

it's the one kitchen tool i really can't live without. my last fp broke down about 2 months ago, and i thought "okay, i'll just try it this way for a while." but i broke down last week and bought a kitchenaid food processor (because i couldn't justify the mixer).

in the summer we grill a lot, then blend up the grilled vegetables and use them for soup or sauce... it's a pretty sweet world.

leavinglasvegas

I have got to get me a juicer!

When its hot, I'm not so hungry or into cooking. I don't have AC. I'd just rather eat cold soups, juices, raw fruit/veggies. It just feels natural, so I accept that it is.

Does anybody have a yummy cold soup recipe that does not star the amazing tomato? (I'm allergic to tomatoes and I miss them O so much:sad: )

TropicalKitty

Chiming back in on the cost of food...

I'm getting into canning. Right now while all these awesome veggies and fruits are fresh and at their peak I'm loading up and canning them. Then in the winter when they aren't bountiful and the farmer's market is closed, I can pop open a jar of my local green beans/peaches/tomatoes whatever and have a nice healthy meal that I know what's in it. I can make a ton of beans and soups/stocks to have on hand when I need them.

I got a pressure canner for $80. It's well worth the investment and it'll last me a long time.

So there are ways to stretch your dollar and not load up your freezer too!

TropicalKitty

I have got to get me a juicer!

When its hot, I'm not so hungry or into cooking. I don't have AC. I'd just rather eat cold soups, juices, raw fruit/veggies. It just feels natural, so I accept that it is.

Does anybody have a yummy cold soup recipe that does not star the amazing tomato? (I'm allergic to tomatoes and I miss them O so much:sad: )

http://allrecipes.com//HowTo/cold-summer-soups/Detail.aspx

Here are a few to get you started, just scroll about half way down

July24Lioness

Food is something I DO like to devote my financial resource to. There's certainly ways to save, but there's no way it's something that should be some game of "gee, how little can I spend on my monthly food bill" - that's more like saying "gee, how much processed crap can I buy for as little as possible with coupons?"

believe me, there's a way to accomplish both spending very little and getting the very best. but not on each individual item. (for instance my eggs are $7/doz; milk $6/gal, but everything else is inexpensive (no meat) and, more-often-than-not, organic. if a person wants it bad enough, they'll find a way. we spend about $40-$50/wk on food, whole food, not processed for 2 adults. we really do eat like kings! real kings!

I agree.

I subscribe to a CSA, in which I made a lump sum payment and then $40.00 per month and I get my weekly share delivered right to my door every Wednesday.............So, fresh veggies, fruits, raw nuts and fresh cut wild flowers are in my box every week. What we aren't going to be able to eat I either give to my neighbors, sister or donate to a church to help someone's family that is less fortunate than ours.

I get my meat from a local meat market that gets their beef, pork, chicken and eggs from local farmers that live within a 50 mile raidus of St Louis.

So the majority of my food all comes from local and organic sources!!!

kayemme

I got a pressure canner for $80. It's well worth the investment and it'll last me a long time.

So there are ways to stretch your dollar and not load up your freezer too!

i'm going to can all my tomatoes this year. i have (at least) 25 heirloom plants in full bloom right now!! (so excited)

we should start a canning club! this will be my first year and i'm doing water bath canning (for high acid foods). mostly it's for the tomatoes, but possibly some pickles and maybe a couple other things.

for the past three years i've frozen everything... there were points where my freezer was so full that it was like a game of tetris to get the door to shut. ha!

stormieweather

I spend a LOT of money on food. My family lives in the city, we have an extremely cramped house and every square inch is utilized. Taking something out of the freezer (vertical) is like a Jenga puzzle, lol.

So...I buy quite a bit of organic food, 'green' products, and use very little in the way of processed goods. Unfortunately, I work two jobs to make ends meet and with my three children, have very little time to can, grow, and make complicated things from scratch. But still, we eat healthily and natural and REAL food. I just bought an ice cream maker because I detest the crud the manufacturers put in them and can't afford the organic/natural ones. But I have no place to put the darn thing! lol.

Every week, I go to the organic market, the farmers market, the grocery store, and the dollar store. It takes 3+ hours to do my shopping because I want antibiotic free, free range meat and dairy, pesticide free veggies and fruit, cheap recycled paper products, and ocasionally...organic chicken nuggets for the kids or rice shreds for hubby. Mostly, our dinners are basic...chicken, beef, eggs, and fresh veggies, accompanied by the rare pasta/rice/potatoes. Desserts are homemade usually and we only have them on special occasions. I do buy processed cereal (Kashi), waffles (Van's) and tortilla's (Mission). I use sandwich meat and cheese (applegate-non-cured, no antibiotics) to make a wrap for my lunch every day.

In our house, cooking is an adventure! I'd love to have more time for it, but working 55 hours a week doesn't leave much for experimenting.

TropicalKitty

I got a pressure canner for $80. It's well worth the investment and it'll last me a long time.

So there are ways to stretch your dollar and not load up your freezer too!

i'm going to can all my tomatoes this year. i have (at least) 25 heirloom plants in full bloom right now!! (so excited)

we should start a canning club! this will be my first year and i'm doing water bath canning (for high acid foods). mostly it's for the tomatoes, but possibly some pickles and maybe a couple other things.

for the past three years i've frozen everything... there were points where my freezer was so full that it was like a game of tetris to get the door to shut. ha!

Yes! I'm sure there are other canners here! It's my first year as well - other than making jam last year. Perhaps we should try a spin off thread...We could get more people in on it and help other people who have jigsaw freezers! (Mine is jam packed right now too)

As for the tomatoes, remember to add lemon juice to the jars to help in the preservation and to increase the acidity (it's like a 1/4tbsp per quart I think..?). I think www.pickyourown.org has a good step-by-step for how to deal with the 'maters and a lot of the other veggies we here have been talking about.

EDIT: started a thread called Canning Club! Join me if you guys like

Behavior_Modification

What is a CSA?

TropicalKitty

What is a CSA?

Community Supported Agriculture

You buy into the farm basically and get a portion of the crop every week depending on how much you put in (whole share, half share). If the farm doesn't do well because of drought, then you don't do well. If crops do awesome, you do awesome. But it's local, organic, fresh, FANTASTIC food. Check out localharvest.org and you can search for ones in your area. They'll tell you the pricing and what you get how often.