Tightening Our Belts
When my maternity pay finished after DB1 was born, and DH got a first job after finishing (ish!) his PhD, we had to do some serious financial rethinking. We also moved house to a bigger place with higher rent. As a result we've had several months now of a very frugal food budget. Now, we're a couple of foodies, so there had to be NO fall in quality! But we've started using lots of dried beans; making our own bread, museli, yoghurt (until I broke the sugar thermometre!) etc; and, most importantly, NOT just popping out for take-away or something quick from the supermarket. When the food money for the week is spent, IT IS SPENT, so I've had to be very strict with myself about buying treats and non-necessities. Actually it's been quite fun! Lots of meal planning and working together to make this work.
This weekend we went to DH's mother's for lunch and both stepped on her bathroom scales (we don't have them in the house) and, what do you know, we'd both lost weight. About a stone (14 lb) each in about 4 months, without even noticing, just by cutting out naughty things because of financial necessity, and probably eating a bit less at meal times. That is virtue rewarded 
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Wow! that's tightening your
Wow! that's tightening your belt in more ways than one!! Way to go!
Good for you!
Nice surprise if it happens when you're not even trying. Just make sure you don't cut down on anything vital, which is especially important for you being post natal... I know it's been a while now, but it really does take a long time for your body to get back to completely normal, and skipping or cutting back drastically on things you need wouldn't be a wise choice.
I just love to be the bucket of cold water, the voice of doom...
I've seen some of the tightwad type belt-tightening exercises and a diet made almost entirely of dried beans, lentils and bread just can't be good for any body! (Tawra someone or other is one example, though Ibelieve her book is something like 'not just beans').
just in time for summer swimwear though... hmmm... okay, it's jealousy pure and simple!!!
Kerri.
Not Just Beans
I agree about the all-bread-and-beans type frugality. I think it would drive me potty
We don't eat much meat, maybe two or three times a week, but it's great stuff from a local farmer. So don't you worry Kerri, I'm getting a good range of stuff, just not so much in the way of it's-Friday-so-let's-get-some-ice-cream/chips/crisps kind of stuff!
Zillah
If you don't mind me asking.....
What budget did you set yourselves? I am forever trying to get ours lower - I am basically feeding two adults too, as DS13 is now well over 6 feet and eats like a horse.
I am cooking 'properly' far more than ever before and buy very few packet mixes etc, but I am still resisting making bread/yoghurt etc. Scary
The beans sound interesting. Any good recipes?
Food Budget
Hi Honey!
Ours is a little higher than strictly 'necessary' because we buy quite a lot of organic stuff. This is how it breaks down (it's not a straightforward weekly or monthly budget, we have different amounts for different things)
Weekly I spend £15 in Sainsbury's. Mainly on household things and dairy produce.
Then there's £13.50 a week for our organic fruit and veg bag. The veg is nearly all local stuff, so I do supplement it at our market if I want something more exotic.
I then have £10 more a week to spend on extra fruit and veg and any other bits and pieces I need during the week. Oh, and eggs come out of that as well.
So, £38.50 a week.
Also, I have a £50 a month 'flesh' budget. £30 of that I spend at our local organic farm on meat. £20 on fish.
Then there's £20 a month for the farmer's market where we get cheese, jam and honey and anything else we fancy with what's left over.
Finally I spend £15 a month at the health food shop on dried beans, fruit, flakes for museli and herbal tea.
I make that about £20 a week.
So, altogether about £60 a week for the 3 of us. I think about £5 of that is an 'organic supplement'.
When I was a vegetarian I think we spent more like £50 a week.
The bread making is good fun, but I think it only works on a regular basis if you can be quite organised about getting into a routine with it. Good exercise for your DS though!
As for the beans, I've got loads of recipes and I'll put them in the recipe section next week. (I'm meant to be doing my PhD today!) I do mine in the slow cooker, and they're brilliant.
Sorry, that wasn't a very straightforward answer to your question! How much to do you guys spend?
Zillah
Our budget
Thanks Zillah
Well done on the weight loss, by the way!
My budget for everything is £40 a week. That has to cover all cleaning products, toiletries etc (probably £5 a week) and also the dog food (which is about £8 a week), so the food budget is about £27. Of that, about £10 goes on fresh fruit and veg. Mostly we eat chicken, sometimes mince, sausages or tuna, occasionally steak or lamb. I am always struggling to keep within the budget.
I would love to buy more organic stuff (at the moment I buy organic carrots and eggs - it'a a start!), especially meat as I am concerned what's in the other stuff, and how the animals are treated. I wouldn't know where to start to find that sort of stuff around here, and then the budget would be going in the wrong direction, too
Glad you're getting on well with the slow cooker. I love mine, but only have a few regular meals I use it for. I want to extend my repertoire a bit, so I look forward to the recipes next week
but the climate
SUCKS!!! I know your climate's a bi different from what I've got here Jenny, but even so... I'm moving halfway across the world just to escape the heat. I'm sure Honey can find some cattle baron in a slightly more climate-friendly part of the world. Japan's got a lot of cattle these days for a start.
sorry... what thread was this??
Oh yes... well, I'm (secretly) hoping we'll be able to get a bit more organic stuff too. Haven't mentioned it to DH yet because he might flip over our budget. I'm certainly hoping to make use of farmers' markets in the summer/autumn. I do remember once seeing a website which listed farmers' markets in different areas Honey, so maybe you'd be able to fnd one that way. They probably wouldn't do meat, although it might help you find some. And if you're getting it direct from the producer there's a remote possibility that you might not have to pay extra for having it wrapped in clingfilm and sitting in a polystyrene tray with a little nappy on. Nigel Slater said soemthing rude about those trays and boneless skinless chicken breasts. I'd quote it, but the book's currently in Lincolnshire! I think he referred to them being like little naked rodents!
still it's worth a look... try putting farmer's market into a search engine. That's probably how I got it, although I think it may have been extension of me browsing round the Ludlow Food Festival (early September - anyone fancy joining me for the cheese and sausage trails?) and then visiting some of the
suppliers and links.
I'm babbling now and have to get ready for dinner with the in-laws, so I'll shut up now!
Kerri.
Now Kerri, if you were talking of South Texas I could handle
the comment!
We have more bad hair days than good and you KNOW hair is important in Texas! 
The humidity is horrid, the heat is high, the AC bills are costly and the winters??? What winters, now slap my hands, we did get snow on Christmas this year, the FIRST TIME EVER IN RECORDED HISTORY!
The only thing that saves us is we are 20 min from the dirty Gulf of Mexico but hey the salty air still gets you in the mood!
Now that is a tourism guide nightmare!!!!!
The US is big and broad and I do wish to visit it all before I die! And Texas will always be my home. I have gotten used to the mosquitos, armadillos and rattlesnakes! The heat! I will never be "used" to but I can tolorate it!
But since we are speaking of England, I have a little English chap running around my house at the moment. We have watched Around the World in 80 Days, listened to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, narrarated by Michael York and listened to I Am A Manatee CD by John Lithgow so Texan English is being spoken alllllll weekend!!!!! I am sure you proper English gals would cringe but it really is a hoot! LOL!!!
Jana
Ludlow
Yes, Kerri. You and me. Sausage and Cheese. It's a date!
Mmmmmm. I just looked on their website. We're going!
Zillah
Ok, ok, OK!!!
Sorry guys!!! I'm mostly going by what Jenny's said about New Mexico... the kind of temperature's you normally mention are the kind I set my oven to, and you get rain maybe once a year from what I hear, or it always seems like you've got a drought on. I guess nowhere has a perfect climate, and some places are just less tolerable than others. Maybe some of you hothouse flowers would love the climate I've been working so long to leave behind. For me, I like soft rain I can walk in and seasons. I REALLY miss seasons.
You're right about size Lynn... I don't think most of us can grasp it, any more than most Singaporeans can handle even British distances - they think it's al enormous, so they just CANNOT get their heads around the US. Canada's even bigger, and I seem to recall Aussia Sue mentioning that her nearest neighbour was only about XX hours away! Mindboggling distances. I dod remember one of you Americans mentioning that you'd drive to meet another one because it was only about 8 or 9 hrs away! To us Brits that's just jaw dropping stuff, but I suspect for the outback Aussies that's the nearest convenience store!
What was the subject?? Oh yes, food... see you there Zillah! I've had to put up with my parents sending me detailed emails and painful photos the last two years, so I am DEAD SET on going this year. Actually I've been planning it since last year!
this isn't really helping anyone save grocery money is it. Oh dear... better stay away!!
Kerri.
Cheese and sausage trail?
Is that anything like a paper chase?
Snort
Images of Honey, Kerri, Zillah and the DChildren running over the Welsh Marches after trails of sausages
Zillah
American~British
I read somewhere that:
"The difference between being American and being British is that the British think 200 miles is a long distance and the Americans think 200 years is a long time."
As a young mother, my own mom thought nothing of plopping my sister and me (as toddler and infant) in the car and driving 600 miles on Friday evening to spend Saturday with her family, and turn around and drive home on Sunday. Now, less than 8 hours of driving is an "easy" trip!
Wonderful thing about Ohio weather....we have all of the extremes...in one place....sometimes within 24 hours! I remember one spring campout with the scouts where we went to bed sunburned...and the water pails froze overnight. This spring I think we went from one overnight temp af 37 degrees to an afternoon of 92 degrees in less than a week. Our local water-slide park is on the same hill and uses the same chairlifts as our ski resort! We "Buckeye's" are nothing if not adaptable!
Blessings,
Lenora
A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."
~Nelson Mandela
Too true Lenora
I love that idea about time versus space. I get that a lot over here, where really old buildings are about 150yrs old. For goddness' sakes... most homes in the UK are only just getting comfortable at that age!
And as for the sausage and cheese trails... Zillah, you're terrible, but wickedly funny! There's also an ale trail, so that really could have the whole thing descending into manic hilarity. Seriously Honey, if I can get you up there for that it could be a blast! There's plenty of educational value outside of the food too.
Right now I'm looking forward to dragging my strawberry-loving son across every fruit farm I can find. A couple of years ago the fruit farm opened just before we left so we managed to get him there, but he wouldn't eat anything till it was in a bowl - vividly reminded me of my first fruit farm experience, where I was told in no uncertain terms that if I wanted them in a bowl with cream and sugar I could jolly well stuff a pound or two down me now or I'd get nothing later!!!
DS got much the same warning! I think he'll be a bit more prepared this time.
oh yes, one can of course get paid for picking fruit on a fruit farm, but I wouldn't recommend it as being lucrative unless you don't get sunburned and don't mind wearing a big floppy hat! And it's a problem if you insist on eating all the profits too!
Kerri.
Fresh meat
Now, Honey, you and I have talked about this. You just need to move to New Mexico, find yourself a good cowboy, and raise your own beef. LOL! You can have your own garden and chickens for that matter, too.
The land and possibilities are endless!
sorry, back to your regularly scheduled blog.
OUCH!
That hurt!! Kerri, have you been to NM? We have a wide range of very nice climates. Sure, the summers get hot here on the plains, sometimes hits triple digits. BUT, the humidity during the day stays around 5%-15%. Very dry. At night, even in the middle of the hottest parts of summer, you almost need a light jacket. Gets down in the 50's most nights. And if none of that still suits you, beautiful mountains are just a 3 hour drive away. Where the highs are just in the 80's, and lows in the 40's in summer. Winters are fairly mild on the plains, with three or four snows a year, but sometimes you don't even need a coat. A bit harsher in the mountains, but perfect for snow bunnies to hit the slopes. The sun is out over 300 days a year, and no place has a sky as blue.
And if you don't like any of that, you can stay inside with the AC going in the summer, or heat going in the winter, and Honey can snuggle with her cowboy.
Brought to you by the New Mexico Tourism committee.
Sorry, I get way off topic.
New Mexico's a pretty big place
That's the thing about the US, all you furriners.
We's a BIG PLACE! Our weather varies incredibly, especially in the West where the states cover more ground and many climates.
Just here in my little corner of it, Oregon, we have temperate maritime rain forests like where I am (very very English weather, actually--we do better reading English gardening books than American ones), mountains and desert! From here in Portland, I can drive 90 minutes and be at the ocean, 90 minutes the opposite way and be on top of a major mountain (Mt Hood), and a couple of hours and be smack in the middle of a desert (other side of the Cascade mountain range, of which Mt Hood is a part). One of the reasons I love being in Oregon--we've got it all!
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
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