Believe it or not, it's a LOT cheaper. Not only that, but it's also higher quality food that we're eating. There are three reasons it's cheaper. The first is that we're no longer buying value-added foods. No preprocessed-ready-to-eat foods. This alone makes our food higher quality. We are making it ourselves and control what goes into our food. It's also making it cheaper. A loaf of bread is just costing us maybe fifty cents. Homemade tortillas - even less. I can make homemade corn tortillas for free by using wood ash to slake the Indian corn that we grew this year. Grind it up. Add a bit of water and cook.
This brings us to the second reason - buying bulk. This is undoubtedly the cheapest way to go. We bought a freezer full of beef - all cuts - for $5.30/lb. That's pasture fed, humanely raised beef for less than we can buy a steak from a CAFO steer.
Third reason - no more eating out - enough said.
I'm finding as I am transitioning many things to organic or at least free range that I am NOT spending more on food either. And less trips to the grocery store means less Goldfish, Cookie Crisp, Chips-ahoy, etc. Also if I go organic I am less likely NOT to use it up since I am such a cheapo. It's good to get in to the groove of not not eating out. We are far too dependent on eating out as a society and this really worries me.
ReplyDeleteI find that I enjoy food that is organic and local much more, so I take the time to enjoy it. I chew slower, instead of stuffing myself and realizing too late that I've eaten too much. I've bought less processed snacks and man oh man is that saving me money!
ReplyDeleteRachel,
ReplyDeleteWhere do you get your beef from?
And since you both work outside the home, how do you manage food preparation time? Do you prepare meals just before eating, or do you do a lot of it in advance? How do you manage your time between farming, maintenance of the property, and enjoying life? Please share your strategies.
Those are fantastic questions! I think I'll make a post just about those!
ReplyDeleteAs I read through all the blog post I am so intrigued and Inspired! Unfortunately with times being so tough and living with people that will never agree with the lifestyle me and dh chose to live this would be so hard to do. I have thought about this myself and even did my own research with the dh. He is the only one working and you can barely call it that. We have to use Food Stamps to buy our food. I wish that we could use them to purchase local items and grass fed, well treated Animals. We do our part by buying as close to Natural as possible, but living with and having to buy and cook food for people that don't agree with any of it SUCKS!! As I read on I want to scream because this is how I want to live but its not possible right now so I feel that doing what we can and making small changes is still better than the way we lived before. Yes it is Cheaper to live this type of lifestyle and I am thankful that Whole Foods and Trader Joes take Food Stamps. Couponing also helps save so much. I have an Idea about not going to the grocery to buy anything but TP for a month and eat the foods we have already stockpiled. Too bad I simply can't and it makes me sad. Rock on I love what you are Doing :)
ReplyDelete