Growing Your Own Food!

After moving into our house this past year, I am excited at the possibility of this growing season. While I don't have an actual "garden" in the backyard, its something I am considering putting in this year, along with plants for one of my favorite foods - tomatoes. Normally, I purchase them from a produce section of a grocery store, however, they never seem very fresh, and if I don't use the tomato right away it may go bad. What I do like is the idea of having something growing on a plant and I can grab it when I need it, without having to worry so much about it going bad. I purchased a cheap "seed starter" kit from a local department store for $12, which included a plastic "greenhouse", and soil pellets to sow seeds with. I also purchased some organic tomato seeds for $2.

I now have 35 little seedling pouches that have sprouted and are growing fast!

I could also see this as a fun thing for children to get to see - how a plant starts out and watching them grow. I know I found it fun to see how they are doing each day. Especially during these winter months, its nice to have some signs of spring in the house - it reminds you it will be here soon.

The kit that I bought says on the front that "start your own seeds and save!" - the idea that growing the seeds yourself would be much cheaper than buying the plants after they have had a lot more time to mature. So far, I would have to agree with this idea, and I will likely be transferring these little guys into bigger pots soon. While I bought the greenhouse, I also bought pots for the plants made out of peat, so you can just plant them right into the ground - no removal or mess.

Think about growing something you may use when you cook a lot - like herbs or vegetables! You can start saving some money while promoting healthy eating (locally grown - in your own backyard!). I also find comfort in growing organic seeds, since there is so much genetic modification in seeds nowadays unfortunately. Anyways, now is the time to grow some seeds, as the planting times for different plants is coming up in a few months. Put on your green thumb!

Thanksgiving Feast Deal

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (Nov. 4, 2009) – Dedicated to helping American families save money on both holiday traditions and gift items, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announced today significant price reductions* on Thanksgiving dinner favorites, TVs and other popular electronics. In addition to seeking savings on gifts under the Christmas tree, recent research shows more than 50 percent of consumers plan to shop price discounts in the coming weeks on non-gift purchases for themselves or family.**

Starting Saturday, Walmart stores will begin their first one-week electronics savings event with special buys and Rollbacks, including a new $298 HP notebook computer. In addition, as shoppers evaluate the impact of tight budgets on holiday meal planning, beginning today Walmart will feature select 12-pound turkeys for less than $5, helping families serve a complete Thanksgiving meal for eight this year as low as $20.*

“We’re proving that we’re committed to helping moms afford the holidays in these tough economic times,” said Jack Sinclair, executive vice president, groceries, Walmart. “That’s why we’re offering incredible pricing on the turkey and all the fixings.”

A turkey dinner for eight as low as $20
According to a survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation, last year’s average cost of a turkey was roughly $1.19 per pound. Beginning today, select Grade A turkeys are available for 40 cents per pound at Walmart.* These gobblers are part of Walmart’s $20 Thanksgiving menu guaranteeing family favorites will be on the dinner table this holiday season. Walmart’s $20 Thanksgiving feast includes:

• One 12-pound Grade A turkey*
• Three 11 to 15.5-ounce cans Green Giant vegetables
• Two 14-ounce cans Ocean Spray cranberry sauce
• Three 6-ounce boxes of Stove Top stuffing
• One 5-pound bag of red potatoes
• One 12-count package of Sara Lee dinner rolls
• One 22-ounce pumpkin roll cake

For the full press release, click on the title of this post above. Just another way to save for the holidays. Also, be sure to check out your grocers in the area, as I have heard ALDI is running a similar deal for $30 and Super Target has also put out a deluxe Thanksgiving meal for $45 and $60, depending on what you want included. Look at your retailer's weekly flyers!

Here's to the start of the holiday season!

Nutrition and Your Body

I don't think you need me to tell you that good nutrition habits will help keep the doctor away, as well as any medical bills or even money for cold or flu medicine. There are awesome ways to plan out your diet on 5aday.gov and of course, books galore on the subject. I often found myself discouraged with eating right because I didn't have the time or the money to do so. "That means making meals I don't know how to make and spending a lot of money at the Co-op for organic foods" I would tell myself. Not necessarily true. I know most of my meals are "on the go" types. Rarely do I get time to actually sit at the dinner table to eat (and then again, I do not have children to feed either). A good strategy for preparing on-the-go lunch types are one word: leftovers. On Sunday night, when I actually have time to prepare a meal, I make it larger than usual, and then use the remaining leftovers as my lunch for the rest of the week. Easy, microwavable, and likely to be healthier than fast food or a bag of potato chips. In addition, good lunches can consist of some excellent sides that come in bulk, like buying a large bag of pretzels, and putting them in a sandwich bag and then a REUSABLE lunch sack everyday. I also buy a large sack of string cheese or yogurt, and possibly some canned fruit into a small tupperware container. This is also where your reusable water bottle comes in handy. Lunches like this can generally cost (depending on ingredients) less than 50 cents!

Not everything has to be organic to be "green" or healthier. I always thought you would have to shop at the Co-op to be eating healthier, and I have often strayed away because their prices are generally very expensive. I wish I could afford to be a regular patron, but being a student does me no favors here. There are many items in your grocery store that already offer organic options, and you might not even know it. Even making switches from white rice to brown rice, white bread to wheat bread are going to be steps in the right direction. After eating healthier foods for a while, I notice that I can't go back due to the awful taste. Lays Baked Chip options have already turned me away from most regular fried potato chips...they just taste different now. Your produce section by far will be your healthiest, and likely provide more organic options. Kashi, usually found in the cereal aisle, offers some great granola bars that I have almost everyday for a mid morning snack. They offer a lot of great (and tasty, I might add) options for high dietary fiber intake. Kashi is one of many companies known for its organic nature, and natural gravity towards wellness. Right now they are offering coupons for a free cookie, one of their new products. I have also been noticing grocery stores are now adding separate "Natural Food" or "Organic" sections to the store. It will all be coming together before we know it, as grocery stores are now seeing the value of providing customers with healthier choices.

Beyond this information, if you have not seen documentary films like Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me, or Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, I would highly recommend either. They examine so much of what is going on in the food industry with corporations, and you can see the physical and psychological effects of bad eating habits, and the effects of this lifestyle on the environment, in Super Size Me. Consider either my "green recommendation for the month". BBC America also has a show, You Are What You Eat, which each show examines a generally overweight, British citizen every show, and shows them how their diet is effecting their behavior and life, and how to make positive changes in the right direction, which includes basic recipes as well as exercise routines. Think of eating healthy as a long term investment in your health.

I'd also like to invite you to take part in Vegetarian Awareness Month. Give it a try for a day if you aren't a vegetarian already. Many studies have shown that vegetarians are generally healthier and live longer than the rest of us meat eaters. Although I am not a vegetarian, I do appreciate vegetarian options and their lifestyle, and do occationally take part.

Travel Planning

In the upcoming days I shall be quite busy, so my apologies for less frequent entries should that be the case.

Right now I am in the midst of planning an upcoming trip to Boston. Planning for a vacation or a trip can be essential when you are trying to save some money, and here are some tips I plan to offer as guidance:

1. If you are going to a big city, like Boston, check out the museums online ahead of time, in particular, look for their free days. For example, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts has a free admission period from 4-9pm on Wednesday evenings.
2. Pack as light as you can. If you have a plane leaving past your hotel check out time, and you aren't going directly to the airport, you may have to pay to check baggage at the hotel. Right now my plan is one duffle bag and one carry-on.
3. Check out what restaurants and grocery stores are around your hotel. These can save you BIG on money. Some times on business trips I am reimbursed for meals per diem, and I will end up getting extra money back since I went to Jimmy John's every day or stopped by CVS for some things to eat. In addition, consider packing any small food that may fit. I know I have a friend who survives most of her trips on protein bars.
   
4. Big cities like Boston have various ticket or pass deals that allow you into numerous attractions for one low price. The Go Card and City Pass are examples of programs that run in multiple major cities and can provide a lot of value for your dollar. However, be aware of what you want to see and do in your time limit so that you do get your money's worth, especially with the Go Card which can be around $55 for a one day pass.
   
5. Forget about cabs unless they are an absolute necessity. Cities like San Francisco and Boston offer great transportation on their subway system, which is usually a great money saver, or public bus services.
6. Along with using the subway or bus systems, consider looking for hotel on the outskirts of downtown. Hotels in the center of downtown will likely be the most expensive (and also the most luxurious :( ) I found a much cheaper hotel that can shuttle you into the city or is very close to a subway station.
7. If you are open to options of where to stay, I have done a previous entry (July 11) on the Couch Surfing Project. Stay with a local for free instead of paying out the wazoo for a hotel room. Stay with friends or relatives if you have the opportunity to do so as well.
   

Those are my top tips for now, and you will probably hear some more as I pack this week. Happy traveling!

Cook that food with great web recipes

I have been slowly trying to make myself cook and bake more, especially since its (a) healthier, (b) saves money, and (c) can be partially, if not wholly, organic.

I would really like to recommend allrecipes.com if you are looking for a great recipe exchange website. Whats even better, is that users are allowed to post reviews of recipes, that way you know which ones are better than others. I found an amazing recipe for pumpkin bread on there, and I am continuing to look for things that I or my husband could eat.

They even have recipes for people with special diets, like I, for example, am always looking for foods and meals with high fiber due to a gastro-intestinal condition, where there are recipes as well as tips on how to incorporate fiber into a meal without even noticing it.

Give allrecipes.com a look and see what good stuff you can find!

My first trip to the Co-op

Since starting my green/organic venture, and since I moved here about a year ago, I took my first trip to my local Co-op today pick up some things for lunch. I was overwhelmed by its size, I have only been to one other co-op in my life and in comparison this is much bigger. For a city of 100,000, I guess I had to expect something bigger ;) Anyways, I was looking for some organic romaine hearts, so I picked up some of those for $3.99, I also bought some fair-trade organic dark chocolate ($3.49), and some Cinnamon Swirl bread ($3.49). There was also a great deli area that provided a salad bar, fresh pizza, and other items to eat on the spot in their restaurant area. One thing I do plan on picking up in the future is milk, which comes in the nostalgic glass bottles, and from my own area. The glass is reused, which means less waster for the environment, in addition to less gas wasted traveling the products from far away. While in the check out lane, I picked up an issue of a magazine dedicated to living green in my own local area. Awesome! In addition to getting a discount for using my reusable bags, you can also get a discount for becoming a share-holder of the store. As a part of being a co-owner, my local Co-op also provides coupon books, cooking classes, and you can even share in the Co-op's profit through patronage refunds. I think I might take up this tempting offer soon.

I would encourage you to check out your local Co-op or Natural Foods Store, even if you don't get anything. I remember being amazed the first time I went into a co-op and found out just how many things that are good for the Earth (like detergents and other cleaning products) or how many things that can be organic. There is even organic soda! So check it out sometime, you'll be surprised. Don't know where your local co-op is? Check out the Co-op directory service

In addition, I also mentioned I purchased fair-trade chocolate. What exactly is fair-trade?

"Fair trade is a system of exchange that seeks to create greater equity and partnership in international trading system by

• Paying fair wages in local context;
• Supporting participatory workplaces;
• Ensuring environmental sustainability;
• Supplying financial and technical support;
• Offering public accountability.
• Respecting cultural identity;
• Building direct and long-term relationships; and,
• Educating consumers."

(As quoted from fairtradefederation.org) Basically, when we import things from other countries for "cheaper", fair-trade items provide the producer in that country with a more fair amount if not equal to what is paid for it by the merchandiser in the United States. Fair-trade items are marked throughout the store.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

The husband and I are headed out to baseball game today, and tomorrow as well (big fan, if you can't tell). Anyways, since we will already be hit with high gas prices for the ride there (we live about an hour away) and parking costs at about $8, I will be making some yummy snacks for the car ride for supper so we do not purchase concession stand food. I will likely hit up the grocery store tonight to pick up a few basic items, for sandwiches and chips. Although nothing beats ball park dogs, when you add it all up, 2 hot dogs plus 2 sodas comes up to around $20, depending on the park. If you only go to a game once in a while, its understandable to just use the money for your fun night out and get the good food. However, this will be our 4th or 5th game this season (I think) and since we are coming out tomorrow as well, things can get pricey with gas plus parking plus program/scorecard plus concession food. Its also important to note that, as far as I know, although you might want to check with your local ball park, food is not illegal to bring inside the park. Drinks, however, are. It is not like a movie theater, as I feel it may seem to most. Think of getting into a ball park is just like going through airport security with a carry on, basically no liquids and no very large bags or coolers. So be smart and pack some goodies ahead of time so that if you need to, you might only have to spend $3 on a bottle of water. (There should be water fountains at the stadium too I would hope.) Play ball!

note: In the comments listed under this entry someone was concerned that I was advocating for the use of bottled water, which I am not. Bottled water is highly wasteful. However, in comparison to other beverages, water is by far the healthiest. After conducting some further research on my local ballpark, I have found that you can bring water in a plastic cup or bottle into the park, but no other type of liquid container or liquid. Be sure to check the regulations of your local sporting arena, because I am sure it varies by location. Thanks again for the comment.