Love Food - Hate Waste!

How to store food is truly a science. Supermarkets spends billions a year to improve food storage. They know every head of lettuce that wilts before they were able to pass it on to you means money washed down the drain.
It is really frustrating to go through lengthy planning, careful choosing only to have to toss that unrecognizable heap of mush into the bin. I know I absolutely hate it.
It is estimated that the average American family throws away nearly $500 worth of produce a year.

What can we do to prevent you from having to throw out one more piece of fruit, vegetable or any other food item. Let’s look at storage and educate ourselves.


A couple of points to consider:

1. If you routinely throw out lots of food - you may be buying too much. Slow down at the store and try to make a plan before you shop. Guesstimating costs an awful lot of money.

2. In your plan-making, leave gaps. I don’t know about you, but I know that if my plans are not flexible they won’t work for me. A big part of cooking well and on a budget is all about using leftovers and there has to be space for these in your menu for the week. So leave some meals - lunches and dinners blank and that is where your leftover meals will fit.

3. Also make a point of positioning dishes that use produce items that spoil quickly at the beginning of the week. Example: it does not really matter whether you make a potato salad on Tuesday or on Saturday - if you do your shopping on a Sunday - but if you are planning on a spinach salad I would not want to wait all the way until 6 days later to eat raw spinach that is now clearly past its prime.

4. If in doubt how to store an item imagine where and how it was located in your local supermarket when you bought it. Onions will never be refrigerated and neither will be potatoes - how about green peppers, lettuce or broccoli? Close your eyes imagine - the answer for the above items was one: no refrigeration, two: yes three: yes - and that is how it should be!


5. The refrigerator is your biggest helper when it comes to food storage - but it has to be clean - and you have to see what is in it! If your fridge is so full that you have no chance of seeing everything you also have no chance of using all that food. A refrigerator should be cleaned once a week - yeah not a typo - every week before you go shopping you have to know what is still in there from last weeks shopping! So, everything has to come out - things that have to be used immediately go in a crockpot or soup pot and while you clean out the fridge - wiping everything down - takes about 15 minutes really - you can already put together your meal for when you get back from your shopping trip - convenient and cheap!

6. One spoilt apple will spoil the barrel! So true and not only for apples. There are people in the supermarkets constantly picking over the produce trying to pick out the rotten apples and such. Another reason to clean out your fridge once a week - germs spread and infect other food. Spoilage needs to be nipped in the bud.

7. Store bulk grains in airtight glass containers - old spaghetti sauce containers work great. Grain moths can be a rather persistent problem - store a small dried habanero pepper in the glass jars, but don’t forget to remove it before cooking otherwise you will have a spicy surprise!

8. Raw nuts - which are by far the best nuts your money can buy - should ideally be stored in the refrigerator. Make sure they do not become humid - you use container with a tight seal and buy only as much as you can use up in a month. Do not waste your money on broken nuts - they will almost always be all rancid and severely lacking in nutrients. Also nut flours are easily made in a blender - it literally takes seconds to grind up nuts.

9. Dried fruit can be kept in the fridge and stays fresh longer that way - zip-lock bags work great.




If we divide our fruits and vegetables in sections:

+ Always refrigerate

+ Never refrigerate

+ you could refrigerate - especially once fully ripened

+ ripens nicely on the countertop - in a brown bag

+ eat asap - won’t last no matter what you do

Let’s start with fruits:

Always refrigerate: 


Apples - put in a bag - paper with a plastic bag inside, always choose apples that smell good and have no bruises - check on them often since one apple does indeed spoil all the others

Cherries - refrigerate immediately - and use asap - you only have a couple of days to enjoy them at peak flavor - and cherry season is horribly short!

Coconut - both fresh Thai and brown - should be refrigerated where they will last a couple of weeks - a bit less for the fresh ones


Grapes - should be refrigerated in plastic - but should be dry - wash them only immediately before eating.
 They can last for a week in your fridge


Never refrigerate:

Bananas - they will turn dark brown instantly - just arrange in a fruit bowl and buy at various stages of ripeness to have a constant supply - don’t throw out overripe bananas but freeze them for smoothies

Mango - never - it will kill the flavor

You could refrigerate: 



Citrus - if you are trying to make it last more than a week - otherwise it would be fine on your countertop


Kiwi - if you are trying to hold on to them for up to a month - otherwise they will be good on your countertop


Melon - if they are whole, refrigeration is optional - especially if they could use a little ripening - keep them on the countertop until they develop a bit of aroma (water melon excepted which will not have any scent) - then you can refrigerate, cut melon of course has to always be refrigerated and should be eaten asap

ripens nicely on the countertop - in a brown bag: 



Apricots - can be bought hard - will ripen on countertop - if bought ripe enjoy immediately or keep in fridge for couple of days - tops

Nectarines - can be bought hard and ripened at home - in a day or two - when fully ripe you can refrigerate them and they will last another day or two


Papaya - if you bought it green - leave on your counter until they have color and aroma then you can transfer them to the fridge where they will keep another couple of days, but should be used asap


Peach - same as with papaya - will ripen well on the counter in a brown paper bag - once you have the characteristic aroma you want to eat them asap - but you can refrigerate for another day or two


Pear - another one for the countertop - if you want to slow down the ripening process- refrigerate 


Pineapple - looks beautiful on your counter and that is where it belongs - until you get the wonderful aroma which could take a week or longer - then cut it up and store it in the fridge in a closed plastic container - it will pick up other aromas and will last only a few days

Plums - will ripen in a brown paper bag - once ripe they will keep in the fridge for a few days


Pomegranates can be kept at room temperature for a week or longer, but can also be refrigerated where they will last several months

eat asap - won’t last no matter what you do: 


Berries: I know you can refrigerate the hardy blueberries or blackberries for a couple of days - but buy local, go crazy when in season and eat right away and stay away from all not local berries the rest of the year and go for frozen if you have a craving. Out of season berries - are simple tasteless and never worth the money. Never wash fresh berries until absolutely ready to eat and berries will never ripen after they are picked!



Vegetables:

Always refrigerate:

Artichokes - up to one week - choose firm globes, stay away from opened leaves

Asparagus - couple of days tops - look for tight and dry tips and a bright, fresh green color throughout

Beans - string or snap - in a plastic bag, do not wash until you are ready to use them - if they are slightly wilted you may be able to revive them in a bowl with ice cold water

Beets - buy with tops only - cook with a bit of stem and cut only after cooking, to not lose the nutrients into the cooking water - use the greens like salad greens


Broccoli - stores well right in the plastic bag it came from the store - make sure there is a little moisture - like from the misting that happens in the store - keeps well for at least a week


Brussels Sprouts - keep well in the fridge for at least a week


Cabbage - will keep for many weeks in your fridge - when you don’t want to use the entire head of cabbage at once - it is worth to simple peel off the outer leaves and leave the rest of the head intact - the rest will keep for another meal that way 


Carrots - will keep in the plastic bag you bought them - if you bought ones with the top on - twist it off - it will draw the sweetness out of the carrots - and use carrots with green tops sooner - you can revive limp carrots in an ice bath


Cauliflower - store in the plastic bag it came in keeps well for a week and beyond - watch for black spots and use immediately if they appear


Celery - refrigerate - will keep crisp for at least a week


Celery root - will keep for many weeks in your fridge - in a plastic bag to keep in moisture


Cucumber - refrigerate only for a couple of days 


Eggplant - will store in plastic bags for several days 


Ginger - will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge


Leeks - will last a week or more - store dry in a plastic bag


Mesclun greens - will store well if refrigerated - however if you purchased them loose by the pound - transfer them out of the loose plastic bag into a plastic container - tupperware works - otherwise splurge on a mesclun mix in a hardshell plastic container and keep that for repeated use since it was designed by the growers to keep loose leaf lettuce, it does a fine job in keeping your greens fresh - always keep them dry and pick out any wilting leaves immediately


Whole lettuce heads - should be kept in a plastic bag and should be slightly moist - it will keep three to five days at peak freshness

Mushrooms - never store them in a plastic bag - paper bags only and add a slightly damp sheet of paper towel - use asap they really don’t last


Peppers - should last up to a week - dry in a plastic bag - wash right before use


Spinach - store in fridge right away - do not wash until ready to use, but even if stored perfectly you will only get a couple of days - so use it soon


Sprouts - parish quickly - store in refrigerator and use within a couple of days


Summer Squash - store in unsealed plastic bag


Swiss Chard - store in open plastic bag in the fridge - will keep for a week


Never refrigerate!: 


Garlic - moisture is an absolute killer - keep it in a dark, cool place on your countertop - and don’t waste your money on the pre-chopped stuff


Winter Squash - unless it has been cut - store in a dry dark place and winter squash will keep for a couple of months


Tomatoes - never ever refrigerate! - even if ripe - it just kills the flavor - make gazpacho and salsa if you have too many ripe ones


You could refrigerate: 



Corn - but only for a short time and you should really eat it asap

Onions - some people recommend refrigeration others condemn it, I guess it depends on how good your storage is outside the fridge - you want a cool, dark, dry place away from potatoes and apples


Potatoes - other than the very thin skinned new potatoes - potatoes usually do not need to be refrigerated they should be kept in a cold, dark, dry place

And - that's all folks!

Insane and unheard of ideas to save money - Make your own deodorant!

The reasons why you want to make your own deodorant are many. Saving money seems to be almost trivial compared to the many health implications regular use of main stream brand deodorants has.
The aluminum chloride omni present in all the big brand deodorants has been linked to Alzheimer's and breast cancer and even though the industry spends billions of dollars trying to disprove any connection of their products with any bad effects on health - I remain skeptical. After all how thorough and truly truth finding can an industry sponsored study be?

Our friends at the Environmental Working Group point out a staggering array of chemicals in deodorants that promote endocrine disruption, allergies, mutation and growth of cancerous cells in the lab.

So, the answer would be to switch to the natural brands of deodorants proudly promoting their Aluminum hydrochloride free bliss - only two problems - first they are not all as wholesome as they seem - I was shocked to find Jason’s deodorants as one of the worst offenders in the EWG’s cosmetic database and of course even the good ones come with a staggering price tag.
Shopping for my son’s favorite deodorant at Whole Foods the other day - I simply could not stomach the $18.95 !!!! price tag and I had had enough. What are these magical ingredients that make up this 1.7 oz of elixir - is liquid gold part of the concoction?
Of course reading labels is always enlightening, amusing and infuriating all at the same time!

So, comparing three different brands Weleda, Dr.Hauschka, and Crystal,
the most common ingredients seem to be - not surprisingly - some form of alcohol, mineral salts - can you say table salt?, fragrance = a couple of drops of essential oils and lots of water.
So, here is my recipe for homemade deodorant - as always - experiment wildly and have fun creating your own!

Deodorant recipe - you will need:

Some form of alcohol
Fragrance
Water
a spray bottle or reuse and old roll-on deodorant bottle

1. Some form of alcohol - just like for making perfume - vodka works well - you could even try flavored - I am sure citrus would give it a nice base tone. You don’t need a whole lot since you are going to cut at least two parts water to one part alcohol.



2. Salt - add a tiny bit of regular table salt - should neutralize the bacteria a bit, but salt is a very optional ingredient.

3. Fragrance - a couple of drops of essential oil - whatever you have at hand. You could produce you own - by squeezing citrus peel or infusing flowers or bits of spice in your deodorant - add a small dash of ground ginger or cinnamon - costs cents.

4. Add water - just enough so it will flow but not too much to make it runny - you will have to play around with it.




5. A nice addition which I use instead of alcohol is Thayer’s Orginal Witch Hazel Formula which has alcohol in it and works really well as a base. The Aloe Vera formula is very nice for sensitive skin.



6. All you need now is a bottle - The insanely expensive Dr.Hauschka deodorant at least buys you a reusable glass bottle that looks very nice and can easily be refilled. Most plastic bottles cannot be reused. In that case a little spray bottle should do.

Please check out the list of harmful ingredients in deodorants here. may be that will give you the inspiration you need to make your own.

Essential savings tool: The address book

How many of you comparison shop? In these economic crisis times who can afford not to? One problem though is, that comparison shopping - which I whole heartedly endorse and practice - becomes a major mental exercise. The moment you spot a sale, you have to immediately recall what said item is going for in all your other shopping haunts.
I don’t know about you, but I often have trouble recalling exactly what a five pound bag of organic potatoes goes for in the health food store, so I could actually compare and see if the sale of organic potatoes per pound in the big chain supermarket is really such a good deal. And I only shop at two stores - health food store and big chain supermarket - which are conveniently located next door to each other. I know that some people actually run or more accurately drive from store to store picking up items here and there. I don’t know how they do it!
So, to take the mental exercise out of the comparing I have started using an address book. I know this is a little goofy - but it really works. You can find an address book for a dollar at the dollar store and you will make up that dollar the first time you use it.
Simply enter each food at the appropriate spot - designate one line per store - for me big chain supermarket prices take the address line, whereas health food store prices go in the phone # line, and take down quantity, price and maybe specifics such as organic - non-organic, sales price etc.

Surprises for me after using it for the first time:

Organic coconut milk is 25 cents cheaper per can in the health food store, than the non-organic one in the big chain supermarket.

The same brand potato chips in the health food store - are twice!! as expensive as in the supermarket, since the bag is almost twice as big - who knew - I just never noticed - there is so much air in these bags

Grated Percorino Romano cheese is $3.00 more per pound in the supermarket than in the health food store - and the one in the health food store smells, looks and tastes fresher!

Agave nectar is $1.00 cheaper per same size bottle in the health food store

These are just some of the revelations in the first couple of weeks of writing down prices. I am sure there are more to come...

Forever Lemon!

I am very careful when I endorse any product. First of all because most items that would be worthy of endorsement come without marketing or hype - broccoli, onions, quinoa etc. But once in a while I find something that makes a difference especially in my budget and then it’s time to share.
I am big fan of citrus - if you missed my enthusiastic endorsement - read it here. To keep lemons and limes fresh is not as easy as one would think. First of all, I find that regular lemons at 3 for two dollars - this week at the local supermarket - are really a rip off and second these lemons rarely make it past two weeks in the refrigerator - so really not a good deal. On the other hand a squirt of lemon makes so many things more tasty. For instance if you are trying to cut back on your salt intake, nothing works better than a squirt of lemon in your stir-fry or salad dressing to wake up the flavors. And here is the other problem - whereas uncut lemons last at least a couple of weeks - a cut lemon is do or die. If you don’t use all the juice - the lemon will not last more than a day or two in the fridge.

When I came across the little yellow and green bottles in my health food store’s produce section I actually was a bit turned off by the fact that they managed to come up with yet another plastic product - but since actually having had a chance to use them I have to admit that I am hooked. These little marvels are extremely convenient - the juice is from organic lemons - usually way out of my budget range - and they last forever. On the container the advertised expiration date is 6 months - and I am pretty sure they could go even longer. There are no preservatives other than citric acid and you do have to keep them in the refrigerator - always a good sign - if something has the ability to spoil it means it is not quite dead.
For about 2$ you buy yourself two months worth of lemons - even if you use as much as I do. Like I said: I am hooked!

Insane and Unheard of: Window Cleaner

Of all household cleaning tasks - including cleaning garbage pails - which actually has become a lot more pleasant since I ditched the plastic garbage bags - cleaning windows is the task I hate the most. The combination old windows, hard water and a nosy dog that leaves nose prints is just too much. Also this insane rush of absolute perfection sets in and it just feels that no matter how hard I try it leaves me exhausted and the windows are never perfect. But of course, I would not be talking about if I had not found a solution. And it is so painfully simple - I wonder if I could have enjoyed my windows all these years when I looked all over the place for the one cleaner, that would make this task a breeze. Long story short - it was under my nose all this time. Plain old white vinegar - undiluted - full strength available for about $2.50 per gallon. I think I remember, years ago trying vinegar in a complicated recipe for a homemade window cleaner - but between the water I had to add - not a very good idea with my hard water - it leaves a white film - and the old newspapers I was supposed to use to wipe the windows dry, I just remember it to be very messy leaving my hands black with newspaper ink and my windows schmeary and cloudy. Really upsetting, after you put in all this effort. So, the other day - guests on the way - there was an incident with a squirrel and my dog looking through the glass door and I just happen to have my bottle of vinegar out grabbed it just to clean the nose prints of - well it worked so well before I knew it I had to do the whole glass door. It was so easy, the vinegar cutting through every smear. And even after several hours, the streaks did not reappear.



Recipe for perfect windows:



You’ll need: 
 One old towel - cut in half.
 One half soaked in vinegar, the other half to dry off.

Start wiping with the vinegar soaked one and dry up with the other towel. Make sure you wipe the window completely dry - done! 
Absolutely effortless!
The aroma is not great, admittedly, but at least it is not harmful. I guess you could add some drops of essential oil if it really bothers you - peppermint, lavender or rose maybe. And here is the rest of it.

Seasons - What seasons?

Now, that I am back to shopping in the store for most of my veggies - sigh - I have noticed again how much we have come to disrespect Mother Nature and are completely ignorant of what the earth has to offer us at any given time of the year. I am talking about seasons. When you look into the produce department of the average supermarket you would think that we have done away with seasons all together. Yes, it makes perfect sense to buy an apple that has racked more frequent flier miles than you did last year. Watermelon in late November, why not?

We need to get back on focus here - first step would be to know what is in season. There is a wonderful website where you can check the seasonal offerings in your state. You can access it here.
Also, I have compiled a quite extensive list of fruits and veggies. Print it out - bring it to the store with you. I tried to be thorough, but if your favorite fruit or vegetable is missing - just drop me a line and I will include it. This list does contain fruits and veggies that have to be shipped from far - you can avoid those and only shop what is grown locally. You will definitely save money that way - and the planet will love you for it!

I have included some stern warnings in my seasons chart - vigilance please!

“First” means it could be a bit early for an item to taste like anything - if you don’t get an aroma - maybe pass for that week. Some veggie producers in their rush to be first on the market will order to pick when things are only barely ripe - not good for us - since the taste will be missing. Also, I have witnessed with some hardier items unscrupulous markets to offer last season’s leftovers! Happens more often than you would think!
“Last” of the season - should not be a problem - more of a warning to you - if you would like to stock up! Keep in mind you might see a particular item still offered weeks after the season is really done, but it will often have had to endure long storage or be an inferior substitute shipped from a lesser market all together.
“Grab” - means just that - this item will have a really short growing season and you might see it offered only once! So - Grab!
I have grouped cruciferous veggies together - since they have overlapping seasons - a quick refresher:

Cruciferous veggies love the colder weather from late fall to early spring. They include:
Kale
Collard Greens
Cabbage
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Brussel Sprouts
Turnip
Rutabaga
Bok Choy

And just to remind everyone the Citrus Family contains:
Orange
lemon
lime
mandarin
clementine
tangerine
grapefruit
satsuma
tangelo
kumquat

Seasons:

January:

Fruits: citrus, the last apples (careful!), cranberries
Veggies: leeks, beets, cruciferous veggies, spinach, swiss chard, potatoes

February:

Fruits: citrus
Veggies: cruciferous still rule

March:

Fruits: pineapple, Mexican mangos, citrus (especially Valencia and Blood Oranges), Rhurbarb
Veggies: spring lettuce, endive, artichokes, mustard greens

April:

Fruits: pineapples from Hawaii, asparagus, avocado (haas), rhurbarb, mangos, first strawberries(careful!)
Veggies: asparagus, spring cruciferous - especially broccoli, first summer squash, spring onions (with green tops), garden peas, romaine lettuce, artichokes, new potatoes, spring carrots, spinach

May:

Fruits: apricots from California, first berries(careful), Florida mangos, citrus(end of season - careful), fresh figs, pineapples from Hawaii (end), cherries (end of month maybe! - really short season - so grab!)
Veggies: green beans, bell peppers (first), cucumbers, summer squash, celery, sugar snap peas, vidalia onions, asparagus (end - careful!), endive (end- careful!)

June:

Fruits: Cherries (short season - grab!), berries, cantaloupe, apricots, plums
Veggies: green beans, bell peppers, carrots, beets, garlic, summer-squash, swiss chard, basil

July:

Fruits: watermelon, peaches (short season - grab - local, no spray only), berries, plums, currants (very short season)
Vegetables: tomatoes (first local - careful still early) walla walla onions, eggplant, peppers, beets, green beans, cucumbers, summer-squash,

August:

Fruits: watermelon, pears (first- careful!), berries (end - careful!), peaches ( short season - grab - local-no spray only!), plums
Vegetables: corn, eggplant, tomatoes ( peak - local only!), basil, summer squash

September:

Fruits: cranberries, grapes (American - organic only), apples ( first new crop), berries ( last - careful!)
Vegetables: cruciferous veggies ( first - careful!), mushrooms ( short season - buy local & wild if possible!) corn (last - careful!), green beans, summer squash ( last - careful!), potatoes ( new season’s crop), winter squash ( first- careful!), eggplant ( last - careful!)

October:

Fruits: cranberries, apples, pomegranates, pears, fresh nuts ( walnuts, hazelnuts!), avocado ( Fuerte varietal)
Vegetables: winter-squash, pumpkins, cruciferous veggies, rutabaga,

November:

Fruit: kiwi ( US grown), Navel oranges, grapefruit and other citrus, apples, pears, nuts ( almonds)
Veggies: Sweet potatoes, winter-squash, pumpkin, cruciferous veggies ( especially cabbage), turnips, parsnips, carrots

December:

Fruit: Jaffa oranges, apples & pears ( last for the season), cranberries, all citrus
Vegetables: cruciferous ( especially kale, brussel sprouts), sweet potatoes, winter-squash (last - careful), turnips

Insane and Unheard of: How to make your own Automatic Dishwashing Detergent

After you have tried making your own toothpaste, there is just no way back. You are on the path to utter money saving insanity. You really start looking at every item on your shopping list in a new way. Do I really have to buy this, or is there a way I could make this myself and save a bundle? I have to admit that dishwashing detergent had me stumped for a while, and then of course the solution was super simple.

Two things first, my dishwasher sucks! I am sorry to say it is an expensive German model and I have tried to defend it up and down, to the not very printable things it has been called by both my husband and my son. Even the repairman, who came in to repair my refrigerator, which was upset with me because I crammed it full with my lovely CSA produce, gave me a look, that was very non approving, a la “How could you spend this much money on such a piece of junk….”
Also, our water which is wonderful well water, that tastes great, is actually very hard, chock full of minerals, which leaves a whitish deposit on everything from the tea kettle to the wine glasses. So, the odds were stacked heavily against being able to get away with a homemade detergent, but, as usual, homemade beat the pants out of everything else I have bought in the store. I should have had a revelation, when I started getting sparkling glasses, an event in my house, with a simple vinegar rinse. But I guess I wanted to remain faithful to my Seventh Generation detergent, even though it costs way too much.
However, after the toothpaste incident, I was determined to give the expensive cleaner the boot, and I did a little research.


What I found was baking soda’s older, stronger brother “washing soda” or sodium carbonate, as it is called by Seventh Generation as the main ingredient in their automatic dishwashing detergent. Figures!
I paired this with Borax, which is a bit of a controversial cleaner. It is all natural, but of course that does not mean much, since poisons, such as arsenic are technically all natural too. After reading an health study conducted by the EPA, I have concluded that for me it does not represent a risk, but of course I would like you to make your own mind. You can find the EPA article here. Given the choice of having to swallow a shot glass worth of Cascade™ or my homemade borax - washing soda mix, I would chose my mix any day!

So here is the recipe:

1 tablespoon washing soda ( Not baking soda)
1 tablespoon Borax

1 cup vinegar as a rinse in a seperate rinse cycle - or filled directly into the rinse dispenser, or both.

This works wonders for me, despite the lame dishwasher and the hard water.
You may have to experiment a bit - you can double the amounts of either, or both the washing soda and the borax. Make sure everything is rinsed off well. I usually run the rinse cycle twice and add the vinegar to the last cycle.

Borax and Washing Soda can be found in the laundry aisle of your supermarket. You will have to buy it about once a year.
I paid $4.39 for 76 oz of Borax and
$2.99 for 55 oz of Washing Soda.

The white vinegar varies in price. I have found some supermarket store brands as low as $1.00 per gallon. Needless to say that although it is a great bargain as an all around house cleaner, I definitely do not consider this vinegar to be food. It is just awful and should never be used to eat - only to clean!

So, all in all your dishwashing detergent is down to cents per load - another expensive item eliminated from your shopping list for good!

Making your own toothpaste -part deux of the insanity!

So, after promoting making your own toothpaste - I researched the price of tubes to refill. If you don’t know what I am talking about, check it out here.
I was quite shocked to learn that Pearl Paint, one of the cheapest art supply stores in the world charges $1.04 for them. Plus shipping. So that got me thinking. It irks me to put cents worth of homemade tooth paste into a container, that costs $1.00. Since when is the container supposed to be more expensive than what’s inside. So, I looked at what I already have at hand. And then it hit me “Eureka”! Why not use the tube I already have: namely - the old toothpaste tube. So, I went to work.



1. I unravelled the end and cut off the last bit. This would only work with metal tubes. Shame on you, if your toothpaste comes in plastic tubes!



2. Then I inserted my homemade toothpaste - which admittedly was a bit messy. Careful don’t overfill! because then..



3. you have to reseal the end. A small pair of pliers works best.


4. Voila - done - of course you could also use a small container. If you want to be boring…

You are going to be able to do this two or three times only and the tube is going to get shorter each time, but it stays out of the trash -Green- and it is free -Cheap-, but it is definitely insane, although fun!

How to get your Kids to give up Soda!

I think we all know it by now - sodas are by far the worst part of our children’s diet. They have been implicated in everything from childhood obesity to bone loss. They are a nasty mix of hydrogenated corn syrup, caffeine, carbonated water, phosphoric acid, artificial flavors, artificial sugar and sodium benzoate (yum!), and they are completely void of anything remotely beneficial, nutritionally speaking. So, the task would be to remove this item from our children’s diet permanently - or at least ban it from our house and make soda an “on the road treat” only.

Now, the obvious solution would seem to be replacing soda with other forms of soft drinks, such as vitamin waters, sports drinks or iced tea. Ha! Actually that’s just side-stepping the real issue at hand. In reality, you haven’t advanced at all. All these drinks are still manufactured by the same soda industry - you are still feeding the beast! All these so called sports drinks are still loaded with sugar and many unhealthy ingredients. Your dentist will be forever grateful - you will send his kids to college, and the negative impact on the planet remains the same - all these drinks still come in plastic bottles.
But “no” you say, “Iced tea comes in glass bottles!” - well, apart from the fact that it is very unlikely that you will find an iced tea that does not have high fructose corn syrup in it - the very notion that it would be okay for a little kid or a growing teenager to habitually drink a very caffeinated beverage is simply wrong. Black and Green Tea have been implicated as a growth retardant (great, tell that to your football playing son or your daughter with model aspirations - or vice versa), and caffeine affects their little bodies particularly strong: irritability, mood swings, restlessness, dehydration, adrenal exhaustion, mild addiction are just some of the benefits!
So, what is the solution? Well, let’s look for something that is healthy, cheap and makes a positive difference for the planet. May I introduce: Water and Herbal Tea!
Water: plain filtered tap is just fine - stick it in the fridge. Done! You will have an ice cold, delicious, zero-calorie power beverage. Fill up your kid’s stainless steel to-go canteen and they are all set.
Herbal Tea: comes in a dizzying number of flavors; Raspberry Zinger, Lemon Zinger, Bengal Spice, Mandarin Orange, Peach Passion, Honey Vanilla Chamomile, to name a few. Stick two tea-bags into a glass jar, fill with filtered water, and in about 5 hours (or better yet, overnight) you will have an extremely flavorful, inexpensive, delicious, cold drink - try out all the different flavors and you may be surprised how willingly your kids will embrace this change. Cut out the often funny pictures on the tea box and stick them onto the glass jar - or better yet have your kids decorate the jar themselves for extra P.R. impact. Make sure your tea does not have artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners in it. Celestial Seasonings is a great brand to try - they offer flavor variety packs, which is a good way to get you started.

Try to resist the urge to sweeten the tea - it takes about a week for taste-buds to readjust and that way you can keep the tea calorie free. If however you absolutely must sweeten I would suggest agave nectar or stevia for a low-glycemic natural sweetener and then gradually try to phase them out. Both are available at your health food store.
Also, for the grownups, iced Earl Grey tea or Irish Breakfast tea is delicious and may replace that cup of coffee for a fraction of the cost. Enjoy!

Sources:
High fructose corn syrup and obesity link
Bone loss: check here

Insane and unheard-of: Make your own Toothpaste!

Another weird mission - Danger! - If you chose to accept this mission - you might never go back to regular toothpaste.
I don’t know why I did not think about this earlier - but lately I have been quite upset about how much toothpaste actually costs.
Granted, I buy one of the most expensive ones out there - I have gotten hooked on Weleda’s Salt Toothpaste, which retails for anywhere from $3.75 to $5.00 for 3.3 ounces! I have also been buying Tom’s of Maine, which is a bit less expensive at around $5.00 for 5.5 ounces.
If we look at the ingredients, the first one listed for Weleda is:

“Sodium Bicarbonate” which is of course a fancy name for “Baking Soda” - so have I been buying Baking Soda for $5.00 per 3 ounces? It almost seems to be!

Water - could be free out of my faucet!

Glycerin - which is basically a fancy name for vegetable oil - (again - that costs close to nothing)

a list of herby sounding things - but on their website even Weleda admits, that those are present only in highly diluted forms - Translate: miniscule trace amounts

And Sodium Chloride - which - you guessed it, is salt. Again not terrible expensive.

So here is my recipe for home made toothpaste - it is so good, it is almost addictive.
Try your own variations - as always, have fun and experiment wildly!

Ingredients:

* Baking Soda - the same kind you hopefully use for cleaning everything else in your house - so why not your teeth? Cost: can be as low as $0.50 for 2 pounds! Buy store brand - no need to go fancy here.

* Salt - whichever you use - it is really good for your gums - Cost: cents

* Glycerin - or any other vegetable oil - no real medicinal use - just used as a binder
It is available in any pharmacy or health food store and costs about $2.00 for 4 fluid ounces - but will last you probably a year! Or you could also use any other oil, that you already have.

* essential oil flavorings: you can use the traditional peppermint, spearmint or go more exotic and use fennel, cinnamon or vanilla. All of these are just meant to add taste, so even though we are conditioned to have minty fresh breath, there are options here. The essential oils will set you back around $5.00 per miniscule 5 mili liter bottle, but they are worth it! First of all, one of these will again last you for years, and second you can use the oils to flavor lots of other things , from cleaning vinegar to perfume.

Instructions:

1. Mix two to three drops of the essential oil of your choice with 3 tablespoons of baking soda. Add one tablespoon salt and two teaspoons glycerin to bind. Mix well and add additional flavors such as fennel or vanilla and you could also add one or two drops tea tree oil.

2. Store in an airtight container - or go to an art supply store and buy tubes to fill yourself, which are meant for paint - but you should be able to use them for your homemade toothpaste. I don’t remember off hand how much those go for, but it can’t be too much!

 Anyway - Let me know how you did - I am really curious to see what you think!

How I converted to Seitan!

In our protein series I want to start with - it pains me to write this - a “meat stand in” that is not only often overlooked - because the first thing new vegetarians always think of is - quick - yep “tofu”, but is also really cost effective and mimics meat in texture, taste and appearance. All these things cannot be said about tofu. Even the most enthusiastic tofu fan would have to admit it to be a bit of an acquired taste. Not so with seitan.

Apart from the unfortunate name - we really should come up with a better one - this is an unmeat, that will not easily be detected, even by the suspicious carnivore. As a matter of fact, we used to be quite freaked out by a dish in our local Thai restaurant back in Greenpoint. “Vegetarian duck” was so close to the real thing - it was almost off putting. To this day I don’t know what they did to their wheat gluten - but it was impressive. We actually sent it back many times because we would not believe it was not duck. I should state here that I don’t miss any meat - honestly zero cravings, and when I thought I missed hot dogs - I found out I actually craved mustard!
So, this wonder can also be really cheap - but, and here comes the caveat - you should make it yourself.
By the way - the lovely image of the seitan stew is from one of my favorite blogs: What the Hell does a Vegan eat anyway. Thank you guys for letting me use your pic!

If you buy it prefab - often found in the freezer section - one brand “Ray’s Wheat meat” which is really good - it will cost you. One tub of Ray’s which contains 12 oz of ready made seitan retails for about $4.49. Using one whole tub to feed three hungry vegetarians usually had us fight for every little bit of seitan. If you made your seitan yourself - you can save more than a third!

Let me demonstrate. Now keep in mind that I am not willing to spend my life in the kitchen and I abhor anything that has to be kneaded, stirred or in any other way nurtured for more than 5 minutes. I am sorry I just do not have that much patience. So I had pegged making seitan as something completely out of my reach, since I was not going to devote my life to it - well, last week I thought I give another try - and, what a surprise. It is easy - efficient and fast. Why did I not try this earlier?
Ok - here is how I did it. Confession - there are other, probably more complex ways - I just usually bring it down to the simplest form. But experiment yourselves!

Simplest instructions how to make seitan:

Ingredients:
1 box vital wheat gluten ( I like Arrowhead Mills) $2.99
2 cups warm water
4 tablespoons soy sauce $0.50

1.Mix wheat gluten with water in a big bowl. Stir until well mixed.

2.Start kneading the dough. Instructions will tell you everything from 5 to 15 minutes. I did it for two minutes tops - and it came out great. This would be something even little kids could do - since it is basically like play dough!

3.Add two tablespoons of soy sauce and let the dough rest for at least 5 minutes.

4.Meanwhile prepare a big pot with hot water - add the rest of the soy sauce.

5. Cut the dough into pieces and put into the lightly simmering broth. Cover and let simmer for about an hour. You could also add other seasoning at this time - either soup cubes or chicken seasoning would work well. Seitan will absorb any flavor you expose it too - so be creative!

To store you can either transfer the seitan - broth and all to the refrigerator or freeze it for later use - without the broth in that case.

Cost: For 28 oz of Seitan you spent $3.49. So your homemade seitan costs you about 12 cents per ounce, compared to 37 cents for the store bought one. That is a saving of 68%! for about 5 minutes of real work!

So make your seitan - plug it into any recipe, even Grandma’s Beef Bourguinon will work with seitan!
The lovely picture for this post came from one of my favorite blogs: What the Hell does a Vegan eat anyway. Check them out they are awesome!

Observations while shopping

While shopping late at night at my local supermarket I noticed several traps that even the experienced shopper can fall for. If you consider yourself a novice read up on my shopping 101 tutorial. All you pros out there read on.

Trap #1: Five for $3
Trying to buy one tiny can of tomato paste - to process all these tomatoes from the farm share, I almost fell for this one. I nearly stacked five cans of tomato paste into my cart even though I only needed two. Why do we do this? They tell us to buy five, and we automatically do! I think partially it is guilt - a la - they are giving me a break on this so I will buy as much as they are telling me - and partially it is, that we are secretly afraid the deal is only valid if we buy as many as we are told. This also works in the produce section - Five plantains for a dollar! And we go ahead and buy five even though we only needed one. Very few deals fall apart if you don’t buy as many as you are being told. Usually it has to say - MUST BUY FIVE - but it very rarely does. So let’s pay attention.

Trap #2: The Bigger the Better?
We have been trained to believe that the bigger a package, the better the per ounce deal we should get. This works most of the time.

For some items, however - amaranth in my case - different producers offer vastly different prices per ounce. I always feel inclined to reach for the bigger package, but usually catch myself and whip out my handy calculator to make sure that, in this case at least, the smaller package is the BETTER deal. This is so counterintuitive for me, I actually have to use the calculator every time! Lesson learned - clip one little calculator to your purse and do the math. Those tiny calculators are one dollar and worth their weight in gold. Alternately, your cell phone might have a calculator function - so use it!

Trap #3: The item on sale has to be the cheapest one, right?
I almost stumbled on this one in the cheese section. Brie on sale for $9.99 per pound - not much of sale - but the sign was huge. So I reached for it, when I saw in the corner of my eye mixed in with the imported brie, that was not for sale at $12.99 per pound, the regular domestic brie - not on sale but only $8.99 per pound. Not that much of a difference, but the principle holds. The on sale item is NOT necessarily the cheapest - keep looking and comparing!

Trap #4: I would recommend to you, my advanced shopper to keep a sharpie marker in your purse and write the price of an item on the item, or if you are more timid write it on your shopping list. There will be no more wrong prices and nasty surprises at the checkout. When it is your turn at the checkout - TAKE YOUR TIME. That is why it is good to shop at off hours, or alternatively use the self check out. I like the self check out, because it gives me a chance to double check the price on every single item and reevaluate the purchase. Some times I feel cashiers rush you way too much. While you are bagging, it is impossible to keep an eye on the bill, as the products are rushed through the scanner. I know it is not the cashier’s fault - they have to rush, but the problem is, that once the item is bought and paid for, the likelihood that you would spot a price difference or return that item is getting ever closer to zero.
Ideally don’t bag, and watch the checkout process like a hawk, to spot differences. I still prefer self check out - I often change the language into Spanish and brush up on my language skills as well. I know I am crazy!

Trap #5: Forget sliced or diced.
It is basically impossible to buy fruit or cheese - any other way than whole, because the moment any kind of peeling, slicing or dicing took place the per pound price of the item quadruples. I know that meat eaters know no shame and walk to the deli department to have their lunch meats sliced - I think we should be able to do the same with cheese or bread and not have to buy the pre sliced older stuff only to pay four times the money.

Those were just a few observations on a recent shopping trip. Of course, as always, don’t shop when you are tired or highly caffeinated - you need a calm inner peace to not screw up.

Ideas for Leftovers: Spring Rolls!

For any kind of leftover veggies - stir fry works best for me - “the spring roll” is like a secret agent’s trench coat - giving your veggies a new identity.
If there is a lot of sauce - I would drain it first - although it could make for an interesting variation. Let me remind you, any kind of veggie dish should work - almost anything can be made into stuffing!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

*1 packet Naysoya Egg Roll Wraps - $2.69 (these can be found in your health food store in the refrigerator, or in the supermarket they usually place them with the tofu and the fake meats)
*about 4 cups leftover veggies - $2.00
*oil of your choice: $0.40


1. Chop your veggies finely - if you don’t have quite 4 cups I would suggest to stretch your veggies either by adding slightly sauteed cabbage - purple cabbage is one of my favorite “cheap” veggies - so much goodness in there, or, steamed broccoli or cauliflower would work too. Chop everything really finely.
2. Open your package of spring roll wrappers and fill each with about two tablespoons of veggie mix. Fold according to package direction. It’s really easy - don’t worry and the wrappers are very forgiving.
3. Gently heat two tablespoons of coconut oil - or whichever oil you use in stir fries.
4. Transfer you rolls into the pan - you will need to make several batches. Watch them like a hawk, since they brown very fast.
Enjoy - the are great in lunch boxes for kids or grownups. And make an excellent snack when you have to run. Also they are insanely popular at any party - they literally disappear in minutes.

Yield: 20 spring rolls - at about (depends on the veggies you used) 25 cents each.

Cook your Clothes - Insane and Unheard of?

In Europe Bleach is unheard of. How do Europeans get their whites white? They cook their laundry. And you can too. Here is how.
First of all, I would like to point out that Bleach is one of the most toxic substances any of us come across in our whole lives. So, stop using it. If you would like to know more about the toxic effects of bleach read more here.

Alternatives to Bleach: of course bleach is not that expensive, just bad for you - but these are all better.

1.Hydrogen peroxide
2.Salt
3.Borax
4.Vinegar
5.Lemon Juice
6.Sunshine


Two Choices:
1. Add one of the first five to your regular white wash. Wash in the highest temperature available. Hang in the sun to dry.
or for the slightly more daring:
2. Take out your biggest spaghetti pot, add your whites - go ahead no one is looking - and now add water. Chose ONE of these Either 1 cup hydrogen peroxide, OR ½ cup of salt, or ½ cup borax (do not inhale) or 1 cup vinegar or 1 cup lemon juice and boil! Just like the spaghetti. Turn off after about 3 minutes of a rolling boil and let it cool down. Rinse with fresh water. Done.
For even whiter whites hang your boiled clothes into the sun and let sunshine do the rest. I know this is another goofy idea - but it works!

Of course the types of fabric you can boil are limited - please don’t do this with wool or you will turn your wardrobe into elves couture. Try it, let me know what you think.

The Bulk Food Section - Your Place of Worship!

Since I truly believe that understanding how to shop in the bulk section is a key to being able to save money and feed yourself and your family well at the same time, I thought it might be a good idea to take a closer look.
The reasons to shop in bulk are several:

- unparalleled bargains - you will find the cheapest and most nutrient dense foods there
- No - packaging means no waste and no dyes used to print unnecessary cartons - less polluted waters
- No advertising ever - when is the last time you saw a catchy commercial advertising black beans - never? - bingo! There is no advertising for bulk food items - that means less cost to you, because we, as the consumers on top of everything else pay for our own brainwashing!

So - this is bargain central - if you shop the right way. How could you possibly go wrong? Well, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

Let’s look at the different items featured. You can easily tell the quality of your local health food store by the size of their bulk food section. Believe me, in this instance - size matters! Some stores try to work around having people help themselves, by prepackaging everything for them - for instance Whole Foods operates this way. I personally feel nothing beats the control you have measuring your own quantities and checking on the freshness. Also you can bring your own containers to fill -just pre-weigh your containers and then you don’t have to waste another plastic bag or tub.

Let’s break it down - the different sections will contain:

Nuts - plain and sugar, chocolate or yogurt-covered
Trail Mixes - conglomerates of nuts dried fruits and sometimes candy
Dried Fruits- all kinds sulfured and unsulfured, sweetened and unsweetened
Flours
Granolas
Candy
Pretzels
Tea & Coffee
Seeds - sunflower, pumpkin roasted or not
Grains - form the familiar - oats to the exotic - amaranth and quinoa
Beans and Lentils
Pasta
Rice

I don’t know about you, but I have no problem separating the food from the junk, but of course it is tricky.

Let’s go one item at a time:

NUTS:


BUY: Nuts - especially the unroasted ones - see if you can afford organic - but do buy the nonorganic ones if you can’t
DON'T BUY: Yogurt covered, tamari or cinnamon roasted ones - a waste of money and so highly processed that their nutritional benefits become insignificant - because of excessive sugar or salt
also note: broken nuts seem to be a bargain, but are actually more likely to be rancid - to check, see what color the broken edges of the nuts are: yellow=rancid, white=fresh, but eat them soon

TRAIL MIXES:

DON’T BUY: They are a "no buy" - because they are usually full of cheap fillers - and if you look around - you can create your own mix with fresh ingredients of your choosing - also did you really think I would let you get away with sneaking M&M’s into your diet?

DRIED FRUITS:

BUY: Unsulphured raisins, apricots, mangos. Everything dried and unsweetened is fine. Especially nutritious dried apricots, figs and prunes.

FLOURS:

BUY: All Whole grain Flours, there will be some interesting choices such as soy flour or rice flour - but all are good buys.

GRANOLAS:

BUY: They should all be good buys, some may be a bit sugary, but they are still light years ahead of the crap they sell as cereals. Make it fun for the kids and organize a granola tasting - they may discover favorites

CANDY AND COOKIES:

DON'T BUY: Chocolate covered raisins, blueberries,cranberries, ginger etc
Yogurt covered raisins, sundrops (fake M&M’s), Chinese ginger candies - you get the idea. Unfortunately there are many candy choices in the bulk food section. Are they a bargain? Well, since I believe you generally should try not to waste your money on sugary stuff - I would have to say - NO. However, if you can’t live without the occasional indulgence and you are the master of self control - I guess you could say that some of these candies are better than others. Be careful that your kids don't overindulge and, who are we kidding here, don’t overindulge yourself! Enough said!


PRETZELS:

BUY: Pretzels and Sesame Sticks are salty little treats and as long as you don’t overdo it they should be fine to add a little crunch in lunch boxes or as a snack. I think they are definitely better than goldfish or cheetos. at least they are whole grain and do not have artificial colors or flavors.

TEA & COFFEE:

BUY: You can find some bargains here. TEA: When buying tea keep in mind that whole leaf tea is the premium kind and what goes in tea bags is the dust that falls off the table, when the premium tea gets processed. What makes it premium - is the flavor, and the fact that premium tea gives you several infusions - meaning you flush the same leaves again and again and you get pot after pot, just without caffeine. With premium green teas you may be able to get anywhere between three and five infusions from the same leaves. So in that sense lose leaf tea can be a bargain.
COFFEE: You will find fair trade, swiss water decaf and other premium varities here. My experience has been, that coffees in the health food store are usually of the highest quality and quite competitive in price.

SEEDS:



BUY: One of the greatest health bargains period. They are cheap, easily carried around and full of vitamins, minerals, monounsaturated fats. essential fatty acids and phytonutrients.
They are best eaten raw and should ideally be refrigerated. If you find a health food store that keeps their nuts and seeds in the refrigerator, you know you are in good hands. Otherwise, make sure there is a high turnover - so the nuts and seeds are not exposed to light and room temperatures for long.
Roasted and salted seeds and nuts often go rancid a lot faster than whole, raw ones. The healthy oils can quickly get damaged in the roasting process, becoming more harmful than helpful.

Super seeds: Sunflower seeds (raw and unroasted), flaxseeds ( a big inexpensive way to keep colon cancer at bay),sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds

DONT BUY: roasted, sugar coated seeds

GRAINS:



BUY: oats, rye, quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat(wheat berries), buckwheat, amaranth. bulgur wheat, cous-cous, barley, millet.
There are virtually no bad buys when it comes to grains. Store them airtight and away from light and have fun experimenting.
As long as we stick to “Whole Grains” we should be fine - remember a whole grain is just that - there have to be individual intact whole grains in there. Unfortunately food can be sold as “whole grain” even if 99% of it is actually not whole at all - always go for 100% whole grain or whole wheat. Also be careful “Unbleached flour” on a bread label means absolutely nothing - it just means the refined flour just wasn’t bleached on top of it!

BEANS AND LENTILS:

BINGO - you just hit the jackpot - there is no single food a frugal vegetarian should embrace more than beans and lentils. Just look at the cuisine of some of the poorest countries in the world - India - has wonderful dals - lentil stews - Central American countries embrace their bean dishes. Every single bean you will come across in the bulk food section is a jewel. They are a bit fickle to prepare - I know some of us get gassy - we will get to that in the weeks to come - there are inexpensive and easy ways to avert the gas - but once you crack the code - you will be able to feed yourself well and inexpensively.

BUY: Lentils, brown red or green, kidney, pinto, black, garbanzo, adzuki beans.

PASTA:

BUY: You may be able to get whole wheat pasta in bulk which is almost always a good deal - stay clear of the non-whole wheat variety and also avoid the pasta with vegetable dye - just because the past is green and contains a negligible amount of spinach juice does not make it healthy

RICE:



BUY: Whole brown rice -short grain, medium grain or long grain, that is up to you - do not buy any white rice - it is a waste of money (you were robbed of 90% of the nutritional value of that rice), try to buy organic, it is not that much more expensive.

So to wrap things up:

When in the bulk food section of your health food store

BUY:

+ Unprocessed, unroasted nuts

+ Unsulpured dried fruits

+ Whole grain flours

+ Granolas

+ Pretzels and Sesame sticks

+ Tea & Coffee

+ Unroasted Seeds

+ all grains

+ all beans or lentils

+ whole wheat pasta

+ brown rice

Root canal recipes:

Gory title - but oh so true. Don’t worry we are not going to the dentist.
Here is the situation: You have just come home and you have - and now insert whichever applies to you -

* been working all day and you can barely stand up
* been sick all day and all you want to do is sleep
* had oral surgery and A - you cannot eat -therefore nobody eats or
B - you are seeing stars because the Novocain is wearing off.

Anyway you get the idea. This is a potential problem for your budget. You could hope that your significant other will follow your mumbled directions and discover his inner chef, but let’s face it - the word on your husband's and your children’s lips will be: “TAKE OUT!”
So, how can we avoid this: by having two or three emergency recipes, that you can make even if you are half dead or very out of time. So, they have to be easy, always on hand - therefore based on ingredients that do not spoil, and let’s not forget CHEAP!

Everyone will have their own favorites - tastes are so different anyway and one person’s nightmare recipe is another ones zinch! Think about yours, here are my root canal recipes.

Pasta with Sauce a la Maison
Ingredients: for about 4 servings

1 package pasta - anywhere from 20 cents to 3$
1 can crushed tomatoes - around 50 cents if you go with organic store brand
1 onion 30 cents
1 bunch green leafy vegetable - anything will do spinach, kale, chard etc could be frozen or fresh and does not have to be in prime condition - so this works as a recipe for using up wilted produce cost anywhere from 50 cents to 3$
2 tablespoons oil of your choice, 75 cents
additionally anything else that lurks in your fridge and would go well in a pasta sauce: for example - olives, artichoke hearts, leftover phony meats, cheeses, herbs, salsa, leftover veggie burger…...

1. Bring water to a boil in a big pot. Add pasta.

2. In a sauté pan, heat up oil, add your onions to brown, add green leafy vegetable, which you may chop coarsely or leave whole. Reduce heat and saute until the leafy vegetable wilts. Note: at the beginning your greens may look like they would be too much, but they will reduce to a quarter of their volume once they wilt.

3. Last, add the can of crushed tomatoes and whatever else you found in your fridge. Cook for another five minutes - in the meantime check on your pasta - it should be done. Drain and serve with your simple pasta sauce, either mixed in or on the side. Mixed in is always more economical - but on the side means, you are serving more veggies, so it is your call. Enjoy - or let your family eat and faint into bed.

Cost: 4 servings from $2.25 to $4.55 - depending on type of pasta and type of green, leafy vegetable


Red Lentil Dal -
Another staple for me - although a lot of people believe that a whole lot of work went into this, when they taste it.

Ingredients: for about 4 servings
1 ½ cups brown rice, around $1.10
1 ½ cups red lentils, about $1.20
1 onion, 30 cents
1 head of garlic, $1.00
1 tablespoon curry powder - 10 cents
1 tablespoon garam masala - 10 cents
1 teaspoon cloves - 10 cents
1 small can crushed tomatoes 50 cents
⅓ cup oil of your choice - I prefer coconut 75 cents
a pinch of cinnamon or cardamon

1.In a pot wash the rice thoroughly - then use about 4 cups of water with your 1 ½ cups rice - and bring to a gentle boil. Once it has boiled for a minute - reduce heat to a simmer and add half of the cloves.

2.In a pan - heat your oil - reserve some - add the roughly chopped onion - brown gently and add the garlic. Make sure it does not stick. When the onion is translucent and the garlic lightly toasted add the rest of the cloves and both spice mixes.

3.Wash your lentils and add the drained but wet lentils to the pan. Move things around a bit and add about 1 cup of water. When you see the cup of water disappearing (about five minutes over medium heat) add the crushed tomatoes.

4.Check on the rice - add more water if necessary.
Both the rice and the lentils will be done at the same time - roughly another 10 minutes. Drain the rice - add the rest of the oil and some cinnamon or cardamon and serve with the dal.

Cost: 4 large servings about $5.00

Ditch the bags! or More insane solutions to the money crunch!

On to another mission.
Have you ever wondered why it is that we insist on making little time capsules out of our trash for generations to come to remember us by. You know “time capsules” that elementary school classes create, when they stuff a bunch of things they consider important into a little airtight capsule, which gets hidden or buried somewhere.
Well, guess what – you have been doing that all along too! Every time you take out the trash you have made sure that it was sealed in an almost indestructible layer of plastic - the trash bag. Extra strong, double layered, power flex and especially important for the future generations that will have to deal with it “vanilla scented”.
Now, guess what - we don’t need them!
If you are still reeling from giving up paper towels, or if you live in an apartment this one might not be right for you. However, still give it a moment’s thought.
What would happen if you stop lining all the wastebaskets in your house, almost all of which are cleanable plastic by the way? Nothing would happen. You would take that plastic container and dump its contents into the plastic curbside container, which would dump it into the big, bad garbage truck. End of story. No - plastic trash bag!

Another item off your shopping list - and all of a sudden that garbage of yours actually has a more than miniscule chance of biodegrading some day.
If you live in an apartment or you have a neurotic superintendent, this might not work for you. Also it helps if you separate all your food wastes and compost them, because they are actually the only smelly part of your garbage. That means a huge reduction in overall trash by the way. So, to compost helps. There are some very dedicated individuals, who compost even living in an apartment. But I admit it might be harder to do.
I have not bought garbage bags in months - I don’t miss the expense and it actually feels really good to rinse off my plastic garbage containers with a little peppermint Dr.Bronner’s Soap and they smell fresh and clean.
Try it and tell me what you think….

10 Beauty Tips that are close to free!

Ten budget eco beauty tips:

1. The first thing that comes to mind is of course to eat as much raw food as possible. The more water the food contains the better. A lot of highly paid models switch into raw food mode when they have an important shoot coming up. When I say raw food, I mean raw fruits and vegetables. Some people swear raw eggs give them glowing complexions but personally I would be too afraid of food borne illnesses to even consider that.

2. As you use these raw foods - two stand out in particular. Avocados and Papaya. While you prepare your yummy avocado or papaya dishes DO NOT throw out the peels. Rubbing the insides of either of these two all over your face makes a completely free super effective mask, that when left on for anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes nourishes the face and leaves your skin re-hydrated and smooth. Of course do not forget to rinse off after 15 minutes especially if you are expecting guests! Cost: free!

3. For oily skin and acne an egg white mask is particularly good. It draws out impurities and absorbs oil. Directions: beat an egg white until it is frothy - apply to face - let it dry and set - you will want to lie down - after all you have egg on your face! - leave on for 15 to 20 minutes - rinse with water. Your skin will be tight and balanced. Cost: cents

4. Everybody knows the "old tea bags on the eyes trick". Again you are using something you would otherwise toss out. The tannin in the tea acts as an astringent that helps to shrink puffy tissue. Cost: free

5. Dandruff solution: Dissolve two or three aspirins in a warm glass of water - pour on scalp and let it sit for 5 minutes, then rinse with cool water. The salicylic acid in the aspirin is often an active ingredient in over the counter expensive dandruff remedies. Cost: cents

6. Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps promise on their labels 18 different uses and indeed you can be very creative with these little treasures. They come in several different scented versions, everything from rose to lavender to peppermint. Even somebody who does not like the idea of mixing and combining different ingredients will love these.
All you have to do is dilute, dilute, dilute. For about 3$ you will get a 4 oz bottle that is a little powerhouse. Dilute ½ tablespoon in one cup and you will have an extremely affordable, mild shampoo, hand soap, body wash and shaving soap. The beauty applications are almost endless while at the same time you can use the same product in a stronger dilution to clean floors, pets, dishes, laundry, cars, countertops, baths and toilets!
Dr. Bronner’s only uses 100% recycled bottles, the soaps are 100% fair trade, organic, vegetable based and biodegradable and the company prides itself never to have paid for advertising. It has grown for over 100 years strictly on word of mouth! Cost: about 3$ for 4 oz of concentrate that will produce a gallon of soap.

7. Deodorants are easy to be made at home. You will want to avoid the over the counter ones because they contain aluminum which has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, and the aluminum free ones do cost a lot of money.
Natural alternatives include using orange or lemon peel - just rub under your arm. You could also use freshly cut slices of lemon or orange, just not right after shaving or if you have sensitive skin. Aloe vera juice is also refreshing and soothes sensitive skin. Just pinch a leaf and use the gel.
A recipe for a spray deodorant would have to include equal parts alcohol - clear vodka works well - water - and a couple of drops of essential oils -pretty much your choice - rose, lavender, citrus comes to mind. Mix, put in a spray bottle - ready. Cost: Depends on the kind of vodka. Lol, no seriously - definitely under five dollars.

8. For a free hand treatment make it a habit every time you cook to use a little oil on the back of your hands. Any oil will work fine, favorites include olive oil and coconut oil.
As you measure and pour the oil into the pan for stir-fry or bowl for salad dressing, simply tap the cap of your oil container on the back of your hands, rub the two backs of your hands together and leave on during cooking. Afterwards you could rinse off the excess oil, but often you will find that the oil has absorbed completely! Cost: free

9. Several fruits make excellent masks not only for your face but also for the hair. You can mash bananas, melons,berries, avocados and mix with a little olive or coconut oil. Apply to hair, wrap head in warm, moist towel and wait half hour, then wash as per usual. Cost: around one dollar, depending on fruit used.

10. Salt Glow: you can bring this spa treatment home by simply mixing two tablespoons sea salt and two tablespoons oil of your choice. Just rub on any part of you skin that needs softening such as elbows, knees or heels. Cost: under one dollar.

How to turn $4.39 into $70.24! or How to buy Dish Liquid only once a Year!

Again with those titles - but it got your attention.
Turns out I only buy dishwashing detergent once or twice a year. I buy the best there is, in my opinion that honor befalls on Seventh Generation free & clear Natural Dish Liquid, which costs $4.39. Ouch - that is not cheap - but it is not petroleum based so it saves oil, and it is safe for the environment and your health. In dishwashing detergent that means a lot to me because let’s face it we basically eat this stuff. Everybody with an even rudimentary understanding of chemistry knows that the dishes we eat from are basically coated in the soap they are washed with. It is also cruelty free and comes in a recyclable plastic container that was manufactured with 25% post consumer recycled plastic. Not a whole lot - but at least it’s a start.
So now to the math part. I made a couple of assumptions - let’s hope I don’t make an ass out of myself!

I dilute my dishwashing detergent to about 1 tablespoon per cup of water. I have a rather nice looking bamboo hand soap dispenser at my sink - I was never a friend of having the dishwashing bottle right at the sink - somehow not a great look.
So I go through about 1 cup of diluted dishwashing detergent per week. The bottle with its 739 ml lasts about 50 weeks!
If I filled up the dispenser with straight up undiluted dish detergent it would last three weeks. I know that some of you might say you would use less if it was not diluted, but I doubt that. I just think you would wash it down your drain. Even if my math is slightly off - you will definitely be miles ahead budget-wise if you choose to dilute! The soap dispenser can be found at a dollar store or a discounter for under a buck and there are thousand of designs to choose from.
Anyway - I think this boils down to another item eliminated from your grocery list - except once a year - I guess we can all swing that!

More insane and unheard of solutions to the money crunch.

This is part two of the insanity. Part one can be found here.
So - the first tip was not all that hard now, was it?
This mission however - should you chose to accept it - will be a bit harder. We will get rid of a budget enemy that you thought you needed - but you really don’t.
Paper towels. Think about it, 50 or so years ago - did they have paper towels? Just think how ridiculous a concept this even is - you’ll use it, just like you would a towel - only you’ll throw the towel away after each use. Think about the amount of waste you would create if after every shower you would use paper towels to dry your hair and your body - you would probably go through a whole roll each time you take a shower. But you would not do that - you use a towel. So why is it that in the kitchen we use pristine, bleached paper - that we just throw away? Your precious body is good enough for a towel - but your kitchen floor deserves a piece of paper? But, no you say - “Germs” - how could I expose my kids to germs. First of all - we have this national obsession with germs that is backfiring already. Just look at the explosion of allergies around. The immune systems especially of children need to get a little practice to function - and second - if indeed you are eating a mainly vegetarian diet your exposure to scary germs like salmonella or all the other yucky ones that you only find on meat is minimal. And since the tomato scare is just raging through the US right now - well if your tomatoes came from your local farmer, like your CSA (hint, hint) - they would not be a problem.

So how do we get rid of paper towels you ask (hopefully at this point!) - well the answer lies in the word itself - “towels”.

You could, if you really had to, run out and buy proper tea towels - but that is pricey - the more budget friendly idea would be - to take one of the towels you already have - your choice which one - I prefer darker colors, but that is just me, cut it into squares - and use one fresh one per day. If it gets dirty it goes into the wash - never keep it for more than one day - and there you go. You eliminated your entire bill for paper towels - that can really be a lot and if your have to pay your garbage by the gallon - like some of us do - you’ll be amazed at the reduction in waste. Because every single sheet of paper towel winds up in the trash. So this is also a step to reduce your waste.
I know it will be hard - having paper towels is almost an addiction, but if you think about it every time you run out, you cope somehow - just do it. Say no to the criminal minds that duped us into believing paper towels are a necessity!
Even though I don’t condone running out to spend in order to save, I will give you a link to a site where you can buy really cute towels - but making your own has benefits that go beyond the money saving. It is almost like a pledge!
Check out Crate&Barrel's selection of fancy dishtowels.
or even cooler from the guys that brought you the world’s greatest sponge (see my blog entry ode to a sponge) with the coolest tagline ever “What if a sponge and a papertowel had a love affair? eurosponge!