Crazy Days

I have neglected my blog terribly.  We've had so much going on that I just haven't had the time to think about posting anything.  Don't give up.  I am planning on updating the WinCo list within the next two weeks. Since my husband gets summers off, we try to cram visiting family in with our various home projects, so the Winco list may not be as consistent until August.  I did noticed, however, that Costco's almonds have increased to $3.65/lb in my location, but the pistachios are $4.99/lb which is $1.00/lb less that other places I've seen.  Good luck and happy summer.

Chilled Cantaloupe with Vanilla Ice Cream

Summertime.  When I think of summer, I think of ice cream.  I’m not an ice cream lover, but my husband is -- no doubt about it.  If there is ice cream in the freezer, he will eat it. I have never met anyone else who likes ice cream as much as he does, so in the summer I try to have it on hand more often, just to give him a treat. Through the years he’s been able to manage his ice cream portions, giving the kids a chance to have some too.  He says he prefers quantity over quality, but myself, I enjoy a good quality ice cream every now and then.   

When my husband and I were still dating, he had a roommate who literally cut a chilled cantaloupe in half, scooped out the seeds, and stuffed the middle with vanilla ice cream.  At first I thought that was a little strange, but after trying it, I really liked it.  It’s cool and refreshing and makes a great hot weather snack or dessert.  I can’t eat an entire half of a cantaloupe with three scoops of ice cream, but one scoop of ice cream with a slice or two of melon is more my size.

Fresh blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or even marionberries are other great alternatives: simple and delicious.

Fermented Salsa

Fermented Salsa...eeew! Right? 

I've been researching about the benefits of fermented food and have become intrigued on the nutritional aspects of eating fermented foods.

I found a very simple and easy recipe for homemade fermented salsa and thought that even this was something that I could try.  I happened to have all the ingredients in my fridge and I figured I wasn't out much if it didn't work.  It took me all but 10 minutes to prepare everything and store it in a cupboard that I frequently get in to...just so I don't forget about it.  Two days later, it looked how it was supposed to (from what I've learned) and I refrigerated it until the next day.  Surprisingly it was pretty good.  The taste is slightly different from fresh salsa, but has a slight zing to it that is almost addicting (for me at least).

With the complexity of the strong flavors of the cilantro and onion, added heat from the peppers, and a unique "zing" from the fermentation process, this salsa would be great as a condiment for many warm weather and cold weather dishes.  I've added it to my tacos and burritos, taco salad, on top of enchiladas, on Mexican rice and it's all been great.  I'm sure it would be great as a topping for chili and casseroles as well.  It is meant to be eaten unheated.

This recipe came from thehealthyhomeeconomist.com.  She focuses on traditional cooking, and has a few more fermented recipes on her site as well.

Fermented Cilantro Salsa (makes 1 quart)

Ingredients
3 medium ripe tomatoes, preferably organic or the equivalent
2 green onions, preferably organic or the equivalent
1 large or 2 small bunches of cilantro, preferably organic or the equivalent
4 cloves garlic, preferably organic or the equivalent
4 serrano peppers, or 4 jalapeño peppers, preferably organic or the equivalent, (optional)
4 tablespoons whey
2 teaspoons coarse unrefined sea salt, Celtic Sea Salt is ideal for this recipe

Instructions
1. Wash all the vegetables thoroughly, and dry them. Chop the tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, and garlic very fine. Place the chopped vegetables in a large glass bowl.
2. If you are using the hot peppers, protect your hands by using disposable gloves. Remove the seeds, unless you really like it hot. Slice the peppers into small circular pieces, and add to the rest of the vegetables. Be sure never to touch your eyes until you wash your hands thoroughly.
3. Add the whey and the salt to the vegetables, and mix well.
4. Pour the mixture into a quart-sized Mason jar. There should be at least one inch of space between the top of the jar and the mixture. It is important that the mixture does not touch the lid.
5. Cover the jar, move to a dark place (I use the inside of a cupboard), and let rest for two days while the fermentation takes place, then refrigerate.

This condiment should last a few weeks in the refrigerator, though, to be honest, we always finish it
within a few days.

An alternative would be to add 1 to 4 teaspoons of bottled hot sauce, preferably thick and organic, after
the fermentation is complete. Stir well. This avoids the problem of handling fresh hot peppers.

My Advice:

She forgot to mention that once the ingredients are in the jar, they really do need to me pushed down to the bottom, allowing the juices to rise to the top and cover the ingredients.   If the juices still don't cover the ingredients, top it off with a little water, leaving at least one inch of space from the top.

Also, I used fresh jalapenos almost completely seeded and it turned out very mild.  I like things a little spicier, but two of my kids struggle with the heat a bit and this temperature was perfect for them.

Any onion will do if you don't have green onions on hand.  I used 1/3 of a white onion diced, and it worked just fine.


Whey - If you don't know where you can get whey, any kind of plain yogurt is your best option.  That clear, yellowish liquid that rises to the top of the unstirred yogurt.  Simply pour it off and use it.  If you don't have the whey rising to the top, you can scoop out a couple tablespoons worth in the middle of the container and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.  It should fill up with whey. 

Another option is to make yogurt cheese by straining the yogurt in a clean, muslin cloth or several layers of cheesecloth for several hours - overnight.  Either sit the yogurt in a strainer over a bowl or hang the "sack" over a bowl that has been affixed to a cabinet handle.  The whey will collect in the bottom of the bowl and you can use the yogurt cheese for something else (dips, cream based dressing, cream cheese).

Good Earth Natural Foods

If you are wondering, yes, I've taken off the Good Earth price list.  I was so excited to included another bulk food list from a locally run and operated store.  I ran into a bit of confusion.  I have a local Good Earth that is fairly close to the nearest Costco in American Fork, making it convenient to run over there before I go to Costco.  There is also another one close to my dog's social class in Sandy (yes, that's right...my dog.  I never thought I'd be doing something like this for a dog, but without giving you a long explanation, it has been a lifesaver and the trainer is incredible).  My original list came from the American Fork location, but I have been checking up on it in the Sandy location.  To my dismay, the Sandy location has been carrying different products from the American Fork location.  They seem to have roughly 20 additional bulk products than A.F., and even the granola is just slightly different.  I could not figure out how I could make this time efficient and right now I'm just stuck.  So, I'll continue to compare between the two locations and if it's just a fluke that new products are coming in and the old products are changing (ie: granola flavors) then I'll re-post it, but if not, then I apologize.

Honey Sweetened Grapefruit

Summer is quickly approaching and with temperatures rising, my meals and snacks lean more towards light, simple dishes and sweet, juicy fruit.  Growing up, my mom really enjoyed grapefruit.  Myself on the other hand, not so much.  There was this tartness about it that I just couldn’t get past.  Looking back, I remember my mom occasionally eating a grapefruit almost like an orange or a pomelo; peeling back the skin and eating the pulp of each section without any sugar added.  Even though I really enjoy grapefruit now, I’ve never been able to eat one without some sort of sweetener on it. 

Here’s an idea for grapefruit that my kids love.  It is a little time consuming when you first try it, but don’t let that stop you.  After you get the hang of it, it goes pretty fast.  It takes me about 10 minutes to do about 5 grapefruits.

Honey Sweetened Grapefruit

• 4-5 grapefruits
• raw honey - about 1 Tbsp for every 2 grapefruits or to taste
• bowl w/ lid to store in refrigerator

1. On a cutting board and with a sharp or serrated knife, cut the tops and bottoms off of the grapefruit.  After creating a flat surface for them to sit on, cut the remaining peel off each grapefruit.

2. Cut the very first segment of the grapefruit out as best as you can, holding it over the bowl as you cut, to collect any juice. 

3. Hold your knife with the serrated part up, carefully slip the knife into the segment, as close to the skin as possible and pull up, tearing the skin away from the pulp.  Then with the back of your knife, starting as far into the center of the grapefruit as possible, scrape the skinned segment off and  into the bowl  (this is almost a “scooping” motion).  Any pulp still stuck to the skin can be scraped away from the back of the knife as well. 

Tip: Once you get the first segment out, some grapefruits are easy to just pull the skin away from each section with your fingers.

4.  Add about a tablespoon for every 2 grapefruit (or to taste) of honey to the top.  Cover and refrigerate until the honey has dissolved.  This may take up to 24 hours if your honey is a soft, scoopable solid (like mine).

5. After the honey has dissolved, gently fold/stir the grapefruit segments. 

WinCo Foods Bulk List Updated

The WinCo Foods bulk section price list has been updated.

There wasn't a drastic decrease in price for anything.
The largest price increases were:

Black Chia Seed was $4.48/lb now $8.92/lb
Chives was $13.77/lb  now $15.90/lb
Nutmeg was $12.48/lb now $17.78/lb
Peppercorns, Multicolored was $8.43/lb now $13.22/lb
Tumeric was $3.91/lb now $7.03/lb

Crazy Month

Please forgive me about the stale blog.  April has been an absolutely crazy month.  I seem to have a very long laundry list of things I need to get done within the next couple weeks and this blog is one of them.  Thanks for the patience and enjoy your weekend!

Marinated Artichoke Hearts - Kirkland vs HyTop

Marinated artichoke hearts are all about the same...right?

Most of my family love artichokes and marinated artichoke hearts.  I usually buy the small 6.5 oz jar of marinated hearts from Walmart or WinCo when they are on sale.  On sale, a 6.5 oz jar costs me $0.99.  When I stopped by WinCo at the beginning of this month and saw that they were on sale, I picked up a few jars.

I remembered a friend talking about how they love artichoke hearts and wondered if Costco carried them.  Why yes they do.  I had never purchased them from Costco because they used to come in one ginormous jar and if I opened up that one jar, it would probably be devoured in 2 days by my kids.  I want my $10 worth of hearts to last longer than 2 days, so I've always just purchased the smaller (pre portioned) hearts.  However, Costco recently reduced their very large jar into two 33 oz jars, making it a little more convenient.

After WinCo, I stopped by Costco and picked up a twin pack of marinated artichoke hearts.  I don't remember the exact price, but it was just under $10 for a total of 66 oz.  Even at $10 for the pack, that's cheaper than the cheapest 6.5 oz bottle I could find.  I have been pleasantly surprised not only at the price per ounce, but at the quality of the product.  Go figure, right? I mean, it is Costco.  Costco does carry many great quality items, and they are always bringing new things to the table.  They don't consider their Kirkland brand to be generic.  They consider it to surpass the quality of the leading name brand.  That's why things like Kirkland diapers are more expensive than the Huggies diapers, and the Kirkland premium ice cream is more expensive than other brands.

The Comparison:

Kirkland         HyTop

I came home and compared WinCo's Hy-Top brand of hearts against Costco's Kirkland brand.  I figured there would be a difference, but I was a bit surprised as to how much of a difference there was.  The taste of the two brands was very similar, but the size was unbelievable.  I compared them side by side with the tender leaves and without.  Marinated artichoke hearts are a little deceiving because it's really not only the hearts.  It includes the most tender leaves in the center of the vegetable, along with the hair/fur, and then the heart and stem.  My first problem was finding a Kirkland artichoke heart that was small enough to do a fair comparison.  We are now at the bottom of the second jar, and I have finally found some artichoke quarters, but both of the jars were mostly halves. So, I took the smallest half from Costco and the largest piece from Hy-Top...just to be fair.  As you can see in the pictures, the Kirkland heart is so much larger than the other.  Kirkland's doesn't include the stem and Hy-top's does.  Even with the stem included it doesn't measure up.

 Nutritional Value:
Another thing that surprised me was the nutritional value.  Artichokes are a good source of vitamins and minerals with no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium, and low in calories.  When you marinated them, it increases the fat and the sodium content and this is what I found:

Kirkland Hy-Top Serving Size 2 pieces 2 pieces Calories 27 15 Total Fat 2g 1g Sodium 105 mg 220 mg

Artichokes

My kids like artichokes.  We don't eat fresh artichokes very often, but I try to keep bottled marinated artichoke hearts on hand to throw into salads.  My husband was very unfamiliar with artichokes when I first purchased them, but we grew up with eating them every summer.  They are an odd looking plant and can sometimes be dangerous with their sharp thorns on the tips of the outer leaves.

For those who are unfamiliar with artichokes, here is a little guide as how to prep and eat them. 

Artichokes:

• High in Vitamin C
• Low in calories (60 calories an artichoke)
• Good source of fiber, magnesium, and folate.

Marinated artichoke hearts are high in sodium, so they are not exactly a free for all, but artichokes can be prepared in different ways.  They can be boiled, steamed, marinated, and grilled.

Prepping the artichokes:

Artichokes come with thorns poking out from the tips of the leaves.  Some stores do sell them pre trimmed, but most do not. 

• Wash each artichoke well under cold water. 
• With a sharp knife, cut each artichoke top about 1” from the top, removing the thorns.  Any thorns that remain can either be snipped off with scissors.
• Optional: trim the stem about ½”.  You can remove the entire stem if it is easier to set them in the steamer, but the stem is edible and is helpful for testing doneness.

 Boiling:

• Fill a large pot half way with water, add salt to the water (optional, but recommended).  Add the prepared artichokes to the water.
• Boil for about 30 minutes or until stem is knife tender.  This may take as long as 45 minutes, depending on the size of the artichoke.

 Grilling:

Basic idea of grilling artichokes:

• Clean and prep the artichokes (see: prepping the artichokes above) and boil the artichokes in salted water for 15-20  min. Drain of excess water.
• cut lengthwise in half and drizzle with olive oil
• grill 10-15 min, turning and basting as needed

 Options:

• stuff lemon slices or crushed garlic between the leaves while cooking
• use infused olive oil (garlic, herbs, or chiles work well)
• Sprinkle the cut side with salt if desired.

 How to eat an artichoke:

I know this sounds goofy to add instruction on how to eat something, but seriously, if you are not familiar with artichokes, you may feel confused as how to eat them.  It’s a large bulbous leafy vegetable that even after cooking, the leaves remain tough and fibrous.

Most often, artichoke leaves and hearts are dipped in butter or mayonnaise.  If I grill them, I usually eat them with no dipping sauce just because they are already seasoned.

If you pull the outside leaves off and turn them over, you should be able to see the “meat” of the leaf, which starts at the base of the leaf and goes up about ½ way.  Bite down on the leaf, holding on to the tip end, and pull away.  You should be able to scrape off the meat with your teeth.  Discard the rest of the leaf.  As you reach the center of the artichoke, the leaves will become more tender and easier to eat.  The center of the artichoke contains the heart.  Simply remove any remaining leaves, scoop out the hair with a spoon, and you are left with the heart, which is basically the base that is connected to the stem.  If this is confusing, you can refer to this short Youtube video.  It's kind of weird watching it, but it gives you a visual idea.

Roasting a Pumpkin Whole

Pumpkin

Last year, I planted a couple of acorn squash plants, and one of them turned out to be pumpkins.  I guess I picked out the lucky random seed in the pack.  The pumpkins did not grown huge, but they were a decent size (about 10 pound each) and the plant produced lots of them.  A storm was heading in, so I was forced to harvest my pumpkins before they were ready.  Only 3 out of the 15 pumpkins were orange, the rest of them being a very dark green.  We thought that we would be able to just carve the green pumpkins anyway (for Halloween), but it turned out to be such a daunting task, that we just gave up.

I read that if you leave the pumpkins out in the sun, they’ll ripen.  I did this for about a week, but after that I didn’t think it was worth the time.  So on the kitchen floor they sat.  It wasn’t the prettiest sight to behold, but I didn’t know what else to do with them.  After about a month, I noticed them starting to turn orange.  Every one of those hunter green pumpkins ripened.  Then I was faced with the challenge of what to do with 10 (we used 5 for Halloween) ripened pumpkins.  Roast them!

The Pumpkin Challenge:

I thought roasting them was the perfect idea.  I could puree the meat and freeze it for later use.  After hacking through 2 pumpkins, I realized that this idea wasn’t as fun and exciting as I thought it would be.  First, I had to safely cut through the pumpkin and then I had to scrape out the seeds and guts.  What was I thinking?  Cutting through a winter squash is one of the most unpleasant things I’ve done.  I thought that there had to be a better way.  I thought for a minute and wondered what would happen if I cooked the whole pumpkin without halving and gutting it.  I wondered if they might explode in the oven from pressure, so I made sure that at my first attempt, I poked slits in the top of the pumpkin a few times with a knife.  I cooked it and voila, the pumpkin did not explode, the guts were easy to scoop out with a spoon, and the meat was just as easy to scoop out as well. I noticed the skin was a weird brittle texture, and the meat seemed to separate from the skin a bit, almost giving it a deflated look (see picture above).  I thought that maybe it was possible to cook the whole pumpkin without even adding slits to the top.  This time I only rinsed the pumpkin off, cleaning any dirt away from the skin, placed it on a cookie sheet and popped it in the oven. Ha! It worked.  I don’t know why I never thought of this before.  I reflected on the many times I painstakingly cut through a butternut squash.  How much easier it would have been if I just cooked the uncut squash first and seasoned the meat later.

Roasting a Pumpkin -- Whole:

1-2 pumpkins

cookie sheet

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash your pumpkin(s) in the sink with water, cleaning them of any debris.
3. Place pumpkin(s) on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven on the middle rack.
4. Cook for 60-90 minutes, turn the oven off, and leave the pumpkins in the oven until they are cooled down enough to handle.
5. Set the cookie sheet on the stove top, cut off the top or cut the whole pumpkin in half , scoop out the seeds and guts and discard.  It’s not necessary to scoop out every single stringy part.  It all will be eventually pureed.
6. Scoop out the meat into a large bowl.
7. Puree meat while still warm either in a blender or with a stick blender.  I use a stick blender to cut down on the dirty dishes.
8. Divide into freezer bags and freeze, or store in fridge for up to 4 days.

Pumpkin Guts

Pumpkin Meat

Pumpkin Puree

One volleyball sized pumpkin yields roughly 6 cups of pumpkin puree.

*It is so much easier if you puree the meat right away while it is still warm. 

So what do you do with pumpkin?

I think we’ve all been here:  buying a can or two of pureed pumpkin for the holidays and then finding out someone else is bringing the pumpkin pie.  So what do you do with the pumpkin?  Stick it in the far back corner of your pantry until next year?  

There was a time where I thought you could only bake a homemade pumpkin pie or maybe a pumpkin roll or a pumpkin cheesecake if you’re feeling a little adventurous, but that’s about it.  Believe it or not, there are actually quite a few things that pumpkin (and pumpkin puree) can be used for:

Cookies

Sweet Bread

Yeast Bread

Rolls

Pancakes

Waffles

Oatmeal

Pumpkin Butter

Cake

Pie

Pumpkin Fries (yes this involves cutting the pumpkin)

Soup

and even more…

There are many different types of pumpkins and sugar pumpkins are used for making pumpkin pie, giving you the sweetest result.  Store bought pumpkin puree is made from pumpkins that have a similar sweetness to sugar pumpkins.  Many canned varieties are made from Dickinson Squash, that is not technically a pumpkin, but has a deep orange flesh with a sweet taste.  “Regular” types of pumpkins will produce a more subtle taste…not so pumpkin "y".

Produce Savings - Revisited

I made a pretty standard shopping trip to Walmart  a couple of days ago (about a week since my previous quick trip), and I thought it was a better example for showing the savings on buying produce on sale versus the regular store price.  Walmart's prices are lower than our other big chain stores like Smith's and Fresh Market, so the savings comparison is a little more realistic.

I bought enough produce to completely fill my refrigerator, and then some.  I still have 20 oranges that I am storing in a cool place that would not fit in my fridge.  I also decided not to compare against my whole receipt.  I did buy other things like tortillas, potatoes, eggs, bread, and a snow shovel and winter beanies that they were on clearance.  I thought it better to just focus on the produce so you can see that the savings a little easier.

Under the Regular Price or Sale Price  column, I listed the price per pound or per each along with the price I would have paid for the amount I bought.  Under the Price Matched Price, I listed the sale price I matched along with the total amount for the quantity I bought.

The oranges are a little tricky.  Walmart sells oranges per each, while most other stores sell them per pound.  A store advertised oranges at $0.10 lb and I price matched that ad.  Walmart has to enter them by the quantity, so it came out to $0.05 each orange, and I bought 30 of them.

Here's what I came home with:
 

Item	Quantity		Regular Price or Sale Price		Price Matched Price		Savings
Cauliflower	3 heads		1.50 ea / $4.50		$0.79 ea/ $2.37		$2.13
Kiwi	16		$0.33 ea / $5.28		$0.12 / $1.98		$3.30
Slicing Tomatoes	6.57 lbs		$1.25 lb / $8.21		$0.25 lb / $1.64		$6.57
Cucumbers	10		$0.59 ea / $5.90		$0.14 / $1.45		$4.45
Loose Garlic Heads	1.71 lbs		$3.32 lb / $5.67		$0.50 lb / $0.86		$4.81
Asparagus	1.94 lbs		$1.71 lb / $3.31		$0.97 lb / $1.88		$1.43
Green Onions	2 Pkgs		$0.79 ea / $1.58		$0.20 ea / $0.40		$1.18
Oranges	30		$0.50 ea / $15.00		$0.05 ea / $1.50		$13.50
Red Delicious Apples	6.47 lbs		$0.89 lb / $5.76		$0.50 lb / $3.24		$2.52
			Regular Price Total:		Price Match Total:		Total Savings:
			$55.21		$15.32		$39.89

I spent under $20 for a fridge full of produce.  Taking advantage of sale prices like these gives me more flexibility when I make a trip to Costco.

Does Price Matching Really Save You Money?

I just recently had a family member ask if I really save that much money when I price match, especially when it comes to produce.

Here's a recent scenario to help answer that question.  I recently picked up a handful of items at Wal-Mart.  I was just wanting to make a quick trip, so I only grabbed a few things that either we needed, or the price was good enough to not pass up. Here's what I got:
 

Item	Quantity	Wal-Mart Price	Price Match/Sale	Savings
Lemons	1 Bag	$1.50	N/A
Frozen Brussels Sprouts	8 Bags	$1.48 ea / $11.84	$0.88 ea / $7.04	$4.80
Slicing Tomatoes	3.65 lbs	$1.25 lb / $4.56	$0.50 lb / $1.83	$2.73
Potatoes 10 lbs.	1 Bag	$2.50	$2.00	$0.50
Broccoli Crowns	3.13 lbs	$1.18 lb / $3.69	$0.33 lb / $1.03	$2.66
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 68 oz	4 Bottles	$13.48 ea / $53.92	$6.98 ea / $27.92	$26.00
Coconut Milk 1/2 Gallon	2 Cont.	$3.25 ea / $6.50	$2.79 ea / $5.58	$0.92
Oranges 8 lb Bag	1 Bag	$5.46 ea	$0.96	$4.50
				Total Savings:
				$42.11

Of course the extra virgin olive oil brought in the biggest savings, but even without the olive oil, I still saved $16.11.  Then, on top of that, I had coupons totaling $4.00 in savings that I quickly printed from my computer which brought my total savings to $20.11 (not including the olive oil) or $46.11 (including the olive oil).

This was only a quick shopping trip.  If I remember, I'll try and compare savings again during one of my larger shopping trips.  So in my opinion, yes, you absolutely can save enough money from price matching or buying during the sales to make it worth the hassle.

Quick and Easy Breakfast Burritos

Veggie Breakfast Burrito

2-3 large flour tortillas

½ red or green bell pepper or a mixture of both, diced

½ - 1 onion, thinly sliced or diced

Large handful fresh spinach roughly chopped

4 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 eggs, scrambled mixture

Cheese

dash of hot sauce

pepper

salt

There are a couple ways that I like to prep the burrito-

Cooking Method #1

1. Spray large skillet with non-stick spray and cook the bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms over med-high heat. 
2. Season with salt and cook just until the onion starts to turn translucent.
3. Add the spinach and toss with vegetable mixture just a couple of times and remove from skillet.
4. Cook the scrambled egg mixture until cooked through, seasoning with salt and pepper.
5. Remove from heat, add cheese if desired, and cover skillet until cheese is melted.
6. Divide vegetable mixture between the flour tortillas, being careful not to add the excess water (from the mushrooms).
7. Top vegetables with egg, sprinkle with hot sauce (opt) and roll into a burrito.

Cooking Method #2

1. Spray skillet with non-stick spray and add bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms over med-high heat. Cook for 1 min.
2. Add scrambled egg mixture to the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and cook until eggs are cooked through.
3. Divide the fresh spinach between the flour tortillas
4. Add the cooked vegetable/egg mixture on top of the fresh spinach.
5. Sprinkle with hot sauce if desired.
6. Roll into a burrito.

The heat of the mixture will slightly wilt the spinach when rolled in a burrito.

If using mushrooms, it really is best for the mushrooms to rest a moment before adding them to the burrito.  They tend to sweat more than the other veggies, and adding them straight from the skillet to the flour tortilla tends to make the tortillas almost gummy. 

 Every Ingredient Is Optional:

For my husband, breakfast is an on-the-go meal.  He practices the art of waking up in just enough time to get dressed, grab his stuff, and head out the door.  To my surprise, this year he woke up early enough for two weeks straight to eat breakfast, get his lunch ready, shower,  and get dressed with about 15 minutes to spare.  What a big shock!  It was too bad that it only lasted two weeks.  So for him, if I don’t have a breakfast that he can take with him, he won’t have enough time to eat at all. 

We’ve tried different variations of an egg sandwich or breakfast burrito, and a veggie burrito is my favorite way to go.  My husband and I have two very different tastes when it comes to breakfast burritos.  Thankfully these are very easy to alter for each of our preferences.

My husband hates mushrooms.  There are some things that he can swallow down, but mushrooms are not one of them.  Even if the mushrooms are even diced until almost unnoticeable, he will know and he will sit there and pick out every last piece.  On the other hand, my husband likes cheese.  No, he loves cheese.  When we were first married, he went through more cheese in a week than my family would go through in a month.  He has limited the amount of cheese he eats by quite a bit, but if there is cheese in the house, he will eat it.

Unlike my husband, I love mushrooms.  I don’t like egg (only sometimes) and I don’t like cheese in my breakfast burrito.  If there is extra after cooking for my husband, I’ll eat it, but it’s not my first choice. I also like lots of onion.  When onions are cooked over med-high heat with a light seasoning of salt, there tends to be a sweetness about them that comes out.  I love this.  While I’m not crazy about bell peppers, they really do add lots of flavor to mixture. 

So even though our tastes are different, I just prepare the dislikes separately and cook them accordingly.

Prepare Vegetables Ahead:

A quicker way to throw together a burrito in the morning is to have the vegetables already diced and ready to go.  Onions and bell peppers, zucchini, and jalapeno (or other peppers) can be diced and stored in a container together.  Tomatoes tend to get mushy and spinach can get soggy if prepared too far ahead, so I just wait until that morning.  Mushrooms, I'm not sure about.  I haven't had any issues preparing mushrooms ahead, but I'm not sure if you can combine them with anything else.  I've always stored them separately.  If you prefer breakfast meat like bacon, ham, or sausage, these can also be precooked, stored in your fridge for a few days, and just reheat them on the skillet.

Sometimes a little preplanning will save you a lot of time in the early morning.

Nutritional Yeast B12 Fortified

I have had handful of inquiries about WinCo's nutritional yeast and if it is Vitamin B12 fortified.  I was finally able to remember to check and yes it is Vitamin B12 fortified.

For people located in Utah, Good Earth's nutritional yeast is also B12 fortified and is currently cheaper than WinCo's.

Nutritional Yeast-
WinCo $8.68/lb
Good Earth $8.05/lb

The WinCo price list has been updated!

Winco does have a few new granola flavors, but they took out their new granola flavors that were on the endcap for two months.  They have also added vanilla beans in their spice section.

The biggest price increases were:
Pecan Halves - Increased from $9.28 to $10.61
Walnut Halves, pieces - Increased from $5.48 to $6.98
Taco Seasoning - Increased from $2.75/lb to $3.79/lb.

Also, something else I noticed as I was updating this list, is WinCo's bulk items that are "on sale" are given a green label. I thought it was interesting that the walnuts and pecan halves were on sale, but in reality their bulk price increased quite a bit from last month.  This may be a precursor to a substantial increase in price...we'll see.

Good Earth-
For those of you who live in Utah, I have decided to add Good Earth to my blog.  Once upon a time I had full list for Good Earth and Sunflower Market, but I think they must have been accidentally deleted.  I gave it a shot to go and write down all the bulk items they carry.  I was able to get through most of the bulk food section before I ran out of time, so the list does not contain the snacks located at the far wall.

I actually really like Good Earth.  I have a friend whose daughters first familiarized me to this store.  She was always bringing in yummy/healthy snacks and I had to know where she was getting them - Good Earth!  This was my first introduction to a real bulk food section, aside from bulk herbs.  Good Earth is a local family owned and operated health food store that has only a handful of stores in Utah.  You just cannot compare them to WinCo.  The bulk section is very different, carrying a broader range of grain, flour, and sweeteners, most of them being organic, and good amount being gluten free.

In my opinion, there is healthy, and then there is really healthy.  To me, Good Earth falls into the really healthy category.  Most of the bulk items are organic and non-GMO, and even a handful of the dried fruit is unsulfured. They used to have more unsulfured dried fruit to choose from, but that was over a year ago that I noticed some change.

If you want to compare prices against Good Earth, I would suggest comparing them with Azure Standard.  Azure Standard has a lot of organic bulk food, many of them being the same to what Good Earth carries.  Azure Standard carries a lot of 25 lb and 50 lb bags of grain and such, but they also sell things in smaller quantities like 1 lb, 2 lbs, 5 lbs, and 10 lbs depending on the product.  They also carry unsulfured dried fruit.

Xanthan Gum-
For those who are on a gluten free diet, Good Earth carries xanthan gum at a considerably lower price than WinCo.  I saw it as I was walking out of the store.  I'm not sure of all the locations, but at the American Fork location, the xanthan gum was located on an end cap nearest the registers as you walk toward the bulk section.  It is in a brown paper bag, and it is being sold for $12.67/16 oz.  That beats WinCo's $17.43/lb by quite a bit.

Our Experiment with “Cheese” Sauce

My kids and I did a test run on several vegan “cheese sauce” recipes that I have collected here and there and voted on the recipes that were our favorites. I’ve been curious about cheese substitute recipes and have tried one or two in the past (I am still experimenting with one that uses beans).

What is in a cheese sauce?

Most of the recipes we came across contained four or more of these ingredients:

Tomatoes

Pimentos

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Salt

Nutritional Yeast

Nuts of some sort

Lemon Juice

Red Bell Pepper

I want to find a recipe that appeals not only to me, but to my family. Out of the 5 recipes we tried, we narrowed it down to one. At the time, I didn’t happen to have any red bell peppers or cashews on hand, so none of the recipes we tested called for peppers or cashews.

Now keep in mind that when I ran this “test kitchen” I didn’t tell my kids that this was a substitute for cheese. I let them assume that these were merely different sauces/dips, and I wanted to see which ones they liked the best.  If they were in the mind frame that these were supposed to taste exactly like cheese, they would have been greatly disappointed.  With a bit of altering to our own preference, we were able to create a recipe that everyone was happy with.  None of the recipes I tried ever tasted exactly like cheese. The recipe we ultimately chose had a good taste (similar to that of cheese, with a twist), texture, and thickness.

The sauce does turn a darker orange color once it has been thickened.  It only takes a few minutes to warm and thicken and the sauce can scorch so be careful.

I opened the container of “Cheese Sauce” after it had been refrigerated for several hours and the aroma was not incredibly pleasing.  However, after re-heating it, the cheese sauce was not as potent.  If this happens to you - don’t fret. Just warm it back up and enjoy.

This is great as a stand alone sauce for dipping tortilla chips and raw veggies.  It is also great as a condiment for tacos and burritos.

Sauce blended, but not yet cooked.

Vegan Cheese Sauce

1 cup rice milk (unsweetened), divided

2 Tbsp fresh or canned tomatoes

¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp onion powder

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/8 cup raw sunflower seeds

2-3 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Blend sunflower seeds in blender/processor until well crushed. Add the tomatoes and ¼ cup rice milk and blend again until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend well.

2. Pour into a small saucepan and heat over medium-heat until desired thickness, stirring/whisking frequently.

Makes about 2 cups

Cheese sauce after it is cooked.

Alterations / Substitutes:

• Use cashews in place of sunflower seeds
• Use any milk of choice
• Add cayenne for heat
• Substitute 1 tsp vinegar for 2-3 tsp. lemon juice
• Pre-soak nuts or seeds to make it easier to blend smooth

Building a Food Supply Part 3

Fruits and Vegetables:

Building up a food supply comes with benefits.  For me, an initial supply is necessary.  Having a stock of food and gives me a window of opportunity to restock as sales or group buys arise.  I’m not at the mercy of the current store price if I suddenly run out of butter or flour.  For me, living frugally means planning smart and being one step ahead.

Fruits and vegetables are just as important to have on hand as whole grains and legumes.  These are space consuming, so if your fridge and freezer space are limited, there are a few other options as well.

Fresh:

I like to keep my refrigerator stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, but space is limited and the variety available is dependent on the season.  There are lots of varieties to choose from in the summer and fall, but as the winter approaches, the produce is more limited and the prices increase. 

Frozen:

I try to have a good amount of frozen fruit and vegetables in my chest freezer, so if I need, I have an accessible variety in the off season, during the tighter budget moments, or when the price of produce is just not within my reach. 

Most times frozen produce that you can buy at the store is more nutritious than fresh.  Frozen produce is typically picked at the peak of ripeness then frozen quickly.  Fresh produce is sometimes harvested before it is even ripe, and even after that, it is stored in a warehouse.  A few of Costco’s frozen vegetables are organic, and the price per pound for organic is actually not bad.  They also have a handful of conventional frozen vegetables as well.  Costco also has a good selection of frozen fruit.  If you are looking for non-typical frozen veggies like greens, squash, or Brussels sprouts, most stores have general frozen vegetable sales pretty regularly.

Throughout the year, stores will have an “extreme sale” on fresh produce, and during those sales, I have purchased many things in larger quantities, storing some in my fridge for immediate use, and freezing the rest for later. If you happen to have an abundant harvest from your own garden, freezing is one way of preserving your produce.  We froze a little bit from our garden, but we mostly gave things away simply because I enjoy sharing.

Fruit is incredibly easy to prep for freezing, but vegetables do take more time.  Once you understand what needs to be blanched, what does not, blanching methods and times, it’s really not too hard.  The National Center for Home Preservation has good information on blanching food has well as other food preservation methods. It’s just a matter of weighing out the time and effort against the money saved to determine if it is worth it.  I have passed up some really great sales on things like broccoli and cauliflower simply because I just didn’t have enough time available to freeze them before they would go bad in my fridge.

Produce that I’ve stored in my freezer are:

Brussels Sprouts

Green Beans

Peppers, hot and sweet

Asparagus

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Celery

Corn on the cob

Pumpkin (pureed)

Summer squash

Peaches

Strawberries

Raspberries

Blackberries

Blueberries

Cantaloupe

Honeydew

Bananas

 Canned:

Canned may not be your first choice, but it is not a bad idea to have some on hand.  Canned food is easy to store, is pretty economical, and has a decent shelf life. Canned goods are also great for an emergency short term supply.

While canned food is not as nutritious as frozen, if nutrition is a concern, there are options.  Read the labels and the ingredients so you know what you are buying.  A lot of canned fruit is packed in syrup, but you can find fruit packed in fruit juice.  Canned vegetables generally have a lot of sodium, but I have also found vegetables with reduced sodium and even sodium free.  Canned tomatoes in many varieties probably take up more shelf space in my house than any other vegetable.  In the case of tomatoes, sometimes the brand does matter.  I have come across plenty of canned tomatoes with more “stuff” added to them than I originally assumed.  Hunt’s seems to be a big one for this.  I’m not exactly sure why, but even generic brand tomatoes seem to have less ingredients than some of the Hunt’s varieties I have come across. 

Dehydrated and Freeze Dried Food:

If properly packaged and stored, these two varieties can last a few years and sometimes even far beyond that.

 

Dehydrating produce is actually pretty easy, even though it is a bit time consuming.  My mother-in-law gave me a dehydrator for Christmas one year, and I was so excited, but I wasn’t quite sure on how to use it.  I pretty much used it to make dried and dehydrated apples.  One evening I came across several YouTube videos from a woman named Tammy (dehydrate2store.com) teaching about dehydrating.  I consider her to be the dehydrating queen.  She dehydrates every type of fruit and vegetable imaginable, and then some.  She answered every question I ever had about dehydrating and she quickly helped me to understand the difference between dehydrating and drying.  While I am in no way at her level, she has inspired me.  I have been able to dehydrate spinach, kale, strawberries, hot peppers, sweet peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and several others.

Freeze drying is a different concept that is highly marketed.  The idea is to evaporate all the liquid out of the fruit or vegetable without comprising nutrition.  This method allows the produce to maintain its original shape and size.  I personally don’t buy freeze dried foods.  For the amount that you get, it is quite costly.  One small can is about $10 (depending on the product) and might last two meals if I stretch it, but no more than that.  If you eat the food in its freeze dried state, it is similar in texture to cheese puffs or Styrofoam.  After re-hydrating the food, I have found the texture to be no different than re-hydrating dehydrated food.  Freeze dried food looks prettier than dehydrated, but you can essentially achieve the same result with dehydrating when dehydrating at lower temperatures (under 115 degrees), resulting in a more compact form.

Dehydrating Ideas-

Fruit:

Freeze-Dried Peas

Apples

Apricots

Bananas

Berries

Cherries

Grapefruit

Lemons

Mango

Oranges

Pears

Pineapple

Plums

Dehydrated Peas

Pre-packaged frozen fruit

Vegetables:

Asparagus

Beets

Broccoli

Cabbage

Carrots

Cauliflower

Corn

Cranberries

Dried Strawberries

Greens (spinach, kale, collards)

Mushrooms

Onions

Peas

Potatoes, all varieties

Pumpkin

Squash (Winter and Summer)

Tomatoes

Pre-packaged frozen veggies

Herbs:

All varieties

Variety is Important:

I think that having a variety of fruit and veggies in their different forms are important.  I not only have an immediate supply of food for my family, but I have an emergency supply as well.  Hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes are only some natural disasters that affect our nation, and sometimes they even hit in unexpected places.  While the intensity of a disaster can be predicted, the result is something we can never prepare for.  Some people are emotionally stronger than others.  Some people are creative and inventive when given only a minimal amount of supplies.  

Emergency preparedness isn’t only centered around mother nature.  Divorce, bills, death, and illness are only some events that can turn our lives upside-down, leaving us vulnerable.  I know from experience that having even a small supply of food greatly reduces stress during unpredictable events.

With the economy the way it is, and people losing their job without a moment’s notice, I feel lucky that my family can still maintain our self-sufficiency.  My husband has been blessed to be a part of a school that is not cutting teachers.  The administration has worked really hard to budget wisely and for that I am grateful. 

My husband and I have had a time in our life where money was incredibly limited and job availabilities were scarce.  Just one year prior, we had slowly built up a small and simple food supply. The time soon came where that food supply was needed and we used it gratefully.  Even though it didn’t eliminate all of our worries or stress, it did reduce them. 

Everyone has their own story and for me, I am thankful that ours was only a small circumstance.  I would love to maintain a variety of only fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, but I know that for my family, we need to open more options for those unpredictable situations. Every family and every situation is different.  I recently came across a statement that sums it up: Store what you are willing to eat, and eat what you are willing to store.  It is as simple as that.