Homemade Living Take 3: Eat.

For last week's post, "Grow", click here.
For the week's prior, "Stitch", click here.

Is it Post three in this series already?  My how time flies. I guess it's a little more "getting to know me"...today's subject being "Eat".

Warning.  There will be a lot of talk about food.  Many recipes are listed above in the "recipe" tab. If there's something you'd like to know just ask.

I'm sitting here beginning to compose at 11:11pm.  Why so late?  Because I just completed a double batch of oatmeal raisin cookies.  I like for my husband to have a homemade treat when he comes home.  I also have everything prepped for the crockpot for tomorrow.  A ginormous batch of potato, cabbage and carrot soup. All grown here.  Our garden to table, that's how I like it best.  Yes, I ought to be sleeping, as I am working tomorrow.  But food is something I'm passionate about.  So it's worth the lost sleep, I hope.

If you've been a reader long enough, you know that I am a bit..well...intense about that which we eat.  I try to grow and prepare as much as we're able.  Although I would gladly be a vegetarian if it wasn't for my husband's love of meat, we do consume some meat and that meat doesn't usually come from the supermarket.  We don't usually eat from boxes or packages, with the exception of a monthly pasta meal or crackers with a spread around the holidays.  I've even cut out cereal for breakfast.  I'm not saying the way we eat is what fits for everyone.  But for us, I aim to grow/raise or for each thing I buy to have only one ingredient.

If you would have told me we would be where we are at today with most everything made from scratch, I would have said 'yeah right'.  Because we weren't even close when we first got married-7 1/2 years ago.  I remember looking in my grocery cart after our weekly trip and thinking...do I really need to buy all this stuff?!  I set a little challenge to myself.  I decided to pick one thing from the cart and see if I could work towards doing without it.  No time frame, just working at my own pace to reduce my weekly spending. Lots of trial and error, but working towards a goal.

I started with eliminating paper napkins and heading the cloth route.  And then paper towels.  And then I was hooked. From that point forward, I have been picking something and working at it.  7 1/2 years later, I am still at it.  I have a ways to go, but I'm gradually becoming more homemade and more self sufficient.

Here's the kinds of things I've worked on eliminating and making my own.  Dessert is my ultimate fave, so of course that's in the mix.  But, these are all things I've gotten rid of and I now make on our own.

Many frozen/canned fruits/veggies.  We eat a lot of fruits/veggies..so we try our best to grow/preserve/eat our own throughout the year.  And eggs.  And meat mostly from my dad (who is a hunter).  That's the bulk of our diet.  Here's what else we eat:

Brownie mixes
 
Soups in a can (I used to eat Campbell's chunky regularly)

Pie crusts in a box

Cake mixes

Frosting

Store bought bread
 
Holiday rolls

Cinnamon rolls

Store bought English Muffins

Packaged rice mixes
 
Hamburger helpers (my husband loves these!)

Salad Dressings

Jams
 
Yogurt

Bisquick for waffles/pancakes

Replacements for breakfast cereals

Nutrigrain bars

Granola bars

Bread crumbs



Hamburger buns
 
Croutons

Doughnuts

Vanilla

Chocolate sauce

Granola

And non food items:
-All household cleaners
-Laundry soap/fabric softener/dryer sheets

Pizza sauce

Pizza crust

Relish

Applesauce


Working on:

Coffee Creamer (we still occasionally buy/occasionally make)

Vinegar (my first round is going so awesome!)

Ketchup (first time, kids approved)

More variety of salad dressings


In the future I want to work on:

Bagels

Mayo



Sweetened condensed milk

I'm sure there's more to all categories...and the list goes on...


So, you see, I haven't always been crazy. It's been a gradual process of eliminating something and working towards more from scratch living. 

And now the challenge...can you do the same?  Can you look in your shopping cart the next time you are at the store and identify one thing to work on eliminating?  I know you can do it! 

I'm posting today, along with:

Tammy- http://www.ourneckofthewoods.net/

Mary - http://homegrownonthehill.blogspot.com

Next Wednesday is:

Staci - http://lifeatcobblehillfarm.com/  

 Daisy - http://mymaplehillfarm.blogspot.com   

Sue- http://thelittleacrethatcould.blogspot.com/