A question that came up recently in conversation with friends and family, is how in the world can a person provide food for their families without relying on processed foods? – every day of the year, 3x or more a day? It’s actually a really good question. And in doing so, how can one afford it? Where does this food preparation time come from? These are practical questions that modern families face daily. I honestly would much rather solve a problem I can solve than worry about all the big problems in the world. Are we going into a civil war or world war 3? I have no idea! But, I can make a mean chili. No matter what horrible thing comes our way, a full belly of nourishing food will help us cope a whole lot better. Here’s my strategy for three square meals a day, plus snacks, of healthy, nourishing, non-GMO or adulterated foods, without breaking the bank or spending all day cooking every day.
There are two major components of my strategy:
Bulk Food
Having a full pantry makes scratch cooking possible, so that is why I prioritize it. I rarely go to a grocery store for food once I’m stocked up. How to stock up has been covered here before, so I won’t go into that topic in depth. If you grow your own food, that is ideal, but not everyone can do that.
Whether you grow it yourself or buy it, you can obtain quality food (organic or nonGMO) at very affordable prices if you are willing to buy in bulk. The Amish live near me, and I’ve found that they are masters at growing food. When my cucumber and tomato crop failed last year due to excessive heat and me falling ill, I was able to pick up cases of both from the Amish very cheaply. I then processed them for the pantry and freezer (pickles and marinara sauce). In addition to growing my own food, I use Costco, Azure Standard, Walmart, and growers in my community for bulk purchases, depending upon where I can find the best quality and pricing. I don’t just buy a little bag of rice or flour, I buy 20-to-50lbs (high quality!) at a time. Those are two things I cannot grow, as an example.
The problem with bulk purchasing is you must have a way to store things. I probably have 60 or more 5 gallon food grade buckets that I’ve purchased over time. They are easy to use, stack, and you can seal them for long term storage if you desire. Storage space needs to be designated for bulk purchases. The initial investment for storage containers is not that expensive if you can get buckets and lids for a good price. I used to pay $3-4 for a food grade bucket, and now they are selling for $7-8, not including the lids. Buckets have a vast number of uses and last a long time. I’ve used them to transport water or feed, made mouse traps out of them, used them to collect rain water, as trash bins, etc. My opinion is you can’t have too many buckets, so your investment will not be wasted.Continue reading“Get Started With Scratch Cooking – Part 1, by SaraSue”