Jul 7, 2009
The Daily Poverty Post.
Bossy is cheating because she already used this flag cake photo for something else, which makes Bossy worried she is going to get fired from this blog just like she worries because she’s the one who would have to do the firing, but in whatever case: Poverty.
Hello, poverty, Bossy sees you’re still here even though she’s been avoiding you like the plague. The plague dipped in cholera slathered with yellow fever. Bossy also recognizes that her one-year promise to keep track of her finances online is nearly up and what have we learned? Promises are poopy butt.
Insert clever paragraph transition here to deliver us from poopy butt to flag cake, because: Flag cake!
This flag cake is the subject of today’s Daily Poverty Post where daily isn’t a title, it’s a suggestion. Anyway. This cake would normally call for strawberries or raspberries to create the lines of the flag, but this year Bossy couldn’t afford live fruit and so she went with pre-packaged red cancer icing.
Have you been shifting recipes to make them more affordable?
Why yes Bossy, thank you for asking. I am using beans and stuff instead of meat. I have cut down the kiddos portion sizes and we have fresh bread every night. If they are still hungry after dinner, it’s fruit, fruit, and more fruit. Everyone is strong and healthy and with boys aged 18, 16, 13 and 5, who have a bottomless pit of hunger, they are full. Also, lot’s of lettuces with the main meal. Two girls are vegetarians and one is a baby who refuses everything anyway. We’ve always eaten healthily, but now snacks are homemade. I have made every type of fruit muffin known to man. They gobble ‘em up. No hidden ingredients, fresh and wholesome. So yes, I have changed my menus, for the better. Oh, and fresh grated cheese adds protein to just about everything. Povety is a challenge to me, and I am winning!!!
Trying to. We had breakfast tacos for dinner and there were leftovers. I can’t seem to make a meal for under $30 (I know, pathetic) but this one cost $22 (had to have poblano peppers and turkey sausage AND cage-free eggs) and since it covered 2 nights that meant it came out to a little over $5 a person plus the LIttle Bear who only ate the cheese out of his taco. Meals are absolutely where our budget bleeds.
…No. *hangs head in shame*
…Btw, did I tell you how much I love your flag cake? ;o)
…Blessings…
I don’t know about more affordable, but certainly more delicious, in my book. But you know how I feel about fruit.
Has it really been almost a year? Cripes.
I’ve been doing a lot of “what have we here?” cooking. Like, what do we have in the cupboard? Egg noodles and a can of cream of mushroom soup of unknown provenance? Hey, awesome, I can make sort-of-stroganoff! I’m definitely winging a lot more than I used to, but so far we haven’t had any inedible disasters, so I’ll take it.
Eating is a problem for us. My husband has become Mr. Ultrahealthyfoodeater and that stuff don’t come cheap. We (my two boys ages 13 and 10 and I) also try to eat healty, but things like whole wheat pasta and extra lean meat are definitely more expensive. Things like mushroom soup is off the menu because it’s got too much fat, etc., and as much as my boys would LOVE a fresh loaf of bread every night, I don’t have the time or even a good recipe for whole wheat bread. So if we’re going to cut costs anywhere, it’s not going to be on food.
God, yes! I’m so sick of eating out of our pantry and freezer!!!!!! Thank goodness we planted a garden the size of a tennis court. We are eating fresh spinach, lettuce, radishes, zuchinnis, cucumbers, and broccoli. The peppers and tomatoes are not far behind! I’ve been eliminating expensive ingredients out of recipes and substituting or just not putting them in. Eh!
Yes, and not for the better. Fresh fruits and veggies are just out of reach right now… I feel like even the farmer’s market prices have skyrocketed.
So what once would have been whole grain pasta, sauteed peppers, bok choy, garlic, & broccoli tossed in olive oil with perhaps some diced chicken breast or small shrimp has now become off-brand mac-n-cheese mixed with frozen broccoli and a handful of ground beef, if I’m lucky.
I’m saving up to buy a multi-vitamin. I feel like I’m going to need it.
I’m still buying the same groceries…I can’t go from fresh home made dinners back to Hamburger Helper…even that stuff is expensive! I’m just trying to make what I buy last longer and being mindful to use what I have.
I wouldn’t say I’m substituting much, but I’ve been paying lots more attention to using leftovers, using up or freezing produce before it goes bad and gets wasted, and serving the kids smaller portions and seeing if they want seconds rather than throwing half-platefuls of food away. It helps. And yes, berries are ridiculously priced, especially down here in TX, so they’re a rare treat and we eat fruit that’s more local/economical instead.
I’ve really tried to buy things in season – ie, on sale. I’ve also cut down (even further) on meat. Eggs are my new best friend – I eat so many, I think I’m starting to sprout feathers.
Berries in the TC have been reasonably priced this summer, as have red bell peppers. And I eat a ton of carrots and celery – which is always inexpensive.
Fortunately, I like cheap eats… stuff like canned tuna and rice dishes. And Totino Party Pizzas are still only a $1.25 each!
Ugh I read that as SHITTING recipes. What has two thumbs and is probably with ecoli poisoning today?
Instead of strawberry ($5.00)/rasberry($8.00)/blueberry($8.00) shortcake with real whipped cream($4.00) served on devine homemade shortcakes…..
strawberry cupcakes from a box mix ($1.50) with canned frosting ($1.69) and red and blue sprinkles ($2.69) and little toothpick flags ($2.00)
You know what? They were good.
On another note, Bossy can appreciate my current endeavor to use what is in the pantry before I go shopping, ut could really use some help on how I can use 1 can garbanzo beans, 1 package of hot dogs, and some croutons.
P.S.S.
I cancelled my landline yesterday.
THANKS BOSSY’s POSSE!
Husband does lots of the shopping, and brings home strays of all sorts from the sell-it-now half-price bins. Then we invent recipes around that. I’m not so good at half-price bin diving, and hey, who’s to complain at a guy who grocery shops?
Renee, how are your folks?
We have breakfast for dinner (brinner) once every other week. Eggs, beans & pasta are the staples of the cheap dinner!
Ummmm, in one word..no. If I cant afford to make it right, then I just dont make it..There is NOTHING worse than a “FAKE CRAB” salad, I know what that fake crab is made of, and people..its NOT PRETTY… “MOCK” apple pie..oy..I just will wander the neighborhood behind the deer and they will find a “REAL” apple, to make a real really good apple pie..
xobossxo!!
Renee: garbanzos+evoo+a little lemon juice and garlic+tahini (or a TBS of peanut butter if necessary)=hummus. MMMM
I have been experimenting with beans and rice as much as fam will allow. Trying to cut out anything prepackaged or processed both for $$$ and nutritional value. Yesterday’s homemade taco seasoning=win!!!
Reeb, thanks for asking. They are as old and fragile as ever, what can I say? Before cancelling the landline, we experimented by turning off the ringer and only checking messages every 3 days or so. We were able to train everyone to call us on the cell for a quick response and discovered we did not miss the landline one bit.
Off to make hummus……
Yeah. I try to plan our meals around what’s mad-silly on sale at the grocery store, rather than saying, this week we will have something involving ground beef, then buying the ground beef whether or not it’s on sale.
Speaking of ground beef? The higher-fat stuff is way cheaper. Don’t tell, but I’ll sometimes buy it, plus the lower fat stuff, and mix ‘em together. Sad but true.
PS, Gette? I’ve been making my own taco seasoning for years and my family loves it, plus it ends up being super-cheap, and it’s always there. I just make a bunch and keep it in a plastic container, then scoop it out for tacos (on the fatty ground beef!, see above) or dips or whatever.
yes! i substitute evaporated milk for whole milk or cream (some recipes, like alfredo, probably wouldn’t do well with this substitution, but most are fine). i have gotten cheap, fatty ground beef and rinsed it with hot water after cooking. i have used chicken leg quarters…but had best results when i used a brand-new recipe with those. i wouldn’t sub dark meat for white meat in chicken salad, for example, but if you don’t usually make chicken and dumplings and use dark meat the first time you cook it…viola!
yes! i’ve been eating off the dollar menu instead of the value meals!
also? i know bossy likes organic, but you should check out Angel Food Ministries. a great deal on a ton of good food!
Less butter. More bacon fat!
I use slightly stale breakfast cereals mixed with oats, brown sugar and some cinnamon to top fruit, makes a stunning crumble (I think you call them Crisps on your side of the Pond? Any fruit – bargain end-of-line stuff (rhubarb and past-it strawberries with a bit of ground ginger, yum). I picked 3lbs wild plums from the country roadside yesterday and will make something jam or pudding-y with that (damn the pits, but it is just more effort for free food). Blackberries are soon ripening – I will go and pick some of those. Friends have apple trees growing everywhere so I will apple-sauce those and freeze it (great for making applesauce muffins in midwinter). I stripped the blackcurrant bushes and froze those in batches for pies later in the winter. I have two kids 4 & 2, so I like to feed them with home made food. I bought some store frosting the other day – YUCK! So back to limited frosting for us. I buy butter when it is on sale and freeze it for later. We get a vegetable box delivered, it is far cheaper than the supermarket and it’s organic. We don’t get a choice of what we have so just work round the ingredients. Glut of tomatoes = tomato sauce (freeze it) or roasted tomatoes at the bottom of the oven when we cook something else, leave it in as the oven cools (store under olive oil in the fridge), basil = pesto. My kids eat their fresh garden peas raw straight out the pods (saves on cooking costs, right?!). Cabbage – lemon juice, garlic, slice some of those home-roast tomatoes – fry it up, delicious.
oh and if you see end-of-line strawberries, buy them up, slice thinly (I use an egg slicer or get my slaves/children to do it for me) and fry in a little butter for 3 minutes, pair with a little brown sugar or honey as a topping for pancakes. Who needs maple syrup?! (ok, so I put maple syrup on as well. But then I have a gallon container of the stuff I smuggled/flew back from VT 3 years ago to use up.)