$25 Emergency Menu

A few things on my mind lately led me to put together this $25 Emergency Menu/Shopping List this afternoon. This is "healthy" in the sense of whole, nutritious, simple, old-fashioned foods. It is obviously short-run in nature since doesn't provide much variety, but in the short-run the focus is on meeting basic nutritional needs as cheaply as possible. I've devised a one-week plan for a time when money's tight and you need to stretch your dollars and make do!

The dollar amounts I assigned to each item should take taxes into account and are also the "real world" prices I experience in my everyday shopping -- not sale prices. I even rounded up, so I truly think if you walked into the grocery store with nothing but $25, you could get everything on my list and eat for a week. Not feast, mind you, but eat. And nourish your body, too.

My Emergency Menu assumes only that you have a means to cook (a pot or two and a stove or other heat source), and probably something to put your water in. There are no hidden ingredients necessary that are not on the list. There are optional or desired ingredients, but no necessary ingredients. AND, as to the healthy part, I've only included foods we eat on a regular basis. Now, on to the list:

Healthy “Emergency” Menu

$2 Oatmeal (water; optional: salt, butter, fruit, honey, milk or powdered milk) – 42 oz container; should make 30 bowls
$2 Bananas – 7 (possibly even more)
$2 Eggs – 1 dozen
$3 Beans and Rice (water; optional: salt, additional seasonings, canned tomatoes) – 1 pkg of each
$3 Apples – 7 small size
$3 Carrots – 2 lbs
$2 Bread – 1 loaf
$2 Frozen veggie – 1 pkg
$3 Peanut butter – 1 jar
$3 Water – 10 gallons

Total Cost: $25

With a few extra dollars, I would buy some salt and butter and a can of tomatoes for my beans and rice. With even more, I would buy some honey (it's one of our staples now!). If you have a way to pop it, popcorn makes a great cheap snack. You can buy a whole package of popcorn for about $1.50, which makes several bowls big enough for snacking and sharing. I also regularly make cornbread, which is very cheap per pan, but if you were having to buy everything at once it would be a bit more expensive (you need corn meal, flour, baking soda, butter, eggs, and salt; my emergency list only includes the eggs and probably not too many extra for baking versus just eating plain).

Some details about the items I included and what I buy:

I buy the old-fashioned oatmeal; just the kind regularly available in the grocery store, but not instant or quick oats. Natural, old-fashioned oatmeal. We eat it for breakfast almost every morning. We have eaten it and do eat it plain, but usually we doctor it up a little with butter, salt, honey, and some fruit. One of my favorite versions is with chunks of frozen peaches and a little vanilla and some milk or powdered milk. I also like our apple-cinnamon, banana, and blueberry versions.

Eggs: I'm thinking if you boiled them they would be easier to ration rather than scrambled. I put $2/dozen because we have local sources of good, "home grown" eggs for $1.25 or $1.50 a dozen. You can't get store-bought cage free eggs for $2 (especially including tax), but you could get some type of grocery store eggs for that, which would be okay. I do it to save money all the time. Sometimes I buy the better, more expensive eggs, but sometimes I choose to spend the money elsewhere.

Beans and rice: You can get a package of dried beans for $1 which should be 2 cups; I usually make 2 cups at a time which is a good quantity in my crock pot (regular size). It always makes us at least 6 full bowls, maybe even 8 (with rice and usually cornbread, too). Our favorites: pintos, red kidneys, navy beans, and lentils. I'm a little more uncertain about the size and cost of rice, but I feel certain you can get a bag of rice for $2. Making the rice is a great way to stretch the beans and from what I know, nutritionally beans and rice make a great combination. If you need more information about preparing the beans and rice, or the oatmeal for that matter, please let me know.

Apples: several of our stores have had lunch size apples 3/$1 regularly lately (conventionally grown, of course). This is what I based this suggestion on.

Carrots: real, fresh carrots in the produce section. I'm usually able to get them for $1/lb (sometimes even organic for that price), so I rounded up and left in some leeway here. We love to slice them into carrot sticks or chop them and boil or steam them for a great supper veggie.

Bread: you could get cheap bread for less than $2, but I wanted to make this realistic for us and what we buy. Sometimes I buy bread more expensive than this, but I commonly buy a package of 10 wheat n' honey pitas at Brookshire's for $1.50 -- so that would qualify. Or, it's not a regular purchase any more but I would do it again in a crunch -- Nature's Own offers a wheat bread that according to the label does not include high fructose corn syrup. Sometimes I see it for $1.50/loaf. So these two options are what I had in mind for the $2 I suggested.

Frozen veggie: pick your favorite. Many times the Brookshire's brand veggies will be about $1.25/package, so I rounded up and left some leeway (since some veggies are more).

Peanut butter: I've been buying the organic PB Brookshire's and Super 1 offers which is usually about $2.50/jar, but often goes on sale for $2/jar. I only buy natural, sugar-free peanut butter (and usually organic, but sometimes have to settle).

Water: We've been buying the "water by the gallon" from either the Monroe location (Hwy 165 where Brookshire's used to be; in between Albertson's and ULM -- 30 cents/gallon) or the West Monroe location (at the RV park right at the Well Road exit -- 25 cents/gallon). My figure gives you 10 gallons at 30 cents/gallon.

I enjoyed working on this. Let me know if you have questions! Praying God's blessings on you and your family....

Aleecia

Overfed but Undernourished

"As a society, we are over-fed but under nourished, and Dr. [Weston] Price proves beyond a shred of doubt how this under-nourishment leads to physical and mental degeneration, as well as to degenerative diseases. So, what are the nutrient-dense foods we should consume?"

Read the entire article online at http://blog.wellnesstips.ca/blog/index.php/?p=87

(Aleecia's Note: I'm not sure yet about the organ meats and I would disagree about the shellfish, but disregarding those teeny parts this is very much worth posting. I may be getting to read Dr. Price's book very soon! I'm excited!)

Fruity Frozen Treat

David whipped this up for us tonight, and it turned out good -- especially for a first attempt. I think it will be a do-over:

2 bananas
6 frozen strawberries
1 small can pineapple
Crushed ice (2 cups? -- "lots"... or maybe that was "a good bit")

Blend well and serve. It was very thick; thick enough to use a spoon at first until it melted a little bit, and then we could sip on it. This made two big glasses for us plus some Jayden could have by herself. I think we'll try all different combinations of fruit, too. It was plenty sweet for me as is, but you could always add a little honey or other sweetener if you wanted it even sweeter.

Recipe: Eggplant Creole

I made this for supper tonight (first time at this recipe and first attempt at eggplant), and I must say it was a winner. I imagine I'll make this again -- it may even become a "regular."

Ingredients
1 large eggplant, 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce, 1 can water, 1 clove (I used ground cloves), 2 bay leaves, 1 bell pepper (chopped), 1 onion (chopped), 1 teaspoon salt; (Optional: 1/2 cup grated cheese, 1/2 cup bread crumbs).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut eggplant in cubes; cook in boiling water for 8 minutes; drain. Place butter and flour in skillet; when blended, add tomato sauce and water; stir until smooth. Add clove, bay leaves, bell pepper, onion and salt. When sauce thickens, fold in eggplant. Transfer to casserole dish and sprinkle with cheese and bread crumbs. (I omitted the bread and cheese.) Bake for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees. Serve with rice or pasta. (Next time I may try putting my noodles or rice on the bottom of my casserole before adding the sauce and baking.)

After making this recipe tonight, it seems like it would be very easy to adapt/substitute with additional or alternative vegetables. I think zucchini would be good either in addition to or instead of the eggplant; extra onion and bell pepper would be good, too. Any vegetables that you think of with an Italian-type tomato sauce would be good. You could also add some type of meat if you wanted.

Good thoughts worth sharing

A comment posted on Dr. Mercola's blog by "Dr. David Spitz":

In the 1960's only 5% of meals were eaten out. During special occasions, it was a 'treat' and something really different to go to a restaurant. Most of the time it was a mom & pop place with good 'old fashioned' cooking--(not that it's really good for you anyway--but better than fast food).Today, almost 60% of meals are eaten out of the home. Restaurants will do whatever it take to get you there; hence the Burger King commercial enticing 'real men' to eat their cardiac special...enough fat, salt and who knows what to stop your heart.As usual, it boils down to common sense:
Eat breakfast at home
Never use salt
Bring your own lunch to work
Eat Dinner at home with your family
Once per week go out to dinner, but watch for the oily, salty, fried food.
Don't drink soda---drink 2-3 liters of pure water per day
Eat 5-6 smaller meals per day...snack with fruits, veggies an nuts. You will save money, save your waistline,,,,add years to your life.

Recipe: Spinach Mushroom Egg Bake

From mercola.com: Sounds yummy!

http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/Delicious-and-Easy-Spinach-Mushroom-Egg-Bake-10264.aspx