Eating well-balanced meals and an overall healthy diet does not have to come at the expense of your wallet. Clearly, fast food meals are cheaper than fresh produce. Unfortunately, a box of fries and a burger immersed in grease does not present the nutrition an individual requires on a daily basis. Adopting a poorly balanced diet can lead to a handful of health problems which, while unapparent at the moment, can emerge anytime.

Keep yourself and your family eating healthy by searching for healthier alternatives that are affordable and can be eaten regularly. Here are some examples of cheap but nutritious foods that are readily available.

Not only are they delicious, eggs are also an affordable source of protein. Weightlifters and bodybuilders consume two to three hard boiled eggs everyday as a substitute for expensive protein shakes and soy drinks. Eggs also offer other vitamins and minerals including vitamin A and B12, selenium, and riboflavin. For all this nutritional value, eggs only set you back for $3 a dozen. Another great thing about eggs is that it is an all-purpose ingredient. You can put it anywhere, from omelets to salads.

Sweet potato is another budget-friendly but nutrition-packed food you can add to your newly found diet. Sweet potatoes contain a myriad of vitamins and minerals. The long list includes vitamin B6 and C, potassium, manganese, and fiber. They also have beta carotene equivalent to that of a carrot’s. Beta carotene is an important nutrient that prevents heart diseases and asthma. The best way to prepare sweet potatoes is by baking or roasting them. Both cooking methods help preserve most of the nutrients inside the potato. Avoid boiling them as it will lead to substantial loss of vitamins and minerals.

Now who said oats are only good for the heart? Oatmeal is also great for your savings. This whole grain meal helps minimize bad cholesterol, which ultimately lower the risk for heart diseases like elevated blood pressure and heart attack. Oatmeal contains the same amount of antioxidants as vegetables do. Replacing at least one meal of the day with oatmeal also offers weight management benefits. Oatmeal contains low calories but provides an adequate amount of energy to help you function properly the entire day.

Apples are another healthy but affordable food choice. The fruit contains significant amounts of vitamin C and is concentrated with both soluble and insoluble fiber. Apples also help clear out the skin from acne. Eat them as is, with salads, or stuff them in a pie. Apples costs around $1.50 per pound, depending on the type of apple and season.

Leafy green spinach is rich in vitamins A, K, C, and folic acid, and they cost only $1.20 per bundle. They are a great addition to salads, pasta, casseroles, stews, and soups. Another reason to eat them is that they contain flavonoids, a phytonutrient with anti-cancer attributes. Spinach also contains anti-inflammatory properties thanks to neoxanthin and violaxanthin.

Next on our list is cabbage. This piece of vegetable is used to treat a number of complications including constipation, headache, obesity, skin disorders, jaundice, etc. Such value in health is all attributed to its abundance of vitamin C, iron, calcium, and potassium. Now you know why the Chinese put this popular ingredient in many of their dishes. Cabbage is a great addition to soups, sandwiches, and salads.

When purchasing healthy but cheap food, consider its freshness and quality. If the food is overripe or has been mishandled you are not getting as many of the nutrients as well as it is more likely to going bad on you and just being a waste of money. Make sure that it is fresh and still nutritious. In general if you can find a local food coop you are better garanteed to get fresher items as well as help you save even more on your grocery bill.

What are some of your favorite cheap healthy foods?

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Every budget-minded person knows that drinks add money to your bill and unnecessary calories to your diet. The way we get around this is by drinking water with our meals. With soft drinks and juices costing nearly $2.00 each visit to a restaurant, we can save nearly $10 a month on our weekly meals out by choosing water. This amounts to at least $120 per person per year. If you have a large family, you know how much this type of savings adds up. A family of four can save nearly $500 a year by making the switch.

I clip coupons. I wait for items to go on sale. I budget carefully so I can enjoy vacations, new clothing, and an occasional movie in the theater. I know how to stretch a dollar so why wouldn’t I apply the same logic when dining out. Why should I tip as much as my friends who order appetizers or drinks with their meal? It’s another area of personal finance I’ve a learned a thing or two about this month.

Whitt determined that by tipping the right amount, she would be able to enjoy two additional meals out a month with drinks. She even checked with the Emily Post Institute to make sure she was correct in her line of thinking. The astonishing news was this: You should calculate your tip according to the pre-tax amount listed on the receipt not the total. This little tidbit of knowledge helps you save a few more cents each meal out.

Tax is charged regardless whether you use coupons at a restaurant or not. You are paying the tip as a percentage of the meal you purchased not the tax that is being added onto the bill. 15% is customary and 20% is reserved for those times that service was so exceptional that it knocked your socks off. Many a mediocre server has been rewarded by my lack of knowledge. I’m no longer going to be overly generous especially when the service I receive leaves little to be desired.

What is your take on tipping? Do you go the extra mile to make sure your waiters and waitresses are provided for? Do you think it’s tacky to use a calculator to figure out your tip? Do you feel wait staff should simply get bigger tips regardless of service quality because they are paid a low base wage? I’d love to hear your feedback about the subject.

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And you don’t even need a bunch of specialized equipment for some pickling. In fact, check out this recipe for making refrigerator dill pickles. With just some cucumbers, vinegar, and some herbs and spices you can literally have pickles ready to eat in a matter of hours.

What Are the Advantages of Pickling?

Although simple in concept, pickling requires knowledge, skills, and equipment. A bit time consuming at first, preserving food has its advantages. First and foremost, it eliminates waste and saves money. By pickling food you raised yourself, you can cut your grocery bill in half.

Next, you have a wider variety of fruits and vegetables to choose from. Produce doesn’t have to be “in season” for you to enjoy it. The pickling process maintains flavor and freshness. You can enjoy your favorite foods year round without having to pay extra for them at the grocery store.

Last but not least, pickled foods are nutritious and delicious. You can easily add a homemade relish or chutney to a dish and transform it into something gourmet. Ask any foodie. A good pickle is worth its weight in gold.

What Does Pickling Entail?

Before you run out and buy a bunch of canning jars, note that pickling is a process. Although it’s not an exact science, there are some things you should be aware of. Take volume for example. There is something Chessman calls “Produce Math”. The term refers to the weight of the produce in relation to volume. Things like shape, degree of ripeness, variety, and shape of container are to be factored in when gauging quantities of apples, carrots, onions, and tomatoes.

You should also possess a boiling-water-bath canner, glass jars with lids, a pickling crock, and a kitchen scale a well as optional items like a food processor, a canning funnel, a jar lifter, a bubble releasing tool like a wooden chopstick or narrow spatula, and dish towels. These items make it much easier to safely preserve food for future consumption.

Before you pickle, your kitchen should be organized. The fruits and vegetables should already be prepared. You also should have prepped the jars and the preheated the canner. This will give you the time you need to prepare the pickling solution and pack the jars.

The perfect pickle is one recipe away. To learn how to make Spiced Carrot Sticks, Dilled Jerusalem Artichokes, Curried Zucchini Pickles, and Tomatillo Salsa, refer to Andrea Chessman’s Pickled Pantry book. It’s well worth picking up.

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A burger is such a simple thing, so why are they constantly done so poorly? Let’s start with the main ingredient: ground beef. Go to any supermarket and you can find the shelves stocked with more ground beef than you can shake a stick at. You’ll find regular hamburger, ground chuck, ground sirloin, and sometimes a mixture of grinds. That’s all well and good, but if you knew how this meat was often put together you’d probably be quite put off. In fact, did you know that the typical package of ground beef at your supermarket may contain parts from hundreds of different cows? And in many cases, ground beef gets the lowest quality beef such as old dairy cows and parts of the animal you don’t even want to imagine. Ground chuck is better since you at least know you’re getting chuck meat, but that’s about where the added quality ends. And in many stores, the butchers make their own ground beef by taking all the unsold and dated cuts on the shelves and grinding them up to resell as hamburger. Sure, it’s safe to eat, but not what I’d call fresh.

I'm going to show you how to make all of this for less than $2.50

While the meat itself is a large component of quality, it’s the person doing the cooking that makes matters even worse. There are four cardinal sins when it comes to making hamburger, and most home cooks commit one or more of these regularly:

1. Don’t overwork the meat.
2. Don’t over season the meat
3. Don’t flatten the meat with a spatula.
4. Don’t over cook the meat.

Let me address these briefly. The first problem is overworking the meat. When people make patties at home they have a tendency to mix the meat up with their hands so much that the texture almost becomes a paste instead of retaining the small ground chunks. This is the number one reason you end up with tough burgers with an unpleasant texture. Next up is the seasoning. Don’t get cute and think by adding twenty spices that you’re going to overcome everything else that goes wrong. Like a quality steak, if done properly you want just a tiny bit of basic seasoning to enhance the natural flavor of the meat. After preparing the burger it’s time to cook it, and that’s where flattening and overcooking the meat comes in. DON’T push on your patties with the spatula while on the grill and force all the juice and moisture out. That’s where the flavor comes from. And finally, burgers cook faster than most people realize, so overcooking is probably one of the biggest problems. If you’ve ever had those hard hockey puck burgers at a friend’s BBQ party, you know what I’m talking about. To give you an idea, a 3/4″ patty on a hot grill will probably be more than well done in just ten minutes. How many times have you, or seen someone else, standing over a grill flipping burgers for 20 minutes at a time? It’s no wonder they become dry and tasteless.

Choosing a Grinder and Meat

Now that you know what not to do I bet you can already take your existing burger recipe and improve the end product by 100 percent. But we still need to address the quality of the meat. If you want to control quality, you’ll need either a trusted local butcher, but since those are hard to come by these days your best bet is to grind your own hamburger meat. By doing so you can pick the freshest cuts of meat, adjust the fat content how you see fit, and control the size of the grind. With pre-packaged ground beef you’re at the mercy of many other factors.

First things first, you need something to grind the meat with. You basically have three main options: a hand-crank grinder, a stand mixer with a grinding attachment, or a food processor. If you already have any of the three, you’re in luck. If you don’t, then you’ll have to find one. Honestly, I love both my food processor and stand mixer, and they get used regularly. But not for grinding meat. I’m old school and use a century old hand crank that clamps to your counter top. If you’re on a budget or just starting out, I’d recommend one of these as well. In fact, you can often find them at garage sales or second-hand stores for about five bucks. Otherwise, you’ll probably have to spend $25-40 on an entry level new grinder.

Now it’s time for meat selection. What cuts of meat work best for grinding your own burgers? Really, the choice is yours, but a good starting point is chuck steak (or roast if you are making a lot of burgers). That’s because chuck already has a pretty good meat to fat ratio of about 80/20, which is the sweet spot for burgers. But this is where you can get creative and mix and match cuts of meat to give you the ultimate in flavor and texture. I know a lot of people claim brisket makes the absolute best burgers, so experiment and see what you like best. Just keep in mind that you do need some fat in the burger, so if you go with very lean cuts you’ll probably want to add back in fat of some sort.

Pay attention to cost, but don’t get hung up on it. It’s hard to compete with $1.89/lb bulk hamburger at the supermarket, but remember, we’re after high-quality gourmet style burgers, so comparing to that is apples and oranges. So buying higher quality cuts of meat may be closer to $3 or even $4/lb, but that’s still a steal. Think of it this way: a pound of meat will make three 1/3 pound burgers, so even at $3.50/lb you’re only really paying $1.17 for a burger that will will rival the quality of a $15 burger at a decent restaurant. Now that’s savings! And here’s another tip to help you save money. Check with the butcher behind the meat counter and ask if they have any fat scraps in the back. A lot of times they will have fresh fat trimmings that you can get for free since they often discard most of it. With free fat you can then just buy whatever lean cut of meat you want to mix with it.

How to Grind Your Own Burger

Have your grinder and meat? Good. It’s time to get to work. To see how simple this process and recipe is, look at everything you need below. It includes a grinder, a one-pound chuck steak, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. That’s it. No getting fancy and putting a dozen ingredients into the meat that will only mask the flavor of the beef because we want the beef to be the star.

Step 1: Cube the meat: Before running the meat through the grinder you’ll need to cut it into smaller and more manageable pieces. I just shoot for rough one-inch chunks. While you want to include the fat, be sure to trim away any silver skin or really hard gristle. That stuff can clog the grinder. Here is my chuck steak after cubing up:

One more tip before this meat hits the grinder: throw it into the freezer (unless you’re using a food processor for grinding). This is a step that most people miss and it only leads to frustration when trying to grind meat. So, put your cubed meat and grinder in the freezer for about 30 minutes. It won’t freeze completely, but it makes the meat quite stiff. You want to do this because the grinding process creates heat and what can happen is the fat starts to melt while you grind it along with creating more of a mushy texture in the final grind. That’s no good, so simply chill the meat and equipment in the freezer for a bit and your job will be much easier and you’ll have a better final product.

Step 2: Grind the meat: When you pull the meat out of the freezer it’s time to start grinding. Set up your grinder. If you’re using a hand-crank or stand mixer attachment you’ll be shooting for a medium to medium-coarse grind size. Holes around 1/4″ or a little smaller will be ideal. If you’re using a food processor you already skipped the freezer and can put your regular metal chopping blade on and do 1-2 second pulses to grind the meat to the right consistency. It’s better to work in small batches so you can get a consistent grind. If you’re using a regular grinder, start by loading a few chunks of meat into the hopper and start cranking. Watch those fingers and use something to push the meat down just to be safe. This is what your meat will look like as it comes out of the grinder:

Step 3: Seasoning the meat: Depending on your grinding method it may take a couple minutes per pound, but after all said and done you’ll be left with a bowl of perfectly ground meat. Seasoning the meat is simple and a lot of it will be up to your personal preferences, but remember from earlier that less is more. When you have a high-quality product to begin with you don’t need to use a bunch of added flavors to get something that tastes good. So my typical seasoning recipe is quite simple. Per pound of meat I usually add a couple tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, a few pinches of kosher salt, and a healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper. That’s it. If you’re used to adding a bunch of spices to your hamburger, I’d challenge you to start very simple like this first and see how you like it. You can always introduce new seasoning next time, but I think you’ll be surprised at the flavor of this and may never go back to your old recipe again.

Step 4: Making the patties: Another area that trips some people up is making the patties. After adding the seasoning don’t go in with your hands and pulverize the meat. All you need to do is use your fingertips to lightly mix and incorporate everything together. Remember, overworking the meat will make it tough and give it a bad texture. You want a light and fluffy burger, so go easy with it. The other trick to making patties is size. Too small and they are almost certain to dry out and get overcooked, but too big and they are unwieldy on the bun and harder to cook so that the center is done properly without the outside being overdone. The best starting point is about 1/3 of a pound per burger, or a little under six ounces. If you started with a known amount of meat (in my case one pound) you can portion it into thirds or quarters or whatever amount you had to give you a rough size. So for me, with a pound of meat I just divided it into three equal sized chunks and that gave me my 1/3 pound. You only have to do this once and then you’ll see the size of the ball of meat and will know for future patties how much you need to get close.

So, take your roughly third of a pound of meat and lightly roll it into a ball with your hands. Then work it into a patty with your thumbs and palms working from the center toward the edges. Again, we’re not looking to mash the meat so that’s why we’re using our fingers lightly and not putting it down on a cutting board and pressing it out or anything. When you’re done you should have about a 3/4″ thick patty that’s around 4-5 inches in diameter:

Step 5: Hitting the grill: You can cook your burger indoors in a skillet, but in my opinion the best way is over the open flame of a grill. It adds just one more dimension to the final flavor that can’t be replicated indoors, so that’s what I’m going to do here. The secret to a good grilled burger is high heat and a dimple (don’t worry, I’ll explain the dimple.). If you’ve ever cooked burgers on the grill before you’ve probably encountered the incredible swelling that sometimes occurs. You know, when you had a pretty consistent and flat patty to start only to end up with a small, yet super thick burger in the center. That’s no good, so that’s where the dimple comes in. When you put your burger on the grill use your thumb and push down in the center of the patty making a small dent or dimple. What this does is help control the shrinking that occurs and will give you a very consistent thickness across the patty when you’re done cooking. It took me years to learn about this trick, and it’s amazing how such a simple thing can work wonders.

So you’ve thrown your burger on the grill and dimpled it, now what? Close the lid on the grill and don’t touch it! You don’t have to constantly peek on its progress or flip it over fifty times in fear of burning. The burger will do its thing without you messing with it. I only flip my burgers once, and never, ever, push on them with the spatula. If I’m looking for a medium-well burger I’ll shoot for about eight minutes total cooking time on my grill. That’s just four minutes per side, flipping once halfway through. Sometimes for presentation sake when entertaining I’ll rotate the burger about 45-degrees after the first few minutes to get the nice crisscrossing grill marks. But if I’m just cooking for the family I usually don’t bother.  Here is the burger just minutes away from being pulled from the grill. See how juicy it looks, and notice how it didn’t puff up in the center:

Step 6: Bonus corn on the cob tips: Before we assemble the burger I wanted to include how I made the side dish of grilled corn on the cob. There are many, many different ways to prepare corn on the cob, but whenever I grill the corn for guests or at a party I always get a lot of questions about how to do it. While there are a few different ways to grill corn, I’ll show you my favorite method that always goes over well with everyone.

First, I remove a few of the outer layers of the husk and then snip off the ends with a pair or scissors. Then I pull back the husk about 90 percent of the way so that it’s still attached at the base and remove as much of the silk as I can. Then the husk gets loosely folded back up over the corn. I like this method because it protects most of the corn from direct contact from the grill while still allowing a little charring and getting some of that smokiness to the kernels.

After you’ve prepared your corn go ahead and throw it into a large bowl or sink of cold water for about ten minutes. This step is optional and sometimes I soak it and sometimes I don’t. Soaking it just helps the husk from burning so quickly on the grill and produces a little less ash. But not soaking it won’t hurt anything and just give you more charred husk to deal with. After that it’s time to hit the grill. Again, using high direct heat the corn goes on and I usually give it about 15-20 minutes total with about a quarter turn every few minutes. Here is the corn about halfway through its cooking time:

And that’s it. Once it’s done just let the corn cool for a few minutes so it’s easy to handle and pull off the husks. You’ll be left with perfectly done corn on the cob that’s ready to be slathered in butter, salt and pepper, creole seasoning, or whatever you like to top it with.

Step 7: Assembling your burger: If you’ve followed all the above steps you’re ready to build your perfect homemade gourmet burger. When it comes to toppings there are few rules to follow. In fact, that’s the best part of just using a very simple seasoning on the meat itself, because it works with any combination of toppings. If you get too crazy with burger seasoning you can limit yourself somewhat in complimentary toppings. The only rule I have is to use good bread. Seriously, why go through the trouble of making a delicious hamburger only to slap it on the cheapest white bread bun available? Do yourself a favor and spend the few extra cents it costs to upgrade to a premium package of buns. For my burger I went with an onion and poppy seed bun and tossed them on the grill for about a minute just to toast them up nice.

Then go ahead and load it up with whatever you want. Here I used baby spinach, spicy mustard, a little ketchup, fresh slice of tomato, and a few pickles. But hey, it’s your burger, so go wild.

And here is the bad boy sliced open. Admittedly, it got real close to the well done stage, which I don’t particularly care for, but time got away from me while I was busy taking all the pictures for this post. But the good news is that when you make a burger properly by using fresh meat, don’t overwork it, and don’t squeeze all the juice out of it on the grill, you’ll still end up with the best and juiciest hamburger you’ve ever made even if it is well done.

Cost Breakdown

Back at the beginning of this article I mentioned you could save money by grinding your own meat and building a gourmet burger. After all, this site is about saving money. I know some people will be quick to point out that better cuts of meat cost more, buying a grinder costs money,  springing for fancy buns and toppings will add up, and it takes time to grind your own meat. That’s all very true, but keep in mind we’re not competing with bottom of the barrel mystery meat thrown on a tasteless white bun with just some ketchup and mustard. This is about creating a good restaurant quality meal for a fraction of the cost. In fact, one serving of this meal costs even less than a happy meal at McDonald’ s and it tastes a thousand times better and is even better for you.

Starting with the meat, I picked up a one-pound chuck steak for $3.89/lb. It wasn’t on sale and I could have saved money by using different cuts or getting some free fat from the butcher, but I wanted to stick with something easy off the shelf. $3.89 gave me three patties, so per serving that came to $1.30. I found an 8-pack of the onion buns for $2, so that’s 25 cents per serving. As for the spinach, it was just something left over in the fridge from a salad. A whole bag was about two dollars, so the topping for the burger maybe cost 10-20 cents at the most. And just one slice of tomato maybe cost another 20 cents. Pickles and all the other condiments were already stocked in the fridge and cost is negligible. Finally, corn on the cob was six ears for $2, so one ear was 33 cents. Obviously, costs will vary based on location and season, but there is a lot of margin to work with for saving money.

Adding it all up:

• Burger: $1.30
• Bun: $0.25
• Toppings: roughly $0.40
• Corn: $0.33
• Grand total = $2.28

Look at that. A gourmet hamburger with a side all for under $2.50! It’s cheaper than even the cheapest fast food burger and you’ll find that this burger tastes better than probably any expensive burger you’ve bought at a restaurant, where it isn’t uncommon to pay ten dollars or more for a burger with fries. Even at a cheap sit-down restaurant it’s hard to get a hamburger meal for under five or six bucks, so the savings and quality you’re getting is great. It’s time to change your idea of what a hamburger is and save money in the process. You’ll impress your friends and be on burger duty for gatherings for years to come.

Like this recipe? Then be sure to check out my award-winning chili recipe and incredibly cheap homemade salsa recipe.

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Eat at Home

Many families like to go out and eat because of the convenience, but if you want to save money it’s the first and most important habit you need to break. Stop going to fast food restaurants and start buying groceries that will allow you to prepare meals at home. Don’t purchase junk food. Buy fruits, vegetables, canned goods, and meats. Purchase items that will allow you to make a meal–not boxes of prepared meals. If you buy fresh ingredients and learn how to cook a few simple dishes you’ll soon be enjoying your home cooking as much as any restaurant meal.

Use Coupons

When you go into the grocery store you will find the store’s sales paper, which will have sale items and maybe have coupons inside of it. I know it’s obvious, but buying items on sale saves money, so buy as many sale products that you need as you can. Some stores even have a store membership card that you can sign up for free to get extra discounts whenever you make a purchase.

Buy Store Brand Products

Some individuals don’t like purchasing store brand products because they think they may not taste as good. This may be true for some things, but when it comes to staples you can rarely tell the difference. When you are on a budget, your family still needs to eat, so saving even 20% on the items you eat daily can add up. You will have to sacrifice name brand products for the store or generic brand in order to save some money.  If you notice a store brand product tastes a little different than what you’re used to don’t be quick to give it up.

Eat Sandwiches

If you are the type of person who hates cooking every day, you can feed your family sandwiches. When you go grocery shopping make sure you have everything you need to make a few different kinds of sandwiches. Some deli meat, cheese, condiments, and bread will mean you can create a few different sandwich-themed meals each week. Throw in some fresh fruit as a side and you have an incredibly healthy meal as well.

Cook Enough Food to Last a Few Days

The holidays aren’t the only time you have to cook a big meal. You can cook one during the week. You will save time and money by cooking more food at one time. Your family may not want to eat the same thing every day, but you can repurpose parts of the original meal into other meals. Plus you can freeze leftovers and use them for a quick meal weeks from now. Who says you can only make a turkey at Thanksgiving? Turkeys can be very inexpensive at other times of year so go ahead and make yourself a Thanksgiving feast one weekend and you’ll have all the leftovers to yourself.

Also, if making a big meal on a budget so you can stretch the food out for days is your kind of thing be sure to check out Jeremy’s award-winning chili recipe, homemade salsa recipe, and crock pot pulled pork recipe. A little bit of money goes a long way with these recipes.

Eat Breakfast for Two Meals

Breakfast doesn’t have to be eaten just one time a day. You can have breakfast food for lunch, dinner, or even a snack. Eat a bowl of cereal for lunch. Eat eggs, pancakes, and sausage for dinner. Breakfast products aren’t typically expensive so you can save a lot of money by eating breakfast twice a day or substituting breakfast for another meal.

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Even though many of us have a little time before the growing season really kicks off, you can start planning for your spring garden today. First, begin thinking about what types of vegetables you eat the most and then look at how much they usually cost. The reason you want to do this is because if space is limited you only want to grow what will give you the most bang for your buck. For example, you may love potatoes, but think about how much room they take to grow and how inexpensive they are in the store. It usually wouldn’t be worth it. The same goes for something like lettuce. You’d need to plant a lot of heads at varying times throughout the year just to have a steady crop, but if you can pick up a head of lettuce at the store for two bucks it probably isn’t worth the space or effort.

Instead, look at items that are more costly. A couple of examples are tomatoes and fresh herbs. I don’t know about you, but typical supermarket tomatoes are really lacking in the flavor department and it should be a crime to charge upwards of $3-4 a pound for them. Instead, a single tomato plant of your own may cost as little as two dollars and provide over ten pounds of fruit over the summer. Do the math a two dollar investment and a little watering may produce $40 worth of savings. And taste a hundred times better! Grow more plants, save even more (not to mention canning the excess for those cold winter months). If you want a good idea for tomatoes check out my homemade salsa recipe.

The same holds true for herbs. I don’t like paying a few dollars for a handful of basil or parsley that’s just enough for one or two meals. Again, you can pick up little seedlings of virtually any herb for as little as a dollar and come summer you’ll have more fresh herbs than you know what to do with. Even better, they take up hardly any space at all and you can grow most in small pots on a patio. Or do what I did last year and I just put a few herbs mixed in with the rest of the landscape around the house. No garden needed!

Growing a spring garden is a rewarding and money-saving hobby whether you’re growing a single tomato plant from your apartment balcony or putting in a few thousand square feet of plants in the back yard. As long as you’re smart about what you plant and have realistic expectations you’ll be sure to have some fresh produce to make meals taste even better this summer and fall.

So, as spring marches on start thinking about what you can grow this year. You don’t need to be a farmer or live out in the country to grow some money-saving produce. Keep your eye out for sales and excess stock before the gardening rush kicks in. You can probably find a lot of pots, seeds, or other gardening items on sale.

Start planning a garden today and reap the benefits of your work come summer time.

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Just when I thought I had seen it all, I ran across a website I knew nothing about.  Veggie Trader is the perfect spot for people to buy, sell, and trade produce with others in their community.  You see, the setup is kind of like Craigslist.  You post a listing describing the excess produce you have and what you’d like in return.  Then, you wait for other members to respond.  Once both parties have agreed to the deal, they meet in a public place to swap goods.  Talk about genius!  Do you know how many yards I see in Florida littered with perfectly good fruit?

Setting Up an Account

It doesn’t cost anything to register for the site and to post an ad.  In fact, it only takes a matter of moments to complete the form.  Make sure to check your inbox for a confirmation email.  Without activating your account, you can’t do much.  I tried to log-in without completing the registration and it prompted me to look for an email from the site.

Rules and Regulations

Before you get all excited and list all the extra lettuce from your garden, there are a few things that you should know:

• Licenses �’ Check with your local authorities to make sure that these type of transactions can be conducted without a license.  Some states require that you have one before you can trade your excess seeds, produce or plants.

• Taxes �’ Trading beyond state lines may make you subject to taxes.  If you’re not sure that is the case where you live, ask someone who knows more about it like an accountant or attorney.

• Quarantine Zones �’ Check with your state’s Department of Agriculture to see if any quarantine zones are effect in your community.  The website warns that this is your responsibility.

• Pesticides �’ It’s always a good idea to check with the people that you are buying or swapping from to see what kinds of pesticides they have used on their fruits and vegetables.  Most people will be obliged to share this information with you.  Avoid those who are not.

• Liabilities �’ Veggie Trader cannot be held responsible for any transaction done through the website.

• Prohibited �’ Stick to fruits and veggies only as the site does not permit you to trade things like eggs and meat.

• US Only �’ Members are prohibited from using the site to import or export food into or out of the United States.

With gardening being so popular these days, it’s great to see sites like this exist.  If you grow more than you eat, why not share your good fortune?  There are plenty of people out there that would like to be paid in fresh fruits and veggies.

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• TRADING PRODUCE FOR PRODUCE

If you love salsa and thought it was too hard to make at home, I’m going to have to stop you right there. In fact, it’s one of the easiest dips you’ll ever have a chance to make and it will taste a hundred times better than most of the stuff you get in a jar to boot. Speaking of salsa in a jar, have you noticed how expensive that stuff is? Wow, you can spend between 3 and 5 dollars on this tiny little jar that you can’t even fit a chip into. Ever try to feed a crowd? You’ll need to buy a bunch of jars and spend a good chunk of money to pull it off, and in the end it’s still canned and preservative-filled salsa.

So, it’s time for a salsa recipe that will make a ton and cost no more than a a jar of the store-bought stuff. The best part is you’re in control. If you like it hot, you can make it hot. If you like it chunky, you can make it chunky. If you like it smooth, make it smooth. No more being stuck with whatever the options are in the store. And above all, you can make it as fresh as you want. If you grow your own tomatoes, peppers, and herbs, this salsa can literally come right from your own back yard.

Now, I want to warn you ahead of time that there are no big secrets here. Almost every basic salsa recipe is a variation of these ingredients. But what I’m going to do is walk you through the process so you’ll be comfortable making it on your own, and explain how you can customize the salsa recipe to become your own. Think of this recipe as your blank salsa canvas. It’s nice on its own, but it’s up to you do decide how to build upon it. Use different types of chilies, try black beans, maybe add some roasted corn, double the garlic, or whatever you want. Your salsa, your rules.

Are you ready? Here we go. This is what we’ll be making today:

Looks good, doesn’t it? And look how much there is. That entire bowl didn’t even cost $4. So, what do you need to make this fine salsa? I’m glad you asked. Take a peek below and you’ll see the ingredients.

What we have here are some very basic ingredients, many of which you may already have. Breaking it down:

• 1 large can of tomatoes, 14-20 oz. (whole, diced, crushed, your choice)
• 1 small can of diced tomatoes with chilies
• 1 small onion or half of a medium onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• Juice of half a lime
• Handful of fresh cilantro
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper
• Dash of black pepper

Before I go any further, I want to talk about the ingredients a little bit. First, you probably noticed I’m using a food processor. I love this gadget because it makes quick work of chopping for dishes like this. If you don’t have one, don’t worry. You can still make great salsa without it. Just keep in mind that while I’m not doing a whole lot of fine chopping or dicing in the recipe below, you’ll just have to do a lot of the cutting by hand and then mix everything together.

Second, your choice of tomatoes will have a lot to do with the final product because after all, salsa is largely tomatoes. You’ll see here I have crushed and diced. I’ll be honest, usually for the large can I use whole tomatoes. But when I was digging through my pantry all I had at the time were crushed. Not a big deal as long as you don’t like your salsa really chunky. If you do like big chunks, be sure to get whole tomatoes. Sometimes I skip the small can with chilies completely and just add a small can of green chilies instead. Usually just whatever is in the cupboard.

As for the rest of the ingredients, they are just a good baseline as to what will give you a good final product. I’m sure you’ll make some changes as you become familiar with the recipe so you can suit it to your tastes.

Go ahead and dump your tomatoes into the processor and add your salt and sugar. I usually start with between 1/4 and 1/2 tsp. of each. You can always stir a little more of either after it’s all mixed up if it needs it. It really depends on the sweetness of the tomatoes. Sometimes you’ll want a little more salt to combat sweet tomatoes, or sometimes the tomatoes aren’t sweet enough and they need a little help. Your taste buds will tell you.

Next, add the ground cumin. Again, I usually shoot for about 1/2 tsp. I’m not overly concerned about precise measurements here either, because you can always sprinkle a little more in at the end if you can’t taste it. Oh, and while we’re adding spices, don’t forget to put a pinch of cayenne and fresh black pepper in there as well.

Now it’s time to add the garlic. You’ll see here I’m using a garlic press. Seriously, one of my favorite kitchen tools. Instead of spending a minute or two finely mincing garlic and ending up with garlic hands for the rest of the day, you just pop a clove into this thing (skin and all) and squeeze. Instant minced garlic! If you don’t have one, just give a clove or two a fine mince with a knife and add it to the rest of the ingredients so far.

Time for the onion. Ok, so I had to break the knife out. That’s because even though the food processor will do the chopping, if the onion isn’t already roughly chopped you’d need to turn the tomatoes into a puree before the onions were the right size. So, go ahead and give one small, or half of a larger onion a rough chop. I usually use a sweet onion, but red, white, sweet, it’s up to you.

The knife comes out again for the cilantro. All I’m doing here is cutting the stems off of a small bunch of fresh cilantro. As far as how much you should use, you can go by what you see here. It’s basically a fist full or so. You can try growing this in the garden if you want, but at 50 cents in the store this is one herb I don’t mind buying.

Let’s spice things up. Take a regular sized jalapeño and quarter it. Keep all of the seeds and membrane from inside the peppers. This is where most of the heat comes from, so this is what will make the salsa spicy. I know some of you may be thinking one pepper won’t create much heat, but you’d be surprised. Until you get a feeling for how spicy it is with one, I wouldn’t go crazy adding more. I find one pepper gives you a pleasant burn, but not so strong it’s offensive. Once I made it with two whole peppers and many of my guests wouldn’t eat it because it was too hot.

After quartering the peppers you’ll want to give those a rough chop as well. Again, for the same reason as the onions. We want salsa, not tomato puree.

Now, it’s time for the finishing touch. Take a lime and cut it in half. Then go ahead and give it a good squeeze. You’ll want about the juice of one half lime. Again, no exact measurements and you don’t have to squeeze every last drop out. Just give it a good squeeze and get what you can out of it.

If you’re following along and using a food processor, just hit the pulse button a couple of times for about 3 seconds each. It doesn’t take much. It’s better to be light with the chopping and test the consistency as you go. You can always chop things further, but once it’s been pulverized into a liquid there’s no going back. So here’s about what you’re looking for after a couple quick pulses. You can still see some larger chunks of pepper and onion, so it probably needs another pulse or two.

And here is the consistency I’m usually looking for. Granted, it’s a little less chunky than I usually make, but that’s because I started with crushed tomatoes instead of diced or whole tomatoes like usual. So your consistency will obviously differ based on what kind of tomatoes you used and what you like.

Here is the consistency shown on a chip. Don’t be afraid to dig in at this point and see how it tastes. You’ll be able to tell at this point if it needs anything else like salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, etc.

And again, here’s your finished product. How easy was that? One final note, but the flavors really come together after sitting in the refrigerator overnight. That’s one thing that can be a bit deceiving at first. You may taste it initially and think it isn’t very spicy, but as it sits the chilies have a chance to really permeate the rest of the salsa and you’ll notice on the second day it’s perfect.

I told you it wouldn’t take long or cost much money. After making this you’ll probably never buy a jar of salsa from the store again. And have fun with it and experiment. Try adding roasted garlic, or maybe some fresh mango or pineapple. If hot is your thing, step it up with hotter chilies. Or maybe try some fresh heirloom tomatoes in the summer. It’s up to you, and I’m sure you’ll come up with your own signature homemade salsa recipe to pass on in no time.

If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to check out some of my others:

• Award-Winning Chili Recipe
• Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Pork Recipe
• Homemade Applesauce Recipe
• Grilled Potatoes and Sour Cream Sauce Recipe

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The holidays are a time where creativity is encouraged.  Trimming your tree can be costly if you opt to purchase each and every one of your ornaments from the store.  Rather than incur these unnecessary costs, think about other festive ways to decorate.  In fact, with a little bit of imagination and a few ordinary kitchen supplies, you and your children can make salt dough ornaments and create long lasting memories while doing so.

Here is an easy recipe for you to get started. It won’t cost hardly anything, keep your kids entertained, and provide decorations for the holidays.

What You Need From the Kitchen

To prepare these simple adornments for your tree, you will need:

• ½ cup of salt
• 1 cup of flour
• ½ cup of water
• A rolling pin
• Cookie cutters
• A toothpick
• A cookie sheet

What You Can Use From Your Arts and Crafts Stash

Here are a few of the things you can use to decorate your salt dough Christmas ornaments:

• Glitter
• Seed Beads (For Eyes)
• Acrylic Paint
• Ribbon
• Rubber Stamps and Ink

Steps for Creating Your Very Own Salt Dough Ornaments

Creating fun ornaments takes very little time after you have gathered the necessary supplies.  Here are the steps to take when preparing and baking the dough:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Mix together the dry ingredients, the flour and the salt, with the water until it forms a dough.

3. Spread flour onto a flat, dry surface and begin to knead the dough on top of it.

4. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin.  Be careful not to let it get too thin.  If you prefer molding the dough by hand, remember that your palms will get sticky unless you put flour on them too.

5. Use cookie cutters to acquire the desired shapes you want.

6. Take a toothpick and trace a circle at the top of each ornament.  This will allow you to thread ribbon through the hole and hang the decorations on your tree.

7. Place all of your ornaments on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for two hours.

8. Once the items have turned brown and risen, remove them from the oven.

9. Allow the ornaments to cool completely before decorating them with the aforementioned craft supplies.

My mother made salt dough ornaments routinely with my brothers and I while we were growing up.  One of my favorites that she designed was a ballerina bear.  Not only did it have a tulle tutu, it even had pink ballet slippers.  It was incredibly inventive and a reminder that handmade holidays mean even more to some families.  I know that it made quite the impression on me!

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Do you love apples? Aside from apple pie there’s probably nothing better than a bowl of fresh homemade applesauce. If you’ve never tried making your own applesauce you might be surprised to find out just how simple and inexpensive it is. Especially in the fall when you can get fresh apples for next to nothing at the orchard. I know in the past we’ve bought a half bushel or so of apples and it’s a struggle to try to consume them all before they go bad, but making applesauce is a perfect way to not only make something delicious, but keep that fresh apple taste on-hand all year long.

The good thing is that fresh applesauce will last a while in the refrigerator as it is, but if you’re into canning you can can your own jars of applesauce that will keep in the cupboard all year long. When you’re huddling next to the fireplace in the dead of winter wouldn’t it be nice to warm up a can of your cinnamon applesauce as a snack? It doesn’t get much better than that. While I’m not going to go through the canning process today, I am going to walk you through a fantastic homemade applesauce recipe that will only cost a couple of bucks and take very little time to make.

Let’s start with what you’ll need. As you can see above you really don’t need many ingredients. In fact, both the apple peeler and crock pot are optional, but they do make the process a lot easier. So, here’s the basic recipe:

• 5 pounds of apples (stick with a sweet, not tart apple)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (from a bottle is fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Starting with the apples, really, you can use any apple that you like to eat. You can even mix and match apple types if you want. One thing to keep in mind is sweeter apples usually work better since applesauce is meant to be more sweet than tart, but you can always balance it out with more or less brown sugar if you need to. The one curious ingredient is the bottle of lemon juice. The interesting thing about the lemon juice is that it isn’t used for a flavor component at all. Instead, the acid in the juice helps keep the apples from oxidizing and it’s also essential for canning. If you’re just making a small batch to eat over a couple of days and don’t care if your applesauce turns a little more brown you can omit the lemon juice entirely. That’s also why I just use the cheap bottled juice since you’re really after just the acidity and not flavor, so why waste a dollar on a fresh lemon for just a tablespoon of juice? Finally, while not pictured, I recommend cinnamon. Obviously, a lot of applesauce doesn’t have cinnamon in it by default, but I love having some in mine because it comes out tasting like the inside of an apple pie!

Peeling the Apples

The only work really involved in making applesauce is peeling and coring the apples. No special tools required, but let me tell you, an apple peeler makes this process lightning quick. You can peel and core an apple in about 15 seconds! They are cheap and can be had for under $20 brand new, but they are also common items found at garage sales or in second-hand stores. In my opinion, they are a great kitchen tool to have because once you have one, you’ll be cooking with apples much more often. Not only that, but they work as great potato peelers as well.

Using one is simple. You simply stick an apple on the rotating shaft centered on the core.

As if that wasn’t simple enough, the next step is to just turn the crank.

Now that you have the peeling down, just work through all five pounds of apples. If you aren’t using a peeler like this you’ll just want to remove the skin, the seeds from the core, and slice the apple into somewhat thin pieces. After all said and done you’ll have a nice bowl of apples.

Cooking the Apples

Once you’ve peeled all of the apples it’s time to do some cooking. Here’s where you have another optional method. You can use a pot and cook on the stove top, or my personal favorite, use a crock pot slow cooker. I like the crock pot because you have to cook the apples down for 4-8 hours, so it’s safer and easier to use one. As you may know if you’re a regular reader, I cook all sorts of stuff in my crock pot and one of my favorites is my crock pot pulled pork.

So, dump all of the apples into the slow cooker with about a half cup of water. If you have apple juice on hand, substitute that for the water. After adding the apples and water it’s time to add the few remaining ingredients. Start with a tablespoon of lemon juice.

Next you’re going to add the brown sugar. For five pounds of apples I usually go with a half cup to start, but you can always do a little less or more to taste. It will really depend on how sweet your apples are. Remember, it’s always easier to start with a smaller amount and add more later.

Easy enough, right? Finally, if you opted to use cinnamon like I did then you’ll go ahead and add that next. Again, I start with just a half teaspoon at first and then tasted it as it cooks to see if it needs any more. You can always add more, but you can’t remove it once it’s in there so go slow.

Letting the Applesauce Cook Down

Once you’ve added the few ingredients it’s time to let time and heat work its magic. If you’re using a slow cooker you can utilize either the low or high setting. Use low if you’re going to let it go overnight or otherwise for upwards of 8 hours. If you use high heat you can finish cooking in just 4 or 5 hours. If you’re using the stove you want to be careful and watch the heat. If it gets too hot on the bottom it can create a hot spot and burn some of the sugars, so play it safe and start slow. Use a spoon to basically stir and chop up the apple chunks.

After a few hours you’ll start to notice some changes. The mixture will turn a little darker in color and really start to cook down. If I’m not cooking it overnight I’ll give it a good stir and chop the chunks up with the spoon every hour or two.

Finishing the Applesauce

After you’ve cooked the apples for the desired length of time you just need to dump them into a bowl and do a little mashing to get it to the consistency you want. You can use a potato masher, whisk, fork, or whatever you have available. The apples are so soft at this point it doesn’t take much to break it down.

After all said and done you now have applesauce! Eat it while it’s still warm, chill it overnight in the fridge, put it on toast, the options are endless and I guarantee it’s better than any applesauce you’ve ever bought in the store.

Have you ever made homemade applesauce before? Have any special tricks or uses for your applesauce? I’d love to hear them. I’m fairly new to the whole applesauce scene so I’m always up for new ideas.

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