Kitchen Stewardship | A Baby Steps Approach to Balanced Nutrition

What Does a Real Foodie Buy at…Tropical Traditions?

May 18th, 2013 · Frugality, Tips

What Does a Real Foodie Buy at Tropical Traditions

This is the last of the “What Does a Real Foodie Buy at…?” series, which has already covered:

Tropical Traditions is an interesting online shop to discuss through the lens of frugality, because for the most part, the products there are rather expensive. On the other hand, there are a few gems that are probably the best price on the web, especially if you wait until the free shipping weekends that happen about once a month or so.

(In fact, I was sort of hoping this would be a free shipping weekend, which is why I saved TT until last…but it’s not. Sad smile Maybe next week! I almost always make a note of it on Facebook, so “like” the page over there to be kept in the loop on little deals like those that I might not mention on the blog.)

I do a fair amount of food shopping at Tropical Traditions in spite of the prices, because they have a referral program that pays out in gift certificates – and you don’t have to be a blogger to benefit!

Here’s how it works:

  1. Sign up for the referral program HERE.
  2. If you see a good deal, or perhaps on the free shipping weekends, you can share it on your own Facebook timeline, via email, or on your blog if you have one. Anywhere you can type a link, you can share your special link.
  3. Create your referral links to specific products HERE. When you look at an individual product, there’s a “promote and earn” text link below it. Click there and generate your link.
  4. Anytime a new customer makes any order after clicking on your link, whether they buy what you recommend or something else, they get a free book about coconut oil and you get a $25 gift certificate to Tropical Traditions. Win-win!

Just so you know, I don’t get anything for referring you to the referral program, but I love helping you all figure out creative ways to get food for less…and free is always a great deal.

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Green Pasture Fermented Cod Liver Oil {GIVEAWAY}

May 17th, 2013 · What to Buy

What’s the difference between the regular cod liver oil you can buy at any pharmacy and fermented cod liver oil, produced solely by Green Pasture Products?

The stuff at the store is often deodorized, sterilized, and generally processed, sometimes including adding synthetic vitamins. Synthetic Vitamin A can be harmful if one gets too much of it. image

Fermented cod liver oil is made using a 6-month process (more at my Interview with Dave Wetzel, owner of Green Pasture), traditionally fermenting the oil similar to what the ancient Romans did when they relied on FCLO for the strength of their soldiers.

My little soldiers actually enjoy fermented cod liver oil sometimes – they go in streaks, which may make sense because each batch is a little different (that right there shows you you’re not dealing with modern food factory production). Mint is the preferred flavor for my son, the 4yo girl likes chocolate cream (be warned; that one is nasty without a little honey on top!), I love cinnamon tingle, and 20mo John is so excited to get what everyone else is having, he likes everything. I think he’s been pretty trained to like fermented foods, as he laps up very tangy water kefir like it’s sugar water.

We used to make these faces, so if you aren’t a fan upon the first few tastes, don’t despair. There’s hope!

We don’t remember to take it every day, but one nice thing about the fact that fermented cod liver oil is a food is that, unlike sleep, you can take a bit more on one day to “catch up” for days missed. You won’t overdose on Vitamin A because it’s the natural balance with the D and not synthetic.

Here’s where I’ve talked about fermented cod liver oil before:

Want Some?

As we head into (or are already entrenched in) cold and flu season, Vitamin D can help boost your immune system. It’s been said that all Americans need more of it, and FCLO is one of the top sources outside sunshine itself.

FIVE winners will get a $44 coupon (enough for a bottle at regular price) to Green Pasture!

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What Does a Real Foodie Buy at…Country Life Natural Foods?

May 17th, 2013 · Frugality, Tips

I really wonder what my neighbors think when a humongous trailer truck backs into my driveway and slides out the ramp from the back.

Are they moving?

Did they buy a new couch?

What are those boxes?

(takes a minute to read the side of the truck: Country Life Natural Foods)

Is that really all FOOD?

You betcha, neighbors – it’s called buying in bulk and getting together with friends so the truck will come right to you!

What Does a Real Foodie Buy at Country Life

Country Life Natural Foods delivers wonderful bulk selections to certain parts of the Midwest. They’re not nearly as widespread as Azure Standard, for example, but for me, they’re a great deal and the best bulk option.

As long as I can rustle up $400 total in an order, the truck comes to my house, no shipping charge.

It’s scary how fast I can get a large portion of that $400 total tallied up with just my own order.

Every time I send out an email asking if people are interested in ordering, they ask, “So what do you buy there, anyway?”

This post is for them…and for me, so I can remember when I run out of things. Winking smile

If you don’t live in the Country Life area, you might still get some ideas about bulk ordering procedures, and here are some other online bulk ordering options for you to peruse:

Then when I made an order, it came smelling like pickle juice and looking like this:

Vitacost crushed order 3  Vitacost crushed orderVitacost crushed order 2

You’re seeing wet, open boxes of crackers, dented cans, and fragile apple chips crammed in the middle of the box, under the crackers. I thought, “Whaaaa???”

My mad detective skills led me to believe the the UPS man dropped something very, very heavy on my box – then repackaged it so he wouldn’t get caught. !!! Seriously. Vitacost handled the situation well and refunded me for the pickle jar that was missing, and I could have had replacements for the crackers, but I decided that since the inner packaging wasn’t damaged, I wasn’t willing to take the time to send them back.

  • If you are a first time shopper at Vitacost, you’ll want to use this link to get $10 for your first order (and I’ll get some bucks off as well). Otherwise, use this link, my affiliate share – and thank you!!
  • Mountain Rose Herbs is another potential online store for certain bulk purchases, and there are many others (I’ll cover Tropical Traditions in the final post of this series).

The “What Does a Real Foodie Buy at…?” series is generously sponsored by Plan to Eat, where you can use the Grocery Store Menu to organize your shopping by grocery store and even set defaults for certain items to go on the list where it’s least expensive. See the other shopping ideas:

Now, on to Country Life!

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What Does a Real Foodie Buy at…Amazon?

May 16th, 2013 · Frugality, Tips

What Does a Real Foodie Buy at Amazon

Whatever they darn well want.

How does that place stock everything known to man???

Kidding…sort of.

While I’d like to see more dollars stay locally in your own community, I love Amazon quite a bit. Who can argue with its convenience and price?

One thing I love about Amazon is the wish list feature – I’m always forgetting little things I want to buy/look at/consider someday, and having a wish list online that I can add to as I’m inspired by a post or whatever…well, it’s just inspired. (And genius marketing strategy on Amazon’s part, I admit, as well as those affiliate links like the one I just used…more on that below.)

Kitchen Goodies

image

I’ve never loved shopping, and especially now that I’ve birthed a third child who hates riding in a vehicle, I really try not to run all over town as much as possible. So yeah…for gifts, books, little appliance or kitchen tool purchases, and a handful of other things, I hit Amazon quite frequently.

I think it’s a great place to find (or at least compare reviews on) foodie gadgets and kitchen tools, such as items I’ve grabbed or “wish listed” in the past year:

See also a pretty extensive list at the KS aStore, where I’ve added gadgets over the years every time I talk about something cool that you can get on Amazon. There’s a category list on the right and lots of fun goodies, from pressure canners to lunch packing items, food, natural cleaning supplies, baby gear, and a special list that goes with The Family Camping Handbook but that everyone can view.

Cookbooks

Of course, every foodie needs some good cookbooks. You’ll want to start with these if you have a Kindle:

And here are some others I’ve enjoyed recently or have on my wish list:

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What Does a Real Foodie Buy at…Aldi & Save-a-Lot?

May 15th, 2013 · Frugality, Tips

If anyone ever decides mustard is unhealthy, our family is in trouble.

We go through about a bottle a month, which is pretty remarkable for a condiment that sits in most people’s refrigerators until children marry off and take it with them as a paperweight.

Mustard is one of those foods that’s hard to mess up – unlike ketchup, it doesn’t have a sweetener. It needs no fat, so that can’t go wrong. And rarely if ever do you see MSG in it. We consume it with abandon!

It’s nice to be able to get some basics for cheap (you’ve seen my food budget this year, so you know I have been increasing spending in many areas, by choice).

A lot of people think that you can’t find real food at discount stores like Aldi and Save-a-Lot, but I disagree.

If “real food” means to you “only organic, grassfed, pastured, etc.” then no – you’re  not going to find that at Aldi.

But if real food can simply mean FOOD – with one ingredient, things that grow in the ground – then  you can find plenty of basic staples at Save-a-Lot if you like.

What Does a Real Foodie Buy at Aldi

The What Does a Real Foodie Buy At…? series is generously sponsored by Plan to Eat, where you can use the Grocery Store Menu to organize your shopping by grocery store and even set defaults for certain items to go on the list where it’s least expensive.

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What Does a Real Foodie Buy at…Costco?

May 14th, 2013 · Tips

It’s inevitable.

Any time I mention shopping for food at a store, someone asks, “So…what do you buy there?”

I’ve had conversations on Facebook recently about the quality of produce at Costco in various parts of the country, for example. It’s the same thing I do myself: Ask people how they do things in order to pick up tips that I might be able to use.

This week’s series, “What Does a Real Foodie Buy at…?” is going to do just that for various stores and online options, starting with Costco, where I’ve had a membership for just barely a year.

I thought about organizing this list by section in the store, like “frozen foods” “meats” “grains” etc., but what would be the fun in that? Instead, I’m doing it like this:

  • The Essentials (the stuff that makes me say, “Whatever did I do before I had a Costco membership???” The best deal or only place to find something.)
  • The Basics (stuff that’s a decent deal at Costco but that I could also probably find somewhere else for similar if I worked at it)
  • The Fun Stuff (things we don’t really need, but it’s nice to get them in bulk for a decent price)
  • The Bonus Items (the stuff I probably shouldn’t be buying, but do, because it tastes so good. Also sometimes makes me say, “Whatever did I do before I had a Costco membership???” and others times makes me say, “Maybe it’s not such a good thing to shop at Costco…”

This series is generously sponsored by Plan to Eat, where you can use the Grocery Store Menu to organize your shopping by grocery store and even set defaults for certain items to go on the list where it’s least expensive.

What Does a Real Foodie Buy at Costco

The Essentials

This is why I love Costco – lots of well-sourced foods at good prices that I can’t find anywhere else.

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Monday Mission: Make a Grocery Price Book

May 13th, 2013 · Frugality, Monday Missions

Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to make a price book to keep track of the best deals on real food in your area.

Whether you shop at Farmer’s Markets, online in bulk, or at a variety of grocery and health food stores, chances are there are ‘best deals’ out there on most of the items your family eats. You don’t want to forget where to find them!

Make a Grocery Shopping Price Book

Impact Ratings: positive

Level of Commitment: Making Strides

Years ago when I kept a Flylady control journal, one of the parts in mine was a price book. It was a really helpful way to make sure I knew basic price points on the staples so I would know if a sale was a good deal or not, compared to best prices at other stores. I didn’t always even have to refer to the price book after I finished it, because I held a lot in my head.

Then food prices started skyrocketing and I had another baby (and started blogging), and that was the last time I kept a price book.

Farmer’s Market Confusion

Egg and garlic market

I remember especially when I first was going regularly to the Farmer’s Market, I’d walk up and down the whole length of the market, checking all the prices and trying to remember the least expensive ones as well as make a mental list of all that I wanted to pick up that day.

By the time I was making purchases, there were so many numbers swimming in my head that invariably I’d be buying a vegetable and just grab another veggie at the same stand, then a few paces down I’d see that second "efficiency buy" for a dollar a pound less. Arg! Foiled by distractions in the stroller and too much information without writing it all down.

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