Just curious who else is living super frugal

[mickey328]

Timely post, Scott. I spent all afternoon yesterday prepping beef and chicken. Our local Albertsons had a really good deal on sirloin, broilers and bottom round. When I can, I always prefer to grind my own beef...I like a mix of sirloin and chuck and about 85%-90% lean. Too little fat and it's tasteless and won't stick together; too much and you get mostly grease I ground all the sirloin and some of the round and mixed the fat in from the round as well. Besides controlling the fat content, quality and grind, I find that home ground stuff lasts way longer. The rest went into strips that'll be canned today. Broilers were .77 a pound so we grabbed up 5 of 'em and I got them skinned out and have all the breasts, thighs and legs ready to can today as well. The rest of the carcasses are frozen so I can make stock later on.

If we had the space, I'd sure look into growing almost all of our own food. Pork is, unfortunately, out...DH's system is totally incompatible with it, which is a bummer, since I quite like it. Still, I'd definitely do my own chickens and beef. Unfortunately, there's not nearly as much we can do on our little quarter acre urban plot, but we're trying to do everything we can

 

[HeatherLynn]

I think this is key when thinking of buying meats, dairy and eggs from the store, bargain and bulk or not. Eating those foods that have been produced commercially merely leads to health problems over time...which leads to higher health care cost for you and the family= NO SAVINGS. With today's food supplies, it's hard to avoid all the stuff that they put in the foods but these items, in particular, are staples in the American diet and we know what is in them....and none of it's good.

What good is nutrition and calories if they cause poor health in the eating of them? The hidden costs of eating commercially grown foods is much higher than the savings garnered from getting a bargain on bulk meats.

Growing and processing your own meat animals or going co-op with someone that does is a good idea if you want real savings. I can grow out 50 meat birds on healthier feeds and free range for around $1.11 per lb and place around 200-250 lbs of meat in the jar and freezer. That's all natural, free ranged chicken that was healthy all their lives and didn't have to be killed in a hurry before they died anyway from bad health. If you must eat meat, eat quality meat. If not quality, give it a pass...you'll be paying for it even more down the road in health cost if you don't.

Case in point, my mom buys beef all the time from the commissary near us. Meat is a cheaper. Problem is anything beef or pork from them makes me very sick. Gall bladder acts up. I have no clue what is going on. Not sure if the meat gets treated with something from the commissary or its just loaded with bacteria from sitting too long. No clue but it kills me. Once we made the connection I just stopped eating any "fresh" meat from there at all. On the other hand the beef and pork from the local butcher we found doesn't bother me at all. Granted I have to see guys in bloody aprons through the double doors but literally they can barely keep up with the demand so nothing sits and everything is packaged right there. Now for beef and pork at least we buy in bulk from the butcher. Chicken we mostly eat our own. Eventually we will work towards eating all our own but its a slowly getting their process.

And on that topic, we get to go pick free pears today. A neighbor dropped buy and showed us his trunk full of pears and offered to let me and the kids come over and pick the rest. He has more than he can eat or can. YAY free fruit.

 

[mickey328]

Awesome! Pears seem in really short supply around hear this year I still have some from last year but I was hoping to do some butter and other stuff. Oh well...next year, I reckon

 

[HeatherLynn]

Mmm pear butter. I make alot of this stuff for our family and the extended family too. Most of our family in in financial struggles and still fighting being self sufficient. Their kids love when I drop off jars of homemade apple sauce or jams. Even the veggies are welcome.

 

[MamaRoo]

mmm Pear sauce and pear butter are on my to-do list in the next week or so. I have I big box of pears that I'm letting ripen a bit before processing. I'm thinking that today will be apple-pear sauce with skins using all the tiny fruits that would be too annoying to peel.

 

[ScottnLydia]

Mickey 328, If you make pear butter, then I GOTTA find out where you live!

I think at this altitude we just got too many UVs or cosmic rays this year with the drought thang cuz we don't have any pears down here either. Apples seem O.K. though.

Heatherlynn, that's interesting that meat from one source flares your gall bladder but not the same kind of meat from another source! Having worked in both the meat cutting and medical professions (no cracks now), plus being a little paranoid of big agrabusiness in general, that really gets me to wondering! How, and with what additives, is that meat treated? And, just what is your gall bladder reacting to???

~S

 

[mickey328]

I tell ya Scott..if I could lay my hands on some I'd be more than willing to share! Just ain't see hide nor hair of one this year

 

[HeatherLynn]

Mickey 328, If you make pear butter, then I GOTTA find out where you live!

I think at this altitude we just got too many UVs or cosmic rays this year with the drought thang cuz we don't have any pears down here either. Apples seem O.K. though.

Heatherlynn, that's interesting that meat from one source flares your gall bladder but not the same kind of meat from another source! Having worked in both the meat cutting and medical professions (no cracks now), plus being a little paranoid of big agrabusiness in general, that really gets me to wondering! How, and with what additives, is that meat treated? And, just what is your gall bladder reacting to???

~S

Its not just gall bladder either. We were practically living on meds for tummy issues for a long while. Everyone had them, even the kids. As we have moved away from as much processed foods that has almost disappeared. No more eggs for the store, no more meat from the store, only from the butcher ( other than my frozen fish sorry I need that yum). Most of our veggies and fruits are from the farm. Some from a local orchard but majority is from here. I have not yet added making kefir or our own milk YET but thats coming.

I have no idea what they do to the meat though. The doctor of course thinks I am nuts. Beef is beef and I should just become a vegan. Thats all she has to say but there is a difference. We have 2 packages left in the freezer that I am waiting to cook for visiting family to get rid of the stuff. I am the only one who seems overly bothered by it. Thats ok I'll just keep stocking at the butcher. The meat is cheaper there anyway, even if I do have to buy bulk.

 

[stoopid]

Sorry to butt into the conversation, I have a friend (also on BYC) that has the same issues. She is allergic to almost everything.
She has the same issues with the meat, and has started raising and butchering her own.
And she is feeling much better. Hormones, antibiotics, all that crap is in "store meat"

 

[newfoundland]

If meat makes you ill, why not become vegetarian? i have been for about 25 years with no ill effects. Although my husband and son are meat eaters, both my daughters are vegetarian. They are both regular blood donors, and the eldest has had 2 children both of whom she successfully breast fed for 6 months. I can genuinely recommend it.