Life on the Vine: Free To Give #2

I am having the hardest time figuring out which ideas to share next...as there are SO many good ones that I want to do them all at one time:) But, I think that I will go back and forth between food tips and shopping tips so that we don't get bogged down in one area! But, there are SO many other amazing money saving tips for cleaners and dish detergent that I can't wait to share too. I have had some people want a copy of all Alysia's ideas through email if you don't want to wait for me to share...I will gladly send those along with Alysia's blessing:)

So...today we are taking on food tips for saving money. This is one of the things that totally has resonated with my spirit about saving to give. It's not just about saving money...it's about living simply, thankfully to the Lord, and with keen awareness of how children and people around the world are living. How we eat here in America is NOT reality for 95% of the world (American takes up less than 5% of the population). Having tons of food, tons of leftovers that are dumped into the garbage, and lots of empty calories...is not how most of the world lives at ALL.

If we are truly going to be a family that is living to be blessing to others both here and around the world...we might just need a reality check. I needed a reality check. We love to eat out, love to eat big family meals, love to have desserts (if this momma would allow them after breakfast...my family would be ALL over it!!). We were not at all in touch with the reality of the world. But, after spending some time with Alysia and her family and having her cook AMAZING food for our family...I am convinced that God knows EXACTLY what He is doing when it comes to providing nourishment for our bodies to be healthy, energized, and filled to satisfaction. Remember how He satisfied the Israelites in the desert? He provides for our every need!

Here are a few thoughts from Alysia and her tips on food:

If you want to really save money when it comes to food there are really only 2 main options:

1. Eat less healthy, not organically, and cheap.

2. Eat like most of the rest of the world and not like an American :)

It sounds extreme, but in all my research it’s pretty much the truth. BUT this does not mean you live legalistically, it does not mean you never go to McDonald’s or Chick Fil A, and it does not mean that you eat a bland diet. It means you adapt to the way people have eaten since God put us here and how most people around the globe eat (and their kids) on a daily basis. It’s eating graciously, thankfully,simply, healthy, and with something in mind besides feeling fat an happy.

1. Learn what a snack should be: nuts, fruit, yogurt, popcorn (not the microwave kind), granola, dried fruit, and veggies. MILLIONS of children survive their lifetime with never having a cracker, goldfish, or juice box grace their lips. Are these things bad? No...but it is a huge pull on the budget for these things to fill every American pantry as a regular staple. Most of them do not supply our children with the real energy and nutrition they need and they produce a mass of waste and cost. If our kids are really hungry enough an apple, banana,handful of peanuts, or some fresh popped corn will be sufficient. For the cost of 1 box of goldfish- void of almost any usable nutrient- you can buy about 2 lbs of organic apples at a local farmers market.

We have begun to embrace this in our home for the past few weeks. We have finished up all the boxed stuff in our house and have begun to have simple yet nutritional and YUMMY snacks in our house to eat. They are tons more filling and CHEAP! Example One:

We all love to eat popcorn and it's an easy and snack that children around the world enjoy...it's simple and filling and not high in sugar, fat, or calories. But, buying the microwave kind can cost about $3.00 per box for 3-4 bags of popcorn. But, in making our own, not only have we had TONS of fun (I never knew how AMAZING homemade popcorn can be...and how FUN for the kids!) we can save money to give!

When I go to my local store, I found a LARGE bottle of popcorn kernels for about $3.50...of the name brand stuff (they didn't have generic and next time I will head to Whole Foods and get it in bulk and organic.)
This one bottle contains enough popcorn for 32 servings!! AND they count ONE serving as 6.5 cups of popcorn! That is more than our family can eat collectively for a snack...so we consume less than one serving at a time since we only eat about a cup each. So our whole family is eating less than one serving per day.

The store bought popcorn would be about $3 for 4-6 bags and that is one serving for each bag...that is CRAZY when you can get 31 servings out of a bottle that will last us several months...even eating it as a snack just about each day.

Price Breakdown:

Orville Redenbacher Microwave Popcorn: $2.99 - 4 bags - 1 serving per bag

Orville Redenbacher Popcorn Kernels $3.50 - 32 servings @ 6.5 cups per serving!

Time spent:

Microwave - 3-5 minutes per bag

Homemade - 5 minutes per batch ( I make 3 different flavored batches at a time so it takes me 15-20 min.and it lasts us a week)

Savings to GIVE:

Homemade kernels - $3.50 for 3 months (3 batches per week for 12 weeks)
$1.15 per month!!!

Microwave - $18 to $20 for 3 months (3 batches per week for 12 weeks)
$6.00 - $6.60 per month!!

Total - $5.00 per month!! (approximate)

Total for Compassion Child?
Laundry Detergent savings: $8.50
Popcorn snack savings: $5.00
Total so far: $13.50!

So, look at your pantry and see how you can transition to more healthy, homemade snacks to feed your kids and family...while saving to GIVE! And making homemade popcorn is SUPER fun for the kids and takes me a total of 15-20 minutes to make 3 large batches (since we do regular, cheese, and even bought an Amish ranch seasoning at the farmer's market this week YUM!). This will last us about a week...so less than 20 minutes for a healthy snack for the whole week? I can do that:)

A few other tips for your popcorn...

*We use the regular stove top recipe with Smart Balance oils that are healthier. But, since we now know we love this snack...we are saving for an air popper that will pop every single kernel, never burn it, and cut down on the fat from the oil I pop the kernels in. But, we wanted to make sure this was going to be a staple snack first before we spent money on another appliance. The oil we use is a blend of very healthy oils that are low in cholesterol and fat...but the air popper would be great too! So...just follow the instructions on your bottle of kernels and it will tell you exactly how to cook it on the stove or air popper!

*Alysia told us to use Extra Virgin Olive oil instead of butter. I admit I was SUPER skeptical! But, she made it and we ate it on a picnic at Stone Mountain together and YUMMY! So now that is ALL we use!! It is SO much better for you and acts just like butter to keep the salt and flavors in place on the popcorn...and takes DIVINE! I just drizzle it on the top and then put my salt or flavorings in it...and no one even knows the difference...even the girls' friends have eaten tons of it and never knew there wasn't any butter on it:) Just try it before you judge it;) I'm sure glad I did!

*I got 3 containers at my local megamart for $1.68 for two and store my different flavors in each with a pretty label on them with a 1 cup scoop on top. It helps the kids to know what they are grabbing to snack on...and keeps the serving sizes to a normal amount instead of mindlessly snacking. We did large ziptop bags too with the name on the front...but it was taking over our pantry...and looked pretty bad too:)