A Wife Loved Like The Church

Kelsey mentioned dry fruit and the possibility of doing it on her own. In a moment of impulse, I thought I’d dry some of the bananas and apples that we had on hand. 

I sliced up the bananas. 

Can I just say there is nothing like a good knife?! After 3+ years of so-so cutlery, I got a super nice Pampered Chef knife at Christmas. Amazing…

I peeled one apple and soaked it in lemon juice to cut down on “browning” (per recommendation on a site I found).

The next apple I decided not to peel or soak (I wanted to prove/disprove the browning theory and cut down on time).

I layered them on two cookies sheets covered in parchment paper.

I put them in the oven, preheated to 200, for 5 hours. 

Walla! We have dried fruit.

I don’t think soaking the apples made any difference in keeping them from getting less brown. The bananas looked nothing like what I see in the store. I later read that it helps to soak them for several hours in water before hand. Which means you’d need all day (literally) to do this project. Once I figure out the costs I’ll let you know if it’s worth doing it yourself. One good thing –  they taste really yummy!

Jonathan isn’t too sure how cost effective it is to use the oven for 5+ hours. I’ve found a formula that says it’s 1.5 units for every hour used (at such a low heat), but I can’t find on our bill how much the electric/gas company charges per unit. 

I’m still doing research to find if there are any other ways to dry fruit without spending money on a dehydrator. I’ve read about hanging them outside for a few weeks (can you say, bugs?) but I’m not quite adventurous for that.

I will be honest, I hate couponing. Perhaps I just don’t get it, or really, maybe I’m too lazy to put forth the effort. Whatever it is, I really don’t like dealing with coupons. Sure, I’ve used a few and liked the effects. But how often do I need Greased Lightning or Wacky Mac pasta? I’ve found that every time I get a coupon, I have to go out of my way to buy a certain brand, most of which contain HFCS or other chemicals I’d rather just avoid.

But, alas, I really, really need to work on our food budget. And I’m wondering how to go about doing this that will 1) not take loads of time to do (like spending hours searching the internet for .50 cents off), and 2) allow me to keep purchasing items that I will actually use. I’m not partial to name brands (save for Cheerios… don’t ask why), and am willing to branch out on just about everything.

Ideas? Suggestions? How do you cut your food budget? Where do you get good coupons?

Sometimes I wish I was more frugal. That’s not to say that I spend money like a crazy woman, but I don’t cut coupons or actively search out good deals. Take clothes shopping. I’m not a super big fan of shopping, so if I find something I like and it’s on sale, I’ll buy it. However, Jonathan wants to make sure that he is getting the absolute best deal. If there are a pair of jeans for $2 less at another store, he will get those – even if they aren’t his favorite brand/color/best size. Me, I don’t really care all that much. I just want in and out as fast as possible.

This last weekend, my friend, Leah, sent out a coupon for $1 off organic canned tomatoes. This particular brand is at Wal-Mart for $1.49, but, this month the co-op had them on sale for $1.29 (normally $2.29) – since the co-op runs their sales on a monthly basis (1st-30/31st) I sometimes forget their prices. So, this afternoon I ate lunch at the co-op with Jonathan and saw that the cans were an even better deal there with my coupon than at Wal-Mart. I didn’t have the coupons on me, so decided to come back after Julia woke up from her afternoon nap.

I printed off 19 coupons (random number – I thought I had done 20) and went to pick up eggs, milk, yogurt and my discounted cans.

I must admit I felt a little weird with so many cans and using so many coupons. Not sure why, just like I was putting out the cashier or what not. But, the end result was worth it.

19 cans of organic diced tomatoes not on sale – $43.51

19 cans of organic diced tomatoes on sale – $24.51

19 cans of organic diced tomatoes on sale with coupon – $5.51

Total money saved – $38

Sarah’s new found joy of saving money – Priceless