I'm focusing significantly more on vegetables and by default eliminating a lot of grains. Apples and pb for breakfast, pork loin, carrots, grapefruit and avocado for lunch, for example. Not necessarily low carb but definitely low grain.
We've bought spore from Field and Forest for puho and oyster mushrooms. They did great, we sold them for $8/lb at the farmer's market, and they sold out every time. LOVE them! Thanks for the reminder--I want DH to up the operation this next year.
Same here. We have 2 freezers full, plus the pantry, so if we can just tolerate a bit of a lack of variety we can keep our grocery bill exceedingly low.
We were at an airport over lunch Sat and skipped the food. My kids were upset, but at $10 for 1 burger and order of fries, I just couldn't do it.
I use a lot of 72s for many larger plants. For onions, I put about 20 seeds in a 2"x2" tall (3" tall) pot. Same with leeks. Larger plants like melons and squash get planted in 50 cells. I do lettuce in 288s or a bit larger. They're pretty small when transplanted but grow large rapidly.
The...
I wouldn't do it. You already have a market, and it's not like you'd get more for your eggs sold to the store.
Around here, rural WI, I get $3.50/dozen for nonorganic free-range eggs.
Everything stated above.
As an organic farmer, it's difficult to see organic grain farmers struggled to keep their fields "clean" with so much GMO pollen floating around.
Packed lunch, as usual.
I'm sprouting these days to avoid the grocery store greens for salad, although we still have loads of spinach left that we're eating, along with cabbage and kale, for salads.
My mom was a great cook--did pretty much everything from scratch. She didn't teach me how to cook or can, however. It was just easier to do it herself. Still, because I'd always seen it done it wasn't a fearful, mysterious, difficult-looking task, and I was able to teach myself just fine.
I...
Absolutely!
For the record, I've worked anywhere from 24-70 hours per week while raising kids. The first 10 years were strictly from home and only up to 24 hours per week, but no childcare. Now that the kids are older, I work away from home 18 hours/week while they're at school or at nighttime...
My 10 year old and 12 year old regularly build fires inside and outside our home. I would not consider you irresponsible at all. I think this generation tries to remove ALL risk and in doing so removes a lot of skills and abilities.
I would suggest aloe vera.
Steveca--just a word of warning that it might be a good idea to get significant experience under your belt in making soap before gifting bars of soap to your family. Lye-heavy soap or soap with pockets of lye can burn skin badly (including eyes) and it can take quite a few batches to learn how...
I've made shampoo bars for about 3 years now--olive, castor, coconut and palm kernel oil. I love them. They dissolve too quickly, though, so I want to test adding beeswax to them.
Cheaper and easier rarely are the reasons I do things on my own :), although after time and experience, it does become both cheaper and easier.
I make my own lotion, balm, lip balm and soap so I can have total control over what is in it.
I could never find soap with cow's cream, my own honey...
It's been a long, gradual process, but very little food comes from a grocery store anymore.
Mainly, I get bulk bread from a whole-grain bakery in my hometown for only about $1/loaf, otherwise I bake or we don't eat bread. We raise our own meat. Local pears and apples. Local milk from family...
Yesteryday, I got 2 large bags of clothes at a 2nd-hand store. Big savings. Plus, I signed up for a free membership and got everything 1/2 price!
My mom brought me ww-bread from their local bread outlet for about $1/loaf, quality bread.
I took her out for lunch, but saved 1/2 of my huge...