Practical self-sufficiency: how to put food on the table when you don't have a job

[Cosmophylla]

Many of us have been through, or are currently going through, lengthy periods of unemployment, with little to no income.

During those bleak times I'm sure we could use a little thrifty advice, such as how to stretch meals further while still eating for good health, even how to grow food in our gardens or on balconies.

Some of us do this already and are able to offer advice on how to make ends meet through self-sufficiency. Let's share what we've learnt on our journeys so everyone can benefit.

And, if you have a need for practical help putting food on your table - want the best (or easiest) tomato sauce/ketchup recipe, want to know how to get rid of those slugs on your lettuces, want to know how to grow food on your balcony, or even how to make your own fertiliser - here is a great place to ask for advice.


In this thread you can post your ideas on:

- growing food
- preserving food (canning, freezing, bottling, relishes, sauces, drying food, seasonings, jams, pickles, you name it!)
- organic gardening... The cheapest and greenest way to grow your own food!
- foraging for food in your local area*
- keeping animals for food
- other green household tips for saving money (saving on utilities, DIY cleaning products or cosmetics, and so on)
- how to use your garden produce and cost saving recipes


There are just a couple of rules I feel it is important to set out before we begin:

Firstly, feel free to post recipes, advice, etc. taken from other sources, but if your tips aren't your original ideas, be sure to cite where you found the information.

*Secondly, please no advice on foraging for mushrooms on this thread. Mushrooms are notoriously tricky to ID. A mistake in identifying a mushroom could be fatal, or at least exceedingly unpleasant. In my local area we have two very similar mushrooms, that are easily confused. One is harmless, the other fatal (Death Cap Mushroom) People die because they think they know the difference.


Now, in the spirit of supporting our unemployed friends, let's get posting!

Ok, to kick everything off I will post a cheap and easy artisan bread recipe. Sadly, I can no longer eat wheat , but if you can then this recipe is for you!

This is the master bread recipe from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. The premise of the book is that you can quickly and easily bake your own fresh bread daily, by having dough pre-prepared and stored in the fridge.

Here is the link to the recipe: Master Recipe: Boule loaf (free form loaf) There is a link in the post to an updated version but it didn't look different to me. (Between you and me, I think they're trying to sell the updated version of the book.)

My tips for this particular recipe, in no particular order, are:

- don't worry about having a fancy baking stone or anything. I don't use special trays... I just use cooking/baking sheets. The bread has come out delicious every time.

- when mixing the dough, if it starts to get tough to mix with a spoon, reach in and press or squeeze it together with your hands. Be sure not to knead it.

- don't be alarmed by the dough being very wet. It is supposed to be.

- use what Hertzberg and Francois call the scoop-and-sweep method for measuring your flour. Take your measuring cup, gently scoop up flour, and sweep the top of it level with a knife. Do not press down into the flour because the measurements will be thrown off and the dough will come out wrong.

- be economical with your time and resources: make a double batch! Remember 6-3-3-13. 6 cups of water, 3 tbsp salt (use less if it's not flaked salt...Approximately half), 3 tbsp yeast in your big lidded food-grade container, then dump in 13 cups of flour. Makes eight 1-pound loaves.

- you don't need a broiler tray for the steam... Just use whatever metal, oven friendly dish you have.

Enjoy!

 

[Progster]

Here are some things that I do to save money:

I'm very aware of the kind of tricks supermarkets use to sell goods. A large proportion of the profit margin for supermarkets does not come from the profit on the item sold, but from huge fees paid by companies to promote their goods in key locations round the store such as on the end of the aisle, at eye level, on separate stands, etc. Just because they have a huge notice on them saying 'special offer' doesn't mean that they are less expensive. It's usually possible to find a product similar in quality at a much lower price in the aisle. It's important to check the upper and lower shelves, and not go for whatever is at eye level. Where I live, each product has its price per weight displayed, and that helps me to know whether I'm really getting a good deal or not. Some brand name products are often very overpriced and not really any better in quality than generic brands or supermarket own brands, especially cosmetics such as shampoos, etc.

I also save money by buying in bulk when I can. Prices of bulk buying work out cheaper than buying smaller quantities, and it is more ecologically friendly as you are using less packaging. I find that it works out better to spend more money in the short run in order to save more in the long run.

If you aren't in position to save money by growing your own produce and preserving it, you can also buy from a local market (that is, if you don't mind the crowds). I don't like going to these places, but my partner often goes. When I have a garden, I preserve excess vegetables by blanching and freezing them in portions.

I often buy things that I know I'm going to use quickly from the reduced section of supermarket. This means that the products are near their sell-by-date, but as long as you plan to eat them quickly, that shouldn't be a problem.

It works out cheaper to cook in large quantities, and then freeze portions of it until another time, and I often do this - saves time and money. Most things can be frozen, except dairy products.

Also, a lot of other obvious and well-documented things such as making sure lights and appliances are switched off when they are not being used, going on foot or by bike instead of by car for short distances, etc.

 

[DC1346]

I was surprised you left off food banks.

Most communities these days (including rural ones like mine) have a food bank. I have volunteer experience with two different rural food banks in two different states.

Most food banks will offer the following: Canned goods, dry goods like boxes of cereal or crackers, fresh or frozen poultry or meat, produce, dairy products, and baked goods - usually bread and sometimes pastries as well. If you have a baby at home, some food banks will offer baby food and diapers. A few other food banks will also offer basic items for personal hygiene ... deodorant, tooth brush, toothpaste, soap, and/or a disposable razor.

In general, most food banks will ask you to register the first time you arrive. They're not trying to be personal and to get into your private life ... but the sad reality is that there are a LOT of people who need services these days. Just within the last ten years, the demand for food bank assistance has really gone up ... so food banks register recipients because the general rule of thumb is (and you really should check with your local food bank) that you may only go to the food bank once per month.

Since food banks are in high demand, you should check with the food bank to find out when the best time is to receive services. You should also ask what those services are. There is one food bank in my area that provides a free sack lunch EVERY WEEKDAY. Be aware that food banks do have operating hours. Some are open on weekdays only. Others are only open on Tuesdays or Thursdays.

In general, it's always better to go to a food bank during the 1st half of a month instead of the latter half. Since there is a high demand for services, some food banks run out of food towards the end of the month. In Arizona, we were often down to just a handful of canned goods and some bread by month's end ... no meat or poultry, no produce, and no dairy products.

Since we were in a rural area, we got supplied from a central food bank in Tucson once a month, usually during the first week of each month. We also had a working relationship with every supermarket in town. They'd give us dented canned goods and products close to the expiration date ... but the amount we received was rather hit and miss and we were never quite sure of what we would get.

I recall one day when we got a supply of baked goods from Safeway and instead of the bread we usually received, we got cakes and Danishes.

What should you take with you when you go to a food bank?

You will need a form of picture ID to register ... and once you're registered, you will still need an ID to receive services.

If you have an ice chest, please bring it. It would help if the ice chest was actually cold. If you have a freezer but no ice dispenser or ice trays, consider filling a large ziplock bag with water. Seal it tight and freeze it over night. You can do the same thing with a plastic container as long as you have a tight fitting lid.

It's always better to have a cold ice chest than a warm one that's heated up because it was left in the car overnight.

Food needs to be stored out of the temperature danger zone ... so that means keeping it cool below 40 degrees Fahrenheit because anything above that ... up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which bacteria like to grow.

In the food service, we are prohibited from keeping perishable food at room temperature beyond 4 hours because bacteria double in population every 20 minutes and by 4 hours, there will be enough bacteria in your food to make you sick if you eat it.

So keep your food cold and get it home and properly stored as soon as possible.

In addition to an ice chest, you might consider taking some double stuffed plastic bags (of the type you get from a supermarket) or some canvas tote bags. You'd be surprised at how often food banks run out of things to put canned food and dried goods in ... hence my suggestion for double stuffed plastic bags as you wouldn't want a single bag tearing on your way home.

 

[Nitro]

I like this thread because I like to save money and do know that the best way to save is not spend.


I have the option to get the "use or freeze today" meat products at my local grocery and put in major freezer stock from time to time. I recently bought beef filet and cut it into steak portions for one serving.I eat very good steaks for $5.95 a pound or less and pass by the ground beef that hovers around $4 a pound. I purchased a FoodSaver vacuum sealer to extend the freezer life of my foods. Single portions of meals can be sealed and refrigerated with great results.
In my kitchen are two bread machines,one that churns butter from cream. Sometimes I bake the bread in the machine,but at times bake it in my oven. The loaves are about half the size of a store bought loaf,so very little gets stale or wasted.
I have a icecream maker with a gel filled tub that you place in the freezer instead of using ice and salt like the old school way.After experimenting with recipes,I found that by using 1 part cream to 1 part milk brings the cost down and lessens the richness of the recommended recipe of 3 parts cream to one part milk.My chocolate icecream is made with only cream and chocolate milk.

There are a lot of cakes that get baked here and I love to make pies too.I hate prepackaged junk in general.

I keep a small container/bucket vegetable garden growing in the summer that is on a sand area with plastic underneath it to prevent weeds.

 

[Cosmophylla]

Thanks Nitro, DC1346 and Progster for getting this off to a great start!

 

[Suzanne]

Well, I buy packets of chicken breasts, which usually consists of 6 pieces ( when they are at the right price) and then, wrap each one individually and freeze. I do the same with pork steaks. If a roast, I cut in half and freeze one.

I use rubber gloves to wash up, because I suffer from dry hands. The trouble is that I often get a hole in one, which makes them pretty useless and thus, open up a new packet and when one of those gloves do the same ( tends to be always the same hand) I just get the other one, stored from from the other pair and turn inside out and voila working gloves.

My husband is self employed and thus always has work, but sadly, is a low earner and recently when we did our budget, it came out clear, where all the money goes and why we are always in the red and thus, have reduced our shopping money right down and do it each week. Ok, so it was the first week last monday, but we did succeed in spending only what we decided to and so, choices have to be made. Last week, I needed a few cosmetic things ( not make up) and so, this week, do not need that, and so we can use the money to buy extra food.

We do turn off lights when not in use. Use the dishwasher only if I am way too tired or have tons of washing up and that goes on after 10:30pm, when electric is low and the same with the washing machine.

I sincerely hate waste and so, meat that gets thrown away, goes to our two dogs. Veggie peelings go to our chickens.

When I have left over food, I endeavor to use the next day, but with a different dish.

I would make homemade bread, but hubby does not like the taste.

When we shop, I never go for brand names!

 

[Beverly]

Gah! it's been a long time since I had to worry about where my next meal was coming from. Still I do can foods from my garden, I hunt, fish and, raise animals for meat as well. All of it helps.

I still haven't forgotten the days of thinking a box of mac and cheese and a pound of burger was going to have to last all week. Haven't forgotten the humiliation of having to go to the food bank or charities for food either. Never again. I'll preserve what I have, spray coffee to keep the slugs out of my garden and, raise my own meat.

Rabbits are an economical source of meat, if you can get past having to kill them for food. A fifteen dollar bag of feed will feed one rabbit for a month and, guess what, at eight weeks old they are big enough to eat so, you only need to feed them for a month after they are weaned. All white meat, just like chicken breast and, they can be raised in a small area, or even an apartment where pets are allowed. You can't live on only rabbit but, it's an inexpensive protein that can be radily available and, the animals are at least companions for a little while too.

 

[tree]

Food co-op or buying club.
Buying in bulk is cheaper.*
The 7th Day Adventists have buying clubs and
you don't have to be an Adventist to order food
with them, at least not around here you don't.

*Usually.
Not necessarily, though.
At the grocery store some
items cost less per pound
when you buy in the
smaller packages.

 

[Cosmophylla]

Beverly , thank you so much for raising the point of keeping animals for food. I entirely forgot to address that in my opening post, but will add it now.

EDIT: done!

Mia, it sound like you and I are of the same mind regarding carbon footprints. I love the coop you've set up.


I love to be opportunistic and gather food where I find it... I collect dandelions and other thistle type weeds (not prickly ones) and use those in place of spinach in my cooking. It costs nothing and keeps the weeds from spreading. These weeds are better cooked, but they are tasty. Those bitter leaves are really, really good for you. Nettles are favourite, but wear gloves!

When you are out walking make sure you keep a plastic bag in your pocket just in case you find some fruit or weeds you can take home with you.

I see nothing wrong with grabbing a few nectarines from a tree overhanging a footpath, or blueberries from the thickets that grow around here.

If you are in a very built up area, though, avoid collecting weeds from the roadside. They'll be full of toxins from car exhaust, and who knows how many dogs have relieved themselves at that spot...ew.

 

[tree]

Dandelion flowers are good batter fried.

Milkweed, early in the spring, you can boil like asparagus.

Curly dock is worth the experience. My cousin said that his teacher
had them forage for wild foods. I asked him if he'd had dock. Yes, he
had eaten dock. He agreed that once you've had dock, you've got a
standard with which to compare any other vegetable. You can say
(most likely) "Better than dock."

Violet leaves are good in salad.

Dried day lily blossoms cooked in soup make it thicker.

 

[Ste11aeres]

Dried Lentils:
Lentils are both one of the cheapest foods you can buy, and one of the healthiest. While no single food source can meet all of your vitamin and mineral needs in the correct proportions, lentils come pretty close.

Also, spices are good to have on hand. (Don't get mixes, like "Cajun mix", those things are mostly salt. Get individual containers of the spices that such mixtures are made from.) Yes, they are extremely expensive per ounce-the initial purchase will be expensive. But....they are worth it because-while you will only use little bits at a time, thus guaranteeing that they last, they can make many otherwise bland but cheap foods much more tantalizing, and therefore much easier to consistently eat.

Lentils are a prime example of a food that is helped by spices. Red lentils need to be cooked with curry type spices.

 

[AsheSkyler]

My grandfather sets aside a row or two of his garden dedicated just to growing seeds for next year. How he goes about keeping them taken care of until spring, I dunno.

I got through my worst stages with Save-a-Lot and buying store brands. For a while there it was $30/week for food and necessities. I made my own sauces, gravy, and biscuits, I switched to drinking tap water, and I'd cook suppers in a batches large enough to last a few days, like casseroles and soups.

I've not raised critters for food since I was a kid, but if you are fortunate enough to live in the country with a good sized yard, I highly recommend yard chickens. Not only will they help control bugs and pests, but eggs laid by a chicken living off of bugs are soooo good. We only gave them maybe a pound or two of feed a day as a treat since they kept themselves fed. Also be prepared to defend your flock from predators. I don't care what that crazy woman at the botanical gardens in Georgia says, hawks DO eat chickens! As do owls, snakes, opossums, raccoons, dogs, sometimes cats, and goodness knows what else.

Thrift stores are awesome! Depending on the price of cloth, you could make your own clothes. Depending on your skill, you could sell clothes, crafts, and toys on Etsy.

 

[Nitro]

I have some inside connections at my local Save-a-Lot that hook me up regularly. My girl that runs the meat department always alerts me to the deal of the day from her area. She even cuts my loins into steaks for me.
I bought a full case of $4 a package apple flavored sausage for a dollar a package about two weeks ago that was headed to the dumpster the next day.

I have a very old waffle maker from the '50s that is identical to the one my Mom had when I was a child. The power cord has cloth insulation on it,so you know it is an oldie but goodie. I use it to make waffles that get frozen for quick and inexpensive breakfast food I can pop in the toaster. There are many inexpensive ones on the market that would be very suitable for saving money using inexpensive boxed pancake mix with some added cooking oil to prevent sticking.They can be topped with just about anything you find tasty,but I prefer butter and maple syrup or jelly on mine.

 

[Ste11aeres]

My girl that runs the meat department always alerts me to the deal of the day from her area. She even cuts my loins into steaks for me.

Perhaps I should not describe the image that came to mind

 

[Nitro]

Perhaps I should not describe the image that came to mind

Probably not

 

[Cosmophylla]

Dandelion flowers are good batter fried.

You can say (most likely) "Better than dock."

Dried day lily blossoms cooked in soup make it thicker.

Oh yes, I forgot about battered flowers. You can do the same with zucchini and pumpkin flowers, too. Which is handy when you've got a million zucchini and don't now what to do with them... At least you can stop the plant making more!

I've never tried dock. Thank you for the warning.

Day lily buds are also known as poor man's asparagus. Raw or cooked. I grow both asparagus and day lilies to use when asparagus isn't available. Flavour of the buds changes depending on the variety.

Also be prepared to defend your flock from predators. I don't care what that crazy woman at the botanical gardens in Georgia says, hawks DO eat chickens!

Thrift stores are awesome! Depending on the price of cloth, you could make your own clothes. Depending on your skill, you could sell clothes, crafts, and toys on Etsy.

A couple of years ago a hawk tried to fly off with one of our chooks (do people call them chooks outside Australia??? It's a colloquial form of chicken) but she flapped around so much it dropped her before it gained much height. She was fine but we all had a shock!

As for thrift stores/second hand shops/charity shops, almost all the clothes I own are second hand, as is much of our furniture and crockery. It's cheaper and it's recycling. I buy my underwear new, though....don't want to recycle that.

Thrift shops are good places to pick up unused fabric for sewing... I've done that a lot. It's much cheaper than buying new. You can also use second hand sheets, bedcovers, tablecloths and curtains as sewing fabric.

 

[Cosmophylla]

Another little thing I do to save money is buy passata in bigger bottles instead of tomatoes in cans. For me it works out cheaper by weight and the passata doesn't have salt in it. The passata bottle works out to be able two cans' worth of crushed tomatoes.

Plus my kids don't complain about weird chunks of tomato. Well, my son wouldn't if he actually ate the food I cook, sigh...


And to use the passata in a really simple sauce: simply combine the whole bottle of passata (nearly three cups) with a quarter or half cup of wine. White or red, your choice. Use it in your slow cooker or crock pot, on the stove or in your oven (might need to cover the dish or cook opat a low temperature) with lots of diced vegies, maybe some pre cooked beans (white, black, red, garbanzo...or even lentils), or maybe just simmer it a little on the stove and use it on pasta. You can add meat to your dish, too. Cook it slow if you can afford the bill. Any leftover sauce cooked separately can be frozen to use another day.

 

[Beverly]

Cosmophylla Nettles are the best, but you need gloves, or have to be careful to only touch the back of the leaves, away from the center vein when they are raw - you get stung otherwise. (you can roll the leaves so that only the under side touches your tongue and, eat then raw without getting stung but, that's a slow way to get your greens, best to cook them.)

Another, easy wild food is thistle buds off those big spikey purple flowering ones. You want flower buds before they open. Use them just like miniature artichokes, they taste almost the same too, just a tad of bitter to them but still, way cheaper than artichoke hearts - thistle buds are free and, since you ate them, the thistles can't bloom and scatter seeds- less of those spikey devils to deal with. (unless you ley a couple bloom on purpose like I do, for food for next year.)

If you live where bamboo grows wild, then get the shoots in the spring, thumb size around or a bit bigger and, about 3 to four inches tall. Peel off the green, you want the white parts only. Those can or freeze well and, bamboo shoots are wonderful just steamed and seasoned with soy sauce and garlic.

Pressure canners are expensive, around 100 USD, but, it's worth the investment. Then, with a few canning jars, you can can anything, even meat and fish. All that no or low acid stuff you can't water bath can, even leftovers can be pressure canned. I do lots of canned chili, stew, beans. Cook a huge lot of it once, eat a quart for that night's meal, can the other seven or eight quarts for meals that take all of ten minutes to heat up later. (PM me if you need canning instructions for a food - it isn't as hard as it sounds to home can food.)

I also gather wild mushrooms but, get a guide if you are going to do that, some of them are poisonous, not many actually deadly but, there are a lot of very potent hallucinogenic wild mushrooms and, you don't want to eat those. (Well maybe you do but, you shouldn't want to eat those. LOL )

 

[tree]

Dried Lentils:
Lentils are both one of the cheapest foods you can buy, and one of the healthiest. While no single food source can meet all of your vitamin and mineral needs in the correct proportions, lentils come pretty close.

They are good to make into 'burgers' or patties.

Or...flat fried thing. I don't have any other name for that.
The flat fried thing is when I use about 1/4 cup lentils, 4 T. nutritional yeast,
spices (1/4 t. pepper, oregano, garlic powder) & a T. each of buckwheat flour
& corn meal + some water,.....and fry it. (The lentils are already cooked for this,
although, it is possible to make lentil "flour," too.)

Lentils make good sprouts. You don't need a store bought sprouting
jar/lid. Regular jar, rubber band, very old thin piece of t-shirt will work.

 

[tree]

Another little thing I do to save money is buy passata in bigger bottles instead of tomatoes in cans. For me it works out cheaper by weight and the passata doesn't have salt in it. The passata bottle works out to be able two cans' worth of crushed tomatoes.

The word "passata" seemed clear enough from the context,
but I looked it up, to be sure. First time I have ever seen
the word.

http://www.thekitchn.com/what-is-tomato-passata-and-how-156321

I am allergic to all the nightshades, which includes tomatoes.
Sometimes I make 'no-nightshade sauce' for pizza/pasta, from
summer squash/zucchini. Yeah, it is green.

Chook---I am not familiar with that word, either.

Resale shop for cloth though...Yes. Very good idea.
The cloth has already shown itself to be durable/washable.
It you are buying by the bagful, you can get a lot more in the
bag if you roll up the item (tube shape, not a ball ).