Guest guest Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 Sorry if this is an old thread, just reading a bit and getting caught up with the group. I agree with what people are saying about bulk grains and legumes. It really burns me up that purveyors of processed food and the local market make people pay MORE for good vegetarian foods, and the best foods are many that you cannot buy at regular markets -- like bulk dry soybeans, wheat & rye berries, brown rice, garbanzos, and bulk dry beans in fancier styles. If you order soybeans (and other whole grains & legumes) in 25 or 50 pound sacks from off the net from places like Walton Feed or Azure Standard farms, they come to your door for usually less than $1 per pound, last without refrigeration till you use them and let you make soymilk for less than 50 cents a gallon and other whole grain foods for waaay cheap. I mean how does less than $10 per person per week strike you? I make lots of soymilk now and tons of soy yogurt too, although the yogurt needs to be stabilized with non-sugar calcium pectin (pomona pectin) to set. You could buy a soymilk machine (1.5 to 2 liters of soymilk in 1/2 hour) and a fancy automatic rice cooker to make automated rice-legume type meals. I use the okara (ground bean bits) from soybeans as TVP (virtually the same thing) but end up composting half of it 'cuz I have more than I can use(!). With the compost I'll maybe to start growing my own tomatoes and peppers. The rest of the okara I make into " soysage " burgers with whole wheat, rye, mushrooms and ground flax, just about for free. I have a good home grain mill and a Bosch universal mixer that each cost less than $100 on eBay, but they are more now. I make tons of whole-grain flour for sourdough bread, and bean flours for making terrific soups, refried beans and pasta sauce. If I needed to budget my time I would get 1) soymilk machine 2) home grain mill 3) Programmable " fuzzy logic " rice cooker And order my food in bulk off the net as whole-grains and legumes. Food for thought Slim , " brbrunner " <brbrunner wrote: > > The way to save money while still eating a healthy diet is to buy > unprocessed ingredients in bulk. Anything that is processed, even if > healthy, is going to be more expensive. So, bulk brown rice, beans, > lentils, garbanzos, nuts (especially peanuts), rolled oats, etc. The > only downside is that these things take more time to prepare. > > Bryan > > , " Tracey Ward " > <traceymosko@> wrote: > > > > I would love help here too. My grocery bill is going up and up and > > up. I never see coupons for vegetarian foods. > > > > Tracey > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 Hi Slim, Great ideas for eating great food on a budget!!! Unfortunately, those things do take a fair amount of time, and sometimes working people have very little free time to spare. I try to balance bulk foods with some processed vegetarian foods, to maximize nutrition without taking too much preparation time. Bryan , " slim_langer " <slim_langer wrote: > > Sorry if this is an old thread, just reading a bit and getting caught > up with the group. > > I agree with what people are saying about bulk grains and legumes. It > really burns me up that purveyors of processed food and the local > market make people pay MORE for good vegetarian foods, and the best > foods are many that you cannot buy at regular markets -- like bulk dry > soybeans, wheat & rye berries, brown rice, garbanzos, and bulk dry > beans in fancier styles. > > If you order soybeans (and other whole grains & legumes) in 25 or 50 > pound sacks from off the net from places like Walton Feed or Azure > Standard farms, they come to your door for usually less than $1 per > pound, last without refrigeration till you use them and let you make > soymilk for less than 50 cents a gallon and other whole grain foods > for waaay cheap. I mean how does less than $10 per person per week > strike you? I make lots of soymilk now and tons of soy yogurt too, > although the yogurt needs to be stabilized with non-sugar calcium > pectin (pomona pectin) to set. > > You could buy a soymilk machine (1.5 to 2 > liters of soymilk in 1/2 hour) and a fancy automatic rice cooker to > make automated rice-legume type meals. I use the okara (ground bean > bits) from soybeans as TVP (virtually the same thing) but end up > composting half of it 'cuz I have more than I can use(!). With the > compost I'll maybe to start growing my own tomatoes and peppers. The > rest of the okara I make into " soysage " burgers with whole wheat, rye, > mushrooms and ground flax, just about for free. I have a good home > grain mill and a Bosch universal mixer that each cost less than $100 > on eBay, but they are more now. I make tons of whole-grain flour for > sourdough bread, and bean flours for making terrific soups, refried > beans and pasta sauce. > > If I needed to budget my time I would get > > 1) soymilk machine > 2) home grain mill > 3) Programmable " fuzzy logic " rice cooker > > And order my food in bulk off the net as whole-grains and legumes. > > > Food for thought > > Slim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 Hi Bryan, That's why I brought up the ideas of the soymilk machine and the programmable automated rice cooker. In the time it takes to go to the store, march the aisles to muzak and faint over the sticker shock one could probably instead have your milk (with okara for potential burgers) and a fairly satisfying and savory rice-legume dish to stew over. I still make my soymilk with two pots, 'cause I like making it richer and in larger batches, particularly for yogurt making. Also I still make rice on the stovetop, but I think I might get a couple of these relatively inexpensive machines ($300 together) and see how they work for saving labor. Not meaning to be controversial, just practical Slim , " brbrunner " <brbrunner wrote: > > Hi Slim, > > Great ideas for eating great food on a budget!!! Unfortunately, > those things do take a fair amount of time, and sometimes working > people have very little free time to spare. I try to balance bulk > foods with some processed vegetarian foods, to maximize nutrition > without taking too much preparation time. > > Bryan > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 Great ideas & tips Slim. Another good time saving technique (at least for me, so far) is to cook big on the weekend or a day off & freeze portions for later lunches & dinners. DH & I scored a perfect size freezer off Craig's list for cheap. Peace, Diane , " brbrunner " <brbrunner wrote: > > Hi Slim, > > Great ideas for eating great food on a budget!!! Unfortunately, > those things do take a fair amount of time, and sometimes working > people have very little free time to spare. I try to balance bulk > foods with some processed vegetarian foods, to maximize nutrition > without taking too much preparation time. > > Bryan > > > > > If I needed to budget my time I would get > > > > 1) soymilk machine > > 2) home grain mill > > 3) Programmable " fuzzy logic " rice cooker > > > > And order my food in bulk off the net as whole-grains and legumes. > > > > > > Food for thought > > > > Slim > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 You're right, Diane. It just takes that small amount of forethought and planning to make vegetarianism really pay off for everybody. Healthier food, more humane, better for the planet AND less costly. , " strayfeather1 " <otherbox2001 wrote: > > Great ideas & tips Slim. Another good time saving technique (at least > for me, so far) is to cook big on the weekend or a day off & freeze > portions for later lunches & dinners. DH & I scored a perfect size > freezer off Craig's list for cheap. > Peace, > Diane > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 You are probably right... it is just a matter of balancing " priorities " , but definitely some people have more free time than others. I know a lot of people on this list are making a lot of the recipes, but I haven't made one yet!!! Bryan , " slim_langer " <slim_langer wrote: > > Hi Bryan, > That's why I brought up the ideas of the soymilk machine and the > programmable automated rice cooker. In the time it takes to go to the > store, march the aisles to muzak and faint over the sticker shock > one could probably instead have your milk (with okara for potential > burgers) and a fairly satisfying and savory rice-legume dish to stew > over. I still make my soymilk with two pots, 'cause I like making it > richer and in larger batches, particularly for yogurt making. Also I > still make rice on the stovetop, but I think I might get a couple of > these relatively inexpensive machines ($300 together) and see how they > work for saving labor. > > Not meaning to be controversial, just practical > > Slim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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