Several of you have asked (or perhaps wanted to ask) how we have time and afford to eat a big meal at lunchtime as well as dinnertime.

If you look at my menus…you’ll notice that often our lunches are just as big as our dinners. There are several reasons for that:

1. Matt works all day putting on new roofs, tearing out and rebuilding bathrooms, working on people’s yards, you name it. The guy is hungry when he comes home for lunch. (and dirty…but that has nothing to do with this post)
2. Our four boys are….hungry….always.
3. I’ve found that it actually costs more to feed my family sandwiches and chips for lunch than it does to fix them a cooked meal…and it doesn’t take much more time to prepare.

Here’s a little research and number crunching I did to see how much it costs to feed my family of six a meal of sandwiches:

100% whole wheat bread…$2.00 on sale if I’m lucky
Two packages of Hormel Naturals Deli meat (the only kind easily available to us that I sort of feel okay about eating)…$2.98 each…$5.96 total
Mayo and mustard…50¢ (just a conservative guess…we go through a lot of it on a whole loaf of bread)

Total…$8.46

And that’s just the sandwiches.

We do, without a doubt, finish the entire loaf of bread and the entire contents of both packages of deli meat. Add fruit and carrots to that…and milk to drink…it can really add up!

Now, could I buy the cheaper bread and a package of bologna and save money? Sure. But…blech. (and I mean that in the kindest way possible)

And…I usually make my own 100% whole wheat bread…which is less expensive (and WAY better for us) than store bought…but…I’m just trying to make a point here. ;)

A typical lunch at our house might be something that uses a package of SmartChicken (which I buy on sale for $2.49ish/pound)…or a pound of hamburger meat (which costs me $4.35/pound because it’s from cows that are allowed to graze on organic grass and have college degrees). But look at that! Even my “expensive” high quality hamburger meat is less money than the mediocre-quality lunch meat.

Wow…I’m getting worked up here. I’ve never actually added it up before today. I knew I was saving money…but wow. This is exciting.

I have just succeeded in making myself very happy. I’m glad I did the math on that. It’s exciting to know that I’m feeding us good, filling lunches for much less than sandwich lunches.

Oh, and does it really take much extra time to fix a lunch, compared to the time it takes to make sandwiches? Maybe a little. But not much. Our lunches are often a High Five Recipe, which are quick to make, or something I’ve made ahead of time to throw into the oven.

Because many of you have asked about good lunchtime recipes and options…I’ll continue to share ideas as I can. Be watching for more High Five Recipes that are great quick and healthy lunches…plus…look through my menu plans for ideas on what we eat for lunch.

What do you usually eat for lunches? What works best at your house?
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I’ve shared how I order many of my groceries through health food coops and buy many organic foods from local farmers. And I’ve heard from many of you that you just don’t have many of these resources available where you live.

Here’s another great way I have been able purchase organic foods at bulk or discounted rates:  I talk to my grocery store managers.

Most store managers are happy to order you boxes of food. And they’ll usually sell it to you for less than the shelf price. You know why?  Because when you order a case of something…they know the entire case is going to walk out of the store. It won’t go bad while it’s waiting to be sold and have to be thrown out.  And he won’t have to pay anyone to put it on the shelf. Everyone wins!

I can now call my local grocery store’s produce manager (who knows me now on a first name basis) and order cases of organic apples and carrots and mushrooms and broccoli…and many other items. If it is available to him, he’ll order it for me. When I order on a Monday, it comes in on Wednesday. Talk about instant gratification!

I paid just over a dollar per pound on these organic Fuji apples. The price of the non-organic Fuji apples for sale in the store? 99 cents a pound. I’d say I got a pretty good deal.

Now, our family can generally go through all 36 pounds of apples before they go bad…but sometimes I ask around to see if any of my friends want a nice bag or two of organic apples. Sometimes…we even coordinate and buy bulk produce every couple of weeks, then just split the cases. If you don’t think your family could tackle a whole case of produce…split it with your friends! 

What do you think? Have you ever tried this idea?  I think it’s a wonderful option for those of you who have limited health food resources! Be brave…give it a try!
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This post is linked to Frugal Friday.

Catch up on the rest of this series here.

By the way…I think this post holds the record for being the absolute longest I’ve ever written. Maybe? Well, brace yourself.

It’s field trip day again! If you you were absent the day we went on our other field trip to meet my favorite cow, you can check it out here.

Today, I want to take you with me while I pick up my food co-op order.

I live in a smallish town that has two nice grocery stores and a Super Walmart. If I wanted to go to a Whole Foods store or something like it, I’d have to drive almost two hours one way. Therefore, I order most of the food we can’t grow or get from local farmers from Azure Standard .

I usually place my order online and I almost always order in bulk. It’s less expensive for us to buy in bulk…I have enough room in my kitchen to store bulk groceries…and there are six of us so we eat…a lot.

Ready? Field trip time…

The delivery truck meets us in the Walmart parking lot.  And don’t think I didn’t feel a little bit silly taking these pictures because I did.  Who else whips out the camera to take pictures of people getting boxes of food off of a truck but the Heavenly Homemaker? Ah, but I did it for you anyway…and my Azure Standard friends just smiled and nodded like they would expect nothing less from me than to take pictures of this fine activity.

That long of a truck can hold a LOT of yummy food!

Thank you, Mr. Nice Truck Driver.

Here are our nice piles starting to form while we wait for everyone to show up and take their food home. The whole process only takes about ten minutes. And…many of us squeal a little bit when our pretty boxes of apples come off of the truck.  Mr. Nice Truck Driver just looks smug because he has what it takes to make grown women squeal.

Then, as all of you know…I bring it home and unload it onto the counter so that I can stare at it for several minutes. Looking at my groceries (and thinking about how I’ll make the food into yummy meals for my family) makes we very happy. All that you see here cost me $168, by the way.

Then, I take many of the bulk foods (honey in the case of this picture) and break them down into small containers for easy use and storage.

 Thank you to everyone who is still reading this post and has not fallen out of your chair from boredom.  (And if you DID fall out of your chair, I’m sorry to say that you need to get up and sit down again because the post isn’t done yet.)

I KNOW not everyone has the luxury of Azure Standard delivering in your area (like say…my readers from Turkey). I’m sorry that I just went on and on about something that is not relevant to you…I just have a lot of other readers (like say…my readers from the 17 states that A.S. does deliver to) who have been asking about this.

There are other food co-ops to check into. Try United Buying Clubs. Or…take a look at this Coop Directory Service. (Again, that won’t help you folks in Turkey.)  :(  If you’re from Canada you can do what Stephanie does and order from Spud.

(If there isn’t a co-op nearby…you CAN get one started as long as there’s a company that delivers to your area. Azure Standard didn’t deliver in my town until I made a phone call three years ago. Now, there’s about 20 of us who are a part of this group.)

And also…if you have absolutely no way of ordering some of these fabulous foods from any of the above mentioned places…try Amazon. (Does Amazon deliver to Turkey?)  I am amazed by what you can order from Amazon and often you can even qualify for free shipping which is so cool. (Psst…if you’re gonna order from Amazon and you want to do it by clicking on the little Amazon button in the right hand column of my blog, that would be very nice of you.)

Since you managed to read through to the end of this and live to tell about it, the least I can do is listen to you tell me where you find most of your groceries! Do you have cool grocery stores where you live? Are there some neat markets where you shop? Are you a part of a food co-op? How many of you really are from Turkey?

and last but not least…

DID any of you fall out of your chairs while reading this?

More Frugal Friday posts here.

Catch up with the rest of the Feeding the Family series here.

It’s field trip day! Hope you packed a lunch. Everyone please go use the restroom before we leave as we will not be able to stop along the way…and I’m serious so go now…I mean it. (Ehem, oh yeah, you guys are grown-ups…sorry.)

Okay, ready to go to Anne’s Farm to meet her cow…the cow that provides our family with yummy milk? Everybody get into my van and buckle up. Wow, who knew my van could hold so many people at once? Oh sorry, you in the back. Just throw that hot wheel car you sat on under the seat with the pretend cell phone. 

Here we go! Here’s the entrance to Anne’s farm. It’s just a couple miles out of town. Oh yes, and you might notice that some parts of this field trip occur when the grass is green and there’s corn ready to be cut across the street…and some of this field trip occurs when everything is brown and icy. Um, well…time flies. :)

As we drive up the lane toward Anne’s house, we see her huge garden area surrounded by a white fence. Have I ever told you that my friend Anne is one of the most hard working women I know? She has a huge garden, cans and freezes food, has ducks and chickens, milks a cow twice a day, has a husband, and has two daughters that she homeschools. And she still has time to be my friend. I am so blessed.

And now what you’ve all been waiting for. May I introduce you to Turbo? This is the beautiful cow that I’ve told you so much about. She is mostly and almost always sweet, although she loves Anne the best, just ask the other few people who have tried to milk her. She stands in her spot most of the day…grazing in the spring and summer…chewing on hay in the winter. She’s quite healthy and happy…even though she appears to be looking at all of us with disgust right now. How dare we disturb her lunch?

I believe Turbo is trying to tell us something. Maybe she thinks if she can’t see us, we can’t see her. 

As we head back into the garage to get my milk jars, let’s just take a peek at the chickens and the ducks. They are free to roam around all day. Anne just raised this new batch of chickens from chicks this spring. They are just now starting to lay eggs. I was given six little pullet eggs for Christmas (one little precious egg for each of us). Oh were they yummy!

Would one of you please find the milk jars in the fridge with my name on them and put them into my box? Be sure to put the towels around my jars so that they won’t break on the way home. Yes, one got broken one time. And it was summer. And do you know what milk smells like on the carpet of a van in the summer? Mmhm.

Thanks for going to Annes’ Farm with me! We’ll be going on more field trips soon!
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When we began our journey to eat healthier a few years ago, finding a source for raw, organic, grass fed milk was one of the first things we looked for. Anne didn’t have Turbo at that time…but she got her within a few months since our family and her family and another one of our friends were all wanting raw milk. Isn’t she nice? During the summers as Turbo prepares to calf…Anne dries her up (and has a blessed break from being tied to a cow for nine months out of the year)  (And I know you are now picturing my friend literally tied to a cow, but really, it’s not like that, I promise). During those three months we go a little farther down the road to another farm to get our raw milk. 

Here are a few things we have learned about milk that have convinced us that we want to stick with raw organic milk:

1. It’s the yummiest milk on the planet. (Yes, that’s just my opinion…but the fact that this creamy milk tastes so good sure does help me appreciate it’s benefits.) 
2. Raw milk is…raw. Milk that has been pasteurized loses all of it’s healthy bacteria, beneficial enzymes and many of it’s nutrients. Raw milk maintains all of the good stuff it started out with.
3. Raw organic milk comes from cows who have not been given hormones to increase their milk production…nor have they been given antibiotics to counter the effects from it’s living conditions. Generally cows on a monster dairy farm live in such unnatural conditions that they must be given antibiotics constantly. If you can’t find or don’t want raw milk…I at least urge you to work toward at least finding organic milk for this reason.
4. Read this article!!!! It is a wonderful explanation of why raw, organic milk from grass fed cows is so good.

I’m thankful that I have such an easy source (easy for me, not as easy for Anne, although she never complains) for good raw milk. Look at this site if you want to see how to find raw milk in your area.

I’m including this post as a Frugal Friday post, even though really…it is cheaper to buy milk at the store. But well…I believe being frugal includes more than just saving money and buying what is cheaper. It’s about being a smart spender. We feel it’s worth it to spend more on raw, organic milk.

What kind of milk do you like to drink? Do you find that finding a source for organic milk is difficult? Anybody want to come over for some milk and cookies?  :)

Today I wanted to answer these frequently asked questions regarding how I feed my family whole foods from scratch:

Are you in the kitchen ALL the time? How do you get all of this done? How do you keep up with all the dishes?

I am in the kitchen a lot…but I don’t live in there. (See, like right now I’m on the computer in the living room instead. :) )  Cooking from scratch and finding good sources for our food does take time…but here are some things I do to make my work simpler:

• I plan our menus!!!  I can not be efficient in the kitchen without a plan for the week. (Just ask my kids how last week was when our computer was down and I didn’t have access to my site for my menu plan. They’d say, “What’s for lunch?” (at 12:36) and I’d look at them with glossy eyes and say, “Uh…”)  Menu plans are a must for me.
• I cook simple meals…simple foods.  I rarely cook anything that requires complicated steps or hard to work with ingredients. Meat, potatoes, rice, beans, veggies, fruits, grains, eggs, milk…it’s all just basic food put together into different yummy meals.
• I wash dishes as I go.  I really do dirty up a lot of dishes in a day…but I try (try) to keep up with them by washing them as I cook. Sometimes they pile up. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up. Sometimes they make me discouraged. But they get done. I have a dishwasher. I have boys old enough to help. I have ten minutes here and there to knock more out of the pile. I love having clean countertops. 
• I think ahead, plan ahead, cook ahead.  This is one of my biggest cooking helps. I look at my menu plan and know what I’ll need for the week. If I can, I spend several hours on Friday night and Saturday cooking and baking for the week ahead. I’ll make up a double batch of tortillas, cook chicken for broth, bake four loaves of bread (sometimes making a couple of the loaves into cinnamon swirl bread like the picture at the top of this post), brown hamburger meat, cook rice, put together burritoes for the freezer, or any other foods that will make the week ahead run more smoothly. THEN, during the week…it’s like having convenience foods in the fridge or freezer! 
• I keep a running list of what I need to buy or order.  Usually, I do this online on my co-op website. As I think of something I need to order, I enter it into my online invoice as soon as I can so I don’t forget. The website remembers my order for me and I can just keep adding to it until I submit my order each month.
• I make tomorrow’s breakfast while I’m cooking tonight’s dinner.  This doesn’t always work (like, I’m not going to scramble tomorrow’s eggs at 6:00 tonight…yuck), but if we’re having muffins for breakfast, I’ll mix them up and bake them while I’m in the kitchen cooking dinner. In the morning, I’ll re-warm them in the oven for a few minutes, or just serve them as is. Or, if I’m making biscuits tomorrow morning, I’ll mix the flour and buttermilk so they can soak overnight…and then just finish them up the next morning. I often make a double batch of waffles, let them cool, then freeze them. Then we have convenient, toaster waffles whenever we need them. LOVE it. I mix up turkey sausage, shape it into patties and stick them in the fridge for the morning.

Those are some of the things I do to keep myself organized and sane during the busy weeks of school work, computer work, laundry, and you know…Chutes and Ladders.

What are some of your best ways of staying organized while you’re cooking? Do you feel like you spend hours in your kitchen?

Visit Tammy’s Recipes for more kitchen tips.