Learn the basics for composting at home including how to compost, what to compost, what not to compost, tips for collecting food waste & dealing with problems. Create amazing soil for your garden! Learn how to save money on gardening, here. Each year, our family enjoys having a vegetable garden on our homestead. For most families, that means considering how much space you have versus what you want to ... Continue Reading
Showing all results for: produce guide
Easy Summery Dinner Ideas for June
Try these easy summery dinner ideas on your next meal plan! This four-week meal plan for June will help simplify your weeknight dinners and make cooking easy! Make quick meals like chicken southwest salad and buffalo chicken pizza. Although it’s not technically summer until the middle of the month, June is the kick off for summer activities in our household. The weather is hotter and we’re ready for the ... Continue Reading
Which is the better deal: the CSA or Farmers Market?
Have you ever wondered if a CSA (community supported agriculture) or farmers market is the better deal? Get a cost breakdown of 2 CSAs versus 2 farmers markets, and see which is more affordable with this CSA Farmers Market comparison guide! Learn more about shopping at CSAs and farmer's markets! When eating real food on a budget, there are two places where most people get stuck: the very beginning, and the ... Continue Reading
Is a CSA worth it?
What is a CSA? Is a CSA worth it? Here are the "ins and outs" about CSAs, based on my personal experience, plus how you can find a local CSA to join for your own family. A must read before committing! Also consider exploring the differences between CSAs and Farmers Markets here. Have you ever considered joining a CSA, but hesitated because you wanted to know more first - yet you didn't know who to ask? And ... Continue Reading
Turn Plain Cooked Oatmeal into Delicious Baked Oatmeal + 21 Recipes
Turn plain cooked oatmeal into delicious baked oatmeal with this simple conversion recipe, plus 21 BONUS recipes filled with delicious flavor combinations! Also, try out my chocolate leftover oatmeal cake and blueberry baked oatmeal. When the kids seem to tire of "regular" oatmeal, baked oatmeal comes to the rescue. I had been testing out a variation of carrot cake baked oatmeal, which the kids had ... Continue Reading
Which is Cheaper: Walmart or ALDI?
Walmart vs. ALDI - which is cheaper? What about quality? See the list of price comparisons at ALDI and Walmart, and see which store has the better deal all around! Try out my ultimate shopping guide to ALDI and my comparison of Costco vs. ALDI. As a frugal shopper, I'm always wondering what store will have low prices. It's one of the primary principles I teach in my course Grocery Budget Bootcamp, and it's ... Continue Reading
How to Meal Plan and Make it Work
Learn how to create a meal plan and make it work for your family, even around your busy schedule. Meal plan for a week or a month to eat real food and stay on budget! If you'd like all of the learning tools to save big money on real food meal planning, check out my Grocery Budget Bootcamp. Making a meal plan is the BEST way to keep your family eating real food on a real budget. After a lot of trial and ... Continue Reading
How to Raise Backyard Chickens
Raising backyard chickens is rewarding, fun, but like anything, it can have a few challenges. Here is my ultimate guide on how to raise and care for chickens. You'll get all of my pros, cons and the cost breakdown to help you budget! Don’t forget to check out how to make an easy raised garden bed and how to start a frugal urban garden. Our homesteading journey has been long and slow. It started in 2009 ... Continue Reading
Losing Weight with Real Food
Losing weight with real food isn’t complicated. These 4 reasons explain why whole foods support healthy weight loss over the typical “diet” food on the market. Learn more about how to start eating real food with my 30-Minute Dinners meal plans! Did you make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight this year? I’ve made that one before, back before I quit making resolutions altogether. I used to make ... Continue Reading
How to Make a Smoothie Without a Blender
I drink my favorite green smoothie almost every morning, but what do you do if you're moving or in a season of transition, and you can't access your blender? Learn how to make a smoothie without a blender with just 3 ingredients and this simple tutorial. Don’t forget to try my 5 day smoothie fast! Several years ago, Mr. Crumbs and I took advantage of a date night and browsed the aisles at Costco. While ... Continue Reading