If you haven’t noticed, I’ve kinda been on a “make something for nothing” kick lately. First, it was ketchup from our backyard plants that just.keep.going. Then it was apple cider vinegar from the cores and peels of apples.
Most recently, it was roasted pumpkin seeds (perfectly, I might add), from the baking pumpkin I roasted and turned into homemade pumpkin puree.
All this coking-for-free stuff got me thinking… if I hadn’t been doing something with these foods, they would most likely be ending up in the trash can.
Did you know that the average American family wastes 40% of the food they buy? Can you imagine how much money that equates to every year?
So turning our trash into treats (that’s a Halloween reference, by the way) is not only providing healthy food for us to eat, but it’s reducing our waste! And saving us money too.
All these hidden treasures of food got me wondering if there were even more real food we could make for free. With the only rule being you wouldn’t ordinarily buy something to make this food, I came up with 8 foods in all.
For example, you wouldn’t normally buy pumpkins for the seeds. BUT, since you have them anyway after pumpkin carving or making your own puree, then they’re fair game.
Speaking of pumpkin seeds, let’s use them to kick off our list of 8 real foods you can make for free.
#1. Pumpkin Seeds
Did I mention these were perfectly roasted? They are. And they’re amazing. And they’re free!
Perfectly Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
#2. Non-Dairy Milk Alternatives
Allergic to dairy? Or don’t have access to or can’t afford quality dairy? You now have your choice of SIX different non-dairy milk alternatives that you can easily make with what you already have on hand.
#3. Chicken Stock
Practically using only the bones leftover from dinner, you can make one of the most nourishing real foods there is. The fact that it’s free is one reason we plan soup on the menu once a week.
#4. Butter (and by default, Buttermilk)
Raw milk is a bit on the expensive side for me to make butter from scratch, but for my sister-in-law who has access to beautiful cream-filled raw milk for just $4/gallon, she buys milk to drink, and skims some cream for butter.
Homemade Butter
#5. Whey
Another superfood in real food terms, whey can be used to soak grains, make our new favorite bread or as a liquid to smoothies. The fact that it can be made 5 different ways is a huge plus too.
#6. Sourdough Starter
The after person buys flour for baking, but combine some with water and in a few days you’re on your way to a delicious and very bread. The perfect accompaniment to #4 if you ask me.
#7. Apple Cider Vinegar
Bypass the trash can and aim for a jar instead. Combine peels and cores with a bit of sugar and water and voila! You’ll have homemade vinegar in a matter of weeks!
DIY: Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar
#8. Oat Flour
Nothing fancy by any means, but pulverized oats are pretty handy for baking. They add moisture to muffins and texture to breads. Plus since you’re buying rolled oats for breakfast anyway, oat flour doesn’t cost a dime to make.
Those 8 real foods are a fantastic start, and will definitely make a dent in your grocery bill… but the fun doesn’t stop there. Because I’m a frugal foodie and always looking for ways to stretch my budget (so I can share the ideas with you), I’ve compiled a second list of 6 real foods you can make for $1 or less. I figure between these 6 foods altogether, surely we can save a few bucks.
#1. Soaked Whole Grain Bread
Believe it or not, but you can make a loaf of this bread for just under $1. Reason #3 to have peanut butter & jelly for lunch.
#2. Fruit Butter
Pick up 2 pounds of bruised fruit for $1 and you’ve got homemade fruit butter ready in about a day. We use this in place of jelly on our sandwiches, and it’s so good. Plus you can pretty much make whatever fruit combination you want, making no bushel of “seconds” off limits.
#3. Buttermilk
I hear buttermilk makes for the best pancakes, and I have 10 ways to make it… without having to make butter first.
#4. Traditional Breakfast Porridge
The breakfast of champions in our house, oatmeal is a staple. It’s hearty, it’s healthy, and it’s cheap!
#5. Whole Grain Crackers
Surprisingly, this 3-ingredient recipe is essentially just the cost of flour… which even when it’s whole grain, still costs less than $1 per batch.
3-Ingredient Whole Grain Crackers
#6. Dry Beans from Scratch
Ah… the bean. The frugal foodies best friend and mighty budget saver. Many beans cost less than $1 per pound dry, and cook up to 7 cups worth of beans. That’s making your dollar stretch REALLY far!
How to Soak, De-gas and Cook Beans from Scratch
Coming up with creative ways to use what would otherwise be trash is a great way to save on groceries. Include more of the 8 real foods you can make for free AND the 6 real foods you can make for $1 or less and I promise you’ll see grocery savings almost immediately.
Before I homeschooled my (now grown) daughters, I worked in a small private school cafeteria. They were coring and peeling apples for applesauce. I slid all the core and peels into a large ziploc bag and brought them to my mother. Before school was out the next day, she had made several jars of golden apple jelly. Another time turkey breast meat was on the menu. They were going to chuck all that was left into the trash. Since my Hubble was laid off from work, I knew the value of that item. I brought home all the bone and dark meat from several turkeys and Mother and I made several containers of broth ready for soup. We loved to save freeze the leftovers of whatever veggie we had for supper in the freezer, we pulled it out each night and spooned the last bits into a gallon container and place in back in its frosty home. With this broth and meat, we opened containers and mixed veggies, broth and meat for a really quick and inexpensive meal.
I can my own ground beef….getting it at a better price by buying it in bulk. Cook it in a big pot with water almost to cover, drain (save the liquid), fill jars with meat and cover with boiling water, process as usual. Take the cooking liquid and refrigerate….remove hardened fat (beef tallow) to use for soap making or oven “fries.” Reduce the skimmed liquid to have beef broth. I feel like I’m getting three items for the price of one!
Canned ground beef is much softer in texture than typical….we use it for tacos, burritos, etc. It mixes very well with beans!
Wow Patti, I’m impressed! We don’t each much ground beef (texture preference), but I’d totally follow your lead if we did!
I dry pack my hamburger. To me it’s not only easier, but there’s more flavor in the meat as all the flavor hasn’t gone into the water it’s cooked in (whether precooked or added to the jar.
In fact, most foods can be dry packed. It gives veggies a roasted flavor.
Dry packing is taking prepared food items and putting them in the jar without water, (with the ground meat, you want to pack it tightly so there’s no air bubbles), and then cleaning the rim well, putting on warmed lids and then cooking at your normal times and pressure for your altitude. YMMV
sorry for complaining but the buttermilk recipe doesn’t come up when I click on it….thanks…Diane
Sorry about that Diane! That’s fixed now. 🙂
Other fruit vinegars, such as pineapple. And using the chicken fat, that rises to the top of your cooled stock, for gravy and anything you would use pork fat in. Don’t forget the skins from your tomatoes when canning. Dehydrate the skins and grind into a powder to be used anywhere tomato flavor is wanted. And when you use veggies in a recipe be sure to keep the peels, skins and ends or tops…put them in the freezer until ready to make your next batch of bone broth. Use the leftover pulp from making almond or coconut milk to make flour. The fruit you add to water kefir or kombucha is great to add to muffins or your pancake batter, which can be made from extra sourdough starter that otherwise would be discarded.
I enjoy figuring out how to use skins, peels, bones..everything !
Wow Nancy! That’s quite an impressive list of ideas! Thanks so much for sharing! Your idea for using fruit from kefir/kombucha in muffins in my favorite. 🙂
Great post idea and great ideas posted! On the apple cider vinegar, I’ve been making my own for years with the leftovers from turning bushels of NC mountain apples in sauce, butter and pie filling. But because I don’t grow them organically, and I know they are sprayed, this year I stopped using the peels to make the vinegar that we consume. I use the cores only for vinegar and am trying my hand at making an enzyme cleaner with the peels. It does feel good to find a way to use every part of the proverbial pig. But even if I didn’t, a lot of what I can’t (re)use can either go to the compost bin or the pets which still leave me feeling pretty dog-gone frugal.
~Melisa
That’s a really good idea to continue to use the cores, but avoid the peels if you know they’ve been sprayed. So often we (and myself included) have an all or nothing mentality, and I totally missed this! I’m really enjoying composting too. There’s something soothing about dumping food scraps into the garden, lol.