Accepting the things we cannot change, and changing the things we cannot accept

If you haven't heard of the horsemeat scandal which is shaking the UK, here's a brief overview. Cheap minced meat from several low-priced product lines (for example 6/1pound burgers) has been found to contain horse DNA - sometimes up to 100% of the product is proven to be horse. Blame abounds, with fingers pointing at everyone from consumers to supermarkets to European mafia.

Side note: another big problem is the traces of porcine (yes, pig) DNA found in halal-branded food. That's a problem. A big problem. But outside my present argument.

In fact, food fraud seems to happen fairly frequently - we just don't realize it. I'm fairly certain the honey in my fridge (which I bought from a bulk bargain store) is actually coloured corn syrup, and I wouldn't be at all shocked that the cheapest store brand olive oil in my cupboard is just a cheap alternative. But you know what? I'm ok with that. The products serve their purpose in my food preparation. Also, I can't afford pure honey bought from a beekeeper, nor can I afford pure olive oil. I've accepted this. I'm ok with it, if not happy.

As for horsemeat, my personal view is that horsemeat must be pretty tasty if it's been passed it off as beef for so long. I personally have no problem with eating horse. However, I do have a problem when packaging says "100% beef" and the contents turns out to be Black Beauty rather than Buttercup. In England at least, the horsemeat industry is not as regulated as the beef one - the meat may contain many chemicals which may be harmful to us as consumers. This is a big problem.

If you do have an issue with eating horsemeat, then consider the wider picture. If a manufacturing company has managed to fool everyone with what animal is in their food, what else are you being tricked about? How have they managed this?

The only answer I can give is that the manufacturing chains are too damn long. We have no idea what's in our food anymore. Mostly, it's food - but what food, where, and how was it produced? We just don't know.

So we as consumers have two options:

1. We accept that we will never know what we're eating again.
2. We don't accept this, and we take steps to change.

In my case, I've accepted that some of my food is probably fake or below-standard (the honey, the oil), but I'm also taking steps to change. In my case, I'm purchasing a Community Supported Agriculture farm share (to be discussed in a future post), which will connect me directly to a local farmer. I will get fruit and vegetables every week during the spring and summer, and I can ask questions about the production methods, the fertilizers used, even what variety of vegetables they're growing.

It's also possible to get CSAs for meat, but I just don't have a big enough freezer to store half a cow or a whole pig. Sadly.

The capitalist world we live in emphasizes profit over quality. That's a shame, and it makes living on a tight budget an occasionally morally questionable practice. So my challenge to myself, to you, to the world is to choose what is acceptable and what isn't.

I've made my choices, what are yours?

Tip #21 - Take advantage of your supermarket... legally

I went food shopping today! For most people, that's a pretty boring task. But for me, it's always an adventure, even more so since I started on my $35/week budget. Delicious-looking food seems to jump off the shelves, trying to force their way into my basket, and I have to fend off the onslaught.

I've found that the best way to spend as little money as possible in the supermarket is to know my supermarket's secrets - the ins and outs of their pricing and specials, to take full and legal advantage of what they have to offer.

Of course, the most famous example of taking large-scale legal advantage of supermarkets is from the TV show Extreme Couponing. This works very well in many US states, but not so well where I live. Coupons really don't exist to the same extent, and are only offered on brand name products, and the savings are often small.

Instead I use two tricks which have served me well in both the UK and back in Canada: reduced for sale items and multibuy offers.

Reduced for sale

These items are reaching their best-before or sell-by dates, and stores need to clear them out quickly. They may be placed in a separate section, or have identifying stickers stating the percentage reduction or the new price. In England, these stickers seemed to be universally yellow, but in the supermarket nearest to me now, they're giant and pink (often covering up the product name or description!)

When buying reduced for sale items, check the best before date. This could be a few days away, but the product will still be edible even after this date. If the product has a use-by date, make sure you will consume the entire product before that date.

Any item which is reduced for sale and which can be frozen (such as meat or bread) is an even better bargain! Put the meat into a freezer bag (in portions, if it's chicken breasts or thighs, or ground meat) and stick it in the freezer until you will use it. Then, fully defrost when desired and cook it immediately. Bread will last at least a few days after defrosting.

Sometimes these reductions take place at specific times during the day or week. A few hours before closing is often a good time - as the store tries to get everything sold as fast as possible. 

Today I got lucky and found some reduced for sale yoghurt (best before the 7th) and orange juice (best before the 6th), both reduced by 50%. In fact, since the orange juice's reduction didn't go through at the check-out, I got a 100% reduction from customer services!

Multibuy offers

These can be useful, but also dangerous. Investigate the available multibuys before you get to the supermarket, either online or through the store's weekly flyer. Multibuy offers can lure you into the exhilarating feeling of getting a bargain, even when you don't need the item, and planning ahead will help you avoid these temptations.

Multibuys on pantry essentials are especially good. Stock up when the items are cheap. If there are multibuys for fresh produce, use it as an excuse to eat more fruit and vegetables or try new things. But make sure you use them! A multibuy offer is no good if the food goes to waste.

I'm having particular fun with multibuy offers in Canada, because the laws here seem to require multibuy pricing to extend to the individual items. So, for example, a 2 for $5 deal means that each item must be individually priced at $2.50 each. So my box of cereal, normally $5.58, currently on offer at 2 for $6, cost me only $3, even though I only bought one! Fantastic!


These are just two examples of ways to get the most out of your supermarket, which are well used in both Canada and the UK. Are there any tricks that you use?

Recipe: Gigantor pot of pasta sauce

Mmmm pasta. Food of the gods and the budget-conscious.

But what to put on those wiggly or fun-shaped noodles? Store-bought pasta sauces can be really expensive, and the cheap-o alternatives can be questionably tasteless or full of salt. Blegh.

And you definitely don't want to make fresh sauce each time you want pasta. Even for a big family, that can be a huge headache.

So here's the solution, which is also a family recipe. I'm naming it the Gigantor pot of pasta sauce. It's pretty darn big.

Ingredients

olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced (or more if you like extra garlicky sauce!)
2-ish pounds of lean ground beef (or other meat; get whatever's on sale, special, or reduced for quick sale)
2 large jars of plane jane spaghetti sauce (I used ones that are 700mL)
1 tin (540mL) of Lentils
1tsp Marmite*
1 sachet or cube Beef bouillon
3 bay leaves
Ground pepper/sea salt to taste

Instructions

1. Sauté the onions and garlic in a large dollop of oil until soft and translucent
2. Add beef. Attack the beef with a wooden spoon while it cooks, continuously breaking it up and turning it over until there's no pink left.
3. Add the spaghetti sauce, lentils, Marmite, bouillon, and bay leaves. Swirl a little water inside the sauce jars to make sure all the delicious saucy goodness is in your pot.
4. Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir every so often to make sure everything's combining.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste - you may want to add a bit of sugar as well if the tomato taste is too strong. Remove bay leaves.
6. Enjoy!
7. Realize you have REDICULOUS amounts of leftovers, excavate all your freezer containers. Portion out and freeze.


Let's put it this way. When I cooked this two weeks go, I ended up with 6 Tupperware sack pots, and 2 soup containers, in addition to what I was eating. That's roughly 10 individaul servings. For less than $10, since I bought the beef when it was reduced for quick sale. I still have two pots left.

That's a whole lot of pasta sauce!

Side note: if you don't feel up to boiling water and making some pasta, this sauce also tastes great on a microwaved baked potato. Cover it with cheddar cheese for some added inexpensive deliciousness.

Side note 2 (18/2/13): I made more sauce today, and added in some bacon and a spare red pepper I had leftover in the fridge. Thrown in whatever you have on hand to bulk it out - don't waste good food!

*Marmite is, in my opinion, disgusting on it's own. It's like salted tar. But it's like magic beef sauce when used with mince.

Tip #20 - Cook in bulk, freeze in portions

I started a crazy budget plan last week. When I first planned it out I was positive the hardest category would be the food. I mean, $35/week for food? That's not a whole lot, right? Boy was I wrong.

Though I have gone over my weekly food limit for both weeks, that was mainly due to my stocking my cupboards with staples, spices, etc. In fact, I'll probably only spend about $15 next week, and that's partly because butter is on sale and I plan to stock up.

The way I've managed this is by first buying and cooking in bulk. I'm not talking about bulk in the normal sense - there are no 5kg bags of pasta or rice in my cupboards. But for my only mouth to feed, I certainly don't need 3kg of ground beef. But it was on sale, so I bought it. And then froze it in two 1.5kg batches. I also bought a whole chicken (also on sale - see how this works?) and froze it.

The next step is to cook in bulk. I'll make portions big enough for an entire family, even though it's just me eating. I take what I want for my meal, then separate the rest into freezer containers. This way, my food stays fresh, and future preparation takes all of three minutes.

In the past two weeks I've made:

- A giant pot of pasta sauce (9 servings)
- A shepherd's pie (4 servings)
- Squash soup (5 servings)
- Carrot soup (5 servings)
- Whole chicken (1 serving + 2 pots of leftovers)
- Chicken and vegetable soup (5 servings, from various leftovers)
- 2 loaves of bread (1 frozen)
- 2L of granola (this is about what I'll eat in a week and a half; no freezing required, but is possible)

I'll also admit to the fact that I also have frozen perogies as a lazy-day meal.

My normal shopping day is Saturday (only 2 days away), yet my freezer is full, and so is my fridge. So I will likely not need to buy anything aside from my butter this week. And maybe treat myself to some pickles. I know, I'm pretty intense.

This trend may change eventually. I may find that, one day, $35 is just not enough to feed me for the week. But for now, I'm buying in bulk, cooking in bulk, and freezing in portions.


Extra added bonus time: home-cooked food has made me feel incredibly full. I'm eating less by volume than I normally would. If I had a set of scales, I'd guess I'm probably losing weight too. So I'm saving money and taking care of my body too!