Saving your own seeds means that you skip buying seeds every winter/spring. This means that, depending how many seeds you are used to buying, that you can save $10-$50 per year in gardening costs! This makes gardening an even better deal than it already is.

Heirlooms, Hybrids & GMOs
Before I talk about methods, I'd like to clear up some confusion about  organic, heirloom, non-GMO and hybrid seeds. This is something I've only begun to learn about, but knowing the difference between the four can save you some $$.

So in the last few years, people have made a big deal about GMO seeds and struck fear into the hearts of many. At the same time, there has been a lot of talk about "heirloom" seeds. My understanding used to be that all non-heirloom seeds were GMOs and that you couldn't save them to use again. This belief is a product of marketing genius on the part of heirloom seed peddlers and promoters.

There is no "heirloom certification", which means that the term 'heirloom' is up to interpretation. Mostly it just means that the seed is an old variety. GMOs were only invented recently, which means that a 100-year-old plant variety is obviously not a GMO. This is why heirloom seeds are promoted as "non-GMO".

The truth is that most garden seeds are not GMOs. GMO seeds are created for big-scale corn, wheat, and soybean farmers. Some of these seeds are called "Round-up Ready", which means you can spray weedkiller all over the entire field and it will not kill the corn, only everything else. Obviously most small-time home gardeners are not going to spray their entire garden with Round-up (we're not THAT lazy!), so there is no market for GMO seeds among home gardeners. Most mail-order seed catalogs will not have GMO seeds. They may state this somewhere in the catalog, but if not, you can call to make sure before buying.

HYBRID seeds are what you want to avoid when planting a garden to save seeds. Hybrid seeds are NOT GMOs. A hybrid seed is like a mule. Mules are the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey. A mule is a naturally occurring animal, but it can't reproduce. Hybrid seeds are the same way. It's not like eating a hybrid will kill you; it just can't reproduce well. Usually the seed packet will say "hybrid" on the front, so you can tell savable seeds from non-savable. 

It is not necessary to buy organic seeds or plants in order to save the seeds. I have successfully saved seeds from the Dollar General. All you need is a non-GMO (most garden seeds), non-hybrid plant. However, all organic seeds are required to be non-GMO, so if you are paranoid about GMO seeds, buying organic will squelch your fear.

How To Save Seeds
Now for the actual seed saving! The easiest seeds to save are beans. All you have to do is set aside one bean plant (I picked one at the end of the row) and wait until the pods mature, get brown and shrivel up. Then, simply shell the beans. I stored my been seeds in a baby food jar at room temperature over winter, and they sprouted just fine. This year my crop of beans was entirely free. I actually MADE money on my beans from selling them at the farmers market.

Broccoli, radishes, mustard and other members of the Brassica family send out tall shoots that grow little pods, similar to a bean. These are harder to shell than a bean, but still simple to find.

Like I mentioned before, I save my seeds in baby food jars. Any container that is airtight will work. Don't store the seeds primarily in paper envelopes, or the mice will eat the paper. Try to keep them cool. Some people keep seeds in their refrigerator, but I keep my seeds in a drawer in our mudroom. It stays very cool there during the winter. It is crazy how many seed varieties accumulate once you start collecting!

Note: I am not a seed-saving expert. It is probably best to look up seed-saving methods for each different plant that you want to keep seeds from. Some plants have seeds that are small and hard to find. Carrots, I recently found out, cross pollinate with wild varieties unless you put a cage over them and add pollinating insects to the cage. Which is a bummer for me, because I waited two years for my carrots to go to seed. Live and learn.

Do you save seeds? What are your tips and tricks?

Well, I guess we are almost through July so I should post another garden update! I am super, super happy with the way my garden has worked out. Most of it was mulched in June, so I've done precious little weeding since then. We put up some cattle panels to keep my vining vegetables under control, and I also cut down my seeding carrots after finding out that they cross-pollinate with wild carrots (Queen Anne's Lace). Whoops.

I told Hubs the other day that it feels like I'm neglecting my garden because I don't go work in it every day. I venture out a couple times a week to pick produce and check up on everything. Once or twice a week I try to do some cosmetic weeding, but the garden is fully functional without babying from me.

I did a much better job this year of keeping things manageable. I planted LESS of what I couldn't freeze or can (cucumbers, lettuce, yellow squash) and MORE of things like peppers, tomatoes, beans and peas. I did make a few mistakes with the garden layout. For example, I planted 15 large sprawling pea vines in the middle of everything. They covered my corn, they covered my basil, they covered the green beans. Also, I underestimated the "sprawl effect" of tomatoes as well, and these have overpowered the pepper plants that were planted with them. Now I know that any companion plants of tomatoes should be tall and fast-growing.

Financially, gardening is a great deal. I'm amazed at everything I have grown for about $20 ($10 seed starter and $10 seeds). My pride and joy is my basil. Last year in desperation I bought a basil plant for $4 late in the season. Fresh basil at the store is something like $4 per handful, so the plant was still a good deal. This year I started seeds. Most of the sprouts died, unfortunately, but eight survived to maturity. These seedlings have grown larger than the plant I purchased last year. I got eight times the value for half the price! Crazy.

Seeds are such a fantastic deal. Not only do they cost pennies at the store, but if you learn to save them, you can have FREE seeds! But even if you stick to buying seeds, they can be stored for years. This year I bought a $0.20 packet of cucumbers and planted only three seeds. That 20 cents will pay for my cucumbers for the next two years. Same thing with squash, lettuce, herbs and other plants.

In addition to basil, I also planted hot peppers and mustard from seed. The mustard has seed pods, and the hot peppers have small green peppers on them.

My tomatoes are sprawling all over the place and growing little green tomatoes. This year I grew Romas and Beefsteaks, with a few volunteer plants of unknown origin. I've noticed that many of the Roma tomatoes are suffering from Blossom End Rot, which is apparently common for that variety. BER is caused by a calcium deficiency. I did put some eggshell powder under each plant in the Spring, but with Romas I guess it has more to do with the shape of the fruit. Luckily you can just cut off the rotted end, but I will probably only grow a few Roma plants next year.

Raspberries- Like my cabbage, these have taken the back burner. I should have pruned and thinned the row, but just never got around to it. Plus the rose beetles got to them. I'm picking off the beetles, but I should have started way earlier. Maybe next year.

Most of the vine plants are growing on cattle panels, as I mentioned before. This year we have one watermelon plant, a couple different varieties of squash, one cucumber plant and also some peas. The peas are done and I have pulled them out to make room for other things. I left one sugar snap pea wrapped around a stake, so it can go to seed.

In the Spring, I bought one head of garlic and planted the cloves, mostly for an experiment. As it turns out, garlic is really easy to grow! I got seven full heads (two not shown) out of the one bulb that I planted. I plan on replanting several of these heads this fall, to have some garlic next Spring. 

Lettuce, dill, fennel and cilantro have gone to seed. My strawberries were done a long time ago, so they are just sitting dormant now. I plan on gradually filling up three raised beds with new strawberry runners. This will allow me to have free strawberries, and the raised beds will make it easier to weed and pick. Guess who is making me some more raised beds!!

That's it for now!

How does your garden grow?

This week...

To see what happened this week, read my book- One Season of the Farmers Market.

Today I'm going to let you in on a little frugal secret that I learned recently. It is how to make that fun foaming hand soap that you can buy at the store. I am okay with using a bar of soap, but Hubs prefers liquid soap and I know that bar soap can get messy with little ones.

Here's the secret of foaming hand soap: it's all in the pump. That's right! You can use whatever liquid soap you want, as long as you have a foaming pump container. I found two bottles of Bath & Body Works soap at a garage sale last year, both of which have foaming pumps. Or, you could go to Walmart and buy a new bottle for a couple dollars.

How to Do It
To make foaming soap, fill the container with water up to an inch from the top. That's right- I said water! Then add a tablespoon or so of liquid soap. You can use the fancy-pants liquid castile soap, but I just used plain old dish soap because we really like the scent. Hubs likes it because it cuts grease better than regular hand soap. Some people also add a little bit of oil to the soap, in order to preserve the life of the pump.

Then, swish the water/soap mixture around a little bit to blend, and screw on the top. Squirt out a little bit of soap to see if it worked. Voila! Using foaming hand soap is super frugal. Not only does it cost mere pennies per bottle, but there is less waste than with bar soap. Plus, it takes less time to make than it does to find a bottle at the grocery store.

This is one of those little "frugal accomplishments" that you can learn once and use the rest of your life. I can't say you'll end up saving millions, but you might save $0.25 a week. That's $13 a year! Plus you'll save a lot of mess and some time. This trick allows you to use the same soap for everything, and simplicity is always a goal at my house. Less to think about, more brain space for things that I enjoy. :)

Happy foaming!
-Bethany

In the last couple years, essential oils have become a bit of a craze. It seems like everyone and their mother is using them, and using them for everything. I thought I'd dig into it a little more and see if essential oils are really worth using, and if so, how is the best way to do it?

Use in Natural Medicine
First, I thought I'd thumb through my book, The Herbal Drugstore, to see if they recommend the use of essential oils. Sure enough, I found recommendations for tea tree, lavender, geranium, peppermint, bergamot, and clove essential oils.  The book recommended using these oils externally or topically, for things like respiratory and skin problems. 

Network Marketing vs. Retail
Then, I hit up Mountain Rose Herbs and Young Living to find a ballpark cost to these recommended oils. These days most people get their essential oils from Young Living and DoTerra, which have become popular network marketing companies. However, unless you are a distributor, network marketing is almost never a good deal. Case in point: 

Clove Oil (1/2 oz.): YL - $20.07 ~ MRH - $7.50
Bergamot Oil (1/2 oz.): YL - Out of Stock ~  MRH - $16.50
Peppermint Oil (1/2 oz.): YL- $28.29 ~  MRH - $7.50
Tea Tree Oil (1/2 oz.): YL - $34.21 ~ MRH - $6.25
Lavender Oil (1/2 oz.): YL- $30.92  ~ MRH - $7.69
Geranium Oil (1/2 oz.): YL - $54.28 ~ MRH - $18.75

So first of all, don't buy your oils from Young Living. If I wanted to get the same price on Young Living geranuim oil as MRH, I would have to sign up as a member (up to 40% off retail) and sell $172 worth of product. That sounds like a lot of work! Of course if you really want to work your way up through the company and have a bunch of people under you, you might be able to get some pretty cheap oils. But unless you have a ton of potential customers (popular blog writer, speaker, etc.), you'll end up paying more for Young Living oils, even as a member and distributor.

Now we tackle the next problem. My herb book recommended the use of six essential oils. Young Living (and therefore, most people who tell you about essential oils) recommends the use of all 84 of them. They recommend stirring a drop of peppermint oil into your herbal tea to aid digestion. But what about just drinking peppermint herbal tea? If you grow your own peppermint, it's certainly cheaper than using essential oils. 

I was surprised to see oils like black pepper, carrot seed, sage, chamomile, goldenrod, dill, and coriander. They've come up with an oil for everything! Mountain Rose Herbs was selling a 1/2 oz. bottle of catnip essential oil (of all things!) for $40. Crazy! Some of the most expensive oils are made from the cheapest plants in your backyard. A homemade tincture would cost pennies on the dollar.

The Bottom Line
If you want to get into herbal/plant-based medicine, essential oils are a very easy (but very, very pricey) way to do it. No one who is trying to save money should get into essential oils. I would recommend buying only a few, or sticking with the cheaper oils (lemongrass, orange) to scent homemade soaps and cleaning products with. These are the oils I have: peppermint, spearmint, eucalyptus, lavender, lemongrass, citronella, and patchouli. Two are from a local mint farm, and the others I got from grocery or craft stores. I've had most of them for several years, so as you can see I'm not a heavy essential oil user.

As you can imagine, building a "medicine cabinet" primarily with essential oils will easily cost hundreds of dollars, especially if you buy through the more popular companies. I believe that the medicinal value of most essential oils is sketchy, and the price is not worth the benefit that oils might provide. I only use essential oils for respiratory problems (homemade vapo-rub, etc.), and even then, there are cheaper ways to sooth a sore throat.

If you are interested in natural medicine, I would instead recommend buying and/or learning how to use herbs. Herbs provide most of the same medicinal benefits, but will fit any price range.

Do you use essential oils? Why or why not?

-Bethany

*Edit 9/14/15: I would recommend using LorAnn oils for regular external use and for things like cleaning, soap-making, etc. These oils are therapeutic grade, 100% pure and very affordable, ranging from $3-$10 at Walmart. Walmart carries almost all of the common oils like eucalyptus, clove, orange, etc. Other oils are also available on LorAnn's website. The most expensive oil on their site- myrrh- costs about $30 per ounce. 

Today we're going to talk about a common wildflower that has many uses in herbal medicine. Not to mention that it smells wonderful!

Identification
Yarrow is a common wildflower in the Aster family. It grows to be 1'-3' tall with 2-4" wide clusters of small, white flowers with yellowish centers. The leaves are easy to identify; small, narrow and fern-like feathery. They have a strong smell, are larger at the bottom and progressively smaller at the top. The flowers bloom in summer and fall, and can be found in dry, sunny areas- deciduous woods, fields and prairies. They are found throughout Michigan. Yarrow is native to North America.

Yarrow leaves and flowers can be gathered while in bloom, dried and stored for year-round use. It can also be made into a tincture and used in herbal oils and salves.

Medicinal Use
Many cultures have used yarrow as a medicinal herb. There is a legend that Achilles used the plant to heal bleeding wounds during the Trojan War. In modern times, herbalists still use yarrow to stop bleeding and help resolve colds & flu, endometriosis, heard desease, hives, menstrual problems, pinkeye and sties. More than 40 active ingredients have been isolated in yarrow. The plant possesses anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and sweat-inducing properties.  It can reduce inflammation, relax cramps, and arrest excessive bleeding, dilate arteries and help lower cholesterol. It is considered a blood vessel tonic, improving arterial health in general. In Germany, yarrow is approved as a treatment for menstrual cramps. Crushed leaves can be applied to wounds to stop bleeding and heal cuts. Fresh leaves can also be chewed to relieve toothaches. Sties and pinkeye can be relieved with a eyewash or compress made from yarrow tea.

Caution: Yarrow should not be used internally during pregnancy or attempts to become pregnant. Don't confuse yarrow with fool's parsley or or poison hemlock. These species have similar leaves and flowers, but their leaves are more broad and lacy. Be sure to take all specifications (color, height, smell, leaf placement) into consideration when you are first learning to identify a plant- don't just look at the flower or the leaves.
 
***
White, Linda B. The Herbal Drugstore. United States of America: Rodale Inc., 2000. Print.
Tekiela, Stan. Wildflowers of Michigan Field Guide. Cambridge, Minnesota: Adventure Publications, Inc., 2000. Print.
Brown, Tom Jr. Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival. New York: Berkley Books, 1983. Print.

Here we are at the tenth week of our experiment! We had a nice sunny day last week and sold most of our stuff. Altogether we grossed $105. Last week (4th of July) we did not do the farmers market because we were gone all but one day (Wednesday) and I wouldn't have had the time or energy to bake. However, it would have been a great week to sell. I talked to a girl that sells jewelry, and she said it was her best week ever. I also heard other people talking about how good of a day it was.

Marketing
This week I worked on taking and editing photos. I will use these product photos for promotional stuff.

Labeling
As promised last time, I did spend some time improving my labels. I bought some neutral colored card stock to use. The cost was about 8 cents per page, and if I can get 10 labels out of each page, it is still cost effective (though not as much as plain white paper labels). I looked at some of the larger adhesive labels available, and the cost would come out to about 8 cents per label, which is too high right now for the profit I am making. I did buy some double-stick tape though, to experiment with making my own adhesive labels, mostly for the jam and peanut butter. I used my card stock and a decorative corner punch to make new price signs for some of my products. I think they turned out dandy.

I believe I've shared before my frustration with the cashew crunch not selling as well as I had hoped. It tastes fantastic, but looks like peanut brittle. Ain't nobody got time for peanut brittle. One thing my brother noticed while working with me is the tendency of customers to pick up a bag of cashew crunch and look at the bottom. Almost every single person! I talked to Hubs about this, and he thought maybe they did it because they were looking for peanuts or something. I've even had people TELL me it was peanut brittle, after I told them it was toffee. Last week I made a cute little sign/note explaining the difference between cashew crunch and peanut brittle. Not only did I sell both bags without any arguments, but nobody looked at the bottom. I wonder if this will help me sell more candy next week.

Work Load
One of the challenges of having a farmers market booth is trying to bake a variety of items but not have too much go to waste. This means you either have to do some of the work ahead of time or make smaller batches. This week I figured out how to do small batches of both cookies and quick breads. This means that I'll be able to offer four different cookies every week instead of four of the same kind, with exactly the same amount of work. Bingo!

The Bottom Line

Income
Marshmallows: $4.50
Toffee: $9.00
Jam: $3.50
Granola: $5.00
Amish Peanut Butter: $14.00
No-Bake Cookies: $5.75
Peanut Butter Cookies: $3.50
Molasses Cookies: $3.50
Applesauce Bread: $2.00
Cinnamon Rolls: $9.00
Mulberry Mini-loaves: $4.00
Garlic Bread: $5.00
Green Beans: $4.00
Total Income: $72.75

Expenses
Booth: $4.00
Tent: $5.00
Gas: $6.00
Costs of goods sold: $17.89
Total Expenses: $32.89

Total Net Profit: $39.86

This week's cost of goods not sold was $5.76: banana bread ($1.27), applesauce bread ($0.55), cinnamon rolls, ($3.09), mini-loafs ($0.33) and garlic bread ($0.52). Over half of the cost was in the cinnamon rolls, which sold fantastic individually, but only one pan sold at the market. I was also a little bit disappointed about the banana bread, but that can be frozen and used for snack/road/potluck food.

What Do Customers Want?
Now that we've been at it for 10 weeks, we know who the repeat customers are and what they buy. Interestingly, none of our repeat customers buy breads or cinnamon rolls... they all buy cookies. This is good news for several reasons:

1. Because cookies are easier and less time-consuming to make. This means that if I sell $50 worth of cookies instead of $50 worth of bread, my per-hour wage will go up.  Better yet, now that I can make smaller batches, I'll be able to offer an ample supply of different varieties. This week we got requests for peanut butter no-bakes (I thought all no-bakes had peanut butter!) and also sugar cookies. In the past we've gotten requests for snickerdoodles, oatmeal raisin, and others. We haven't received any requests for different breads.

2. Because the market is not saturated with cookies. Everyone has breads- there are at least five bakery-type booths at our market, and most of them sell yeast breads. There are many farm-type stands that sell cinnamon rolls as well, but I've not seen a booth full of cookies.


3. Because I love my cookies and would buy them myself. The breads and other baked goods that we make are good, but they're not spectacular. Plus when we make bread, we are trying to compete with real bakeries that make bread for a living, not for a hobby or to save money at home. To be honest, I'm not very passionate about breads, either. But Hubs will tell you that I could eat cookies all day.

4. Because I'd rather be a first-rate farm stand than a second-rate bakery. Last week I was talking to another vendor (she has a berry farm) and mentioned that I liked the pictures she put up of their animals because it brought more of a "farm" element to the booth. "I know," she replied,"A lot of people think we're a bakery, but we're not! We're a farm." I looked at some of her baked goods, and yes their farm could compete with any bakery. Everything was very professionally packaged and beautiful. Then I thought about my packaging that is not sloppy but definitely not first rate with real pie boxes or releasable granola bags. After I got home, I thought about how maybe we are sabotaging our own sales by trying to compete with bakeries instead of where we should be competing, which is with other farm stands. At the beginning of the season I was not planning on selling any produce, but now I know that is where I can make the most profit with the least amount of work. And I'd like to move away from the baked goods and more toward farm stuff.

All this being said, in the following weeks I'd like to slowly introduce some different products (fruit, vegetables, herbs) and also some craft and gift items. SIL's body care products get a lot of attention, but she doesn't make soap and I have had some requests for it. I made my first batch of goat's milk soap last week and it will be curing for the next month or so. Soap is another thing that I haven't seen much at the market. It has a pretty high profit margin compared to baked goods, so I'm looking forward to having it at my booth.

Til next time,
-Bethany

How to Prepare
St. John's Wort is commonly infused in oil to be used topically, or made into a tincture. The herb loses potency when dried, but can still be used as a tea for certain ailments. It may take a few weeks in order for the herb to have any effect.

Precautions
As I've mentioned before, herbs can be very effective, so use with caution. Some people become sensitive to sunlight after drinking the tea  for extended periods of time. St. John's Wort may increase the effects of narcotics and some antidepressants. Talk with a professional before using if you are pregnant or nursing.

In this article, I've skipped the most obvious ways to save money like buying in bulk, gardening, canning, and shopping sales. I know many people who do all of the above because they want to save money, but then go spend thousands of dollars on health foods. I'm not anti-health food, and some may read this article and think I'm a cheapskate for not investing in (spending a lot of money on) the health of my family, but that's okay with me. 

Trim & Healthy... if you buy the right stuff.

Several months ago, I finished reading "Trim Healthy Mama". This is the latest and greatest diet book written for Christian/homeschooling moms and their daughters. The diet is based on "superfoods"- er, super-expensive foods- that are full of nutrition and that help speed up metabolism. The book also focuses on stabilizing blood sugar and separating fats from carbs. 

What I liked about THM is that it eliminated junk food and most carbs, which in many cases are junk anyway. What I didn't like about THM is the regular use of artificial "foods" like fat-free cheese and whey protien powder... all stuff that you have to buy. THM also relies on the use of expensive superfoods like chia seeds and coconut oil, along with expensive substitute "flours" and "milks". Kudos to the authors for including a section in the book on how to cut costs and still stay on the plan, but is this even possible with so many expensive ingredients?

With any diet plan, there are methods and principles. My theory is to follow the principles, but fit the methods to your own situation. This takes some creative thinking at times. It also takes some cooking skills and knowledge. Before designing your own methods, you must realize that every diet book and plan out there is trying to make money. Most of them have specialized products that you can only buy from their website, and guess what? You will stay fat & sick unless you buy these products that are an integral part of the plan! So be wary of marketing. More than likely there are alternative ways to be paleo/gluten-free/low-fat/high-fat without buying a load of expensive health foods. I'm inspired by the diet of Native Americans, who lived entirely on what I have growing in my own figurative back yard. Deer, rabbit, maple syrup, cattails, sumac, and so much more. Certainly they managed to live and thrive without coconut oil or almond flour. Acorn flour, anyone?? Eh, there must not be any profit in acorns.

My "Plan"
I try to follow a diet with mostly homegrown/made un-processed foods. Ideally this diet has as little sugar and as many nutrients as possible. Believe it or not, a relatively Nourishing Traditions/THM/Paleo/Gluten-free/over all healthy diet can be followed on as little as $15 per person, per week, using the following guidelines. I'm not a purist and love McDonalds as much as anyone, but this is what I generally try to do for normal meal-planning and groceries.

#1: Stop Baking
I mean it. Just stop making meals that include bread. That way if you're gluten-free (BTW, how did we manage to live thousands of years on bread and now discover that 75% of the population has a "gluten sensitivity"?? Could it be the almond milk/flour companies pushing their agenda?), you don't have to buy specialty flours. This will cut out many, many carbs for most people (donuts, cake, cookies, pastries, sweet breads, white breads), if you are on the low carb diet. It will also cut out jam, peanut butter, and other fattening/expensive condiments. Baking sweet dessert-type items also uses a lot of butter, which is crazy expensive. I do buy or make tortillas for our sandwich-style meals, which can also be used for pizza. During the winter I do make pizza crust once a week, but that is about the extent of my baking.

#2: Stop Making Dessert
How are we going to survive without dessert? My husband complains about me never making dessert, but only when I mention the fact. 99% of the time he doesn't realize what he's missing because I cook good meals. Does this means that we never have dessert? By no means! Between church, potlucks, weekends away and now baking for the farmers market, we have plenty of dessert. It's just that I don't make cookies a part of my weekly meal plan. At $3-$5 per batch, that's up to $260 per year on only ONE baked good. If you're trying to follow a special diet plan, I'll guarantee that dessert is where you'll spend all the money. Honey, not to mention cane sugar, maple syrup, stevia, exylitol and other "healthy" sweeteners are very expensive, especially when you are using several cups' worth in one sitting. If you must have dessert, make it fruit-based. Actually, fruit all by itself makes a wonderful dessert, if you stop using it as a snack (see #8).

#3: Stop Using So Much Butter
Hubs and I use no more than a stick of butter per week on non-farmers market food. This is because I don't do any baking and use free animal fat (chicken, bacon grease) to fry things in. 

#4: Stop Using Nuts
And this includes peanut butter. Some groups claim that unsoaked nuts cause cavities anyway. Hubs likes almonds on his granola, but other than that I don't cook with nuts. Also not baking (see above) nearly eliminates my need for nuts. I know that trail mixes are popular snack foods, but apart from being unhealthy (M&Ms and pretzels?!) nuts and dried fruit are crazy expensive compared to more nutritious snacks like yogurt, carrot sticks, or even fruit smoothies (see below).

#5: Utilize Wild Edibles
Instead of buying kale for smoothies, walk outside and grab a handful of lambsquarter leaves or other wild green. Not only are these greens available April-October, but they are absolutely 100% free and are chock full of nutrients just like kale is. Greens, fruit, and herbs (for tea and medicinal use) can be found in abundance in the great outdoors. If you live in town, ask a friend or relative if you can "shop" on their country property. But even small yards in town will provide you with dandelions, plantain, chickweed, lambsquarter, and other nutritious "weeds". If your lawn isn't big enough for a garden, there is always room for a weed patch somewhere.

#6: Utilize Organ Meats and Chicken Feet
I know this is NOT popular, but that's why you can get organs and feet for so cheap. Nutritionally, they are a big bang for the buck. Organs can be ground up and added to sausage or other flavored meats, and feet can be prepared and made into gelatinous broth quite easy, for $0.15 per quart. Many people use the carcass for broth, but this pot-made cannot be canned like chicken-feet broth is. Find organs and feet at a butcher shop or find a chicken-butchering friend. Organs can sometimes be found at the grocery store.

#7: Drink Only Free Beverages
Most of the time this is water. It can also include milk if you have a goat or cow, herbal tea if you forage or garden, and possibly kombucha or other fermented drinks on special occasions. Kombucha costs something like $0.25 per quart to make. Only drinking free beverages completely eliminates soda, alcohol, milk, fake milk, juice and other expensive drinks. Most drinks that you pay for are horrible for teeth and waistline. Store-bought milk has had most of the beneficial enzymes cooked out of it anyway. At $3.75 per gallon, a glass of milk costs $0.47. Drinking two glasses per day, that's $171 per year... for one person. Imagine how much it would cost for a whole family! If you are going to buy milk, it is better used for making yogurt. 

#8: Only Eat Free Fruit
If you are getting free fruit, it means that you grew or foraged it yourself, or got it from a friend. This means the fruit was local, and possibly organically grown. Bonus points! Fruit is one of the more expensive parts of a diet. Most people consider fruit a "healthy" snack, but vegetables are better because they don't spike blood sugar or encourage cavities. Vegetables also contain plenty of vitamin C and other fruit-ish vitamins. Honestly, one can survive without much fruit. I use fruit for smoothies and dessert, but that is it. For our purposes, one strawberry patch can fill a year's fruit requirement, let alone all of the raspberries, mulberries, cherries, pears and apples that also grow on our property. I would rather sell the fruit (fresh or made into jam) and use that income to buy meat. If you can't find free fruit, only buy when prices drop below a certain price per pound- perhaps $0.50 per pound.

And don't be a sucker for the dried fruit in health stores. Dried fruit especially spikes blood sugar, and most of it has added sugar or sulpher in it for taste and shelf life. If you really want dried fruit, dry some from your garden. 

Less Spending = Better Health
The hardest thing here is letting go of the "poverty" mentality and the belief that you can never be healthy unless you have extra-virgin coconut oil every day, or use chia seeds on your organic oatmeal. Diet books and TV shows have duped us into thinking that we have to buy stuff in order to be healthy. When I go buy something from my favorite bulk food store, I literally feel healthy. I feel like I'm making a great investment in myself and my future progeny. Then the stuff gets hidden in the back of my cupboard and I never use it. But I still feel like I'm being healthy just for having it in my house. Isn't that crazy? Even if I never use the de-fatted peanut butter, xylitol, glucommanan powder, or almond flour, I've tricked myself into thinking it's an "investment", whereas a daily walk or bike ride can wait. Maybe I'll exercise after I'm done reading one more article about essential oils. Click, click, add to cart. $200 later.... time for a bike ride. Oh bummer, now it's raining. Time to read another article! It's too late to make a healthy dinner, so I might as well just have cookies.

Most people eat certain foods because they grew up eating that way, or because some health guru told them they would look like [insert celebrity here] if only they followed "the plan"- NOT because it is the least expensive, most healthy way to eat. It's important that you have some kind of meal plan, lest you end up eating $2 protein bars every afternoon because you don't want to cook anything for dinner. It doesn't have to be fancy. Take the protein bars off your grocery list and buy a dozen eggs instead. Boil them up at the start of the week. By default, you will end up eating the eggs instead of the protein bars. It will be better for you (no sugar, preservatives, or soybeans), and cheaper. Re-evaluate your eating habits and see if there are any other small changes to make. You could save hundreds of dollars (and maybe some teeth) per year by replacing a PB & J meal with a rice and beans meal. 

What are your tips & tricks to eating healthy without buying more stuff?