Poor Girl Gourmet book giveaway
Good food is something that is so important to me and my family. I’m not just talking about flavor, but that comes as part of the package when we make our consumer choices based on how the animals, vegetables and grains we buy were treated, processed and shipped to us.
Some of you might know about my food stamps story, which I tell at length in my book (out in April). We moved to NYC and became acutely aware of our budget, $201 per month to be exact. While we worked long hours as a grad student and both of us freelance artists getting our careers off the ground, we needed help. We received food stamps from NYC for one year while J was in school. With this money we were able to eat all our meals at home (all three, really) and buy the majority of our food from local/sustainable sources all within the constraints of that $201, sometimes going over by $20-30; $230 for a month’s worth of food is still not breaking the bank for many under-employed people. Meat, of course, became a luxury item since we didn’t want to buy poor-quality, low-cost meats. We sourced our groceries from our food coop, from farmers markets around NYC (many of which accept EBT/food stamps), from pick-your-own farms and even one or two side dishes during the growing seasons from our own back-deck, bucket garden.
There’s still a huge stigma surrounding what food stamps recipients should spend money on, and unfortunately the roots stem deep into socio-economic factors and the still-very-prevalent stereotypes and rhetoric of welfare. As a former EBT recipient who was harassed in my food coop (of all places) for paying with EBT and owning an iPhone, I know it can be difficult. But as a self-employed person who still can’t afford health insurance, I’d rather spend an extra $1 at the grocery store on chicken raised without antibiotics than take my chances on food that’s not truly proven safe from a long-term health perspective. Medical bills are certainly not in our budget. We shouldn’t have to choose between taking care of our bodies with high-quality food and spending as little as possible on highly-processed, factory-farmed or GMO foods.
I know from experience that you don’t have to have money to eat food that’s both good for you and the planet. You have to be a wise shopper and learn to plan better in the kitchen, which is what I’ve been slowly learning over the past few years.
Now, off my soapbox, I’m so happy to share with you another great resource for beginning kitchen’eers, people who are just embarking on this journey or those of us who are getting the hang of it slowly. Cookbooks are a dime a dozen these days, but Amy’s book really stands out to me as one you should have on your shelf.
Poor Girl Gourmet covers the practical considerations behind eating like a king or queen at home. She adds it all up, highlighting money (or lack thereof) and getting high-quality groceries on a tight budget. The seven recipes (out of 83) that are more than $15 (and that all serve four or more people!) still don’t exceed $30. Where can you go out for a gourmet meal with three of your friends and spend less than $30?
One of my favorite things about this book beyond the price calculator and tips for getting the most bang for your buck at the grocery store is Amy’s coverage of wine and grape varietals. Up until now, I’ve happily proclaimed to know nearly nothing about wine, seeing as J is our resident wine expert. In this section Amy covers some of the great (low-cost) bottles that appear in our house regularly. I already feel more confident and empowered in the wine aisle when J isn’t by my side doing the choosing. [Next weekend I’m blogging at an Austin event called the Wine Ride, stay tuned for a breakdown of things I learn about wine pairings!]
And yes, guys, this is another book with girl in the title but is in no way for girls only. Amy shares her knowledge and love of the kitchen to anyone looking to eat better from their own kitchen.
Enter to win this book, courtesy of Andrews McMeel Publishing, by leaving a comment on this post telling me a trick you use to keep grocery costs low, without skimping on quality. Any trick, no matter how big or small the savings.
Enter by midnight on Thursday, Jan 27. Random.org will help me select a winner, who will be contacted on Friday, Jan 28. Entrants are welcomed from anywhere in the world, hooray for Andrews McMeel!
And don’t forget to leave an email address you actually check in the designated box on the comment form. Other readers won t be able to see it, just me, the person who will be emailing to tell you you won. If I don’t hear back from you by 5pm EST on the 28th, a new winner will be selected.
Good luck and happy eating!
Kate
I got a comment this morning that was not really an entry for the book giveaway and in the interest keeping that thread going so the random number generator works as randomly as possible, I’ve removed it and placed it here.
“I’m stuck on the iPhone thing and food stamps… How did you pay the $100+ bill each month?”
I’m sure that other people have thought the same but haven’t said anything (not including the cashier guy at my co-op who decided I should be in abject poverty and give up the phone that I purchased years prior when I had a full-time job with benefits in order to fulfill his expectations of food assistance recipient). It’s important to me to address this because the whole reason I wanted to share my experience is to prevent judgement of people you see using food stamps.
Well, I’m learning that food stamps sorta belongs in the list of categories that bring up heated discussions no matter who you talk to: politics, religion, public assistance…Whatever your stance on it all, please know that until you walk a day in someone else’s shoes, you don’t really understand their situation.
While there are people out there who may have trust funds or independent means and like to pretend they’re poor or people who are just ‘milking the system’ so called, I’m not one of them.
I replied directly to the commenter this morning via email discussing with her the things that led us to, made us eligible for, and why we went off food stamps one year after starting them, which has most to do with my partner, J, finishing her one-year intensive, full-time grad program and being able to work more than 15-20 hrs/week.
I welcome constructive discussion about this topic at length via the discussions tab on the Hip Girl’s Facebook page.
Kate
Silly me! I forgot to let you all know who won Amy’s delicious book.
After being graced with a zillion (ok, I’m an exaggerator) wonderful tips/entries by the deadline last week, let’s congratulate Amanda from Michigan. It was also her birthday on the Friday that she found out. Double fun; thanks all for such great comments.
Budget Living, Cookbooks, Giveaways
Reader Comments (127)
Hey Kate,
My usual style is to buy seasonally, when food is in abundance and relatively cheap, and preserve it for use throughout the year. However, I am also a big fan of foraging wild foods; not only are they FREE, but they are often incredibly tasty and so different from cultivated foods. A little knowledge and a little effort can go a long way towards easing the household food budget.
The biggest cost-saving trick I have up my sleeve is to plan ahead. My kids are reluctant to eat leftovers, but eat them they do. We grind our own grain, soak our own beans and make our own yogurt. We're living on savings right now, but I still try to make everything as delicious and nutritious as possible.
Oh goodness! I absolutely *need* this book! :-) It will help me incredibly. Right now, my favorite tip for saving money on groceries is shop at smaller stores. Believe it or not, in my area at least, the little mom & pop produce markets and butchers and farm stands sell their wares for much less than the big chain grocery stores. And I feel good about shopping locally, and many of their wares are organic as well! It's a win-win-win! :-D
i bake all my snacks at home, using bulk grains and fruits. i then freeze the goodies, and pull one or two out at a time only. this way i always have fresh baked, wholesome foods. i also have a good network of food friends: my neighbors often bring fruits and veggies from a friends' farm, and my boyfriend always brings home fresh veggies from his farm. and we have fruit trees in our yard! aloha from maui!
I buy my grassfed meat from a farm almost 30 minutes away from my home so I generally buy for a month at a time to save me time and gas money.
I am a goat cheese fanatic so when our local local-foods store clears out their freezer for a sale on containers of fromage and flavored chevre spreads for a whole dollar per tub due to close expiration dates, I stock up for cheap instead of paying 5 or 6 bucks per container. Cheap party food, easy lunch or breakfast addition,etc.
I love anything that helps us put good food on the table at a more than reasonable price. We have three grown children living in our home and it is always a challenge to feed all five of us, selection and cost!!
1) Goya black bean soup over rice, 2) breakfast for dinner 3) make yourself use those leftovers!
I eat everything in season. I also take advantage of high season on things like tomatoes and various other fruits and veggies by stocking my freezer/pantry with goodies for coming months. Basics really like tomato sauce, frozen veggies and canned fruit. This way all I have to buy is staples like rice and or pasta to make yummy meals.
Just like so many of the others who've commented before me, I try to cook most everything from scratch and I plan ahead like crazy. I painted one of the walls in my kitchen with chalkboard paint so that I can keep track of what we're eating and what fresh fruits and vegetables I have in the fridge, so I that don't lose anything to sheer forgetfulness.
I read the store ad and buy what's on sale. If it's on sale, I stock up on it. Also, I use coupons. I try not to buy more than I will use of perishable items- why buy something then throw it away? That's a huge waste of money. And last, don't buy things at the grocery store that you can get cheaper elsewhere. Shampoo and paper products are cheaper at the drugstore or discount store.
Our grocery has different items weekly that are BOGO. I always take advantage but only on items that we frequently use. I also brown bag lunch everyday so that left overs never go to waste. Would love ways to do a better job of saving .
I look for manager''s specials at the grocery store. Many times there will day-old bakery items or meats that are still good but marked down considerably.
Recently when I had some vegetables that were near the end of their life, I roasted them, pureed them, and used them as the filler for meatloaf. It was quite delicious. So now I do that regularly with whatever vegetable there is laying around--it changes the flavor a bit each time.
Here in Portland, we have a great local market (Limbo on 39th for anyone nearby) that has a shelf of $1.00 bags - on any given day, there will be an assortment of bags full of past-their-prime fruits and veggies that are still entirely usable for kitchen projects. I like to snatch those up and the get creative on the menu planning.
Also, homemade (easy!) bread from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day has been saving me big-time dollars and rounding out many lunch and dinner meals of inexpensive homemade soup.
I've been learning more about fish, too - buying them whole and asking to have them filleted at the meat counter instead of paying pricey amounts for the pre-cut portions.
Sounds like a fabulous cookbook! Thanks for the opportunity to enter...
For non-vegetarians, look for meat with a "Manager's Special" sticker -- there is nothing wrong with the meat, it's just getting close to the sell-by date so they want to move it off the shelves. In the store where I shop, the sell-by date is usually still several days away. If you're not gong to use it that day or the next, freeze it for later. Also, if you utilize a freezer, date everything and keep a list of what's in there to use for menu planning and so things don't stay buried in the back and end up getting wasted.
Well, we usually do the good 'ol classic bulk method. But other than that, we get cheaper brands, and spice them up a bit. We use those extra useless spices to make them taste more professional, more gourmet!
:D
sometimes i will photograph the prices on my phone so i dont forget them. I also will scan in a newspaper ad for a different store and then when i go to the commissary (which is normally the cheapest) I will look to see if it is cheaper there... besides coupon clipping and sale comparison.. I also make lists... without them i will overspend :)
Making my own stock and bread has really made a difference for me. I do the no-knead bread thing, so I almost always have a batch of dough waiting in the fridge to go into the oven! I also, like some other commenters here, save the ends of any vegetables - as well as chicken carcasses when I make roasted chicken every once in a while - and keep them in the freezer to make stock once a month or so. I freeze one cup containers of the stock and use it as needed.
I repackage my meats as soon as I get them home. Individual packs for each meal and meats to be used more than two days later go in the freezer to guarantee that any changes in meal plans don't lead to spoilage.
I bought a 25 lb bag of rice at the asian market. I use various herbs and bouillon granules to make flavored rice, vinegar and sugar to make sushi rice and the leftover rice is added to soups or made into salad with minced veg.
Another thing I have been doing is repacking the crackers DH likes in serving size baggies and then putting them back in the box. DH would eat half a box while watching sports, now he has one or maybe two baggies. I can afford to buy the national brand crackers and he enjoys them more often.
Many think that having food allergies/ intolerances or auto-immune diseases like Celiac means you have to spend lots of money on groceries. I am GF, CF, DF and SF and i probably spend less now than ever on groceries by cooking simple meals from scratch. I chose items that are in season and shop around for the best prices at my local farmers markets, co-ops and health food stores. I buy straight from the farm when i can, eliminating the marked up grocery store price. I love local. I love organic. AND i love to save money while still eating healthy.
As a graduate student it is always a challenge to find enough time and money, and an even greater challenge to find even a little down time for friends, family, fresh air and sunshine - a great way to make the most of your time, social and monetary budget is to get involved with your family, coworkers, neighbors and local organizations who have gardens – even if all you have is your tiny city studio apt - you can talk with your neighbor on the 6th floor with the overgrown terracotta herb pot on their balcony about trading watering the pot when they are out of town, or buying them an extra pot to grow in, providing them with recipes for the things they are growing, or even making them an organic pest spray as trade for a sample of their fantastic rosemary - it is a great exchange! You can even send out an email at work asking if anyone needs help or compost – then save all of those fantastic produce items such as peels and coffee grounds for a neighbor, church, garden, scout garden or anyone you can find who gardens- to use as compost. Many gardens and gardeners are happy to have help now and then and we hear time and again they have way more than they can eat. My fiancee’s parents have a huge yard and when we are there in summer we help out and they in turn grow things we will all eat and can cook and freeze too – so the more the merrier! We on the other hand live in a 4th floor one bedroom apartment with no way to really grow anything other than herbs in containers due to time and sunlight constraints, yet we save our scraps in an airtight container in the fridge and have been able to donate our tiny bit of compost to many community and neighbor gardens in exchange for bits of produce and we often take an hour out of our busy schedules to help with just basics like harvesting or weeding for those who may be out of town, new to gardening or not physically able to do all the work but still want to garden. That one little hour we give returns to us 10 fold and has been a great way to meet our neighbors, enjoy local fresh produce, save money, contribute to the greater good, help gardeners make sure nothing goes to waste, exchange ideas and recipes, and most importantly given us a little bit of time to be together and play outside during our 60 hour work weeks! There are also a variety of CSAs or community service agriculture groups that allow you to volunteer or buy shares in a local farm in exchange for weekly boxes of fresh produce. CSAs can be found all over the world, - just google it in your area and see what you can do – if you can’t grow it, help others who can. Now all we have to do is win the Poor Girl Gourmet book so we know how to cook all of our local produce!
Oatmeal! I never thought much about it, but just recently I've been using it more and more and from eating it on its own to adding it to recipes, it is a really cheap, healthy resource for my food budget.
We've been working hard this year to eat more locally and seasonally - good for the community and planet, but also a major difference in our food budget! We're lucky to be in a place with an abundance of fresh growing. It's also made me more flexible in my planning, and I'm learning to build meals around what's in season, rather than just buying anything that's in some elaborate recipe!
I joined a gleaners group last summer and harvested so much free surplus produce! One day I picked about 200 pounds of very ripe tomatoes and spent the rest of the day and night making salsa, tomato sauce, tomato juice, veggie pasta sauce, and tomato-jalapeno jelly. Enough for the whole year. Later I picked 400 pounds of apples in 2 sessions which I made into applesauce, applebutter, apple cider, hard apple cider, jelly, dried apples, and apple fruit leather. I grow a nice garden in my yard and have a wide variety of fruit trees, canes, bushes and vines as well.
buy meat in bulk when on sale, (thanks to my freezer in garage) and add portions to dinner to take for lunches during the week. Leftovers ALWAYS taste better anyway