Great suggestions…Thanks, Chris!

Some good ideas emailed to me by a wonderful woman I know named Chris who lives in the Twin Cities:

I drink “Funny Milk”.  It is Flavorite dried skim.  A box costs 10.96, and makes 20 quarts.  That adds up to $.2.19 a gallon.  I mix it up every day, and drink a quart of it.  I have really strong bones and I prefer the taste of dried skim to the fresh milk. I can eat away from home and not worry about spoiled milk in the refrigerator.

I zoom through the supermarket.  Pick one that appeals to you—do you need someone to load the groceries in the car?  Almsted’s is very nice, and to me just a cut above the Quick Stop kind of groceries.  I think they are too expensive. Their chicken pot pies made on Tuesdays are a real treat.

I have shopped at Cub since we moved to the Twin Cities.  My husband thought I ought to go to several stores and pick up their bargains.  That was a Depression era style when women were not working outside the home.  I read their weekly ad in the Sunday paper, pick up their coupon book that comes out every month, and MAKE A LIST.

I am familiar with the layout of the store, and I ZOOM!  Even though they are not as trendy as Byerly’s or Lunds, their produce is much fresher because they sell much, much more.  I find the lot behind the store on Nathan Lane convenient because it is smaller, and I use the street behind the store to go to the Post office and to leave—I am in the right lane of traffic without the congestion at the intersection.  I can be a dangerous driver, unintentionally.

MAKE YOUR OWN BABY FOOD.  It is better for the child, much cheaper, quick and easy.  I used a blender and froze the food in ice cube trays.  There are recipes on the internet. I pureed the vegetables we ate for our supper often—just made more than usual, and when I was straightening up the kitchen, tucked some morsels away for the current baby. Look at the jars and duplicate them at home. Takes just a moment of your time.

Don’t waste time or gasoline.  Please your family.  I have bought cardamom pods at the Mideast section of Cub for 1/10 the cost of the pods at Byerly’s.  I buy nutmeg whole and grind it up.  The same with cloves.  I am a spice nut—it is about the entire mystique I have, but people enjoy it.

I still cook in quantity, and make up my own dinners on plates I have saved from commercial meals.  Then I can goof off and be surprised—especially if I don’t label what I put away!  LABEL! LABEL! LABEL!