Cost of Ingredients

We are almost out of freeze-dried beef chunks, beef crumbles, chicken and turkey, so I went online to take advantage of sales. Couldn't believe the prices! How much did I really spend last year when I got all of the meats plus other ingredients, like artichoke powder?

Money is really tight this year. Lots of medical problems, surgeries, and more. Can't afford to restock our meats. So what shall I do?

I hit the grocery store.

• Cans of chicken and other meats now reside in our pantry. Including Spam (hubby's choice, not mine!)
• We already had lots of tiny and whole grain pasta, instant rice and potato flakes.
• Endless supplies of oats!
• Have lots of spices.
• I had bought, in the Spring, a giant bag of soup veggies from Vitamin Cottage, so in addition to those I dehydrated this past Summer, we're good for veggies.
• Fruits, stocked up from dehydrating and from www.justtomatoes.com

My point is ... if you don't have the money to buy freeze-dried meats, look through your grocery store. Maybe buy some cheap fresh meats, cook and dehydrate according to your dehydrator's instructions.

There IS a way to eat healthy, on a budget, using shelf-stable ingredients.

So tomorrow's dinner...

No, wait! It's my son's birthday tomorrow.

THURSDAY's dinner is chicken noodle soup. Gonna make it in my big crockpot. Easy to take the ingredients to make over a campfire. You'll notice there is no onion in this. Yeah, my son doesn't like onion. I'll add some to mine and hubby's portion.

• 1 can chicken
• 1 box whole wheat rotini
• 1 cup dehydrated soup vegetables
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken bouillon
• 1 tablespoon garlic granules (from Sam's)
• Season to taste (sometimes I add turmeric because it's so healthy).
• Add 4 cups of water. Stir. Heat until pasta is cooked through and al dente / tender.

Enjoy!

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Sorry I haven't been posting regularly. Preparing for an upcoming knee replacement surgery. Please be patient!