I am starting over.

I know I haven't posted in a very long time. I am sorry it has taken me this long to get back. I have no excuses for you, all I can say is that I am starting over, and I hope you like the changes.

I am a completely different person today than who I was before. I have learned so much about the food system in the last 2 years. I guess what they say is true "ignorance is bliss", before I knew how the food got to the market, I only cared about its price.  I focused on getting the most for my money, and now I cringe when I think about the things I would eat thinking they where reasonably healthy.

Yikes!!

I am not here trying to convince you to change the ways you think about food. If you have questions about my choices please feel free to ask. I also incurage you to learn for yourself,  there is so much information out there about why we should be eating real food that there is no reason for me to add to it. I will simply tell you what is important to me and how I make it work in my day to day YSA life.

The foods that are most important to me are;

•  Meats, I will only buy humanly raised meats where the animal ate what it was designed to eat and lived as close to nature as possible.I also go out of my way to buy Eggs laid at will by ( as the label states) "Gallivanting chickens"                                                                                                                                                                           
• Dairy, I drink grass fed raw milk from a local certified raw dairy and seek out dairy products from grass fed cows, at the very least I look for organic dairy.                                                                    

• Produce, I try to buy all my produce either organic or from a local farmer who uses organic method but hasn't gotten the certification, I will grow as much as I can in my small garden and pots to save  money.                                                                                                                                                             
• Grains and dry goods, (Beans, nuts, and seeds.)While any new grains or dry goods I purchase will be organic, I have a lot in my food storage that isn't. I will be focusing on properly prepared grains and seeds, for maximum nutrition and easy digestion. Which means soaking, sprouting or souring anything that is a seed.

There are many other types of food I could add to this list but these are what is most important to me right now. As I continue to learn and grow this list will grow as well.

 Budget wise since making these changes to the way I shop for food, I have gone a bit out of control and need to reign it in. I have been spending and buying without keeping track or even menu planning and using my debit card far too often. So for the rest of the year my food/other budget will be $50 a week plus any extra income (babysitting, sewing, ect.. ) I will get $50 cash out of my account every Friday to use for everything that isn't a set monthly bill or fuel for my car (a separate budget of $20 a week) and leave my Bank Cards at home. I babysit a least every other week so it will be more like $65 or more. But remember that's for everything that's not a monthly bill, not just food. If I want to buy cleaning products, a Halloween costume, crafting supplies, kitchen tools, gifts, clothes, cosmetics, shoes, gardening supplies or go out to dinner and a movie it will come from my weekly cash allowance.
    My goal is to get to a point where my cash allowance has build up enough extra to buy 1/4 cow grass finished from a local farmer next summer.   I think the hardest part of this will be going to the bank every week, I have direct deposit for both my jobs and have gotten out of the habit of going to the bank, now its a hassle not a routine.

On this blog I will share with you how to eat real food even if you are young, (almost)broke, and single.
I do have a lot of advantages when it come to cooking with whole foods. I have a well stocked pantry and freezer as well as a host of kitchen gadgets to work with. While I do work 6 days a week I get off mid afternoon 3 days a week and I the people I work for let me use their kitchen while the baby is napping. I know most YSA's don't have these thing so I will share with you the tools I find are worth getting and ways to save time while still eating healthy nourishing foods.

Till next time,
Jane