Organic food/homemade stuff thread-- anybody game?

[twinmama85]

Jan 10, 2013 12:03:57 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

I am excited. Aldi's just came out with a new line of organic products. Nice to have some more affordable options.

I've heard Aldi's owns Trader Joe's so that may be help drive costs down on both sides ;D

I am seriously going to have to buy a lot of food off of Amazon, even though I live in "hippie" land, it is still somewhat difficult to come by other organic things, i.e, organic flours and corn products, or to come by it at a decent price

[Sam_2.0]

Aldi and TJ's are owned by brothers, but they are not technically the same company. I have noticed though that they share some of the same products just with different labels. Which is what I suspect the new organics line is. While I could beat some of the Aldi prices with sales at other stores (cherry picking), overall I get the best money value and time value by shopping there. It keeps me from over spending since the choices are streamlined.

I do like that TJs gives you bags though. And they are the nice paper bags with handles. So I go to TJs first, unload the groceries, then take the bags to Aldi

[Deleted]

I do buy a fair amount from amazon.

[kittensaver]

My favorite organic flour comes from King Arthur:

www.kingarthurflour.com/?go=CPCHome&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand%20Test&utm_content=Brand%20Exact%20Test&utm_term=Home%20Page%20%2dTake%202&gclid=CNj3-7nf3rQCFUxxQgodQBkA-w

[twinmama85]

This the organic flour I found on Amazon, its a small business too ;D

www.amazon.com/Great-River-Organic-Milling-Unbleached/dp/B002YLG6I8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357866443&sr=8-1&keywords=organic+flour

[Wisconsin Beth]

Watch for Groupons too. DH got a Groupon for $80 of stuff from a Gluten Free store for $40 a few months ago. He did get a lot of things that were on sale but also stocked up on flours and things like hummus, spag. sauce, salsa and pastas. And it had free shipping.

[whoisjohngalt]

Twinmama - thank you, I was just talking to my DH about switching our wheat products. I have to find out if he can make pancakes from it.

Lena

[Deleted]

Pamela's make a great gfree pancake and baking mix. But it has dairy, so I'm off it now. I am not a frequent pancake eater, but if you mix Pamela's with seltzer water it's a great batter for onion rings, also occasional food, but that I might need to actually find a replacement for... Pancake, ehhh

[Wisconsin Beth]

We've coated onion rings in either flaxmeal or cornmeal and baked them. It works out ok.

We've got a mostly gluten free restaurant here that flash fries shrimp coated w. cornstarch. It's amazing and on the list to try at home. They mostly use tiny shrimp - bigger than canned but smaller than the stuff you get at the seafood counter.

Flash frying, as far as I can figure out, is heating a small amount of oil extremely hot and putting your item in it for the briefest amount of time it takes to cook to your taste.

[Deleted]

I use ground rice Chex for most anything that would require a breadcrumb, the occasional chicken parm for example, not sure if that would work for onions? I'm off corn too...

When I first went gfree I learned to do all Chinese take out stuff, and general Tao is actually coated in corn starch batter, I'm sure I could use tapioca, I haven't made that in ... Years? But maybe that would work for onion ring batter?

Maybe I just won't crave an onion ring agin that would probably be better

[whoisjohngalt]

I don't really care about gluten itself as I much as I don't want any GMO stuff for my kids, so cornmeal would be out too.

I am just barely starting this - it will take awhile as I am pretty sure that my house is CRAZY FULL with wheat and corn products

[Deleted]

I have one of those big 'pantry' cupboards with four pull out shelves. I can remember cleaning out one for g free stuff at first, and kept moving non gfree stuff down, till finally the whole cupboard was free of wheat.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Jan 11, 2013 11:19:41 GMT -5 oped said:

Maybe I just won't crave an onion ring agin that would probably be better

Let me know how you manage that ok? Last weekend I took the kids out for burgers and got onion rings for me. I got to eat about 3 and the kids ate the rest.... Despite the fact that they both demanded fries before we got there. I still want onion rings.

[dakota4600]

I'm in on this thread. I do a lot of homemade stuff. I've got orange peels in vinegar right now to make a citrus cleaner. I do big batch cooking (pizza rolls, enchiladas, lasagna, pulled pork, beans, brisket, soups, rolls, yogurt). This year I made my own jams.

I've tried to go organic as much as my budget allows. Can't wait to check out Aldis' organic line

[twinmama85]

Jan 11, 2013 9:45:03 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Twinmama - thank you, I was just talking to my DH about switching our wheat products. I have to find out if he can make pancakes from it.

Lena

NP! I make homemade pancakes all the time and will be buying this flour very soon, I'll let you know how they come out ;D The company actually sells other organic flours and organic corn meal as well. Their products are stone ground and considerably cheaper than King Arthurs.

There is two ways that i have found so far to avoid GMO...1, buy organic (either store or farmers market or grow your own garden with organic seeds). 2 buy products that have a label on it with a butterfly that says verified non-GMO (this is not necessarily organic, but it is GMO free)

[twinmama85]

Jan 11, 2013 11:19:41 GMT -5 oped said:

I use ground rice Chex for most anything that would require a breadcrumb, the occasional chicken parm for example, not sure if that would work for onions? I'm off corn too...

When I first went gfree I learned to do all Chinese take out stuff, and general Tao is actually coated in corn starch batter, I'm sure I could use tapioca, I haven't made that in ... Years? But maybe that would work for onion ring batter?

Maybe I just won't crave an onion ring agin that would probably be better

Just so you know, they use the nasty preservative BHT in their cereal, so it might be something you want to stay away from

BHT is a chemical preservative to slow down the rate fat goes rancid in food. It is believed to be linked to hyperactivity in kids and is also used in the jet fuel production.
**http://www.examiner.com/article/bht-the-harmful-food-additive-your-everyday-diet

[twinmama85]

Jan 11, 2013 15:11:35 GMT -5 dakota4600 said:

I'm in on this thread. I do a lot of homemade stuff. I've got orange peels in vinegar right now to make a citrus cleaner. I do big batch cooking (pizza rolls, enchiladas, lasagna, pulled pork, beans, brisket, soups, rolls, yogurt). This year I made my own jams.

I've tried to go organic as much as my budget allows. Can't wait to check out Aldis' organic line

I use regular distilled vinegar as my all-purpose cleaner, but orange peels huh? How do you do this? I just bought 4lbs of organic oranges tonight, so I will have peels on hand ;D

[Apple]

I don't know if anyone else has a BiMart in their area, but sometimes they have really good prices on Bob's Red Mill products.

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2013 23:46:08 GMT -5 twinmama85 said:

Jan 11, 2013 11:19:41 GMT -5 oped said:

I use ground rice Chex for most anything that would require a breadcrumb, the occasional chicken parm for example, not sure if that would work for onions? I'm off corn too...

When I first went gfree I learned to do all Chinese take out stuff, and general Tao is actually coated in corn starch batter, I'm sure I could use tapioca, I haven't made that in ... Years? But maybe that would work for onion ring batter?

Maybe I just won't crave an onion ring agin that would probably be better

Just so you know, they use the nasty preservative BHT in their cereal, so it might be something you want to stay away from

BHT is a chemical preservative to slow down the rate fat goes rancid in food. It is believed to be linked to hyperactivity in kids and is also used in the jet fuel production.
**http://www.examiner.com/article/bht-the-harmful-food-additive-your-everyday-diet

I've used less and less lately. I'm not sure I can get rid of it completely yet... It's an occasional thing, maybe 1-2 x a month?

Thanks for the info though. I do appreciate it!

[twinmama85]

Just wanted to share a really cool website about making natural, homemade things for the house ;D

wellnessmama.com/

I may seem like a hippie...but I'm not lol

[megaptera]

Jan 12, 2013 0:09:50 GMT -5 twinmama85 said:

I may seem like a hippie...but I'm not lol

Nothing wrong with hippies.

Thanks for the link; it looks like it has plenty of great information!

[Apple]

Lmao! I am so not a hippie! But, I love to cook and make stuff, so I'm a crafty, gun toting, skilled manual labor, small town, slight-redneck kinda girl, who no longer uses store bought shampoo

Someone on Smart Spending asked me to share some info on making my own lotion and lip balm. My favorite lotion was my own desperate concoction I made up last week (I will likely melt down some of my hard lotion bars to make more of this stuff).

If anyone is interested, look here www.notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=smartspending&thread=29792&page=1#1461954 (the whole thread has some really good ideas, I'd highly recommend browsing through SS to see the threads there).

[twinmama85]

Jan 12, 2013 15:14:20 GMT -5 Apple said:

Lmao! I am so not a hippie! But, I love to cook and make stuff, so I'm a crafty, gun toting, skilled manual labor, small town, slight-redneck kinda girl, who no longer uses store bought shampoo

Someone on Smart Spending asked me to share some info on making my own lotion and lip balm. My favorite lotion was my own desperate concoction I made up last week (I will likely melt down some of my hard lotion bars to make more of this stuff).

If anyone is interested, look here www.notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=smartspending&thread=29792&page=1#1461954 (the whole thread has some really good ideas, I'd highly recommend browsing through SS to see the threads there).

Thank you for sharing! Lotion is been one of those ones I have had a hard time with and I read form the Wellness Mama website about using coconut oil straight up as lotion, but it is making my skin drier, so that is no good.

I guess you can say I'm a conservative, republican hippie lmao. I was reading something on her website about how grains are killing us and I really have to doubt that. She kept using statistics based on the diseases of the American population (i.e, diabetes) and blaming it on whole grains. I have to say that those stats are not a good basis to tell people grains are killing you, simply because most people, especially type 2 diabetes have it because they eat highly processed sugars and grains. I honestly think people over complicate things, like dietary needs. In reality, everything should be consumed in moderation and in the most simplest form (i.e, wheat that is not processed to death, perhaps stone ground or water processed?) I really dislike the "all or nothing" approach when people push their agenda, it bugs me.

[Apple]

I did use a lot of coconut oil in my own lotion, so if it does the opposite for your skin, I'd just replace that with a different semi-firm oil (like palm oil, shea butter or cocoa butter--I have no clue which would be best since I've never used any of them).

[Apple]

Jan 12, 2013 15:48:51 GMT -5 Apple said:

I did use a lot of coconut oil in my own lotion, so if it does the opposite for your skin, I'd just replace that with a different semi-firm oil (like palm oil, shea butter or cocoa butter--I have no clue which would be best since I've never used any of them).

ETA:
"I guess you can say I'm a conservative, republican hippie lmao. "
That would be me too

[twinmama85]

Jan 12, 2013 15:48:51 GMT -5 Apple said:

I did use a lot of coconut oil in my own lotion, so if it does the opposite for your skin, I'd just replace that with a different semi-firm oil (like palm oil, shea butter or cocoa butter--I have no clue which would be best since I've never used any of them).

I made a lotion with olive oil, coconut oil and beeswax and ever since I started using it, my skin has had the dry, cracky feeling. Then I stopped using it and today used straight coconut oil and I still feel it. It could be the weather too because it has been so abnormally chilly here (central coast california) but the humidity has been up, so I dont know.

[twinmama85]

I found this one, I am going to give it a try. Last time I tried to use water, it separated from the lotion after a few days and was a hot mess lol.
www.mommypotamus.com/how-to-make-homemade-lotion-with-three/

[twinmama85]

What is kefir water?? Does anybody drink it?

[Wisconsin Beth]

Scott makes his own. you start with a packet of kiferr grains and grow them in a water, sugar and molasses. he drinks the juice and restarts the grains every few days. he just said that the molasses is if you are on city water vs well water. it's good for your gut somehow. we have no idea what kind of grains they really are. he says it has really helped him. you can buy some in the stores or something similar. I think they make a lifer milk.

[Wisconsin Beth]

ps I wrote this on my kindle so sorry about typos.