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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Day 36 Baking Soda

Most the budget will be used this month keeping up with what the children pull off our real shelves. I have to purchase Fruit Drink, cocoa, and honey. These are items that I don't have in the virtual pantry but the children are using. At least this challenge is helping to set priorities on purchases that matter to the children. I will also buy Baking Soda in bulk at Sams because we need dish washing detergent, toothpaste, household cleanser, and a substitute for baking powder to name a few uses. Baking Soda is a basic item. It can be used for dozens of household chores including managing swimming pools. My Dad taught us we could use it to brush our teeth. He put a little jar of baking soda mixed with salt by the sink and we would dip our wet toothbrush in to cover the tip with powder. It is sour! This is a survival technic and not one I will make my children do but if it helps us stay in budget for two weeks.....

My ranting about Governments staying in budget is coming home this month. After buying 25 pounds of Fruit Drink at the Home Storage center and the other items we will have less than $20.00. I am stubborn. We can endure anything for 14 days.

Breakfast: Whole Wheat Pancakes! with a fried egg and milk (to bring the protein to about 20 gms.) We ground the wheat (2-1/2 cups) with the hand grinder in less than 10 minutes. The children were entertained and kept on grinding. I loved it. We made "grape syrup" by watering down a little grape jelly. It was good.

Lunch: Leftover chicken and rice dishes, refried beans, and Fruit Drink. Especially delicious was the leftover BBQ sauce and chicken broth that I saved from Monday's dinner. We poured that sauce over the rice and heated it stove top.

Dinner: It was sooo hot that we were happy to have tuna sandwiches with watery Fruit Drink.
Snack: Chocolate milk (My husband went shopping for milk for the baby and a few extras came home to the children's delight.)

3 comments:

  1. My friend told me about your blog and I'm loving it. You are amazing!
    I am the youngest of 10 children myself and I remember growing up we would eat peaches and toast every night for dinner sometimes. We had a large peach tree that my mom would use to can our own peaches and they lasted us all year. We didn't always have a lot of food but we always had peaches - and we always used what we had. I love my mom for teaching me that lesson.
    I so appreciate what you are doing for your family - you inspire me to try new things and live my life more concious of what I am feeding my family, what it costs, and how we can plan for the future. Thank you.

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  2. Thanks! Home bottled peaches and homemade bread Hah- Nothing is better. That is what I want to capture - simple wholesomeness born of a labor of love and so enjoyed.

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  3. My dad and grandpa both used salt and baking soda as toothpaste for years. My grandpa died in his eighties without ever having a cavity. Myself, I prefer a mint toothpaste (I'm a wimp).

    My dad discovered another wonderful thing about baking soda that made me really excited. He figured out how to use it to freshen up food, including rolled oats that had gone stale.

    I wrote about his and my experience with this new idea at www.apreparedhome.com/ready-or-not/the-wonders-of-baking-soda/

    I hope this helps someone, it sure has helped me.

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