It amazes me how often I hear an adult woman tell me that. With all the public school funding it seems that Home Eco. is the first to go, many women (and men) today can play a sport well but have no idea how to sew on a button or make a meal from scratch. The ability to cook translates into savings on geroceries and overall health, you will have to eat something 3 times a day for the rest of your life, in fact you will probably be responsible to feed others 3 times a day also, if you can't cook it's time to learn.
1. Buy some decent kitchen equipment, have you ever tried to make pancakes and they turned into a burned, doughy mess? You probably weren't using the right pan. Some of my favorite everyday cookware is Revere-wear. I have found some at yard sales, it's got a heavy copper bottom so things don't burn easily. I also love my cast iron skillet and my enamel over cast iron Le Cuisinart. It's expensive new...however most of my pieces I inherited form my Mother in Law, she purchased them in the 1960's that tells you how well they hold up. I have one cast iron skillet from the 1940's that I use everyday. I personally believe that Teflon coated pans are toxic and got rid of mine a long time ago, I urge you to research Teflon for yourself.
2. Start by using a lot of frozen and packaged sauces and work your way up. Frozen and packages is still better then drive thru. Some of my favorite things are rotisserie chicken, frozen biscuits, frozen raw fruit and meatballs.
3. Learn techniques, once you know how to make a pan sauce or a reduction it opens up the possibilities of what can be done with a pork or chicken cutlet. If you don't have anyone to teach you I would look into a adult edu. class, a lot of those skills must be taught in person you can only learn so much from a TV show or book.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The Natural and Cheap Baby
I had been neglectful of this blog, so much has been going on. DH got a job at a church 18 hours from where we live now, both exciting and stressful as we are cleaning out our home and getting it ready to sell as well as taking care of 3 kids under 5.
I have been giving away a lot of my stockpile of items, I don't want to move them and I'm not sure where I will put a new stock pile as our new home is much smaller, there is also a limited selection of stores to shope at a Wal Mart Superstore a Walgreens both of which I'm familiar with and a Winn Dixie which I've never shopped in before,that will be an adventure. I will miss CVS, Rite Aid and ALDI! As well as the salvage stores.
Anyway, my post about cheap, natural babies. With all three babies I have had a natural birth, with the last two a homebirth. After insurance baby #1 (hospital, midwife) cost us about 2k, #2  were both $300. I realize not everyone can medically qualify for a homebirth but I enjoyed them more and they were a lot cheaper, plus the midwife came to my home for the prenatal visits and there was no office co-pay (everything was covered under one price) so an even better savings.
With all 3 I tried to breastfeed and cloth diaper. This is however the first baby I've had who's never had formula. I've not had to supplement at all like I did for the other two, I think I finally know what I'm doing : ) drinking 3 quarts a day of liquid has really made the difference in my opinion, and nursing on demand the first 2 weeks....which is pretty much constantly, despite cracked nipples. I have also tried to cloth diaper each child with varying success, I have come to realize that cloth diapering an exclusively breastfed baby is very easy, formula or supplemental baby, not nearly so much. I've not had to dunk diapers since the baby receives no formula or solids the stool is easily washed out in the washing machine. I've tried many different diapers, prefolds with covers, prefolds with plastic pants etc. what has finally worked (meaning I can do it and do it easily) is using BumGeniun 3.0 and a disposable during the night. The 3.0 is an all in one diaper and is as easy to put on as a disposable. I also use cloth wipes which are just baby wash cloths that I bought 4/.98 from Wal Mart, I have a solution with 1 cup water to 1/2 teaspoon baby shampoo, a little squirt is all I need, most homemade wipe recipes use some form of oil, either baby, tea tree or olive, which as you all know is death to cloth diapers, cloth diapers exposed to diaper creams, Vaseline or oil will then repeal liquids and take on a nasty smell.
I do all my diapers- wipes together right before bed and hang to dry. This has cost me $60 for the diapers and $3 for the wipes. I use the SUN detergent that is free of dyes it's $3 for 84 loads. Cost is only one factor, I am not a tree hugger by any means, but every disposable diaper ever made is still sitting in a landfill....meaning they take 100+ years to breakdown.
I have been giving away a lot of my stockpile of items, I don't want to move them and I'm not sure where I will put a new stock pile as our new home is much smaller, there is also a limited selection of stores to shope at a Wal Mart Superstore a Walgreens both of which I'm familiar with and a Winn Dixie which I've never shopped in before,that will be an adventure. I will miss CVS, Rite Aid and ALDI! As well as the salvage stores.
Anyway, my post about cheap, natural babies. With all three babies I have had a natural birth, with the last two a homebirth. After insurance baby #1 (hospital, midwife) cost us about 2k, #2  were both $300. I realize not everyone can medically qualify for a homebirth but I enjoyed them more and they were a lot cheaper, plus the midwife came to my home for the prenatal visits and there was no office co-pay (everything was covered under one price) so an even better savings.
With all 3 I tried to breastfeed and cloth diaper. This is however the first baby I've had who's never had formula. I've not had to supplement at all like I did for the other two, I think I finally know what I'm doing : ) drinking 3 quarts a day of liquid has really made the difference in my opinion, and nursing on demand the first 2 weeks....which is pretty much constantly, despite cracked nipples. I have also tried to cloth diaper each child with varying success, I have come to realize that cloth diapering an exclusively breastfed baby is very easy, formula or supplemental baby, not nearly so much. I've not had to dunk diapers since the baby receives no formula or solids the stool is easily washed out in the washing machine. I've tried many different diapers, prefolds with covers, prefolds with plastic pants etc. what has finally worked (meaning I can do it and do it easily) is using BumGeniun 3.0 and a disposable during the night. The 3.0 is an all in one diaper and is as easy to put on as a disposable. I also use cloth wipes which are just baby wash cloths that I bought 4/.98 from Wal Mart, I have a solution with 1 cup water to 1/2 teaspoon baby shampoo, a little squirt is all I need, most homemade wipe recipes use some form of oil, either baby, tea tree or olive, which as you all know is death to cloth diapers, cloth diapers exposed to diaper creams, Vaseline or oil will then repeal liquids and take on a nasty smell.
I do all my diapers- wipes together right before bed and hang to dry. This has cost me $60 for the diapers and $3 for the wipes. I use the SUN detergent that is free of dyes it's $3 for 84 loads. Cost is only one factor, I am not a tree hugger by any means, but every disposable diaper ever made is still sitting in a landfill....meaning they take 100+ years to breakdown.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
