Ericka Cohen's Article in the Bellingham Herald

I want to thank Ericka Pizzillo Cohen for her article, “Penny-Wise, but Health Foolish – Eating low-nutrition food now can lead to problems later” that appeared in the July 16 edition of “Primetime” in the Bellingham Herald. Ericka saw my blog and asked me to collaborate on an article to help seniors save money on food costs. You can read her article at http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/07/16/2596935/eating-low-nutrition-food-now.html.

I sent Ericka a copy of Survival Recipes, a booklet of food tips and recipes for people who are trying to manage on whatever food they can find from whatever sources; some of the material for her article came from the booklet. The recipes are unique in that they tend to be pretty undemanding about specific ingredients or quantities, which made the booklet a challenge to write.  In a future blog I’ll attach a copy; watch for it to be posted to this blog in the near future.

New Bellingham Store Takes Food Stamps (EBT Cards)

A new produce market in Bellingham – Goods Nursery and Produce – has just been certified to accept EBT cards. The more produce markets, the better! You’ll find Goods on 2620 Northwest Avenue in the Columbia/Lettered Streets district. Check out their website at www.goodsproduce.com.

Saving Money on Food, Part 2

·       Meat is probably your most expensive food item, so it’s a good idea to learn ways to stretch it to a maximum. Watch for inexpensive cuts of meat to go on sale, then purchase as many pounds as you can afford. Trim off the fat and cut into 1” chunks, then freeze until you decide to cook the meat in a recipe. Defrost.

·         My big money-saver with meat is to buy cheap but lean cuts of meat on sale, trim off the fat, cut into little cubes (about 1") and put into freezer bags, then use as needed. I utilize this meat in soups, stews and casseroles. Since cheap meat tends to be tough, one way to tenderize it is to cook it in a crockpot with the rest of the ingredients for the meal. If you happen to have a food processor, you can also chop it into ground meat and use accordingly.

·         A money-saver for fish -- sometimes sandwich boards appear around town with an announcement of fish or shrimp for sale at the Bellingham Marina. Follow the sign's directions and you will find a fisherman selling freshly-caught seafood off a boat. Sometimes you will find significant savings over purchasing from a market.

·       Purchase spices in bulk from the Co-op or from grocery stores. You can purchase spices and other ingredients used in South Asian recipes at the International Video Store, which has Asian ingredients in the back of the store.

·       Instead of eating frozen dinners, take-out or restaurant foods, use your freezer to stock entire meals that can be microwaved when you don’t feel like cooking. People who don’t particularly like to cook will find it more enjoyable if they listen to a book on tape or CD or while they prepare their food. If you cook on Sunday afternoons, KUOW radio (94.9 FM) has a series of storytellers that make the work fly by.

Another way to make cooking more pleasant is to get together with one or more friends. Each person puts in his or her share for the cost of ingredients, then you prepare the food together and divide up the finished products. It works best to make one or two main dishes, a side dish and a complex carbohydrate dish such as a mixed grain pilaf. 

Make enough of each recipe for six or more servings, then put each serving in a freezer bag with the name of the dish and the date inscribed in permanent marker pen. Flatten each bag and squeeze out all the air, stack flat until they are frozen, then you can stack the bags upright so they take up less freezer space. You can save money on freezer bags if you belong to Costco or purchase them on sale. Reuse the bags by carefully washing and thoroughly drying. 

·       Dried herbs and spices are cheapest when purchased in bulk in small quantities so they stay fresh. Yes, herbs and spices do go stale, and stale flavoring agents don’t make very tasty food. You can find herbs and spices at the Co-op and in some grocery stores. The most expensive way to purchase them is in little bottles in the supermarket. On the other hand, buying huge bottles at discount stores is not a good idea unless you use huge quantities of a particular spice; you’ll only end up with something stale and flavorless if it’s still sitting in your cabinet a year later. By the way, an herb is a leaf such as tarragon, while a spice is a seed such as aniseed, or part of a flower such as cloves.

Saving Money on Food, Part 1

Saving Money on Food, Part 1

Now that fruits and vegetables are coming into season, it might be a good time to explore some ways you can save money on produce. Here are a few ideas:

·       If you have a bit of earth around your house or apartment, try planting some vegetables and herbs you enjoy. It’s a good idea to include vegetables that grow through the winter and can be continually harvested, such as chard and kale, in addition to your favorite summer vegetables. You might have to rip out a bit of lawn if you have no existing area for growing vegetables. Renters should check with their landlords before changing the landscaping in case they need permission to do this.

If you have no land at all but just a bit of porch or a concrete walkway, you might purchase some large pots, then add compost and vegetable starts or seeds. Make sure your pots are large enough to support the root system and large enough that they won’t completely dry out in the summer, particularly if they’re sitting on concrete with no shade available.

Should you be physically unable to do the digging and bending involved in gardening, try bartering. Seek out a volunteer to barter their labor in exchange for something you can provide, such as some home-cooked meals. Conversely, if you have no gardening space but are in good physical condition, seek out a homeowner or farmer who will exchange food for your hard labor in the garden.

·       When local fruits are in season, drive around on weekends in growing areas and look for people – sometimes children – with little stands in front of their homes. You can often find very good prices this way.

·       Watch for U-pick farms and call for prices, hours and picking dates. Depending upon the farm, you may save only a modest amount of money or you might see significant savings. If you are planning to can or dehydrate large amounts of produce, be sure to check into farms in neighboring counties, but make sure the price of your gasoline is offset by significantly lower food prices or it won’t be financially worthwhile.

·       When you are lucky enough to find fruit at a very good price, purchase enough so you can freeze some for the winter. Berries are the easiest fruit to freeze as you can simply wash, let dry, then put into freezer bags. Other fruits need some preparation such as cutting, adding lemon juice or ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) or Fruit Fresh© to prevent browning, then adding a bit of sugar or honey to preserve the quality.

·       If you like jams or fruit toppings, try purchasing over-ripe, reduced-price fruit and cook it down in a crockpot, which can be purchased from second-hand stores such as the Goodwill or at yard sales. Slowly cook the fruit, to which you can add sugar or honey to taste, until it becomes thick. Use this as jam or as a fruit topping for yogurt, or in a dessert.

·       Watch for sales at supermarkets. For immediate need, try produce stands such as Joe’s Garden (http://www.joesgardens.com/) (which also grows their own food), Goods ( or Youngstock’s (http://www.yelp.ca/biz/youngstocks-country-farms-nursery-and-produce-bellingham). Bellingham Grocery Outlet (http://www.groceryoutlet.com/Bellingham-WA/) oftenhas good deals on produce. Another place to consider is the Oriental Market, which frequently sells ripe fruit at lower prices than you can find elsewhere.

·       Look into the possibility of purchasing a share of CSA – Community Supported Agriculture. Farmers all over the country solicit subscribers for CSAs, which are delivered weekly to a central location where you pick up your box containing a variety of vegetables, greens, and possibly fruits or nuts as they come into season. Prices and number of weeks in a CSA vary from farm to farm. People living alone can split a CSA with another individual, or ask about purchasing a half share. You get at least three bonuses when you purchase a CSA – first, the food tastes better because it’s really fresh. Second, your food is likely to contain more nutrients than produce that has been shipped and sitting around for days waiting to get purchased. Third, you will be supporting our local farmers, so your money stays in the community. For more information, check out this website: http://sustainableconnections.org/foodfarming/eatlocal/2011-csa-list/at_download/file

Have You Considered a Used Appliance?

In the late '90s I moved into a small house in North Bend with an empty space for a stacked washer/dryer.  The house also contained a tiny, raggedy-looking refrigerator. I decided it was time to move beyond landlord-style refrigerators and laundromat clothes cleaning, but I didn't have enough money to purchase any large appliances. But I was in luck -- I happened to run across a recycled appliance store in Bothell, and I was impressed with their offerings.  They would even deliver, which was essential as I lived several miles away. For $200 I was able to purchase both a large, more-contemporary refrigerator and a washer/dryer combo.  When I moved to Bellingham I had to sell the washer/dryer as there was no space for it in my apartment, but the refrigerator is still going gangbusters. Both were excellent investments.

What is your own situation? Perhaps your refrigerator no longer maintains a safe temperature or your washer can’t get your clothes clean.  When you have a limited income, replacing one of these appliances can represent an impossible expenditure.  We are fortunate in Whatcom County to have a store that not only salvages and restores used appliances – it provides on-the-job training and volunteer opportunities. 

Appliance Depot is a project of ReUse Works with a number of job training partners in the community.  Since their inventory is continually changing, you might stop off at their store to get an idea of what your appliance might cost and what is available at the moment. 

You can learn more at their website: http://www.reuseworks.org/index.php

Save Money on Gas

The price of gas continues to rise and it becomes increasingly difficult to find the money to keep our cars on the road.  I recently discovered a few websites that indicate the lowest gas prices in Whatcom County.  Here are three:

http://www.internetautoguide.com/21-3-1772-48/gas-prices-whatcom-county-washington.html

http://www.motortrend.com/gas_prices/32/washington/whatcom/

http://www.internetautoguide.com/21-4-9999-1772-48/gas-prices-bellingham-washington.html

I would suggest that you compare the gas prices on all three sites. Write down the lowest prices indicated on each site before you drive to the gas station to fill up, and then note how the gas prices compare with the website prices.  You will soon be able to decide upon a favorite site.

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