Money Saving Mindset- Group Journal

Budgeting
1525

I know I should start making yogurt, but it has been intimidating for no good reason.

inside of my brain is a bit messed at the moment

It is the type of thing that I know I should enjoy, but atm my brain is being intransigent. For example, no instapot (I know, it can be done in the oven). The risk of wasting that much milk. I know it isn’t rational, so having answers isn’t the issue, I know the answers too.

My brain is so halting, I haven’t even finished the thumbs on my mittens. And there is only like 1% unknown there.

I’m fine in the moment, I can do something once someone else has instigated, but the activation energy to overcome inertia is rough atm…

I picked up the Olympic Krema (11% mf), plus 500ml of Organic Meadow half&half for $2.13. That location is now out of the plain Krema, but still has the vanilla in Krema and in organic, and the half & half. Plus sour cream dip and hot finger peppers.

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1526

Yesterday I got into a tizzy researching outdoor storage cabinets. We need to clear a bunch of things out of the basement for construction and keep it weatherproof-ish, and maybe have a permanent option. I even had a plan for what day I would do this, when I would assemble it, and where to temporarily store it in the rear our small backyard. I mean, look how cute it is!

After talking to Bear about space (he was already planning to store other big things in the space I had planned, and the HVAC plan hasn’t been finalized so long-term we might not have room for such a thing), we rewound the whole thing.

Instead I’m going to get two $16 plastic tubs from Home Depot. No assembly.

Lesson learned: the money saving thing for me right now isn’t to find the cheapest option.
It’s doing less / choosing the less complicated option altogether.

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1527

Absolutely agree with this. Last year I went down a rabbit hole looking at options for an outdoor horizontal space to be used in conjunction with occasional smoking of food. I looked at so many different storage cabinets and carts that were weatherproof and $$$. Then I ended up with a little folding table with a plastic crate we keep underneath to store coal and smoking chips. Easy, peasy, cheap and looks just fine.

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1528

I’ve made yogurt with the instant pot AND in the oven, and TBH the oven is just as easy.

You scald and cool the milk in a big pot on the stove, add your starter, and then either distribute to jars or pop the pot in the oven and leave the door closed with the light on overnight, and then it’s done!

I put jam at the bottom of my jars before I added the unset yogurt, and it turned out like a tasty fruit on the bottom yogurt.

Now when I make yogurt I always make a big pot and then strain it with cheesecloth for a thicker, more greek yogurt style. Did you know you can use the whey for making bread? It really does change the flavor, and it’s delicious. I’ve never used it for anything else, though. I’m not brave enough :slight_smile:

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1529

FWIW: We bought our first home in an era of double digit inflation. So much so that the fees changed between when we started the mortgage process and when we closed.

Because of that, and we were doing a no-down VA loan, with $5K down, make sure you have a chunk of $ set aside for inflation, unexpected fees, etc. If you don’t use it, then you have more $ for moving expenses, or to buy grass seed, or whatever. We managed, the change mortgage and processing fees, but at the last the VA decided they had a new charge they were adding, about $300. We didn’t have it. Our realtor loaned it to us. Our commission was her “Christmas money” and she wouldn’t have it in time if we delayed to come up with the extra.

We paid her back of course.

Part of the problem was that this was the bad old days, people weren’t used to couples with different last names. I refused to sign a mortgage with my name spelled incorrectly. Despite our local office calling and writing notes, the mortgage was written incorrectly twice.

Oh yea, the mortgage got sold within 6 months of our getting it. Our first “clue” was a late notice that our payment hadn’t processed. The bank hadn’t made arrangements with the buyer that they could process the payments, so our automatic payment hadn’t happened, and we were “late.” That happened to a lot of people in our desert town. When I went to the bank to ask WTF??? the bank was full of angry customers…

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1530

WOOHOO, one pass thru the dishwasher and the stank is gone!
It might’ve been “hot plastic sitting in the sun on someone’s porch” stank. But now they are usable!

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1531

Wow, I have never sterilized my Instant Pot. We just run it through the dishwasher and the results are perfectly acceptable. I use Fage 5% as starter.

Another thing I always do is I do not mix the starter into the whole pot. I use a ladle or mug to scoop out some of the milk, and I mix the starter thoroughly into THAT, and pour the whole thing back in, and do not stir again. I must have read somewhere that it prevents graininess or something?

I do use a thermometer because the Instant Pot doesn’t get the milk hot enough IMO. (It sounds like @ElleP also lets it get hotter but has a more finely tuned sense of temperature :slight_smile: ). I go to like 182F to make sure it is really all up to temperature. After the Boil is done, I put it on Saute, Hot, and whisk continuously until it reaches the temperature I want according to my meat thermometer, then I cool to 110-120 unless I forget about it and it gets cooler. Then I do the thing above with the starter.

I use the Regular/Normal yogurt function but for 10 hours instead of 8, and then I refrigerate the whole pot all day before putting in jars. I don’t know if that matters or not, but it is my way. I do not like to disturb it until it is all the way thickened.

When my children consume yogurt they consume about a pint (each) at a sitting, so I make it by the gallon.

I think it’s one of those things where there are a million little tweaks you can make and it’s going to be a question of finding what works for you and your kitchen and the way you consume yogurt. Good luck!

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1532

Price increases in fresh foods has been confirmed.

Plus other items.

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1533

We spent a lot of money this month on projects. April will be the month for doing those projects, though I’m sure we’ll have to get more when we realise what we’re missing. No completely fresh project allowed, though. My shed and craft spaces are overflowing.

I did have a win, though. I have an online cart of art supplies ready to buy for my business but I’m holding off until my new bank card arrives. That will save me shipping, because I’m thinking of other things to add. It’s also prompted me to get the draft versions done with my existing stuff.

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1534

Further to an earlier conversation about meal prep frittatas… yesterday I made 12 muffins and today 12 egg muffins & six mini bites for meal prep/ today’s breakfast/ grab and go.

There are 6-7 muffins left and 2 egg muffins.

So the two guys ate around 11 eggs in one day, and the little guy and I ate about 6 muffins in two days.

Hard boiled eggs they usually stop at six between themselves.

Eggs included spinach, salt and pepper, Parmesan, cream, and a mild canned green chili. Apparently they tasted good.

As we’re getting busier I do need to keep working on less processed grab and go prep.

I think I’m going to package up some nuts and homemade trail mix. Start boiling eggs a dozen at a time, keep going with muffins and energy balls.

I bought those fruit leather things partly to stop myself eating as much candy. And we buy individually portioned cheese. I can proportion yogurt, maybe with jam. Baked tofu for me and lunch meats. Maybe potato salads and coleslaws in one day containers, same with some of the dips. My brother hit a point two summers ago that any time they left the house they brought a loaf of bread and they kept a jar of peanut butter in the car. My backpack has toddler and adult granola bars, goldfish and sometimes apple sauce.

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1535

I’ve been thinking a lot about what we want to have as a default in the bag when we leave the house, because I don’t want us to be eating out for lunch 3-4 times a week, but also don’t want us to be arriving home at 2 or 3 without having lunch. Today worked out because we were going into convenience stores with fun international foods, and I got a small bag of chips, but otherwise I would have definitely been grumpy or flagging.

Egg muffins are probably a good go-to because they are fine the next day. I made a very good pie crust for Friday’s quiche, but the quiche itself was too spinachy. Quesadillas have gone over well, but it is harder to do a batch to cover a few days.

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1536
Fancy weekend breakfast

Surprised husband with a full at home diner experience. Plus bonus cat. Splurged on bacon and have no regrets.

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1537

Growing up we did pies and patties. But low carb is tricky and I’m lazy

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1538

We buy the same jam! That’s awesome!

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1539

Woah! That’s so cool!!!

1540

Meal plan Monday:

Brunch: leftover homemade pizza, muffins, boiled eggs

Dinner: tofu tikka, shrimp spicy and not, rice, cauliflower zeera

Tuesday dinner: Fish, frozen mixed veg, green sauce, veggie burger

Wednesday: Singapore noodles

Thursday: pasta, meat or mushrooms Parmesan

Friday: burgers?

Other breakfast and lunches:
Cereal, toast, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, muffins, yogurt, grilled cheese, smoothies

Kale salad, spinach+ leftovers, pancakes,
Pate, cashew sauce, hummus

Take along foods: nuts, trail mix, crackers and dip, lunch meat, boiled eggs, pakoras (make), fruit, applesauce, yogurt, raw veggies, cooked tofu

Groceries
More eggs
Pull-ups
Plastic or wire drawers
Carbonaut bread mid week

Entertainment plan (so we don’t do expensive unplanned outings)
Art
Local park
Hikes
Surprise visits to family
Decathlon
Swimming

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1541

IDK if it’ll work for your fam but I do batch wraps for grab-and-go food a lot. We eat everything but there are keto wraps, maybe an additional option?

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1542

The keto and gf wraps don’t seem to hold up for that- but I’m going to try quesadillas with them. And for the gf only I have frozen rice parathas that can probably work if they are cooked around the filling. Wheat is HUGE for portable food!

And I think everyone is getting back to picnics so still a valuable idea for the greater forum :kissing_heart:

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1543

Ok off topic, maybe, but delicious. These wraps fried in 1/4" of canola oil make a perfect crispy Taco Bell chalupa knock off. Not sure if any of that will translate into Canadian :joy:

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1544

Ohhhh, I didn’t even think about that but it makes a lot of sense.

So. True. My only other thoughts are tapioca and rice flour based doughs like you find in different dumplings, spring rolls, etc. Nori could also be an option for roll-ups if it’s not too pricy in your area.

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