Harvest is done!!!! How did it go for 2014?

With our harvest season complete, I wanted to tally just how much it cost us to eat healthier.  Many people have the assumption that fresh organic veggies are just way more expensive, and in the store they are.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.  As expected we had to supplement our veggies with a trip to the farm.  But that is ok, believe it or not, buying in bulk at the farm is STILL cheaper than buying from the store.  There will come a day, as we establish the garden, that our costs will virtually be just the cost of preserving the food (whether freezing or canning), and a cent or two per seed (if that!). 

When all bagging is complete we will have bagged close to 175 bags of various fresh veggies and fruit for different things. Certain veggies (onions, garlic, and potatoes) can keep in cool basement for months.  So we will be using this reserve BEFORE we EVEN touch the freezer. To give you an idea on what we bagged this year and the cost:

12 Bags of veggies for Beef Stew (carrots, celery, onions, potatoes) - .39 cents a bag.  After we add the meat and other ingredients the total cost will be around $3.50.  We will get 1 or 2 dinners out of this OR 1 dinner and lunch for Jason and me for about 3 days. 

6 Bags of veggies for Chicken Noodle Soup (carrots, onions, celery) - .21 cents a bag.  We will make one large batch of soup.  We will eat half and freeze half for another meal, and still have enough left over for a few lunches out of each batch.  Adding in chicken and other ingredients, total cost will be about $4.00 per batch (that is less than $2.00 per meal!).

6 bags of Veggies for Spaghetti Sauce (onions, tomatoes) - .20 cents a bag.  Each bag will make a batch of sauce, which will give us enough for 2 meals.  Add in meat and other ingredients, and the cost will be about $3.00 per batch.  Cost of a meal with each batch, will be less than $3.00, depending on what we make.

12 bags of veggies for Sloppy Joes (onions, peppers) - .26 cents a bag.  This will make one meal and lunch for Jason and me the next day.  Total cost of the meal with all ingredients, about $3.50 cents.

12 bags of veggies for Fajitas (onion, peppers) - .37 cents a bag.  This will make one meal and lunch for Jason and me the next day.  Total cost of the meal with the ingredients, about $3.00.

8 Bags of veggies for Kabobs (onions, peppers, zucchini OR squash) - .60 cents a bag.  Literally we will add just meat and mushrooms (but we buy in bulk!) and so this meal will cost us less than $3.50.  

59 Bags of Hatch Green Chilies (2 bushels) - .66 cents a bag.  We will use these for homemade green chili, Chili Relleno casserole, in our breakfast, Italian Roast Beef sandwiches and whatever else we come up with.  All the bags will provide us with over 100 meals of some sort.

Also included in the frozen reserves (not for specific meals, but sides and snacks)-

Bags of Carrots-.06 cents a bag- For carrot cake, and sides

Bags of Pumpkin-.03 cents a bag-For pies, cookies, bread, soups

Bags of Apples- less than a penny a bag- For pies and desserts

Bags of Zucchini- less than a penny for a bag- For breads, cakes, and sides

Basil-less than a penny for a bag

Our freezer is definitely full!  About every 3 months I will make homemade breads (zucchini, banana, etc. and freeze those as well). And our pantry will be full too!  A friend of mine has borrowed a pressurized canner, which is exciting.  I will be using the frozen veggies set aside for my homemade spaghetti sauce and will can enough sauce to last us a year.  If this turns out great then I will add to the reserves next year.  I am terrified of botulism, so I will be starting out slow on my canning foods other than jellies/jams, and pickles. Which speaking of, I have made over 50 jars of jelly and jam!  I made grape, grape/elderberry, plum, plum/peach, plum/apple and plum/apple/peach (which turned out amazing!).  These will surely last us the year!  And I had a blast experimenting too!

Fresh home cooked meals do not have to be expensive at all.  Yes, it is more work up front to prep all the veggies for freezing, but actually cooking the meals are just as easy as buying kits, or canned, or whatever. And yes, making my own jelly is more time consuming than picking up a jar at the store and done.  But……….tastes oh so much better and is better for us (NO PRESERVATIVES!).

Now…..onto the next phase.  Planning next year’s garden and buying seeds when they go on sale. 

Happy Fall! My favorite time of the year! Stay Warm!