Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.--1 Corinthians 10:31

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May 15. Blog. Update on Status of My Family’s Diet & GFCF Bread, again May 14, Blog. Fried Rice & Link to Gluten Free Frugal Blog May 13, Blog. Maggie’s First GFCF Homemade Yeast Bread May 13, Blog. GFCF Day 5--Pizza & Preacher Cookies + Pics May 11. Blog. GFCF Day 3 May 10. Blog. GFCF Day 1--updated, Picture of food.

Welcome to Frugal Abundance where abundance is a state of mind, not the status of one's wallet. I'm Miss Maggie, your hostess and guide to eating nutritiously and abundantly on a shoestring budget.  This website explains how I have improved the quality of my family's diet while reducing our weekly grocery bills. On the Recipe Index page I provide recipes, menu plans, how-to articles and offer suggestions on kitchen management. In the Frugal Food Storage section you'll find information and recipes for food storage or provident living. In my family our income fluctuates by as much as 33%. We call this a Feast or Famine lifestyle. One of the coping methods I've devolped is buying extra food during times of feasting to see us abundantly through times of Famine. Some easily stored foods require specialized recipes and cooking methods which I've addressed in this section. I've also tried to make room for some of my favorite hobbies such as serving God, sewing, wearing a headcovering and dressing modestly. These can be found in the Hobby Room and on the Biblical Womahood page. Our Healthy Diet. After 25 years of investigation I have finally concluded that a Pescatarian diet is the cheapest and healthiest way of eating available in America. Pesca means fish. Pescatarians eat fish and seafood in addition to an Ovo-Lacto vegetarian diet, which is the most common form of vegetarianism in America. Ovo means egg and Lacto means milk. Thus an ovo-lacto vegetarian consumes both eggs and milk in addition to plant based foods. Pescatarians usually include eggs, dairy, fish & seafood in addition to plant foods. You may be wondering why I have concluded this way of eating is the cheapest and healthiest. On the health front a Pescatarian diet is lower in saturated fat and cholesterol than the Standard American Diet (often refered to by it's initials: SAD). Plenty of protein is provided by whole grains, legumes [beans], milk, cheese and eggs. Fish and seafood provide additional protein plus yummy, healthy omega-3  fatty acids. These are found most abundantly in fatty fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, tuna and salmon, many of which are available inexpensively in canned form. Omega-3 fatty acids provide several health benefits,  including a reduced risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure, healthier arteries (less plaque), decreased risk of blood clots and lower triglyceride levels (this is related to "bad" or LDL cholesterol). Pescatarian diets place extra emphasis on nutritious, low-cost foods such as whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables and small quantities of nuts and seeds. These provide fiber, healthy fats, anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals until they're coming out of your ears. Low-fat dairy products such as powdered nonfat dry milk supply calcium, of great importance to pregnant, lactating and menopausal women. Cultured dairy products like yogurt and buttermilk can improve digestion while providing as much calcium as milk. Eggs used to be considered bad-guys in the food kingdom because of their cholesterol content. New studies prove that the cholesterol in eggs does not increase one's LDL cholesterol. In fact, some studies suggest eggs actually help reduce cholesterol! Besides being a cheap source of high quality protein, eggs contain a substance called choline which contributes to brain health. Whole eggs also contain carotenoids which improve eye function while helping to prevent macular degeneration and cataracts. If you love eggs like I do, this is wonderful news. A website called the World's Healthiest Foods has lots more information about the health benefits of eggs. Great, but will they eat it? Saving money and improving our diet is all well and good, but I live in the real world and if the food isn't yummy my guys won't eat it. I'm happy to report that one of the most pleasant surprises, besides my dropping food bill, is how supportive the family has been of these improvements to our diet. The process was gradual. We already consumed legumes on a weekly basis and had a growing familiarity with textured vegetable protein (TVP), a low-cost subsitute for ground beef. I patiently explained the rising costs of food, the need for more whole grains in our diet and the reasons behind the changes I was making. The humanity involved in choosing not to kill cows and pigs for food appealed to the children especially. I didn't make a big deal of this point, but when they put 2 and 2 together they took the idea to heart. Not that it was all kittens and sunshine. I did experience some resistance, especially from the children. Whole wheat pasta wasn't popular at first. I stopped cooking any pasta at all for a full month. When I finally did make up a batch of spaghetti they were so happy to have pasta again that there wasn't much grumbling about it being whole wheat. Now they eat it without a second thought, but it wasn't always that way. Another area we've struggled with is eating fish and seafood. Fred and I love it, but the boys still prefer to avoid it. They are both willing to eat shrimp (frozen tiny shrimp are especially cheap), and tuna is relatively popular, but anything more exotic is still met with suspicion. Partly for this reason and partly because of it's extra cost, we don't eat as many fish meals as we would in my ideal world. For the most part I focus on inexpensive main meals including lots of vegetables, grains, beans, TVP, eggs and moderate amounts of cheese. This keeps the boys happy for the most part, and keeps our grocery bill low. How Much Should It Cost? Anyone whose bought groceries in the past six months knows that the price of everything is rising. I used to be able to buy a dozen eggs for less than $1 and now I'm lucky if I can find them for under $2. Powdered milk has increased by at least 33% and even some dried beans cost over $1 a pound, a few as much as $2 or $3 a pound. Other staples such as whole wheat flour, cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables and canned goods have all risen over the past few months. Since everything costs more it's hard to keep a handle on the budget. When folks ask me how much money they should be spending on groceries during these inflationary times I find myself at a loss for words. There are so many variables including family size, the local cost of food, whether or not you garden, the value of any public assistance you receive like WIC or Commodity foods, the amount of time you are willing to devote to meal preparation and the types of food your family is willing or unwilling to eat. As a rule of thumb I recommend the USDA Food Plans as a starting point. My personal belief is that their thrifty category is generous. In an emergency I believe it's possible to manage on as little as half the amount suggested by the current Thrifty Plan. Meals will be especially simple, but the family can still be fed. I do not personally believe that it's possible to feed a family adequately on much less than half of the Thrifty Plan's recommendations. So if you're trying to go as low as you can go, keep this lower limit in mind. If you have a standard family of 2 or 4 the Thrifty Plan is a good guide. If you have a large family it will take a little arithmetic to figure out the recommended costs. At the time of this writing (November, 2007) the official cost to feed a family of 4 is about $128 per week. I use this as my upper level. It represents the most I should have to spend to feed my family every week. My personal goal is to come in well under this limit. On this amount--$128 per week or less--usually $100 or less--I strive to feed my family wholesome, healthy foods that meet all their dietary needs, allowing their diet to improve their health, rather than subtract from it.  I work diligently to keep the quality optimum and the cost minimum. It's challenging to be sure, but infinitely satisfying as well. A Few Notes Before Your Begin Nutritional data is calculated with MasterCook 9. While it's as accurate as I can make it, I am a homemaker, not a dietitian so there may be mistakes here or there. If you need extremely accurate information for a special diet then it may be best to calculate it yourself or have a professional do it for you. Reconstituted Milk refers to instant nonfat dry milk powder that has been liquefied according to package directions. If you choose not to use reconstituted milk then fresh skim milk may be used instead. Dry Milk or Powdered Milk refers to instant nonfat dry milk powder that is still in it's dry or powdered form. It does not refer to liquid milk. Due to public demand butter is used throughout this website. If you choose not to use butter then margarine is a fine (and more economical) alternative. Medium eggs are used most often because these are the least expensive eggs available to me. If you prefer, large eggs may be used instead with good results. Most often I use conventional sweeteners like granulated sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar and corn syrup. When managing a tight budget certain compromises must be made. Natural Sweeteners are slightly more nutritious than conventional sweeteners but their high cost is prohibitive to me. All sweeteners increase our insulin levels, whether they are natural or refined. I find conventional sweeteners economical, versatile and readily available. If you prefer you may use other sweeteners as desired. Textured Vegetable Protein or TVP is a dry soy product made to resemble meat. The granulated form, which resembles ground beef, is the most widely available. It can be found in most natural food stores and large supermarkets. It's usually a lot cheaper at natural food stores. It can also be found on-line at various retailers. The plain or unflavored type is the most versatile. Flavored versions are handy though, and we make liberal use of them in our kitchen. I've only found flavored TVP on-line. We usually buy ours from Walton Feed. Vital Wheat Gluten is a specialty flour. It's available at some supermarkets and most natural food stores. There is almost zero starch in Vital Wheat Gluten or Gluten Flour. It's almost all protein. There is no substitute for Vital Wheat Gluten. In any recipe calling for it you need real gluten flour or the recipe won't turn out the way it should. Don't worry, I use it mostly for making Wheat-Meat so unless you feel like giving homemade Wheat-Meat a try, you needn't give it a second thought. The recipes, suggestions, strategies and menus are designed for my family. Some will work for you and your family. Some will not. Each of us must discern for ourselves which ideas we want to use and which are simply inappropriate for our circumstances. Use your best judgement and make decisions that are right for your family and it's individual needs. All site content may be dowloaded and printed for personal & church use. Nothing may be reprinted or sold. All content is copyrighted unless specifically stated to the contrary. If you would like to borrow content then please write me for permission. Let me know the exact page(es) you'd like to borrow and what you'll be using it for. Be sure to put "Permission" or something of that nature in the subject line so I can get back to you sooner. DISCLAIMER. I am a regular mom and homemaker. I make mistakes just like everyone else. Anyone expecting perfection will be sorely disappointed. Nothing on this website should be construed as medical advice. Use any suggestion with common sense and an eye towards safety.

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