Comments on: Top Ten Fantastic Frugalicious Foods

By: Christine

Christine — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:56:22 +0000

@Squawkfox’s “bessere Haelfte”
You are lucky then, because Quark was one of the few things I missed when staying with my friend in Mississippi. But of course that was ages ago and nowadays we can get almost everything everywhere in the global village.

While reading your post I just thought how wonderful it is mixed with fresh herbs, a good olive oil, a little bit of garlic (if you like) salt and pepper and spread on a warm potatoe. That’s my kind of fast food.

@all:
I am not much into dieting but to those many who are on a low carb diet Quark is extremly low fat and very rich in protein.

Talking of diary food I want to share a really frugal way to make your yoghurt at home. It is easy as pie because you don’t have to heat the milk you just heat the water.
Absolutely no fussing with heating milk and controling temperature.

It safes me a lot of time, money, waste and energy!

By: Squawkfox's "bessere Haelfte"

Squawkfox's "bessere Haelfte" — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:56:20 +0000

Christine, I certainly am “made in Germany”!

In our area Quark is available from several local specialty stores. There is enough of a German population in the area that a larger Dutch dairy in the area produces it.

I grew up with Quark — as Quarkspeise, as a spread on bread, and of course as part of a proper German Kaesekuchen. North American “cheesecake” just doesn’t compare.

And of course, Ravensburger games and puzzles were another thing I grew up with!

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:50:20 +0000

@Kyle TAP Water

I am glad you mentioned it. It is cheap and almost everywhere available. My father used to be head of the local waterworks and he says it is better than what you buy in bottles.

@all

I drink verbena tea (aka vervain tea). I use the whole leaves. You don’t have to take them out, the tea won’t turn bitter. Great if you’re at work. The leaves look beautiful in a glas. I love the taste of it, warm or cold. It has a soft touch of lemons and you don’t need sugar. Try it, you will love it.

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:24:19 +0000

I love your list. Sounds like your “better half” is a “bessere Haelfte” and made in Germany. If so tell him “Herzliche Gruesse und Danke” if not tell him I said thanks for sharing you with us.

Quark (Topfen in Bavaria and Austria) is wonderful. In summer it is delicious if you mix it with still frozen strawberries or raspberries. It’s better than icecream.

And it makes a great cheesecake.

Where do YOU buy it?

Greetings from Ravensburg (where they make the puzzles)

By: Sharon J

Sharon J — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:11:12 +0000

Excellent list!

I’ve always given my children tap water to eat with their mains meals rather than fruit juice etc. It doesn’t conflict with the taste of the food and is sooooooo frugal. Fruit juice belongs with breakfast.

By: Shirley

Shirley — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:24:55 +0000

So many good ideas! My family does not like green tea but I am hooked on brown rice/green tea – both from Korea and Japan (genmaicha). For the summer I make a pot of it, put it into a pitcher when it is cool – add a bit of honey and ice if I want a cold drink. I also mix 1/4 cold tea with 3/4 fruit juice for my family. (Any fruit juice works) They don’t notice any taste difference but it makes the expensive 100% juice go further and gives them the additional benefit of green tea.

By: 10 links that will help you save money on groceries | Journeyer's Chronicals

Tue, 13 May 2008 11:32:20 +0000

[...] Squakfox has a number of great tips for yummy, frugal food. Start here at the Top 10 Frugalicious Foods. [...]

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:07:19 +0000

Pretty good stuff, and some great ideas.
About the natural peanut butter. I put mine into my stand mixer after opening a new jar. This mixes in the oil really well and will stay mixed in until the jar is empty. (well it only take me a week to empty, so I have not gone longer than that to know). But this works really well..

Thanks

Eric

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:29:04 +0000

I’m really into quinoa, but my local Trader Joe’s seems to have phased it out of inventory for now, which is lame.

I know this isn’t exactly what you were asking for, but I bought a HUGE bag of good quality turmeric from my local Indian grocery for about $2.00. I recommend skipping the supermarket when buying spices, because often you can get a lot more spice for a lot less money if you utilize your local Asian/Indian/Mexican/Croation/Minoan, etc. food stores.

I add it to almost anything. Like cinnamon, it’s VERY good for you (it’s a very potent anti-inflammatory). But be careful — it stains.

By: beth

beth — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:17:03 +0000

I’m also a fan of the tap water! Especially if you are fortunate enough to live in a place where tap water is of high standards like in Canada, please don’t contribute to excess plastic/glass bottle waste by bringing Nestle’s tap water in single size servings into your home.
To my tap water, I will add concentrated OJ. Check out the difference between pasteurizing a juice (a la tropicana) vs concentrating a juice (a la frozen OJ). I’m not an expert, but aren’t you paying twice the price for more water? Is it better water if it was originally in the fruit itself instead of coming from your tap? I don’t know.
With quinoa — sub it in for rice in any risotto recipe. Delicious.
Similar to quinoa, but smaller, nuttier, and (imo) tastier, amaranth. Toast it up for a popcorn like treat that doesn’t stick in your teeth, too!
Wine: no, not very cheap. But your local wine is likely a lot cheaper than foreign stuff — I know the Okanagan Valley has some spectacular and reasonably priced wines And if you get ambitious, making your own wine can cost as little as 1 dollar a bottle!