Three dollars a day?

[Karen]

Lol, potato chip and catsup sandwiches rock.....and I have a kitchen filled with food!

Laura,

If you ever need a roomie!

Karen,

You hit on a very vital point- CANNING.

I wish I had the knowledge and the patience to can food. Being on my own it's not really a viable option for me. I'd love to do sauces and pickles, but by the time I'd get around to eating all the stuff?

But that's the glory of it - you have enough for yourself, and enough to give to friends! (You DO have friends, right?) Though you are in California - which feeds the rest of the country much of its produce, so I am sure you can get stuff cheaper year-round than we in states that have months of time when nothing grows but the snow piles! I don't can anymore, but did as a kid - jellies and jams were the most fun, but pickles were cool, too! Now, sadly, I am allergic to cucumbers, so no pickles for Karen.

It's not hard to do, really - you just need to have the right supplies, and a high tolerance for heat and steam!

[sparks19]

if you have a farmers market near you... You can get good vegetables for less than a dollar for two or three (Like green peppers... at the local farmers market we can get them for .50 a piece of three for a dollar)

or you could get some seeds (even from the vegetables themselves rather than packets) get some potting soil and a tupperware dish and GROW some vegetables.

[RICHARD]

(You DO have friends, right?) !

LOL, I do have the Edster!

I watched my G-MA can and loved it.

Cah lee fuh nee Ah has nifty produce. I can jump into my car and go to Palmdale for fruits or Oxnard for tons of other stuff.

There are some roadside stands that you can shop at but they prices are a little bit steep!

--------
Tomato soup from k-packs?

NO, but I have been so broke I was PO......I couldn't afford the "OR"!

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...ighlight=ramen

[Edwina's Secretary]

Though you are in California - which feeds the rest of the country much of its produce, so I am sure you can get stuff cheaper year-round than we in states that have months of time when nothing grows but the snow piles!

Oddly Karen, produce is more expensive here. As is wine...which is produced in the state as well. I was rather shocked when we moved here at the high prices of groceries.

[Karen]

Oddly Karen, produce is more expensive here. As is wine...which is produced in the state as well. I was rather shocked when we moved here at the high prices of groceries.

Well that's just weird! We get told all the time by environmentalists how we should "buy local" because the cost of transport is built into the cost of food trucked from far away ... To which I say - "Yeah, try finding green vegetables grown "locally" in Massachusetts in February ..." but you'd think when they are only transported a few miles, they'd be far less expensive ...

[caseysmom]

Karen, that is definitely not the case.

[lvpets2002]

Hey ketsup or tarter sauce is pretty darn good on a saltine.. I used sqeak by on a package of saltines & add a topping on top.. yum yum Yup to pay bills & not much money for groc then you would be suprised what you can live on..

[RICHARD]

To which I say - "Yeah, try finding green vegetables grown "locally" in Massachusetts in February ..." but you'd think when they are only transported a few miles, they'd be far less expensive ...

There is something that makes me think, SCAM-it's the 'enviro' fruits and veggies. THey are touted as pesticide free and organically grown.

How do we know that? They are priced as much as 25-50% over a market offering and aren't any different.

The stands are more a touristy kind of offering but if you go up the road to Palmdale around peach/pear and tomato season you can buy in bulk at some really outstanding prices.

[shepgirl]

I've done the cheap food trick recipes with friends to see how far our imaginations and creativity would take us. Amazing what you can buy and stretch into nutrtious meals if you have to. And we did sample everything we thought of, only a few weren't tasty. As for fresh produce, no matter where you live you can have a hydroponic garden anywhere in the house and grow lertuce, tomatoes, cucs, zuchuni, beans, peppers, etc.
Homemade soups with lentils, white or brown beans, lima beans, black beans, etc, all high in protein and very filling. Many variations to think of, all delicious.Just amazing what you can throw into a huge pot of homemade soup.
Buying in season and freezing or canning helps a lot.