Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Wicked Wednesday.

It is the first day of school here. The kids in the neighborhood are so excited!

It is time for packing lunches. I usually don't talk much about lunches because, for us it is leftovers, cheese and crackers and fruit. Most people, I suspect, that are of snap also get school lunches too.
When we were kids, we either got to come home for lunch, or we got a sandwich. Period.

Breakfast was always oatmeal in the winter. Oatmeal for, scratch is just as easy as oatmeal from the canister.
1 cup water, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1-1/2 minutes in the microwave. I like to add craisens or blueberries.

Breakfast muffins are a good thing, or a quick bread that you can make ahead.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/blueberry-banana-bread/96c37e01-6aad-42a5-9907-2117e388209b
Google Betty Crocker banana blueberry bread. There is a heart healthy version too. It uses egg beaters and low fat bisquick. In my book, 2 eggs split between 12 servings is not a lot of eggs.

Bananas with black spots on the skin are supposed to be anti cancer. Blueberries are anti oxidents, and oatmeal is good for cholesterol. Nutritious,easy and inexpensive is a winner in my book. They just happen to taste good. I wasmaskedmfor a substitute for the banana. I guessed chopped apple. I googled it, it said papaya. I have never bought a papaya, I would guess that it would derail the cost effectiveness of the muffin. Muffins are a dollar a piece in the grocery store. That is another time when scratch is a money maker.

To find out if something is worth making from scratch, first figure the cost of the bought product. Then cost out the scratch product. Time your non- passive cooking. Divide the difference in cost by the time it takes you to make the muffins. you will get the amount of money you are "making an hour " to scratch cook. if it is a couple of dollars, it's probably not worth it. When my daughter and I cost out lemon pound cake vs buying it at the lots of bucks store, we figure we made over 212.00 an hour if memory serves me. That's a little extreme, but at a dollar a muffin, I am pretty sure, scratch is well worth your time. If you can make them in a loaf pan instead, itmwouldmbe even faster.

Another thing that can be cost effective to make is salad dressing ( not mayo).A vinaigrette can be cost effective. There are recipes for salad dressings on an earlier blog. When salad dressing is a buck or less with a coupon, it is probably not cost effective.

I think what I have learned is that not everything is black and white playing this game. But, all in all, you will come out the winner if you put some effort into it.


Thanks for stopping by.

Please share

Jane

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