I know some of you are wondering where the "Prairie" part plays into my life. There are two answers. One is that when my parents moved us to the country, my mom said she felt like she was living in Little House on the Prairie because we lived in a small, one bedroom house on a sparse piece of land. I loved my prairie home, and I lived there up until I got married. The other part of my prairie life is that I love all things associated with the old-fashioned prairie life style. I love the combination of hard work and simplicity. Throughout my days, I find that I often ask myself "is this what people would do on the prairie?"
One of those things I often question is grocery shopping. I was once a convenience food addict. And sometimes I still slip up with a bag of cookies or a frozen pizza. But for the most part, my grocery shopping is guided by the simple question "Could this be found on the old-fashioned prairie farm or in the general store?" By asking myself this question, I can rule out most unhealthy foods pretty easily.
I start with the basics like fruits and vegetables. I buy as much fresh and organic as possible because I'm pretty sure that Laura Ingalls didn't have a freezer or DDT. The key to buying fresh produce that is affordable is to consider what is seasonal. Seasonal produce will taste better, be more nutritious, and cost less. It can also help to prevent that dreaded burn out effect from eating the same thing too many times. This time of year, there is less of a selection, but things like potatoes, spinach, broccoli, apples, sweet potatoes, and carrots are still good choices. In the summer, I like to buy a lot of whatever is cheapest and freeze it myself to put back for winter. I still have frozen goods like tomatoes and peppers that we grew in our own garden last summer.
When it comes to meat, I admit that we are blessed. We come from ranching families, so we can still get beef from my in-laws, and we know that it is organic and farm-raised. I know that many people can't do this, so I always advocate buying local and talking to the butchers to find out where the meat comes from and how it is raised. I do buy chicken at the grocery store, but it must be hormone and antibiotic free, and when possible, free range. In the fall, my husband deer hunts, and we usually have a good stock of frozen venison.
Meat is expensive though and too much is not healthy. It eats too much of our budget just like we eat too much of it. To supplement our protein, I cook a pound of some type of beans in the crock pot at least twice a month. They are cheap, nutritious, and filling. Even though I buy organic, $2.99 for a pound of dried beans can feed us for 3-4 meals.
When it comes to dairy, I have to stretch my definition of prairie-style a little bit. We buy milk, butter, and a little cheese, but sometimes I do buy cottage cheese and yogurt if I feel like our diet is lacking. Eggs are a staple in our house too, and I hope we can someday have our own chickens.
Besides milk, the beverages in our house are tea and coffee the old-fashioned way. We make tea on the stove or in a cup with tea bags or infusers. While we do have a Keurig to make our coffee (Praire Dad and I never can agree on a flavor), we have bagged coffee that we use to refill a reusable filter for the machine. I admit though that this part was a recent switch, so we still have a stash of K Cups in the cabinet, but they will be gone soon enough. We do keep some glass-bottled juice on hand to flavor water for Prairie Girl, but one bottle can last a long time.
As for our baked good, it's mostly prairie-style there too. I buy the necessities like flour and salt and I try to sweeten with things like honey and maple syrup instead of sugar. I keep my recipes simple to save money and time, and we avoid nasty preservatives and artificial flavors and colors. Our grains are kept simple too with plain containers of oatmeal, rice, and quinoa that I cook and season myself.
And that's about it. I don't load down the cart with bags of chips or pretzels or cartons of ice cream. I avoid frozen dinners, and we stay away from almost all canned varieties of food. If we're really going for a treat, we might get some dark chocolate or a box of crackers for Prairie Girl. Instead of keeping treats at home, we like to have fun experiences, so we will go out for ice cream or cupcakes at some place we can enjoy.
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I spend a lot of time in the kitchen sweating over a hot stove to cook everything. You're wrong. I actually spend less time than I did when I bought convenience foods. How? Well that's a post for another day.
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