MIlk

        I was never a big milk drinker, but because I now make yogurt, I go through a lot of milk. I use one and a half gallons in a batch of yogurt, and easily a half gallon or more for cereal and such. More than a year ago, I discovered that milk at National Wholesale Liquidators was $2.50. That was pretty awesome because it was around $4.00 in other stores. Last Wednesday, I was in NWL to get milk, but they had none, so I decided I would go back on Saturday night when I actually planned to make yogurt. But alas, it was not meant to be. As I approached the parking lot on Saturday night, things looked unusual. There were a lot of cars in the parking lot. Then I saw a large sign that said, “Everything is 20-60% off.” A bit more unusual and suspicious. I parked and started walking towards the doors, and then I saw the sign that said, “Store Closing.” I ended getting milk from another nearby grocery store, but this, unfortunately, will be the end of cheap milk for me.

How to make homemade hummus

                As you know, I am a fan of making homemade food when I can. I have wanted to make hummus for a few months already. One of the ingredients in hummus is tahini, which I had bought a few months ago already. For some reason, I never got around to it until a few weeks ago.

                The ingredients are 1 can of chickpeas, ½ Tbsp parsley, 1 large clove of garlic, ¼ tsp ground cumin, 3 Tbsp lemon juice, 4 Tbsp water, 4 Tbsp tahini paste, 2 Tbsp olive oil. I blended these using an immersion blender until they were pretty smooth, but with a bit of texture remaining from the chickpeas.

                Besides for it being really yummy, it is definitely cheaper to make this at home. A can of chickpeas is 50 cents, and the container of tahini was about $4.00, and that will last a while. A small container of hummus from the store often costs around $4.00.

it's hummus!

Grocery List: Some of the Cheapest and Most Nutritious Foods

• Beans (dry beans have no sodium while canned beans do)
• lentils
• chickpeas (dry chickpeas have no sodium while canned beans do)
• oatmeal (the large canisters are cheaper and do not have added sugar, unlike some of the individual oatmeal packets)
• popcorn kernels (air popping is a no-fat added method to prepare)
• milk
• yogurt (the store brand will be cheaper, plain yogurt will not have sugar added)
• cottage cheese (the store brand will be cheaper)
• eggs
• peanuts or natural peanut butter (choose the peanut butter that only has peanuts and salt as the ingredients)
• canned tuna fish
• cabbage
• potatoes
• sweet potatoes
• summer squash (green or yellow zucchini)
• winter squash
• beets
• onions
• tomatoes
• apples
• bananas
• in-season fruit
• frozen berries, strawberries, etc
• lettuce
• carrots
• canned tomatoes
• frozen mixed vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, spinach, kale, etc (the ones with sauce will have added fat and sodium; the plain ones are just that—plain vegetables)
• brown rice
• while wheat pasta
• water

In the comments section, let me know which foods you have found to be inexpensive.