Three Dollar Dinner

Economy slides, organic soars…. from the heartland…

What’s the inverse relationship between the economy not doing too well, and people buying more local and cheaper organic? Maybe it IS cheaper to eat better?

Check out this article from Minnesota.

Get a grant to start an organic farm in the US….

If you are thinking of starting an organic farm or organic livestock operation, there are government funds available ($20,000 per year and up) to promote conservation of soil, water, and natural environments through responsible farming. The program is called the Natural Resources Conservation Service and is run by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), and is administered differently in each state (some states provide additional incentives under their own state-funded programs).

The goal is to provide financial assistance for up to 75% of the costs of implementation of conservation practices, and if you are a beginning farmer or fall under certain other widely defined categories you can get up to 90%. The program focuses specifically on water reduction and soil conservation.

You can learn more at the Natural Resources Conservation Service and at the State by State application guide.

If you know anyone in Dallas…

A Dallas farmer is looking for 8 more people to make up his CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). CSA members basically buy a share of a farm in advance of a growing season and then the farmer delivers the produce each week during the harvest. It can be a great economical way to support local farmer’s AND get the freshest produce you can imagine. If you or anyone you know is in Dallas you can read about Farmer Eugene here and the prices for the farm share, and contact him at ovforganics@gmail.com.

For information on CSA’s in your own city, do a search at LocalHarvest.org.

Big Three Dollar Fun Coming in 2010 plus 3 Day Holiday Sale

Coming this year, we’ve got some big fun things happening:

- I’m planning a “Thirty Days of Mindful Eating” in cooperation with other site and real-world organizations – 30 days of ideas on how to become more in touch with why food matters. Keep an eye out for this spring. This promises to be a fun, delicious, transformational experience.

- The Three Dollar Dinner Recipe Contest. Coming later this winter, we’ll be having a recipe-off. You will be invited to post your own “real food” recipes that can be made for three dollars a serving or less,  and other readers will be invited to prepare and vote.  The winner will be receiving a cash prize plus the top recipes will be included in a new version of Three Dollar Dinner.

- More recipes will be given out as well as more news about eating healthy on a budget.

And for the next 3 days, Three Dollar Dinner is on sale for $3.00 off the regular price of $9.00.  It’s a great gift for anyone who wants to eat right on a budget, or anyone who is making a New Year resolution to cook at home more or eat healthier. You can download instantly or print out (digital preferred to save a tree, but print if you must). 

To get the special price go to checkout here and enter promo code HOLIDAY – offer expires December 18.

Demand Declining for Organic Milk

This is not good news.  Reports from Vermont are that demand is declining for organic milk, considerably down from three years ago. Considering that milk contains high concentrations of whatever the cow eats (whether healthy stuff, or unhealthy pesticides) many people recommend that if nothing else you switch to organic milk.  Organic is also a better indicator that the cows were treated well. Cows not raised under organic standards frequently are given antibiotics to keep their udders healthy because they aren’t kept in the cleanest or most human conditions; organically raised cows (and their milk) are antibiotic free.  Reverse the trend and buy organic milk – it’s what we just called “milk” 60 years ago.

One Dollar Breakfast (Burrito)

Trent Hamm, always a fantastic read at Simple Dollar, brought us the seventy-two cents breakfast burrito earlier this year (hint: buy in bulk and make a lot at once – then freeze).

With some minor tweaks, these can easily be organic and about a dollar each. Either way, they are a healthy, balanced delicious (and fast) way to start the day.

Check out the Bulk Breakfast Burrito.

Eating Animals

Over at Salon.com there’s a great article called Eating Animals by author Jonathan Safran Foer, a new book that takes a journalistic approach to telling the story of factory farmed meat. Three Dollar Dinner doesn’t advocate a vegetarian or vegan diet.  I just advocate a diet that makes sense for you and your family and your wallet, and there is no way around the fact that buying non-process non-chemically pumped meat is the easiest way to blow your budget.

Pork it Out

Those of you who’ve been following along here on the blog, or who’ve bought the Three Dollar Dinner cookbook, have possibly noticed that one key to eating healthy, organic, cheap food is to chill out with all the meat eating. Besides being the #1 contributor to water pollution and soil degradation (Al Gore, I love you, but your cattle ranching background made you skip that point in your film), there’s also a lot of ethical issues with how animals are raised and prepared for us to eat.

However, I love meat. There I said it.  I don’t cook it much at home, but I love it. I’ve tried being vegan and vegetarian, and while they were appropriate ways for me to eat at certain points in my life, I just love meat and so does my body (yeah yeah, I know, you’ve got proof I’m wrong, buzzkill!).  So, when I come across a fantastic recipe for a meat dish that can be made at home, organically, quickly, I’m in.  Read the rest of this entry »

Simple Dollar Archives: Eating What You Have on Hand

Here’s one from the archives over at TheSimpleDollar.com – Trent has some great ideas (some inspired by a man I am a fan of, the NY Times Mark Bittman) on stretching your food dollars, saving time, AND eating healthier (most of these sound like Three Dollar Dinner ideas to me). Check them out at The Simple Dollar.

How to Eat Better

Eating better isn’t simpy a matter of selecting the least processed food you can find and afford as often as possible. It’s also about not feeling guilty or bad when you can’t or choose not to eat the most nutritious stuff.  While it might be a stretch to say that eating fast food or chemically treated fruits and vegetables all the time won’t kill you (it very well might), adding self-inflicted bad energy like guilt, fear, or anxiety on top of the physical toxins that these foods introduce into your body isn’t helping matters. Read the rest of this entry »