Cooking a $2 meal for my family of 6 | low income | from scratch meals
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 27 дек 2023
- My cheapest meal to date. Made with homegrown ingredients to help cut the costs, though this would still be a rather low cost meal if you had to purchase the vegetables. I hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday season friends! It will be so exciting to dive head first into the New Year with the perspective of plodding and taking each day as it comes.
The Patreon Community will be going live in the New Year, with the recipes used in this video. I will share with you my favorite basic yeast French bread with the hopes that it will give our new bakers in the community the courage to step out and try their hand at the delicious world of home baked goods.
The building of our community that encourages one another in their journey of living frugally and intentionally makes my heart burst with joy. There’s no more learning on your own if don’t want to ♥️ click the link below if you’d like to join!
www.patreon.com/TheProductive...
Amazon links:
DOWAN Baking Dish: amzn.to/47N0dxh
Candle: amzn.to/3RyGMTe
Redmond Salt: amzn.to/3RjtEA9
Apron: amzn.to/4aGafSz
Business inquiries: theproductivehomemaker.com
Wish to send a card or letter with your story?
P.O. Box 363
Mannington WV 26582
Find The Productive Homemaker on Facebook & Instagram!
#lowincome #budgetcooking #frugalliving #cheapmeals #daveramsey #frugalmom #poverty #recession #daveramseybabysteps #homesteadtessie #threeriverschallenge #cookingfromscratch #cooking
“As ingredients start to dwindle, creativity can shine”. You should copyright that sentence.
Simply beautiful!😊
Maybe I can put it on a mug 🤔
I’m assuming cream/milk and/or meat broth was in the soup
Plus cheese on the bread
Ya gotta have something to make that miracle meal out of lol
Dairy n meat are hard to keep in the fridge w/low $
@@TheProductiveHomemakeryes!
@@YeshuaKingMessiah You could easily omit the cream and cheese. I make squash soup often and never put cream in it, it doesn't really need it. As for the chicken stock - you could always substitute with a stock cube or two, though you won't get the same nutrition from it.
Chicken stock is easy to make from bones leftover from a meal. Just bring to the boil and then simmer on low heat for an hour. Turn off the heat and let it cool - this way it continues to cook for long enough to develop flavour. That's what I do anyway. Money is tight here as well so I do what I can to make ends meet.
I come from a family of 11. My father supported us by fixing appliances - dishwashers, dryers, and so on. Parents were Depression kids - they knew the value of a dollar and how to live without material wealth. One of the greatest gifts they passed on was happiness is possible with very little money.
That is a blessing that continues to give ♥️
@Fiftynine414 ~ from family of 8, similar here. I think those of us who had depression era and WW11 era parents and grandparents learned more about the importance of necessities - wholesome food, a warm, clean home, clothes, and Economy!👍🏼 That's what it was all about.😊
Absolutely it’s all about attitude and knowing what is important in Life God and Family for me and I pray that I never change that part of myself and in fact grow stronger in my faith and trust and love
These turnips are already around 6 pounds here…the kitchen already does not look like a low income family low middle class I will say
@@TheProductiveHomemaker I have a suggestion ... to cut those squash/pumpkins I never use a knife, the squash are too tough and it can be dangerous to try to cut them with a sharp knife!!! I use one of those cheap little saws from a pumpkin carving kit you get around Halloween time. I poke a hole with the saw and just "saw," letting the saw do the work instead of me exerting much energy with my wrists and it's MUCH less dangerous, those saws don't "slip" like a knife can.
I also bought a keyhole saw for about $5 and I think that will work too!
Actually ---- if I'm making soup, I never cut the butternut squash! I just poke them (like a potato) and bake them whole at about 400 degrees for about an hour. Works just great. I cut, peel and scoop them after they cool down a bit.
Roasted squash and onion soup topped with a dollop of sour cream and nutmeg ..a small green salad ... fresh bread ... has been a weekly fall and winter staple meal in our home for 42 years. Its nourishing and filling. ❤
Oh yum! I’ll add that next time 😊
Being able to have bread & pasta is a blessing ppl don’t begin to fathom
🙋🏼♀️🇦🇺
Jerusalem artichoke soup is also very delicious and if you have started growing them in your garden you will have them forever!
It sounds yummy. I don't have homegrown squash so store-bought will be used this time. Planning patio garden for this year
I grew up in an orphanage where there was no one to teach me the skills that you teach so gracefully. Thank you from my heart to yours.
God bless you ✨
May God bless you and give you comfort in life, in JESUS Mighty Name. Stay safe!
I grew up with a mom who struggled with mental illness so she was there but she was checked out most of the time. She did not cook. My way to show my children love was to learn how to cook and offer them amazing homemade meals. Now they all have discerning pallets. Boxed meal what??? Never!
Hello, I wanted to say that we all have one true Father. Our Father in heaven. His Son Jesus is the door to the Father. Jesus is the Truth the Way and the Life no one goes to the Father except through Him. NO Other way! No new age "we all are god" teaching is going to get us into heaven. Only recognizing God the Father and receiving His Son as our Savior will we be in eternity in a new physical body (at the resurrection of the dead and the rapture) for eternity and that is meant by not dying, This life will come to an end but trust and belief in Jesus will allow us to have a new eternal life with the Lord without a second death.
I feel like I’m listening in on a mother from 1823 not 2023.
You are such a lovely woman.
Her mannerism and the way she conducts herself is so incredibly rare and refreshing.
@@susansmith493 Yes. Calm, peaceful, self-assured, yet humble. The perfect antidote for this chaotic time. 🥰
@@greenbyrd3665 So very true.
This is so True n WOW saves us money
You‘ve nailed it!
If you roast bones in the oven until they start to brown (425F for about 30 min) before using them to make broth, the broth will be much more flavorful 😊
Ty!
Yes. Bones from grilled chiken, add carrot, potatoe, celery, parsley, burnt onion for aroma ....add some fidelini pasta (tiny soup pasta et voila)
@@natasamladenovic1765 *Potato.
Thank you! I will try this!
As a single working mother, I had to live very frugally for many years. Things got better and then got worse again. After being forced into early retirement due to health issues, I have had to relearn how to be frugal. Truly enjoy your sentimental thoughts and recipes.
I'm a young mother, just shy of 30. My husband works and I stay home with our three year old daughter, currently 8 months pregnant with our son. I was raised by a single father who didn't cook or clean or anything really. I had no female role models, and am just learning how to be a homemaker from my own strong will and desire to learn.
Love your videos, was here when you only had a few hundred subscribers. So pumped to see how quickly your channel is growing. You deserve it! Great channel, no BS, just pure genuine intentions to teach.
❤ Cadence, the Cajun from South Louisiana
I had the same upbringing as you. I'm so thankful for RUclips channels like these as I've learned so much about homemaking and at 36 I have learned how to bless my husband and our 4 boys with home cooked meals and a clean cozy house.
I got married young in 1979. I didn’t know a thing about keeping a home or feeding a family but I learned. I made many mistakes but eventually I learned how to cook. How to keep a home and all the rest of managing a life. You will as well. I have no doubt that in ten years you will look back at this time and wish you could remember every detail. Best of luck. Congratulations on your new family member. Happy 2024!
@@user-ds6jv1om7n I’m a 24 year old man. Raised by single mother. Had no male role model figure in my life. Learned how to take care of myself on my own. Everything’s fine now. We can learn, if we want to
-Nordin
It is very impressive that you are striving to make a wonderful life for your young family. Being a good homemaker is very rewarding and learning to do so can be a lot of fun. I wish you all the best.
Sounds like your lazy ass father taught you to take on everything, including a dead weight male. Good luck to you. May you know your incredible, inherent worth.
I've always told my daughters (and students) that if something is worth doing, it's worth doing BADLY until you can do it WELL, so get out there and MAKE A MESS AND LEARN!
My husband told our newly we'd daughter (who keep ordering pizzas) to follow directions on boxes for her to cook . He said that's how he learned.
I love this, my anxious perfectionism paralyzes me.
This comment is gold. I've always held and practised this belief. Some folks criticise people who are just starting out or in their process of learning saying they should stop since they're so bad at it. Life is all about learning and making mistakes, and no one learns or becomes good at something unless they make mistakes, or messes if one is learning to cook / bake / make art or other stuff.
Yep I always say Betty Crocker taught me how to cook.
One thing I do that my kids always loved was to roast the squash seeds in a little olive oil and salt . You can garnish the soup to give it a crunch or have them as a snack 😊
Yum....and they are really good for you.
My husband will happily eat any meal I make when there is homemade bread or rolls to go with it!
Same here 😄
One major thing that's helped keep our grocery bill in check is weekly menu planning
And sticking to a list
Make a menu according to what you already have in your pantry/freezer then use your grocery budget for the week/bi-week/month to shop the sales adds to stock up.
@@MaxsMom-bv6hf Brilliant! Thank you!
I keep meeting people who make a meal plan to avoid overspending but yet one still has to be able to buy the food to make meals. Currently it is almost impossible for many to be able to do this . Every month, sometimes weekly ingredients go up in price. I’m thinking community gardens and nutritional education plus community outreach will be necessary in 2024 . Let’s all be kind and helpful to the humans around us this year .
@@loriburgess1866 I *love* the community garden idea!!
It’s so nice to hear somebody speak simply and clearly in a video. It really does make a difference.
My parents were immigrants from Europe so my family grew up growing a vast amounts of vegetables. It definitely helped feed our family. My mom cooked everything from scratch. We were a low income family but somehow my parents never struggled putting food on the table. Cooking from scratch is not only economical but much more healthy. Thank you for sharing.
Great videos….reminds me of my granny’s….I learned a lot of these at…70 years old. By remembering granny’s ways and moms and lots of you tubes. Took up canning at 73..and really into baking bread at 75…believe it or not…lol
This is so motivating to hear as sometimes I get frustrated that I’m only learning these things in my ‘40’s. I’ve learned to make bread and have had varying successes with gardening but I haven’t got around to canning yet (at least partially because it scares me). I was just telling my Dad today that I wish I had been able to learn these things from my Grandma but I didn’t get a chance because she died when I was really young.
I’m so glad I stumbled across your videos! I am a single mother and a single income. Last year (2023) was extremely difficult and we barely kept a roof over our heads. I lost my car and fell deep into debt. We ended the year with hospital bills after my daughter was in icu for 8 days. All that to say, this year I am changing our lifestyle and need inspiration. It inspires me to watch you do something with so little. Thank you for your sweet faith and great ideas!
Good luck, hope it gets better ❤️
You can do it! Just throw everyone’s opinion of worldly needs out the window! Start getting creative. Cut the tv subscriptions if you have any and go to the park and play with the kiddos in lieu of movies. Library story time and Sunday school are great events to get into a regular schedule for things to look forward too. 🙏
Dear lady! I have years on welfare and disability. Reach out to RUclips, there are some excellent channels here for you. Please don't be afraid! Check out any Newfoundland cooking channels, THIS channel, Depression Era cooking channels...Deep breath, you can keep you and the kids healthy!
I wish you a better 2024 for you and yours
I’m always surprised by the fact that United States doesn’t have free healthcare. It’s absurd.
Okay, seriously.
1. Why is this lovely person not on a food channel showing people what actual COOKING is? She is adorable, knows her way around the kitchen and she is so down to earth and understands that cooking is not about being perfect all the time or putting expensive ingredients on top of each other just to flex on social media...
2. Why is she only at 29k subscribers? These are the type of channels that deserve hundreds of thousands of subscribers! She is putting all the work in herself, she is filming it by herself, she does the voiceover, and I am willing to bet a large amount of money she does all the editing as well with no outside help whatsoever and don't forget, family of 6. She literally had her baby on her back when she was making the chicken pot pie recipe.
I subscribed after watching the first video
Agreed
She's not for everyone. Her voice is surgery and a little grating.
Okay I subscribed
I would have liked a recipe for the bread
I'm 67 years old and in those years I have found that a pinch of nutmeg will elevate any pumpkin and squash soups recipes ...It's old school I know but try it you will be pleasantly surprised. It won't taste like pie or anything...in a savory application it's subtle but delicious.
Trust me, you are no "dumbbunnie" LOL! Nutmeg is the bomb in sweet and savory.
@@optimystic1282..I'm not tech savvy and I asked my teenaged neice to help her dumbbunnie Aunt to set up an email account...so she did and I have no idea how to change the name...lol!
If old school advice is wanted, Laramie probably appreciates that. She’s definitely old school and such a blessing. 🙂
I love any tips shared in the comments ♥️ and all of you lovely people sharing them!
Nutmeg is great when cooking hardy greens too
Congratulations on monetization of your RUclips account! I hope all the extra income can bring you a larger food budget and more extravagant meals for your amazing family. Stay blessed 🙌
I think this meal is delicious and fresh from scratch, if we have a meal we should be thankful. A lot people around the world don't have absolutely nothing to eat. I came from a family of 9 and my dad work at the forest cutting trees to feed us, and its okay. Pray and do your work and God always will provide. Jesus Christ loves all of us 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
"A-lot-of-people....don't-have-absolutely-nothing-to-eat."---You-just-said-that-lots-of-people-have-plenty-to-eat-because-you-used-a-(HUGE!)-double-negative.
More-appropriate-to-say-that-some-people-have-nothing-to-eat..(and-that-is-not-an-"absolute").
I love it when my algorithm sends me videos and channels like yours! This was such a relaxing video, which I really need right now! And now you have a new subscriber! 😊
Hot homemade soup and bread is the perfect winter supper...it warms both body and soul!
I always have a large 10 lb bag of rice, same for flour and bags of dried beans of different types. I dont care for corn bread but make biscuits. Beans or rice or both make wonderful soups. These will stretch your budget. Always buy the big 5 lb bags of frozen veggies. Never throw meat bones away. Freeze them to add to your soup. Put bones in muslin bag and crack them before adding to the pot. It allows the marrow to make broth. We grew up not going to stores but for very basics.
Got a free turkey at Thanksgiving, made a deep slow cooked turkey broth, made White turkey chili with it today - wow such great flavor
I envy the skills you have - and I'm not just talking about your cooking or gardening skills. I grew up with a severely mentally ill, single mother. Not only did I never get to learn basic skills like cooking, cleaning, and gardening... but I didn't even get to learn basic organizational skills, or even mental health, or coping skills. Now I am a stay at home mother looking to provide a more stable environment for my 4 little boys... but I get SO overwhelmed in the kitchen. The constant distraction, the frustration, the shame... the kitchen is the worst place in the house for me because it highlights everything that I think I should know already, but don't. And I'm 37 years old - I'm not a struggling newlywed anymore. I envy the picture of serenity, and purpose you paint in these videos.
You can do it. Start with simple recipes. Get yourself a 4 or 5 day, supper/dinner, meal plan, and work on it. When you feel you have it down, add another meal to the rotation. You said your boys are young, so don't make it fancy....soups, stew, chili, casseroles....keep it simple. Breakfast will be easy....pancakes, French toast, oatmeal. Your Littles will think you're a gourmet chef! Blessings.
When I was overwhelmed I would roast a chicken in my crockpot surrounded by potatoes every week. That night I’ll put the bones back in the crock pot for broth. We would make soup from that broth and also cook rice with the broth. We would do spaghetti another night. That’s 4 meals. 😊. The Lord gently leads those with young children. Ask him for help, step by step. ❤
You’ve got this. Everything can be learned, and the fact that you’re here shows that you are open to learning new skills. Accept imperfection. Nobody is born knowing these skills. If you weren’t taught them, that’s not your fault.
For cooking, maybe start with a simple set of recipes you can rotate through. Spaghetti, nachos, tuna casserole, tomato soup and grilled cheese, Mac and cheese, soup beans and cornbread - whatever your family likes. There is comfort in knowing that if it’s Wednesday, it’s spaghetti night (or whatever). The consistency of a simple rotation will help you with organizing. We also had a smorgasbord night when I was a kid that was really just a leftover night.
You don’t have to be a gourmet or bake your own bread to be a good stay at home mom. Apple slices are a great snack for kids after school. It does not have to be fancy. There is no shame in partly-homemade and store bought bread as an option. Do what you can with what you’ve got and that includes your current skill set. After all, fed is best. Maybe just aim to learn one new skill each month. Maybe this month you want to learn a simple sugar cookie recipe. Next month, a homemade tomato soup, the following month - how to make your own chicken stock and the next month, how to cook pinto beans from dried beans. Some day you might want to try bread making, and maybe you just won’t. I’m not good at it and I don’t enjoy it. I prefer making flatbreads. You will find what works for you. Whatever skill seems most important to learn next, focus on that.
Remember that cooking is chemistry and chemists learn by experimenting and failing. It’s okay to cook something over and over again until you improve the results. It’s also okay to alter recipes to suit your family’s preferences. It’s okay to have fun and experiment and let family feedback guide you on whether today’s experiment was a keeper or not.
As far as nutrition is concerned, Canada has a free food guide you can use for how to balance your meals. You can Google it. It changes from time to time based on current science.
Besides this channel, Frankie Celenza at Struggle Meals on RUclips has great recipes from easy to quite complex and they are all budget friendly. His approach is lighthearted and a bit whacky. Southern frugal mamma has some good cooking videos - particularly her older ones. But don’t believe her that putting pasta in cold water before it has boiled is okay. Your pasta will turn out starchy and kind of gummy that way. See Mindy Mom is another RUclips channel that does easy and affordable recipes. There’s loads of channels out there that offer simple recipes. This channel is lovely and inspiring but baking bread, growing your own food and living outside of the city is aspirational for most women I know.
Don’t compare your life to women on Facebook Insta or RUclips. You do you, boo. You’re learning and growing and on the journey of life and that’s wonderful. Your journey is your own.
I didn’t learn to cook anything from scratch till I was in my late 40s. I left home without any homemaking skills either. You’re coping better than you think. Never be ashamed to ask others for tips and tricks. Anyone who shames you for not knowing is saying more about their own personality and failure at being helpful to another human being than about your lack of skills. Find people who are willing to share their learnings. Maybe even an older woman mentor. I wish we had something like the Women’s Institute (UK) in North America but RUclips University and your local church’s women’s groups are there as resources.
Good luck, friend! You can do it! 💖
YOU can do this Nicole..how about cook once eat twice meaning if you make meatloaf, mashed potatoes make double the meatloaf and mashed potatoes and freeze the extra if you do this a couple times a week you will have freezer meals..you can make a no knead bread in just a couple hours that requires very few ingredients and heavy oven safe pot with a lid ..cookies (make a double batch) you can make and freeze the dough or bake and freeze do you have a quick desert …try to focus on one task at a time..make sure to get some me time..if you enjoy baths have your husband watch the kids and take a bubble bath or add some calming essential oils to the bath water..drink chamomile tea before bed to relax you. HUGS..
You have found a community here Nicole. We will help and root you on as you learn to do the skills you want. You are not alone in never being taught how to do these things, I can personally attest to that. But one little step at a time, one day at a time, it will get easier. And your little boys will be so grateful for their momma who did the hard thing to learn new skills. You can do it ♥️♥️
Hello, I'm a Mauritian Woman living in France. I love your videos , you are such a really productive homemaker. Your husband is a very lucky man and your children must be very happy to have a mother like you. ! Marie
I am in awe of you. I am comfortable now but it has not always been this way. I love how you have not only embraced your circumstances but also used them to help others. You deserve every success that comes your way
This might sound weird but I love watching people cooking, the relaxing sounds of frying, boiling, cutting vegetables, just makes me want to cook right now 🙂 when you said grab a drink snack and cook with me. That is nice to bring in the your subscribers with that esthetic feel
My garden didn't produce a lot of squash this year, but my friend's did. So we traded veggies. Received 10 large squash, different varieties. I also get apples in the fall which I can as apple sauce.
We had 2 pear trees. I used pears to make many different dishes. Pear sauce, pear pie etc. Another way to use pears or apples is dehydrating. Pear chips are delicious as are apple chips. You can readily find recipes for all natural fruit roll ups too.. You will have almost zero waste by dehydrating. For years, I would even boil down the cores and peels and freeze them in ziplocs for my deer hunting friends.
@@SilentNoMore64 2023 must have been the year for pears. I received a bushel of pears. I gave them away, canned them and ate pears every day.
I've been watching you for z while. Are "you" below the poverty level? If so. Your clean house proves what I've said since childhood....just because youre poor doesn't mean you have to be messy. I grew up with 13 sibling. Dirt poor, but didn't know ot till jr. High.
A seriously delicious topping for this type of soup is a tablespoon of cranberry sauce. I thought it sounded crazy but it’s wonderful. I always have some left after thanksgiving. I make squash soup all the time, a family favorite.
Excellent idea! I need to try this!!
Toasting the seeds in olive oil ,butter and garlic powder makes a great topping for the soup as well.
Topping, sour cream too.
@@david-nt3cz ...or creme fresh, but then you'd be getting into a pricey ingredient.
@@dumbbunnie123 true. Or Greek yogurt
I cook from scratch and have my garden.
The difference in taste IMHO cannot compare and KNOWING what is in my food I feel good about. Yes, the garden baking canning and dehydrating is labor and time intensive at first but the reward is well worth the effort. I am a retired ICU RN LIVING ON SOCIAL SECURITY and we'll below the poverty line. My freezer and refrigerator are full as is my belly. Funny but I believe that KNOWING the work and care I have put into our food makes it taste all the better.
I think you’re right, the labor of love that homegrown and homemade food makes it all taste so much better ☺️
Thank you for taking on this role to keep your family healthy. About 70% of our food is now highly processed and unhealthy for human consumption. That is why so many people have digestive diseases, cancer, arthritis, diabetes and heart disease among other issues. Our life expectancy is on the way down. Many of my friends likely think I am a little crazy for growing an organic garden and making everything from scratch, but I refuse to eat food that is highly processed and full of very harmful chemicals. Money doesn’t buy happiness. It only provides security and freedom to do what you want. You are teaching your children the right way to live and it is very admirable.❤
You need to become a writer. You turn everyday life into poetry through language. I am very impressed and enjoyed by your videos! Keep up the good work.
Wow, it is so nice to find this refreshing channel. So many YT channels portraying a "slow & simple life" are also not a portraying an entirely REALISTIC life. Thank you for keeping it real!! 🧡💛
You’re so kind! I’m glad you’re enjoying our content ☺️
This is so beautiful!! One of the things that's paramount to making this work, is the support of the family unit. Knowing you have to use what you have on hand, being grateful for that food and not complaining that it's not what you're in the mood for.
Some families fight and stress over this concept. The wife does what she can to make a delicious and nutritional meal, yet the spouse complains, and worse, goes to shop for other foods. Thus making the financial difficulties worse, because money that should go towards bills, are being used to cater to the spouse's indulgence of appetite.
This wonderful video reminds me of the "More with Less" cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre, originally published in 1976. This peaceful video encouraged me to chop up some not-so-fresh vegetables in my pantry for soup rather than preparing something more expensive.
I love the recipes in that book. My mom passed, and one of my sisters took a lot of things.
I still have my later copy. Isn't that the cookbook that joked a church potluck could almost set up three tables for the food: cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, and cream of celery. That still makes me laugh.
More with Less is one of my favorite cookbooks . Love the stories also. I have Extending the table & Living more with less . Both are by the same author.
That was my first cookbook and I still read it! Every person should have it. It also gives you a sense of gratitude that no matter what happens, people in the US are fortunate!!!
I’m a homemaker in my fifties. I am so happy to see a young woman like you who values the true family values and does such a great job! Love all your videos.
New subscriber here. I enjoy watching your magic with food. I have commented a couple of times sharing with you how I grew up poor, but in reality I had a whole lot more than many people. Your voice is so comforting and beautiful. I think you should do voice over for books.
Love your sweet demeanor and expertise in passing along your knowledge on how to feed a family so well on love, sacrifice and hard work. My parents divorced when I, the youngest, was five. There were three of us girls, mom lost a son at birth in-between first and third baby. She wasn't trained to work outside the home (back in the 50's-70's women were valued as homemakers). My mom was disinherited for marrying my dad and then my dad left my mom for another, younger woman. He never paid a cent in child support, so we lived extremely frugal. I remember sitting in the classroom at school all morning smelling the home made food they used to cook at school as it wafted down the halls. Never had a school hot lunch, no free lunches back then. Got one new pair of shoes each fall, with front soles flapping by the time school let out for Summer. We sometimes found a box of used clothes on our porch. And then the smell of a pot of beans or split pea soup almost every night. I made sure to prepare myself for raising kids, just in case. The first in my family to achieve 7 years of college and make $100K per year, Now I am retired, alone and grow a garden and fruit trees. Make my own soap too. We live and learn and hopefully have the gumption to make positive changes for our futures and those futures for our children. I have one daughter, a doctor, a daughter and son who are Nurses. After all, we don't need a weatherman to tell us the wind is blowing.
cooking from scratch is the best thing I've done for myself and my family. All the fast food and processed items found in grocery stores is crazy - not very healthy either! You can live well with food and cheaper than you may think, if you learn to cook. If you have access to a garden - grow some vegetables - you won't regret it!
You have a very soothing and calm voice! An excellent story teller.
I would wake up hungry in the middle of the night from this little food at dinner...
Love love some pumpkin/squash soup with fresh bread and butter! Thank you! God bless all!
Wow. You are such a breath of fresh air. I've been binge watching your videos and I absolutely LOVE your spirit. You're so down to earth, humble and relatable. Wishing you much success on your channel❤
Living frugally and purposefully is my mantra for 2024. Thank you for sharing your content. This was beautifully done
When my granddaughter is with me I always cook and bake with her. I tell her it’s important for everyone to learn how to cook and bake because it helps us take care of our families. Butternut squash soup is one of my favorites. I started adding an apple to it and use nutmeg. Yours looks so yummy.
I make a yummy roasted butternut soup with cilantro, onion, ginger root, turmeric, 1 peeled Granny Smith apple, a jalapeño, a can of coconut milk/ cream and some curry powder and blend.
Simple, delicious, warming, nourishing food to fill tummies for next to nothing, but your time. Time well spent. 😊
Can I just say how perfect this whole video is?? The soft calming music that is just noticeable without drowning out your voice. The wonderful information that is presented so simply to understand and follow. Your take on life and to make thought out, purposeful decisions. Your delicious soup made from what you have available. I couldn't possibly name everything about this video that I love. Thank you for this and may God bless you in everything you do ❤
I watch the ads for you, just saying! You are a true delight, you are so welcoming and so real and make me feel inspired. Soooo glad I found you. The others are right, you deserve hundreds of thousands of subscribers!!!
Paper plates and parchment paper… luxury items
And silicon baking sheets....
Yum! Homemade bread and soup is my perfect autumn/winter meal.
I love watching you cook! Your commentary in a calm, soothing voice is so compelling. Thank you for sharing your skills and wisdom. Happy 2024!
Your meal shows Gods blessings. Never to be dismissed 😢. I don’t understand the fascination with sourdough bread. Give me a good four ingredient recipe that turns into soft insides and a crust that taste like heaven.
Sourdough is easier to digest
"As ingredients start to dwindle, creativity can shine." I just love that so much. Both my parents are great cooks, and for my dad especially it's a passion - he cooks like his mother, my Nana - no recipes, no measuring, just a lifetime of experience and love. For whatever reason, I seem to have emerged from the womb begging to learn how to cook, so he taught me how to scramble eggs by age 4, make tuna casserole by 5, bake bread by 7, and I gained experience from there. I am so incredibly grateful for that background. Being able to cook up a nourishing meal from simple, inexpensive ingredients is one of the most comforting and empowering things, and I know it's not easy for everyone, especially if you didn't grow up doing it. I love seeing this renaissance in frugal, simple living and home cooking, and helping others learn these essential and empowering skills. Even when times are hard, if you have the ability to make a lot from just a little, it's such a blessing. Thanks for sharing. You've inspired me to bake some bread today. :)
This lady is such a calming delightful presence to listen to. I really like her ideas in the fact that she’s using squash or a small pumpkin. It is so underrated and so good for you. She is to cooking what dee dee Tibbetts is to music.
Patience, discipline and consistency, thank you for the reminder.
Your food looks so yummy. Ty for meals you prepare. As a single person, my food budget is between 10 and 20 dollars a week . Ty for showing me how to eat for less, I'd love more content from you.😊
Love your channel so much! You're a bright light in our world. Prayers for you and yours. 😊
Very beautifully said all the way through I'm now close to 60 and I have lived without and I've been told I can make a great meal with almost nothing. My mother died at age 9 so everything I needed to learn I had to figure out. I was married age 15 a mother at 18. Everything you have said I've lived you just have the right words to say thankyou
Keep the content coming. I am loving it. It is so refreshing to see someone with common sense. Happy new year to you and your family!
I just stumbled across your channel, and I'm wondering how on earth I never saw it before! You are right up my alley! I get so much encouragement from listening to other mamas and homemakers. Your video was so clear, concise, calm and collected, I love your format. Very happy to be a new subscriber!
You're embracing the old ways. My family were masters at it. I feel blessed to have had this example.
A lovely, quiet and useful moment....
I grew up below the poverty line. My dad hunted, that’s how we got our meat, everything else they grew. We were very fortunate to have food on the table every night. Some nights it was just potatoes (as our meat) and veggies but it was still good. I still go back to those old dinners as an adult. We have been strapped this past year for payment plans due to medical issues so I make a lot of meals that carry us through several days. Your dinner looks delicious.
I LOVE homemade bread. I started exclusively making the bread we eat a couple years ago and it's so fulfilling to know that I can provide nourishing sourdough bread for my family any time I want. I've also ground my own wheat berries to make an even more nourishing meal. My mother in law gave me her grinder that she used when my husband was younger. I have been so thankful for it. I just love a good homemade bread with soup. It's one of my favorite meals during the cold months. Such a simple blessing, but so cozy.
I just found your channel a little while ago-Your videos are very positive and calming- Thank you for that....its getting harder to find these days. Prayers.
I agree 100%. Never has my family been so healthy as when we were on a very austere budget. You need to put much thought into the meals and it is great!
I so agree about the bread making journey, in the winter it is such a creative outlet for me to make all sorts of things with basic bread dough. We have progressed from buying 5 pizzas every Friday night to making our own from scratch. My husband does the base and I do the toppings and the pizzas are 1000x better. I found you when you had 500 subscribers, I am so happy to see your success. You are wise beyond your years and I am so happy your have started Patreon, I am looking forward to joining ❤
You are doing something important. They are putting a lot of harmful chemicals in our food. I have even begun to see WARNING LABELS on back of food packages!!!
I’m starting to see that too and thought I was going crazy!
I agree. More chemical then ingredients these days.
Yep. I thought tinned goods, ( tinned tomatoes, for instance) were OK. ... then I started checking the labels...
It's crazy when you learn that most American foods are banned outside of North America. So many ingredients are illegal to use in foods where I now live, in the UK. I've mostly gone back to my WV roots and try to mostly cook from scratch, not only because it's cheaper, but because it's just better for us. I love making a simple lot of soup beans (pintos, most often) and from scratch cornbread. Wholesome, simple, filling food.
Wow, I haven’t seen warnings on food 😮
I just love to hear you talk and tell your stories.
I was mesmerized. Thank you.
This was lovely. I can't wait to make this soup! Thank you and Happy New Year to you and your family.
Such hope that you are giving me!
I absolutely love the camera angle and eloquent commentary of this video! The music and visuals are so relaxing! ❤
I'm so glad I found your channel. Your voice is so soothing. The times are hard for us all. Nice to see new views on saving money. Thanks, Happy New Year to you and yours!
Wow, so many things you said sounds like my life!
I kept having dreams that would wake me up about needing to make yeast bread from scratch and during the day I kept having this uneasy urgency felling to make the bread as well so in November of 2019 I made yeast bread from scratch and I hated it at first because I kept comparing myself to every other bread maker and as you said in the video it takes time and patience.
Then COVID 19 happened and you couldn't buy bread at the store anymore and now I know why I kept having all the anxiety to make yeast bread! I make all my breads still from scratch and we buy organic hard white wheat in a 25 lb bag online, this bag last me a little over a month.
Two of the biggest lessons I learned about making yeast breads was knowing that the altitude you live in will affect your bread recipe and the changing weather can change your recipe by a little or a lot each time you make bread so I always have extra warm water and more flour handy when I make yeast breads!
We make most of our meals from scratch as well. We don't have any farm animals yet but Lord willing we will soon. As you talked about sacrificing we did as well! We are in a better living situation and own our own land now and make steps all the time to be as self sufficient as possible which helps you to save a lot of money. We teach these lessons to our kids.
Making our own meals from scratch allows us to eat high quality food and we have more money to spend on it because I mainly buy ingredients such as whole foods instead of prepared package meals and I look at all the ingredients labels so I am not buying anything with unhealthy ingredients!
It is really nice to see someone else having the same thought process about these things. Take care!
P.S.
A few reasons I only use organic hard white wheat flour is I don't have to worry about chemicals and pesticides in my flour that I feed to my family. It's whole grain so it is better for you, I have hypoglycemia and all-purpose flour isn't whole grain and it messes with my blood sugar levels. Hard white wheat flour can be used in place of all-purpose flour and it works great in yeast breads, quick breads, pie crusts, desserts, flat breads etc. It's naturally white, neutral in flavor, and it's not as dense as hard red wheat flour.
Sadly hard white wheat flour is an amazing unknown flour to most Americans. The main reason for this is because we are told over and over again by people who are supposed to be experts in nutrition and health that all white grains are bad! This is a lie since there are a few naturally occurring white or off white whole grains out there!
Edit: For clarification
It is interesting you mention dreaming of being prepared and an urgency to learn new skills and be prepared before you even knew why. Me too. I still dream of future necessities. I would almost call these dreams anxiety producing .
I try not to watch the fear inducing mainstream news channels and instead do what I can to a joyful heart . Planning ahead in all areas of life is the key to feeling less anxious for me . Remembering our parents, grandparents and great grandparents when though rough, uncomfortable, times and did a good job, gives me hope we can do the same for our own families.
@@loriburgess1866 Hi, I like the truth of what you said.
Such an inspiring video. Watching it while having my morning. Coffee has really started my day off right today. Thank you.😊
Happy new year, and wishing your family, and everyone here, many blessings in the new year. ❤
You are truly an old soul. Thank you for the gentle wisdom you share… ❤️
I love squash soup. It is hardy and warming. We usually had corn bread in our family because my Mother was not a bread baker. If she wanted to bake bread she bought frozen bread dough in a bag. I make soda bread. It’s easy, can be flavored with lots of herbs or left over shredded cheese. There are lots of recipes on line. I use Paul Hollywood’s as my base. Thank you so much for the dinner idea. I think I will make some for New Years.
Hello! This is one of my favorite channels now! I love your approach to cooking, and I am looking forward to learning and growing with this community. All the best, and thank you for sharing your experience.
What a beautiful message ❤
I love the simple clothing you have chosen for making the video. It looks comfortable and in keeping with your simple way of life. I find the thing most valuable in living a satisfying life is gratitude for what one has, just as it is. Another is curiosity. I love learning how to do things better, and you have referred to that in your bread baking comments. Very satisfying to improve the skills I already have and learn some new ones.
The thing is, you say it's low income...
But then the kitchen it's cooked in is out of reach for so many low income people.
People just put too much emphasis on income, it's not really capturing what you think it is.
Thanks for watching!
Most "low income" people have a kitchen, or at least a table and some cooking implements. There's a difference between "low income" and "homeless".
I enjoyed listening to you so much today. Your supper looked so delicious. I am encouraged to dive in and start making bread lots more often. Thanks for the lovely video.
Beautiful ! Thank you ❤
So calming🙂
Thank you for another video featuring a frugal and delicious meal. You make it look so easy. Your gentle manner is soothing. I love to listen to you before I sleep. Take care, Linda 🦋
I’m glad to see your comment Linda. I continue to prayer for you and your husband. I hope he is doing well ♥️
@@TheProductiveHomemaker He's doing well. Thank you for the prayers. ❤️
Always enjoy watching you cook and listening to your sound advice. Merry Christmas to your family and may God bless you all richly this new year and always. Proverbs 15:15.
Such wisdom from such a young woman!
Thank you for all generosity , Quebec, Canada
Thank you for your inspiration and ideas. You sound like you'd appreciate another way to stretch your money and enhance nutrition. You may already know this. Your squash seeds, baked and salted, is not only a yummy snack but high in protein. I use a colander, run the seeds under water to separate the strings from the seeds. It gets easier and faster with practice and now I find no big deal. Then I pat dry with a towel. The seeds will stick but just brush off with your fingers. Using a towel is challenging so next time I'm going to just drain off the water and go ahead let the oven dry the seeds out. s. Then pour out the seeds on a baking dish lined with parchment paper, salt and bake at 350 degrees. Watch closely so they don't burn. They only take a few minutes. Take out and salt again. You and your family will fight over the bowl. (and the treat is free!)
Your storytelling is beautiful! I’m so glad I came across your channel the other day I’m a stay at home mom of 4 I look for the most positive channels I can when I get free time to watch some, I always cook homemade meals , I’ve never made butternut squash soup, I cook a whole chicken like you do and can’t broth I also shredd it and freeze for upcoming meals to stretch
Well welcome to our community! I’m so glad you’re here. ♥️♥️
Thank you so much ❣ Your videos are a true gift. And your wisdom is without price. 🙏
First time here. I really enjoyed your story along with the squash soup and French bread demonstration. Looks absolutely Devine. I am so glad you bring awareness to all of the unnecessary Ingredients in store bought bread to make it last longer that plays havoc with our bodies hormones etc. . I had to subscribe when I heard you bring prayer into the conversation. Education and promoting gardening along with cooking/baking is absolutely a win win in my book!
GOD Bless you and yours 🙏🏽
I just came across your channel. I absolutely love it. You are amazing and very captivating ❤❤❤❤❤
I love to watch you cook those delicious meals and enioy the narrative you give. It makes it so peaceful to watch. I think you should write a book😊 This senior thinks you are wise beyond your years. Blessings from your North Carolina friend❤
You are so kind, thank you!!
I love your simplicity for the meals but such love went into each detail.💞
Thank you ❤