eat well spend less | Simple Bites

by Aimee on June 17, 2013 • 28 Comments Breakfast & Baked Goods

How to make soft whole wheat hot dog buns

June is the month when we air out our camping gear and study the calendar for the perfect weekend to pack up and spend a few days in nature.

Whether you are pitching a tent in the backyard or camping on a pebbly lake shore, cooking over an open fire is such a fun family experience. We generally stick to real food camping meals, but once in a while it’s fun to roast a sausage on a stick and wrap it in a soft bun. For our (mostly) whole foods family, this takes a bit of planning, but here’s how I prep for a cook-out.

We’ll go to a nearby farm we know of that sells lamb sausage, or we’ll pick up organic, all-beef hot dogs at our local market for the excursion, so finding whole-food sausage is fairly easily done. But then there is the problem of the buns, as I refuse to buy pasty, all-white buns that are filled with sugar and who knows what else. I’ll consume these at the occasional hockey game, but I sure am not stocking up on them for a camping trip.

Our local health food store sells some decent unprocessed hot dog buns, but they cost a pretty penny, and around here we’re all about eating well and spending less. In fact, it’s my theme for this post, along with summer food to go.

So, for the past two summers I’ve been making my hot-dog buns and they are so, so great. A bit of butter and an egg in the dough keeps them soft, buttermilk gives the buns a nice tangy flavor, and the whole wheat flour makes for a substantial roll that can hold up to the heftiest sausage.

Read on for the recipe and more suggestions for fireside meals.

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by Aimee on April 20, 2013 • 2 Comments Link Love

Weekend links

The last lump of icy snow melted yesterday as temperatures soared and a warm wind ushered spring through the door. Mateo and I discovered the first purple crocus and a carpet of tiny green ramps pushing up through the damp leaves of the forest floor.

We swept the last remnants of winter off of the deck, dusted off the folding chairs, and served dinner al fresco for the first time this year. It was glorious.

On this Earth Day weekend we have plans to sow the first seeds in the garden – peas, spinach, lettuce and radishes – as well as tidy the yard and build a bonfire. Are you planning to get out in nature at all?

I’ve got some weekend reading for you, in case you’re still relaxing with a coffee.

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by Aimee on April 15, 2013 • 37 Comments Menu Planning & Batch Cooking

12 ways to help you eat well and spend less (recipe: Buttermilk Dressing)

Two long years ago a small group of keen food bloggers kicked off our Eat Well, Spend Less series, led by Jessica of Life as Mom. The series focuses on ways to feed our growing families nourishing and totally delicious foods while still staying within a reasonable budget.

Eat Well, Spend Less was created with you, the reader, in mind, but it has helped me immensely as the posts have been published over the months. The series has whipped my spending into shape and helped me to build better habits in the kitchen.

Since we’ve made it this far, we thought it was appropriate to take a look back at where we’ve come and the topics we’ve covered. Today I’m highlighting the best tips that I’ve shared since the series’ conception.

The points are brief, yet contain links to the full article should you wish to read more on the subject. And don’t miss my favorite new salad dressing recipe at the bottom of the post.

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by Marisa on April 10, 2013 • 25 Comments Preserving

Preserving Spring: Spicy Pickled Asparagus

pickled asparagus Written by Marisa of Food in Jars.

When I was a brand new canner, pickled asparagus was one of my very first projects. Asparagus has long been one of my favorite vegetables and so, when it went on sale in mid-spring, I bought several bundles, consulted a multitude of cookbooks and set to work.

I quickly learned that pickling asparagus was a task well worth doing (particularly since commercial versions can cost as much as $12 a jar) and added it to my list of mandatory yearly recipes. I have since made at least 100 jars and every year, I still run out well before asparagus season arrives again.

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by Aimee on February 25, 2013 • 34 Comments Pantry & Spotlight Ingredients

Eat Well, Spend Less: A personal Q&A with 7 bloggers behind the series

My homesteader upbringing instilled in me a lifelong love of cooking from scratch, and this passion I feel privileged to, in turn, share with you here on Simple Bites.

Making many of my own foods such as preserves, soups, and condiments, instead of relying on the options provided by companies to feed my family, is a conscious choice and one that I feel is the absolute best for my family’s health. It’s not always easy to choose homemade pantry staples over grocery store convenience, but I take small steps and pick up speed as I gain experience.

It’s a journey away from processed foods and back to natural, simple ingredients. I know why I can my own food, I understand the importance of healthy food culture, and I’m happy to roll up my sleeves and put in some hours in the kitchen to benefit my family – and save some coin in the process.

We all know that no two kitchens, budgets, and dietary needs are alike, and so the fabulous food blogging mothers behind our Eat Well, Spend Less series have come together to share a handful of different perspectives on a series of questions related to EWSL.

Naturally, my question was on the subject of scratch cooking, and these girls gave some great answers. Hit the jump to read them all.

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