Garden Snacks?

[eldirector]

In an effort to continually minimize our ever increasing grocery bill, I am looking to get even more out of our garden. Right now, I'm on a mission to find medium-term storage "snack" solutions. By medium-term, I mean something that will last in storage until I the next growing season. By "snacks", I mean between meal, grab-a-handful, bag-o-chips replacements.

As an example: right now I can a lot of pickles. They store well for a year or more. They also are great as a "side" to a meal, and the occasional snack. But, you can only eat so many pickles.

I have also played with the dehydrator, drying banana chips and apple chips. But, I have to buy those.

So, any ideas on what I could be growing in the garden? Or, other sources, and other ways to process something into a "snack"?

 

[PistolBob]

We like the slice up tomatoes, sprinkle the slices with a bit of salt, pepper, and garlic powder...then dehydrate them. They go from 1/2 inch thick slabs to 1/8 inch think crispy dried tomato chips that we eat as is, or throw into soup, chili, stew, meatloaf...you get the idea. I like them just the way they are...a bit crunchy and a little chewy sometimes. We have also dried watermelon, the watermelon chips are extremely sweet. After we dry the tomatoes, I just put them in a canning jar with a couple packs of drier crystals (descant) and they keep for years. We also dry onions and store them the same way.

 

[spencer rifle]

We dry all that plus zucchini, cut round and thin. And dry kale to make "kale chips." Can be acceptable depending on how you spice them.

 

[17 squirrel]

Apple, pear & Cherry trees.
Blueberry, Blackberry & Raspberry plants. Freeze and eat many different ways.
Grow sweet potatos , slice them and bake in the oven. Can be seasoned a 1000 different ways.

 

[JettaKnight]

If you like pickles, then pickle some asparagus. Usually I have too much to eat in season and it's fun to experiment with spices and flavors.

You could always try kale chips.

 

[eldirector]

Interesting ideas! Thanks.....

We always have an abundance of tomatoes, so 'mater chips are on the list for sure. Might even be able to season them with other garden-sourced spices (we have onions, garlic, and a whole section devoted to herbs) on the cheap. My wife was gloating the other day, on how she hasn't had to buy herbs at ALL in 2 years.

Never considered Kale. Looks pretty easy to grow.

Would love to add fruits and berries, but those aren't exactly "garden" items. I may have a source for "pie apples" (a neighbor that just lets them fall and rot). We have also considered a few dwarf fruit trees, but just haven't gone that far (yet). My FIL did plant a blackberry bush in the back corner of our garden, but it will be a few years until it is large enough to be of use.

Keep 'em coming! We are making another run to the greenhouse this weekend, so will pick up a few ideas to try.

 

[cjcinin]

Gardens are a lot of work and some expense. Wouldn't it be better to work a part time job and get paid rather then working for food that's already super cheap at the store.
I mean if having more money is the goal.
Of course it does provide family time so that's always a good thing.
Just a thought.

 

[eldirector]

Food that is super cheap? My grocery bill has tripled in the last few years. My garden has maybe $50 in plants, and I am buying seedlings/starts, rather then even cheaper seeds.

Yeah, a garden is work. But the "income" is not taxed, I work my own schedule, I enjoy it, it is family time, and is orders of magnitude cheaper (for the cost of one bunch of fresh tomatoes at the store, I have several plants that will produce enough for dozens of meals).

 

[Thegeek]

We freeze zucchini and make bread or muffins with it. Also pickle hot and sweet peppers, onions and garlic. Pickled garlic is dangerously good. Not real filling though. Homemade salsa is about the only thing we produce that lasts until the end of Football season. Still gotta buy cornchips though.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Food that is super cheap? My grocery bill has tripled in the last few years. My garden has maybe $50 in plants, and I am buying seedlings/starts, rather then even cheaper seeds.

Yeah, a garden is work. But the "income" is not taxed, I work my own schedule, I enjoy it, it is family time, and is orders of magnitude cheaper (for the cost of one bunch of fresh tomatoes at the store, I have several plants that will produce enough for dozens of meals).

Please don't take this as condescending, it's not meant that way though I'm afraid it'll come out in text.

Why has your food bill tripled in the last three years? Do you now have kids? Have you started shopping at the most expensive grocery stores you can find? Are you unwilling or somehow unable to shop at "discount" grocers like Aldi and/or Trader Joe's? Do you utilize coupons? Are you willing to purchase "generic" or store brand stuff?

These are serious questions I'd be asking myself if the food bill really had tripled in the last 5 years. Food prices have gone up, but they haven't tripled.

 

[hoosierdaddy1976]

Wasabi peas. Lots of recipes out there, most call for rehydrating dried peas, but I imagine that starting with fresh green peas or sugar snaps would work fine. I would try it, but the kids and I usually eat all the sugar snaps raw while working in the garden. Few make it inside to be cooked in any way.

 

[eldirector]

My wife is a full-time "domestic engineer". She is the primary shopper, and also our "accountant". We coupon like CRAZY, and she is fantastic at finding deals. We shop at Kroger (and take advantage of their Fuel Points) and Meijer predominately. Also belong to both Sam's and CostCo. Not Marsh, not Whole Foods, and certainly NO WHERE without a discount card. We buy in bulk when possible. We have cut a lot of non-essential items (my soda-pop habit has been chopped drastically, and my coffee habit is getting cut right now).

By my wife's reckoning (which I trust 100%):
Milk is up nearly 300% in 5 years
Eggs are up 200%
Bread is up 200%
Most pertinent to this thread: snacks like potato chips are up 300-500% (price up, container volume down).

I am sure there are some "cheaper" versions of what we buy. But why should I be forced to reduce the quality of what I feed my family, in order to keep my grocery bill from continually rising? Besides, switching to a "cheap" version that spoils quicker (something we have tried multiple times) ends up costing even more over time.

In the end, though, this really isn't about money. I can afford anything we would care to eat. I'm just tired of the bill eating away at my family budget (yes, I did that on purpose). I have better uses for my money, am willing to look at changing some of my own personal snack habits, and feel I can reap more from my garden without all that much more effort.

Sorry for the huge side-bar! This is just a topic my wife and I discuss a lot lately. Snacks are a highly variable part of our monthly grocery bill, and since the garden still has room in it......

 

[eldirector]

the kids and I usually eat all the sugar snaps raw while working in the garden. Few make it inside to be cooked in any way.

Ha! My daughter SPECIFICALLY asked for sweet peas again this year. She ate every single one straight from the vine last year. We never even got some for a dinner salad. And I am not complaining one bit!

 

[cjcinin]

Food that is super cheap? My grocery bill has tripled in the last few years. My garden has maybe $50 in plants, and I am buying seedlings/starts, rather then even cheaper seeds.

Yeah, a garden is work. But the "income" is not taxed, I work my own schedule, I enjoy it, it is family time, and is orders of magnitude cheaper (for the cost of one bunch of fresh tomatoes at the store, I have several plants that will produce enough for dozens of meals).

The food in your garden is super cheap compared to beef and dairy.
If it works for you that's great. Sounds like a good way to make family time and teach the kids a great lesson.
Started a garden last year myself. Ended up dealing with things that came up with my elderly parents so a few potatoes and some well fed rabbits was about all I got. Maybe next year when things slow down.

 

[patience0830]

My FIL did plant a blackberry bush in the back corner of our garden, but it will be a few years until it is large enough to be of use.

Keep 'em coming! We are making another run to the greenhouse this weekend, so will pick up a few ideas to try.[/QUOTE]


Blackberries grow on canes, not bushes. If the cane you bought was last year's it will fruit this year. Leave the green shoots it puts up this year as that is what will fruit next summer. Cut off the one that fruits this yr.

 

[skulhedface]

We're putting in primocane blackberries sometime within the next year. Supposedly they fruit on first year wood and again on second year wood. The plan was that every other winter we can just cut them off at ground level.

Tried tomato chips last year, too strong for my tastes. The tomato flavor really concentrated in the dehydrator. After they got ground into a powder they were amazing though. Instant tomato paste, or marinara, or tomato soup depending on how much water was added.

Going to try dehydrating zucchini noodles for winter use this year. Don't know that it keeps but I've been hearing dehydrated watermelon slices are amazing. Could also try Mexican sour gherkin if you like pickles. The gherkins won't survive our winters most of the time, but you dig out the bulb (tuber maybe?) to give it a head start for the next year.

 

[pudly]

Have you considered nuts and seeds? Those generally keep well. Sunflowers are an easy option. Nuts will generally take a few years to produce, but are good long-term options.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

When I was a kid, my friend's mom used to make parched corn. It tasted kinda like a cross between popcorn and cornnuts, and it was really good.

 

[bwframe]

This is a great thread. I may be able to spring for the dehydrator this year.

 

[eldirector]

Have you considered nuts and seeds? Those generally keep well. Sunflowers are an easy option. Nuts will generally take a few years to produce, but are good long-term options.

Hmmm. I actually LIKE sunflower seeds. Any idea how to keep the birds out of them? My wife has planted a bunch in the past, but the birds DESTROY them as soon as they go to seed.