happy new year!

do you have any homesteading related resolutions for the new year? I am resolving to increas my calorie garden and use of homegrown livestock for meat. assuming of course we find a new house in time. I want to make a bigger dent in the grocery budget. I am also cutting out nitrites completely which means I need to make a bigger dent in the grocery budget so I can afford the natural products and or grow/make my own. after having cut out 90% of cornsyrup, msg and hydrogenated oils nitrites are next on the list. (not that I eat much, just some in bacon and polish style sausages really)

Happy New Year to you! Good resolutions on your part. Sausage & bacon would be really hard for me to give up, but like you I don't eat a lot of it. That dang fructose corn syrup (FCS) is in everything...geeze! Habits are so hard to break.

One of my "resolutions" is to get out of the habit of only shopping at the supercenter. Day before yesterday, I decided to shop at that store where you stick the quarter in the shopping cart. They definitely have good prices on stuff. I didn't read labels though & of course there's FCS in the bread. Also in the superctr. generic cocktail sauce I have. I just don't understand why it has to be in practically EVERYTHING!

Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to raise livestock & butcher meat, but I would if I could! The best pork (and goat) I've ever eaten was raised in the homestead way! And of course...the eggs! 

there are nitrite free brands of bacon and sausage but you will pay a pretty penny for them at health/natural food stores. I simply can't afford to do all my shopping there but I am gong to start going there and stocking up on the sausage and bacon. at the super centers you can buy nitrite free lunchmeats.

the hfcs really do seem to be in everything. thats why I say I cut out 90%. There is a brand of granola bars I like that has it and I think that the other relatively wholesome ingredients outweigh the hfcs and I like having it as a convenience food for both myself and my little girl. And although I make some of my own tomato sauces the brand that I buy to make up the diff has HFCS in it and I am not giving up the .97 brand for the 3.75 brand over it!. I will no longer buy the jams/jellies with it though or canned fruit although I still have a few cans left in the pantry that contain it. I avoid the brands of crackers that have it unless it is for a special occasion. it can be hard to find cereal without it also but it can be done. I am not as picky about the plain corn syrup but make it a point to use it in moderation. I actually recently bought the first bottle of cornsyrup in probably 5 years for making some holiday foods. popcorn balls aren't as good as I remember