Eating Like Hippies

As I took my fifth piece of homemade beef jerky from a canning jar, it dawned on me: we are eating like hippies.

I guess it all started when Jamie started making our own baby food. I was all for it since it is a ton cheaper and in most cases probably better for Leah. Little did I know that was only the beginning.

This past weekend my mom came to visit to make applesauce. It is a yearly tradition that I can remember since I was a kid. The smell of applesauce being made is hard to beat. There is never a better day to take a nap than when that smell is in the air.

This same weekend, Jamie started using a food dehyrator from her mom at an insane level. She made dehydrated apples, bananas, fruit leather (aka fruit roll-ups), and of course beef jerky. I am personally a huge fan of the fruit leather and beef jerky.

Last night I was getting ready to throw away some grapes that we were clearly not eating, but instead we are dehydrating them in to raisins. At this point we discussed the fact that we should start dehydrating any fruits or vegetables that we are not eating fast enough. For example, if we have onions or green peppers, dehydrate them and later use them in soup or chili.

As practical as this all sounds, it really reminds me how much my mentality has changed since moving here. We really rarely spend money and when we do it is almost a challenge to see how far we can stretch it. It's kind of nice being frugal and just paying off debt.

Even if it means we turn into tree-hugging hippies.