Need help with recipes

[rahimlee54]

I usually eeat quick cooking rolled oats, mainly to save time but the steel cut oats taste better. Banana cinnamon and splenda pre workout or breakfast. A lot of good info here.

 

[cnochef]

I usually eeat quick cooking rolled oats, mainly to save time but the steel cut oats taste better. Banana cinnamon and splenda pre workout or breakfast. A lot of good info here.

To save time, I made a big batch of steel cut oatmeal sweetened with a bit of brown sugar or maple syrup and a pinch of salt (but no milk), cool it down, store it in the fridge and microwave a bowl as needed adding some milk then. It will easily last 2 weeks in the fridge.

 

[SameGuy]

I buy President's Choice steel-cut oats, for about half the price per weight compared to McCann's. I think they are about the same price as Bob's Red Mill -- in the States; at Loblaws, Bob's is more expensive.

 

[Deckhand]

I use Bob's mill for my quinoa. Seems to taste better. Bob's mill or Alpen for my muesli, but I am sure there are other good muesli brands.

 

[cnochef]

I use the President's Choice Blue Menu steel cut oatmeal too, a real bargain at $2.99 a tin!

 

[SameGuy]

Yup. One of my favo(u)rite PC items, the others being the imported Italian pastas (dried as well as filled).

 

[SameGuy]

@Shinob1: have a look at other fishes, too. Most decent supermarkets have a better selection of healthy fish than you'd expect, and some of it isn't even very expensive. My local supermarket's fish counter guy is very experienced, having spent years at one of the city's better fishmongers. While he doesn't have carte-blanche to order anything he wants, he can usually source pretty good items and knows enough to recommend certain buys while dissuading others.

Tasty fishy-fishes we've had recently include black cod and fresh halibut, along with steak fishes like salmon, swordfish and shark. Less-fishy-tasting fishes we've tried include tilapia, haddock, arctic char and the ultra-cheap pangasius (basa, aka Mekong Delta catfish). Many of these are very versatile, too.

 

[rahimlee54]

I found my last batch of museli and steel cut oats at Big Lots 1/3 to half off. Bob's Mill and McCanns.

 

[SpikeC]

And remember, Bob's Red Mill oats won the Golden Spurtle !

 

[SameGuy]

LOL My sister gave me a spurtle for Xmas a few years ago and i honestly couldn't think why I'd need one instead of just using a wooden spoon. It's somewhere in a box in the basement.

 

[Shinob1]

I shop at Krogers, which is a big supermarket chain in Ohio. I'll be honest, the meat counter looks a little sketchy to me. That's why I often go for frozen fish. The beef, chicken and pork that's prepackaged is also good.

I'd like to find another place to shop that has better meat, fish and produce, but I'm not sure where to go. I have a Whole Foods near my work - has anyone been there before?

@Shinob1: have a look at other fishes, too. Most decent supermarkets have a better selection of healthy fish than you'd expect, and some of it isn't even very expensive. My local supermarket's fish counter guy is very experienced, having spent years at one of the city's better fishmongers. While he doesn't have carte-blanche to order anything he wants, he can usually source pretty good items and knows enough to recommend certain buys while dissuading others.

Tasty fishy-fishes we've had recently include black cod and fresh halibut, along with steak fishes like salmon, swordfish and shark. Less-fishy-tasting fishes we've tried include tilapia, haddock, arctic char and the ultra-cheap pangasius (basa, aka Mekong Delta catfish). Many of these are very versatile, too.

 

[cnochef]

I shop at Krogers, which is a big supermarket chain in Ohio. I'll be honest, the meat counter looks a little sketchy to me. That's why I often go for frozen fish. The beef, chicken and pork that's prepackaged is also good.

I'd like to find another place to shop that has better meat, fish and produce, but I'm not sure where to go. I have a Whole Foods near my work - has anyone been there before?

Shinob1:

You need to get hooked up with local farmers and food producers. Check out any farmer's markets near you and talk to them directly or look them up on the internet. Sometimes the smaller producers will use a broker that you can buy from, if you can't deal with them directly.

Also, you might have a little company selling seasonal local and/or organic food boxes for pickup or delivery.

Now you will know where your food comes from, and at a much lower price than Whole Foods.

Then, buy at least a small chest freezer to store the meats and fish.

As for us, we buy whole chickens and shares of cow and pig all from different producers. Eggs and produce come from our local farmer's market as well as a food box provider. We get 20 lbs of grain-fed, hormone and antibiotic free beef for $150 and 6 xlarge corn-fed, hormone and antibiotic free range chickens for $90. Our produce box is a mere $15 a week. We only use the supermarket for buying dry goods anymore.

 

[SameGuy]

Just to add to what cnochef said:

It might be a bit late for 2012, but if you are into veggies you should consider joining a local CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) program. Essentially, you pre-pay a local (usually organic) farm up front for a share of the season's fresh harvest, and every week you receive a basket of fresh seasonal vegetables. Often these baskets include items you simply will not find anywhere else, not even at farmer's markets.

A quick check of Local Harvest shows a plethora of CSA choices near Columbus. http://www.localharvest.org/search-csa.jsp?map=1&lat=40.098773&lon=-83.017045&scale=9&ty=6&zip=43085

 

[Shinob1]

Thanks for the tips - I'll have to see what I can do about finding local farmers and such. @SameGuy - I checked that site out and I see what I believe are a lot of CSA choices on the map, but I cannot drill down to them. The closest I believe is circleville, which is a ways away.