Today was my bi-annual trip.
- 1 gallon of Virgin Coco-Creme Coconut Oil (for times when it will be eaten raw)
- 1 gallon of Fine Organic Coconut Oil (for cooking)
- 1 kg of unsulfured organic dessicated coconut
Monday, March 2, 2009
This week's food: The coconut outlet
I couldn't believe my luck when a couple of years ago, I googled sources for coconut oil and found that there was an outlet that supplied large quantities of very high-quality organic coconut oil within about 20 minutes of my home! I only go about twice a year, but it is very convenient.
Today was my bi-annual trip.
Today was my bi-annual trip.
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Hey Christine,
ReplyDeleteSome questions based on the last few posts:
- What is your average monthly budget for groceries? You must buy some things in bulk which would spread out over a few months, like the coconut oil, so just a rough average.(and remind me how many kiddos you have)
- Would you be willing to post your menu for the week based on what you're buying?
- How much of your diet is raw these days?
- I checked out the coconut outlet site, but didn't see any prices... would you mind giving me an idea of the prices? You could email if you don't want to post it here.
Thanks. I can tell I'm going to be a regular here!
Hi Christine,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog btw! I am a homeschooling Mom as well and am a member of the GHG. We live in Erin and I have driven past Whole Circle Farms many times and didn't realize they had a store, so thank you for that information! I am a member of the ONFC as well, my pick up is in Belfountain and am joining the CSA membership with Everdale Farm in Hillsburg.
My question is, where did you find the coconut products and if you don't mind me asking what the cost of the products are I would very much appreciate it.
Thank you Christine,
Sherri.
Please feel free to check out my personal blog.
http://sherrrismadblabberblog.blogspot.com
Amy: Our monthly budget for groceries is $1200 CDN. In the winter, it comes in a bit less than that and in the summer (canning season), a bit more. We do buy a lot of bulk stuff and also buy our CSA shares twice a year.
ReplyDeleteI would love to post my menu for the week, except that I am a terrible menu-planner. I admit to having a very poor system. I don't find I am very able to take advantage of others' menu planning systems because they include a lot of things that I don't buy (boneless, skinless chicken for example). What I will do is keep track of what we eat this week and post it after the fact. :)
In the winter, very little of our diet is raw. By contrast, in the summer a huge portion of our diet is raw. (I do try to whip up the odd raw dessert, make smoothies often and serve the few raw veggies we do get with meals regularly.) I did have a raw-foods phase where we ate almost exclusively raw all the time, but it was super-difficult and we were pretty hungry a lot of the time.
I'll answer your question about coconut prices below.
Sherri: It is great to have you here! It exciting both to have international visitors and local mamas. I will definitely check out your blog this morning. :) We have visited Everdale many times. How exciting that you are getting a CSA share there.
I purchase the coconut products at Quality First in Guelph. In the post above, if you click on 'outlet' in the body of the post, it will take you to their website. Their site needs a lot of help, but it gives a bit of basic info, aside from prices. You can get a whole list of prices by e-mailing them. I find them very friendly and easy to deal with, but they don't have very many people working in the office, so sometimes you need to be a bit patient. The oils I bought were:
Virgin Coco-Creme - 1 gallon for (gulp) $90. This is a serious treat for us. I sometimes go two years before buying it. (Coconut oil is extremely naturally shelf stable.) It is so delicious that you can actually eat it with a spoon (not saying we do this because it is way too expensive!). To me, that speaks to the 'realness' of it. You certainly don't want to be eating soy oil! LOL!
Fine Organic Coconut Oil - 1 gallon for $55. This is my usual cooking oil because it doesn't have a coconut-y taste. (The taste comes out naturally in the process of mechanical extraction of the oil, not by use of solvents.)
I think they will ship for free over $50, but they give me a $5 discount for picking up.
I know it seems insanely expensive, but I believe the fats/oils we buy can have a big impact on our health and I am very convinced of the benefit of eating the medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil. (This isn't the only fat I use -- in the summer we eat lots of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and you know about the butter!) Anyway, I find that this particular place is about the most economical place to purchase coconut oil around here and I have quizzed them to death about their processing practices and find them just excellent. :)
Christine
That price for the CO is actually really good! 1 gallon for $55 = $.43/ounce. The stuff I get from Superstore works out to $.62375/ounce. So buying your gallon bucket is about $25 less than buying a lower quality oil from Superstore! I'm sold.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you use the coco-creme for?
So you're feeding 8 people for $1200/month? I have to admit I about fell over when I read that amount. I'm trying really, REALLY hard to stick to a $400/month budget. It's so hard. There are 2 adults, a 5 year old and a 2 year old who has a lot of food allergies. I make 90% of what we eat from scratch but I have to use all the less common flours: spelt, barley, buckwheat, quinoa, etc.
How much food do you grow yourselves, if any? Do you can what you grow or are you buying in bulk from local farms in the summer?
Sorry for all the questions!
Amy: Yes, it is a great price for coconut oil and it is super-good oil.
ReplyDeleteYup. $1200 for 8 people. It is a lot. I know it is hard to tell when you are reading blogs online, but we aren't rich! It is a big financial sacrifice for us. :)
We grow almost nothing ourselves, as I hate gardening. I know that is bizarre, as it doesn't fit with my philosophy at all, but it is what I have come to accept. My mom has a lovely garden, which we try to help out in. I grow a few herbs and some cherry tomatoes, but that's about it. For canning, we buy in bulk at the market from farmers. I have gotten to know several of them and can get some great prices on seconds of things like peaches, pears and apples. We also buy other things in bulk to freeze, such as peppers. In the summer, they are sooooo cheap and sooooo good! :)
Christine
Whoops. I forgot to answer about the coco-creme. I use it for things that aren't going to be cooked and don't matter if they taste like coconut. I sometimes toss a little into a smoothie to make it extra nice. I have lots of raw-food desserts, leftover from my raw foods phase that I like to make with it, too.
ReplyDeleteChristine