Adventures.

We're all looking for ways to tighten our purse strings on some level or another, and for those of us who have already been living on a budget, with minimal-to-no 'extraneous' costs and services to cut in lean times (Anyone else feel a little frustrated when the how-to columns tell you to cut out your daily latte or cancel your premium cable subscription to save some money when you've only been drinking what you brew at home and getting movies from your local library for years now? *sigh*), the place we look to cut is almost always the most flexible one: Our grocery budget.

I don't know about you, but my bills aren't going to shrink a whole lot more. I don't use my heater unless it falls below 50F in my house, I don't even HAVE long distance phone service so I can't cut back, I don't go out to eat often (less than once a month, for the most part), I don't buy new clothes. I already buy the cheapest brands of paper goods (and use coupons when I can!) and economize on the toiletries, stretching the better brands (Tom's of Maine and similar green products) as long as I can and only purchasing when on sale from the lowest bidder.

So what's a girl to do? I want to know what you are doing, too! Maybe between us, if we put our heads together, we can come up with ways the other hasn't thought of yet to ease the strain a little more and not give up on eating whole, fresh foods in favor of their much cheaper, undead counterparts.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be posting not only recipes, but also a record of things I'm doing in our house to cut down on grocery costs while still eating healthfully and tastefully. I invite you to share your own links, blog posts, and ideas in the comments!