5 foods to self-produce (easily)

Since I have been shopping looking at prices, I have noticed that the difference between raw materials and products is almost always very high.

It’s not that I didn’t know before, but until recently I didn’t know what we were talking about.

The difference between the salad in a bag and the fresh salad is often unjustified, between the prepared meat and the unprocessed meat, even between the loose courgettes and the packaged courgettes themselves.

The work must be paid, but today I want to tell you that it is not necessary to marry the logic of large retailers and necessarily buy ready-made products.

L ‘ self-production is possible and brings with it a twofold advantage:

• economic, because self-produced products cost less;
• qualitative, because in this way you can avoid preservatives and all the unnatural substances that large companies use in their products.

We can then gradually reduce our food expenses by transforming our approach and becoming producers ourselves.

Specifically, I want to indicate 5 things that I have stopped or will soon stop buying to self-produce with exceptional savings and in a short time.

In this article

• # 1 – Bread
• # 2 – Pizza
• # 3 – Yogurt
• # 4 – Jam
• # 5 – Vegetables

# 1 – Bread

Homemade bread tastes no worse than that of large retailers and even that of some bakers.

Above all it is healthier because it does not contain alcohol, it generally has correct leavening and you can do it with more natural flours.

The ingredients to make it cost almost nothing flour, water, and yeast are enough to make bread. Then there is the cost of using the oven but we can estimate that a good homemade bread costs less than 1 Euro, against a minimum cost of 2 Euro per kg for the bread purchased.

The cost of bread and the gap grows with the use of special flours and sophisticated preparations.

Do you see those milk sandwiches in the photo? They cost almost 12 Euros per kg in the supermarket where I usually go but they are very easy to do. Here is the recipe I follow.

If you want to save time and make bread easier you can buy a bread machine and the results will be truly amazing in terms of quality and money saved because in a short time you can produce the pane you need for the whole week.

# 2 – Pizza

Another food that I enjoy cooking and that takes 5 minutes to prepare is pizza.

I started preparing it at home because I like this food, but I don’t tolerate paying, even in the case of takeaway, at least 5/6 Euros for a Margherita pizza, for the production of which the cost is a maximum of 1.50 Euros.

Pizza is really easy and by making it at home you will save at least 15 Euros for the whole family compared to when you order it to take away.

My recipe is simple.

Knead:

• 300 grams of flour,
• 150 of water,
• a pinch of salt,
• a little bit of oil,
• a stick of brewer’s yeast.

Let it rise in a bowl, covering it with a damp cloth or cling film for at least an hour and a half, preferably three hours.

Roll out the dough on a baking sheet, cover it with previously cooked tomato, add the mozzarella, and bake at the maximum temperature until you see that the dough starts to turn yellow.

You will see that you will get an easily digestible, tasty, and cheap pizza.

All this is also applicable to various leavened products such as wraps, focaccias, pizzas, pretzels.

# 3 – Yogurt

In my house, they eat liters of yogurt. That’s why I’m thinking of starting to produce Yogurt too.

I will buy a Yogurt Maker for Christmas and introduce this innovation at home. I will then let you know if a real advantage is achieved or not.

I would ask you if you have experience on the subject to share it in the comments.

# 4 – Jam

If your children also have breakfast every morning with bread and jam you too could consider preparing homemade jam.

It is not easy to make it good, but it is not an impossible undertaking, which will allow you to save money and have a natural product.

Again I don’t do it regularly but I plan to get started and I’ll keep you updated.

# 5 – Vegetables

Vegetable garden on the balcony

If you have a garden it would be a shame not to produce something for daily consumption.

If like me, you live in the city, you could start with the cultivation of aromatic plants including rosemary, sage, parsley, mint, basil.

You could then continue with the cultivation of potatoes and salads.

The appetite comes with eating and here you can continue the challenge with something increasingly difficult, such as tomatoes, baby carrots, mushrooms, …

It is not trivial, it is demanding, but the satisfaction is maximum and the savings are also important.

In conclusion, I think it is important to start self-producing, also dismantling the rules of commerce and large-scale distribution.

It is quite easy to just start and always think if there is an alternative to buying, before buying something. 

Today I only talked about food, but self-production applies to many other areas with multiplicative effects on your family insurance budget.

And what do you self-produce?