You friends all know this—the secret to a great holiday meal isn't spending more across the board. It’s about choosing one single 'anchor ingredient' to carry the luxury weight of the entire menu. An anchor ingredient is the one element or ingredient of a meal that wows the diners. It could make a meal feel luxury or it could hit the comfort-food spot. Last week, I made scratch mac and cheese to go with an ordinary weekday dinner of beans, veggies, and plain fruit. The mac and cheese was just the note needed to turn the plain food into a great dinner that wowed my family. (They're still talking about that special Wednesday dinner.) This past Father’s Day, my anchor was a simple bag of frozen wild blueberries from Walmart.
Now, I know what some of you might be thinking if you've checked out grocery circulars this week. Many of the stores actually have a fantastic selection of conventional fresh blueberries on a major sale right now, Walmart included. In a typical week, grabbing those fresh pints would be the automatic frugal choice. But as I planned our Father’s Day dessert, I intentionally walked right past the fresh display and headed straight for the freezer aisle. Even with the fresh sales, choosing frozen wild berries was a deliberate frugal pivot for a home-style dessert that felt like luxury.
For Father's Day, we could have treated my husband to a generic steakhouse dinner, spending who knows what for 6 of us. Or I could have made dinner at home and then bought a bakery cake locally, spending $30 to $40. Instead, I chose to make an easy scratch meal plus craft a from-scratch blueberry cobbler to go with it. More love, less money.
Why Wild Blueberries? And Why a Name Brand?
For this cobbler I chose wild blueberries, as they have more flavor and the bonus of additional anti-oxidants. I can't buy wild blueberries in my area. By definition, they aren't planted and cultivated, but grown in the wild primarily in the northern US (Maine has the largest harvest of wild blueberries in the US.)
Turning the corner with my shopping cart and down the freezer aisle of my local Walmart, here again, I had a choice to make. Do I buy the name brand (Wyman's) or Great Value brand? The Great Value wild blueberries are priced about 6 cents less per ounce than Wyman's. As I try to minimize exposure to pesticides, I also had to consider which product would be best, and is that still a frugal decision?
It would be easy to grab the cheaper Great Value bag, but Wyman's berries are harvested natively on Maine glacial lands under rigid policies that protect pollinators and minimize chemical residues. By choosing their sustainable farming practices over the Great Value global blend, I get to enjoy a premium, clean ingredient for a fraction of the cost of a bakery dessert.
I reminded myself that the wild blueberries would be my anchor ingredient, the single high quality component that would elevate the entire meal. As our adult kids walked through the kitchen door, the full blueberry cobbler greeted them, fresh from the oven and resting on a trivet. Seeing the delicious, juice-oozing cobbler set the tone for our evening meal together. A simple home-cooked dish became something that felt like true restaurant luxury by choosing the wild blueberries.
A Festive Dinner That Didn't Break the Bank
The rest of our Father's Day meal was simply fun. I made a walking taco bar with a fruit plate. My husband loves Mexican food. My daughter-in-law is careful around some food choices. It was easy on the budget. And we all loved the 'choose what you want and fill your own plate' aspect of dinner. It was a perfect hit.
The whole bag of wild blueberries cost just over $12. There are enough blueberries in the bag to make 2 cobblers and a batch of muffins. My cost for the cobbler in blueberries was about $5 to $5.50. Yes, that sounds like a lot. Paying a couple of dollars extra for that specific blue bag wasn't a failure of my frugal habits; it was an intentional choice. I opted to support sustainable, regional farming and protect my family's peace of mind regarding pesticide standards. Because we saved by cooking and baking at home, that cobbler was still a massive financial victory. It reminds us that we are the captains of our own budgets—we get to decide exactly where to pinch pennies and where to anchor our value.
Your Turn: I would love to hear how you make choices in your kitchen on cost vs. taste, nutrition, convenience, or supporting certain types of businesses! What is the most important factor in one of these decisions? Is there an anchor ingredient that you would be willing to spend more for when planning a holiday or special occasion meal? Do you tend to buy a special food or two for these occasions, or do you cook primarily from your kitchen’s ample supply?
I have harvested wild blueberries in Maine, and it's a lot of work. I understand the cost. Most years, I also pick blueberries from my brother-in-law's patch, which takes some work, but is easier. I think they are all delicious.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are having a special meal, especially if we are having a crowd, I would say the biggest factor for us is how much time we have to prepare and convenience. We try to use what we have on hand and shop frugally, but when push comes to shove, Costco has some excellent choices to supplement a meal with reasonable prices and good quality.
Hi Live and Learn,
DeleteI know Costco is a popular spot for picking up food for a crowd. Our church uses Costco for most of their purchases for events. I've used our restaurant supply (carries similar foods to Costco Business) for self-catering of large gatherings at our house. I have felt more of a need to use some shortcuts, like the restaurant supply, when doing a big gathering, because there is just so much that needs to be done, compared to just a family gathering.
Interesting that you've picked wild blueberries in Maine before. You're lucky to have your brother-in-law's patch to pick from. This will be a poor blueberry year for us at home, and we will go to a u-pick farm to get some blueberries for the freezer. I'll miss our homegrown berries. I think they're tastier than the u-pick farms.
Enjoy those blueberries! Do you like them best as fresh berries or baked into something?
I like them best fresh, but they are delicious in baked things. I had friends over for lunch last week and used blueberries and sour cherries from our freezer to make a topping for pound cake. It was delicious.
DeleteYour fruit sauce sounds delicious, Live and Learn!
DeleteMmm mmm mmm. Sounds delicious. Wild blueberries do indeed have a different flavor than conventional ones.
ReplyDeleteWe have picked wild blueberries while camping in Michigan. When our kids were young, we were on a hike, and my daughter was getting grumpy until we spotted blueberries. It became a contest to see who could pick and eat the most. Grumpiness solved. We emptied a water bottle and filled it with berries (we weren't that far in the wilderness, no worries about getting dehydrated), which we used later in both our dessert cobbler and the next day in our pancakes. We also found huge patches of wild blueberries, black raspberries, and huckleberries while vacationing in West Virginia (L&L will recognize the Dolly Sods area). They were located fairly close to the parking area on our hiking trail, and the trail itself was close to our rental, so we (well, mostly everyone else but me) returned several times to pick them. We took a lot of them home and froze them, and were able to enjoy them later in the winter. A fun treat!
As for buying a special ingredient, I think that's a great way to elevate a meal without eating out. In a similar vein, we are heading to visit my in-laws this weekend. I have purchased sub buns from Aldi for our sandwiches. It's a little thing, but it provides a fun variation in our lunches. I also have peanut M&Ms because a trip is always better with those. :)
Peanut M&Ms is always something we purchase for a car trip, too. :)
DeleteHi Kris,
DeleteYour vacation berry memories with family made me smile. It's those small things that we remember.
Your plan for special sandwiches will make the drive more interesting. I'm coming on your road trips -- peanut M & Ms, yum!
For our last road trip (to Arizona and back in 7 days), I packed popped popcorn and dried fruit for our road snacks. I did buy a treat once per day on the drive. When I'd go in to pay for gas, I'd buy 1 small candy item to share. I tried to theme it to where we were at the moment. When in Idaho I bought 1 Idaho Spud candy bar. That was the first time any of us had ever had one. So that made it interesting for us. And a single candy bar per road day didn't break the bank.
I've never heard of an Idaho Spud candy bar. We were in Idaho a few years ago, but I didn't shop for candy. What was it like? We did have huckleberry milkshake, which was a specialty in that area. Well worth it!
DeleteHi Kris,
DeleteAn Idaho Spud is shaped like a potato, contains a chocolate/cocoa flavored marshmallow center, is dipped in chocolate, and rolled in coconut flakes. I think we all thought it was okay, but that we won't suffer too much if we don't get another chance to try one. Supposedly, they have quite a following, however. A huckleberry milkshake sounds delicious! Most years I leave the huckleberries to the birds. One year I made jam with them. Huckleberries make a wonderful jam.
I picked huckleberries with my grandmother as a child. Are these the same as wild blueberries? I remember picking them along a ditch bank. They were smaller than blueberries but tasty.
ReplyDeleteThere are blueberry bushes at my parents’ house. My mother and I were trying to figure out how old they are. They have been prolific bearers. One summer we picked 8 or 9 gallons of one of the 2 bushes !! They are so sweet and large.
I have a bush from theirs that we’ve had about 15 years. It has begun producing more now, but still not like theirs. And ours aren’t nearly as sweet or large. The fact that their bushes sit out in the direct sun may well have something to do with it, as ours get some shade. We both have coastal sandy soil. Theirs ripen earlier as well. These, like ours, are organic. Except for netting to protect from the birds, we don’t have to do anything else for them. And though not as sweet as those from my parents’ bushes, they are still delicious whether eaten out of hand or in baked goods.
Hi Lynn,
DeleteIn my area, huckleberries are a different berry. We have a couple of huckleberry bushes in our yard. the berries are indeed small. Our huckleberry bushes are tall, about 8 feet high. I've read that wild blueberries grow low to the ground.
You may be right about the different sun exposures between your house and you mother's resulting in more berries for her and fewer for you. Our yard is simply naturally on the shady side. So even with planting our blueberry bushes in the sunniest spot, they still don't produce huge amounts of berries, nothing even close to 8 or 9 gallons combined for the 8 bushes we have.
You mention something that I really appreciate about growing some of our own food -- it's all organic. Organic fruit is so expensive in the markets. So to go out my kitchen door and pick a pint of organic strawberries, basically for free, is such a treat!
I hope nobody minds if I ask for some help. I was using my crockpot to cook tonight's dinner, and heard a loud crack, and realized that the crock from my crockpot cracked while cooking. I didn't add anything (so no temperature changes) and don't know why this happened. I have had issues with durability with slow cookers for the past several years. I had to replace one because the electronics died. Gave another to my son when the dial fell off (he uses pliers to turn the dial) and got a basic model from Walmart, which is the one with the crock that cracked today. I'd appreciate anyone telling me about a durable crockpot that they own--make and model would be helpful. Thanks in advance for any help you could give me.
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteI would like the answer to that question, too. The heating part of our crockpot just died on us one day. I have a back-up crockpot that I got off a free pile three years ago. But it's very large and gets too hot. It works for something like spiced apple cider for Thanksgiving, where I can simply turn it off if it's getting too hot. And the large size is a plus when we have guests over.
I'm sorry your's cracked. It could have had a hairline crack developing, but unseen. And as it heated up today that tiny crack expanded. I hope you were able to salvage dinner tonight.
Dinner was salvageable, thanks. And I have my mom's old crockpot as a backup, which, incidentally, is from the 1970s ... and is still working like a champ. My husband was joking about getting one with a cast iron insert--I was curious and looked it up, and they do indeed make them, but while I like to buy quality, I'm not sure I want to invest this much in it. Here's what I found, if you are curious: https://www.all-clad.com/stainless-steel-6-in-1-digital-slow-cooker-with-removable-cast-iron-pot-5-qt.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqTxxPFXoI9Q87qXdVgsRb-o103TLopIQOT2ZdoBXfLfNsvZnFF
DeleteYou have me wanting something I didn't know existed 15 minutes ago. That's beautiful. I love that the pot can be used as a Dutch oven in the oven or on the stove, as well as the insert for a crockpot. Alas, I don't think I'd be willing to spend that much. I hope you get some suggestions on crockpots.
DeleteThe first thing that comes to mind for me, that I spend extra on no matter what, is pasture raised eggs. I prefer buying a local brand because I know for a fact he has chickens running all over, but I will buy any brand as long as they are pasture raised. The thought of how battery hens are raised makes me sick. I had chickens for 24 years, I just can’t bring myself to support producers that don’t treat their birds ethically. I don’t even like eggs, so it’s not a taste thing. Purely an ethical treatment issue.
ReplyDeleteDiane