Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Roll Your Own Folks

I'm turning into a bulk foods fanatic. My favorite joint is the bulk room at the local coop. Been making granola lately... I got to wondering about the relative cost, benefits, etc. I have a castoff postal scale (a treasure), so I made use of it. Here are the details of one batch - the weights measured in my kitchen, the cost per lb from kept receipts from the coop.

Ingredient net oz per lb cost
1 cup coconut 2.50 $2.25 $0.35
4 cups rolled oats 12.00 0.95 0.71
1 cup sunflower seeds 4.50 1.49 0.42
1 cup wheat bran 1.50 0.65 0.06
¼ cup sesame seeds 1.00 2.49 0.16
1 cup peanuts 5.00 2.39 0.75
1 cup honey 10.50 2.39 1.57
½ cup canola oil 3.25 2.89 0.59
1 Tbsp cinnamon ~0.25 ?? approx zero

TOTALS 40.25 net wt of batch $4.61 monetary cost of batch

MEANING: $0.11 per ounce
$1.83 per pound
Normal box of cereal ~$2-4 dollars per pound.


CONCLUSIONS:
(1) This stuff is all known to you, as far as ingredients are concerned.
(2) It tastes as good (IMO better) than any cereal you buy from the shelf.
(3) It's as good for you(or maybe better) than MOST cereals you buy from the shelf.
(4) You don't buy any containers with this stuff, nor do you cast any in the garbage.
(5) The monetary requirement is surely lower than any granola you'd buy from the shelf, and also lower than most "cereals" you'd purchase.
(6) It's very easy to make, and takes about 5-8 minutes prep and 20 minutes baking time.
(7) Making it is an enjoyable way to pass some time... also demonstrates for the kids that cereal does not in fact come from a box, bag or shelf.

These are some of the ingredients... all in reused containers. I'm becoming a container-hawk... the other day I walked into the joint with a big black suitcase full of containers... looked like I was about to rob someone but I only wanted some sugar and sesame seeds.

This is the mix after combining wet and dry ingredients, but before baking. Raisins (or anything else you have laying around) are not part of official recipe but can be tossed in at will. NOTE: raisins look like swollen wood ticks when you bake them. They do deflate though.

The only trouble here is that I can't keep the stuff stocked...

8 Comments:

Blogger amanda said...

I like that idea of being able to reuse your own containers...
We're trying to eliminate the excessive use of plastic bags around here... My mom made me some heavy duty canvas graocery bags for Christmas - I have seven good sized "environmentally friendly" shopping bags now, nearly enough to cover a trip to the grocery store for us.
Thanks for sharing the recipe & bulk food info.

8:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the granola recipe, I've been wanting something just like that for a while. Did you factor the energy costs of the baking into the total per oz. cost? :)

10:32 AM  
Blogger Wendy Berrell said...

I was thinking somone might ask that... you are right on: it's not total-cost accounting. A person would have to figure the energy needed to bake it... maybe even the energy it takes to collect all the bulk ingredients as compared to grabbing a box from the shelf... BUT there is (or can be) significant enjoyment in the former, so does that offset somehow?

What about the energy savings in reusing containers? What about the loss in washing them with water and soap as compared to the loss of a vehicle carrying them to the dump...

We should ask the U of MN for a Net Energy Balance.

By the way - the cookbook from which I got the recipe: More with Less. It has many granola 'cipes, along with a lot of other great stuff.

7:40 PM  
Blogger Wendy Berrell said...

Also - despise those plastic bags too... great gift idea by your mom.

9:20 AM  
Blogger Andrew Murray said...

Thanks Justin!

The Limberlost Lady and I are going to give this a try and will be sourcing at the NFLD Co-op

Good idea!

And, heh, the bloodworm fly looks awesome too.

Andy and Eileen

7:34 AM  
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