How silly of me to go on and on in my last post about the difficulty I had in figuring out how many pounds of wheat make how many cups of flour – and then fail to share the nitty gritty info with you! I had it totally figured wrong, by the way, and plan to post more details soon about how to convert pounds of wheat to cups of flour. But, as far as I can tell: One Pound of Wheat (unground) = Three Cups of Flour. So there you go. You will sleep so much better tonight now that you know that information.
Oh, and in case you’re interested in another piece of random information that may or may not help you to sleep better, I have also learned this week that when I walk for several miles at a time, my hands swell up really big because of circulation and gravity and also because of something with the blood flow to the lower extremities and how veins do something or other while I’m walking which causes my fingers to turn fat. Did I mention that my walking buddy is not only a coach, but also has a degree in biology? Yes, I have learned all kinds of interesting information on these walks.
But moving on to some more Real Food – Low Cost calculations, which is the actual reason, I believe, that you have stuck with me through this post so far…
This morning I made a loaf of Applesauce Bread, which is super easy and makes the house smell awesome. I calculated that this loaf cost me $1.65 to make, which is more than I expected. Whole wheat flour, raw organic honey, two farm fresh eggs, butter – it all adds up I guess. However, this makes for a very low cost breakfast when served with milk and fruit. So, I’d say it’s a $1.65 well spent.
While I don’t have a lovely stack of pancakes pictured for you, I also calculated how much it costs to feed my family Whole Wheat Pancakes for breakfast. I always make a triple batch of this recipe, and the six of us typically finish most of the pancakes off. Total cost for this meal: $5.22 – which includes the real maple syrup we use on our pancakes. Add an additional $1.50 for the milk we’ll drink with these pancakes, and maybe $2.00 for eggs if I make those, and then we’re talking $8.72 for a full meal, which is $1.45 per person.
I don’t know what you’re finding in your calculations, but I’m not finding that eating real food is adding up to being very expensive. I’ve still got several more recipes to experiment with though, so stay tuned!
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, my fingers only stay fat for a few minutes after we’re done exercising. This is why, now that I’m typing, I’m actually able to hit the correct keys…mostly. I’m sure you were worried. ;)
Any fun calculations you’d like to share? Ever experienced “fat finger syndrome” while taking a long walk?
Sarah says
i love your side comments! Always entertaining. As I don’t grind my own flour. Just out of curiosity, how much was the cost of just your flour? Easier for me to calculate my from yours that way. Lazy, I know, but I’m ok with that :)
Laura says
It costs us $0.28 per cup of flour. (This is Laura’s husband, Matt.)
Laura says
And, because I have thoroughly confused myself with this whole calculation process, I do believe that my initial figure of $0.28/cup was wrong and it is actually more like $0.14/cup. I think. Oh good grief.
Laura says
Okay, yes. I do believe I have figured this thing out and will post more details on the process tonight. :)
Ashley says
Too funny – I am planning on making a whole lot of applesauce in the next week because I am getting a shipment of not so pretty organic apples for very cheap. I thought – I need to make applesauce bread – I think Laura has a recipe – and there is was on the first page!
Thanks!
Mindy says
Your estimation of one pound = 1 1/2 cups of flour was surprising to me. Most cookbooks estimate a cup of flour to be about 4 oz (sometime 4 1/2 oz, depending on type) which would put it at about 4 cups for a pound. Your bread could be even cheaper!
Erika says
I think she means one pound of unground wheat = 1 1/2 cups ground flour. That would explain the huge difference.
Melisa says
I could be wrong, but I am with Mindy. But my brain is not up to speed right now due to a thyroid issue….so
:-) Wouldn’t 1 pound wheat berries be EQUAL (at least in weight) to 1 pound ground wheat….just the VOLUME (# of cups)
would be different? So, if 1 cup of ground flour equals approx 4 ounces in weight (which is what I use in
all my baking ~ I weigh ingredients instead of measuring volume ~ MUCH EASIER!) , then 1 pound of ground
flour would be approx 4 cups…
Laura says
I believe I have thoroughly confused myself in this converting pounds to cups and estimating the cost process. (Not that this is surprising, since I often confuse myself.) I had in my head that one pound equals 1 1/2 cups, but it is actually one cup of wheat equals one and a half cups of flour and now I need to recalculate the whole thing. I’ll go with your 4 ounces of wheat equals a cup of flour estimation – does this sound more acurate? Thanks for your insight on this!
Laura says
Got my brain in gear, and I think I figured the whole thing out. I’ll post more details tonight – if my brain stays in “function mode”.
Corrie J says
My 5 lb sack of flour says it contains 17.5 c of flour. ???
trisha says
My guess is that whole wheat flour made completely from the berries weighs more since it contains EVERYTHING, whereas they sift out all the good stuff from the “regular” flour.
Melisa says
I bake by weight (MUCH easier, especially when measuring butter and such!) and I use A LOT of
Laura’s wonderful recipes. I use
about 4.2 ounces per cup of flour. Oh, and I grind my own wheat, too. :)
Blessings,
Melisa
dep31 says
Holy cow – you’re only getting 1 1/2 cups of flour out a pound of wheat?? Your wheat back east is a completely different variety than ours out west! I get about 4 oz. to a cup of flour, which would be more like 4 cups per pound.
Might be worth double-checking…
Laura says
Yep, you’re completely correct! I had severe crazy brain issues on this one, and had to edit my post after I re-figured the whole thing. And here I thought I was decent at math. It actually ends up that I got 3 cups of flour for one pound of wheat. :)
Shannon says
I walk about 4 miles a day and my fingers swell also. I only notice it when I’m walking it’s gone almost immediately after I stop. However it happens, it is rather weird. :)
trisha says
I get 1-1/2 cups of flour out of 1 cup of wheat berries, have no idea about the weight. My fingers swell when I’m walking too, especially if I just let them be down at my sides. I thought it was just me ;)
Sheila says
One of the things I appreciate about your site is that you guys eat amounts of food that I can relate to. None of us in my family of 4 are overweight (just like your family), but some blogger’s families must eat like birds. I used to read $5 dinners, but my family of 4 would have to double what she cooks, and $10 dinners for a family of 4 isn’t that exciting. :)
Alison says
I agree. My husband has lost a significant amount of weight the past year, and my boys are both at really healthy BMIs (me too, no one would ever call me skinny, but I am at a healthy weight), even with all of the dieting, etc. our food costs go up, up, up. We eat a lot, and it’s all homemade, whole foods. Both boys are competitive swimmers (7 & 4 years old) and I work out hard 6x per week. I think the amount of exercising we do contributes to how much we eat, but 5 dollar dinners are marathoners, so I don’t know… Maybe they eat their more significant meals for breakfast & lunch?
Sheila says
In rereading what I wrote, I just want to make sure to be clear that I’m not knocking $5 dinners – I really just meant to complement Laura! I didn’t know they were marathoners. Maybe they also eat significant snacks? I really just thought they must need less food than my family does! I have noticed the same thing with Money Saving Mom’s meal plans, etc. They don’t seem to eat much either, but their kids are still really small, too. When I make pizza, I usually make 4, and we eat over 2 of them and have the remainder for leftovers or lunches. We have either salad or fresh fruit with our pizza, and then my husband eats a bowl of cereal later. :) He’s 6′ 4″ and about 180 pounds, so is actually probably underweight.
I’m sorry for the double-post, btw. My browser hung up as I was leaving the comment and I refreshed it.
Sheila says
One of the things I appreciate about your site is that you guys eat amounts of food that I can relate to. None of us in my family of 4 are overweight (just like your family), but some blogger’s families must eat like birds. I used to read $5 dinners, but my family of 4 would have to double what she cooks, and $10 dinners for a family of 4 isn’t that exciting. :)
Hilarie says
My fingers swell when I walk, too – especially when it’s warmer out.
I appreciate your cost break-down, but I find that it has been very wheat/flour-heavy so far (main ingredient). As someone who is gluten-intolerant, I think eating gluten-free is more expensive. I’d love to see a few meal cost breakdowns that aren’t flour-based, if you have a chance.
Thanks!
Elizabeth says
I’m a hiking guide in the Alps and often experience “fat finger syndrome”. And yes, your paragraph is right about blood flow and decreased blood flow and all that jazz :) I’ve found that using hiking poles helps immensely with the swelling. Try Nordic walking poles. You burn more calories and people passing by will think “Whoa…they’re hardcore.”
Melisa says
LOL!!!
Lissa says
I think a balanced meal for 6 under $10 is pretty incredible. Considering that it is all whole food, mostly organic, and minimally processed. We recently went to a local fast food establishment and spent of $20 for 4 people. And there was no organic, unprocessed foods. So I will take the pizza for $9 over the fast food any day!
Diane says
Every person I talk to says it costs more to cook from scratch and I have found that not to be true at all. Since I started changing my ways I am more satisfied when I eat and I can eat more and not gain any weight. I also feel great. Thanks for all your wonderful posts. You and your readers have given me so much encouragement in my journey :)
ms.p says
yes, my hands swoll too when I walk or on the rare occasion when I ride bus long distance.
Amy T says
My fingers do the same thing while walking or exercising! They get itchy sometimes too. . . Wonder why??
Love your blog!! And I love your side notes, makes for much more interesting & fun reading.
Question though, do all of your kids eat everything you make? If someone doesn’t like applesauce bread for breakfast, do you make them something different? Just curious, I am struggling w/this in my family.
Thanks!
Laura says
No, my kids definitely don’t all eat everything I make. Frustrating!
Amy T says
I would love a post on how you handle this ( you know, in your spare time! :-).
I’m trying different options, like you need to eat X number of bites for how old you are. Example, my 8 year old needs to eat 8 bites. Boy is that a battle! I know they are not going to starve, but man do they get grumpy!
Amber @ SIMoneySavers says
Amy, my youngest daughter, who is now 13, has always been picky.
When she was little she would complain about anything I made unless it was
macaroni and cheese. However I was determined that she was not going to eat
mac & cheese 3 meals a day. :)
We started very early on telling her she at least had to taste each item on
her plate. 1 bite of each item is all I asked. She almost always would find at least 1 item that she
really did like, if not more. This went on for a very, very long time. She
did however get used to the fact that even though she complained she had to
at least try it. As time went on she started liking most of what I cooked.
To this day she will occasionally complain if it is not her favorite thing,
however she just automatically eats it now.
It wasn’t easy!! Good luck :)
Terrie says
My parents use to make me eat my food until it was all gone. I remember sitting at the table way past dinner time. It only made me “hate” the food more. This is what I do with my children. I serve everyone the same meal. I put just a little on their plates. They at least have to try one bite. If they don’t want anymore that’s fine. I thank them for trying it. I always have something on their plates they like. So, they are not going to starve if they don’t eat everything. I would be hesitate to tell them to eat a “x” number of bites. This may set up some control issues/power struggles with food. Good luck!
Alison says
In our family we don’t usually battle over breakfast or lunch. Primarily that is because I don’t want the teachers to suffer because of my battle. We have several easy, healthy options available every morning if someone doesn’t want the “cooked breakfast” or if I didn’t plan one. I pack the boys lunches with things that I know they like (or at least they liked yesterday… LOL!). For dinner, we eat together. They don’t get a treat or extras of the part they like if they don’t eat what is provided, but luckily, I know they won’t starve :)
Amy says
Just for comparison I noticed in my local Kroger ad that a similar type bread only extreamly processed was on SALE for 2.99! So your price is almost buy one get one free off the sale price!
Lindsay says
I’m finding this fascinating and also to be in line with what I just figured for our family of 5… and we haven’t even been eating this way for an entire year yet! Once I had all my numbers in Quickbooks for the year, I added up what we spent on groceries and divided it by the number of meals in a year and came up with about $1.45-1.50 per person per meal… we eat almost exclusively at home tho… it is expensive, but where could you get a healthy, FILLING meal for 1.50 a person at a restaurant, drivethru, etc.?? You can’t! It’s time consuming and makes me neurotic sometimes, but so far, worth it!! Thanks for all the effort you put into educating us Laura! I really enjoy your blog!
Margaret Potter says
I did a similar calculation – I took our average monthly grocery/household bill and divided it by the number of meals I feed our family in a month. I came up with approx $1.67 per meal, but I did not back out any non-food items. Too tedious, as most ‘grocery’ purchases relate to food prep or cleanup for us. As a point of reference, I use coupons sparingly, use BJs for organics and bulk, live near an Aldis, and cook from scratch more than ever. We have a small garden that is producing salad greens and radishes here in FL right now. And I feed a lot of bugs :-)
Gina Hester says
Laura,
Love your receipes! I try atleast one new one a week. I have a question though…just got a nutra mill to start grinding my own wheat…how much do you grind at a time (it expires doesn’t it) do you grind a bunch and make your pancakes, applesauce bread, wheat bread etc.? or do you grind everyday?
Tori L. says
I will grind several gallon size ziplock bags worth at a time and store
them in the freezer. Ground whole wheat flour should keep about a month
in the freezer without going bad or having a significant loss of nutrients.
No need to “thaw” it before you use it unless you have a very temperature
sensitive recipe.
Stefanie says
I, too, love your recipes! Thank you for all of your hard work!
SAB says
I made your applesauce bread last night- thanks! It came out a little drier looking than yours, but i love the taste of the honey and applesauce.
MaryEllen@TheImperfectHomemaker says
Fat fingers! Yes! And they tingle too! I hate that!
meredith blair says
I normallyt hold my hands above my head for part of my walk…it helps with fat fingers… :)
Dara says
Ooh, if you do that for a long time you get the added benefit of strength training your arm muscles against gravity. ;)
Dara says
if 1.86 is in fact what you find applesauce bread to cost.. that is not bad at all!! A loaf of bread at the store costs about 3 to 4 dollars here, and thats just sandwich bread. So for a homemade and flavorfilled applesauce bread to cost less? yum, and bring it on! :)
Olga Garber says
Nutritious food can be expensive, but we’ve found that it’s worth getting bulk grains and beans for our large family. I drive approximately 150 miles each way once a year to stock up on whole wheat flour, brown rice, oats, and wheat berries. I use the flour fresh, and grind the berries later after I run out of flour. Our local super Wal-Mart sells pinto beans at $15 for a 20-ound bag. I cook a big batch several times a week for my five boys (teenage and older), and make whole wheat pancakes also several times a week for them. We use butter and honey from Costco, so I estimate our costs for a pancake meal is less than $2 for the five of them. My point isn’t to compare or make anyone feel guilty, but just to show that healthful eating doesn’t have to break the bank. I am grateful our boys aren’t picky eaters. My husband and I have always felt we should be content with food and clothing, so we have developed a taste for simple meals. I hope this encourages others.
Penny says
I figured our glutenfree bread costs $2.45 to make a large loaf. We have 3 boys and spend about $800/month. We also have 3 big gardens and eat lots of free deer so I am very impressed by your budget!
Jenifer Parker says
this kinda sounds like the old “which weighs more, a pound of lead or a pound of feathers?”
Jenifer Parker says
I remember most recipes (in the olden days) wanted you to sift your own
flour (from the bag) but shake it down a little, if I remember correctly
any comment on that? I know WEIGHT and VOLUME are two different animals tho.
Did you ever settle on the weight and volume of your ‘home ground’ flour?
Jenifer Parker says
A question on the fat fingers? Do you walk carrying weights and exercising your arms? I don’t do the weights when I use my treadmill (I cheat and installed a shelf so I can read a book and sometimes walk 4 miles before I realize how long I’ve been on the treadmill). I get the ‘fat finger’ syndrome and accompanying tingling at night and during the daytime from carpal tunnel syndrome ((I was tested-but as to the surgery, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t? “I” wouldn’t cut my wrists so why would I let someone else? is the way I see it)). I constantly exercise my hands either with a squeeze ball or just making fists and or shaking them and sleep with a pillow to rest my hands on so they stay ‘straight’ and don’t even talk to me about those darn wrist braces (they are torture devices and hurt worse than the carpal tunnel). :-) I sure hope you figure how to overcome the ‘fat finger’ thing or it goes away with time.