“The sky is falling! The sky is falling!!” — Chicken Little may be correct. The economy is crumbling faster than an overly larded pie crust  whose flaky wake is giving all of us a good dusting. You, I, or somebody that we know, has been affected by this economic avalanche. A less prosperous bottom-line this year, than the previous, has not been the traditional “American” way of life,ever.  But…here we are.
However — in one small section of  the hovering gloom-cloud enveloping our nation (and the world,) a slight flickering of positive light is just beginning  to ignite a wholesome bright idea. Trying not to sound like an ancient ethicist, austerity is not as bad as it seems/feels. Why…it is character-building!
You are, what you eat. This was the health food-nut-junky’s (me) doctrine that has credoed our lifestyle since those sensational 60’s. And, it’s comin’ back, baby! It’s comin’ back! Basics are the foundation of a budget on a diet, and, the foundation of a diet on a budget. Basics = good! Instead of consuming costly, overly processed, engineered ingredient, manufactured for quick n’ easy, nukable slop — loosely known as foods of convenience — we are reversing this soulless trend of buying and serving drek! The basics are back in vogue. Leave it to my best friend Mother-Nature, who intended and  beautifully so, to provide this healthier and less expensive way of life.
Time, mixed with a pinch of planning, will surely sow the basics for producing and harvesting in the kitchen, thus resulting in reapings to both health and wealth for all of our global village. The next moment that you find yourself showered in the negative aspects of an ice storm of frost-bitten economic comings and goings, remember this positive assurance recipe: austerity + basics = healthy life!! Now… it looks like a great occasion for this great equation…it all makes perfect “cents!!”
A small note of info…dried beans are cheap, easy, good source of protien and fiber, and also have qualities that help to eliminate the bad ESTROGENS that cause  a fibroids growth. Make them from scratch, as canned goods have BPA (xenoestrogenic precursor)…if anyone would like some fabulous recipes using dried beans, just leave me a note. We make our own fresh hummus from dried beans, and use this as a mayonnaise substitute all the time — so fan-tabulous!!!