Cutting Back, Episode 3: Veggies

Hello all, I'm back from the North Country! And man, I had such a blast and learned SO much. If you want to see photos from the trip, they are here on my Flickr page.

So this episode of Cutting Back is all about veggies. And I'll be honest, a lot of this is common sense stuff that many of us don't really think about. I've been back from the North Country for a week and a half now, and I've been working on this post for a while trying to compile all of the little stuff.

It seems obvious, but that isn't alway the case..

Know your veggies. It is definitely important to know your veggies. Too much of something, like spinach, kale or silverbeet [swiss chard] can be bad for guinea pigs. If you don't memorize well, I recommend you print out Ly's Nutrition Charts from Guineapigcages.com and keep them in your purse/wallet or bring them to the grocery store. In a nutshell, your pig's menu should be lettuce-based, with a good variety of leafy greens each week. My guinea pigs usually get 1-2 kinds of lettuce, one dark leafy green and one or two kinds of herbs each week. I know my veggies very well because I have been doing this for a long time. Practice makes perfect.

Stick to your budget! I spend between $19-$21 each week on greens for my 7 cavies and two rabbits. More than that, and I know I've simply bought too much. Less, and I know I'll be back to the grocery store later in the week. Make a budget, and stick to it. This goes a long way with helping you to cut back on your expenses.

Prep your veggies ahead of time. Many of you are familiar with my post on prepping salads. If you need to cut down on the time that that prep takes, you can cut out the washing/spinning step, which takes the longest and can be done at the time that the salad is served. I do this when I have a busy weekend and don't have two hours to devote to making 10 boxes of salads.

Prepping your salads in advance allows you to portion out your greens so that you're giving your pigs the amount that they need, and you're not using too much and running out early, messing up both your budget and your weekly routine.

Grow your own. I'm not suggesting you go all-out and flood your balcony with 21 heads of lettuce, 3 tomato plants, 2 bell pepper vines and a 2 window boxes full of spinach. Though it you want to, by all means. The more you grow, the more you'll save. I grow about 1/3 of the greens that my cavies eat in the summer time. If you have space on your steps, your porch, your balcony or, if you're lucky enough, some backyard, I encourage you to get your hands dirty and grow some food for your pigs.

Get it locally/in bulk. Things like carrot and celery greens are something that most farmers remove before selling their product. Contact a local farmer and ask them for these perfectly nutritious, delicious greens. I also recommend shopping at the farmer's market when greens are in season. The prices there are much better and the money you spend goes back into your community.

If you have a lot a lot a lot of green-munchers, you can buy a box [about 20-25lbs] of greens from the grocery store for around $20. I know many fosterers who do this. Just be sure you can keep the greens cool. They won't last longer than 7-10 days at the very most.

Storing veggies

I have a lot of green-munching mammals in the house, and I am lucky enough to have two refrigerators. But it has not always been this way. There are many ways to store your veggies.

Coolers. While I was boarding my animals over this past summer/fall, I kept a large cooler in their room so that I could keep their food as close to them as possible. The downside was that, especially in the summer, I had to change the ice at least once a day.

An old chest freezer/fridge. I am a big fan of repurposing old chest freezers and refrigerators. These are very hard to 'recycle' and often they're doomed to hundreds of years in a landfill until Wall-E discovers a plant in a shoe inside one of them. You can use them just like coolers, except you have much more room! If you buy your greens in bulk this is the way to go.

Your ventilator drawer. If your house isn't overflowing with guinea pigs, you can just use the ventilator drawer of your fridge. Really, anywhere that is between 40-55F will do. Many people just keep greens in their basement.

How Do You Do It?! Episode 1: salads.

I can't count the number of times I've had this exact conversation: "How many guinea pigs do you have?" "Two. What about you?" "Seven." "SEVEN?! How do you do it?!"

In honor of that ever-present question, I'd like to introduce y'all to a new series called How Do You Do It?! [fear not, penny pinchers, I still have plenty of money-saving tips to share with you.]

Episode 1: Preparing Salads.

With all of the salad-eating critters in this house (currently there are ten!), the sheer idea of preparing a fresh salad every morning and evening is exhausting. I prepare all of my salads for the week in one fell swoop for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it saves a boatload of time. It also allows me to budget better, since I can portion everything out in advance for the week, and I'm never stuck making that late-night run to the supermarket because we ran out of parsley. I always know days in advance just exactly when the food supply will run out. I like to mark this day on the big office desk calendar on the side of our main refrigerator.

So here, just for you, is a set of step-by-step instructions on how I prepare my salads for the week.

Step 1: Assemble your containers.

To store my salads for the week, I use big plastic containers that once held salad mixes. In Upstate NY, these containers are not recyclable, because they are stackable. But, so long as you are not using them to store a cold liquid or anything hot, they make wonderful storage containers. I use them for everything, from dishwasher detergent to Bunny Chow. One of these big containers holds about 8-10 cups of packed greens. So it is perfect for my 7 guinea pigs. I give them half of a container in the morning, and

half at night. You can also use tupperware containers, ziploc bags or any container you'd like, really.

I keep all of these containers in our spare refrigerator, which also stores our local meat [frozen], big meals, and other non-everyday stuff. Putting a piece of paper towel or a washrag in the bottom of the container helps to keep your salads dry while they are being stored.

Other essentials: A cutting board, a salad spinner [your salads will not keep if they are soaking wet], additional containers, sunglasses.

Optional: a bucket for your scraps--for compost!

Step 2: Cleaning Your Meals-to-be.

Give your veggies/greens a rough chop and throw them in the strainer part of the salad spinner. Spray them with a mixture of 1 part distilled white vinegar and 1 part water. This is especially important if you are not using organic vegetables. Pesticide poisoning is real and it has claimed too many lives. Rinse thoroughly with cold tap water. Shake out as much water as you can. Spin them through the salad spinner and, when they are as dry as can be, set them aside

in one of your extra containers.

Repeat this for all of the veggies and greens in your salad.

And don't forget to chop up your worm food nice and small for those tiny mouths!

Step 3: Distribute.

You can do this one of two ways:

If you are planning to use one container per day, you can lasagna-layer your greens.

If you plan to use one container for a few days in a row, you can toss the salad to ensure that everybody gets a bit of everything.

Here I have shown the lasagna-layering in action, as it is the method that I use.

Close up your containers and stash them in the fridge.

Step 4: Treat yourself.

Congratulations! You've just saved yourself some pretty valuable time by preparing all of your salads for the week all at once! Don't forget to mark your calendar, and help yourself to some of these cherries that I bought mostly for the guinea pigs. Mostly.

A word about local and organic.

As a future farmer, I am very passionate about choosing foods that were grown or raised sustainably by farmers I know--locals. More and more people are choosing local and/or organic foods to boost their health; why not for your pets? Your guinea pigs should be getting most of their nutrients from their fresh foods, as these are much easier for their little bodies to absorb. Local and organic foods are richer in antioxidants and their vitamin/mineral contents are higher than those of conventionally-grown veggies.

Keep in mind that even though many small-time family farmers may not be USDA certified, they likely follow a similar--sometimes a much more strict--set of guidelines for their farming practices. Most family farmers know that it's best to work with nature, not in spite of it.