I was able to pick up 140 pounds of potatoes for .29 cents a pound. These potatoes were dug up only a few days before I purchased them, and weren’t sprayed with any growth inhibitors to prevent sprouting.
I know many families are looking for ways to make their food budgets go further and at .29 cents a pound, potatoes will yield your family a lot of food for very little money.
Potatoes rank with wheat and rice as one of the most important staple crops in the human diet around the world.
At .29 cents a pound these potatoes are not only cheaper than regular pasta, but offer up more nutrients:
Nutrition Facts (1 oblong white, baked, about 2″ x 4-3/4″)
Calories 145
Protein 3.06 grams
Carbohydrates 33.63 grams
Dietary Fiber 2.34 grams
Calcium 7.80 mg
Iron .55 mg
Magnesium 39.00 mg
Potassium 609.96 mg
Phosphorus 78.00 mg
Vitamin C 19.97 mg
Niacin 2.17 mg
Folate 14.20 mcg
Did I mention that NOW is the perfect time to stock up on potatoes? October and November are great months for potatoes going on sale. Wonder how I store 140 pounds of taters? You can read all about how I store potatoes in my garage, ‘buried’ in a container filled with saw dust.
We make our own baked fries using olive oil instead of the hydrogenzied stuff used on the store bought frozen fries. Roasted potato wedges with rosemary garlic salt is another favorite around this joint.
Then there is the ever favorite baked potato. These beauties can be the basis of several inexpensive meals such as chilli or taco potatoes.
You gotta know how to bake the perfect potato first:
Russets are excellent baking potatoes. Begin with scrubbing those tubers well.
Using a fork, poke holes all over. These holes allow the steam to escape from your baking potatoes. And yes, a potato can indeed explode in your oven if you are in a huge hurry and decide to skip poking those holes. ahem. More important, allow the steam to escape is what will create a light and fluffy texture to the inside of your baked spuds.
Rub each potato with olive oil, and then rub each potato with sea salt. This will make your potato skins good enough to eat!
I place my potatoes directly on my oven racks in a 400 degree oven. I put a pan under the potatoes to catch any drippings. Nope, I don’t use tin foil. Baking your potatoes directly on the oven racks will make the skin crispy and wonderful!
I often bake potatoes and then ladle homemade chilli over them, topping them off with green onions and a small amount of grated cheese.
Tradition has it that baked tubers need to be topped with lots of butter and sour cream. My favorite toppings are a spicy German mustard and chopped tomatoes. Hey. We all have our weird.
With food prices continuing to rise significantly, what foods do you rely on to make your grocery budget stretch?
Tammy – what kind of sawdust/shavings do you use, and where do you get it? I just got 100 lbs of potatoes for $30 and they are so much better than what I had been getting at the grocery store!
Karen,
I purchased mine from the same person that I bought the potatoes from. They are simply untreated wood shavings. I can take a picture if you would like.
I saw them in the picture you posted with your older post about storing them. I’ll have to ask my potato guy if he has wood shavings too.
Thanks! (now I’m trying to decide if I should buy more potatoes!)
Karen
I chop up and freeze potatoes as homefries. Nothing better than homefries and eggs for a cheap meal. And after spending 4 hours harvesting 2 giant rows of potatoes at the farm I can tell you potato digging is hard work.
i usually wrap mine, but i’m going to go all rebellious like you and leave em nekkid next time!