Amount | Ingredient | $ / day | Source | |
---|---|---|---|---|
60 | ml | Canola Oil | $0.11 | Wal Mart |
3.5 | g | Calcium and vitamin D | $0.21 | Amazon |
1 | pill | Kirkland Signature Daily Multi | $0.04 | Amazon |
4.5 | g | Potassium chloride | $0.09 | Amazon |
1.24 | g | Choline Bitartrate | $0.04 | Amazon |
0.125 | pill | Vitamin K | $0.01 | Amazon |
1.7 | g | Lysine | $0.03 | Amazon |
0.9 | g | Xanthan gum (see notes on amount) | $0.04 | Amazon |
3.7 | g | Salt | $0.00 | Wal Mart |
0.13 | g | Nutmeg, powdered 1/16 tsp | $0.01 | Amazon |
180 | g | Oat Bran Flour | $0.86 | Amazon |
140 | g | Corn flour, masa, unenriched, white | $0.20 | Wal Mart |
72 | g | Vital wheat gluten | $0.72 | Amazon |
Amounts for: Total Daily Cost: | $2.35 | Add Ingredients to Amazon Cart |
This is an approximate replica of Bret's oat & corn recipe, using 4 to 10 pound bags of dry bulk goods instead of 50 pound bags. The cost per day is about 40% higher (still an inexpensive nutrition!), but the initial investment is less than half, and it's much friendlier to a small living space.
I have two 5-gallon buckets for mixing. Once you're done, the finished mix fills one bucket and everything that doesn't have its own sealed jar should fit in the other bucket, protected from pets and pests. They stack nicely and have a minimal footprint.
For daily mixing, I mix a half-day's batch in a one-liter Nalgene bottle. Use a funnel to add 1 1/2 cups of mix, then fill about halfway with hot water (it dissolves better in hot than cold). Shake about 20 seconds and then add 30mL of oil. Fill the rest of the way, shaking more as needed.
The numbers balance nicely without refined sugar in the recipe. If you feel it needs it, you can add a sweetener like Splenda, but as I plan to add spices to alter the flavor from day to day, the base recipe can stay as is. It tastes like a plain corn tortilla. It's good on its own, but it's also a good base for other flavors.
Many thanks to Bret for developing the parent recipe. Please see his recipe page for exhaustive notes and advice:
Here is a modified version of his spreadsheet calculator. You can mix together all the less bulky ingredients several months at a time and then you only have 4 ingredients to measure into your bucket. 80 days of vitamin mix fits in an 8 cup container, and 20 days of the complete mix fits in a 5 gallon bucket with room for mixing.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f3akwjKULn-HyEuiNEEt1z9NH9oLQXLMoDJW_22TktQ/edit?usp=sharing
The links in my recipe and in Bret's instructions are convenient. But remember, shop around a little. I found corn flour at my local supermarket for the best price, and I found the mixing paddle and bucket lids at Home Depot for less than Amazon. I made a nice funnel by cutting the top off of a 2-liter root beer. And make sure to buy food safe buckets instead of the cheaper orange Home Depot or blue Lowe's buckets.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/QEP-30-in-Pro-Spiral-Mixer-61230Q/205554593
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leaktite-5-gal-Screw-Top-Lid-5GAMMA6/203205720
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leaktite-5-gal-Bucket-5GL-WHITE-PAIL/202264041