I will have to get pics later since I'm doing this a couple weeks since I made this but I'm due to make it again soon.
Pumpkin Curry:
Pumkin or similar squash
Coconut Milk
Curry
I bake a pumpkin, acorn squash or butternut squash & let it cool & then peel off the skin, scoop out the seeds & chop it into cubes. In a large pan I pour in a can or two of light coconut milk & add curry to taste, any curry will work, then I throw in the squash until heated through. As a soup I usually add a little stock to thin it out a bit. Serve with Rice, Noodles, Flatbread, ...
This recipe is super versatile, you can add tons of other ingredients, Chicken, Tofu, Fish, Shrimp, Chickpeas, Lentils, Cilantro, Chiles, Peas, Asparagus, Beans, Bell Peppers, ...
You can also use canned pumpkin for a nice smooth sauce and of course it's faster. ;-)
Chow Mein:
Chuka Soba noodles or Spaghetti
Shredded Cabbage, carrots, celery and onion or a precut bag of coleslaw
Any other veggies, meat or tofu you want to add
Soy sauce
Oil
Crunchy noodles &/or nuts(I like almonds or cashews)
Cook the noodles, drain, then add a couple tablespoons of oil in the bottom of a big skillet or stir fry pan and throw in the noodles and as much as you want of the veggies and soy sauce.Top with some sliced almonds or other typing of your choice.
This recipe is very versatile, you can use just about any veggies and meat you like and there are plenty of other sauces you can use for flavor, even just garlic and a some fresh cilantro is delish.
Curry:
Tomato Sauce
Curry Spice
or
Yogurt, plain
Curry
Add any veggies and proteins you like: potato, peas, carrot, chickpeas, chicken, tofu, fish, onion, cauliflower, bell pepper, lentils, cilantro, lime, coconut, cashews, ...
(Saag is a yogurt or cream curry with lots of Spinach)
Biryani:
Basmati or Jasmine Rice
Curry
Other ingredients
Biryani is a rice curry where you add the curry and other ingredients right into the rice. My husbands favorite is a coconut cashew with golden raisins but there are as many variations as you can think of. I recommend going to an Indian restaurant for inspiration. :-)
StirFry:
Veggies
Oil
Flavor
Nothing is easier than a great stirfry! Put a couple tablespoons of oil in a wok or large pan and when it's hot throw in your veggies and anything else you want. It can be as simple as adding a bunch of garlic or soy sauce or you can buy or make up any number of sauces to add. Some of my favorites are, cabbage with garlic, any frozen veggie mix, and broccoli with soy sauce.
Totally Feels Like You are Cheating Ramen:
Ramen Soup
Lots of veggies and anything else you want.
(I also cook the ramen and then drain the noodles before adding the spice packet and then add veggies and such and sometimes add plain yogurt or sour cream to make it creamy.)
Showing posts with label Saving $. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saving $. Show all posts
Easy Peasy Rice Pudding/ Cereal
If you've never made or tried this delicious comfort food you have been MISSING OUT!!! I remember the first time my mom made it
Menu Planning Made Easy
I don't know about you but I tend to struggle with dinner time if I don't have it planned out before hand so I thought I'd share with you how I plan my meals to make my meal planning go as quick and easy as possible.
First my Inspiration came from All Things Beautiful's Menu Planner Board
I modified mine a little bit and am still in the process of finishing it so you just get a picture of hers for now. I didn't put the recipes on mine and I am working on adding lunch. I've got 40 meals to choose from and I always plan a few days to come up with a new recipe or try someone else's out but those 40 are my mainstays and still give me plenty of room for creativity. I have a few that use up leftovers, a few that only plan the meat or the ethnicity so that I can make whatever I feel like and still know that I have everything I need on hand. I'm also really flexible with it, I plan it a month at a time but if I'm in the mood for Tuesdays Dinner on Friday then I just switch, keeping in mind what fresh items need to be used up. I don't plan mine with Sides and a dessert but My mom does and I figure some of you might too, so I threw them in my planner as well in case you want them, along with plenty of blank spots to write in your personal favorites.
You can find my menu planner here in Google Documents, I included a blank shopping list as a bonus.
First my Inspiration came from All Things Beautiful's Menu Planner Board
I modified mine a little bit and am still in the process of finishing it so you just get a picture of hers for now. I didn't put the recipes on mine and I am working on adding lunch. I've got 40 meals to choose from and I always plan a few days to come up with a new recipe or try someone else's out but those 40 are my mainstays and still give me plenty of room for creativity. I have a few that use up leftovers, a few that only plan the meat or the ethnicity so that I can make whatever I feel like and still know that I have everything I need on hand. I'm also really flexible with it, I plan it a month at a time but if I'm in the mood for Tuesdays Dinner on Friday then I just switch, keeping in mind what fresh items need to be used up. I don't plan mine with Sides and a dessert but My mom does and I figure some of you might too, so I threw them in my planner as well in case you want them, along with plenty of blank spots to write in your personal favorites.
You can find my menu planner here in Google Documents, I included a blank shopping list as a bonus.
Souper Cheap Healthy Meals
I'm sitting here typing this while I eat my third bowl of soup, soup is an amazing food, it's comforting, it's filling, it can be hot or cold, creamy or brothy, or somewhere in between, it's really easy and you can make it with any flavors and ingredients you have on hand.
Today my soup was inspired by my kids favorite version of macaroni and cheese, with tuna and peas in it, I wasn't in te mood for a cheese soup and my son wanted couscous in it so I grabbed a can of cream of chicken soup, a can of tuna, frozen peas and whole wheat couscous. I dumped in the can of soup and two cans of water, I only wanted it a little creamy, about a cup of frozen peas and the can of tuna, water and all and put the burner on high. While I was waiting for the soup to come to a boil I threw in plenty of seasonings: Mrs. Dash, lemon pepper, ginger, garlic, onion powder, paprika, chile powder and some lime juice because I was craving citrus. As soon as it cam to a boil I stirred in a heaping 1/4 cup of couscous, turned off the stove and waited 5 minutes for the couscous to cook. VOILA!!! Totally healthy, yummy, filling soup in only 10 minutes. It would have been cheaper if I had simply added some milk and chicken bullion but I was out of milk and the soup was a nice shortcut.
Tuna and Pea Soup with Couscous
Cheesy Roasted Potato Soup
Today my soup was inspired by my kids favorite version of macaroni and cheese, with tuna and peas in it, I wasn't in te mood for a cheese soup and my son wanted couscous in it so I grabbed a can of cream of chicken soup, a can of tuna, frozen peas and whole wheat couscous. I dumped in the can of soup and two cans of water, I only wanted it a little creamy, about a cup of frozen peas and the can of tuna, water and all and put the burner on high. While I was waiting for the soup to come to a boil I threw in plenty of seasonings: Mrs. Dash, lemon pepper, ginger, garlic, onion powder, paprika, chile powder and some lime juice because I was craving citrus. As soon as it cam to a boil I stirred in a heaping 1/4 cup of couscous, turned off the stove and waited 5 minutes for the couscous to cook. VOILA!!! Totally healthy, yummy, filling soup in only 10 minutes. It would have been cheaper if I had simply added some milk and chicken bullion but I was out of milk and the soup was a nice shortcut.
Tuna and Pea Soup with Couscous
- 1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup or milk and Chicken bullion's or broth
- 1 can of Tuna in water
- 1 C frozen peas
- 1/4 cup heaping of Couscous
- Season as you prefer, if using a new spice or seasoning be sure to start with just a tiny bit until you get the hang of how much you like.
You could make the whole thing for just over $1 or a little over $2 depending on if you use the canned soup and what seasonings you use. Makes about 5 servings at about $.25-$.45 per serving.
A few other great soup recipes:
Minestrone
- Tomato Juice
- pasta, like macaroni, shells, wheels, farfalle, etc.
- beans, like kidney, black eye peas, white, pinto, etc.
- frozen veggie mix, I like the green bean, carrots and pea mix
- Onion, diced and sautéed in the pan before adding the juice
- Water
- Herbs and Spices, to your taste.
You just need to add enough water for the pasta so that it doesn't make the soup too thick but you can cook the pasta separately or let it get thicker, it's up to you. It's really that easy.
Spinach and Bean Soup
- Water
- Milk
- White beans or Black eye peas
- frozen Spinach
- Celery Seed, just a dash
- Herbs and Spices how you like
I actually used cream of celery soup the first time I made it but it tastes great with the milk and celery seeds too. If you have a little one who loves the color green, like my son, you can puree the thawed spinach with a little water for a nice green color.
Chili
- Taco Seasoning Mix
- Cooked Beans
- Tomato Juice
- Ground Beef, Turkey or Chicken
- Onion
Cook up the meat and onion then add the taco seasoning and let it heat up a bit to really bring out the flavor, add everything else, bring to a boil and you're done.
Cheesy Roasted Potato Soup
In a previous post HERE
Feel free to post your own favorite soup recipes in the comments.
How to Eat Healthy On a Very Tight Budget (part two)
-- 11 Eat smarter not harder, smaller portions, eating protein first and high fiber last gets you full faster and keeps you full longer; knowing how much you actually need of each food group, like only 8 ounces of protein per day or only 1 1/2 cups of milk for toddlers, all helps you save money and be healthier too.
-- 12 Buy Generic food and store brands. They taste like brand name foods, sometimes better, but they’ll save you money on packaging & advertising.
-- 13 Buy supplements. They can be cheap and make your life easier but make sure the bulk of your diet consists of whole, unprocessed foods. Whey is the cheapest protein you’ll find, put some in a smoothie for a cheap but complete and filling breakfast. Fish Oil is cheaper than fish, so take them when your budget or palate doesn't allow them, just before bed to avoid the "fish burps". Vitamin deficiency is common, Vitamin D esp. right now, so taking a multi-vitamin can help you make sure that there aren't any gaps in your nutritional needs.
-- 14 Buy calorie and nutrition dense foods. Whole milk, potatoes, brown rice, whole wheat pasta & rolled oats are very filling. Fruits and veggies like blueberries and yams are high in nutrients.
-- 15 Always read the ingredients, avoid foods that are full of fillers instead of real food, like most ketchup has a lot of High Fructose Corn Syrup that is mostly there as a filler but Hunt's has one that has no added sodium or high fructose corn syrup and it tastes great too.
-- 16 Shop the discounts, meat, bread, and many other things go for a lot cheaper when they are getting close to their expiration or sell by dates, look for those first.
-- 17 Get the Customer Card and only shop at one place unless you are going there already, you may save a little going to that other store for a couple of items that are cheaper there but once you add the cost of gas, extra wear and tear on your car and the extra time you usually save more by just getting it all at once.
-- 18 *Play the "grocery game", clip coupons and use them in conjunction with sales to get the best price possible. There's a website called The Grocery Game that is a great way to get you started if you think you need help. I started there and now do it on my own and my grocery bills were cut in half while I was actually buying more.
-- 19 Check the unit price, it's amazing how often something looks cheaper but actually costs more when you break it down. Like two boxes of pasta, one is $.50 less but it is actually one ounce less which makes it more per ounce than the other box.
-- 20 Stop buying food out, make your own meals and take them with you instead. Taking your lunch to work, keeping healthy snacks like nuts in the car and your purse can save you from buying
-- 21 Stick to your list and eliminate impulse buying, the easiest way to do this is to do your shopping online and pick up your groceries or have them delivered, you'll save for more on the things you don't buy and the time and gas you save than you spend on the fees you pay for the service. Even if you can't do this make sure that you make a list and keep strictly to it, if it's not on the list it doesn't go in the cart.
* (Although most of my recipes say how much they cost I am stating the cost without sales or savings, I haven't included how much I saved with coupons or anything I grew on my own.)
-- 12 Buy Generic food and store brands. They taste like brand name foods, sometimes better, but they’ll save you money on packaging & advertising.
-- 14 Buy calorie and nutrition dense foods. Whole milk, potatoes, brown rice, whole wheat pasta & rolled oats are very filling. Fruits and veggies like blueberries and yams are high in nutrients.
-- 15 Always read the ingredients, avoid foods that are full of fillers instead of real food, like most ketchup has a lot of High Fructose Corn Syrup that is mostly there as a filler but Hunt's has one that has no added sodium or high fructose corn syrup and it tastes great too.
-- 16 Shop the discounts, meat, bread, and many other things go for a lot cheaper when they are getting close to their expiration or sell by dates, look for those first.
-- 17 Get the Customer Card and only shop at one place unless you are going there already, you may save a little going to that other store for a couple of items that are cheaper there but once you add the cost of gas, extra wear and tear on your car and the extra time you usually save more by just getting it all at once.
-- 18 *Play the "grocery game", clip coupons and use them in conjunction with sales to get the best price possible. There's a website called The Grocery Game that is a great way to get you started if you think you need help. I started there and now do it on my own and my grocery bills were cut in half while I was actually buying more.
-- 19 Check the unit price, it's amazing how often something looks cheaper but actually costs more when you break it down. Like two boxes of pasta, one is $.50 less but it is actually one ounce less which makes it more per ounce than the other box.
-- 20 Stop buying food out, make your own meals and take them with you instead. Taking your lunch to work, keeping healthy snacks like nuts in the car and your purse can save you from buying
-- 21 Stick to your list and eliminate impulse buying, the easiest way to do this is to do your shopping online and pick up your groceries or have them delivered, you'll save for more on the things you don't buy and the time and gas you save than you spend on the fees you pay for the service. Even if you can't do this make sure that you make a list and keep strictly to it, if it's not on the list it doesn't go in the cart.
* (Although most of my recipes say how much they cost I am stating the cost without sales or savings, I haven't included how much I saved with coupons or anything I grew on my own.)
How to Eat Healthy On a Very Tight Budget
--When you can buy a burger for a $1 or feed a family of 5 for $3.50 using cheap fatty meats and Hamburger Helper but it costs $4 for a bag of grapes or a package of spinach, and $3 for a bunch of broccoli, it can seem like eating healthy is only for those with plenty of $ to spend. I am here to tell you that this doesn't have to be the case, you can eat very healthy and spend less than you spend on the stuff the food industry passes off for food.
There are many things that add to this since most of us eat on plates the size that used to be our grandparents serving platters which gets us eating more than we actually need along with the fact that most of us are filling up on foods that don't give us what we need and so our bodies tell us we are hungry even though we've eaten lots of calories because our food is devoid of actual nutrition. (Did you know that an apple you buy in the store today has as many calories but only half the nutrition of an apple only 50 years ago? So even "healthy" food is lacking in nutrition unless you grow it yourself.) If you eat very much fast food and processed foods, those foods are also created to get you to eat and crave them more than you would if they were made more "homemade" style. All of this also has massive effects on our medical costs so we more than make up for what we save today on cheap "food" with what we spend tomorrow on Dr's visits, medication, surgeries, and lost quality of life.
--First thing you need to do when looking to save $ on your groceries while eating healthy is to flip the way we usually think of breakfast, lunch and supper. Instead of eating a big meal in the evening you should eat the way my mom taught me, she said "eat like a king in morning, a queen for lunch and a pauper at night." This way of eating is not only easier on our budgets but is great for our health as well. Proteins like eggs are cheaper than the meats we typically eat for dinner and since our blood sugar levels and metabolism are set in the morning, having a big healthy breakfast sets us up for success for the rest of the day.
--The second thing was already touched on, buying cheaper proteins like eggs, milk, cottage cheese, beans, soy, peanut butter, etc.
--Third, rethink where you buy your food, buy in bulk, if you can't go through some of the things fast enough or it's too expensive to get started then find a friend or two to split it with, sometimes I can buy things at the wholesale clubs for just over half of what I'd pay somewhere else. You can also save a lot buy buying at closeout stores, I've gotten some great pickles at the dollar store.
-- 4 buy frozen and canned, Frozen fruits and veggies can be up to half the price of fresh and since most of them are picked when fully ripe and then frozen right away they have more nutrition and flavor as well. Some Canned foods like tomatoes and tomato sauce and paste save a lot of time, are great in recipes and on the wallet, they also taste better and have more nutrition as well. Other canned fruits and veggies are generally more expensive by actual weight, esp. once you've poured off the liquid, than fresh so I only recommend tomatoes, plus they are generally soft and flavorless.
-- 5 Buy whole unprocessed foods like plain yogurt, pasta, rice, beans, oil, nuts, oats, chicken, etc. You can buy these whole foods in bulk as well and store them, since they are your basics you can use them in almost any kind of meal.
-- 6 When buying fresh only buy what is in season.
-- 7 *Plant a garden, when you grow your own herbs, fruits and vegetables it not only saves you tons of money but it has other benefits as well, it can be very relaxing, it adds oxygen, it is very rewarding, and food you grew yourself tastes better and typically has about double the nutrition of fresh produce from the store. I only had a tiny concrete patio one year but I was still able to grow 4 tomato plants, 7 different herbs and lots of lettuce, all in containers. This cost me about $50 to get all the supplies but I had so many herbs that I dried plenty for the rest of the year, enough tomatoes to give away and can some, and the lettuce was so good that everybody I gave some to said that they had no idea lettuce could be so full of flavor and crunchy. I saved about $100 even after subtracting the food I gave away.
-- 8 Plan ahead, make a menu for the week or even month, plan your shopping after making an inventory of what you already have so that you don't buy multiples and waste food. Make double portions and then eat the leftovers soon, freeze them and eat them later or use them in another meal.
-- 9 Soda and other flavored drinks like punch, even juice, may taste great but they aren't so good for you, soda is the worst since it causes you to retain water, retards your absorption of oxygen, and caffeine is a diuretic so it makes you dehydrated; even juice has the same calories as soda or punch so it's only good in moderation. Milk may be touted as a super healthy drink but it contains as much sugar as soda and twice as much if you drink the flavored ones so even milk needs to be in moderation, instead drink tap water, it's calorie free, really cheap and just what your body needs.
-- 10 Time is also money, keep it simple, instead of making complicated recipes save those for special occasions and make most of your meals with only about five ingredients.
* (Although several of my recipes say how much they cost I am stating the cost without sales or savings, I haven't included how much I saved with coupons or anything I grew on my own.)
There are many things that add to this since most of us eat on plates the size that used to be our grandparents serving platters which gets us eating more than we actually need along with the fact that most of us are filling up on foods that don't give us what we need and so our bodies tell us we are hungry even though we've eaten lots of calories because our food is devoid of actual nutrition. (Did you know that an apple you buy in the store today has as many calories but only half the nutrition of an apple only 50 years ago? So even "healthy" food is lacking in nutrition unless you grow it yourself.) If you eat very much fast food and processed foods, those foods are also created to get you to eat and crave them more than you would if they were made more "homemade" style. All of this also has massive effects on our medical costs so we more than make up for what we save today on cheap "food" with what we spend tomorrow on Dr's visits, medication, surgeries, and lost quality of life.
--First thing you need to do when looking to save $ on your groceries while eating healthy is to flip the way we usually think of breakfast, lunch and supper. Instead of eating a big meal in the evening you should eat the way my mom taught me, she said "eat like a king in morning, a queen for lunch and a pauper at night." This way of eating is not only easier on our budgets but is great for our health as well. Proteins like eggs are cheaper than the meats we typically eat for dinner and since our blood sugar levels and metabolism are set in the morning, having a big healthy breakfast sets us up for success for the rest of the day.
--The second thing was already touched on, buying cheaper proteins like eggs, milk, cottage cheese, beans, soy, peanut butter, etc.
--Third, rethink where you buy your food, buy in bulk, if you can't go through some of the things fast enough or it's too expensive to get started then find a friend or two to split it with, sometimes I can buy things at the wholesale clubs for just over half of what I'd pay somewhere else. You can also save a lot buy buying at closeout stores, I've gotten some great pickles at the dollar store.
-- 4 buy frozen and canned, Frozen fruits and veggies can be up to half the price of fresh and since most of them are picked when fully ripe and then frozen right away they have more nutrition and flavor as well. Some Canned foods like tomatoes and tomato sauce and paste save a lot of time, are great in recipes and on the wallet, they also taste better and have more nutrition as well. Other canned fruits and veggies are generally more expensive by actual weight, esp. once you've poured off the liquid, than fresh so I only recommend tomatoes, plus they are generally soft and flavorless.
-- 5 Buy whole unprocessed foods like plain yogurt, pasta, rice, beans, oil, nuts, oats, chicken, etc. You can buy these whole foods in bulk as well and store them, since they are your basics you can use them in almost any kind of meal.
-- 6 When buying fresh only buy what is in season.
-- 7 *Plant a garden, when you grow your own herbs, fruits and vegetables it not only saves you tons of money but it has other benefits as well, it can be very relaxing, it adds oxygen, it is very rewarding, and food you grew yourself tastes better and typically has about double the nutrition of fresh produce from the store. I only had a tiny concrete patio one year but I was still able to grow 4 tomato plants, 7 different herbs and lots of lettuce, all in containers. This cost me about $50 to get all the supplies but I had so many herbs that I dried plenty for the rest of the year, enough tomatoes to give away and can some, and the lettuce was so good that everybody I gave some to said that they had no idea lettuce could be so full of flavor and crunchy. I saved about $100 even after subtracting the food I gave away.
-- 8 Plan ahead, make a menu for the week or even month, plan your shopping after making an inventory of what you already have so that you don't buy multiples and waste food. Make double portions and then eat the leftovers soon, freeze them and eat them later or use them in another meal.
-- 9 Soda and other flavored drinks like punch, even juice, may taste great but they aren't so good for you, soda is the worst since it causes you to retain water, retards your absorption of oxygen, and caffeine is a diuretic so it makes you dehydrated; even juice has the same calories as soda or punch so it's only good in moderation. Milk may be touted as a super healthy drink but it contains as much sugar as soda and twice as much if you drink the flavored ones so even milk needs to be in moderation, instead drink tap water, it's calorie free, really cheap and just what your body needs.
-- 10 Time is also money, keep it simple, instead of making complicated recipes save those for special occasions and make most of your meals with only about five ingredients.
* (Although several of my recipes say how much they cost I am stating the cost without sales or savings, I haven't included how much I saved with coupons or anything I grew on my own.)
Unexpected Savings
I forgot to mention my FAVORITE way to save $ at the grocery store last week but then you might not have believed me then either. So here it is!
Online Shopping and Delivery:
Did you know that a study was done on our grocery shopping habits and they found that the average trip to the store for just milk, eggs, and bread, which should cost you $5-12 costs $30, that's THIRTY DOLLARS, simply because we always pick up extra stuff we don't need but it looks good, it's on sale and why not? None of us need those extra things and that extra cushion around our middles and on our backsides that come from them.
I have been having my groceries delivered or at least done drive through pick up at the store since my son was born almost four years ago, at first I didn't use coupons or any of my other tips from last week on top of my groceries being delivered but I saved almost half of my bill from before and still got plenty of snacks and "extras". Now that I've added more ways of saving money, I've been able to lower my grocery budget and actually buy more food than I had before. I have a pantry that is always full with a small stockpile of the things I use the most, I never had extra left over before, and I don't have to constantly ask myself what I'm going to fix for dinner or stuff my kids with candy and treats to get them through a trip to the store.
Saving $ On Your Proteins
I consider protein to be an essential part of every diet, esp. for kids, but I don't like spending a ton of money on it, and I don't like buying something I I feel was raised in an inhumane and unclean environment. So, I opt for the less expensive proteins for most of my meals, soy, beans, nuts and eggs. Because I get most of my proteins from them I can afford to spend the extra money on cage free eggs and free range, grain and grass fed meats. It also helps that I know I only need 7-8oz. of protein a day so, I'm not loading up on them instead of my fruits and veggies which I need 5 cups of a day.
I'm not a vegetarian, clearly, but that is one way I can save money and eat healthy at the same time.
I'm not a vegetarian, clearly, but that is one way I can save money and eat healthy at the same time.
Stretching Your Grocery Dollar
No recipe today, instead I thought I'd share with you some great tips. There are several great ways of saving money and frustration when it comes to feeding your family and the more of them you use the more you can save.
- Coupons-
- This is the most common and obvious way to save $ but there are two ways of doing it and one way will save you hundreds while the other saves you dollars. The most common way of using coupons is to simply use which ever ones you feel like buying at the time, the other way is to make it a game and really use the coupons in conjunction with sales and double and triple coupon days to buy your items for pennies on the dollar and sometimes even free.
- A great resource to get you started is The Grocery Game where for only $10 for 8 weeks you can get a list of all the best deals for your store and which coupons to use from your mailed coupons and Sunday paper coupons. With getting only the Sunday paper delivered or at the dollar store being $1 per week the cost to you is $2.25 per week. I saved over $100 dollars my first week alone and only spent about $100, so it's well worth the investment.
- Meal Planning-
- Planning out your menu ahead of time saves you so much time and frustration as well as $. Just think of all the time you spend staring in your fridge, freezer and pantry trying to figure out what you can make for dinner, and even breakfast and lunch. Well, if you simply make a list of all the meals you can think of that you generally make for those meals then in no time at all you can plan out your meals one, two, four weeks at a time. No more wasted time wondering what to fix and no more wasted food because you forgot it was there or just never got around to using it.
- If you need help coming up with great recipes for your meal planning Bust-a-Meal will email you a meal plan every week based on your diet preferences and you can even get the shopping list along with the recipes.
- Mise En Plus-
- Mise en plus is a french term that means "everything in it's place" and in the culinary world it means having everything ready before you get started so that you can work quickly, that means pre-chopping, pre-measuring, and having every tool you'll need set out and ready when you start to cook. How does this translate into saving you money? Well, if you buy items, like peppers, unprepared and prepare them yourself then you can get them at a lower price and then use them as you need them. For example, I love cooking with bell peppers, so I stock up when they are on a really good sale and clean, chop and freeze them so that I have lots of them ready for me to use exactly the amount I need at any time. (Freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet first and then put them in freezer bags so they're easy to use and not frozen in a solid lump.)
- Not all foods are cheaper to buy unprepared, for example sliced fresh mushrooms cost the exact same as whole, so if you are going to use them sliced you might as well buy them that way.
- Prepping your food early in the week means that you save a lot of time and frustration when meal time comes around.
- Recipe Redo-
- If you plan on using a specific ingredient or dish that usually has leftovers when you are done then you can save $ by using what's left over in another meal. Use that roast to make a stew, stroganoff or sandwiches, use left over baked potatoes to make potato salad or twice baked, use your stir fry to make eggrolls and the rice for rice pudding or cereal, use that chicken for a salad, use, well, you get the idea.
I hope that these tips help you to stretch your grocery dollar in ways that you haven't before, $ saved in one area means it can be used in another.
Fashion Friday - Why Quality is Worth the Cost
I found this NY Times article through DailyWorth.com and it really explains well why a pair of khaki pants are really worth $550. Although I doubt that I'll ever be able to afford anything that pricey it is a great reminder that "investment pieces" really are worth it if you take your time to find those perfect pieces that will be with you for a long time.
Fashion Friday - stretching your fashion dollar
I thought I would try to have some fun and sometimes serious posts about fashion and looking good and feeling great no matter your age, weight or income.
We're all trying to save money these days and many of our wardrobes are suffering from it, here are my tips to having a great wardrobe without breaking the bank.
- Buy quality where it counts and save everywhere else. My husband HATES that I always run to the clearance racks first in any store or that I'm just as happy shopping in a thrift store as a high end store and yet those thrift store finds are why I can afford to buy that $150 dollar purse that I have always wanted. (And it was $350 retail)
- Buy only what you'll really wear. There have been studies to find out what we really wear and what tends to sit in our closets and they have found that we only really wear two weeks worth of clothes regularly and the rest are rarely worn if at all, so why not clear out all that clutter and fill your closet with clothes that you really love and wear? My rule is that I have about ten outfits for each season, then about ten "all season" pieces that are simple, classic and go with just about everything and ten trendy items. I spend most of my money on the ten "all season" pieces and the least amount of money on the ten "Trendy" pieces. My seasonal pieces are really only going to be worn about twice a month which means 6 times that season so nothing gets worn out, my "all season" pieces get worn a bit more but are still cycled through with the rest of my stuff and my trendy pieces may be worn a lot more but I know that I won't be wearing them next year so I don't care if they've bit the dust by the end of the season or year.
- ALWAYS shop with a list. Don't just go thinking you'll just see what you find, know what you have, what you need and what you are looking for. Have two lists, what you need and what you would like if it's the perfect item. For example, I was on the lookout for the PERFECT classic trench coat, no matter where I went I kept an eye out for it, I saw a lot of coats I liked but none of them were "perfect" so I would just pass them by knowing that the coat I had would get me by just fine until I found it. Lo and behold I found what I was looking for at H&M for only $50, it's perfect, I LOVE it and I'm so glad that I had passed up all the other ones because now I feel great every time I put it on knowing that there aren't any other's I'll wish I'd gotten instead.
- Buy only what you LOVE! This really fits with the 2nd point but how many times have you gone into a store, not found what you wanted but you felt like you NEEDED something so you just bought whatever was there and left, still feeling down about yourself because deep down you think it's your fault that everything doesn't look fabulous on your body. Now think about how often you actually wear that item and how you feel every time you do put it on.
- Don't be afraid to snip, sew and spruce up. "Ready to wear" clothes are made to fit the "average" body and since no one fits into the average perfectly no clothes are truly "ready to wear". If you can find a great little dress that fit's your hips or chest but is too big in the waist, bring it in, always fit the largest part of you and tailor the rest. If you find this "really cute" but plain top in a thrift store for only a couple dollars spending a couple more and a little time in adding that little something that takes it from drab to fab is well worth it. If you have an old skirt that still fits and is in great shape but is outdated, maybe you could shorten the hem or add a great new belt.
- Utilize your friends. Maybe they can give you some great clothes they can't wear any more, tell you about some great places to shop or just give you an honest opinion, any way you look at it having good friends around makes everything nicer.
- Take your time. Don't be in a hurry, having the perfect wardrobe is an ever changing thing so if your clothes aren't what you love and feel great in just take your time buying one piece at a time and getting rid of anything you don't love or wear. You'll be surprised how quickly your attitude and wardrobe will take shape and be everything you always wished it could be.
Homemade Beauty as seen on "Studio 5"
Sugar Scrub:
- oil
- sugar or salt
- Vitamin E (optional)
Pour sugar or salt into your container leaving enough room to stir and then pour the oil in until it covers the sugar/ salt. Add a few drops of vitamin E oil. Blend ingredients well.
Scoop out a nickel size amount and rub over hands or other dry, rough area for about 30 seconds to 1 minute and then rinse and pat dry. Oil will absorb completely in a few minutes. Keep in a cool place.
You can also add Aloe Vera juice but you will have to stir the mixture before every use and keep it in the fridge. Be sure to use it within a month if you do so for best advantages from the Aloe Vera
Oils for each skin type:
- All Skin Types- Grapeseed Oil, Jojoba Oil, Olive Oil, Sweet Almond Oil
- Oily or Combination Skin- Aloe Vera Oil, Hazelnut Oil
- Normal Skin- Apricot Kernel Oil
- Dry Skin- Apricot Kernel Oil, Shea Butter, Sunflower Oil
- Sensitive Skin- Sweet Almond Oil, Wheatgerm Oil
- Ageing Skin- Macadamia Nut Oil, Wheatgerm Oil
- Sun Protection- Sesame Seed Oil, Shea Butter
Natural Skin Lightener:
Grated potatoes can lighten under-eye circles. Potatoes contain an enzyme called catecholase, which is used in cosmetics as a human skin lightener.
Run one spud through your food processor and stuff the raw mash into a piece of cheesecloth.
Apply to the area directly beneath your eye — don't let the potato juice come in contact with the eye itself — and leave for 15 to 20 minutes.
Natural skin resurfacer:
- Completely dissolve 1/8 tsp into 1 cup of water.
- Soak a cotton ball in the solution and apply to the skin, let sit for about 2-5 minutes and then wash face with cool water and a soft cloth.
Do not use more than once a week. Papain is an enzyme that is found in Papaya fruit and is the active ingredient in meat tenderizer. It breaks down the peptide bonds that hold the dead skin cells together.
Epsom Salt Benefits:
Better health through soaking
Magnesium can be ingested as a nutritional supplement, but studies show that a wide variety of factors can interfere with their effectiveness. But all of the subjects in a recent study experienced increased magnesium levels from soaking in a bath enriched with magnesium sulfate crystals, commonly known as Epsom Salt.
Raising your magnesium levels may:
Improve heart and circulatory health.
Improve the body's ability to use insulin.
Flush toxins and heavy metals from the cells.
Improve nerve function by regulating electrolytes.
Relieve stress.
Epsom Salt also delivers sulfates, which are extremely difficult to get through food but which readily absorb through the skin.
For more information on the full benefits of Epsom Salt go to www.epsomsaltcouncil.org
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