Well, my DD requested pancakes for breakfast - which I do make on a regular basis for her. Today I experimented a bit more with my recipe. I usually put oatmeal in my pancakes, and I often add blueberries or mini chocolate chips. Today, I used half regular flour and half oat bran flour. Then I added a few good sized scoops of flax seed, some oatmeal and lots of frozen blueberries. YUM!!!! These were great and the kids gobbled them up. Next time I may try whole wheat flour in place of the regular.
I used to use boxed mixes and jazz them up a bit, but I've found it's so easy to mix up a fresh batch I don't even bother with the mixes anymore - saves money and eliminates all the food additives I can't pronounce!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Misc.
Well, I've been trying hard to combine errands into one errand day and today was a great example of that! It took me two hours to complete everything, but I crossed off all the errands for the week on my to do list. That is a great feeling! And with gas at $3.95/gallon I need to drive as little as possible.
The tilapia last night was wonderful and easy - I just sprinkled it with some olive oil, salt, freshly ground pepper and cumin and baked it at 425 until flaky. The cucumber salsa was diced cucumbers, red peppers, onion, a little olive oil and a little white wine vinegar. I had some left over, so I put it on my salad for lunch today and it made a great dressing. We ate outside on the screened- in porch which I love to do if the weather is nice. For sides we had fresh corn on the cob, a salad and fresh asparagus from my mother's garden.
Tonight is a date night - we are doing a mystery shop, but with gas the price it is, I'm starting to wonder if I should consider cutting down on the number of shops we do - instead we might have to start walking over to Starbucks for a coffee for our date night - which actually doesn't sound bad at all!
The tilapia last night was wonderful and easy - I just sprinkled it with some olive oil, salt, freshly ground pepper and cumin and baked it at 425 until flaky. The cucumber salsa was diced cucumbers, red peppers, onion, a little olive oil and a little white wine vinegar. I had some left over, so I put it on my salad for lunch today and it made a great dressing. We ate outside on the screened- in porch which I love to do if the weather is nice. For sides we had fresh corn on the cob, a salad and fresh asparagus from my mother's garden.
Tonight is a date night - we are doing a mystery shop, but with gas the price it is, I'm starting to wonder if I should consider cutting down on the number of shops we do - instead we might have to start walking over to Starbucks for a coffee for our date night - which actually doesn't sound bad at all!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Menu Plan Monday
Monday - Tilapia with Zucchini relish/ salad/ corn on the cob/ asparagus
Tuesday - Mystery Shop
Wednesday - Asian Beef & Veggie Medley (served over napa cabbage instead of rice)
Thursday - Pork Tenderloin Kabobs/ salad/ brown rice/ corn on the cob
Friday - Asparagus & barley risotto/ salad
Saturday - Seafood Cioppino/ whole grain pasta/ salad
Sunday - Szechwan beef/ brown rice
Breakfasts will include high fiber cereal, steel cut oats (soaked overnight), omelets with veggies (spinach, peppers, onions, etc.), or whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter.
The breakfasts are a far change from my old days of a muffin or scone and coffee, and I've found by eating the better foods, I don't snack and I feel like I start the day off better!
Tuesday - Mystery Shop
Wednesday - Asian Beef & Veggie Medley (served over napa cabbage instead of rice)
Thursday - Pork Tenderloin Kabobs/ salad/ brown rice/ corn on the cob
Friday - Asparagus & barley risotto/ salad
Saturday - Seafood Cioppino/ whole grain pasta/ salad
Sunday - Szechwan beef/ brown rice
Breakfasts will include high fiber cereal, steel cut oats (soaked overnight), omelets with veggies (spinach, peppers, onions, etc.), or whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter.
The breakfasts are a far change from my old days of a muffin or scone and coffee, and I've found by eating the better foods, I don't snack and I feel like I start the day off better!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Eliminating High Fructose Corn Syrup
One of the things I've been looking at this week is sweeteners. I keep hearing about how awful the additives are and I have to admit I feel strongly that anything in it's natural state has to be better than something artificial, but man this corn syrup is in EVERYTHING!
I was getting ready to pour myself a bowl of what I thought was healthy shredded wheat and low and behold - what was in it? High Fructose corn syrup. So, I made a pot of steel cut oats - a new experience for me this month. I sweetened them with honey and wow was it a terrific breakfast. I think we are going to eat up all the cereal we have and then I'm going to go on a mission to find a few that are fairly natural - I've had the Kashi Go Lean a number of times and really like it, so that will be one I'll check out. Any other suggestions would be welcome!
I'll probably be MIA the next few days, but we'll catch up over the weekend!
I was getting ready to pour myself a bowl of what I thought was healthy shredded wheat and low and behold - what was in it? High Fructose corn syrup. So, I made a pot of steel cut oats - a new experience for me this month. I sweetened them with honey and wow was it a terrific breakfast. I think we are going to eat up all the cereal we have and then I'm going to go on a mission to find a few that are fairly natural - I've had the Kashi Go Lean a number of times and really like it, so that will be one I'll check out. Any other suggestions would be welcome!
I'll probably be MIA the next few days, but we'll catch up over the weekend!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Menu Plan Monday
Well, this is my first full week of healthy eating for May, so I thought I'd post my menu plans - it's actually going to be an odd week since I'm getting my wisdom teeth out Wednesday, so Wed/Thurs/Fri will probably all be smoothies! Thanks to Organizing Junkie for putting together the MPM! http://orgjunkie.com/
Monday - Herbed pork tenderloin, braised spinach, fresh fruit
Tuesday - mystery shop with DH (date night!)
Wed/Thurs/Fri - who knows
Sat - Tilapia w/ cucumber sauce, salad, fresh fruit
Sun - Balsamic chicken on the grill, roasted veggies, fruit
The dishes actually look like a pretty typical dinner week for our family. The real difference in how I'm eating is in the lunches, breakfasts and snacks. I'll share an example of that down the road.
Monday - Herbed pork tenderloin, braised spinach, fresh fruit
Tuesday - mystery shop with DH (date night!)
Wed/Thurs/Fri - who knows
Sat - Tilapia w/ cucumber sauce, salad, fresh fruit
Sun - Balsamic chicken on the grill, roasted veggies, fruit
The dishes actually look like a pretty typical dinner week for our family. The real difference in how I'm eating is in the lunches, breakfasts and snacks. I'll share an example of that down the road.
Friday, May 2, 2008
My Frugal Friday Family Night
We decided to start the weekend off right with a family night. So, after dinner at home, we took off on our adventures. First stop was CVS (for me!). I picked up four packages of diapers, two Colgate 360 toothbrushes, 1 of the CVS allergy packs, a Glade car scented oil holder and one of the Tum's instant dissolve for 75 cents after coupons and ECB's. It was fun! I had a raincheck for the diapers from the last time they were B1G1 and I've just been waiting for a $2 off $10 coupon to buy them - today when I scanned my card a $3 off $10 showed up -score!
Next we headed over to Meijer for gas - a sickening $63 later (we were REALLY empty), we ran to a store for me to do a quick mystery shop ($8). Then we went to Maggie Moo's for ice cream - we had a B1G1 coupon, so we got two regulars for $5 and some change - expensive but a fun treat. My little guy was so excited once he figured out where we were and what we were getting - he was bouncing all over the place (he's 18 months). After our tummies were full, we went to the bookstore to play with the train set and read books - I read a good dozen to the kids before we left. Last stop was Walmart to pick up milk and Kashi cereal - thanks to Money Saving Mom http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ for the tip on the $2 coupons!
Total spent (aside from gas): $9.25
Total earned: $8.00
New ECB: don't have the receipts on me but around $15
Now the kids are snoozing and I just finished inputting my shop and am doing a bit of surfing with a warm cup of tea. Good start to the weekend!
Next we headed over to Meijer for gas - a sickening $63 later (we were REALLY empty), we ran to a store for me to do a quick mystery shop ($8). Then we went to Maggie Moo's for ice cream - we had a B1G1 coupon, so we got two regulars for $5 and some change - expensive but a fun treat. My little guy was so excited once he figured out where we were and what we were getting - he was bouncing all over the place (he's 18 months). After our tummies were full, we went to the bookstore to play with the train set and read books - I read a good dozen to the kids before we left. Last stop was Walmart to pick up milk and Kashi cereal - thanks to Money Saving Mom http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ for the tip on the $2 coupons!
Total spent (aside from gas): $9.25
Total earned: $8.00
New ECB: don't have the receipts on me but around $15
Now the kids are snoozing and I just finished inputting my shop and am doing a bit of surfing with a warm cup of tea. Good start to the weekend!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Stocking up!
I go back and forth on stockpiling - I like the concept, but sometimes I find myself with way too much of something we don't need (Hamburger Helper comes to mind!). I end up donating a lot of stuff like that.
However, I do try to keep a nice supply of meat in the freezer. Every week I watch the sale prices and at least twice a month do a stock up of whatever meat is on sale. For example, last week Kroger had boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale for $1.67/lb. I know that we eat chicken two or three times a week. I also know that chicken tends to go on sale at one of our three main groceries at least every other month. So, I purchased 8 packages. I then took the chicken out of the packages, pounded it flat (for easier even cooking) and rebagged it in freezer bags. It took me about fifteen minutes and now I have enough chicken for at least the next month, possibly two. Total cost: $17.53 for 8 dinners (and enough for lunch the next day).
Yes, it upped my grocery bill for this week, but I've found if I do this twice a month, I can work it into the budget because my off weeks are much less expensive with no meat being purchased.
Hopefully even with my more expensive grocery shopping for the healthy food, this will be one of those ways to continue to keep us eating well for less. And, hopefully by this time next month, all the junk food will be gone - and if it's not, might be time for another big donation to the food pantry!
However, I do try to keep a nice supply of meat in the freezer. Every week I watch the sale prices and at least twice a month do a stock up of whatever meat is on sale. For example, last week Kroger had boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale for $1.67/lb. I know that we eat chicken two or three times a week. I also know that chicken tends to go on sale at one of our three main groceries at least every other month. So, I purchased 8 packages. I then took the chicken out of the packages, pounded it flat (for easier even cooking) and rebagged it in freezer bags. It took me about fifteen minutes and now I have enough chicken for at least the next month, possibly two. Total cost: $17.53 for 8 dinners (and enough for lunch the next day).
Yes, it upped my grocery bill for this week, but I've found if I do this twice a month, I can work it into the budget because my off weeks are much less expensive with no meat being purchased.
Hopefully even with my more expensive grocery shopping for the healthy food, this will be one of those ways to continue to keep us eating well for less. And, hopefully by this time next month, all the junk food will be gone - and if it's not, might be time for another big donation to the food pantry!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
