Frugal Menu for February 2018

This month, we're still focusing on eating up what's in the pantry and freezer, as well as adding more veggies to every meal.  We'll also do our best to decrease our energy usage by using our Crock Pot at least once a week, if not more.  I'll slowly be adding more foods back to my diet on a trial basis, so you'll see some foods (bread, tomatoes, eggs, corn, dairy, legumes) that I've cut out for a bit and need to add back on a trial basis.  Baked goods will be sweetened primarily with stevia, though I can do a small amount of sugar in tiny quantities (think pizza dough).  So, here's the plan, along with the list of groceries we'll need to purchase or glean from the food pantry:

Breakfasts:

• Sauteed veggies, eggs, and maybe meat (chicken sausage or turkey bacon)
• Smoothies with frozen berries, bananas, winter squash, and greens with almond milk (I add turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, and chia seeds often)
• Almond flour muffins with blueberries, cranberries and orange zest, or cocoa powder and chopped pecans
• Big boy breakfast of biscuits, pancakes, or waffles with bacon and fruit

Lunches:

• Leftovers with side salad
• Quesadillas with salad
• Ham or tuna salad sandwiches on gluten free bread
• Hard boiled eggs, fruit, veggie sticks, and nuts

Dinners:

• Lentil sloppy joes over rice with roasted or steamed veggies
• Breakfast for dinner with grain free waffles or pancakes, sauteed greens, eggs and turkey bacon
• Ham, cheese, and broccoli quiche with kale salad and fruit
• Homemade pizza x 4 with homemade pesto, cheese, pepperoni, and sauteed veggies (likely peppers and onions)
• Veggie stir fry over rice or quinoa with egg rolls and Asian slaw
• Split pea soup with ham (my grandmother's recipe), salad, and bread
• Beef and cheddar pie with salad or roasted veggies (make pie with more veggies and less beef)
• Black beans and brown rice with salad and fermented veggies
• Tacos or taco bowls with black beans, winter squash, greens, and fixin's
• Pecan crusted chicken (minus bread crumbs subbing roasted almond flour or more pecans) or salmon and roasted veggies with quinoa
• Crock pot chicken fajitas on corn tortillas or over brown rice with fixin's and green salad
• Crock pot beef stew and salad
• Crock pot baked potatoes/sweet potatoes with fixin's (black beans, sauteed peppers and onions, Greek yogurt, cheese, salsa) and green salad
• Meatball subs (or over rice) with mushrooms, onions, and peppers with salad
• Lentil and sweet potato stew  with salad or sauteed greens
• Flounder tacos on corn tortillas with cilantro lime slaw, pineapple salsa, and queso fresco with a side of cilantro lime rice (if necessary)
• Crock pot chicken and acorn squash

Snacks/Desserts:

• Crock pot coconut lime rice pudding
• Air popped popcorn with seasonings (garlic salt, cheddar powder, or cinnamon sugar)
• Fruit
• Soft pretzels with homemade honey mustard
• Almond flour chocolate chip cookies
• Coconut milk hot cocoa with stevia

Grocery List:

Here's the things we'll need to purchase to make this menu work.  This does not include things currently in our pantry or freezer.

• canned coconut milk x4
• almond milk
• salad greens
• kale
• cabbage x2
• plain Greek yogurt
• corn tortillas
• cilantro
• green onions
• cheese
• veggies for salad and roasting (carrots, asparagus, mushrooms, onions)
• tapioca flour (for a bread recipe)

When possible, we'll glean veggies and yogurt from the food pantry.  This gleaning occurs at the close of the week for them so that things don't get tossed into the dumpster that could be potentially used.

How do you plan your meals for your budget and to save a little of Earth?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

This past week, we had a pretty good week for our budget.  I've tried really hard to keep grocery spending down, so I only picked up $6 worth of groceries this week, instead focusing on what we could make with things from the freezer and pantry.  We also continued to use items from the food pantry that we gleaned last week, including yogurt, greens, and other veggies.  It was little man's 5th birthday, but at his request, we kept things small and low key, making dinner at home and baking a cake from things we had on hand.  It was a wonderful celebration, and he really enjoyed it.

• Made all meals at home including crock pot southwestern chicken soup, veggie stir fry with quinoa and egg rolls, homemade pizza and salads for birthday dinner, fermented veggies, large salads, smoothies, and roasted veggies.
• Spent $6 at the grocery store for almond milk on sale, free yogurt, and salad greens.
• Enjoyed a shared meal with friends Saturday night.  It was a great time for the boys to play, and a nice time for us to visit.  By eating in, we were able to accommodate everyone's dietary restrictions (there were several in this crowd), and save some money over eating out.
• Kept up with composting, recycling, and reusing as appropriate.  Reused wrapping paper and art done on large paper for wrapping birthday gifts.  Reused brown paper sacks for collecting items for Goodwill.
• Saved veggie scraps for making veggie stock this week, including onions, asparagus ends, and carrot peelings.
• Accepted some groceries that Mom purchased for us, so looking forward to using fresh spinach, kale, mushrooms, fruit, and buttermilk.
• Used homemade stock in soup that I previously froze instead of using store bought.  This is healthier and was far less expensive.
• Little man wanted icing for his birthday cake, so I made a chocolate ganache.  I didn't have any heavy cream on hand, so I used evaporated milk and it worked just fine.  Used birthday candles we had on hand.  Honestly, it was a pretty simple cake to pull together, and it was easier to decorate than a sheet cake or layer cake.
• Mom paid for bowling at the bowling alley for little man's birthday.  (So nice of her!)  He had a blast with a few good friends, pizza, and cake.  Instead of gifts for himself, he asked for gifts for the humane society.  We'll take those things on a Saturday when we can go play with the animals some.  We really encourage this kind of gifting, because the boys already have everything they need and more.  It also teaches them to be compassionate and consider the needs of others.
• Enjoyed fresh eggs from the friends we're sharing chicken keeping responsibilities with.  We collected close to two dozen over the two days we checked on them.  We also took the chickens some veggie scraps, so they'll stay healthy and we had a little less to compost.
• Went to school every day (wow, a whole week with no snow!) and packed lunches from home.  Tried to combine trips to and from home with errands that needed to be run, saving on gas.
• Relisted our room ad on Craigslist.  Our current upstairs tenant will leave in March, so we'd like to have this space rented, even if it's short term.  We really enjoy sharing this space and doing life with someone else.
• Continued to press on with getting things lined up to prepare the house for possible sale.  We don't have a lead on land yet, but are trying to make some decisions there.
• Exercised four times with YouTube videos.  I also walked a few days when the weather was relatively warm, instead of exercising at home.  I took the dog with me on one of the walks, which was some good exercise for her too.
• Planned the menu for February, using pantry and freezer items as a basis.

What did you do to live and save green this past week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Review of Goals for 2018

We're doing pretty well toward meeting a lot of our goals for this year, though of course we're making more progress toward some than others.

More Veggies:  I've really gotten in the groove of making smoothies.  I make them up the night before, and then just pop them in the fridge to buzz in the morning.  It's an easy way to include a serving or two of veggies (think spinach, carrots, winter squash, sometimes even parsley).  I've also been making a large salad to go with dinner each night, which gives me some to pack for lunch the next day.  Making soups is an easy place to add veggies too, and we've been roasting more veggies to have with other meals, and Benny's even been making sandwiches or wraps with those too.  I think I'm the only one who's really actively trying to eat more veggies, but at least having them to offer helps provide a chance for the others to have more.

Move More:  I've been trying to work out with YouTube videos each night after the boys go to bed.  This is easier said than done some nights (last night case in point), where baby seems to be going through that 18-24 month sleep regression thing.  There are times he wakes up every 15 minutes right after I put him down, so it's getting hard to work out after doing the "must do's" of prepping lunches, things for a crock pot meal, laundry, etc.  To alleviate that, I'm trying to actively move more during the day in small ways, like walking around my classroom and school more, or parking at the back of a parking lot to force myself to walk more.

Try 26 new recipes:  So far, I've tried a southwestern chicken soup recipe for the crock pot that I adapted to fit my new diet, a hot cocoa "recipe" that satisfies my sweet tooth in an easy way, and a new green bean salad recipe.  They're all pretty good, and I'm looking forward to trying some other new ones this year.  I'm also enjoying just reading through old cookbooks, and some that came from my grandmother.  It's such a nice way to reminisce, and some of them (especially the Mennonite ones, like More With Less) are kind of like devotionals.  I always try to write notes on recipes I make about when I made that particular dish, what we liked about it, etc.  It's fun to reread these notes too.

Spruce up:  Benny has touched base with the painter who's going to do our trim work, so that ball is rolling.  We'd like to get that started on the trim painting next week, so we'll see if it works out schedule wise.  We've contacted our tree guy to trim trees, and thought he was coming once, but he hasn't.  So, we'll touch base again with him.  

Clean out!  We still have so much stuff!  I've cleared out probably 100+ items now, but we've also ended up acquiring things from my grandmother's, since she passed away right before Christmas.  So, since we're ending up with that stuff too, I'm kind of on a mission even more to clean out.  We even set aside some Christmas gifts to save as regifts, not because they weren't nice or thoughtful, but because many of them duplicated what we already have.  I've also been working on using up more of what is in our pantry and freezer to clean out there too.

Build up the emergency fund:  We haven't spent quite as much on food this month, so that extra will go toward the emergency fund.  We also need to get our rental spaces relisted, which will help us rebuild this sooner.  I'm also looking into placing a Zaycon order for bulk meat, that's responsibly raised.  If you're interested too, check them out!  They offer pick ups around the country and prices are great.  By doing this in bulk, it would save more of our grocery budget for emergency fund.

Build a new house!  We are really praying on this one.  The original piece of land we wanted was sold (sort of out from under us... kinda sad), and the other in the neighborhood is really overpriced for the market.  So, we're trying to weigh how much this dream means to us, and if we can build a smaller, more efficient house that still meets our needs and budget in order to be able to purchase the other land.  I am leaning toward going for it, Benny not so much... Have you ever been at a crossroads like this?  How did you decide?

How are you doing with your 2018 goals?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

This past week was a really frugal week.  We were able to glean a lot from the food pantry (it was closed due to snow and poor road conditions) and Benny ate lunch there at the soup kitchen on Thursday.  We made a short road trip to do belated Christmas and birthday celebration with my in-laws, which cost a little in terms of gas, but was overall a good visit.  We also made a stop at Aldi on the way home, which was a nice break for the boys, and a good place for us to restock on some things we needed.

• Cooked all meals at home including berry and white chocolate waffles, smoothies, roasted veggies, chicken sausages, turkey bacon, steamed salmon and salads, Thai chicken soup, and pizza we had in the freezer.  Several meals were leftovers.
• Took some veggies and soup with us to in-laws so that I'd have something I could eat (a lot of their meals are protein and carb heavy with few veggies).
• Continued with composting and recycling.  Saved veggie scraps for the chickens as well.
• Collected about 18 eggs from the chickens the two days we watched them.  Production was likely down since it was so cold.  (But we collected a dozen yesterday, so production seems back up.)
• Continued to eat what is in the freezer and pantry as much as possible.  Made an electronic freezer inventory to help us keep track of what we have and what needs to be used.  We've already used tomato basil soup, turkey bacon, turkey carcass, bananas, and chicken sausages.  
• Had several things from Costco given to us from in-laws, including almond flour, whole almonds, pasta sauce, cumin, pasta, coconut water, and a few other items.
• Enjoyed lots of fresh produce (much of it organic) from the food pantry including:
• salad greens
• spinach
• kale
• berries
• asparagus
• green beans
• bags of mixed veggies
• pudding (for the boys)
• shredded carrots
• Had several snow days, so we stayed home, saving on gas.  Benny was able to work a few extra hours, so that was good.  We also got little man out for sledding, which was awesome.  I think he really enjoyed his first few runs and is looking forward to another good snow so that he can sled with some of the other kids in mom's neighborhood.
• Cleaned out a few more items for the 400 item goal, including some clothing and toys.
• Gratefully accepted Christmas gifts from in-laws.  It was nice to get some new clothes for the boys and some snacks they'll enjoy.
• Stopped at Aldi and restocked on:  chia seeds, flax seeds, frozen wild caught fish, bone in chicken breasts, blue corn tortilla chips, celery, avocados, cranberries, and fresh pineapple.  We also picked up a reward snack for little man in the form of frozen soft pretzels.  They are a treat at our in-laws, but we figured they'd make a good sticker chart reward.  Spent about $40.
• Chose little man's birthday cake for his party Saturday.  He's asked for this chocolate bundt cake with strawberries around it.  I have all the ingredients on hand, except the strawberries.  So, it will be a relatively inexpensive cake to make, and I can eat the strawberries, even though I can't eat the cake right now.  We have a friend, who owns a bakery specializing in gluten free and alternative ingredients, making a dessert I can eat for our family gathering.
• Because of the snow days, the boys stayed in pajamas most days, keeping laundry down.  When we did do laundry, we washed clothing on cold and hung to dry.
• Continued with cloth diaper use.
• Saved produce bags and washed ziploc bags for reuse.
• Used beeswax wraps (Christmas gift) instead of plastic wrap to cover leftover salad one night.
• Used reusable tote bags for shopping.
• Made turkey stock using a carcass and some leftover chicken.  I added some rosemary stems too for extra flavor.
• Used the cold to our advantage and kept extra refrigerator items on porch when we were low on fridge space (since we rent the upstairs space, we share the kitchen and fridge).
• When we were in need of an activity, we pulled out brown packing paper (a large sheet) that we save from shipped packages and had the boys color it.  It's great wrapping paper for birthday gifts, and was a fun activity when they needed a diversion.

What did you do to live and save green this week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

We did amazingly well this past week sticking to our budget.  Our grocery spending is down, despite my new diet, largely in part to gleaning from the food pantry.  We're also really excited about a new resource we have for eggs.

So, here's how we saved this past week:

• Continued to cook all meals at home including black beans and rice, black bean chili and brown rice, crock pot Asian chicken with carrots and quinoa, roasted veggies, salads, steamed salmon, fried eggs, carrot pancakes (shredded carrot added to Bisquick), and homemade pizza.
• Gleaned from the food pantry, which received over 300 pounds of fresh produce that wouldn't all keep until clients come on Wednesdays.  We received plain yogurt, smoothie juice, spinach, basil, lemon grass, kiwi, berries, green onions, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, apples, oranges, lemons, sweet potatoes, eggplant, zucchini and summer squash, and butternut squash.
• Used many veggies for roasted veggies
• Will process basil for pesto
• Using fruit in smoothies and just to eat
• Plan to zest citrus to dry peel and juice some for freezing
• This has all really helped toward my goal of having four servings of veggies at each meal (seems like a lot, but really making me feel much better!)
• Struck a deal with friends who have a dozen chickens that we'll check on the hens twice a week, feed, water, etc. in exchange for eggs.  We'll also take care of them when they travel, making the arrangement beneficial to both of us.  We're enjoying about two dozen fresh eggs each week now, and the boys are learning how to care for chickens and take some responsibility!
• Spent only $8 at the grocery store for almond milk, cilantro, and some produce to use in Thai chicken soup later this week.
• Made a new batch of home fermented cabbage and carrots.  Tried using dill seed, since I was low on garlic.
• Had a shared meal with mom this week, saving us both some time and energy in the kitchen.  We were able to help her take down her Christmas tree, which was a big help to her.
• Composted all possible scraps.
• Saved veggie scraps for stock in a gallon freezer bag.  Once the bag is full, dump into the crock pot and cook all day.  I sometimes add plain gelatin too, for health benefits.
• Tried to reuse tea bags two or three times to stretch things.  I love hot tea, especially this time of year, but they can get expensive.  I'm working on drying orange zest, turmeric, ginger, and using frozen lemon balm and mint from the garden when I'm home to make tea.  (This is not as easy when I am at school, so I use tea bags there.)
• Saved cereal bags to reuse for bread or produce storage.  (We don't generally buy dry cereal, but we had some from cleaning out at my grandmother's.)
• Used rinsed yogurt carton water for smoothies rather than washing down the sink.
• Recycled all possible items and saved produce rubber bands for future use.
• Continued with cloth diaper use, washing at home and drying on drying racks indoors.
• Washed all possible laundry on cold and hung to dry.
• Continued with progress toward the goal of getting rid of 400 things.  Getting close to the 100 mark already and don't feel like we're missing anything!  Wow... so much stuff we collect.
• Emailed birthday invitations for little man rather than paper, saving paper and postage.
• Saved some gifted items to regift.  They are really nice items and ones we're sure will be enjoyed by the recipients, but are just extra beyond our needs.
• Made sure the ceiling fans were turning in the proper direction for winter to keep heat down, rather than at ceiling level.
• Reused plastic grocery sacks for trash and paper ones for collecting items to donate to Goodwill.
• Vacuumed out dryer vent to make it a little more efficient.
• Continued to try to prep the house for possible sale, doing maintenance things that need to be done anyway, though our land possibilities are dwindling.  The two lots we were hopeful about haven't worked out (one was essentially sold out from under us through the good ol' boy network, the other is asking an unrealistic amount--pre-2008 level--and unwilling to budge).  I continue to hope that something will work out, as it is a great neighborhood for raising a family with lots of kids and supportive neighbors, but also know that we are comfortable where we are, though the neighborhood is less than ideal.
• Reread books at home instead of making a trip to the library, saving gas.
• Used cardboard boxes to decorate like cars and push the boys around when they started to need a new activity.  Used existing blocks and balls to set up a make-shift bowling game for them.
• Kept heat at 62 during the day and 58 at night.  We use blankets and co-sleep, so we don't worry about the boys getting cold.

What did you do to live and save green this week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

This past week, we did pretty well with our maintaining our budget.  It really helped that we had some snow days, which saved on fuel costs, and we were gifted some food.  Here are the specifics:

• Cooked all meals at home including:  turkey and greens soup with barley, tomato basil soup, winter squash waffles, roasted veggies, salads, banana nut muffins, and homemade pizza with homemade pesto and veggies
• Continued recycling and composting all available items
• Made a batch of veggie stock and turkey stock for the freezer
• Gleaned from the food pantry (they closed on Thursday due to cold and ice, so we helped with pick up and took items that wouldn't last til next week):  kale, two heads leaf lettuce, five packs berries, dozen yogurts including a few large ones, two grocery sacks of parsley, produce box of bananas, 20 lbs carrots, two packages of mushrooms, bag of organic apples, bag of clementines, about a pound of fresh turmeric, several pastries and gluten free snacks.  So incredibly grateful for all of this!
• We made parsley pesto with the parsley and froze this.  We're now stocked with pesto for the year.
• I froze the bananas for baking and smoothies.
• The boys ate up most of the berries before I could freeze them, but I did manage to freeze two cups of strawberries.
• I used many of the carrots in the tomato basil soup.
• Kale and lettuce have been used for salads, smoothies, and cooked to serve with eggs in the mornings.
• Researched drying the turmeric, so going to try to do the first step of that tonight.
• My grandmother passed away right before the holidays.  We've been in the process of cleaning out her place, so I've been able to use several pantry and refrigerator items.  This has been nice because it's provided us with extra meat, including ham and turkey bacon.  It's been kind of special to think about using her foods and recipes, now that she's gone.
• Continued with using cloth diapers, but beginning to work on potty training with little one.  
• Hung all laundry except sheets inside to dry.
• Used things at home to treat little one's cold, including some essential oils, humidifier, and baby vapor rub.  Also continued nursing to treat this.
• Played with toys and games at home to save on trips out during snow days.
• Found items for my new diet on sale, so stocked up.  There were also in store coupons for several of them, so I used these too.
• Cleaned out two more bags of items to send to Goodwill.  Feeling like I will hit my 400 item goal much sooner than anticipated!
• Combined errands as much as possible.
• Benny picked up more hours at work since I was at home with the boys on snow days.  This will be nice to help us out since our downstairs tenant broke her lease early (we understand the reasons, but still will miss this income).
• Deposited holiday checks into savings.  
• Benny repaired our storm door that wasn't latching properly.

How did you live and save green this week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Goals for 2018

Around here, we don't really set new year's resolutions, but having goals to work toward is always a good thing.  We've got some big and some small, but having them all together and written out really helps hold me accountable.  So, here's the list, complete with rationales, in all its glory.

More Veggies:  This year, as a part of the healthier me initiative we're working towards, I've got a goal of including more veggies at every meal.  We generally eat pretty well, but I know that there are meals where we aren't as good about including veggies as we should be.  Even if it's steamed frozen broccoli, I've got a goal of including at least one more serving of veggies at every meal.  The hardest for me is breakfast, but I'm finding that eggs with sauteed veggies or some sort of root veggie hash is awesome and really sticks with me.  If there are mornings I do oatmeal, I think stirring in some pureed winter squash or shredded carrot could fit the bill and not change the texture too much.  I've also been sneaking in veggies into waffles, pancakes, and muffins (think pumpkin, zucchini, etc.) without too much fuss.  The overall goal is 80% veggies, 20% protein/grain on the plate.  The trick is going to be getting the boys on board with more veggies.  We'll see how the carrot sticks in the lunch box went over today...

Move More:  Again, as a part of a healthier me, I'm making a commitment to move more each day.  Most days, this will mean some sort of workout after the boys are in bed.  It's not necessarily the ideal time, but it's what works for our schedule right now.  This might be 10-15 minutes of cardio with YouTube, or some resistance training with resistance bands, or maybe some yoga at the Children's Council (dinner's provided and there's free child care... win win!).  I'm not looking to lose weight, just looking to tone things more and overall feel better.

Try 26 new recipes:  This works out to about one every two weeks, which is totally reasonable.  Many of these will be crock pot recipes, thanks to our new America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker books (yes, we have all three now).  They are great books, and some recipes are really easy.  They're also stretching us to try new ingredients and flavors, like Thai chicken soup, which is fun.  I'm sure I'll find some nice salads to try too, and maybe some summer wraps to try when the warmer weather comes.

Spruce up:  We're in the process of trying to spruce up our house with the possibility of selling (we're waiting to see if the land we want will work out... such a saga there).  Even if we don't sell, there's still interior trim that needs to be re-caulked and refreshed, windows that need caulking, doors that need a fresh coat of paint, etc.  There are some light fixtures that need repair, and our basement steps need a little help with trim, carpet, etc. to make them worthy of the real estate market.  If we do sell, we also need to do a little work to the apartment to make it work (install another door, etc.).

Clean out!  We have so much stuff!  With the possibility of selling our house and moving, we're really trying to look critically at things and determine how much we need.  So, the goal here is to toss/donate/sell at least 400 items from our home, from the tiny toys from the treasure box at the dentist to the larger items like the side table that we've never been able to fix the wobble on.  And then there's the clothing... so much!  And we'll keep some as hand-me-downs, but others can go.  We've already shared quite a bit with a painter friend of Benny's, and we're looking forward to being able to share more.

Build up the emergency fund:  We used up some of our emergency fund to pay for some of my medical expenses and a new water heater at the end of the year, so we'd like to build this back up.  We'll do this through Benny picking up some more hours at work as he can, selling more on eBay, and me trying to make a few more Mary Kay orders throughout the year.  We'd love to have at least three months worth of expenses saved up in this account.

Build a new house!  This one is on here because if you put something in writing, then it makes it more real, right?!  Well, we'd love to be able to build a new house in mom's neighborhood, if the land thing works out (prayers please!).  There are so many pluses to this:  boys could walk to mom's as they get older, the neighborhood is a real neighborhood where people actually support each other and do things together, and it would cut our mortgage by at least 5-6 years.  Plus, we could build this one with our rental spaces in mind from the beginning, so it would be a better fit for us all the way around.  And, we'd love to build this home with a few more eco-friendly things in mind, like maybe solar hot water and better day lighting.  So, I'm putting this in writing because when we expect things to happen, they usually do!

So, what are your goals to live and save green this year?  I'd love to hear from you!