Frugal Accomplishments for 3rd week in January

This past week, we did pretty well with our budget.  I had one doctor's appointment, but it's with my primary care provider, so it was only $10.  I was referred for further testing next month, so that will cost a bit, but hopefully not too much with insurance.  We made good use of our existing groceries and made a run to the food pantry, so we saved a bit there.  I also shopped sales for produce, saving a bundle there.

• Cooked all meals at home including taco chicken (salsa with chicken in the crock pot), turkey stock for soup, carrot coconut ginger soup, tacos, taco salad, salmon with roasted veggies, dinner salads with leftover salmon or taco chicken, and "snack plates" with cut fruit, veggies, homemade guacamole, and crackers/nuts.
• Read books at home in our home library including The Backyard Homestead and Spontaneous Healing.
• Purchased organic greens, organic apples on the discount produce rack, and avocados (10/$5!) at Harris Teeter.  I spent about $20 on produce this week, but no other food was purchased.
• I went to the food pantry last week and got some fruit, greens, carrots, organic milk, cheese, canned beans and dried beans, a whole chicken, a pizza and some salami.  
• Fermented some cabbage that needed to be used for homemade sauerkraut.
• I made little man's birthday cake using ingredients we had at home and froze it.  I'll make the chocolate ganache for it tomorrow and cover that with sprinkles.  Little man has requested strawberries to go with it, so I found those on sale at Harris Teeter and will pick them up this afternoon.
• I used You Tube to work out with hand weights, as well as doing a little bit of yoga with the boys, which was fun.
• Benny has lost a few pounds with his new diet and doing his karate at least two nights a week.  He's been practicing a lot outside of class, so he should be very prepared for his belt test in a few weeks.
• I found an old chore chart in email, so will print a few of those for free so that we can save a little time each week instead of making them by hand.
• The boys played with toys around the house including Legos and coloring books.  We will try to make use of The Children's Council toy library next week to check out a new box of toys for them to explore.
• I used the Children's Council for diapers this week, and should have enough baby bucks (their coupons you earn for participating in programs) to get another Walmart card.
• We will go to both yoga and parent support group this week, meaning two free meals and free child care.  Yoga is always a great workout, and I really enjoy the support group of parents too.
• I inventoried seeds in the freezer to see what we could potentially plant in pots when things warm up a bit.  We'd like to have some greens and salad fixin's from home to save a bit on organic produce.

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