This time around, I've tried to be just as frugal as we were with our first little man. We're trying to save as much as we can for the baby fund, while also building up our regular savings and paying down our car and home equity line debt. Part of this means saving what we can on maternity clothes.
I've been fortunate to be able to borrow maternity clothes from a few friends and family. I also had a few things left over that were my own from the first time around. I haven't been choosy about things, but willingly took whatever was offered to me. Some of it isn't my normal style, but if it fits and suits the occasion, I'll wear it.
My mom also generously purchased a few new to me things at the local consignment sale. These have been really nice to fill in the gaps from things that I've borrowed.
The only thing I've had to purchase this time around has been some compression tights and leggings. (Yea! for varicose veins in pregnancy.) I found a great website, Preggers by Therafirm to purchase them from that's been wonderful to work with, especially when we had to return a pair because they were obviously going to be too small a few months from now.
So, the basics for saving on maternity clothes:
Beg and Borrow
Don't hesitate to ask friends to borrow their stuff. I asked around at work and was able to score a few things too. Most maternity clothes are worn for such a short time that they're in really good shape. If pants are too long, you can temporarily tack them up with some simple stitches that you can remove when you return them. Take care of things, of course, because you'll want to return them in as good a shape as they were loaned to you.
Use Your Own Stuff
There are some of your regular clothes that will work and stretch, at least for the first two trimesters. I have several shirts, sweaters, and leggings that will be modified to work all the way through. Scarves and jewelry also allow you to personalize things that you've borrowed.
Purchase Used When Possible
Shop consignment or online (eBay, Twice, Thread Up, etc.) for used maternity clothes. I found a deal on a maternity coat for $10 at the consignment sale, which probably would be upwards of $40 or more new.
Expect the Unexpected
I never thought (or even really knew) that varicose veins would be an issue this time around. And compression hose, socks, leggings, tights, etc. are not cheap! But by finding a well designed product with great customer service, I've been happy and comfortable. We also found coupon codes to use, and shopped the sale items, to find items that would work for me. For example, I found that the tights with toes were way too tight and my toes really hurt by the end of the day. So, I found some footless tights and leggings through Preggers that worked for me.
I've probably spent about $50 in compression hosiery, but that's all we've spent out of pocket in terms of clothing this time around. By borrowing things and using what I already had, I'll make it through this pregnancy in comfort and well dressed. Do you have any tips for saving on mommy stuff during pregnancy? I'd love to hear from you!
Thursday, November 5, 2015
November Shopping and Meal Plan
This month is the month for us to stock up! If you're into baking, it's prime time to build up that baker's pantry again and fill it with your favorite flours, brown sugar, and all the baking things you'll need for a joyous and yummy holiday. For us, it is also the time for a big Costco trip and maybe a repeat order with San Francisco Herb Company, where we stock up on bulk spices, seeds, and herbal teas.
With travel plans this month, that can mean spending less on food because you're away from home and visiting family, or it can mean spending more because you're traveling. For us, it's the former, which gives us some more wiggle room in the grocery budget to stock up. If you're traveling, consider packing your own snacks (homemade roasted pumpkin seeds are an obvious choice) to save the frequent stops for fast food.
For our Costco list this month, we're stocking up on the basics:
With travel plans this month, that can mean spending less on food because you're away from home and visiting family, or it can mean spending more because you're traveling. For us, it's the former, which gives us some more wiggle room in the grocery budget to stock up. If you're traveling, consider packing your own snacks (homemade roasted pumpkin seeds are an obvious choice) to save the frequent stops for fast food.
For our Costco list this month, we're stocking up on the basics:
- powdered sugar (we've price checked and it's cheaper than coupon prices)
- store brand dish washing liquid (we go through it making our own shower spray)
- chicken sausages (they don't have phosphates or nitrates, which means they're safe for baby #2)
- ketchup
- frozen fruit for smoothies (we're slowly working through what we put up this spring/summer)
- block cheddar cheese
- dried beans
- frozen ravioli (a treat, but really convenient for nights when I'm tired and we need dinner quickly)
- maybe fresh fruit or carrots, depending on price
- sweet potatoes (we'll go through these in soups, sides, and love them in tacos)
- tortillas (hopefully whole wheat and/or organic)
- dried fruit (raisins, hopefully apricots)
Our grocery plan is to keep things to the bare minimum since we're stocking up at Costco. We will restock our baking pantry this month, since things will be so much on sale. I'll also stock up on cranberries to load in the freezer and for Thanksgiving, and probably some herbal teas and cocoa mix (though I'll make my own too) if they're on deep discount. (They do make nice stocking stuffers.) We'll get our organic milk and will probably pick up a few frozen veggies too (corn for corn chowder and maybe broccoli for broccoli cheddar soup)
For our menu plan this month, we'll make the most of the root veggies we have around, such as the last few beets from the CSA and potatoes and carrots. Tis the season for the crockpot, so we'll put Mrs. Cleaver (thank you, Barbara Kingsolver, for that lovely crockpot name!) to work for cooking winter squash, baking potatoes and beets, and lovely soups and stews. We'll also make leftovers into entirely new dishes; think turkey enchiladas, butternut squash and chickpea salad, sweet potato quesadillas, etc.
Breakfasts: oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts/seeds, egg and cheese sandwiches on homemade bread, breakfast burritos, winter squash muffins, zucchini and flax muffins, winter squash pancakes/waffles, smoothies
Lunches: leftovers of course, tuna or egg salad sandwiches, quesadillas
Dinners:
Soups/stews: lentil and sweet potato soup, potato soup, corn chowder, broccoli cheddar soup, winter squash black bean chili (all served with homemade bread and/or veggie side such as carrot sticks), turkey and wild rice soup
Crockpot: loaded baked potatoes, sausage w/ peppers and onions on noodles or bread, roasted root veggies
Stovetop meals: veggie stir fry, breakfast for dinner (usually eggs, smoothies, and some sort of bread), waffles with fruit, chicken sausages with cabbage, apples, and cranberries, quesadillas, turkey and bean enchiladas, leftover turkey with orange glazed carrots and rice pilaf, veggie pesto pizza, ravioli with homemade pesto and roasted root veggies
Snacks: roasted pumpkin/squash seeds, dried fruit, sliced apples, carrot sticks and dip, popcorn, homemade muffins/oatmeal & whole grain cookies
How is your November shaping up? I'd love to hear your plans for living and saving green in this holiday season!
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Making Five Meals from One Pot of Beans
So, this week we've been trying to take advantage of our crock pot, our last CSA week (so sad) and our pantry. This meant that we cooked up a bit crock pot of pinto beans on Monday evening. Beans and rice can get pretty boring pretty quickly, but here are a few ways you can mix things up.
Bean Tacos with Fixin's
We love tacos around our house. They're always a hit with little man, and there are so many ways to fix them. This week we prepared whole wheat soft tacos with rice, pintos, chopped lettuce, pepper jack cheese, Greek yogurt (higher protein than sour cream), homemade guacamole, and salsa. You could also mix it up and saute peppers and onions for a veggie fajita.
Beans and Rice with Cornbread
We did beans and brown rice with homemade cornbread last night. We topped things off with cheese, salsa, chopped avocado, and lettuce. You could add sour cream, chopped tomatoes, jalapenos, or whatever else your family is into.
Crock pot Chili
This is your basic slow cooker chili with diced tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, jalapenos, and spices. You can also add a cup or so of frozen corn, if you have it. We'll be adding some ground sausage this time around too, since we have it in the fridge. Chopped mushrooms are also wonderful in a vegetarian chili. We usually serve this with rice, cornbread, or tortilla chips and top it with cheese, sour cream/Greek yogurt, and chives (when they're fresh in the garden).
Corn and Bean Gratin
I picked up this recipe from the library a few years and love it. It's sort of like a quiche, but flavored with cumin and Mexican spices and filled out with beans and corn and cheese. If you like egg dishes, this one is a fun one to try. (I'll try to post the recipe in a later post.)
Bean and Cheese Quesadillas
If you still have tortillas around, bean and cheese quesadillas are a cinch and always a hit. We love to serve these with guacamole, Greek yogurt, and salsa. They make a great easy Sunday lunch after church or a nice side to go with a bowl of soup or chili. You can make them a meal by serving a side salad or steamed veggies along side.
Can you tell we like Mexican flavors around our place?! Of course, you can always add beans to pasta dishes, vegetable soups, etc. for added protein. How do you stretch a buck and your time with a pot of beans? I'd love to hear from you!
Bean Tacos with Fixin's
We love tacos around our house. They're always a hit with little man, and there are so many ways to fix them. This week we prepared whole wheat soft tacos with rice, pintos, chopped lettuce, pepper jack cheese, Greek yogurt (higher protein than sour cream), homemade guacamole, and salsa. You could also mix it up and saute peppers and onions for a veggie fajita.
Beans and Rice with Cornbread
We did beans and brown rice with homemade cornbread last night. We topped things off with cheese, salsa, chopped avocado, and lettuce. You could add sour cream, chopped tomatoes, jalapenos, or whatever else your family is into.
Crock pot Chili
This is your basic slow cooker chili with diced tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, jalapenos, and spices. You can also add a cup or so of frozen corn, if you have it. We'll be adding some ground sausage this time around too, since we have it in the fridge. Chopped mushrooms are also wonderful in a vegetarian chili. We usually serve this with rice, cornbread, or tortilla chips and top it with cheese, sour cream/Greek yogurt, and chives (when they're fresh in the garden).
Corn and Bean Gratin
I picked up this recipe from the library a few years and love it. It's sort of like a quiche, but flavored with cumin and Mexican spices and filled out with beans and corn and cheese. If you like egg dishes, this one is a fun one to try. (I'll try to post the recipe in a later post.)
Bean and Cheese Quesadillas
If you still have tortillas around, bean and cheese quesadillas are a cinch and always a hit. We love to serve these with guacamole, Greek yogurt, and salsa. They make a great easy Sunday lunch after church or a nice side to go with a bowl of soup or chili. You can make them a meal by serving a side salad or steamed veggies along side.
Can you tell we like Mexican flavors around our place?! Of course, you can always add beans to pasta dishes, vegetable soups, etc. for added protein. How do you stretch a buck and your time with a pot of beans? I'd love to hear from you!
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
October Menu Plan
Our no spend September was great! We kept our food budget to well under our usual $150/month, so the extra will go towards paying off our home equity line. Having a well stocked pantry and freezer, as well as our CSA, really helped with this. We did splurge on Saturday on a family meal out, but we used a coupon we had through Restaurant.com and only spent about $10-12 for the three of us. Since we haven't done this in well over six months, and it was a perfect day (all the toddler planets were aligned!), we are glad we splurged a bit. We also restocked the freezer with bananas from the discount produce rack, so these will go into smoothies and breads throughout the next few months.
For October, our menu focus will be on making the most of what we can glean and using seasonal ingredients. We've already picked some apples in a public space and plan to glean some more from a friend's tree. These will be made into applesauce primarily, but we'll also use them for apple crisp, and we love the combo of apples and cabbage. We'll also try to glean some winter squash from school after we do a lab (I generally end up bringing about 10 home), which we process into puree for the freezer. This will serve double duty as prepared baby food and great filler for soups, chili, tacos, and muffins.
This is also the time of year when we try to make good use of our slow cooker. We use it for cooking apples for applesauce, making apple butter, baking potatoes, casseroles, and of course soups and stews. Now that Benny's working a few more hours a week, that gives us one less evening to really do meal prep. So, trying to do two to three crock pot meals a week that he can prep during the day really makes things so much easier, both for dinner and for planning lunches of leftovers.
October Menu Plan:
Breakfasts: oatmeal with dried fruit, baked oatmeal with applesauce from Simply in Season, banana nut muffins, pumpkin/squash muffins with raisins and/or nuts, bagels (from Panera with gift card), big boy breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns, pancakes, and/or sausage
Lunches: leftovers, fill in with seasonal fruit/veggies/applesauce, homemade yogurt with frozen fruit, egg salad sandwiches
Dinners: lentil sloppy joes, tomato basil soup, meatball sandwiches with peppers and onions, enchiladas (I'm going to try a slow cooker recipe), pizza with homemade pesto and veggies, quesadillas with refried beans, cheese, and homemade yogurt and peach salsa, roasted winter squash with sausage and sage, winter squash salad with chickpeas, black bean chili, white chicken chili, roasted turkey with corn bread and roasted/steamed veggies, potato soup, loaded baked potatoes, homemade mac and cheese with veggies or stewed tomatoes, lentil and sweet potato soup, stir fry/fried rice
Also, we're kind of getting in a rut with our meals and are looking for new slow cooker recipes. If anyone has some to share, I'd love to hear from you! Here's to living green and saving green, and eating up all that yummy fall goodness!
For October, our menu focus will be on making the most of what we can glean and using seasonal ingredients. We've already picked some apples in a public space and plan to glean some more from a friend's tree. These will be made into applesauce primarily, but we'll also use them for apple crisp, and we love the combo of apples and cabbage. We'll also try to glean some winter squash from school after we do a lab (I generally end up bringing about 10 home), which we process into puree for the freezer. This will serve double duty as prepared baby food and great filler for soups, chili, tacos, and muffins.
This is also the time of year when we try to make good use of our slow cooker. We use it for cooking apples for applesauce, making apple butter, baking potatoes, casseroles, and of course soups and stews. Now that Benny's working a few more hours a week, that gives us one less evening to really do meal prep. So, trying to do two to three crock pot meals a week that he can prep during the day really makes things so much easier, both for dinner and for planning lunches of leftovers.
October Menu Plan:
Breakfasts: oatmeal with dried fruit, baked oatmeal with applesauce from Simply in Season, banana nut muffins, pumpkin/squash muffins with raisins and/or nuts, bagels (from Panera with gift card), big boy breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns, pancakes, and/or sausage
Lunches: leftovers, fill in with seasonal fruit/veggies/applesauce, homemade yogurt with frozen fruit, egg salad sandwiches
Dinners: lentil sloppy joes, tomato basil soup, meatball sandwiches with peppers and onions, enchiladas (I'm going to try a slow cooker recipe), pizza with homemade pesto and veggies, quesadillas with refried beans, cheese, and homemade yogurt and peach salsa, roasted winter squash with sausage and sage, winter squash salad with chickpeas, black bean chili, white chicken chili, roasted turkey with corn bread and roasted/steamed veggies, potato soup, loaded baked potatoes, homemade mac and cheese with veggies or stewed tomatoes, lentil and sweet potato soup, stir fry/fried rice
Also, we're kind of getting in a rut with our meals and are looking for new slow cooker recipes. If anyone has some to share, I'd love to hear from you! Here's to living green and saving green, and eating up all that yummy fall goodness!
Thursday, August 27, 2015
September Menu Plan and Updates
I realize I've been kind of absent from the blog for a while. I was home with little man for the summer and that kept me super busy. In addition, we're expecting baby #2 (yay!), so I haven't felt up to doing much beyond the necessary. Now that school has started back and I'm almost at the end of the 1st trimester, I'm feeling more normal and have a little more quiet time to do some blogging.
Budget updates: We've been really enjoying our new tenants. We have one downstairs in the apartment and one in the upstairs bedroom. They're both great fits for our family, and we're hoping that our upstairs tenant will get into grad school in the spring so she'll be able to stay on longer with us. Having both of them has really allowed us to pay down some of the home equity line this summer, as well as having Benny back at work full time for the summer.
We're looking into replacing the Jetta, which would be a hit to the budget. While we love the Jetta, it's almost 15 years old and in need of some major repairs, which we're having trouble rationalizing when we feel like we'd like a slightly bigger vehicle now that we're going to have two kiddos. Thankfully, we have a friend who has a car for sale that looks like a perfect fit for us, so if it all works out, we'll be able to purchase that for about $5,000 out of pocket, after the sale of the Jetta. Doing all this certainly means more debt to pay, but we feel like it's worth it in the long run. And every little bit of extra cash we earn (from Mary Kay, tutoring, extra hours at the store, eBay sales, gifts) will go toward this, so hopefully we'll have it paid within a year.
Little man got into preschool! He starts next week, and we're hoping he'll love it, although it will certainly be an adjustment. We're only doing one morning a week, but it will give him some much needed time with other kids and will allow Benny some time to pick up more hours at work (which will allow us to pay down debt a little faster). He already has some friends from church who are in this class, so we're hoping it will be a relatively smooth transition.
We had a new water filter and water softener installed for the whole house this summer, which we used our tax return to pay for. This will definitely save wear and tear on our appliances and will mean that they will last longer, so it's a worthwhile expense. We're also going to have the guttering on the front of the house replaced, as it was only a patch job when we did the new roof a few summers ago. We're also paying to have leaf guard installed, which will save us some money on having gutters cleaned. (Since we live in a 2-3 story house (two on the back, three on the front), we're not comfortable having Benny doing that job.)
Our plan for September includes a no-spend month, so except for regular bills and absolutely essential groceries, we're going to try to not spend any extra cash. I stocked up this month, especially during Harris Teeter's super doubles event, so we shouldn't have to spend much on groceries. We're also moving into fall when soup is more appealing, and that definitely stretches the budget. We'll continue not eating out and will take advantage of leftovers, gifts of food, the abundance of garden tomatoes and herbs etc. to make the budget stretch. So, without further ado, here's the plan:
September Menu Plan
Breakfasts: egg and cheese sandwiches, oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts, homemade yogurt with frozen fruit, smoothies, "big boy breakfast" for the boys which includes bacon, eggs, and homemade hash browns/toast, muffins/sticky buns on the weekends
Lunches: leftovers, egg salad sandwiches, tuna salad w/ crackers, BLTs
Dinners: loaded baked potatoes, black bean tacos w/ rice, beans and rice with chopped tomatoes, cheese and homemade peach salsa, vegetarian chili with cheese, plain yogurt, and salsa, crockpot pesto chicken with noodles or rice, roasted root veggies with barley or brown rice, breakfast casserole with eggs, cheese, and veggies, winter squash pancakes with hash browns and smoothies, crockpot cabbage, tomato, beans and sausage soup, pesto pizza with veggies (x4 we do this almost every Friday), homemade mac and cheese with some veggies, tomato basil soup with garlic toast, meatball sandwiches with steamed veggies or fruit, lentil sloppy joes with steamed/roasted veggies and peach & blackberry crisp
Things to bake/make: loaf of bread x 4-5 (I think we have one loaf in the freezer), muffins x 4, sticky buns x 1, homemade yogurt x 2-3 batches, peach salsa to can x 1
How're your budget and menu plans shaping up? I'd love to hear from you!
Budget updates: We've been really enjoying our new tenants. We have one downstairs in the apartment and one in the upstairs bedroom. They're both great fits for our family, and we're hoping that our upstairs tenant will get into grad school in the spring so she'll be able to stay on longer with us. Having both of them has really allowed us to pay down some of the home equity line this summer, as well as having Benny back at work full time for the summer.
We're looking into replacing the Jetta, which would be a hit to the budget. While we love the Jetta, it's almost 15 years old and in need of some major repairs, which we're having trouble rationalizing when we feel like we'd like a slightly bigger vehicle now that we're going to have two kiddos. Thankfully, we have a friend who has a car for sale that looks like a perfect fit for us, so if it all works out, we'll be able to purchase that for about $5,000 out of pocket, after the sale of the Jetta. Doing all this certainly means more debt to pay, but we feel like it's worth it in the long run. And every little bit of extra cash we earn (from Mary Kay, tutoring, extra hours at the store, eBay sales, gifts) will go toward this, so hopefully we'll have it paid within a year.
Little man got into preschool! He starts next week, and we're hoping he'll love it, although it will certainly be an adjustment. We're only doing one morning a week, but it will give him some much needed time with other kids and will allow Benny some time to pick up more hours at work (which will allow us to pay down debt a little faster). He already has some friends from church who are in this class, so we're hoping it will be a relatively smooth transition.
We had a new water filter and water softener installed for the whole house this summer, which we used our tax return to pay for. This will definitely save wear and tear on our appliances and will mean that they will last longer, so it's a worthwhile expense. We're also going to have the guttering on the front of the house replaced, as it was only a patch job when we did the new roof a few summers ago. We're also paying to have leaf guard installed, which will save us some money on having gutters cleaned. (Since we live in a 2-3 story house (two on the back, three on the front), we're not comfortable having Benny doing that job.)
Our plan for September includes a no-spend month, so except for regular bills and absolutely essential groceries, we're going to try to not spend any extra cash. I stocked up this month, especially during Harris Teeter's super doubles event, so we shouldn't have to spend much on groceries. We're also moving into fall when soup is more appealing, and that definitely stretches the budget. We'll continue not eating out and will take advantage of leftovers, gifts of food, the abundance of garden tomatoes and herbs etc. to make the budget stretch. So, without further ado, here's the plan:
September Menu Plan
Breakfasts: egg and cheese sandwiches, oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts, homemade yogurt with frozen fruit, smoothies, "big boy breakfast" for the boys which includes bacon, eggs, and homemade hash browns/toast, muffins/sticky buns on the weekends
Lunches: leftovers, egg salad sandwiches, tuna salad w/ crackers, BLTs
Dinners: loaded baked potatoes, black bean tacos w/ rice, beans and rice with chopped tomatoes, cheese and homemade peach salsa, vegetarian chili with cheese, plain yogurt, and salsa, crockpot pesto chicken with noodles or rice, roasted root veggies with barley or brown rice, breakfast casserole with eggs, cheese, and veggies, winter squash pancakes with hash browns and smoothies, crockpot cabbage, tomato, beans and sausage soup, pesto pizza with veggies (x4 we do this almost every Friday), homemade mac and cheese with some veggies, tomato basil soup with garlic toast, meatball sandwiches with steamed veggies or fruit, lentil sloppy joes with steamed/roasted veggies and peach & blackberry crisp
Things to bake/make: loaf of bread x 4-5 (I think we have one loaf in the freezer), muffins x 4, sticky buns x 1, homemade yogurt x 2-3 batches, peach salsa to can x 1
How're your budget and menu plans shaping up? I'd love to hear from you!
Monday, May 25, 2015
Making a Healthy Diet Healthier
We're really trying to eat more healthfully these days, for a number of reasons. One is that I recently found out that I have slight hyperthyroidism, which means that my thyroid is slightly overactive, and could lead to bigger things down the road. We've also recently had a family member diagnosed with cancer, which is treatable, but has been a reminder to us that we could be doing more to support our bodies and prevent disease down the road. Because of this, we're trying to be more conscious of how we eat, mostly by adjusting two categories.
Eating Less Refined Sugar
This one has probably been the hardest for me. I didn't realize how much I craved sweets until I started cutting back on this. I'm working to find some natural substitutes, but in the mean time, we've done several things.
1. I am now eating oatmeal for breakfast about five days a week. I make this up the night before with 1/2 c rolled oats, 3/4 c milk/almond milk/unsweetened coconut milk, a handful of dried fruit and a few tablespoons of nuts and seeds. This has been really filling and cuts down on the sugar I was eating in muffins.
2. When we do bake for breakfast, I cut the sugar in half. I also try to choose recipes that are naturally sweet with bananas, winter squash, etc. When I bake cookies, I cut the sugar by about a third.
3. I splurge once a week and have something really decadent. And I don't feel guilty one bit. It's been great.
4. We've been making smoothies several nights a week for dessert or to take on our walks, and it's been great. I usually start with a banana, add some frozen fruit or berries, a scoop of unsweetened cocoa powder, cinnamon, and some flax or chia seeds, and it's really good. We've also had fun adding in some of our fresh herbs like lemon balm (which is good for thyroid health) and mint. This is also a great way to use up leftovers... winter squash, cooked rice, and avocados are all great in smoothies.
Eating More Whole Grains
We've been working to trim back on the all purpose flour in our routine and eat more whole grains. Overall, this one has been easier, but also a little more expensive. Here are a few ways we've tackled this:
1. Brown rice or barley instead of white rice. This has been a super simple switch and we really haven't minded the change. There are a few dishes we still like white or jasmine rice with, like stir fry or fried rice, but in general, this has been easy.
2. Whole wheat flour in place of part or all of the AP flour. This is easier in baked goods and pancakes than loaf bread. In cookies or muffins, I can easily substitute half of the flour as whole wheat. In bread or pizza dough, I tend to go with about 1/4 whole wheat to 3/4 all purpose. I have found some whole wheat pizza dough recipes I want to try, but haven't done it yet.
3. Whole wheat flour tortillas instead of white flour. These generally cost about $1 more a package, but the boys are still happily eating corn tortillas, so it's really not too bad.
4. I've also been trying to incorporate more flax, soy, and alternative flours into our baking recipes. These have to be done in much smaller amounts, but are easy and add a little more nutritional benefits.
These two things combined mean less blood sugar spikes, which means the whole body isn't working as hard. The added fiber from increased fruits and veggies (another reason for the smoothies) also helps the body to process increases in blood sugar, as well as being really helpful nutritionally. We're so looking forward to our CSA starting up again soon and having more local veggies to work with.
So, what about you? Have you been working to eat more healthfully? How are you making some easy switches? I'd love to hear from you!
Eating Less Refined Sugar
This one has probably been the hardest for me. I didn't realize how much I craved sweets until I started cutting back on this. I'm working to find some natural substitutes, but in the mean time, we've done several things.
1. I am now eating oatmeal for breakfast about five days a week. I make this up the night before with 1/2 c rolled oats, 3/4 c milk/almond milk/unsweetened coconut milk, a handful of dried fruit and a few tablespoons of nuts and seeds. This has been really filling and cuts down on the sugar I was eating in muffins.
2. When we do bake for breakfast, I cut the sugar in half. I also try to choose recipes that are naturally sweet with bananas, winter squash, etc. When I bake cookies, I cut the sugar by about a third.
3. I splurge once a week and have something really decadent. And I don't feel guilty one bit. It's been great.
4. We've been making smoothies several nights a week for dessert or to take on our walks, and it's been great. I usually start with a banana, add some frozen fruit or berries, a scoop of unsweetened cocoa powder, cinnamon, and some flax or chia seeds, and it's really good. We've also had fun adding in some of our fresh herbs like lemon balm (which is good for thyroid health) and mint. This is also a great way to use up leftovers... winter squash, cooked rice, and avocados are all great in smoothies.
Eating More Whole Grains
We've been working to trim back on the all purpose flour in our routine and eat more whole grains. Overall, this one has been easier, but also a little more expensive. Here are a few ways we've tackled this:
1. Brown rice or barley instead of white rice. This has been a super simple switch and we really haven't minded the change. There are a few dishes we still like white or jasmine rice with, like stir fry or fried rice, but in general, this has been easy.
2. Whole wheat flour in place of part or all of the AP flour. This is easier in baked goods and pancakes than loaf bread. In cookies or muffins, I can easily substitute half of the flour as whole wheat. In bread or pizza dough, I tend to go with about 1/4 whole wheat to 3/4 all purpose. I have found some whole wheat pizza dough recipes I want to try, but haven't done it yet.
3. Whole wheat flour tortillas instead of white flour. These generally cost about $1 more a package, but the boys are still happily eating corn tortillas, so it's really not too bad.
4. I've also been trying to incorporate more flax, soy, and alternative flours into our baking recipes. These have to be done in much smaller amounts, but are easy and add a little more nutritional benefits.
These two things combined mean less blood sugar spikes, which means the whole body isn't working as hard. The added fiber from increased fruits and veggies (another reason for the smoothies) also helps the body to process increases in blood sugar, as well as being really helpful nutritionally. We're so looking forward to our CSA starting up again soon and having more local veggies to work with.
So, what about you? Have you been working to eat more healthfully? How are you making some easy switches? I'd love to hear from you!
Friday, May 22, 2015
Making the Most of Your Garden
This spring and summer, I've been working hard to make the most of our garden space. We've added more garden space, but also improved the space we have to make better use of it. We're also working to do some smaller projects to boost how we use the space and beautify things.
We've added some more garden space out front simply by clearing out some weeds and filling in low spots with some dirt. This will be an ornamental space that we'll keep low maintenance by mulching it well with newspaper or cardboard, and then free mulch from the landfill. We'll transplant some forsythia bushes that have multiplied in the back, and fill in the space with some transplanted ground cover to crowd out weeds. This will really finish off the front and make it a little more maintenance free because it won't have to be mowed in the summer.
Another small garden space was added where we put in the stone patio under our deck. This space is along the foundation, but is fairly narrow, so I'm going to try to fill it in with perennial herbs and some ornamentals, like hostas, blazing star, sage, and bronze fennel. I'm trying to go for a variety of leaf texture in this bed, and I think this mix will all be really pretty together and will give flowers throughout the season. I still need to add some newspaper mulch, compost, and free mulch from the landfill to this bed, but I think it will look really good when it's done. We plan to get a little creative with this bed and edge it with recycled wine bottles, which will require a small trench being dug and then inverting the bottles in the trench.
In trying to make the most of our existing space, we've started a lot of herb seeds in places this year. I started cilantro from seed in the garden, and it's just started producing. We also planted garlic in the fall, which we're looking forward to harvesting next month. Some raspberries were transplanted to a raised bed, and we allowed some wild blackberries to flower in some unused spaces this year. I'm also working harder to harvest our perennial herbs, mostly sage, mint, chives, and lemon balm, throughout the season, so that we can dry and freeze them for use throughout the year. I also experimented with making dandelion tea this spring, and found I really liked it (and it's really high in vitamin K, which is good for eye health, and has many anticancer properties).
We worked last weekend to add a step barrier to the end of our gravel and stone path to help keep the gravel from invading the yard. This was made with some bits of leftover railroad ties we had from building the retaining wall a few years ago. We also used some found rocks to edge out the bottom of our central flower bed, which looks really nice now. Next week, we plan to visit a friend's garden, where she regularly splits perennials to share with us. And it's always such fun to see her gardens, and we're looking to little man's first trip out there. And we plan to finally get our rain barrel installed this year so that we can really use it, instead of watering things with potable water.
I'm also looking forward to painting our exterior doors this summer. It's a small project, but I think it will really make our house pop, and will bring together the flowers we have in the planters along the entryway. I'm also thinking about putting some bulbs in our larger containers in the fall so they'll be ready to bloom in the spring.
I'd love to hear what you're doing in your garden!
We've added some more garden space out front simply by clearing out some weeds and filling in low spots with some dirt. This will be an ornamental space that we'll keep low maintenance by mulching it well with newspaper or cardboard, and then free mulch from the landfill. We'll transplant some forsythia bushes that have multiplied in the back, and fill in the space with some transplanted ground cover to crowd out weeds. This will really finish off the front and make it a little more maintenance free because it won't have to be mowed in the summer.
Another small garden space was added where we put in the stone patio under our deck. This space is along the foundation, but is fairly narrow, so I'm going to try to fill it in with perennial herbs and some ornamentals, like hostas, blazing star, sage, and bronze fennel. I'm trying to go for a variety of leaf texture in this bed, and I think this mix will all be really pretty together and will give flowers throughout the season. I still need to add some newspaper mulch, compost, and free mulch from the landfill to this bed, but I think it will look really good when it's done. We plan to get a little creative with this bed and edge it with recycled wine bottles, which will require a small trench being dug and then inverting the bottles in the trench.
In trying to make the most of our existing space, we've started a lot of herb seeds in places this year. I started cilantro from seed in the garden, and it's just started producing. We also planted garlic in the fall, which we're looking forward to harvesting next month. Some raspberries were transplanted to a raised bed, and we allowed some wild blackberries to flower in some unused spaces this year. I'm also working harder to harvest our perennial herbs, mostly sage, mint, chives, and lemon balm, throughout the season, so that we can dry and freeze them for use throughout the year. I also experimented with making dandelion tea this spring, and found I really liked it (and it's really high in vitamin K, which is good for eye health, and has many anticancer properties).
We worked last weekend to add a step barrier to the end of our gravel and stone path to help keep the gravel from invading the yard. This was made with some bits of leftover railroad ties we had from building the retaining wall a few years ago. We also used some found rocks to edge out the bottom of our central flower bed, which looks really nice now. Next week, we plan to visit a friend's garden, where she regularly splits perennials to share with us. And it's always such fun to see her gardens, and we're looking to little man's first trip out there. And we plan to finally get our rain barrel installed this year so that we can really use it, instead of watering things with potable water.
I'm also looking forward to painting our exterior doors this summer. It's a small project, but I think it will really make our house pop, and will bring together the flowers we have in the planters along the entryway. I'm also thinking about putting some bulbs in our larger containers in the fall so they'll be ready to bloom in the spring.
I'd love to hear what you're doing in your garden!
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