November Menu Plan

Updates:  So, we're in our rental house and working on the plans for the new house.  We've come to realize that we're probably over-building, so we're going to try to tweak the existing plans to make them smaller scale and cut the budget some.  Living in 800 square feet has really made us think about what we actually need, which is a blessing.  Building less house will mean sacrificing a few things, like probably a rental space and our bonus room, but it will also be more manageable for our budget and thinking long term, better for retirement because it will be less house to maintain.

I've had some more health challenges, so any prayers would be appreciated.  We're hopeful to figure out this health stuff for me so that we can continue moving forward with our other life plans.  I am grateful for some improvement after seeing GI and getting on some high powered probiotics.  But baby is fortunately much better, aside from a cold!  He's really coming along with speech, and loving his time home with Daddy.  Little man is loving kindergarten and thriving there. 

Now, on to November's menu plan!  November will be all about using whatever meat we have in the freezer, as well as any pantry items.  I'm still pretty much gluten free and sugar free, but the rest of the family can do both in moderation. We'll work hard to keep grocery spending to a minimum (since we were in transition, it seems that we were less than diligent about keeping up with that), so we'll make use of the food pantry and free community/shared meals (hopefully including some Thanksgiving ones).  I would really love to keep November's grocery budget to $100 or less to help offset recent medical expenses.  We just placed a big herb/spice/seed order, so that should help restock those things for the year.  (There's also no dishwasher in the rental, so we're trying really hard to do lots of one pot/pan meals or crock pot meals to minimize dishes and maximize leftovers.)

Breakfasts:

• Smoothies (greens, frozen fruit, almond/coconut milk, flax/chia seeds, veggies, and some spices)
• Overnight crock pot oatmeal with raisins, chia, and coconut
• Muffins or banana bars
• Trail mix (homemade with nuts, raisins, and a few chocolate chips)
• Toast and jam with hard boiled eggs
• Reheated leftover pancakes or French toast
• Leftover roasted veggies and eggs
• Breakfast casserole or overnight French toast casserole

Lunches:  

• Leftovers
• Salads
• Cheese/nuts and fruit and veggies

Sandwiches (PBJ, ham and cheese, grilled cheese, chicken salad)

• Sandwiches (PBJ, ham and cheese, grilled cheese, chicken salad)

Dinners:

• Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup with Salad
• Veggie and venison (a very generous student gave us several pounds of venison) lasagna with salad
• Crock pot lasagna soup with garlic toast and veggies and dip
• Loaded black bean chili with almond flour cornbread
• Breakfast for dinner (French toast or pancakes with breakfast meat and fruit or roasted veggies)
• Black bean or ground beef tacos with fixin's (beef is from CSA)
• Homemade pizza with pesto, veggies, and meat (if possible)
• Veggie stir fry over rice with egg rolls
• Roasted veggies and mushroom garlic chicken (from Cheap, Fast, Good) over rice or quinoa
• Turkey salad over lettuce or on sandwiches with veggies and dip
• Leftover Thanksgiving turkey and sides
• Little man's choice x 2 (one of his new chores on his chart is to help choose and prepare two meals each month)
• Grilled cheese and salad or leftover soup
• Veggie quiche with broccoli, greens, onions, and maybe mushrooms or sundried tomatoes with salad

Snacks:

• Air popped popcorn
• Fresh fruit
• Nuts
• Fresh veggies
• Bread and jam 
• Cheese quesadilla

Batch Cooking (I'll make these things on weekends or evenings after the boys are in bed):

• Muffins
• Turkey stock (hopefully we'll be able to collect several turkeys from the few meals we'll be participating in... generally people are very willing to give them up because it means less mess for them to deal with)
• French toast (it's easy to make a bigger batch and then freeze it for later use for quick breakfasts)
• Spiced nuts (these are a favorite snack and super easy to make with the large bags of nuts we get at Costco)
• Winter squash (I'll be getting loads of winter squash from school in a few weeks, so we'll cook it up in the crock pot and puree it for smoothies and side dishes.  You can roast the seeds like pumpkin seeds and they're a great snack.)

Groceries to buy for the month (or source from food pantry):

• Avocados
• Almond milk
• Canned coconut milk (or I may use the powdered I just bought)
• Dry beans (they're on sale for $1/pound right now)
• Frozen deep dish pie crust
• Eggs
• Cabbage (for homemade sauerkraut)
• Red onions
• Salsa
• Salad greens

Summer Updates and Frugal Accomplishments for August

We had a fabulous summer!  There was a nice mix of work, family time, and time with friends.  We didn't travel a lot this summer, which allowed us to save, and we finally sold our house!  So, we were busy.

Our health has improved overall, and all our doctors are pleased with the progress.  My doctors say I'm totally recovered, but I'll stick with the current low gluten, low sugar diet to keep from back sliding.  I'm grateful to finally feel like myself again.

Currently, we're in the process of getting permits for our new house build and we're living with my mom until our rental house is ready.  It's a little tough with four of us in one bedroom at Mom's, but we're making it work and I think we're all adjusting reasonably well (though I think we're all glad it won't be longer than a few more weeks!).  We're grateful for this time that's rent-free to build up savings a bit, and have been able to help Mom with some projects around her house that have needed attention.  But we're certainly looking forward to not having everything in boxes and storage and having some space of our own soon.

Here's the frugal accomplishments for this week/summer:

• Found most school supplies for little man for kindergarten at home or in my stash of extras at school.  We only had to purchase a few things, and Mom graciously took him back to school shopping for a few new clothing items and a new book bag.
• Have been making use of the things hiding in Mom's freezer for meal planning, so we're working that down.  With our CSA veggies and veggies from our neighbor, we've had to purchase very little other than fruit the past few weeks.  I've been doing most of the cooking, and I think Mom's happy with the arrangement.
• Moving and packing has made us rethink some of the things we really "need" so we'll be very selective when we begin unboxing things in the rental, and eventually the new house.  I have a feeling we'll be sending several more loads to Goodwill.
• We made great use of the library this summer, including children's reading program and story time.  I also used it as a place to do some tutoring this summer.
• I tutored younger students this summer for a fee and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I'm hopeful that a few will repeat with me again next summer.  It was a nice way to supplement our income, and didn't take too much time away from my family.
• I stayed away from back to school sales, saving us on cash.  I didn't purchase any new clothing for me, though I am watching ThreadUp because I have a credit with them after sending in a bag before our move.
• We spent tons of time outside the last few weeks, which has given us good exercise, vitamin D, and free fun.  The boys played with bean bags, squirt guns, and side walk chalk.  We also played with bubbles.
• We were grateful for friends and neighbors who helped us move.  We couldn't have done it without them, and it really helped to have them help us pack.
• Made most meals at home, and Mom treated us to a few meals out.  We used a gift card for our anniversary dinner out.
• We kept up with our recycling, composting, and sending scraps to the chickens all summer.  Now that we're at Mom's, there are cows to send scraps to also, so there's very little organic waste that makes it's way to the trash, which is super nice.  We're also finding that our compost is getting more sun at Mom's and breaking down faster, which is great.
• I was wanting some succulents for my classroom to decorate with and help with air quality. I found some on clearance at Lowe's for $4.  They were hugely marked down (originally over $35), so we had to get an override.  Four dollars was a great price for what I was wanting them for!

What did you do to live and save green over the summer?  I'd love to hear from you!

June Menu Plan

With our CSA share coming in now, we've got a ton of veggies to go through.  We've also been getting quite a bit from gleaning at the food pantry (just this week we got a huge bag of sugar snap peas, broccoli, and about 10 portabello mushroom caps), so we're looking to make the most of it this month.  We'll try to keep our expenses low, mostly spending on fruit, dairy, and a few frozen items.  And we're also trying to clean out the freezers since the house is on the market and we're not sure when we'll get an offer.

Baby and I seem to have healed our gut issues, so we're slowly reintroducing some higher sugar fruits, occasional gluten (neither of our tests came back with a sensitivity), and a tiny bit of sweetener.  We're grateful for good health, and want to keep it that way, so we won't overdo it on these items too much.

So, here's the plan:

Breakfasts:

• French toast casserole or egg casserole with veggies
• Egg sandwiches on gluten free bread with sauteed greens
• Fried eggs, roasted veggies or greens, and smoothies
• Breakfast burritos with sauteed greens, onions, and mushrooms
• Almond flour muffins or lemon poppyseed muffins
• Leftover quiche and roasted veggies
• Banana bars
• Yogurt and homemade granola
• Strawberry cream cheese coffee cake and fruit or eggs

Lunches:

• Leftovers
• Grilled cheeses or quesadillas and soup
• Smoothies
• Healthy snacky lunch in the car (lots of summer activities with the boys) such as apples and peanut butter or almond butter, dried apricots, crackers and cheese, popcorn, nuts, etc.
• Occasional meals at the restaurant (it's a nice perk of Benny working there)

Dinners:

• Quiche with greens, mushrooms, onion, and dried tomato served with salad
• Dinner salad with tuna, salmon, or hard boiled eggs
• Tuna salad lettuce wraps
• Grilled sausage, cooked greens, and crock pot German potato salad
• Grilled chicken and veggies
• portabello burgers with lettuce and grilled onions, served with oven fries
• sweet potato and quinoa salad served with salmon
• Asian crock pot chicken with rice
• Breakfast for dinner:  French toast, eggs, roasted veggies or fruit
• Cheddar and spinach waffles with sausage
• turkey salad sandwiches with lettuce and veggies and dip
• loaded beans and rice with salad and almond flour cheddar muffins or scallion corn bread
• black bean crock pot chili with salad
• loaded crock pot baked potatoes with chili, cheese, and Greek yogurt
• homemade pizza 
• picnic dinner at the park:  hard boiled eggs, crackers, cheese, fruit, veggies and dip, maybe pasta salad

Snacks:

• cheese and crackers
• homemade foccacia
• pineapple jello (from scratch with good quality gelatin)
• popcorn
• carrot sticks and homemade ranch dip
• fruit
• banana bars

So, our shopping list for this month looks like this:

• Avocados
• Cheddar cheese
• "Pizza" cheese (as it's known in our house... aka mozzarella)
• Sweet potatoes
• Frozen pie shells (I could make my own, but it's just too tough when I'm home full time with the boys)
• Onions
• Baking potatoes
• Plain Greek yogurt

What do your meal plans look like for this month?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments for Last Week of May

This past week we worked really hard to keep extra expenditures down.  We enjoyed some shared meals with friends, which was great in terms of social time and also lightening the load on the grocery budget and the cooking prep.

We also worked hard to keep the house clean and tidy for showings, weeded the herb beds, and split a few plants to share with friends.  Once the house is under contract, I'll begin splitting things from the garden that I want to take to the new house for the new gardens there.  We're really looking forward to having neighbors there who enjoy gardening and can help us with some ideas for plantings there.

Here's what we did last week to live and save green:

• Cooked most meals at home including:  double batch of quiche (swiss chard, onion, dried tomato, and bacon) and salad, grilled chicken sausages with grilled veggies and portabellos, banana nut muffins, turkey tacos with refried beans, greens, onions, and radishes, scrambled eggs with greens and sausage, and smoothies with greens and frozen fruit.
• It was the first week of our CSA share, so we loved all the wonderful fresh produce.  Loads of greens, green onions, radishes, and a dozen eggs.
• Collected about 20 eggs from our friends' chickens.  Well worth the short drive over there, and the chickens love our kitchen scraps.
• Benny picked up items from the food pantry including two large cartons of organic plain yogurt, a gallon of milk, loaf of bread, some veggies, and some good quality gluten free snacks.
• Enjoyed a pot luck meeting in the new neighborhood.  We took a lemon chess pie that I had in the freezer, and most of it was eaten.  This was a gift from a student, and I was glad to share it.  It also helped clear out our freezer space a bit.
• Gladly accepted a turkey carcass and extra turkey meat from a new neighbor.  They took turkey to the meeting and gave us what was left.  I'll use the meat in turkey taco bowls this week, and we'll make stock from the carcass.
• Grateful for pretty weather and the boys getting to play on the playground.  We spent a few afternoons this way, and it was time well spent.  The sunshine was great for us all, and I think they slept better for the hard play.
• Continued with hanging laundry, but mostly inside this week due to scattered showers.  We're still using cloth diapers, but will hit potty training hard this summer.
• The boys shared a bath a few nights, saving on water.  I should have saved some of the bath water to use for potted plants, but forgot.
• Enjoyed getting the grill out this weekend.  It was a great time with friends, and was nice to not have to heat up the kitchen.
• Received a stipend check for student teaching mentoring.  It's a small amount, compared to the work involved, but it's nice to have the little extra income.
• I renewed my teaching liscense.  It was $35, which kind of stinks because it used to be free, but at least I was able to do it with professional development that was free and I didn't have to pay for.
• Enjoyed a date night on Friday night while Mom kept the boys.  We made quiche and salad for dinner at home, and enjoyed watching an episode of Downton Abbey after we got the baby down.  It was a good date night, and minimal cost, aside from the "splurge" of ice cream I got and the bacon for the quiche.  (I did have a coupon for the ice cream.)
• Made some herbal tea at home with herbs from the garden (lemon balm, orange mint, and pineapple mint) and some lavender I had in the pantry.  It was very good, and a combination I think I'll make in a pitcher to have cold this summer.  
• Started another bag for Goodwill, and have another box of books to take to the library for donation.  It would be nice if the tax receipts worked for next year, but even if they don't, it will be good to have the clutter gone.
• Used some citrus vinegar for cleaning, and olive oil to polish the stainless steel appliances.  It's nice to be able to use things we have for cleaning, and puts fewer toxins into our home, keeping us healthier.
• Even amidst rain showers, we managed to get the yard mowed.  It's nice when Benny can do it because it entertains the boys while I can get some stuff done in the kitchen.
• Enjoyed free yoga class and dinner.  I also worked out using free YouTube videos.
• Benny and I began looking at kitchen design ideas for the new house.  We've chosen most of our paint colors, are pretty sure of cabinet design, and are working on choosing flooring.  We're trying to make as many decisions as possible ahead of time so that once we can begin building, decisions are made and things can move as quickly as possible.

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

Frugal Accomplishments Third Week of May

This past week was pretty good for us.  We got the house listed for sale and had four showings last week and another scheduled for early this week.  We're hopeful that it will sell quickly so that we can begin the process of building our new house.  We had a few doctor's appointments, and they were great.  Our health seems to be continually improving with our dietary changes, for which I'm grateful. 

Here's the list of our accomplishments for this past week:

• Made all meals from scratch including:  spaghetti and meatballs with gluten free pasta (which was a disappointment... I won't be purchasing that brand again), pancakes and sausage for dinner with fruit, homemade pizza with salad, "nibble" dinner of gluten free crackers, hard boiled eggs, sliced apples, and veggies.  We also did eggs, smoothies, and crock pot steel cut oats for breakfasts.
• Enjoyed shared meals twice this week with Mom and through the Children's Council with yoga.  I'm so enjoying the yoga class and the parent support group.  It's such an amazing resource.
• Grateful for items gleaned from the food pantry.  Fresh produce is in abundance now that they're gleaning from the farmer's market again:
• kale
• swiss chard
• leaf lettuce
• radishes
• eggplant
• coconut milk
• gluten free red pepper crackers
• Won a gift card to Harris Teeter for participating in the school fitness challenge.  I never win anything, and this is something we'll definitely use!
• Took all meals to work, saving on the cost of lunches.  I keep snacks at work too, so that I'm not tempted by things in the vending machine.
• Worked hard to use things from the pantry and freezer in meals, including meatballs, marinara sauce, turkey carcass and veggies (for stock), and mint for tea.
• I worked out for free using YouTube videos and the yoga class at the Children's Council.  We also took a walk a few evenings when the weather allowed, which was nice.
• The boys helped me with weeding in the garden, which was nice.  It's nice to begin seeing flowers pop up in the garden.
• Enjoyed lots of fresh eggs from our friends' chickens.  It's such a nice arrangement to have us collect from them a few days a week, and it makes their life easier to have a regular chicken sitter when they're on vacation.
• Worked really hard to keep the house clean for showings, and I think it's paying off.  It's also nice to begin getting in some habits that will hopefully keep things cleaner in the new house, like taking shoes off at the door and having the boys clean up before bed.
• Enjoyed our membership to the Children's Playhouse a few times, and even got to see some baby goats one day!  So fun with the boys!
• Began looking at the new house plans more diligently, thinking about how we can use our existing furniture to make that new space most efficient.
• Explored tae kwon do classes for little man.  I think we'll sign him up for next month as a trial.  He really needs the discipline and structure, and I think it will help with some things at home too.  My mom has offered to pay for these classes for him, which would be a huge help.  He's really excited about the opportunity.
• Making plans to use some of our existing supplies for the boys to make something special for Father's Day.  I hope it will be special, and something we'll enjoy in the new house.
• Reposted Craigslist ads, and working to week out a few more things to send to Goodwill and other donations.  I ordered another bag for ThreadUp to consign some items through them.  It's an easy way to get rid of some items I don't want, but are still in good shape. and earn a little extra money in the process.

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

Frugal Accomplishments for Last Week of April

This past week we did pretty well frugally.  I tried to purchase produce that was on sale, and we tried to use up some more things from the pantry and freezer.  We also enjoyed some time with friends, which we all found fulfilling.  I had a few friends come over this weekend to help pack boxes and help clean the house for staging photographs, and that was a huge help!

Here are all of our accomplishments in detail:

• Cooked all meals at home including Thai coconut chicken soup, salad, roasted veggies, eggs, smoothies, meatballs over rice with peppers and onions, and homemade pizza (gluten free and regular).
• We also made a batch of spiced nuts, popcorn, and fermented sauerkraut.  These will be used for snacking and the sauerkraut will be a great addition to salads.
• Hung some laundry on the clothes line outside, which was nice because we've had so much rain lately.
• Enjoyed shared meals with family and friends twice.  This saved on cooking, as we only had to prep one dish instead of several.
• Grateful for friends who came to help clean the house.  We got the china hutch packed, the whole house vacuumed and mopped, counters cleared, bathrooms cleaned, clutter stashed, etc. 
• Used natural cleaners for cleaning including citrus vinegar, baking soda, and olive oil for polishing stainless appliances. 
• Rented a storage unit to begin moving larger items like appliances into, and once the house sells, our furniture will go there as well.
• Sent three more bags of items to Goodwill and the library for donation.
• Packed all lunches for school and work, saving on that cost.
• Used YouTube for working out.  
• Enjoyed free yoga and dinner at the Children's Council.  The parent support group that meets afterward is great too.
• Used my rice and lavender bag for a heating pad when my back was sore so I didn't have to use an electric heating pad.
• Enjoyed making homemade herbal tea with lavender, mint, and lemon balm from the garden.  (The lavender was ordered from an herb company, as it doesn't grow well here.) This has improved my mood greatly, and I believe has helped my kidney health some too.

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

Frugal Accomplishments for Third Week of April

This past week we managed to get quite a bit accomplished, and we had a wonderful visit with a great friend who stayed with us for several days.

Here's how we saved this past week:

• Made all meals from scratch at home including:  double batch of broccoli and ham quiche (using broccoli and ham from the freezer), salad, roasted veggies (using zucchini and eggplant from the food pantry), smoothies with veggies and berries, homemade pizza and sauteed greens (we were out of salad greens), fish tacos, carrot coconut curry soup, and coconut custard.
• We gleaned several items from the food pantry, for which we're really grateful:
• zucchini and yellow squash
• 2 eggplant
• brussel sprouts
• green beans
• 4 pears
• 4 kiwi
• 4 plums
• gluten free crackers
• Hung all laundry to dry except sheets and washed in cold water.
• Continued with cloth diaper use.
• Baby and I continue to be on a gluten-free, sugar-free, no high sugar fruit diet.  This really seems to be healing baby.  I think simply because I'm older, it's going to take me longer to get over this stuff, but there has been improvement.
• Made homemade turkey stock with a turkey carcass and veggie scraps from the freezer.  Used this for soup, and will use more for rice and soup this week.
• Packed several boxes (12, I think) and stored at Mom's house in her basement.  Very grateful that she also came over on Saturday to help me clean and pack some.
• Staged our bedroom and guest bedroom for pictures using things we had around the house.
• Tossed a few more items in the trash and Goodwill bags.  Also weeded out more books and magazines for library donation.
• Benny cleaned out the bathroom sink drains in all three baths.  This has needed to happen for a while, and I'm grateful that he did it in preparation for the sale of the house.
• Benny also finished caulking most trim that needed it, and will continue with the painting this week.  
• We got the appraisal back for our HEL to finalize the purchase of the land, and it came back for what we were hoping.  This means that we should be able to make what we need to from the sale of the house, which is great.
• The permit process has begun, and we're glad to have all those forms submitted.
• Enjoyed a wonderful visit with a great family friend who is from out of state.  He's preparing for a move to California, so we're especially thankful for the visit time we had with him.  He gifted the boys some wonderful books (he's always so thoughtful), and we gave him some homemade roasted nuts for his return trip.  We're in the initial stages of planning a trip to see him for next summer.
• I began planning which plants I want to put in pots to take to the new house for the garden. I'm sure I want to take herbs, some forsythia, and several perennial flowers.

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