Image from Dairy Free Pumpkin Pecan Bars Well, it would seem that the Pumpkin Shortage of 2009 continues on into the holiday season of 2010. The shelves remain empty. Still. But I would imagine come November 1st, the canned pumpkin will start to show up again on store's shelves...just in time for the biggest pumpkin pie fest ever! (Did you know that over 50 million … [Read more...]
Grocery Budget Makeover – New Diet Restrictions
Maureen writes... Trying to be the organized mom, I keep a list of our meals, who likes them, what to have as sides, which meats we like & how expensive they are in an excel spreadsheet. I open up the spreadsheet every time I work on our grocery list and meal plan. I do this so we don't keep having the same things over and over, and forget about other things we like. … [Read more...]
How to Cut a Green Pepper {Video}
Or perhaps the wrong way to cut a green pepper?!? I am a total green pepper cutting rebel and do my own thing when it comes to dicing, slicing and cutting green peppers. I am not, however, a rebel without a cause. I definitely cut with a cause. In this case, freezing all these green peppers! In the end, I wound up with the following meal size portions: 6 … [Read more...]
How to Save on Diapers
Diapers. Oh diapers. They are expensive...but they don't have to be. (I don't use cloth diapers. I explain here.) My goal, as with everything, is to pay as little as possible...and this rings especially true with diapers...as I buy them often. I watch the drugstore circulars and the grocery store circulars to see if there are any great deals to be had. (I use … [Read more...]
How to Spot a Great Price on Meat
UPDATED JUNE 2018! Don't you wish we could still get prices like those? Reader Question: Can you let us know what a good deal on meat is? I personally don't know when to stock up or when to hold off. How much a pound is good on all the meats? Spotting a great price on any product can be difficult. It takes time and practice. But what I like about meat prices is … [Read more...]
Printable Coupons
A few great printable coupons that are out there: $2 off Huggies Pull Ups $1/3 Libby's Canned Veggies and $1/5 Del Monte Canned Veggies (this coupon was also in this week's newspaper...hold onto them until a sale to really save while you stock up for winter soups and stews!) And be sure to stop by Smart Source and Coupons.com for more great printables! … [Read more...]
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce and Salsa
I had a surplus of about $25 from my August grocery budget. I decided to go on a "tomato spree." The farmer's market just down the road from me offers a "You Pick" price for Roma tomatoes of $.69/lb. Not too bad. Plus we (yes, I took the kids for "the experience") got to have a little fun and learn about "good" and "bad" tomatoes! All that you see above (2 habanero … [Read more...]
How to Stockpile & Freeze Blueberries
When blueberries are on sale for $1 a PINT, of course I’m gonna buy a few extras…and by a few, I mean 9! Yes, I bought 9 pints of blueberries last week! I tossed 1 pint into the week’s fruit salad. The other pints I froze…just like the raspberries. I rinsed and dried them, and then laid them out in baking dishes and put them into the freezer. Once frozen, I … [Read more...]
Fruit Salad
These days I'm trying to cut as many corners as I can without sacrificing the quality and healthiness factor of our food. I've decided to make a fruit salad twice a week with the different fruits that I find on sale each week in the produce department. I find myself cutting up a different piece of fruit every day for lunch and another for a snack. Not really the most … [Read more...]
Watermelon Juice
I found a watermelon on sale for $2.50. I thought about juicing the watermelon, as I knew the Hubs and I would enjoy it, but I wasn't sure about the kids. I knew they LOVED watermelon... Exhibit A I wasn't sure they would like the juice. But I made some anyways. Here is the scene on the kitchen counter. I love making fresh fruit juice, but it sure is messy … [Read more...]