Second hand shopping: my weekend and some tips I've picked up

This past weekend played host to a big community yard sale and a 3 Bags Full sale near my house, so I checked to see what I still needed for each of my kids (including baby boy coming at the end of summer) and headed out with a wallet full of cash.
As a general rule I try not to spend more than $1 per article of clothing, but will occasionally splurge on something we either need asap or something I really like. I did really well. In total, I was out shopping for 3 1/2 hours Friday and Saturday. I had the kids by myself for 2 1/2 of those hours, but let me tell you, they were so well behaved. They went to two houses without the stroller because they were fairly quick and easy stops, but rode quite nicely in their stroller with their bags of cereal. The only annoying part was that I had to keep unloading and loading the stroller and driving, because there were little pockets of yard sales with big stretches in between.

I have a lot of needs this year, so I'm starting out the yard sale season with $200 to buy clothes and some miscellanious items for the family. In June or July, I'll get a second TBD budget, so while I need to spend the money wisely, I do have some wiggle room to buy for the future.
Here's what I bought:

Current size and season: PJs-5 boy 1 girl, pants/shorts- 4 boy 9 girl, shirts- 13 boy 9 girl, dresses-2, float swimsuit =44 items

Later (within next 2 years): baby- 1 LS onesie, 4 sleepers, 1 blanket, 1 crib spit rag, 1 carseat cover, 3 washcloth puppets, Girl- 8 shirts, 1 dress, 1 PJ, 6 pants, Older Boy- 9 pants/shorts, 4 sweaters, 11 shirts, 1 dress outfit = 52 items (46 clothes)

Overall, I did really well, I splurged on the Paris themed dress for $8, but both my husband and I loved it. That came from the 3 bags full sale, and though I was able to stick to my $1 per item rule fairly well, the clothes are usually more expensive there than at someone's home.
I was able to even out the pricier items by finding a house charging $.50 per item. I spent $21 at that house alone because the sizes worked out perfectly for most of the current clothes. The average house (that I actually bought from) was charging $1 per item so I left most of those with a handful of items too.
For everything pictured above (all 96 items), I paid $84. I was able to almost finish my son's summer wardrobe and get him a better start on next winter. My daughter just has a few loose ends for the summer as well, but still needs some things for winter.

I was also able to find a $5 bike with training wheels for my daughter (for next year) and a $5 baby/toddler swing to put on our swingset. It's pink, but $5 is much better than the $25+ I've been seeing in the stores. We also found a few other toys that helped to bring my total to $101. It may seem like a lot to spend all at once for clothes and toys, but I could have easily spent that on 3 new pairs of pants from Gymboree (I have at least that many for my son in the pictures above).
So, if you've been thinking that the various forms of second hand shopping aren't worth your time, I'd think again. I stopped at several houses with popular name brand clothing for teens and preteens too, so it's not just something you can do for little kids.

A few ideas I try to stick to when second hand shopping:

• Know the places to go- if you're new to an area or new to buying second hand, ASK around. Some areas charge a lot more than others for pretty much the same stuff.
• Know what you're shopping for- all the "great deals" can seem overwhelming and you could end up buying stuff you won't use or don't have room for just because it was a good price.
• Set and stick to a budget. If you only have $20 to spend shopping, take $20 in cash and leave the rest at home.
• Prioritize your list. If your kids need clothes now, concentrate on getting those clothes first. In the past when I've only had $10-20 to spend, it was really hard to pass up some 50 cent clothing that was still a year or two out, but there will always be more sales and it's important to take care of your immediate needs first.
• Buy outfits (especially with girls) or items that go with things you already have. Don't buy a pair of leggings that has limited matching potential unless you also buy the matching shirt. I used to buy all sorts of pieces for my daughter with the intent of finding something to match it with later. That led to all sorts of frustration when I'd go through the piles of clothes and not be able to find anything that matched.
• If you need to take young children along, take a stroller. I find it easy to give them a snack to munch on while we go from house to house, unload and load, drive, unload and load. Also, if your budget allows and your time has been lengthy, I'd reward the kids with a little something. My kids tend to get a bit spoiled with new to them toys in the summer, but they also know that they can't have everything and they need to behave in order to pick out a new toy.

starter seeds: done

I really blundered this time! I put my tray on the sunny front porch to help my seeds, but I ended up killing them instead. Not only did I forget about them in the midst of the kids being extremely clingy, but apparently the wind picked up and knocked them over into the flower bed on the side of the porch. Oh well! I'll just have to buy starter plants for my tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants in May. It'll still be cheaper than buying all the produce later and I can still start other plants from seeds.

Convincing children to eat

I received an e-mail from a friend the other day wondering what my children eat. She couldn't imagine her children eating some of the recipes I post on this blog. I imagine others have similar thoughts, so allow me to set the record straight. My children are like most toddlers in that they may love something one day, shun it the next, then suddenly change their mind again and eat a plateful. That being said, the recipes I post on here (unless otherwise stated in the recipe) have all been well received by my children at one time or another.

How do I convince my children to eat what I prepare? I don't give them a different option. I put food on their plate at each meal and figure they'll eat it if they're hungry. If they don't want to eat, they can wait until the next meal or a snack time. On the rare occasion they can't wait until the next meal, I will give them a basic item after everyone else is finished and it's clear the meal is over. A basic item might include an apple or an oatmeal muffin depending on what is easy and what they've eaten recently.
My parents raised me the same way. We were expected to eat what was on the table and to have clean plates by the end of the meal. They didn't object to the picking out of little things we didn't like at the time, but if we wanted seconds or something later, we better not have anything on the plate. When my children are a little older and able to understand the rules better, we will more strictly enforce them.

Just because we have a rule doesn't mean it's always easy to get them to understand and try new things, so here are a few ideas to encourage children to try new meals/healthier options:

• Involve them in the preparation. I am not very good at this suggestion. I go about as far as letting my kids pick if they want their apple cut or whole. However, the few times that I have let the kids help stir, pour, or shape something, they've been very excited to try the finished product.
• Change the shape of the food to make it fun and/or familiar. This is how I convinced my children to try oatmeal. I took a basic baked oatmeal recipe, put it in muffin tins and they ate it right up. Once they realized they liked it, they started eating it in other forms and now I can even make it on the stove top and they'll eat it no problem. On a related note, some parents have good luck making pictures out of the meal, like a face pancake made with fruits and yogurt. If you'd like more ideas, take a look at pinterest- they're everywhere!
• Allow them to eat their preferred way. I'm not saying to give them fries and ketchup all the time, but if they enjoy dipping fries into ketchup, give them other finger foods they can dip. My kids both enjoy dipping spinach into ranch dressing instead of the traditional fork salad style of eating. My kids will try just about anything they can dip into something else. If your child prefers food in the form of sandwiches or wraps, get creative and try different styles such as fruit or vegetable slices for the bread (apple slice sandwiches or lettuce wraps) or a different style grain (rice paper for spring rolls).
• Add in extra ingredients to things they already like. There are several ways to go about this, my preferred is to add chunks of things (like squash in pasta sauce or sweet potato in chili) that are visible but don't drastically change the flavor. Some people won't eat it if they see it, so another option is to puree foods to add in to things like dessert and meatloaf. I don't care for this method, because I'd rather my family see that they like vegetables, but for more information check out this blog.

How do you encourage your children to eat healthier foods?

Whole Wheat Pancakes (food storage pancakes)

There are so many things to love about these pancakes. First of all they are whole wheat and still get nice and fluffy (it's actually quite difficult to achieve fluffy whole wheat pancakes, but not with this recipe). My son even enjoys them plain after they've cooled. My favorite way to eat these (so far) is with cooked apples and syrup. If you aren't accustomed to whole wheat, you may find them slightly dry or grainy, but a little extra syrup or butter can fix that issue no problem!

Makes approx. 14 medium pancakes

1 3/4 whole wheat flour
1/2 C powdered milk
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 1/2 TBSP baking powder
1 TBSP cinnamon (optional or can be replaced with other spices)
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C water

1. Whisk together all dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl (make sure to break up any and all lumps).
2. Add water and gently whisk until just incorporated (don't over mix).
3. Preheat griddle or non-stick pan over 350 F/medium.
4. Allow batter to rest while the pan gets good and hot.
5. Grease the pan and ladle out portions of batter.
6. Allow to cook approx. 1-2 minutes or until edges firm up.
7. Flip the pancake over and cook another minute.
8. Remove pancake from pan.
9. Repeat steps 5-8 until all batter has been cooked.
10. Top with butter and/or your favorite syrup and enjoy!

Leftovers can be frozen and reheated (toaster, microwave, or oven) later.

How I spend my $50 grocery budget: week 4/23/12

I was so happy to see all the fruit I've been craving recently for such great prices at Aldi this week! We actually ran out of fresh fruit this weekend because I've been craving it so much and of course I share with the kids even when it's not an actual snack time and sometimes just 30 minutes after I've finished my meal. Then I snack on more fruit after the kids go to bed- there are certainly worse things I could be craving. I almost caved and bought fruit Saturday, but I toughed it out and was greatly rewarded with sale items this week. So naturally I bought 8 pounds of oranges, 6 pounds of apples, and about another 5 pounds of other fruit to eat this week. Hmm, I wonder if I'll run out again?

Aldi
milk $2.29
bananas $.44/lb
2 4lb bags naval oranges $1.49 each
2 3lb bags gala apples $1.99 each
strawberries $.99
3pk kiwis $.69
2 pk green peppers $1.29
vegetable oil $2.49
2 bags trail mix $1.99 each
Total: $20.16

Meijer
2 jars Motts all natural applesauce $1.99 each
Gain dish soap (28oz) $1.99
MB(Meijer brand) vinegar $2.35
spinach $4.99
3 lb carrots $1.99
2 packages whole wheat tortillas 1.59 each
2 cans MB orange juice concentrate $1.50 each
2 doz eggs $1.25 each
2 boxes (12.8 oz) cheerios$2.50 each
Total: $29.12

Grand total $49.28
carry-over: $.72

I was trying to keep my children out of the frame, so most of the apples got cut from the picture.

And for the menu:
Breakfasts:

• cereal x1
• pancakes x2or3
• oatmeal muffins (new recipes) x3or4

Lunches:

• PB&J/ sandwiches
• leftovers
• black bean quesadillas
• grilled hummus/cheese sandwiches w/ soup

Dinners:

• black bean quesadillas
• fajita burritos
• vegetable soup in bread bowls
• pasta w/ salad
• spring rolls
• burgers w/ roasted potatoes
• baked potatoes

Extras:

• green smoothies 
• fruit salad
• monkey cookies
• granola bars
• banana "ice cream"
• bake bread, bread bowls, and burger buns

starting seeds week 5

I learned this week that I shouldn't necessarily go by the estimated sprout time on the packages. Apparently peppers always take forever. I lost 2 of the eggplant sprouts this week, but gained another one, so I now have 2. One of my tomatoes has sprouted already too. Take a look:

The green sprouts are the eggplant and the dark purple sprout on the far right (near the middle) is the tomato.

week 5 of plant based diet

What a good week food wise! The family finally seems to be adjusting and I didn't get major complaints from anyone. Our heaviest animal protein meal of the week was taco salad, but since I always add beans to the ground meat (I used 1 lb of venison from my massive stock in the freezer) and half of us omitted the cheese, it still fit in with our new way of eating. I also learned a fascinating tidbit about my children. Apparently, they like hibachi style mushroom soup- the weirdest part is that they were picking out the mushrooms and eating them like they were candy. I even had to return to the kitchen to slice more mushrooms for my son! I should mention that they've never showed the slightest inclination towards mushrooms before.

I have become increasingly concerned about still giving my daughter milk each day. I still need to research, pray, and reflect a little more. I don't feel bad/guilty for using the little bits of powdered milk and butter in my cooking/baking, because the amounts are small enough and it doesn't upset my stomach or affect my son's digestive system, so should I still feel guilty about giving my daughter her daily glass of milk? Probably not, but the further I get into my studies the guiltier I feel. Ignorance really is bliss.

Did you know that I have reactive hypoglycemia? Long story short, I have issues with my blood sugar (glucose levels) going too low. I've noticed that as we've been eating more whole plant based foods, I've had fewer issues. The only time I seem to have problems is if I snack on a bunch of fruit and nothing else. It's great to feel in control of my body instead of just fixing the problem when it happens. The hypoglycemia hasn't seemed like a big deal in years, because it's something you just adjust and get used to. However, it's been on my mind a lot this week, because it's almost like I don't have a problem anymore.

Lastly, I meant to post a current maternity picture last week since I've been popping and feeling so healthy, but never got around to taking one. Below you'll find the picture I used to announce this pregnancy (about 10 weeks ago) and a picture from last night (it's a little blurry, sorry) at 21+ weeks to show the difference in my appearance. Yes, the sweater is the same (on purpose). Though I don't have pictures to prove it, I still looked a lot like the first picture 6 weeks ago. Do you notice the slight thinning of the upper arm and face? Then, of course, there's the much larger baby bump. One thing you can't tell from the picture is how firm the bump has gotten. In the first picture there was still plenty of soft  belly to push before you could feel the hard bump, but now most of my belly is quite firm. All of this is merely the change in diet, my activity level has stayed the same apart from growing a bigger baby. As I stated last week, the baby and I are gaining a little weight, but as you can tell from the picture it's going to the baby.

See you Monday with an update on my lack of a green thumb!

Roasted Potatoes

So I realize that roasted potatoes aren't rocket science, but this is my favorite way to make them. They always turn out so delicious that I wish I had made more. Not only are they super easy and inexpensive to make, it's also incredibly easy to adjust the recipe for however many people you are feeding.

Serves: 4
Cost: <$1
Time: about 40-45 minutes (start to finish)

Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes, washed
1 T olive oil, divided (may not need full amount)
garlic salt
dried parsley

Preheat oven to 425 F
Thinly spread 1/4-1/2 T olive oil on the bottom of a baking sheet (olive oil spray works well too)
Slice potatoes into discs roughly 1/8-1/4 inch thick (no need to get out your rulers).
Evenly space potatoes on baking sheet and lightly brush remaining olive oil on the tops of the potatoes (a clean finger does the job just fine).
Lightly sprinkle potatoes with garlic salt and parsley.
Bake in middle of oven for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned on bottom (my current oven takes 18 minutes), the tops are partially cooked, and the potatoes will move easily from their spot on the pan.
Turn potatoes and bake an additional 12-15 minutes or until bottoms are lightly toasted.
Remove from oven, serve, and enjoy!

To adjust servings: plan one medium potato per person, 4-5 potatoes fits nicely on a standard size baking sheet, to roast 6 or 7 potatoes, try for a restaurant style baking/cookie sheet (also known as jelly roll pan).

How I spend my grocery budget: week 4/16/12

In case you're just tuning in, I've been trying an experiment with my budget recently. I set up a 4 week cycle and gave myself $10 from each of weeks 2-4 on week 1. Resulting in this:
week 1: $80
week 2: $40
week 3: $40

week 4: $40

This is the final week of the experiment and while there are some advantages to this style of budgeting, it doesn't work for me and my current grocery budget. Perhaps if I was only buying food with the money, wasn't trying to shop sales, or had more money in the budget, this would be a good option for me. However, I am not increasing my budget until it becomes absolutely necessary (I imagine it'll be sooner than I'd like due to increased prices at the store along with the addition of another boy to the family later this year), so for now I'll be returning to the $50 per week.

When I first received the ads for this week I went from being very excited about my favorite prepackaged pasta sauce being on sale for $1 each (I used my last jar on Sunday) at Meijer to being frustrated that there were too many store specific sales that didn't allow for Walmart price matching. Things were a lot easier when Meijer still price matched food items! Since I still don't like visiting several stores on my grocery day, I had to narrow it down and ultimately decided on my usual combination of Aldi and Meijer.
Going to several stores is not practical for someone with rather small needs like myself. I generally stick to a rule that I need to be going to a store for 5 or more items that are a better buy than at a store I'm already going to in order for it to be worth the trip. There are certainly exceptions, but it give me a good guideline.

Here's what I bought with my $40 +$2 carry over:
Aldi:
10 lb russet potatoes $2.99
Navel Oranges $1.79
3 lb Gala apples $2.69
1 lb strawberries $1.49
celery $.99
yellow squash $.99
zucchini $.99
mushrooms $.59
onions $.99
tomatoes $.99
milk $1.99
eggs $1.39
Total: $17.88

Meijer:
bananas $.54/lb
cucumber $.50
rice vinegar $2.15
2 Mott's natural applesauce $1.99 each
4-pk avocados $2
spinach $2.50
10 jars pasta sauce $1 each
Total: $22.45

Grand Total: $40.33

oops! I think I went over budget this week. I picked up seaweed paper over the weekend and can't remember the exact price- I know it was less than $2, so I didn't go over by much, but I am pretty sure I went over by at least $.02, but it may be as much as $.32 (this is why putting separate cash budgets in envelopes is a good idea instead of just different areas of our wallet- change wanders)
This hasn't happened before, so I think I'm just going to give myself a warning and try not to let it happen again, after all the change was just sitting in my wallet anyway.

And here's what we're eating this week:
Breakfasts:

• Whole Wheat Pancakes
• Oatmeal raisin breakfast cupcakes
• banana muffins
• pecan maple breakfast cookies

Lunches:

• PB&J 
• tuna sandwiches
• noodles with avocados, tomatoes, & olives
• Leftovers

 Dinners:

• dinner date night with kids
• sushi rolls & hibachi soup
• taco salad
• Tian
• pot pie (with a few tweaks)
• pasta
• cheese-less pizza

starting seeds: week 4

I'm not convinced I have a green thumb at all! Some of my eggplant starters finally sprouted Monday, but now the peppers are running behind too. My husband and I formulated a new plan to continue with our current starter efforts, but to go ahead and buy more starters when it's time to plant if we don't have as many plants as desired. So I didn't bother buying or preparing more starters this week like I had planned last week.
I really think we've just had too many overcast days and perhaps my window just doesn't give the seeds enough light. I'm thinking I'll buy one of those special seed starting kits with the heater and light for next year, but I'll continue on this path for this year.

week 4 of plant based diet

I think we finally found our stride this week. I didn't make anything that was brand spanking new to the family. The closest I got was a ham and bean soup, but we've had soups with beans before. Doubling and tripling the vegetables with a familiar dish while decreasing the meat/cutting out the dairy is proving a much better way to get my children to eat and to not displease the husband. If I recall that's what I said I was going to do when I started this anyway. How'd I forget?

Last weekend I made an awful lasagna. It must have been the pregnancy talking when I planned it and took the author's recommendation that it was delicious, because for us, it was a pure waste of money. Contrary to my usual back-ups for flop meals, we went to a fast food joint and grabbed an inexpensive meal and let the kids play in the play area. That was a real eye-opener for me. Not only is the point of the new diet (eating plan) to avoid greasy processed foods, but since when do I suggest that we spend money eating out because we couldn't stomach what I had prepared? Not to mention, I rarely make food that requires a substitute and is better suited for the trash can!

The vegan recipe books went back to the library folks, I've wasted enough food (money) trying what they say is delicious and not liking it well enough to eat the whole prepared amount. I'm not saying the recipes were a total waste, because I picked up a few tips and tricks that are worth knowing.

Speaking of books, according to a book I'm currently reading (I'll give a review after I've read the whole thing, but it's loaded with tons of studies and research to back up what it says), people that eat a high plant based whole food diet are healthier and have less cancer and disease, but the people that still have minimal amounts (10% or less) of animal proteins still fare well health wise. The difference only really seems to matter if you're trying to reverse a health issue. When years of bad health choices have had time to accumulate of course it takes a lot more effort to get rid of the issue. Fortunately, we are starting on this journey early(ish) in life so I can stop stressing, right?

Interestingly enough the author and his family adopted a healthy vegan lifestyle as a result of his findings, so he recommends that throughout the book, which is great and all, but I have another piece of knowledge that I can't disregard. It's called the Word of Wisdom. For those that haven't heard of it, it's revelation given through the prophet, Joseph Smith, back in 1833 that tells us what things, generally speaking, are good and bad for our bodies (follow the link to learn more). The 89th section of the Doctrine and Covenants (where the word of wisdom is found) clearly states that meat should be eaten, but eaten sparingly. I truly believe that these things go hand in hand. The world is full of delicate balances and we already know that lots of other things should only be consumed in moderation, so why not meat?

Another indicator to me that I'm on the right path happened at the beginning of the week. I received nice compliments from different ladies saying how healthy I am looking. And am I losing weight? (That totally made my day) I can say that according to the scale at the obstetrician's office, the baby and I collectively are gaining some weight- how much of that is baby and how much is me, I won't know until this little guy decides he's done hanging out in my womb, but I do feel healthier and my belly is getting much tighter and big feeling. Apart from the first trimester morning sickness weight loss, I would attribute the lower weight gain to eating better.

Soap: are you paying too much?

One of my biggest pet peeves is buying soap. Seriously, why does it have to be so dang expensive? It's definitely a necessity, but there are so many kinds of soap you have to buy! Pretty much everything needs some sort of a soap to clean it from your hair, body, and face to your dishes, clothes, and counters. I've figured a way to ease the pain of most soap needs (check out the laundry soap and all-purpose cleaner), but body wash was by far my least favorite until recently.
I grew up using both bar soap and liquid gel body wash, but my dear husband grew up without using bar soap. His biggest claim is that bar soap is unsanitary. I've yet to do an experiment to test his claim (maybe when the kids are old enough to do and understand the experiment with me), but as far as using bar soap in the shower and tub go, I disagree. I asked him to give it a try and gave him these suggestions and reminders:

• Rub the bar soap on a loufa or washcloth to use. If you don't rub the bar all over stinky feet, it won't make you think of stinky feet next time you use it.
• If it makes you feel better, everyone can have their own personal bar of soap, if everyone uses clean washcloths, the point is moot, but who cares?
• You can buy a 2 pack of bar soap at Walmart for $.94. The cheapest I can find liquid body wash is $.98, but it's cheap, you need to use more, and therefore doesn't last very long. One bar of soap should last several weeks. When I was just old enough to take unsupervised bathes, I would sit there and see how much I could get the bar of soap to shrink. My water would become extremely soapy, my fingers would look like raisins, and the bar of soap would still only be slightly smaller than when I started. So even with ornery little kids like me, it should still last a long time.
• You can get bar soap in many of the brands and scents you prefer for the liquid stuff.

My husband agreed to try it and a few showers later, I got an off hand comment, saying that the bar soap works pretty well and we can keep using it. Score one for me and the budget!

And just because I feel like it, here are a few other soap tidbits I've picked up over the years (don't judge, I know I'm not the only one to have successfully tried these before):

• Shampoo (especially the basic stuff) works well as a body wash. They are essentially the same thing and when you can buy the 22 oz bottles of Suave shampoo for less than you can their body wash, it can be cheaper or at least a good alternative to get you through until you go to the store again.
• Conditioner or moisturizing shampoo can be used as a substitute for shaving cream- at least for legs and armpits, I've never heard of anyone trying it on their face. You seriously have to try this sometime, I didn't believe the girl that told me in college, but ran out mid shave one day and tried it. I actually have fewer nicks with the conditioner than I do with nice shaving creams.
• Adding a little water to the end of the soap or shampoo bottle will help you get the last dregs out.
• Adding equal parts water and hand soap/dish soap to a pump bottle will give you twice as many hand washes for your money. Your hands will still get clean, because the friction is what does most of cleaning anyway.

So when it comes to soap, are you paying too much?

Baby stuff: finding out the gender

I went to the doctor's office for an ultrasound yesterday and found out we are having a healthy baby boy!
He even allowed us to get a decent 3-D picture

In case you can't tell what you're looking at, that's his face on the left side. One hand is up by his face and the other is in front of his shoulder by his chest. A lot of what you see is just placenta and shadow from my belly button because he's breech at the moment.

If you came for a recipe today, try the supreme pizza, but switch out the mushrooms for chopped cauliflower. If that's not your thing, try my recipe for fried rice, but reduce the meat to 1/2 cup and increase the vegetables to 2 cups.

how I use my grocery budget: week 4/9/12

In case you're just tuning in, I've been trying an experiment with my budget recently. I set up a 4 week cycle and gave myself $10 from each of weeks 2-4 on week 1. Resulting in this:
week 1: $80
week 2: $40

week 3: $40

week 4: $40
As of week 3, I'm not so sure I like it. I'm starting to get an idea of what we do and don't like about our new whole food plant based diet (less meat, more veggies, way less dairy due to sensitivities in half the family) that I should be able to go back to my $50 per week once this cycle is over. I haven't been pleased with many of the meals I picked out at the beginning of the cycle and have been completely reminded of why a month's menu has never been a good idea for our family- I change my mind and get in the mood for different things too quickly (especially when pregnant).

This week, my mom and sister coordinated to pick up a few quarts of the unsweetened organic soy milk from Trader Joe's for me. They live closer to it than I do and my sister's family has several dietary needs that require regular trips to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, so it was quite convenient for them to pick it up and give it to me on Easter. It was so nice that they could grab it for us, because all the local options are expensive without coupons and I really like that this particular type only has 2 ingredients: filtered water and organic soybeans.

My actual shopping for this week was a mixture of lucks. On one hand I found my recent pregnancy craving of grapefruit on the reduced produce cart for $.25 each and the dishwasher tablets that we need are on a small sale this week- $9.99 for a 60ct box and that should last us about 2 months. On the other hand, I could not find a good looking 3 lb bag of onions for $.99 at Aldi and was only able to buy 1 onion for roughly the same price at Meijer. Then I was hoping to buy my orange juice as part of the 10 for $10 get the 11th free at Meijer, but apparently Dole doesn't make basic orange juice concentrate (at least not for my little store) and the varieties they did have had some major ice crystals all over them. At least our preferred brand is on a price drop and I was able to get an extra box of pasta and some English muffins instead.

Meijer:
bananas (reduced price) $.44/lb = $.83
1 bulk onion $.99/lb $.81
4 grapefruit (reduced price) $1
2 frozen orange juice with added calcium $1.67 each (price drop until 4/22)
10 for $10 get the 11th free:
English muffins
1 bell pepper
6 boxes pasta
2 bags salad
1 jar salsa
Total: $15.97
savings: $10.20+reduced fruit savings

Aldi
oranges $1.49
pears $.99
whole milk $2.49
gala apples $2.69
total: $7.66

Trader Joe's (picked up for me)
3 QT organic soy milk $1.69 each
Total: $5.07

What I forgot even though it was at the top of my list with 3!s: Finish 60ct dishwasher tabs $9.99+tax= $10.69 from Meijer. Fortunately, my husband needed to make a quick trip to Meijer last night anyway.
Grand Total for the week: $39.39
carry-over:$2.61 (last weeks final carryover was $2 even)

picture total: $28.70

 What's on the menu for the week?
FYI: We were given one of the leftover hams from Easter and a bunch of rolls, so those are playing a part in our menu.

Breakfasts
cereal
pancakes
English muffins w/ peanut butter and bananas/apples

Lunches:
leftovers
sandwiches (rolls for bread)

Dinners:
brown sugar ham and beans w/ corn bread and salad?
ham, roasted potatoes, green beans, side salad
salad
veggie fajitas w/ beans, lettuce, avocado, rice, and salsa
spaghetti
baked potatoes w/ beans (like a meatless chili) and salsa (cheese from freezer for dairy tolerant in the family)
leftovers

snacks: fruit, nuts

starting seeds: week 3

Hmm apparently my thumb isn't very green. The eggplant has yet to sprout. I'll keep working at it since I'm paying closer attention to where the light is hitting them through the window and taking them outside when it's sunny and warm enough, but if they haven't sprouted by Friday, I'm going to try a new batch with the remainder of my packet.
I was pleased with myself for planting the first of the tomatoes Friday morning, so they had several hours of sun and warmth right after being planted. We decided to plant more tomatoes than we were originally planning, so the second batch will be planted this weekend after I've had a chance to buy more starter trays (and yes I know you can make them, but a skinny $2 seems worth the ease of not making them to me)

I'm not sure what's going on with my picture- I've warned you before that I'm really not very tech savvy and his is proof- sometimes blogger just doesn't upload my picture the way I took it. You get the idea though, no sprouts 2 new sleeves for tomatoes and they're outside catching some rays from the gorgeous weekend.

week 3 of plant based diet

I'm starting to think my family isn't meant to try seitan or some version of it. Wednesday night was supposed to be our orange glazed seitan dinner, but my Tuesday dental appointment had to be rescheduled for Wednesday (after I sat in the office for 35 minutes) so I had my husband, David, toss a freezer meal in the oven. I decided to have the seitan for last night's (Thursday's) meal, but knew that would be the last possible night for the veggies that go along with it. Naturally, my plans didn't work out, because i had a clingy little girl with a low grade fever topped off with my own pregnancy issues. Ultimately, I just made a veggie filled fried rice for dinner, because it used my veggies and would allow us to still eat dinner at a normal time. On a side note: cauliflower is a nice addition to fried rice. The jury is still out on whether I'll plan seitan again anytime soon, it's not like we've given up meat entirely.

Other than that, things are going a little better this week. I've opted for more of our usual meals this week and have just tweaked them to exclude dairy and use less or no meat, depending which was applicable. I think easing my family into this better way of eating is the way to go. I think I'll just gradually increase the variety of ingredients from now on.

Black beans and rice

While this isn't the most exciting dish it is a great meal to have on hand for busy nights or finishing off some of that fresh produce that's needs to be eaten before it goes bad.

Serves: 2-4
cost: $2+
ingredients:
1 can black beans
1 T ground cumin (more or less to taste)
1 tsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos (optional)
1-2 C cooked brown rice
1/2 can corn, rinsed and drained
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (any color)

Heat beans, cumin, and aminos in a small saucepot on the stove.
Serve the cooked beans on a bed of rice and top with vegetables.
Enjoy!

Additional topping ideas:
water chestnuts
cilantro
avocado
salsa
sour cream
guacamole

How I spend my grocery budget: week 4/2/12

If you missed it, last week we decided to redistribute our grocery budget to this schedule:
week 1: $80

week 2: $40 

week 3: $40

week 4: $40
It still averages out to $50 per week, but allows for me to buy some more expensive items while still having enough for the basics. It is still to be decided whether or not we'll keep this redistribution, but we're at least trying it for now.
This is week 2 of the cycle, so I started off the week with $40 + $2.70 carry-over from last week.
After a minor disaster and several changes of plans last week, I had to plan this week a little differently than usual (this seems to be a theme recently). I still have a lot of the vegetables I bought for last week, so I had to plan meals that would use those ingredients before they go bad. Once I had a use for each of the vegetables, I then went through my list of special meals for this 4 week period (the dozen plus meals I planned before going shopping last week to know what sort of special ingredients I'd need from the health food stores) and picked out a couple to complete my dinner menus and added their needed ingredients to my shopping list.
Next I went to the store, grabbed the 5 items I needed and then continued to grab more items.

Here's what I bought at Meijer:
7.6lbs bananas (both regular and reduced price) $3.77
mini sweet peppers (reduced price) $1.17
4 pack avocados $2.99
3lb gala apples $3.99
broccoli $1.25
cool whip $.99
2 lbs butter $1.79 each (great sale price!)
mott's applesauce $1.99 (reduced price until late april)
2 nestle dark chocolate morsels $2.19 each - $.75/2 (doubled) = $1.44 each*
roasted red peppers (12 oz jar) $1.67
orange juice $1.25
maple syrup $7.49
Total: $33.02
*I'm still on my coupon hiatus, but I'm not against using a coupon I didn't have to pay or do any work for.

This week's menu:
Breakfasts:

• cereal x1
• homemade nutrigrain bars x2
• oatmeal raisin breakfast "cupcakes" x3
• pancakes/waffles x1

Lunches:

• wraps
• pasta
• leftovers
• mac & not cheese

Dinners:

• black bean "quesadillas"
• stuffed peppers
• orange glazed seitan
• cucumber & avocado spring rolls**
• supreme pizza
• sweet potato vegetable lasagna
• Easter dinner with family (take angel food cake)

What I still need to buy this week:

• angel food cake
• cucumber**
• milk (maybe)

edit 4/3/07: We bought: 3 packs of diaper wipes, 2 kid toothbrushes, soap, and 2 boxes angel food cake mix for $7.68 bringing this week's total to $40.70 and leaving $2 carry-over.

**The cucumbers didn't look good at Meijer, so the cucumber & avocado spring rolls are subject to whether or not I  make it out to buy one or not. They'll be replaced by a freezer meal if needed

starting seeds: week 2

I planted my peppers this week. A series of events resulted in me not planting until Sunday night (again), but everything is looking good so far. The eggplant isn't due to sprout until mid week, so this week's picture still isn't much to look at. However, I did decide to purchase a basil plant for $1.99 this week, so that's the green you'll see (after I clipped most of the leaves)

Are you starting any seeds?