Been A While

I remember a while back I promised I wouldn't be slack with this site.  Well, the past 3 weeks have been crazy, working more days and being sick, but starting next week I promise I will get back on it.  I have 1.5 weeks off so I can fill this blog with a lot more information!!!  Sorry again for the delay!!!

Step by Step: Creating Your Own Compost

So, as I stated in the Gardening post (found HERE), making your own compost is easy and almost free.

Supplies:

• rubbermaid container, 68L or more  $6.50-$15.00 at Walmart (I got a 68L one for $6.50)
• red worms 25ct, found at Canadian tire for $4.39
• shredded newspaper  FREE
• food scraps  FREE
• TOTAL COST:  $11 and that's only a one time fee!  Once you buy the materials, up keep is free!

And after about a month you will have compost!!!!!

So I took my rubbermaid and I poked holes in the top.  Not large enough for bugs to get in, well large bugs like SPIDERS, yuk!

Then I shredded up newspaper and put in a bunch of food scraps I have been gathering (bonus for me as I was drying out a bunch of fruit so I had tons of scraps).

Then I placed in these guys:

And placed it outside.  Now remember when the temperature goes lower then 0 degrees, you will need to bring this tub inside.  Even if its your garage, (as long as it's not colder then 0 degrees).  If you leave them outside below freezing, the worms could die on you.  It's not the end of the world though, if you do forget them outside, just go and buy some more worms!!!

Good luck composting!!!!

$1 For Children's Clothing!

For all of you who live in Okotoks, I was in WALMART this morning and they have a rack of childrens clothing, boys and girls from 0-3 years and EVERYTHING was $1 a piece.  I picked up 4 new shirts, 2 sweat pants, and a pj outfit (top and bottom).  Everything was $1.

There was a good amount of clothing so go on over if you are in need of anything.... I got things he would wear next year.... can't go wrong for a $1!!!

Coupon Thief..... in a good way!!

So, about a month ago, I was in Sobey's going down the baking isle and saw some coupons for Carnation's Evaporated Milk hanging off the shelf under the Evaporated Milk.  Well, we all know how expensive that stuff can be so I took the coupons BUT I didn't use them at Sobeys!!  I took 4 of them and put them in my purse because I knew a deal would come up somewhere........ well it paid off!!

This morning I was at Walmart picking up a few things and there in the grocery isle was a large stack of..... you bet Carnation's Evaporated Milk.... and not for normal price, on sale for $1.33 each!!!  I thought instantly, I've got a coupon for those!  I went looking through my coupon file and sure enough, there were those 4 coupons for $.25 off!!  So of course I grab 4 cans and my cost was $1.08 a can!!!

Always look out for coupons, you never know when you can use them to the best advantage!!

Veggies From YOUR Garden

I think of garden and the first thought that comes to me is WEEDS!!  Growing up my family had a massive garden and everyday after school, every weekend, and it seemed like every moment I had free, I was WEEDING!  I hated it and vowed I would never have a garden of my own because of the whole experience.... (mind you a lot of this was in Ontario where the summers are super humid!).  Anyways, I was at a ladies church activity and we learned how to do SQUARE FOOT GARDENING..... a way to do gardening that elimanated weeds 99%.  I couldn't believe it but it all made sense!  My next concern was the amount of space I have in the yard.  We live in a townhouse complex and our yard consists of 5 feet in front and 10 feet in the back..... I couldn't go and rotertill up my entire backyard.  Well, with this, I don't have too!

Instructions on how to do your own Square Foot Garden can be found HERE.
Supplies and other goodies to get started can be found HERE.

I would suggest going to the 1st link and getting the details and making your own.  Cheaper and it's not hard to do anyways, you may be spending much more then you want to have it all premade.

How to make your own COMPOST..... (step by step with pictures here)

1. buy a rubbermaid container about 68L or larger to use as the compost holder
2. grab some newspaper and make into strips.  Put on the bottom of the container
3. go to Canadian Tire and buy 25 redwigglers, they cost $3
4. take your rubbermaid top and poke a bunch of holes in it, making sure they aren't big enough for bugs like spiders to get through.  Pencil size holes will be good enough.
5. put your redwigglers in the rubbermaid and place outside.  Make sure it's not to cold out, (like right now in southern alberta it would be to cold.)
6. dump in all sorts of food remnants, like peels, leftovers, and grass clippings.  Just make sure you don't throw in any milk products, fat, meats, or bakery products.
7. when you throw in scraps, place them on one side of the bin.  The redwigglers will go to the side you place the food.  Then the next time you put scraps in place them on the other side.  This way they will go from one side to the other mixing up your compost for you. 

Thanks to Rob Cooper for this Info! 

• If you feel you don't have time or don't want to bother with making your own compost, compost can be found at many dumps for FREE!  Just ask when you go in where to find it!

I am so excited to get my garden going, I just have to wait for this snow to go away!!!   Another great tip to use when purchasing your gardening supplies is to go to DOLLARAMA for them.  I went on the weekend and got stakes (to put up netting for some peas) and a hand shovel and some netting for a total of $5!!!

Please let me know if you have any questions!!!!  HAPPY GARDENING!!  Once I get started I will post some pictures!!

The Start: Decluttering Your Home

So here is my first post about organizing.

If I took pictures of my house from 6 months ago till now you wouldn't think it was the same people living in it.  I was very unorganized and I always had something shoved somewhere.  But not anymore.  I decided I needed to declutter my life and it had to start with my house.  So it is what I did.

• I went through each room with a large garbage bag and plastic container and a box.  I put everything that needed to be thrown away (things I hadn't used for over a year, papers, garbage) into the garbage bag, and things I thought would be good for my garage sale in May in the large container.  Everything that needed to go to a different room went into the box.  
• I had to stop being emotionally attached to things.  If I picked up something that I hadn't used for over a year, I had to put it into either the garbage bag or the plastic container.  I couldn't keep it in my house anymore.  It wasn't being used anyways.
• When it comes to the bedroom, you might want a garbage bag for clothing and one for toys.  These clothing and toys can be dropped off at a local shelter or thrift store to be used by someone else.  

Once I was done decluttering my entire house I had 10 garbage bags and a number of cardboard boxes full of things to be brought to the dump.  I couldn't believe we had been carrying around so much stuff!!!  It took me an entire week to do this from 8am till when I went to bed.  At the time my son was 10 months old which was nice because he would just play with his toys or eat or nap while I was doing all of this.

Here is a similar way to go through and declutter your house.  I did not make this up, I was at a church activity for the sisters that talked about organizing your life and the lady who did the organizing lecture gave this handout out after.  I do not take any credit for it but please read this and use it.  It can be such a help in decluttering your homes:

Decluttering and Organizing

Choose one area at a time
Have three containers –

• ONE TO PUT AWAY
• ONE TO THROW AWAY
• ONE TO GIVE AWAY

Remember: The “put away” needs to be done immediately
The throw away needs to be tied up and placed in the garage or taken to dump etc.
The “give away” needs to go to Salvation Army or salvage etc.

Ask yourself these questions: Do I love it? Have I used it in the last year? Do I have
something else that can do the same job? Do I need two?

You can also check out www.thestripedbox.com  If you click on the label organization on the right hand side she gives a 21 day decluttering your home list.  I think this is a great idea if you have a lot of kids or are a busy lady.  Make sure you can stay committed though, I know for me something usually sticks only for a week unless I truly devote myself!!

Whole Chicken Ideas

The advantages to buying a whole chicken other then the price is that amount of meals you can make from one chicken.  Here are some easy ideas.  First, how do you cook it???  Well, the easiest and most moist way of cooking your chicken is in the crock pot.

Crock Pot Chicken:

•  Take out your crock pot and put your whole chicken (make sure the giblets and guts are gone) inside as well as enough water to come up about 3 inches along the side.  Add in some thyme, a bay leaf, and some poultry seasoning.  You could also add in some cut up carrots, potatoes, celery, and onion to make it into a meal for that night.  Cook on high for 8 hours, making sure it really has time to let out all the flavors.

When your chicken is done in the crock pot, take it out and cut off all the meat.  There is a lot of meat that can come off a chicken.  Make sure you even get the meat on the bottom of the chicken.  Divide chicken into meals.  SAVE your chicken stock that has been made by the juices, you can use this for a soup.  Strain your chicken stock with cheese cloth or a strainer and store in a glass container in the fridge for 3-5 days or freeze in a plastic container for 6 months.

More Chicken Stock:

• Take the left over chicken bones after you have cleaned it of all possible meat.  Make sure you don't throw out any fat while cleaning the chicken as this is great to add in when making a stock.  Add all bones into a crock pot.  Add in some onion, celery, carrots, a bay leaf, some salt and pepper and cover the bones with water (or at least 3/4 of the bones).  Cook on low for 8 hours, then on high for 8 hours, really letting everything simmer and drain themselves of all the tastes.  Strain your stock with a cheese cloth or fine strainer.  To get rid of any fat you can place all of your stock in a large container or pot in the fridge and once the stock has cooled, scrap the fat off of the top.  Then you can pour your stock into containers to freeze or refrigerate. 

Chicken Fajitas:

• Just take some chicken and shred it.  Put it in the crock pot with a can of salsa and a bit of water.   Let cook on high for 4 hours.  Serve with fajita toppings (and rice to make the meal stretch even more).

Chicken Noodle Soup:

• Cut up some of the chicken into chunks.  Take the stock that was made and place in a pot.  Cut up onions, carrots, celery, and any other desired veggies and let them simmer in the stock.  Also add a bay leaf and seasonings to taste.  Once you feel your stock is at a good taste, add in desired noodles (I usually take fettuccine noodles and break 3 times to get about 2 inches long of noodles).  When noodles are soft, serve with crackers and buns....

Other Chicken Meal Ideas:

• Curry Chicken...... I add lots of veggies to my curry chicken to make the meal look bigger.  It's served on rice anyways.  I use 2 breasts when I make my curry chicken in an 8x12 pan (this amount is good for 2 servings each and leftovers the next day for both my husband and myself).

• Chicken Casserole..... add white beans or a stuffing mix to your casserole to make up for the amount of chicken used.

• Chicken on a Bun...... serve with lots of veggies and salad so when making the bun, you aren't using a large amount of chicken.

• Chicken Salad...... serve with lots of fresh fruit that is in season.  Cut fruit to the same size as the chicken, this way your meal looks nice and full, also serve with lots of lettuce and add in some beans or potatoes to make it even more filling.

Stretching that Chicken (as requested!)

So as many of us moms or wives know, meat/protein in general, is usually the most expensive thing on our grocery list.  On a previous post about stretching out your food, I talked about how to stretch out hamberger meat for a variety of meals.  I am now going to touch on how to stretch out a chicken!!

First off, what is the difference in buying frozen chicken or fresh..... actually, quite a bit of a difference.

• Frozen chicken breast prices on average come to about $8.65/kg (this was the average of 3 store advertisements for frozen chicken).
• Fresh chicken breast prices on average come to about $13/kg (this was the average of 3 stores again).

I buy my frozen chicken breast from Costco.  You get a 4kg box for $29.99..... that's $7.49/kg.  If you don't have a Costco card, I found Walmart advertising for this week 2.85kg for $20 (that's $7.02/kg) for a box of frozen SEASONED chicken breasts which are very good but they are seasoned.

Now the cost of FRESH chicken is lower if you decide to buy chicken this way:

• chicken thighs:  average $11.00/kg
• chicken wings:  average $6.50/kg
• whole chicken:  average $5/kg or LESS

How To Stretch That Chicken!

• Use the chicken as an ingredient and not as a main.  Try to stay away from meals that need chicken breast as a whole. 
• Cut up your chicken into small cubes or slices.  This way the chicken can be stretched out better in the meal.
• If you do have meals that are for a full chicken breast, use thighs instead.  We have a meal called "Russian Chicken" which is for chicken beasts as a whole.  We switched to chicken thighs and found not only did we not use as much chicken, the taste of the meal was better.
• Use creams or stuffing mixes to beef up your chicken meals.  Especially when making a cassorole, add in a box of stuffing.  Cream of chicken soup is a great taste addition to any meal and allows the meal (we are talking mostly cassorole) to taste like a lot of chicken is going on when its not.
• Add in rice.  This can easily be done when making fajitas.  If you only have a chicken breast, slice up more veggies and make some rice.  That way you can split the chicken breast slices and add in rice, making the meal look fuller and even taste fuller.  (I'm talking about 2 people for a meal when I say a single chicken breast, when you do this the first time cook 2 breasts just to make sure this will work for you).
• Add in shrimp!!  I made a meal last week and only had 2 chicken breasts for a very large cassorole.  I decided to put some shrimp in to make up for the missing meat and the meal turned out great.  I always have shrimp on hand in my freezer, purchasing it when it goes on sale!
• I am doing a post after this one on how to cook a FULL chicken, purchasing a full chicken and cooking and splitting it yourself can save you a lot of money!

Cut It OUT!

I have really been thinking about all the things the media and everyone says we NEED......  Are they needs?  Here is a list of things you might think you need...... think twice!

Do I NEED to have satellite tv or tv at all?    (save $500-$1000/year)
Do I NEED to have Internet access on my cell phone?     (save $300-$500/year)
Do I NEED a cell phone?        (save $400-$1200/year)
Do we (a household) NEED 2 cell phones?      (save another $400-$1200/year)
Do I NEED in style clothes and shoes every season?      (save $400-$1000/year)
Do I NEED the newest gadget?       (?)
Do I NEED the Internet?          (save $400-$600/year)
Do I NEED 2 vehicles?  (save $1000-$5000/year depending on car payments, gas use, and maintenance)
Do I NEED gifts at every occasion like anniversary/birthday/holidays   (save $200-$800/year)
Do I NEED to eat out for lunch during the week?  (save $1000-$4000/year (no joke, do the math!!))

These are just a few things we all think we need, including myself at one time, but we really don't.  There is a potential savings of $4600-$19000 a YEAR if you cut out all these WANTS!!!  Not needs!  I am not saying cut all these things out but there is always room to cut.

TV (like satellite and cable) can be cut out completely and resort to watching movies.  The local library has lots of movies that can be rented out.  You could also allot an amount each month to renting movies.  There are always sites online though that could provide you with movies and tv shows.  A few of these sites are:

• www.tvduck.com
• www.sidereel.com
• www.free-tv-video-online.me
• tv.blinkx.com
• www.surfthechannel.com
•  And there is also netflix which isn't free but at a low rate of $8 a month you can watch TV shows and movies on demand!

Cell Phones:  think back 7-10 years ago we didn't carry cell phones around, and if we did we hardly used them.  There is no need for internet or long distance on our cell phones (when used for normal day stuff, not including business and such).  Those alone can account for $35-$50 a month on your cell phone bill.  If you want to cut back and you have these on your cell, this would really show over a months time.  You can call and take these off of your cell phone plan at any time and shouldn't be charged.  As well, if you have 2 cell phones at home, do you need them????  Another question to ask is, do I have a home phone as well?  Am I using my home phone or am I mostly using my cell phone?  If you are mostly using your cell phone, look into getting rid of your home phone and getting some day time minutes.  This could save you some money, but really study out your numbers before going ahead and doing this.

BUNDLE!!!!!  Thank you so much to one of my readers, you reminded me of a very good idea to saying money with cable, telephone, and internet..... bundling.  If you bundle these three or two you can get a great deal.  With our internet and tv bundled we save over $15 a month.  And, like Angie said, it's as easy as calling and asking to lower your monthly payments.  Ask where you can save money, most providers will have answers to that question because they want to keep you.

Clothing:  This can be super pricey but if done properly, could be a great bargin too.  I am not that fashionable..... sad to say but I do enjoy shopping.   Try and shop at the end of each season when those items for that season are marked down.  You can find things at 50-75% off!  Think, do I really need another red shirt, or another pair of faded jeans?  Some things that could really save you money is go through your closets often and really get to know what you own for clothing, get rid of things you no longer buy, and always look for deals.  Another smart thought is to find a stylist and have them figure out what colors look best on you.  That way you aren't buying clothing that will end up hardly being used anyways.  When it comes to kids clothes, especially younger children, go to a thrift store to pick up everyday outfits.  They are cheap and you won't feel bad when chocolate or a large hole is made in those jeans which potentially could have cost you $15-30.

Vehicles:  For some families, the use of 2 vehicles is a must, but for others, if you find your car is in the garage 80% of the time, you may want to think of selling it.  Especially if there are monthly payments being made on it.

Holiday Gifts:  Do you really need them??  It is nice to get flowers/chocolates on Valentines day but when that credit card statement of $80 is noted a month later for that small bouquet of roses and some chocolates that have now been long gone, it hits ya hard.  Decide at the beginning of the year that these times are really going to be budgeted.  In our family, instead of buying each other something for an anniversary or a holiday, we go out for a sit down dinner, and not to up scale.  As an example we budget $50.  This saves us between $50-$100 a holiday (before we would allot about $50-$75 a person/holiday).  Even Christmas is included.  Instead of going to dinner we would decide on one thing each we wanted that Christmas with an acceptable budget and that would be it.  Making a plan and communicating really makes this process easy!!

Lunches:  Probably one of the easiest things to do to eat up your money, literally!!  Eating out is ridiculous and the amount can really creep up on you.  If you are spending about $8 a meal (fast food) and ate out 4 times a week that would add up to $100 a month/$1200 a year.   I know I could do a lot with that $1200.  How to tackle..... make a lunch!  Here are some ideas:

• take left overs.  Make more at dinner then you usually do so you have left overs to take to work.
• make a lunch.  Buy sandwich meat and make a sandwich.  If you don't like sandwiches, find something else you enjoy.  And include snacks you enjoy.  Anything you buy grocery shopping to put in your lunch will be cheaper then eating out every day.  Don't go crazy on this idea but also treat yourself.  

Make that STRETCH!!

So first off I want to apologize for not writing for a week.  It's been a busy week!!!  Anywho, it won't happen again!

So this post I want to talk about different ways on making your food stretch......

• Buy homo milk and add water...... crazy I know, but it works!  Homo milk can be up to $1 more for a 4L jug but if you add water to thin it out, you could get up to 2L more out of your milk.  Especially if you are already buying 1% for your family.  To make sure this will work for your family, buy a 2L homo and add water, tasting as you go, making sure you don't go to watery.  If this will work for your family, DO IT!!  

• Hamburger meat...... I know if we wanted to we would fly through this stuff, and though it may not be extremely expensive, if you have a larger family, it can get pricey if you are making tacos, sheaperds pie, burgers, and spaghetti all in one month.  So this is what you do.... add in some good old beans!  Put half the amount of hamburger in and the other half beans.... kidney beans, blacks beans, white beans, "pork and beans", you name it.  And it even gets cheaper if you buy beans bulk and soak yourself.  We use beans in everything, excluding burgers though I am sure they would work there to.  And beans are so good for you, high in fibre and protein.  

• Be sparing on the cheese..... cheese can be very expensive and pricey, we all know this, so don't use as much.  A little cheese can go a long way.  It's not good for you health wise to be eating a lot of cheese anyways.  Be sparing.  Buy cheese in bulk when its on sale or for us Canadians, if you are going to the states, pick some up down there, it can be way cheaper!!  To add the cheese flavor without using the brick of cheese all the time, try going to the bulk food store and picking up some powdered cheese.  It is cheaper and you don't need much to add a cheesy flavor.  

• Juice..... water it down!  There are many advantages to watering your juice down other then the money side.  It's healthier too, even with all natural fruit juices.  Fruits in general hold a lot of sugar, and even if it's the good kind, it's still sugar.  When making canned juices add in an extra can of water.  Make juice a luxury item and only supply it to your family at breakfast or dinner, not during the day.  This will make it last much longer and decrease the amount of sugar your family is consuming.  This can also decrease the dentist bill!!

• Juice boxes....... get rid of them!!  If you do give your children juice to take to school, save yourself some money and go invest in a litterless juice box (ranging from $2-$5) as seen below.  Fill with juice or water.  If you do fill with juice, water it down to make your juice last.

Find Your Deal!

There are so many ways to find EVERY item at discount discount prices!!!!!!!!!  Some are used, some are new.  You find them HERE:

• kijiji.ca
• freecycle.org
• usedcalgary.com (pretty much you can do "used" and then the city you live in and there is a website for it.
• buysell.com
• classifieds.ca
• classifiedextra.ca
• cdncc.com
• craigslist.ca

Now you may think, why waste my time on these sites..... why, to save money!!!!!  There are so many great things and the saying "one mans junk is another mans treasure" couldn't ring more true.  I've used these sites many times.  Mostly kijiji, and I have gotten amazing results.

A few things I have boughten on kijiji:

• Angel Care Baby Monitor System, $149 in store, $65 on Kijiji!  Was only used for 2 months by previous owner.
• Bumbo and Tray, total $60 brand new, $40 on Kijiji!  Was never used by previous owner.
• 55 Clothe Diapers, all top brand names, over $500 brand new ($10 each), bought for $150 on Kijiji.

Hope some of you can find some great deals too!!!!!

$3 a Loaf?????

How many of us spend $2-$5 on ONE loaf of bread????  I remember when bread was $.75 a loaf..... geez, now for some good whole grain bread it could be as high as $4.79.  Well, save yourself some "dough"... lol and make your own bread.

It sounds hard, I know, but it can be done, and it can be done in more then one way.

1. Invest in a bread machine.  If you watch the fliers, you can sometimes find one for a wicked price.  My parents just got a double loaf bread maker back in January for $80, on sale 60% off.  The deals are out there and they are so quick and easy.  Fill with ingredients, push a button, and let it do it's thing.  Even if you bought one for $250, if you used it for all your bread buying needs including pizza dough, buns, cinnamon buns, and bread sticks, you would pay it off in 9 months easy (depending on your family size and how much bread you consume).   
2. Make your own by hand, yes by hand.  I'm not the best bread maker, I prefer making buns, easier to get away with issues like to moist!  But making your own bread isn't as bad as I thought, mind you I do have a kitchen aid mixer but if I didn't it still isn't bad, just some time and love.  I also like to buy from the dollar store those tin foil bread pans.  They work great and are easy to clean.  I just can't seem to keep my bread from sticking to my bread pans so I opted for the tin foil pans and no more sticking!

• If you have no clue at all how to make your own bread, check out YouTube.com.  Just write, "how to make bread", and there are tons of tutorials of people showing you how to make bread, step by step.  And making bread can be a great way to rotate your wheat in your food storage.  
• Remember, you may throw out your first batch of homemade bread, that's okay.  Practice makes perfect and it takes time.  Once you get a hang of making your own bread then you can start adding in things like honey and oats. 

To Come.....

I have decided to broaden my blog a bit more and include organizing tips for your home and your life as well as ways to stay sane as a mom and a wife.  I hope you all will enjoy.  Tips to come very shortly!!!

Saving With Baby

There are SOOO many things we as moms can do to cut down the cost that comes along with having a new baby enter our family.  Here are some ideas that we used in our family that really cut down the costs and I hope they help you to.

Clothe Diapers:  I know I know, ewww, BUT they aren't even that bad.  I found over 55 of them on Kijiji for only $150.  Clothe diapers these days do up with Velcro and have inserts.  There is also liners you can put in that hold all the solid stuff and you just throw it in the garbage.  People say you have way more laundry to do..... not here.  This is what I would recommend...

• use throw away diapers for the first month.
• start your cloth diapers the second month with liners.  Use my cleaning technique and wash in cold water with regular loads of laundry.  At night, have your baby wear throw away diapers.  Also have throw away diapers on hand for trips and outings.
• clothe diapers cleaning technique:  buy the "sunlight" bar.  You can find these at walmart and superstore with the laundry detergent and they look like this.... this pack contains 2 bars and costs $2.

•  after your baby has done a poop and you have changed them, take the dirty diaper to the tub and turn shower head to full stream hard spray.  Clean off chunks.  Take out insert and take both to sink.  Grab your sunlight bar and rub into all stained areas on both the insert and diaper.  Then place in washer.  You can leave diaper in the washer for days until your ready to do a load of laundry..... no bleach needed.  And here is proof:

 before

 after

And this diaper was in my washer for at least 2 days, waiting for the washer to fill up.  No bleach used, nothing but the sunlight bar!! 

Make Your Own Wipes: What I did was buy a bunch of baby wash clothes.  Before I laid my little one down to change his bum, I would grab a baby wash cloth and wet it.  I found them to be nicer on the skin and worked great.  I would just throw the cloth in the washer when I was done.

Make Your Own Baby Food:  It's easy and cheap.  Find your food processor and dust it off.  If you don't have any kind of food processor or blender, then purchase a hand blender from Walmart from $20.  They come with a large cup and look like this.....

 

• Check out this link HERE for recipes and tips on how to make your own baby food.   Comparing on average $.80 a jar of baby food to $30 for 2 months of baby food, making your own is definitely the way to go.  I just took an afternoon to cut, boil, and puree everything down.  
• To store your homemade baby food is easy.  Go to the dollar store and buy a bunch of ice cube trays if you don't already own some.  I bought 8.  Once you are done pureeing, fill up your ice cube trays with the puree.  Place in freezer for 24 hours or until frozen.  Pop out the cubes and place into large zip lock bags, labeling what each bag is.  When it's supper time, just go to the freezer and take out 3-4 squares, mixing up the tastes, and defrost.  You can defrost using the microwave or the healthiest way is to take out the cubes you are going to use the following day so they can unthaw in the fridge till needed.
• When it comes to baby cereal, you can make that too!  With your food processor or coffee grinder ($8 at Walmart for the cheapest) grind up rice/ oats/ or granola to the finest powder (chunkier as your baby gets older).  Cook about 3 days worth at a time and keep in the fridge.  Also keep what you have ground in the fridge for longer lasting.  I use instant oats so you don't need to cook really.  I just added water and microwaved on high for 1 minute.  Cooking does keep more nutrients in though!
• And you don't always need to feed your baby your homemade baby food from the freezer.  Say one night you had spaghetti.  Take enough spaghetti, puree with your hand held blender, and serve!  
• Baby snacks can really hit the pocket book.  Instead of the puffs you find from Gerber, buy a large bag of puff wheat for $2.50 from your grocery store.  Instead of mum mums, find rice cakes and break into pieces.  Or buy the no name mum mums from Superstore for almost $1.50 cheaper.  Or you can make your own baby snacks HERE.

Baby Clothes: Unless you plan on having a lot of children, buy your babies clothing second hand.  They grow out of their baby clothes so quick, its not worth spending the money.  Go to local second hand stores or garage sales.  Even check on Kijiji and Craigs list, people are always giving away their used baby clothes.  Make sure you wash at home before using, and I would add in a little bleach just to make sure, but once washed, good as new.  The baby won't know the difference!

Baby Shoes:  Until your child starts walking on their own, shoes are not a NEED.  Baby shoes can be super expensive and completely non functional.  Think about making your own baby shoes.  Click HERE for a list of different sites to learn to make baby shoes.  Their little feet grow so quick between newborn and the first year, save your money and stay away from the shoes!

Large Baby Items: Zellers in Canada is great for them and about every 6 months they have cribs and change tables for 50% off!!  Your stuff doesn't always have to be new, there are some great used items out there to.  It may take a little longer to find, but in most cases we have 9 months to get a crib!  Check out kijiji or free cycle.  You may find a treasure!  I got an angel care system (baby monitor) regular $149, for only $65 on kijiji.  It had only been used once!!! 

Food Calendar

So the BEST way to save on groceries and have a more balanced life is to create a food calendar.  It's as easy as going to google images search and searching out each month's calendar and printing it off.  Or you can make your own calendar.  I went to Costco and bought mine.  It's a family calendar with stickers and such and only costs $9.  It even comes with magnets and sticks to your fridge.  It makes dinner prep so easy.  I take a look on the calendar in the morning, pull out the frozen meat or whatnot and I know whats going on.  And if you couple that with your grocery shopping, you will have all the items that you need.  Here is an example......

If you fill out your calendar and only buy what you need, you will save over 25% each grocery bill.  Don't believe me??  Think about how much food you throw out every month........ that all adds up.
This also allows you to plan more nutricious meals for your family and have more of a schedule.  I love it and I hope this can help out some other moms too!!

GROCERY SAVING TIPS!

Here are a bunch of Grocery Saving Tips.  Click HERE to read them.  This site also provides a coupon section, I do find that they just send you to the places that I have already laid out in the Coupon tab.  Check out the tips for sure though!

DIY Cleaning Supplies #1

I found this great site that shows you how to make your own cleaning supplies.  A majority of the items are commonly found in the home.  Click HERE to check them out.

My good friend Bailey was telling me about how her mom has a great way to make your own dryer sheets.  This is how its done:

In a container (plastic rubbermaid or old margarine container) put 1/4 cup of fabric softner and 1 cup of water, then place some fabric squares in to the container... When you put the load of laundry into the dryer you get one fabric square, kind of ring it out and throw it in with your clothes... then when you fold your clothes you just place the fabric square back into the container! Easy and resuable!!

NORWEX

(You can go to the site by clicking on the name)  This company is one of my favorite for awesome cleaning supplies that work amazing and are great on the environment.  They aren't DIY but they are products you only buy once and use a zillion times!

They have clothes that contain silver which is a bacteria killer.  You can purchase a cloth and use it to clean your bathroom, including toilet, without using one cleaning agent.  I LOVE THEM!  They gaurentee that 99.9% of germs are killed.  The only time I use any cleaner is when I have chicken on the counter, little bleach just to make sure.

They also have these amazing dryer balls.  Dryer balls eliminate the entire need for dryer sheets.  They even decrease the amount of time your laundry needs to dry and do they ever work great.  DON'T buy them from the dollar store though.  I know a few people who have purchased them from there and they said they didn't work at all.

Anyone???

Does anyone even read this??  I know a few people do but a few people may not be enough for me to continue to function this blog.  Please send this link out www.sexysavvysavingmom.blogspot.com to everyone you know who may want to learn some tricks and save some money!!!

Christmas.... Now??

Okay, you want to have money at Christmas and not be paying off credit cards till June..... SAVE and start saving now.

• Take out $25 a month, by Christmas you will have $250.  And that's $250 more then you would have had.  Decide on a base amount, then if you can add an extra $10 or $25 to that each month, your amount will obviously increase.  
• The easiest way for me to do this is I do my banking online.  On my online banking I set up a transfer that happens each month to an account that I titled, DON'T TOUCH!  That way I don't need to worry about making sure the money is being put aside because its done each  month automatically.  And if you don't do online banking or are unable to do a transfer like this, just go into the bank and they will set it up for you.
• If you are going to do cash at home, decide on a good place to put it.  In a jar that can't be opened or in a safe.  You don't want to be dishing this money early!
• Another way is if you do the budget cash jar system, which I explain in"How To Start Saving", and are putting that $25 away into a jar for the kids already, plan on using that money for only Christmas presents for the kids or for their birthdays.  I know we will use the money for our sons b-day in April and then put money in there each month to use it again for Dec for Christmas.

Utility Cost Cuts

PLEASE check out this site.  It has tons of ideas on saving money on home utilities.

• lowering utilities
• lowering heating bills

One that I would add is turn your heat down at night and put on an oil heater in your room and your kids rooms.  You can purchase them for as low as $30 at many dept stores.  Very safe, most now have things like if it falls over, it will turn off and such.  They do get hot but I find they aren't hot enough to burn you unless you keep your hand on it for a while.  I have one in my little guys room and ours, that way when I turn the heat down I don't need to worry about the rest of the family being cold.  

Week #4 for Eating on $350 a Month

Again, all breakfast and lunch ideas can be found here.

Groceries

• ground beef (cheap at Walmart, about $2.50 for 1lb in the sausage roll looking packets)
• taco kit (right now $2.99 at no frills, normal price $3.49)
• chicken fingers ($17.99 for a box at M&M or make your own with the recipe at the end)
• Thai sauce ($2.99 No Frills)
• Ribs (we get St. Louis Style, at Walmart for a large rack which feeds 2 people easy $8-$10)
• 3 romaine hearts or bag of lettuce ($2.54 at No Frills)
• Spaghetti box
• can of crushed tomatoes ($.88 at No Frills right now, stock up, or buy no name, same stuff!)
• garlic cloves
• can of pork and beans (or any kind of bean you want, I just like the additional of the sauce)
• a few large baking potatoes
• bag of fillet fish (on sale for $4 at No Frills right now!)
• bag of coleslaw
• coleslaw salad dressing (no name brand tastes just as good and is cheaper, or you could add mayo, vinegar, and pickle juice to make your own)
• carton of whipping cream (cheaper then buying the premade stuff)
• pancake mix (Costco $8 LARGE BAG you will just use from the pancake mix you bought in the beginning)
• tenderloin (you should have some left over from your Costco purchase)
• Kaiser buns (4 for $1 at Walmart in bins)
• BBQ sauce (preferably chicken and rib from Kraft, so good)
• onions
• sour cream (should have some left over from other week)
• cheese (should have some left over, just need it for tacos this week)
• rice 
• carrots
• tomatoes (fresh)
• salsa
• frozen strawberries (earlier Costco purchase, LARGE bag, $9)
• 1 green pepper
• bean (big bag you have in the freezer still from Costco)

Meal #1
Beef Tacos/ Taco Salad

• 1-2lbs ground beef
• sour cream
• salsa
• cheese
• taco kit
• lettuce shredded
• tomato diced
• olives (optional)

Follow recipe on the taco kit for cooking and seasoning beef.   Serve on shells or wraps.  If you want to feel a little healthier and fill up, grab a large bowl, fill with tons of lettuce, tomato, and olives.  Add your beef and toppings for a great salad.  Take a hard shell, crush and top.

Meal #2
Thai Chicken Fingers

• either bought fingers or homemade ones
• Thai sauce
• rice
• carrots

Bake or deep fry your chicken fingers (find homemade recipe at the end of this post).  While baking, make rice and boil carrots (cut up sticks or use baby carrots).  When carrots are done drain water and add 2 T of brown sugar and a T of honey, parsley on top to look pretty!  Once fingers are done, cut into smaller strips about 1/2 inch thick.  Put into a large mixing bowl and pour about 1/4 C of Thai sauce on top and mix around.  Serve on top of rice.

Meal #3

Fall off the bone Ribs

• ribs
• salad
• beans
• baby potatoes
• BBQ sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• med onion cut into large pieces
• little olive oil, butter, and salt

Take out your crock pot around 10am (or the early morning if you work).  Put in ribs and fill with water till covered.  Add 1/4 C of Worcestershire sauce and the onion.  Let cook till dinner time (or if you start early like at 8am, let cook on high for 6 hours).  40 mins before dinner start cooking potatos by cutting into quarters, put some olive oil and butter in the dish with them, salt and bake for 30mins at 400 or until soft.  Boil beans on stove for 10 mins or till desired crunchy.  Take out a large cookie sheet and heat the oven for 400 at BROIL.  Take out ribs and lay on sheet, cover ONE SIDE ONLY with BBQ sauce.  Put in oven for about 7 mins, take out and flip over, cover the other side with BBQ sauce, broil again for 7 mins.  Serve with potatos and beans.

Meal #4
Meatless Spaghetti

• can of crushed tomato
• dried basil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1T of olive oil
• finely diced onion
• 1T of sugar
• can of pork & beans
• spaghetti 
• salad

Start cooking spaghetti.  Take out your pan and put in olive oil.  Once hot, add minced garlic and onions.  Cook till onions are clear.  Add can of crushed tomatoes and T of sugar along with basil and can of pork and beans (or any beans, this will be a boast of protein as well as keeping you fuller longer).   Make salad, we do Cesar on spaghetti night.  You could also have garlic bread either homemade (just slices of bread with butter that has garlic powder mixed in, broiled) or bought.

Meal #5
Fish & Chips

• pancake mix
• fish fillets
• large baking potatoes
• large skillet with 1.5 inches of veggie oil covering the bottom and up/ or deep fryer
• coleslaw 
• coleslaw dressing

Take large potatoes and cut up into french fries.  Put on large baking pan and drizzle with olive oil, mixing it around so all are covered.  Then sprinkle desired spices, salt, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, and place in oven at 425 for 30-40mins.  Heat your oil.  Make sure you stay around medium heat, you don't want to have a kitchen fire.  Make your pancake batter (extra so you can use the rest for tomorrows dinner) and get out your fish fillets.  Make sure you dab both sides of the fillet to get rid of any water.  Cover both sides of fish with flour then dip into your pancake mix.  Place into your grease, please watch

Meal #6
Waffles & Strawberries (Breakfast for Dinner)

• pancake batter (made from yesterday) or mix
• frozen strawberries thawed
• whipping cream carton (500mL works good at my house, we have leftovers usually)
• 1/3 cup sugar

Make up batter.  Grill up some waffles or pancakes if you don't have a waffle machine.  While doing that, also get out a hand mixer.  Pour out your whipping cream into a mixing bowl and start mixing.  After about 2 mins on high, add sugar, and continue to mix until fluffy and peaking.  Enjoy!

Meal #7
Pulled Pork Sandwiches

• tenderloin
• BBQ sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• ketchup
• mustard
• salt
• pulled pork crock pot sauce packet (if you don't want to make your own)
• onions diced
• green pepper diced
• Kaiser buns
• coleslaw

Take out the crock pot again.  Place in tenderloin and cover with water.  Cook on high for 5 hours.  Drain water after 5 hours and shred.  Add onions, green peppers, sauce packet OR 3/4 cup BBQ sauce, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup ketchup, 3T of mustard, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1t of salt.  Also add 1/2 cup of water.  Cook on high for an additional 3 hours.  Serve on Kaiser buns with coleslaw on the side.


Total for these meals comes to about $80 if you make your own chicken fingers and if you were following the meals for the previous weeks.  Total comes to just over $350 for all 4 weeks but I allotted a lot for lunches and breakfasts.  And this is if you ate at home every night.

I know in our house we have a budget for eating out and we eat out about 3 times a month, this includes coupon meals and $5 pizzas.  Once a month we try and eat at a sit down restaurant but we only have one child so families with more then one kid that is older then 3 may consider not doing this due to cost.  OR go out with your husband for a date night at LEAST once a month and make that night your sit down meal!!

Homemade Chicken Fingers

Thawed chicken breast cut into halves long ways.  In a bowl add 2 cloves of garlic smashed, 1 bay leaf, 1/4 t of thyme, 1 cup of buttermilk, and some hot pepper if you like a kick.  Place chicken in bowl and let marinade for an hour.

Grab some corn flakes, no name to save money, and crush.  Take out marinaded meat and cover with crushed flakes, both sides.  Bake at 400 for 15 mins.

For those of you who are new to buttermilk, it's a low fat milk that has a tangy taste.  It lasts for a while in the fridge and is great for a lot of different sauces, recipes, and homemade cake mixes!

Week #3 on $350

Here are meals for week #3.  You can find breakfast and lunch ideas on Week #1's page here.

 Groceries:

• Chicken (If you bought the big breast box from Costco you will have enough)
• Cream of Chicken Soup ($1.29 at No Frills)
• Stuffing Box ($1.49 at No Frills, TIP buy extra after Thanksgiving when on sale and store them)
• Onion
• Cheese
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Rice
• Lettuce Head x2 (take first 5-7 large leaves off and use rest for salad, large leaves for wraps)
• Green &/or Red Peppers
• Perogies (still from week one as you bought a large bag)
• Sour Cream
• Bread Crumbs (made yourself)
• Hamburgers (Superstore sells burger steaks for $10 for 20 yellow no name box, surprisingly good).
• Hamburger Buns (no name $1.99 or 4 for a $1 at Walmart pick your own bins)
• Honey Garlic Dinner Sausage (pack of 9 for $11 at Costco)
• Zucchini
• Mini Potatoes (or buy the full potatoes and cube yourself for cheaper)
• Roast (between $8-$15)
• Garlic
• cumin/ honey/ Worcestershire sauce/ ketchup/ brown sugar (regular kitchen items)
• Half & Half
• grapes
• Yorkshire Pudding packet ($1.49 at No Frills)
• Avocado  
• Pineapple Rings (Dollarama $1)

Meal #1
Chicken Casserole

• chicken either as breasts or cubed
• stuffing mix
• small onion diced
• 1 cup broccoli heads
• 1 cup grated cheese
• 1 can cream of chicken 
• 1/4 cup of mayo

In a frying pan, add your chicken raw and water enough to fill the bottom.  Let cook for 20 mins with a lid on.  While these are cooking make up your stuffing mix.  MAKE SURE you salt both sides of the chicken, makes it real tender.  Take out and either cube chicken (makes the chicken go further) or leave in breasts.  In a casserole dish, mix stuffing made, chicken, onion, broccoli, half the cheese, cream of chicken and mayo.  Top off with remaining cheese.  Cook at 375 for 30 mins so everything can get all gooey.  Serve onto of rice, and with a salad.

Meal #2
Meatloaf

• ground beef
• small onion diced finely
• garlic finely minced
• squart of mustard
• 1 large egg beaten
• T of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup Half & Half
• 1/2 green pepper finely diced
• 1 cup diced finely bread
• 2 T brown sugar 
• cumin/ honey/ Worcestershire sauce/ ketchup/ brown sugar

1. Take onions and green peppers and garlic and cook in frying pan till soft.  2. Take 1/2 cup ketchup, tablespoon of cider vinegar, t of cumin, splash of Worcestershire sauce, and a T of honey and mix in a different bowl, this is the glaze.  3. In a bowl whisk egg, brown sugar, salt, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, half and half, and half of the glaze mixture.  Once mixed, add first and second batches made to meat and mix gently with hands, making sure not to squeeze meat or over mix.  Shape into loaf and put into greased bread pan.  Bake at 350 for 60 mins.  Add remaining glaze mixture after 10 mins of baking.  Make sure your meat reads 160 degrees before taking it out.  Once cooked let stand for 10 mins and then cut into loafs and enjoy!  Serve with a veggie and salad.

Meal #3
Chicken Lettuce Wraps

• chicken cooked and sliced or can of flaked chicken
• full lettuce leaves
• mayo/ sour cream enough to moisten batch
• grapes cut into halves or quarters
• green and or red peppers diced
• red onion diced finely
• cheese grated
• rice
• ranch
• carrots

This can be considered a lunch meal but I like light suppers to on busy days and this can be wiped up quick. Start by getting a pot out to make your rice (make double the recipe if you plan on eating BBQ sausage tomorrow), as well as a pot out for boiling your carrots (or eat them raw).  Then mix first 6 ingredients together (except the leaves) and put in bowl.  Break off large leaves from lettuce head and scoop good size amounts of mixture into leaves, wrap.  Make rice, once finished, add 2 T of ranch (I prefer the ranch packets mixed with mayo or sour cream, tastes better to me).  Serve with the rice and carrots.

Meal #4
BBQ Sausage

• honey garlic sausage
• BBQ sauce (we prefer Kraft Chicken n' Rib)
• rice
• green and or red peppers cut into large pieces
• onion cut into large pieces
• pineapple rings
• zucchini

Turn on the BBQ and place your sausage on there.  While that's cooking, cut up peppers, onion, and zucchini, put on shishkabobs and lather with BBQ sauce.  Bring out to BBQ along with your pineapple rings.  Place on BBQ and lather rings with BBQ sauce.  Sausage takes about 20 mins to cook, making sure the inside isn't pink anymore, and turn veggies every few mins, especially the pineapple rings.  Serve with rice and BBQ veggies.

Meal #5
Hamburgers

• hamburgers
• hamburger buns
• lettuce
• cheese
• onion
• pickle
• avocado
• dressings of choice
• salad
• large potatoes

First cut up large potatoes into fries, sprinkle with olive oil and make sure coated with hands.  Sprinkle salt and paprika on top with chili powder.  Place in over at 400 for 20 mins.  Take burgers to the BBQ.  Serve with salad.

Meal #6
Perogies

Easy supper night, recipe found here.

Meal #7
Roast

• CROCK POT
• roast
• potatoes cubed
• carrots cubed
• onion sliced
• onion soup mix
• splash of Worcestershire sauce
• t of salt
• salad
• Yorkshire pudding packet

fav!).

This week you are looking at about $65 in groceries for suppers.  If you factor in about $23 for lunches and breakfast your total for groceries this week should be $88.

Costco Premium Toilet Paper

Run quick to Costco, they have their Premium Toilet Paper 36 (500sheets/roll) individually wrapped 2-ply rolls on sale for $14.97!!!  Save $4.00!  One other tip.  Buy ALL your toilet paper for a year at one time.  Especially at this cost.  This way in the future you aren't taking time out of your day to go and get more toilet paper, an essential that will always be used up anyways.  I know we got 2 packages for $30, enough for a year for us!

Dollarama Groceries

That's what I said, Dollarama Groceries!!!!  If you haven't been there for a while you might be surprised but it's true.  They have a whole section of canned food and candy.  Large apple sauce: unsweetened $1 (I know we go through a lot of apple sauce here with one kid, so I can't imagine with more!)  They have French's mustard for a $1.  Candy of all kinds for a $1.  They have juice and hot sauce!!  Canned veggies and jams.  A majority of these things are $1, the highest is $2.  Totally worth the stop.

They even have cleaning items like Palmolive and Vim which can cost up to $5 at some places.  Take a look at their website: http://www.dollarama.com/ they only show 12 items but I use a lot of those items everyday and I love to save!

Birthday parties, stock up on stuff here, especially if your one that likes to go over the top.  Easy prices on the eye and tons of fun stuff for the kids!

CHEAP BREAD: Thanks Kristi!

We all know how much of a burden bread can be, the prices just seem to raise more and more every year.  I remember when you could buy bread for $.79 a loaf, and that says a lot because I still haven't hit my 25th bday!  I remember as a child going to McGavin's Bread in Lethbridge when we moved from Ontario, and bread was so cheap.  I didn't know they had a McGavin's Bread Basket running in Calgary..... Well, they sure do, they have 3!!

- 9250 Macleod Trail Southeast, Calgary - (403) 253-2284

http://maps.google.com/?cid=7641172679438144294s=60126977604316
- 325-3545 32 Avenue Ne, Calgary - (403) 717-0373

- 132-1830 52 Street Se, Calgary - (403) 248-9858

Thanks Kristi for the little tippers!  Kristi says "10 for $10 and thats english muffins and tortillas and bagels. anything close to expiring but if you freeze it, its still great!"  I know we are gonna go and stock up.  Why not save some money the easy way!!!  Plus, if you have a family with 2-3 kids, your gonna go through bread quick anyways!

Thanks to Joanne, there is also another place for cheap bread: 

Calgary Italian Bakery Ltd 5310 5 St SE, Calgary, AB T2H 1L2 Joanne was saying bread is $.50 a loaf, I'm certainly gonna check that out!!!!  

Food Smart

A few ideas on how to make the most out of your grocery shopping and your pantry!

• Buy multiples of items most used when on sale.  For example, we eat a lot of beans in my house.  Add them to almost anything to give that protein boost without always using meat (food smart tip #1).  When beans are on sale, I buy 2-3 more cans to store and use later because I know I will!
• Use up your freezer and pantry food!  I know I am bad for this, I add to my freezer more consistently then I do use it.  Take an hour, pull everything out of your freezer and pantry, WRITE IT DOWN!  Now, for the next month, incorporate the freezer and pantry food into your meals.  Especially the food that's at the bottom of the freezer.  The list you made, put it on your fridge so the next time you go grocery shopping you won't pick up multiples of something you need to use in the freezer or pantry!
• Use your leftovers in other foods.  If you have leftover rice or chicken, make a different meal using those leftovers so your family EATS the leftovers!
• Don't buy more perishable foods then you eat.  I find that buying frozen veggies and some fruits are cheaper in some ways, especially if your like what I use to be and when grocery day comes around you are throwing out half of what you are putting in it.
• Make a meal plan before heading out and buying groceries.  That way all the food is called for!

Week #2 of Meals for $350

Here are some dinner ideas for another week.  Lunch and breakfast ideas can be found on Week #1, found here.  Hope you can use some of these meal ideas!

Groceries:
Pork Tenderloin (4 for $20 at Costco, HUGE!)
Corn (keep using from previous week)
Beans (keep using from previous week if purchased large bag from Costco)
Potatoes (bag for $5 at No Frills)
Califlower ($1.49 at No Frills)
Pillsbury Cresants (4 of them $1.29 each at No Frills)
Onions (bag for $2.49)
Cheese ($5.99-$9)
Can of Salsa
Rice (bag from previous week)
Green Onion ($1.29)
Red or Green Peppers ($2 at No Frills)
Chicken (box from Costco previous week)
Lemon Pix Filling ($2)
Delissio Pizza ($6 at No Frills)
Pasta ($2 at No Frills)
Turkey Sausage (10 for $2.99 at No Frills)
Ground Turkey (8lbs at Costco for $20 or $3-$6 for a pack)
Buns ($2 at Sobeys)
Black Beans ($.99 no name No Frills)
White Beans ($.99 no name No Frills)
Green Chilis ($2.79 at Sobeys)
Avacodo ($.98 each)
Bag of Salad (3 hearts for $2.98 at No Frills)
Bread Crumbs (can be made by breaking bread into clumbs, and putting into the oven at 400 for 15 mins)
Beef Gravy Pack ($1.50 No Frills)

Meal #1
Beef Wellington
I'm sure you have heard of these if you watch "Hell's Kitchen" so good!!  This is my version.

• Onions
• Pork Tenderloin
• 2 Pillsbury 
• Corn or Beans
• Flour
• Potatoes & Califlower
• Green Onion
• Beef Gravy 

Open the Pillsburys and make all the triangles into squares, 2 squares on the bottom and 2 for the top.  Chop and cook the onions with a tablespoon of sugar until carmalized.  Place the tenderloin onto the pillsbury dough, then cover with top and sides with the carmalized onions.  Then wrap the tenderloin with the dough.  Place on cookie sheet and cover with foil and cook at 350 for 50 mins in the oven.  Take foil off and cook for another 10 mins.  While that is cooking, boil some potatoes and steam some califlower.  As well, make your gravy package.  Once soft, mash potatoes and califlower together and add green onion and a bit of butter (by decreasing potatoes and increasing califlower you decrease your calories!)  When the meat is done, cut into 2 inch slices, pour some gravy on top!

Meal #2
Lemon Chicken

• Chicken Breasts
• Lemon Pie Filling
• Rice
• Carrots
• Brown Sugar
• Honey

Make your lemon pie filling, then take your chicken out and salt both sides.  Then place the chicken in a cassorole dish and pour the lemon pie filling on top.  (I also like to score the chicken slightly and place the filling in those areas as well).  Bake at 400 for 40 mins or till chicken is cooked through.  Serve with rice and carrots.  To make carrots, boil till soft, add some brown sugar and honey!

Meal #3
Delissio Pizza
Speaks for it's self!

Meal #4
Turkey Cassorole (HC)

• 1 cup pasta of your choice
• 5 pieces of turkey sausage
• cheese
• breadcrumbs (small small)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• broccoli and califlower
• white beans

Steam broccoli and califlower, when done at to large mixing bowl and add a can of white beans.  Open the turkey sausage and cook contents.  Add those to mixing bowl along with some cheese.  After mixing together add to cassorole dish.  Add chicken broth, top with breadcrumbs and cheese.  Serve with a veggie and salad of choice.

Meal #5
Turkey Burgers

• Ground turkey 
• turkey sausage
• green chilis
• buns
• avacodo
• Burger toppings of choice
• mango salsa (recipe found here)

In a bowl mix ground turkey, turkey sausage, and a small can of green chilis.  Don't over mix!!  Just mix enough so things are even and form into burgers.  Cook on oven grill or BBQ (I find an oven grill pan is easiest).  If you want to be healthy, take your bun and take out some of the bread in the top bun and bottom.  Use the avacodo as mayo.

Meal #6
Cafe Rio

• Pork Tenderloin
• Salsa
• Brown Sugar
• Coke or Pepsi (optional)
• Rice
• Milk & Sugar
• Black Beans
• Salad of Choice (Ceaser at my house)
• Large taco wraps
• Sour Cream
• Cheese

Get out the crock pot, place in tenderloin and cover 3/4 with water.  Cook on high for 5 hours.  Then empty water, shred pork, add jar of salsa, cup of brown sugar, coke or pepsi (optional), and mix around.  Cook on high for 3 more hours).  Make rice, once done add 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup sugar. We like the sweet rice at our house!  Make can of black beans and salad.  Heat up a large skillet, add a tiny bit of oil or butter and heat both sides of the wrap.  Now place wrap on plate, put down some rice, then beans, then meat then sour cream and cheese.  Serve with salad, YUMMY!

Meal #7
Chicken Pockets

• Pillsbury Dough (we use 2- 8 packs at our house, makes 8)
• 2 canned chicken flakes
• green onion
• red pepper
• onion
• mayo

In a mixing bowl, add canned chicken, diced green onion (3 T), diced red or pepper, diced onion, and mayo just to make everything moist.  Take your dough out and make 4 squares with each pack (pinching 2 triangles together).   Cook at 350 for 12 mins, or till they are nice and golden brown on top, making sure the dough is cooked.  (At our house we each have 2, Riley maybe 3 and then he has 2 for lunch and I have some for lunch so 2 packs would be perfect for a fam of 4 or 5).

This weeks total comes to about $75!  A little more then last week but great food!  When you add breakfast and lunch dinners, the total comes to $100.  If you have any questions about any of the recipes please let me know!!

Couponing #2

Zellers Old Spice Deal

I don't have a picture, but I sure did get a deal.  I bought 4 Old Spice deodorant 65g, they were on sale for $2 each.  I had 3 coupons from pg brandpower.  2 were $1 off any Old Spice product and the other was $3 off 2 Old Spice products.

4 Old Spice deodorants @ $2
Total Bill                            $8
Coupons                             $5
Total Bill                            $3

  My total for the Old Spice was $3 for 4 of them.  Now we won't have to buy deodorant for the hubby for a while!

I hope a lot of you have gone to my coupon sites (which will hopefully grow to more) and signed up for them so you also can gain from the coupons!

Couponing #1

So I bought these items the other day:

Total if I bought them on any other shopping day: 

• Secret Antipersprint x3  $2.99 each (at Sobeys)
• Satin Care Shaving Cream  $3.49 (at Sobeys)
• Cascade 12 pk  $6.99 (at Rexall)
• TOTAL:  $19.45

 I paid...... $3.49

Coupons from pgeverydaysolutions.ca made this happen.  I had a coupon worth $7 for buying any 3 Secret Antipersprint and/or Satin Care Shaving cream, and I was lucky because both were on sale for $2.99 and $2.  I got 2 antipersprints and the shaving cream for free with coupon.  Then I had a $1 coupon for another Secret Antipersprint, paid $1 for that one.  The Cascade was on sale for $3.99 and I had a coupon for $1.50 so it cost me $2.49, making the total $3.49.

I watched for the sales and paired my coupons, totally worth the little effort!!  It can be done!

Week 1 of Eating On $350 Monthly

Week 1


Groceries For Breakfast & Lunch

• Loaf of Bread or 2 ($1.47 at Walmart)
• Milk 4L ($3.47 at Walmart)
• Sandwich Meat (between $3-$8, we get the $8 for 2 packages at Costco and freeze the other half)
• Eggs ($2.47 No Frill's)
• Salad stuff can be taken from the groceries for dinner.
• Cucumber ($1.27 No Frill's)
• Cereal ($2.50 lasts 3 weeks from states or $3.47 at Walmart for a 1.5 weeks)
• Pancake Batter ($6 from Costco)
• Yogurt ($2.47 from No Frill's)
• Fruit ($11 mixed fruit Costco, large bag)
• For Homemade Soup, take leftover veggies from Supper after week and simmer down in pot, add yams or squash, let cook till tender, puree everything in a blender.  Add salt to taste.
• And these items include EVERY MEAL that I wrote below, we aren't that adventurous at our house and most breakfasts are the same and lunches usually rotate around 4 meals.  Your most likely going to have left over fruit and pancake mix.

Breakfast:

• cereal: now I know this isn't the healthiest but if you are a cereal eating family here are some tips for the cheapest cereal.  Canada has some very expensive cereal, it's ridiculous and I know this because my husband refuses to eat anything but cereal in the mornings.  I am always looking for cereal to be on sale.  Walmart often has sales for cereal, as well as No Frills.  BUT the cheapest place to find cereal is in the states.  We often go to the states about twice a year, sometimes once, but we always stock up on cereal.  If you have family with a Sam's Club Card, you can find the Multimeals for $2.50, that's 1kg of cereal.  As well, if you pay attention to Bourillims flyer, they often have multimeals 10 for $10!!  
• eggs & toast: super easy and good for you, especially if you boil the egg, yes boil!!  The way to do this is fill a pot with water, add about a tablespoon of vinegar.  Once the water is boiling, turn it down to medium heat and crack open the egg and add.  It takes about 2 mins to cook but you have an easy over egg without the grease!
• french toast:  super easy and delicious.  Grab a large dish, break open 4-6 eggs, add about a teaspoon and a half of cinnamon, take your bread and coat, place in frying pan.  Soo good!
• home made waffles:  we do this a lot.  I buy just normal pancake batter, cheapest is Costco, buy the large bag for $6, and make up a ton of waffles.  These are easily frozen and you take them out and pop in the toaster.  
• yogurt, fruit, & granola: fruit at Costco frozen is so cheap.  I just bought a massive bag of Strawberries for $8.50, and those without Costco cards, No Frills (Superstore) often has fruit on sale, watch for it and buy an extra bag or 2 when it happens.   
• cottage cheese & fruit:  I always buy my cottage cheese from No Frills because it's CHEAP!!  And the no name brand stuff tastes just as good as the name brand stuff.  I was once told the same company that makes a name brand (can't remember the brand) just changes the container to a non name brand and fills them up with the same thing.  Mind you this doesn't apply to everything but it sure does for sour cream and cottage cheese.
• fruit smoothies: fruit, ice, yogurt and/or milk, a banana

Lunch:

• grilled cheese & tomato soup
• salad
• p&b sandwich (kids)
• any kind of sandwich
• chicken wrap
• leftovers
• home made soup
• itchy band: we make itchy band a lot in our house, super cheap and you can make it very nutritious.  We add peas and corn along with eggs and meat to our itchy band.  This makes it more filling as well as a bowl of veggies and protein instead of empty calories.

TOTAL:$23

Supper Grocery List

• bag of shrimp ($7.50 at Walmart)
• green peppers
• red peppers
• onions
• taco wraps  ($3 No Frills)
• can of peaches (.95 at No Frills)
• lime juice  (.97 at No Frills)
• rice ($10 LARGE bag Costco)
• bag of romanie (3 heads $3)
• pizza dough ($.97 at Walmart)
• cheese (sale $5 at Sobey’s)
• bag of perogies ($3.50 No Frills)
• steak (4 for $18 @ Costco)
• chicken ($20 @ Costco)
• mushrooms
• zucchini
• carrots ($1.99 at No Frills)
• bag of beans ($8 @ Costco LARGE bag)
• bag of corn ($2.50 @ Walmart)
• celery ($1.75 at No Frills)
• black beans ($1.19 can No Frills)
• Genoa (some kind of meat for pizza)
• sour cream ($2.50 at No Frills)
• eggs ($2.47 at No Frills)
• bread  ($1.47 at Walmart)
   

Meal #1
Shrimp & Chicken Stir fry

• green/red peppers (strips)
• onions (large chunks)
• rice
• carrots (thin strips)
• celery (cut on an angle)
• sweet tahi
• soy sauce
• Italian dressing

Cook your onions, carrots, and celery till soft, add in green/red peppers (if you do it before they will be tooo soft!).  While these are cooking, make rice.  To make sauce, mix some soy sauce, sweet tahi and Italian dressing all to taste.  Add to veggies, serve over rice.

Meal #2
Perogie Casserole

• perogies
• cheese
• onions (caramelized)
• beans

Boil perogies and while those are cooking, caramelize your onions (add t of sugar).  Once onions and perogies are cooked, take out onions and fry perogies.  Then place perogies, onions, and cheese in casserole dish, broil in oven till cheese is melted.  Serve with a side of veggies.  I usually serve green beans with a dip of butter.


Meal #3
Shrimp Tacos (and make chicken for kids if you want)

• shrimp (cook extra at stir fry)
• chicken (cook extra at stir fry)
• pepper/salt/chili flakes
• hot sauce
• mango salsa
• black beans
• salad
• lime juice

Add a bit of olive oil in pan, cook shrimp till warm, add salt, pepper, chili flakes, and hot sauce (just enough to coat or don't use it at all if you don't like the heat).  Sprinkle with lime juice after.  Shrimp on wrap, add mango salsa.  Serve with beans.

Mango Salsa Recipe
Mangos and peaches taste VERY much alike and peaches are way cheaper!!! 

• about 1.5 cups of peaches chopped into tiny cubes
• .5 of a red onion chopped finely
• a green onion chopped finely
• tablespoon of lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• teaspoon of olive oil

This is great on tacos and burgers and is good for you!!

Meal #4
BBQ Steak & Chicken with Veggies

• steak
• chicken
• onions
• green/red peppers
• zucchini
• mushrooms
• salad
• tahi or Italian sauce

Cut up veggies so that you can place them on the BBQ or use scures.  Cover with either tahi (for heat) or italian and let sit.  Make salad.  With salad in fridge, take your steak, chicken, and veggies out to be BBQ'd.  Enjoy!


Meal #5
Curry Chicken

• curry 2 tablespoons
• mayo 1/2 cup
• chicken cubed
• corn
• beans
• can of chicken soup
• cheese
• rice
• salad

Put all ingredients but rice in a casserole dish (cook chicken first).  Top off with cheese, cook for 30mins at 375.  Serve with rice and salad.

Meal #6
Home Made Pizza's

• green/red peppers
• meat
• cheese
• mushrooms
• onions
• pizza sauce or ranch
• meat of choice (even left over chicken & shrimp)
• pizza dough

Make a pizza!  And to make it even better, buy some corn meal, and put about a teaspoon on the pan before putting down your dough.

Meal #7

• eggs
• bread
• cinnamon

Our 7th meal, being a Saturday usually, we either go out or make something simple like French Toast, or eggs on toast.  If we do go out for dinner, and I'm not talking sit down dinner, that would be well over budget, (we only have $100 a month)!  No, we go somewhere that won't cost over $15 for the both of us.  Usually McDonalds because you can get coupons on their website, like 2 dine for $9.48 and they also have kids meals coupons (for those with older kids).

The salad that I have at the end of some meals, we make ceaser salad because it's so easy, doesn't really give a big nutritional value but it fills ya up, and if you don't put so much ceaser on it's better for ya!  lol  I also make a green salad too some weeks and it lasts for the week.

Anyways, next week maybe I will do another one of these!  You would be surprised but the total for these meals is $56.  That doesn't include Italian salad dressing, tai sauce, soy sauce, parmasan cheese and ceaser salad dressing because they can be used multiple times.  Now, you are going to have left over chicken, steak, shrimp, beans, corn, perogies, and onions for future meals.
  

Total for a week of groceries......... $79

This is WITHOUT coupons.  If you are in the states, you might be able to get a few of these items for either $2 off or even free if you watch the flyers right.  Hope this helps someone save money because I sure know it saves us money!!

Welcome!

I've really wanted to make this blog for a while but didn't know where to start or what to do but now that I've got a good amount of information behind me here it goes.  This blog is intended to help moms save their money, learn money saving tips, collecting coupons, eating out on pennies, and always getting a good deal.  All of the things stated in this blog are opinions of my own and are not intended to be set in stone or "can only be done that way."  I am not writing this blog to put other blogs of this interest down as I am where I am because of other blogs who are similar in their means, to help momma's everywhere save their hard earned money!!!!  Please enjoy and comments or ideas are always welcome.  If you want to be added to this blog, please contact me at couponing4life@gmail.com