Make your own pantry staples

Money is tight for families everywhere but especially if you have 4 kids. Our food budget is only $400 for the month. Yes, you read that right, $400. I cook and plan meals out for 2 weeks at a time. Over the past 2 weeks I have really felt the pinch at the grocery store. I am an avid coupon cutter and user. I have not been able to stretch my grocery dollar as much as I used to. With our food taxes and so called “convenience” foods being more expensive I have been on a mission to slash every cent that I can. I have been doing a little experiment to see if making "homemade" items is truly less expensive than their box/jar/package counterparts. I was pretty certain that yes it is cheaper and healthier to make the item from scratch but I wanted to see for myself and actually put this theory into action.

My kids LOVE instant oatmeal, but let’s face it Quaker Oats brand is $4.99 for 10 servings. That is just about .50 per packet (.49 to be exact). Sure you can find it on sale and use a coupon but you have to time it just right and lately it has NOT been on sale nor have I found any significant coupons to bring the price down to something I could live with. So my first experiment was born.
I bought an 18oz bag of quick cooking oats from Fresh and Easy, and made my own "instant" oatmeal. My kids like the maple and brown sugar kind. We know how much sugar is in those individual pouches so I put in a scant amount of brown sugar and ½ cup of liquid to. I poured 1/2 cup quick cooking oats, milk, and brown sugar into a bowl and cooked in the microwave for a little less than 1 min. Eureka! "instant" oatmeal. My kids ate every drop, never questioned the taste or consistency and I saved money. My homemade version was far healthier than the pre-packaged version.
Here's the breakdown as I see it:

• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats .10 per 1/2 cup serving ($1.28 for 18 ounce bag)
• 1/8 tsp brown sugar .001 per 1/8 tsp serving (.99 for 1 lb.)
• 1/2 cup milk .06 per 1/2 cup serving ($1.79 per gallon)

One serving was less than 17 cents. For 10 servings (the same as pre-packaged name brand) the total would be $1.70. Now let’s see, $1.70 versus $4.99. That's a savings of $3.29! To me that is significant AND I control the amount of sugar in my kids' breakfast. You cannot beat that.

This is just one of the examples of how you can make your own "convenience" foods AND save money at the same time.

Here are a few more pantry staples that I have made over the past 2 weeks and have eliminated the package/jar or box versions:

• Taco seasoning
• Spanish Rice
• Salsa
• Pancake mix
• Sweet and Sour sauce

All of the above examples tasted BETTER than their box counterpart. This is a slow progression for me. There are a few items that I need to fill my pantry with in order to make a smooth transition from a box cooker to truly homemade. I am happy with the results so far and will continue to try new recipes for my pantry staples and hopefully to save money. When you are a family of 6, every penny saved helps.

Personal Gift Idea

This past weekend I went to a baby shower. I love baby showers. I love that everyone is coming together to celebrate the upcoming birth of a baby. Who doesn't love babies? (maybe that's why I have 4 kids)

I also love the idea of giving something personal for the baby. When I was pregnant I always remembered the personalized gifts. The idea that someone took the time to make something by hand truly meant a great deal. With schedules and family priorities people don't have the time to do that anymore, that's what makes it extra special.

I wanted to share with everyone a super simple, personal gift to give for baby showers or graduations, weddings etc. It is a framed personalized scrapbook page. If you are super crafty you can make the entire design with your Cricket machine or some other scrapbook tool or you can purchase a one-in-all page at Joanns or Michaels and put your page together. I have to admit, I did a little of both. I found a book of papers and die cuts at Big Lots a few months ago. All the papers, sayings, die-cuts etc. are color coordinated for boys. There are blues and yellows and greens. It is really cute. I went through the book and chose a few items and placed them on the 12 X 12 sheet that I liked. This was so easy and really quick. I then borrowed my moms Cricket machine and added a few fancy words and put the baby's name at the bottom. I framed it and Ouila! Instant personalized gift. This is the
2nd time I have done this for a baby shower gift. It really becomes quite special if you ask them the color of their nursery or what colors are in their baby bedding. You can also personalize colors according to wedding colors or school colors for a graduation gift.





The next time you know you will be attending a shower or have a wedding to attend, make this quick but from-the-heart gift. I assure you, the recipient will appreciate your efforts for years to come.

Slap the Bull everyone, Slap the Bull!

Rudeness and The Question of The Day

I like to think I am pretty open-minded to new ideas, new opinions, new people. I try to implant that into my kids. I want them to respect others decisions and really TRY not to judge. I know that is not the case with everyone. I was in Sam's Clublast week with my mother and Alexander. You see every year our ENTIRE family gathers for a big family picnic. We are talking 60 - 70 people here. We invite a few close friends also. We all look forward to it and of course, my mother and I plan everything. The menu, where it will be held, the invitations, the collecting of money etc. So anyway, back to the Sam's Club incident. We are loading our cart with standard picnic food: Hebrew National 100% beef hotdogs, buns, chips, juice boxes etc. Well we know how curious kids say things aloud don't we? There was this little boy sitting in a cart and his mom was pushing and he goes "Mom, can we get some chips?" and the mother goes quite loudly and snooty says, "no, We don't buy chips because WE know they aren't good for us." Now if you don't know that most chips are not good for you than you must have been living under a rock for the past few years right? I was more than a little pissed off that she would actually say that loud enough for me to hear. Why you ask? Because she was being a pompous ass thats why. She was judging my purchases. I get that she chooses to not buy chips but the circumstances for me to buy 2 huge boxes of chips she was NOT aware of. I am very well read on healthy eating. However, I do not judge people for their purchases and I would certainly not loudly tell my child that someone elses purchases don't live up to our elitist high standards.

I think this judgement goes farther than just what she chooses to eat. What else does she assume or judge in her everyday life? I know, I know I probably am reading a lot into this one incident but its not unlike what I see people do everyday (myself included)... judge. It just got me to thinking, its no fun to be on the other end of the presumption. I try to surround myself with like-minded people but I also seek out those who are of different nationalities, races, political bacgrounds, religions and gender than myself. I think to hear different opinions and life circumstances helps you grow as a person and keeps you from being a pompous ass. You start to think your way is the only way and it's not. Where do you think that saying "There is more than one way to skin a cat" comes from? Here is the question of the day....Do all of your friends, look alike, think alike and sound alike? Just wondering.

Apple Muffins and Granola Bars

Okay all, I know I said I would post this yesterday but of course the day really got away from me. I am running last minute errands before our big Las Vegas wedding trip next week. I have added the granola bar recipe because it sounds really good. I have not yet tried it but received a request for it. The muffins were moist and very tasty. Here's a picture of the muffins I made. Muy Delicioso












Apple Muffins (Ellie Krieger Food Network)

cooking spray
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup natural applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 12-capacity muffin pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl mix together 2 tablespoons of the brown sugarm the pecans and the cinnamon. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, whisk the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and oil until combined. Add the eggs, 1 at a time whisking well after each addition. Whisk in the applesauce and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the butermilk. Whisk jujst until combined. Gently stir in the apple chunks. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the pecan mixture. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bulles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

Jennifer's note: If you don't have buttermilk make your own by pouring 1 cup of milk in a measuring glass and add 1 tblsp of acid (either white vinegar or lemon juice) and let set for at least 5 minutes

Granola Bars (Alton Brown Food network)

8 ouces old-fashioned rolled oats, approx. 2 cups
1 1/2 ouces raw sunflower seeds, approx 1/2 cup
3 ouces sliced almonds, approx 1 cup
1 1/2 ounces wheat germ, approx 1/2 cup
6 ounces of honey, approx 1/2 cup
1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar, approx 1/4 cup packed
1-oounce unsalted buter, plus extra for pan
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt
6 1/2 chopped dried fruit any combo of apricots, cherries, blueberries

Butter a 9 by 9 inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved. Once the oat micture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degtrees. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture andd the dried fruit and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completelyh. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Be sure to let me know how your muffins and granola bars turned out! I hope you enjoy.

Getting a healthy jump on the day (or so I thought)

For some unknown reason I was full of energy last night. After dinner was done and the kitchen was cleaned (with help from my oldest son,) I decided to make this muffin recipe that has been on my "recipes to try" list for about 2 weeks. I have a hard time getting my kids to eat breakfast in the morning. They love granola bars, NutriGrain bars and anything that they can grab-and-go. Well of course a couple of weeks ago I was watching Elie Krueger on the Food Network fix these scrumptious muffins and since my kids love apples wanted to give them a try. They were extremly quick (15 minutes to whip up) and simple (I used everyday ingredients) to make and my huband was checking the oven timer every 5 minutes to see if they were done because they smelled "heavenly."

This muffin recipe caught my eye because they are low fat, low calorie, low sugar and they are made whith whole wheat pastry flour. We could all use some fiber right?

I was positive that my children were going to be excited that I took the time to make these right? WRONG! Anisa was the brave one and tried them and was eating them and saying how good they were until her mouth centered upon a small diced cooked apple inside the muffin. She pointed to the apple and said "what are these?" Apples I said. "I don't like those." It was downhill from there. Andre didn't even want to try them saying "I don't like muffins with apples in them." "How do you know?" I say. "Because I know and I don't want to try them." Alexander gets up and I say "do you want to try the muffins mommy made?" "Yes I do!" he says with excitement. I give him one, he curiously looks at it, says "I don't like these" "You haven't even tried them. They taste just like cake" I say trying to get him excited about them again. He licks the topping and thrusts the muffin back towards me and says "No, I don't want to eat this."

My kids are the pickiest picky eaters there ever occupied this universe. I truly loved the flavor of the muffins. They were moist and not at all heavy. The topping was to die for! Gerald wanted to eat 2 last night but he said he would save some for the kids to try.

Anyway, I was a bit disappointed in their lack of excitement but as a mother I understand my kids. I have a granola bar recipe that I want to try and this time I won't tell them what's in it.!

I will post the recipe and pics later today because I would recommend you try these good-for-you muffins!

Taking care of oneself; lesson learned

A few months ago I had a not-so-good experience with my endocrinologist. He was treating me for my thyroid and at the time I should have listened to my instincts and switched doctors. I didn't. I went through radiation and drug therapy with this man that literally would whisk into the room, barely say hello, continuously write in his chart and tell me what I was doing wrong. Well I finally decided enough was enough, I deserved a doctor that listened to my concerns (my escalating weight, my concern about diabetes running in my family). I switched to a WOMAN doctor and let me tell you the difference is night and day. I have never had so many blood tests and educational pamphlets in my life! I had never been tested extensively for: vitamin D deficiency, iron deficiency, glucose levels, A1C, hemoglobin, platelet count, and cholesterol. Because of my doctors thoroughness I found out I was extremely anemic (I now take 2 iron tablets a day) extremely low in vitamin D (I started out needing 50k IU 1x a week but now my levels have increased and I take 2000 IU's per day, my A1C (diabetes marker) is in the normal range, and my hemoglobin and platelet counts have increased.

Why am I sharing this? Because I got up this morning and didn't feel tired for the first time in a llooooonnnnggggg time. Because all the supplements and medication that I take every single day is kicking in. Because I have learned it is important to be your own health advocate. Because it is important as a mom to take care of yourself. Since I have a chronic thyroid condition I go through good and bad feeling days BUT I don't feel run down EVERY SINGLE DAY. I was clearly not listening to my body and taking care of me.

Now if I could only get my weight under control everything would be peachy keen!
Slap the Bull everyone, Slap the Bull!

There's nothing like saving money

I went to the store today and although it took me 120 minutes to shop it was so worth the trip! For those that aren't aware the first Wednesday of each month is Senior Discount Day. No, I am not a senior but my mother is. If you know a senior, take them to the store and use their Fry's, or Basha card and they will take 10% off of your bill. (Albertson's also does this but a card is not needed.) Now my store of choice is Fry's. It's close to my house and the cashiers know me so I feel right at home there. Now before I tell how much I actually saved today, I need to back up.

Going to the store is a HUGE undertaking for a family of 6. The following steps took place between the hours of 9:00 am and 11:30 am. (That's my ode to 24.) Anyway, I started by scanning carefully ALL of the sales papers to see which store had the best sale for what I needed. Since my pantry is about bare it was stock-up time. Fry's was the chosen one. I then made my list using the sales paper as a guide, being very carefull to choose items that were on sale. Now, here comes the REAL work. I look through every stack of coupons and match them up to the sales item. I also visit http://www.coupons.com/ and http://www.redplum.com/ to get even more manufacturer coupons. Now as I am doing this, I simultaneously make my menu for the next 2 weeks making sure I don't have any repeat recipes from the previous 2-3 week cycle. I want to make my menu from items off my grocery list and items in my pantry, which right now doesn't have much in it. Okay, this can be an extremely long process but I like to challenge myself to see if I can save at least 50% of my total bill. Anything less and I am a little disappointed in my effort. I know, I have issues, but hey if I didn't take this little challenge our grocery bill would be out of this world and on one income that could spell D I S A S T E R!.

On to the next steps. I have made my grocery list, made my 2-week menu, and clipped all of my coupons. I am feeling pretty good because my stack of coupons are pretty thick. That should translate into some great savings. The following takes place between the hours of 1:15 pm and 3:15 pm: I meet my mother and my grandmother at the store and I start shopping. I have filled every crack and crevice of my grocery cart with a grocery item. By the time I get to the check-out my arms are tired because that sucker was heavy. Of course you always get the wise-cracking cashier "It looks like you hit up every aisle. Did you find everything okay? HeeHee HeeHee." I just laugh and start putting my groceries on the conveyor belt. I was going so fast Jamie Sommers would have been proud! Anyway, I hand the cashier the coupons and my mom's savings card.

Drum Roll Please! I spent $149.56 and I saved a whopping $168.22. I had 32 manufacturer coupons. Thirty-two! That has to be my all-time record. That savings was 53% of my bill. I was excited. How many items did I get for $149.56? 105. I bought 105 items. Not bad. Oh, I almost forgot, the Senior Discount of 10% totaled $21.94.

Saving money on groceries is not for the weak of heart. You have to have patience, organization and did I mention patience? This whole production took almost the whole day (actually 4 1/2 hours) but the good thing is I did not go over my grocery budget of $200. I now have some left over to head to Sam's Club and buy some great bulk items as well as buy some whole wheat pastry flour from Sprouts.

Let's all remember Wednesday, April 7th. That is the next Senior Discount Day. Whohoo, there's nothing like saving money.

On The Slow Rode To Sanity

Okay, so I need to put blogging on my radar again. I have been extremely neglectful. *Sigh*

I have made some great progress in the last few months on my quest to learn new things and put the fun back in mommydom. For sure there are things I take pleasure in; my garden, teaching the kids and helping with homework and then the not-so-fun; cleaning and the endless mounds of laundry. But I have been doing a better job of taking the bitter with the sweet and really concentrating on living up to the saying "Bloom Where You Are Planted." Right now I am a stay-at-home mom and it's up to me to be the best because there are so many people counting on me EVERYDAY. So I am planted in this season of my life and I think right now I have found ways to still feel that I am moving forward and doing things for me. It has helped that over the last few months I have implemented a Chore Chart, planted a garden, learned to knit, and read several books for pleasure.

My Chore Chart: I have been a stickler for this and it has paid off big time. I feel that I have more time for me (see below). I also like the fact that it helps keep me on track. When I get up in the morning I know exactly what needs to be done. No more running around like a chicken with its head cut off just to complete one task. One unexpected upside: my husband has commented on how nice the house looks everyday so he has noticed the change. There are a few organizational items I want to do over the next couple of months to make life even easier but other than that no complaints.

My Garden: I am sooo excited about this and having a garden has allowed me to connect with my dad on another level because he is a gardner too. My kids have also learned to love collard greens because we have them a couple of times a month. I have more greens than I can handle so if you want some shoot me a text, a facebook mssg to let me know. The caterpillars got to them so there are more than a few holes in them but they are clean and organic oh yeah, and GOOD! What a sense of accomplishment as I go out to pick vegetables that have flourished because I have cared for them. Wow, I can't believe how successful it has been. I even have tomatoes starting to come on the vine. My long-term goal for those would be to can and/or freeze my own pasta sauce and seasoned tomatoes. What a money-saver that would be! Check out the latest photos.

This is a photo of my entire garden. Do you see how many collard greens I have. They are in the middle of the box.

My tomatoes are starting to grow! I planted these back in October so it's been a looonnngg time coming. I didn't think they were going to grow but low and behold they have!

This photo is from a couple of weeks ago. This is my green leaf lettuce after I picked it and washed it. We had a crisp, great tasting salad. Look at the vibrant color. I was so pleased with the outcome.

My knitting: I have made real progress here too. I have completed my first project! A knitted scarf for Anisa with a crocheted ruffle border. (Who cares that it is about to be spring and she probably won't wear it until later in the year...LOL) The fact that it is complete is the big kudos. I have begun many, many projects only to let them go by the wayside but I actually completed this one! It was so fun and relaxing to knit while I waited for Anisa's dance class to be over, while I watched Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, and while I visited my parents.

You can't tell but this scarf is almost as long as Alexander is tall. It took me a good while to complete. I used the stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl the next). It is a simple stitch and is really the stitch people think of when you think of knitting. I want to learn more stitches. They say if you can knit and purl you can do any other stitch. Let's hope that is true.

My Reading: I have read more books over the last couple of months than I have over the last 4 years. I am telling you, the Chore Chart works and allows for so much more extra time. I also recommend menu planning. Those are two HUGE time savers for me. Check me out on http://www.goodreads.com/ to see the books I've read and my reviews.

My Career Aspirations: Okay I've had a few jobs in my life but not many that I can call a career. I have been thinking about what it is I want to do and it is so exciting doing research and reading up on what is out there. I have not necessarily found my calling but I am taking steps in the right direction and will keep you updated.

I have made some great strides towards sanity in the past few months. It feels good to keep moving forward and Slap The Bull.

Check Out My Garden!

Two days ago I picked some fresh collard greens from my garden. I am so very proud of myself! I not only started this project but more importantly I finished it! Sometimes we think it is easier to just let things go and not finish what we have started. Well I went ahead and stuck with it and you can see the fruits of my labor. I would recommend everyone start a garden. It doesn't have to be big and elaborate. You can start a small herb container garden or plant a single crop. I planted collard greens, basil, strawberries, leaf lettuce, swiws chard, spinach, carrots and tomatoes. Unfortunately, my tomatoes started out strong but fizzled. They bloomed with yellow flowers (which is what the are supposed to do) but never produced buds. I will be starting my spring garden soon and would love for you to start yours.

You know what my ultimate wish is for my garden? I want to be able to can, yes I said the "c" word, my own tomatoe sauce/tomatoes and have enough veggies to freeze for future use. Right now what I pick is what we eat.

My garden is organic so I have not used any spray to kill any of the pests that like what I have planted. I went out there the other day and there were 3 green caterpillar-like worms tearing my collard greens up! Oh well, this is a learning process and I am so excited that this worked out. I am in a great place emotionally, and spiritually and I truly believe its because I have taken more time to explore the things that I have always wanted to do. I am not finished yet....The journey continues.....