Welcoming the Beautiful Spring Season!
Bringing in Spring with my two chickies!
Spring is my FAVORITE Season! I love that everything starts looking fresh, bright, and beautiful. The new flower buds and leaves start growing. There are bright green grass blades peeking up out of the soil. Brilliant shades of colors start appearing around us through the flowers. People begin prepping for planting their gardens. You start noticing more fresh produce in the stores and farmers markets. There are noticeably more animals scurrying through the yard and many with new little ones in tow. You start feeling more of the warm sunshine rays hitting you. Everything just seems more cheerful. It’s just a fresh and fun time of year. I absolutely love it!
The start of Spring also signifies that we have made a lot of progress through the school year too. It’s time to really start thinking and planning our summer activities and adventures. I am thankful for my family and always look forward to our extra time together. What are your plans for this Spring Season?
We are planning a lot of fun activities for this Spring!
Karlie and Brina are ready for Spring!
Healthy & Easy Way to Wash Produce
A sink full of fresh produceOur family eats a lot of fruits and vegetables so I love it when I find a great deal on produce. We have one large drawer full of vegetables, another one full of fruit, and we have a fresh fruit basket on the counter. One problem I had with produce in the past was it spoiling too fast. Also, the produce needs to be washed to remove any germs, sprays, mold, or other spores that that tend to spoil or contaminate the produce more quickly.
I have found the best way to rinse and clean the produce is to put everything in a clean sink, fill the sink with cold water, add approximately a half of cup of white vinegar, and let the produce soak for about 10 to 20 minutes. After the produce has soaked drain the water and rinse thoroughly before putting it away. You will be amazed at how much stuff comes off the produce (the sink is usually covered with a film, dirt, and little particles after I drain the water). Some of the items in the sink for this rinse – pineapple, mango, strawberries, kiwi, red delicious apples, granny smith apples, golden delicious apples, grapefruit, blackberries, oranges, clementines, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, and a few other items.
One other way we have found that prolongs the life of our fruits and vegetables is the BluApple. The BluApple absorbs the ethylene gas is given off naturally by fruits and vegetables as a signaling mechanism in order to coordinate uniform ripening. We stick one BluApple in the vegetable drawer and another in the fruit drawer to prevent the produce from ripening as quickly. Between rinsing the produce with vinegar water and using the BluApples the life of the produce is extended 2 to 7 times the normal shelf life (at least for our family). A container of strawberries will last 2 to 4 weeks (if they last that long and are not eaten before that time) in our fridge. We have been doing this way for over a year now and it has worked very well for our family, hope these tips are a huge blessing to you too!
The clean sink starting to fill up with water (and three tomatoes).
Draining the dirty water
Up close picture of all the “stuff” floating in the water after washing the produce! Yikes!
After draining the water there is always a film around the sink with bits and pieces of produce, dirt, and other particles stuck to it. If you look closely you can even see the water line.
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
Groceries from Ingles
Now that I am home again and school is in full swing I am trying to do better at posting my weekly grocery update. Thanks for hanging in there with me as I traveled, spent time with my family over summer vacation, and transitioned in the new school schedule. It is nice to get back in to the routine and giving you regular updates (they really do help me stay on target). I was super excited to score some great fresh produce on clearance at Ingles this week (our garden is almost done producing). Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Ingles Groceries:
- $16.83 at Ingles for 1 container of Mushrooms (clearance), 1 loaf Laura Lynn Sandwich Bread (sale), 2 packs Vegan Gourmet Cheese (clearance), 1 bag fresh Brussel Sprouts (clearance), 1 bag fresh Broccoli (clearance), 1 gallon Milk (sale), 2 pack Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough (clearance), 1 tray Apple Slices & Cheese (clearance), 1 pack fresh Snow Peas (clearance), 1 pack fresh Sugar Snap Beans (clearance), 1 bag Chipotle Coleslaw (clearance), and 1 bag fresh Cauliflower, Carrots, & Broccoli (clearance). Everything was marked down, on sale, or on clearance including the non-dairy cheese because we have a family member who is not currently eating dairy (all produce was $0.99 or less) at Ingles.
This week I spent $16.83 on groceries. I went under on the budget this week, but only because I had a few weeks that I wasn’t tracking the spending well and went way over! Thankfully we are stocked up on most items so I could save a little from this week to spread out over the rest of the month . I was happy to find some cheese deals and some fresh produce on clearance that should last us for quite awhile especially with the girls taking lunches to school everyday. Hopefully next week we can come under budget and September will be a better month for us!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Beans, Peas, and Tomatoes….Oh My!
Purple Beans, Green Beans, Snow Peas, Red Cherry Tomatoes, and Orange Cherry Tomatoes
The garden is starting to take off and we are getting more of a variety of color as well as veggies. It is so nice having fresh garden produce in the fridge again! I saw more colors popping out this week too. Our family was able to pick purple beans, green beans, orange cherry tomatoes, red cherry tomatoes and snow peas. There’s nothing like eating a vegetable just picked moments before from the garden. It has been great having these for snacks and meals. I am hoping to see a lot more produce ready to be eaten in the next few weeks!a
While we are out of town the people watching the house and animals gets to pick what they need / want from the garden. Hopefully they’ll be able to get a lot of great food for their family too. It is my prayer that our garden will not only be a delicious treat for our family but a blessing to others as well.
What are you eating out of your garden this week?
Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Cherry Tomato, Zucchini, Summer Squash and Green Beans!
Our first pick from our garden…..a red cherry tomato!
We are super excited to seeing the fresh vegetables growing in our garden again! So far we haven’t had to water too much because we have been getting so much rain, now we need to get a little sun to help balance things out. Our first produce was ready to be picked the first day of June, one little cherry tomato! Since then we have noticed more veggies starting to pop up. We got our garden planted late this year with all the traveling, but we are hoping that it will be a fruitful year. We split the “first” produce of the year but cutting up the cherry tomato and putting it in a meal for the whole family to enjoy.
Zucchini, 2 for 1 Summer Squash, and a handful of Green Beans
We have started to slowly see the fruits of our labor in the garden this year. It seemed to take longer with us plant much later but we hope to have plenty to share with others. We have picked lettuce a few times for salads but since it is usually at dinner time when I busy prepping for the meal I have been forgetting to take a picture to share.
What are you eating out of your garden this week?
Save A Lot: Deals for the week of February 29 – March 6, 2012
The Save A Lot weekly ad deals are listed below for your convenience. It is a great time to stock up on some Save A Lot deals. Sign up for the Smart Shopper Club, by doing so you will get a $5.00 off of $25.00 coupon!
Meats and Seafood
Bone In Pork Sirloin Roast – $1.39 lb
Beef Sirloin Tip Roast – $2.99 lb
Split Chicken Breast – $0.99 lb
Schooner Fish Fillets (12 oz) – $2.99
Cooked Cocktail Shrimp (40 to 60 count) – $4.99
Portside Popcorn Shrimp (8 oz) – $1.99
Family Pack Cube Steak – $3.49 lb
Family Pack Stew Meat – $2.99 lb
Pick 5 for $19.99 promo on going! Pick any 5 specially marked packages of your favorite cuts or types of meats, vegetables and more. Here are a few of the specials they have going on with the Pick 5 for $19.99 this week (each item approximately $3.99):
Redi-Serve Chicken Patties (35 oz)
Redi-Serve Chicken Nibblers, Original or Chicken & Cheddar (30 to 36 oz)
Redi-Serve Chicken Strips, Original or Hot ‘n Spicy (36 oz)
Redi-Serve Charbroiled Rib Patties (26 oz)
Signature Pick 5 Pizza, Pepperoni or Supreme (26 to 28 oz)
Signature Pick 5 Seasoned Potato Wedges (2.5 pounds)
Signature Pick 5 Sausage & Biscuits (12 count)
Signature Pick 5 Onion Rings (2 pounds)
Signature Pick 5 Corn on the Cob (3 pounds)
Signature Pick 5 Corn Dogs (25.6 oz)
Signature Pick 5 Shrimp Poppers (24 oz)
Extra Value Boneless Pork Patties (22.4 oz)
Extra Value Country Fried Steak (20 oz)
Extra Value Breakfast Fritters (24 oz)
Extra Value Pork Chop Fritters (24 oz)
Extra Value Chuckwagon Patties (24 oz)
Extra Value Boneless Pork Patty Rib (24 oz)
Extra Value Beef Meatloaf Patties (22 oz)
Extra Value Beef Salisbury Patties (22 oz)
Extra Value Beef Pepper Patties (22 oz)
Farmland Pork Roll Sausage (2 pounds)
Sugardale Smoked or Polish Sausage (3 pounds)
Smithfield Thick Sliced Bacon (20 oz)
Sugardale Jumbo Hotdogs (3 pounds)
Fridge and Freezer
Tortino Pizza Rolls, Combo or Pepperoni (40 count) – $2.50
Freshchetta Pizza – $4.99
Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice (58 oz) – $2.99
Produce
Russet Potatoes (10 pounds) – $2.99
Navel Oranges (8 pounds) – $4.99
Mixed Apples & Oranges (4 pounds) – $2.99
Red or Gold Delicious Apples (3 pounds) – $1.99
Green Cabbage – $0.25 lb
Fresh Tomatoes (6 pack) – $1.99
Broccoli – $1.50
Cauliflower – $1.50
Household
Pert Paper Towels (8 count) – $4.99
Pert Toilet Paper (24 rolls) – $4.99
Save A Lot Today Paper Towels (1 roll) – $0.50
Save A Lot Today Glass Cleaner – $1.00
Save A Lot Today Cleaner with Beach – $1.00
Save A Lot Today Pine Cleaner Spray – $1.00
Save A Lot Today Soap Scum Remover – $1.00
Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner – $2.39
Use $0.50/1 printable coupon from Lysol
Use $1.00/2 coupon from insert 2/5 Smart Source (Expires 3/6/12)
$1.89 each after couponClorox Kitchen Cleaner – $3.89
Go Ultra Liquid Dish Detergent (24 oz) – $1.99
Grocery
Folgers Country Roast Coffee (34.5 oz) – $6.99
Use $0.25/1 coupon from 2/5 Red Plum (Expires 3/5/12)
$6.74 each after couponWesson Vegetable Oil (48 oz) – $2.99
Kelloggs Cereal, Assorted Varieties (17 to 23 oz) – $2.99
Use $1.00/3 coupon from Kelloggs
$2.66 each after couponStarkist Chunk Light Tuna (5 oz) – $0.79
Betty Crocker Tuna Helper, Assorted Varieties (5 to 6 oz) – $1.00
Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice, Assorted Varieties (64 oz) – $1.98
Hunt’s Pasta Sauce (24 oz) – $0.88
Cheez-Its (7 to 9 oz) – $1.79
Use $1.00/2 coupon from insert 1/29 Red Plum (Expires 3/25/12)
$1.29 each after couponSo Cheezy Family Size Shells & Cheddar (24 oz) – $1.99
Remember you can use the $5/$25 printable coupon to sweeten these deals! Plus you can earn up to 5 additional $5 off $25 coupons for sharing the coupon with your friends.
For more information about Save A Lot’s coupon policies go here. If you find additional deals or savings please let me know and I will add them to the list.
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
It was a wild week, our family has a lot of fun adventures coming up so I am trying to stop on top of everything. Hopefully I will be able to share a little bit more about our upcoming plans before long. I was not able to get to the grocery store until late on Friday but thankfully was able to pick up almost everything I needed this week even if I did got a little over budget. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Save A Lot | Rite Aid, Walmart, Ingles, and Walgreens
Save A Lot | Rite Aid Groceries:
- $7.90 at Save A Lot | Rite Aid for 2 boxes Blue Bonnet sticks of butter, 2 boxes Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, 1 container Butter Spread (3 lb), and 1 bag Carrots (2 lbs). (All the items were on sale or clearance.)
Walmart Groceries:
- $0.00 at Walmart for 1 bag Whole Wheat Sandwich Rolls (on clearance), 1 bag Everything French Bread (on clearance), 1 bag Chocolate Chips, 1 box Popcorn (8 count), 2 liter Mountain Dew (price matched), and 1 box Idaho Potatoes (free product coupon). (Bought items on sale or clearance and paid with a gift card so the total was zero.)
Ingles Groceries:
- $42.84 at Ingles for 1 jar Peter Pan Natural Peanut Butter, 1 can Tuna Fish, 1 Starkist Tuna Fish, 2 boxes Pop Secret Popcorn, 2 loaves Laura Lynn Bread, 4 bags Laura Lynn Shredded Cheese, 2 blocks Laura Lynn Sharp Cheddar Cheese, 2 Laura Lynn sliced Cheese (16 count each), 2 boxes Breakfast Biscuits / Pancakes (on clearance, 10 count each), 6 containers Fresh Blueberries (on clearance), 3 bags Snow Peas (on clearance), 1 container Cherry Chocolate Covered Pretzels (on clearance), 1 container Roasted Soybeans (on clearance), 2 bottles Bare Naked Fruit Drinks (on clearance), 2 Laura Lynn English Muffins (6 count each) and 2 sweet Yellow Onions. Not pictured 3 bags of chips we purchased to take over to a friends house. (Everything I bought this week at Ingles was on sale, marked down, or on clearance. All the produce was marked down to $0.99 cents, I was able to pick up some more cheese on sale, and used some coupons for the items purchased!)
Walgreens Groceries:
- $0.65 at Walgreens for 2 dozen Eggs, 1 S6 Power Bar, 1bag Domino Sugar (4 lbs), and 1 two liter A&W Root Beer (everything was on sale, I used $9.59 in coupons, and I received $1.89 in Register Rewards back to use towards my next purchase.)
This week I spent $51.39 on groceries. Even though I was over on my budgeted amount for the week I was able to stock up on some items at the same time plus I had a little extra to spend since I had come under budget in previous weeks. I was thrilled to stock up on produce (blueberries) and diary items as well as other great fridge & pantry items this week. I hope that next week is better week and we can come under budget!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
It was a week full of traveling, work, and Christmas celebrations! I was able to stay under budget and stock up on some goodies, including produce and other fridge & pantry products! I am thankful that South Carolina does not have any tax on groceries, this is very beneficial when I am trying to stay within the grocery budget down for our family. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Ingles and Dollar Tree Ingles Groceries:
- $12.77 at Ingles for 1 fresh Cantaloupe, 1 bag Grapefruit, 2 bags Brussel Sprouts, 1 bag Broccoli, 1 bag carrots, 1 bag Peanuts, 1 jar Claussen Pickles, and 1 container Honey Ham. (Everything I bought this week at Ingles was on sale, marked down, or on clearance. All the produce including the huge bag of grapefruits were marked down to $0.99 cents! The ham was marked down and is perfect for making lunches, the Claussen pickles are my husband’s favorite pickles but I rarely buy them because they are so expensive but since they had one marked down I snagged one for him this week!)
Dollar Tree Groceries:
- $1.00 at Dollar Tree for 1 loaf Nature’s Own White Wheat Bread
Groceries from Whole Foods Whole Foods Groceries:
- $2.14 at Whole Foods for 2 jars Tikka Masala Curry, 2 jars Korma Curry, and 2 jars Jalfrezi Curry. (Used a coupon, part of a gift card, and they were on sale this week especially since I typically do not shop at Whole Foods since it is across town! I was SUPER excited to get six jars of curry for only $2.14. Our family enjoys having curry every few weeks so this will come in handy, plus we have family coming to stay with us who loves curry too. The only thing that I was really disappointed to see was that Whole Foods no longer carries the curry packs like they used to, either way I was still happy to get these for a little over $2! The lady in front of me spent $194.00 which is more than my budget for the entire month on just a few things in her basket and the lady behind me wanted to know how I got all of this for so little. Thankful for an opportunity to save AND share with others.)
This week I spent $15.91 on groceries. Even though I was under on my budgeted amount for the week I was able to stock up on some items at the same time plus it allows me a little extra to spend next week if I find a great deal. I was thrilled to stock up on produce as well as other great fridge & pantry items this week. Now I am hungry for a “curry” dinner! 🙂 I hope that next week is better week and we can come under budget!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Fresh & Healthy: Fall Harvest – Community Supported Agriculture (Week 10)
We enjoyed our Fall Harvest with our Local Farm with Community Supported Agriculture program. We are now done with the Fall Harvest. The Fall harvest was 10 weeks long through our farm and we received a lot of wonderful produce as well as fresh eggs!
Fall Harvest Week 10 of Fresh Goodies from our CSA!
Fresh goodies from our local CSA Farm! Items in our Basket this Week:
- 1 large bundle Greens
- 1 large bundle Carrots
- 3 large Beets
- 5 large Sweet Potatoes
- 1 large bag fresh Pecans
- 2 heads of Broccoli
- 1/2 Dozen Fresh Eggs
I am looking forward to eating these goodies this week! Thanks everyone for the delicious Recipes! To find out how you can be a part of a local CSA check out this post – Fresh & Healthy: Community Supported FarmsFresh & Healthy: Fall Harvest – Community Supported Agriculture (Week 9)
We are enjoying our Fall Harvest with our Local Farm with Community Supported Agriculture program. We are now getting close to the end of our fall harvest only one more week left. The Fall harvest is 10 weeks long through our farm. We are thrilled to get the produce and fresh eggs. Our family is doing a half share again for this harvest.
Fall Harvest Week 9 of Fresh Goodies from our CSA!
Fresh goodies from our Local CSA Farm! Items in our Basket this Week:
- 1 large bundle Swiss Chard
- 1 large bundle Turnips and Greens
- 3 Beets
- 3 Brown Potatoes
- 2 Sweet Potatoes
- 1/2 Dozen Fresh Eggs (not pictured, already had those put away)
I am looking forward to eating these goodies this week! Thanks everyone for the delicious Recipes! To find out how you can be a part of a local CSA check out this post – Fresh & Healthy: Community Supported Farms
