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Friday, January 30, 2009

Saving on organic fruits and veggies

The other day I stopped by our locally owned grocery store and noticed the beautiful orange stickers that I have come to identify with a quick glance. These orange clearance stickers were on organic produce. The apples were .99/ lb when the conventional ones were $1.19/ lb. They still had lots of shelf life left, so I grabbed enough for the week.

Friday's Frugal Tip of the Day: When you are shopping for your produce, don't assume conventional is cheaper. Walk through the organic section. Many times the marked down or sale prices will be the same or less than conventional foods.

Check back soon for more frugal tips!

Labels: food, Friday's Frugal Tip of the Day

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Friday, January 30, 2009 2 Comments

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Snow paint

We had a major ice storm but at least we got some snow too. The kids were excited to see the snow but I think they planned to go out and play regardless of what was on the ground. Here are some ice covered trees in our backyard.

We made snow paint and the kids just loved it, especially DD who decorated the railing on the deck. She did a great job decorating her snowman (snow pile) but I couldn't get those pics.

Just add a few drops of one color into a bottle and fill with water. It's that simple! This is sold online for about $20 but we made it for $4.

I posted a Snow Cream recipe a couple of days ago here.

What frugal ideas does your family have for fun in the snow?

Labels: fun with the kids

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Thursday, January 29, 2009 2 Comments

Finally...

Power is restored and internet is up again. We are one of the fortunate ones to be back to normal so quickly.

So, watch for the promised pics tomorrow. Really this time!

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Thursday, January 29, 2009 0 Comments

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Fun in the Snow

Our part of the country has been slammed by winter weather and we were getting rather excited about the 4-6 inches of predicted snow. See my sidebar for the reasons why we love winter.

So, I was all geared up for some fun in the snow with my kids. I have a new snow activity prepared (stayed tuned for that one) and we were going to make snowcream. Unfortunately, we got only a tad bit of snow, but we can now measure the accumulating ice. In fact, I just watched a tree branch fall under the weight. Freezing rain is expected to continue which does not bode well for our winter recipe, so I'm providing this for those of you lucky enough to get snow rather than ice.

Snow Cream

1 gallon snow

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups milk

Mix together and enjoy.

Enjoy some for us and come back tomorrow to see our other snow activity. The question now, will the freezing rain change to snow? Can we use our other activity or will we ice skate on the driveway?

Labels: fun with the kids, recipes

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Tuesday, January 27, 2009 0 Comments

Free Dr. Pepper

Here's a freebie for you...go here to sign up for a free Dr. Pepper. You can choose either a 20 ounce bottle or a 2 liter. They will send you a coupon in a few weeks.

Thanks to Freebies 4 Mom for posting this.

Check back here soon for more deals and freebies!

Labels: freebie

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Tuesday, January 27, 2009 0 Comments

Monday, January 26, 2009

More great clearance deals and Blissdom '09

Ok, so it isn't quite as practical as the pajamas at Target from a couple of days ago, but my DD is going to love my latest finds. If you need to stock up for some upcoming birthdays, you might want to check out JC Penney.

I was there today looking for a new outfit for Blissdom '09 (I'm so excited!) and stopped by the girls department to see if I could find some clearance jeans for DD. They still had quite a few styles so I bought a size ahead. $5 for Arizona jeans is pretty good, imho. They had Hannah Montana and High School Musical items at crazy discounts. There were a couple of other miscellaneous brands mixed in as well.

I found a Webkinz mouse pad for DD's new computer desk for 48 cents. I also found a HSM camera for $1.48. She has been begging for a camera. Unbelievable. All the clearance was 50% off the lowest price and these were the already cheap green clearance tickets.

A bonus, I picked up a T-shirt for DH for 5.99 and would be about $3 after the 50% came off. It rang up 98 cents. Check those prices at the self scanners and stock up while it's cheap!

Have fun shopping! And yes, I found a couple of great tops for the conference. Anyone else going to Blissdom '09? If so, shoot me a line. I'd love to "meet" you before we get there.

Labels: Blissdom '09, clothing, deals

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Monday, January 26, 2009 0 Comments

Saturday, January 24, 2009

A penny saved...

I love Target! If you have a Target near you and children in your home, you simply must rush to your nearest one and check out the clearance section in the children's department. Even DH was impressed with the bargains. We saved more than we spent!

We found 3 pair of pajamas for DD, 2 at $3.74 and 1 at $4.24, a pair of gym pants for $3.74, and a hooded shirt for DS for $3.74. I love consignment stores but it would be tough to beat these prices even there.

When I find deals like this, I usually buy ahead for the next year. How does your family save on clothing?

Labels: clothing, deals

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Saturday, January 24, 2009 2 Comments

Friday, January 23, 2009

How much do you pay for your bread?

If your family is anything like my family, you can barrel through a loaf in a matter of a days. Saving money on even a small purchase like bread can add up quickly when you buy a couple of loaves a week, each and every week. Unless your family is loyal to a particular brand, you might even compare the prices and shop the sales with your coupons. While I am a devout couponer, I recently rediscovered an even better way to save, imho.

The bread store! I had totally forgotten this type of store existed until I went a different route on an errand one day and drove by a Sara Lee Outlet. What a discovery! I bought 2 loaves of bread, a package of hot dog buns and a package of large hamburger buns for a grand total of $2.00. Being a frugal minded person, I was on cloud nine. Ok, maybe not cloud nine, but pretty proud of myself anyway.

Friday's Frugal Tip of the Day: Check your area for any undiscovered outlet stores, especially bread stores. These outlets often run daily specials that can be as much as 75% off grocery store prices with the food still several days in date. A fantastic way to stretch that budget.

Do you have any food outlet stores in your area that you like?

Labels: Friday's Frugal Tip of the Day

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Friday, January 23, 2009 6 Comments

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Making fruits and veggies more fun for the kids, and grown-ups too

We all know how important fruits and veggies are and I am blessed to have children who, I understand are a bit out of the ordinary, love fresh produce. To their credit, we do not have a battle of the wills when it comes to them eating their veggies. Cleaning their room, though...that is another story!

If you struggle with a finicky eater or just want to keep veggies interesting, here are some ideas that I have tried:

Let them choose. Next time you are at the store, let your children pick out a new food to try. My children seemed more excited and less fearful of the new foods when we did this. We tried mango, kiwi and star fruit. The kids loved it all! Now, they often make requests in the produce department.

For celery, of course you can try the ol' peanut butter on top stand-by. But, add a few raisins for "ants on a log." This is a treat at my house!

For carrots and cucumbers, try one of the crinkle cutters. I got mine from Pampered Chef, but I'm sure you could find it at any store that sells kitchen gadgets. After you use the Crinkle Cutter, the food looks like the crinkled french fries. I have heard from a reliable source that veggies taste better this way.

Cut them into different shapes. If you normally make apple wedges, try thin apple slices. Or even better, cut the apple horizontally to show the star inside. Sometimes we just need the same favorites to be just a little different. You could make cucumbers different by leaving the peel on but scoring it for a striped effect. This is best with the hothouse variety that have thinner peels.

Try raw. My kids despise cooked squash. Carrots have to be cooked just right, but give it to them raw and it is like a whole other food! Healthier too, go figure.

Use color. Lots of color is always healthy and appealing to most. In addition to the standard party platter type veggies, my kids love purple cabbage cut into bite-sized pieces and red and green pepper slices. Hey, you never know until you try it.

Use variety to elimate boredom. Would you rather have a small bowl of carrot sticks or a bowl with a few carrot sticks, a small piece of celery, a few cucumber slices, a couple slices of pepper? Keep a variety of fresh produce sliced and ready in your fridge so you can easily pull out an assortment for lunches and snacks. I find prepping them all at once saves me time later.

Use trickery. When all else fails, disguise. A dollop of ranch or Thousand Island will make most veggies more palatable to kids, at least in my experience. Chop them finely and you can sneak some into tuna or chicken salad, lasagna, and pizza. The ideas of where to hide them is endless and there are even a few books out now devoted to this. I have never had the need to try trickery, but it seems priceless if you are threatened by mutiny in your home, should you be brave enough to serve another vegetable.

I'm always on the lookout for new ways to serve fruits and veggies so that boredom doesn't set it. What ideas or tips do you have?

Labels: food, tips

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Wednesday, January 21, 2009 0 Comments

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

First post

Welcome to my new blog! I have been a reader of many wonderful blogs for a long time and I'm excited to finally come out of the woodwork and start contributing. I'm excited about the possibilities of this venture!

As a stay at home mom to two great kids who keep me on my toes, I will be sharing the various tidbits I learn about making life a little easier and will be soliciting ideas from my readers as well. I love to cook and save money so you can expect many posts about that as well.

I look forward to hearing from you. As a brand new blogger, I can use all the ideas and suggestions I can get! You can leave a comment under the comments section or you can email me at: justdoingmybest(at)gmail(dot)com.

Labels: first post

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Wednesday, January 14, 2009 0 Comments

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