Doing the Pins

You would all be so impressed.  I have been doing my pins on Pinterest.  I have done several this week but will just post one right now, in case I slow done and need some posting material later.  :)

I was planning on making meatloaf one night but then I saw that someone had made mini meatloafs in a muffin tin (takes so much less time to cook, which is awesome!) and then topped them with mashed potatoes in an icing pipe tube.  My icing pipe tube broke, but I had 2 cups of instant potato flakes I wanted to get rid of and with an ice cream scooper, they turned out pretty cute. 

You can follow me on Pinterest to get the pin yourself.

My Fish Sticks loved them and thought they were cupcakes at first.  They were a big hit and will definitely need to be repeated.

Gearing Up for Real Foods

I went grocery shopping Monday for my "Month of Real Food."  Her goal for a family of 4 was $150-$175 a week.  My family is twice that size, but I knew that I couldn't double her budget.  Looking over her menus, I saw that many of the grains and legumes she mentioned, we have in bulk already.  I didn't go completely organic but bought my 39 cent can of tomato paste at Aldi instead of the over $1 can she got organic.  I also realized that her menu would starve my family so I added some veggies here and there and got extra fruit to keep for snacks.  I tried to shop for the first 2 weeks so I don't have to grocery shop every week - I tend to spend more if I do that.  I spent $235 and got everything I could at Aldi and the rest at Kroger.  I also added a few things in there like a bag of baby pumpkins for the kids to paint, a few pre-real foods month treats like caramel dip and caramel apples, but other than that, I stuck right to the plan.

It starts Thursday and my kids seem to be on board except when I told them that all Halloween candy would be put up.  OUCH!  (That goes for their mama as well - so hold me to that!)

Funny how empty my pantry looks after I just spent $235!  No crackers.  No cereal.  No chips or pretzels.  Nothing but potatoes, onions, brown rice and beans.

I'm excited!  I hope some of you are in with me.  I'll be checking back with you to let you know how we're holding up and if we are shaking from sugar withdrawals.  :)

Tea for the Yuckies

So we seem to be passing the Yuckies around.  Last night at our last football game, 3rd Fish Stick had stomach cramps, aches and chills.  By the time we got home, Mama had the same and worse.  This morning, school called and firstborn Fish Stick needed to come home.  Same song, 3rd verse.

So what do you do with some undiagnosed yuckiness that invades your home?  It's hard when symptoms are many yet not exclusive enough to find the right OTC meds.

I just brew up a cup of Cold & Flu Tea.  Many of these items you are prone to have on hand already.

In your coffee pot, put in the filter:

** 2 heaping TB sage leaves (less if using ground sage)
** pinch of cayenne
** pinch of shredded ginger OR slice of fresh ginger OR tsp. of ground ginger

Squeeze the juice of one fresh lemon into the coffee pot and then brew your 12 cup pot.  If you don't have fresh lemon (like me today), pour 2 TB. into pot.

To your mug, add a heaping TB of raw honey to sweeten and sip.

SAGE:  antiseptic, antibacterial, tonic, expectorant
CAYENNE: high in vitamin C, best stimulant, improves circulation, regulates blood flow, normalizes blood pressure
GINGER: relieves pain, expectorant, immune boosting, reduces inflammation, stimulates sweating, anti-coughing, anti-cramping, reduces diarrhea, anti-nausea, prevents chills
LEMON:  soothes stomach, rich in vitamin C, effective in fighting colds and flu
RAW HONEY:  antibiotic, expectorant, immune stimulator, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, cell regenerator

Homemade Cough & Cold Syrup

 Here's another recipe for a herbal remedy with things you probably keep on hand.

Cold season is fast upon us and if you or your family members have not gotten the crud yet, you probably will.

We've had a few runny noses and coughs making its rounds in the Fish House, so I have been busy brewing up some herbal remedies to help with symptoms and boost immune systems.

Chop or slice 4 cups of onions.

Add to crockpot with 4 cups of water and 2 cups of raw honey.

Set on low for 24 hours and warm for another 24 hours.

 Strain off the onions from the syrup.

Store the syrup in a jar in a cool, dry place.  

It lasts 1 month in the cabinet or 3 months in the fridge.

Note:

I've never had any complaints from my Fish Sticks about the taste.

Great Deal

 I just love a good deal.  When I find a good deal, I want to tell everyone.

What I need to learn is that not everyone loves a good deal.

When I was a newly married woman, trying to keep a modest budget, I found a great clearance on clothing and jewelry at Paul Harris.  I was so excited that I called my new friend to share the news, even offering to head back to Paul Harris to shop with her.  Instead of squeals of excitement in return, I heard a hesitant, "Uh...o.k....sounds good....I'll have to check my schedule and get back with you."  She never did.

After contemplating this conversation, I realized that my Paul Harris clearance didn't appeal to my full-price-Talbot's-style friend.  Ever since then, I try to be more careful in selecting the recipients of my deal finds.

But since you all know I'm all about deals, here's what I found yesterday (with the help of my deal-loving friend who was 2 minutes ahead of me in finding it.  She called me as I entered the store to tell me, not knowing I was at the same store too!)

At Kroger yesterday they had a huge bin of trail mix snacks for 10 cents.  They are not close to expiration, just overstocked.  I just spent $11 for almost a gallon of banana chips so I was elated to find these.  Tropical Mix, Santa Fe Mix, Energy Mix and Banana Chips.  Needless to say I went bonkers.  I got both of these photos (some to pour into buckets, some to keep individually wrapped to grab on the go) and all for $8.80.  Yes, that equals 88 packs.

The bagger was a teenage boy and he asked me, after wowing at my cart, "What if your kids don't like this stuff?"

My reply was, "Then they will go hungry because they have to eat it."  :)

Thankfully the Fish Sticks and My Man were just as happy as I was.

We'll see if they still are after they consume 88 packs of this stuff!

Challenge Anyone?

I have been thinking for a long, long time to try to take bigger steps away from eating any processed, man-made foods and only offer real foods to my family.  What has scared me away from doing this is not only money, but time and convenience.  What would I put in their lunch boxes?  What would they eat for snack?  Would they really be filled up and satisfied?  Would they revolt against me for not having the things they are used to?

As I have shared with you my steps toward better nutrition, my pantry still stays stocked with boxed cereals, pretzels, crackers, regular peanut butter, processed lunch meats and sometimes cookies and ice cream.  What if I challenged my family (and myself as well) to go "real foods" for 1 month?  What would that look like for me as the cook of the house and for the family as the eaters of the house?

When mentioning this to a friend yesterday, she mentioned a website called 100 Days of Real Food.  I checked it out and liked it.  I like better her budget friendly menus.  Although she does base her budget on a family of 4 eating with $150 a week for all foods consumed, I might have to double that for our crew of 8.  After printing off her menu plans and grocery lists, I think it might be something to try.  Many of the foods she mentioned, we do already.  It would just be a matter of knocking out the convenient, snack foods that we keep on hand.

So I'm just throwing this out there.  Check out this web site and see if you'd like to join me in a 1 month challenge to eat real foods starting in November.  I am curious if we would feel better, sleep better, have more energy, focus better and feel full with less food.  Who's in? 

Don't Just Pin It

Well I'm just as guilty as the next girl for loading up my Pinterest boards with wonderful, cute ideas that I will never try.  I love Pinterest and honestly try not to go there too much because I could waste spend hours scrolling through the DIY crafting section.  Back in my early years of marriage, pre-Fish Sticks, I would spend countless hours flipping through my Michael's Arts and Crafts magazine and trying new things.  I think Hobby Lobby and Michael's employees knew me on a first name basis.  Those days are long gone as is my scrapbooking all-nighters.

I was just thinking, "What if I tried to actually 'do a pin' instead of just 'pin a pin' on Pinterest every couple weeks or so?"  I'm not making any promises, just making a personal goal.  They will probably be EASY pins like a quick recipe and not a room make-over or build-your-own-bunk-bed-out-of-old-dressers kind of pins.

So today I am going to tell you that I tried homemade fabric softener from Hillbilly Housewife on laundry day this week.  It smelled good and I poured it into my Downy ball because I have no clue when my final rinse cycle cuts on and I don't have a fabric softener dispenser.  All was going well on the first 5 loads or so, until I threw in some towels and sweaters.  They came out full of static.  I tried pouring a couple of tablespoons onto a wash rag, tossing that back in the dryer to eliminate the static.  It improved my situation but didn't cure it.  My review would be that it works well except for fabrics that seem to be staticy (is that a word?).

So have any of you tried homemade fabric softener and did it work?