A Banana Secret

Our family eats A LOT of bananas. They are probably Dude's favorite food. They are a super easy and healthy snack. They're quick and easy to eat. And they are easily portable.

My issue with bananas? The PRICE!!!

Have you noticed how incredibly expensive bananas are now?? I vividly remember not all that long ago when you could find bananas on sale for $0.25. Now it's rare that I see them for less than $0.64. And that's on sale!!!

Bananas are so convenient, I love them. But they just don't fit that well into my grocery budget.

Until now!

I have discovered a secret. I am hesitant to share it because I don't want people to steal my bananas! But I don't want to be selfish, either. I'd be bummed if someone else knew a great money-saving secret and didn't share it with me! So here goes:

Super-K

Yes, that's right. I'm talking about a Super Kmart. The kind that sells food. I was in there a month or so ago stocking up on some of their double coupon deals and as I was wondering through the cereal aisle I noticed a rack of bananas. There was a sign on them for $0.69/lb. That's the normal price nowadays. However, I noticed some were packed up in plastic wrap and had an individual price tag on them. "$0.49" 49 CENTS?? Per lb? NOPE!! For the package. There were six bananas and they were not brown. They were still very edible, even slightly green. I found three package and took them all.

Of course I ended up making banana bread with some of them (we don't eat THAT many bananas)!! Then we were out of bananas again and no one had them on sale. So I went back to Kmart to see if they might have anymore bananas marked down.

Sure enough. Right there in the cereal aisle. So far every time I've been, they are there! Sometimes they are the brown ones, but most of the time they still have enough days left on them to get sufficiently eaten in this house.

The price varies occasionally. Today my deal was this: I bought two packages.














(We had already busted into one of the packages
and ate three bananas before I took this picture.)

Total cost - $0.90. Total weight - 4.5lbs.
That makes it $0.20 per pound! I'd say that's a pretty good deal!

Christmas through the Mail

I used to hate to go get the mail. Why? Probably the same reason so many people hate to go get the mail: All you ever get are bills!! Well, bills and junk mail!

I like going to get the mail now because I never know what I might find! I started signing up for free samples of stuff. Recently I have received several bags of microwavable popcorn (which Dr. Dad has been enjoying in the evenings), several "feminine products", several booklets of coupons, a set of books on home decorating, shampoos, soaps, diapers, and my favorite: a Stouffer's lasagna! The lasagna was actually for a survey that I had to complete after eating it. Either way, it was a totally free and incredibly yummy meal.

They certainly aren't paying me (or even asking me) to advertise this for them, but honestly I was totally impressed with this lasagna. I am most definitely NOT one for frozen meals. Generally I think they are relatively gross. And I really don't usually like tomato-based frozen meals. So I definitely did not expect to enjoy lunch today. And I was feeding it to the Baby Dude for lunch as well and seeing as how he never really likes pasta or tomato sauce, I was planning a backup meal for us both.

Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised.

I stuck it in the oven for about 50 minutes, pulled it out, let it sit for 5 minutes, then dug in. It was super good. And to make it even more amazing, Dude loved it! He ended up eating at least as much as I did! I couldn't get it in his mouth fast enough! Crazy! So if you need a lasagna for dinner one night, try Stouffer's whole wheat pasta lasagna. I don't know what the official name of it is, but I'm sure you can figure it out in the store.

Okay, enough adverts! I did not intend on going on about that for so long!

Back to the mail - I have also been receiving several rebate checks lately. Obviously, this usually means you have to spend money first, but even so it can turn into a good deal. I am usually pretty hesitant to buy something based on a rebate, but if it's something that I was planning on buying anyway then it just makes the deal even sweeter. My favorite one lately is from Staples. They don't send you a check, they send you a Visa Card! No going to the bank to deposit it or anything. Just stick it in your wallet and spend it like a debit card. Fabulous!

So checking the mail doesn't have to be a downer. Today alone I got popcorn, coupons, rebate check, gift card, and of course...a bill. It had to happen. But one bill in the midst of all that fun didn't ruin my mood! It still felt like Christmas to me!

Where shopping is NOT a pleasure!

I have lived here for almost a year now and I still can't find a grocery store I like. It's not fun. I generally don't mind grocery shopping, but here - I hate it! Here are my choices:

1. Bi-Lo - Once I realized I had to give Bi-Lo a chance, I thought, "Okay, this isn't so bad." Then I went again and again and again and realized they don't have half the stuff I want. Their selection is pitiful. They just don't have many options. If you want cheese, you have one kind of cheese to "choose" from. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but you get my point...right? Their prices are decent on what they do have and they do have some good sale prices sometimes, but their meat selection is also pretty poor.

2. Piggly Wiggly - I don't like these stores in general. However, since this place is some sort of headquarters for them (or something like that) I decided I would try them. Surely they would be nicer here, right? I mean, they're ALL over the place in this town! I walked in once and almost fell over when I saw the prices! They are freakin' expensive!! Need I say more?

3. Publix - First of all, there is not one close to me. I have to drive at least 15 minutes if not longer (and pass several other grocers), in order to get to one. That is probably the biggest strike against it at the moment. It's just terribly inconvenient. And with a one year old in tow, convenience is key. I have also been irritated by each of the Publix stores I have visited. There are three of them within about 15-20 minutes, so I vary as to which one I go to when I decide to go to Publix. And each one of them has bothered me in one way or another. Whether they have been out of an item, not taken a coupon, or whatever. I guess I hold grudges.

4. Food Lion - Rather comparable to Bi-Lo. It's not a bad place, but not great selections. Prices are okay, but not phenomenal. There is one super close and at the moment I like it better than the Bi-Lo that is even closer, so it is probably the most frequented thus far in the list. (Plus it has a Walgreens and CVS within walking distance!) One thing I have noticed about Food Lion is that they have a shopping cart that fits 4 kids!! I'm not kidding! Not that I have a need for a 4-seater shopping cart, but still. I was impressed. I don't think I've seen one of those anywhere else. If I did have 4 kids that I had to take shopping they would absolutely get my business!

And finally -

5. Wal-mart - You knew I had to mention it sooner or later, right? I HATE grocery shopping at Walmart. I always have. Generally I would only go if I need more than groceries and just wanted to get everything in one trip. That is the convenience of Walmart. And it can be convenient, I will give it that. HOWEVER!!! Oh, the crowds...Oh, the lines...Oh, the screaming children running up and down the aisles with no parent in sight...AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! Do you feel my pain? It makes me short of breath even thinking about the struggle that is Walmart shopping. And even so, I HATE to admit it, but that is the place I frequent most for my grocery shopping needs. I hate having to go there, but right now it seems to be my best option. Can you believe I even used the word "best" in the same context as "Walmart"? Although Walmart's lack of selection bugs me tremendously, it is better than the selections at the other stores - with the exception of Publix, which is too far away and irritating in it's own way. And the screaming children - well, I console myself by thinking, "At least if my baby screams no one will notice." However, it's relatively rare that he's unhappy in the grocery store. But I console myself however I can. As for the lines and crowds, I just don't go when I'm in a rush. It's just not worth it. Nothing is worth going to Walmart when you're in a rush. Patience is the key here.

My only other options would be:
Kroger - which is an hour away!
Super Target - I don't even know where there is one!
Harris Teeter or Whole Foods - I'd be happy to adjust my budget in order to pay a little more to shop at either of these stores. Unfortunately, I believe the closest one is at least 30 minutes away which makes in terribly inconvenient for standard shopping. If I can ever get myself into the meal planning that I want to do, perhaps I could do a once a week trip to one of them...that's an idea, anyway.

{sigh}

Any suggestions?

Another Money Saving Recipe

Did you see my post on my other blog about the homemade yogurt and how it saves us so much money? I tried another recipe today that is so much less expensive than buying the finished product at the store...Hummus!

I love hummus, but I don't buy it as often as I would like because it's just too expensive for how quickly it disappears (into my belly). If you've never tried hummus, I highly recommend it as it is a great alternative to dip chips, crackers, veggies, or whatever into instead of some mayo-based dip. And since it's made from a bean, it has at least half a protein in it. Add whole wheat crackers, carrots and celery to it and you have yourself a very healthy lunch!

I've started playing around with dried beans which is why I decided to try it. I was buying a whole bunch of different beans to play around with and saw the bag of Garbanzo beans (also called Chickpeas) and threw them in the shopping cart. There was a recipe on the bag for Hummus, so I just stuck to that to start with.

The basic recipe is this: Soak the beans overnight. Simmer the beans for two hours. I then started with my homemade tahini - I knew this was part of the recipe (it called for 2tbsp Tahini), but I had no idea what tahini was. I looked in the store and couldn't find it (that's a whole other post...stay tuned). So I looked it up online and tahini is just ground up sesame seeds and oil (EVOO or sesame). Since I always have sesame seeds around (for sushi) and EVOO, I decided I would just make my own. So I pulsed the sesame seeds and EVOO in the food processor, then started adding the cooked beans once the tahini was as pasty as I thought I could get it. You mix in lemon juice, salt, garlic, paprika, and cumin and there you have it. Super simple and incredibly cheap. I can hardly believe I paid $4 for a container of it so many times when I can make the same amount so easily for about $0.50!! Added bonus - I'm reducing plastic in my carbon footprint that I would otherwise have purchased with the hummus in it. This way I'm using my reusable bowls.

I ran the taste test past Dr. Dad and he approved!!

Do you challenge yourself?

I have come to realize that I am a very competitive person. I honestly didn't realize this until relatively recently. And I have learned that my favorite way to compete is with myself! I enjoy taking on challenges that I am honestly not sure if I can do or not. For example, cloth diapering.

I started thinking about it before I was even pregnant. I decided I couldn't do it at first. Then my aunt sent me some cloth diapers for "diaper rash emergencies." And they got me thinking. A lot. I bought a few used pocket diapers to experiment with. I realized it might be possible. So I talked it over with my husband and he was fine with it, so I took the leap. As I spend the money to buy the #1 selling cloth diaper out there, I questioned whether I could do it or not. As I washed them, I wondered if I was crazy. As I changed the first wet cloth, I wondered what I would do when a poopy one came along. As I changed the first poopy one, I realized, "Hey, I can do this!" I now love cloth diapers and am very proud of myself for taking the leap.

My decision to go cloth is based primarily on the environmental factor (i.e. trash) as well as the economical factor (i.e. money saving). The money saving aspect is a no brainer: disposable diapers are crazy expensive, especially when your child is allergic to the cheap ones and the mom (i.e. Me) prefers the most expensive best ones anyway!

As far as the trash factor goes, I am not a Green Freak, but I do try to do my part to help the environment. I do think it's very important and I am simply trying to make my world a naturally healthier place.

I remember back in Fourth Grade (or thereabout) learning about "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." It wasn't a Democrat vs. Republican issue (at least not to my fourth grade class); it wasn't an issue of "Is global warming real or not?"; it was simply what everyone should do to help the planet we call home. It was the fact that we are using our resources on this earth too fast and creating more waste than our planet knows what to do with. Period.

I always remember recycling as a kid. I remember sorting the recyclable stuff between cans, paper, plastic, etc., and then throwing them in the appropriate bin at the recycle center. It never seemed to me to be an "extra," it was simply what you do.

Now that I stay home with my little one, I have been trying to do even more to keep our environment healthy.

Step 1: Recycle all those soda cans, milk jugs, newspapers, etc. CHECK! (That one is pretty easy!)

Step 2: Reduce trash: Use Cloth diapers. CHECK! (A little more difficult, but not really!)

Step 3: Reuse stuff: I have greatly reduced our plastic grocery bag usage by using reusable bags. Although I have a link here to a site to purchase bags, I don't really do that! Look around your house, you probably have some perfectly able bags just sitting around not being used. [Okay, I will admit, I am a bag-aholic - I'm addicted to bags. I don't know why, but apparently I got it honestly (from my dad, so says my mom)! So I have a ton of them, of which I have probably paid about $.02 for total!] The grocery stores will look at you a little funny if you don't have the standard bags, but who cares? They're likely going to look at you funny anyway as people are only just starting to get used to using reusable shopping bags (at least in this country). Of course, I do keep some plastic bags around in order to reuse as trashbags in my smaller trash cans. CHECK! (Again, this one - totally easy!)

Step 4: This is my newest challenge adventure - Reducing trash even more - I LOVE my Swiffer Sweeper. I don't actually like its sweeping ability (or lack thereof), but I do love the mopping capabilities. I have always hated to mop (I literally quit a job after working for three hours when they asked me to mop...I was only 16, give me a break!), until I found the Swiffer wet cloths. I have been on a hunt for the best wet cloths out there. I've been trying all sorts of different store brands and such trying to find the best combonation of cleaning and cost. And then it hit me: I realized how often I was buying them, how much money I was spending on them and how much trash it was creating in my trashcan! So how to fix it? I guess I could buy your standard mop and Pine-Sol, however that wouldn't do me any good as I would never use it! Trust me! I know myself too well to even think of buying a regular mop! Plus that would put my Swiffer in the trash since I would no longer have any use for it.
So, my solution is to make my own reusable wet cloths from old towels and a vinegar mixture for cleaning. I'm simply going to cut the towels to the appropriate size to fit my Swiffer, mix the vinegar cleaning solution, mop, then wash the cloths and dry them ready to be used next mopping time! My secondary reason for loving this is using the environmentally/kid friendly cleaning solution of vinegar instead of chemicals. It makes me feel so much better about my baby crawling (or walking) around on the floor knowing that he's not walking on chemicals that could make it to his mouth via his toys (or whatever else)!

And this leads me to my next challenge:

Step 5: Reducing (again) trash - This time, out with the paper towels and more! This post has caused me to rethink paper towels. Okay, I had thought about it before, but kind of brushed it off as insanity. I know I will have issues with this because along with paper towels, I am focusing on Clorox Wipes. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Clorox Wipes (or whatever brand happens to be on sale). I hardly know how to clean without them. But I'm going to learn. Again, it's only partially due to the reducing aspect of things and also has to do with the environmentally friendly and all natural, healthier, non-chemical cleaning. This is going to be a tough one for me, but like I said at the very beginning of this extremely long post, I am up for a challenge. I will compete with myself and see who wins!


What do you do to challenge yourself?

Incredibly Yummy

This recipe is thanks to Kelly and Southern Living. I pulled some chicken breasts out the other day for dinner, but couldn't decide what to do with it. So I called Kelly because she always has some good recipes up her sleeve. She sent me several and I chose this one.

It is so amazingly simple, quick and convenient, I literally had to procrastinate in making it. I knew Mark would be home right around 6 o'clock, so I normally start dinner around 5 o'clock. Well, I started this one and realized how quickly it would be put together so I sat down and read a magazine for a little while first! Crazy! And yet it's so good, Mark asked me where I got it! He thought maybe it was something my mom had made, frozen and given to us and all I did was heat it up. Or maybe I had bought it pre-made or something. He was quite impressed when I told him it was all from scratch and all from my kitchen (not to mention all within about 30 minutes)! And it's pretty much all stuff that I normally have around the kitchen. That's my kind of meal!

Enjoy!

Pan-Fried Chicken-and-Ham Parmesan
topped with Sauteed Grape Tomatoes
over Garlic-Herb Butter Pasta
(sounds good, huh?) :)

Chicken -

Ingredients

• 4 (6-oz.) skinned and boned chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 thinly sliced smoked deli ham slices (about 1/4 lb.)
• 4 (1-oz.) fresh mozzarella cheese slices

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Whisk together egg and 2 Tbsp. water. Dredge chicken in flour; dip in egg mixture, and dredge in breadcrumbs, shaking off excess.

2. Cook chicken in hot oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden. Top chicken with ham and cheese.

3. Bake chicken in skillet at 350° for 8 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve over Garlic-Herb Pasta; top with Sautéed Grape Tomatoes.

Pasta -

Garlic-Herb Pasta: Cook 8 oz. vermicelli according to package directions; drain. Toss with 1/4 cup Garlic-Herb Butter. Season with salt to taste. Makes 4 servings.

Garlic-Herb Butter: Stir together 1/2 cup softened butter; 1 large garlic clove, pressed; 2/3 cup chopped fresh basil; 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley; and 1/4 tsp. salt until well blended. Use immediately, or cover and chill up to 3 days. For longer storage, form into a log or press into ice cube trays, and wrap tightly with plastic wrap; freeze up to 1 month. Makes 1/2 cup.

Tomatoes -

Ingredients

• 1 pt. grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Preparation

1. Sauté tomatoes and next 3 ingredients in hot oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat, and stir in basil.

Super easy, huh? Trust me, it is! So go cook something yummy for dinner!

Quick shopping post...okay, maybe not so quick!

No, this is NOT going to be a money saving blog. However, I do follow several of those blogs and I do love to shop and therefore, I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting good deals! So here is one I got a couple weeks ago that I am just now telling you about. I wasn't going to since it was awhile ago, but I'm still so proud of it!














Obviously it was a Target run, but there are a couple CVS items thrown in there as well. It was one day that Mark was home and I left the kid with him and had a blast shopping kid-free! I went several places, took my time, found awesome deals and had a wonderful time. I came home with my arms full (with my reusable shopping bags, of course) and I think Mark just about had a panic attack! By the way, this was literally one day after he and I had a very thorough discussion about how we need to cut way back on spending. So that explains Mark's near panic attack.

But me? I was so excited I didn't let his expression bother me!

Me: "Look at all this stuff I got!! You're going to be so proud of me!!"
Him (in total shock and disbelief, bordering on anger): "You sure about that?"
Me (all smiles): "Uh-Huh!"

I set everything out and asked him to guess how much I spent.

Any guesses?

Just a hint: The red clearance tag on the corner of the super mega box of Pampers Wipes reads $13.xx.

So what do you think?

$10.77

Yep!

If you want to know how I did it, read on. If not, that's fine too. I won't be offended!

CVS run:
3 Sleepinal and 2 Nasogel - I don't remember what the ticket prices on these were, somewhere around $4-$7 each, but I bought them with ExtraCare Bucks (ECB) and received at least the same about back. Thereby making these items free. If you don't know what ECBs are, go here. And yes, I did have it work out just right on this day and I literally spent zero cents. And as another note: Sleepinal is actually just another way of marketing Benedryl. So while it helps when you can't sleep, it also can work as allergy medicine, drying up drainage, etc.!

Target:
My whole reason for going to Target was because I realized they had their great deal on Pampers diapers going on. [Now just so you aren't confused, Yes I do use cloth diapers however there are times when disposables are best (in my opinion).]

One day, I went to Walmart and Target (twice) with a pen, paper, and calculator. I did all the math and discovered who really has the best deal on diapers. And the award goes to...Target, when they have the deal going on where you get a $10 gift card back when you buy two boxes. This is the best deal out there that I have found. If you know of something that I'm missing, please let me know!

So, I started my Target purchases with two boxes of diapers (which I used three coupons for because apparently Target will take a store coupon and a manufacturers coupone per item) and received my $10 gift card.

Then, the juice (2) and cereal bars (2) were both on sale plus I had significant coupons for each. The J&J First Aid boxes (4) were $.99 each, but I had two coupons for $3 off any two J&J First Aid products, therefore this took $6 off my total purchase even though I only bought $3.96 worth of J&J products. Pretty good deal! The enormous box of wides was on clearance, I think only 30% off, but still a good deal for $13 something, plus I had a coupon. The flowery thing behind the J&J is a swimsuit for Devric that, I'm not sure why, but was on clearance 75% off for only $1.xx. The only thing I bought that was not on sale at all, nor did I have a coupon for was the Target brand mopping cloths. I have a Swiffer Sweeper and I've been trying all the different brands to find the best mopping cloths to go with it. I actually really don't like the Swiffer brand ones, so I'm just trying all the store brands. (More on that to come.)

So that's everything in the picture. The total came to over $30, then off with all the coupons, brought it down to $20.77, used the $10 gift card from the previous transaction and that left me with $10.77 out of pocket (oop).

That picture doesn't even include the super cute stamp that I got for Devric that same day! I had a coupon for $20 off a Staples custom stamp order. I happen to know that someone has ordered us a return address stamp with our new mailing address, but I didn't want to let such a great coupon go to waste. So I went to see what they had for right at $20 and sure enough, I could get a stamp literally for pennies. So I ordered Devric his own! Necessary? Nope! Fun? Yep! So just wait, one day you might get a letter from Devric!

Well, that's that. If nothing else, I hope I can inspire you to look for some great deals!