Gotta love the Grocery Score! March 5, 2008

Going to the grocery store will all three bambinos can be a daunting task.  I say that with all humility, fully aware that 3 kids is actually not a lot.  Still, it’s my a lot for now. 

I did most of my grocery shopping last week on payday, but Kroger has grapes for $.99 a pound.  I’m a sucker for grapes ( I ate 38 lbs of grapes when I was pregnant with Selah!)  yet I refuse to buy them when they are more than $1.19.  So, happy momma waltzed in with the whole tribe in tow, just for grapes.  To my delight the first thing I saw in the door was peaches on sale for $.99 a pound, too!  Oh happy day.  Selah was ecstatic!  Wait, it gets better.

The organic/health food section is right there next to the produce and a treasure chest (cart) overflowing with orange stickered items was right there in plain view just begging me to take a peek.  Did you know that Travis is actually embarrassed to look through those carts?  Is that normal?  I, personally was thrilled.  In the cart I found organic pasta, instant oatmeal, fruit leather, apple sauce, Cocoa Vive bars, sandwich cookies and Rice Cereal (great for making More rice milk).

So here’s a photo of my score. 

• 120 Fruit Leathers
• 40 servings or instant oatmeal
• 5 Cocoavia bars
• 2 jars apple blueberry sauce
• 8 boxes organic angel hair pasta
• 2 boxes of sandwich cookies (saved me from making something for Selah’s tea party with a friend today)
• 4lbs rice farina for rice milk  (should make about 5 gallons)
• 5 1/2 lbs of grapes
• 4 1/2 lbs of peaches (the children absconded with them before the photo)

everything was organic except the Cocoavia and the fruit. 

GRAND TOTAL AFTER TAX $34.64 

 (total value estimate, $120.00)

I spent only about 20 minutes in the store total, including checking out and the obligatory trip to the bathroom with the kids.  They won’t leave a store without seeing the restroom.  So, in less than 1/2 an hour I made  $85.36 on didn’t buy one food that wouldn’t be used.  OK, so we didn’t need the Cocoavia bars, but it was the ones with almonds!!  I’m content with that being taken out of my Mom Wage. 

Yep,  I’m a proud  clearance cart scavenger. 

Back To the Rice Milk Recipe March 2, 2008

I just updated my Rice Milk Recipe.    I realized that I completely forgot that you add a little oil to emulsify and thicken it.  While I was down there I added a bit more detail on how to blend it. Thought that it may encourage some more people to try it for themselves.  Try it and comment!

FREE Child’s Tableware set from Mott’s March 1, 2008

PBS KIDS Sprout is pleased to partner with Mott’s for Tots® and KidsHealth to bring you Sprout Smart. Below is a brief survey for busy families like yours. Your answers are important to us, so as a thank you gift we’ll send your family a FREE child’s tableware set — with bowl and lid, juice cup, fork, and spoon — from Sprout and Mott’s for Tots!

Limit one per household, please. While supplies last.

http://www.sproutsmart.com/SPROUT/smart/offer.aspx

Go be a Diva! February 24, 2008

The Diva Cup!

No it’s not gross.  It’s actually really convenient, better for your body and for the environment.  The Diva Cup is, in my opinion, the easiest way to deal with ‘Aunt Flo’.  It saves you money which racks up your “Mom Wage”  and  you never have to worry about running out of tampons or pads again.   And it’s one easy step towards being green.

So here’s your link  Diva Cup on sale for $17 plus shipping!

 This is the best price I’ve ever seen it sold so it’s the perfect time to try it for yourself.  Women under 30 who have never given birth will need a model 1.  Women who are over 30 OR have given birth vaginally or by c-section should get model 2.

Here’s some more info from their website:

Winner of the 2007 Silver Award of Excellence from Alive!
 Feminine Hygiene’s Latest Innovation in 50 Years! Not a Tampon! Not a Pad!The DivaCup… not a tampon… not a pad. Finally a better way! The DivaCup is a leading edge redesign of a proven menstrual solution concept first introduced in the 1930’s. Used by women worldwide for decades, it is now available nationwide! The DivaCup offers ultimate freedom to enjoy your daily activities including sports such as swimming, as well as traveling with no messy “leaks” or the expense and inconvenience of buying and carrying supplies in all shapes, sizes and absorbencies.

The Ultimate in Feminine Protection - The DivaCup™ offers women convenience and peace of mind. Worn internally, The DivaCup™ is positioned low in the vagina for a secure fit and easy removal. Designed to hold up to one full ounce, one can swim, run, backpack, travel and even wear it overnight without ever worrying about leaks.

No More Hassle - The DivaCup™ eliminates the need to spend time searching for a bathroom, hiding tampons or pads in pockets, or constantly worrying about leakage and unpleasant odors. It works for light as well as heavy days. Also, there is no more guessing as to which kind of products to use on certain days or nights.Convenient - With nothing to buy and nothing to throw away, the DivaCup™ is convenient and worry-free.

Easy-To-Use - The DivaCup™ is the most convenient way to deal with menstruation. It only requires emptying 2 to 4 times a day depending on flow and can be worn for an entire cycle up to 12 hours at a time, even overnight.

Design - The innovative DivaCup™ design features easy-grip ridges, convenient flow measurements and a soft, flexible stem for comfort and easy removal. Designed to hold one full ounce (30 ml), The DivaCup™ is capable of accommodating even the heaviest flows (an entire average cycle is 3 to 4 ounces or 90 to 120 ml).

Health and Safety - The DivaCup™ holds the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) 510k Medical Device Number and the Health Canada Medical Device License. Diva International Inc. is also ISO 13485 Certified, which ensures the highest quality in production, packaging and distribution of The DivaCup™.

Toxic Shock Syndrome- The serious and sometimes fatal Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is caused by toxin-producing strains of the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium and has been linked to the use of conventional, rayon-based tampons.

Eco-Friendly- In 1998, 7 billion tampons and 12 billion sanitary pads and their packaging were disposed into landfills and sewage systems in the U.S. alone. With landfill and pollution problems on the rise, The DivaCup™ will reduce the serious eco-footprint of feminine hygiene.

Rice Milk February 21, 2008

It is so easy to make Rice Milk, yet it’s ridiculously expensive to buy.  Because we avoid  dairy in our house and soy has some side effects that aren’t the safest, I’ve been making my own rice milk.  Here’s how I do it.

RICE MILK- one quart

• 1 c. cooked brown rice (still hot is best)
• 4 c. warm water
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 t canolla or coconut oil
• 1 t. vanilla
• sweetener ( I use agave nectar or honey)

I start with the  rice and just enough water to cover it in the blender.  It needs to blend for quite awhile to get it as pureed as possible, and as it thickens I will add water a few splashes as a time.  Let it stand for 5 minutes so that the silt and left over pieces can settle at the bottom before straining.  I’m sure it’s done better through cheesecloth, but I use a small strainer because that’s what I have.  I strain it into my pitcher, then reprocess the left over ’silt’ a bit with a little more watter.  Add as much water as you would like to get the consistency you like.  One cup of rice makes one quart the way I like it

Chocolate Rice Milk add 1 tbs. powdered cocoa and make sure you use sweetener.  I add it half way through the blender time.  Yummm….makes a special treat once in awhile.

 Banana Rice Milk  add 1/2 a banana and no sweetener.

*************************

I keep it in a jug identical to this, but from Walmart for $4.98.  I couldn’t find it on their website, but this one from Target costs three times as much. Take a look and go get it from Walmart.

http://www.target.com/Chiller-Glass-Lid-64-oz/dp/B000HDKI52/ref=sc_ri_1/601-7422909-5238543

I buy organic short grain rice in a 25 pound bag for $19.99.  It lasts us about 6 months.  At only $.80 a pound, I can make rice milk for about $.20  per 1/2 gallon.  So,  if Rice milk costs about $8 per gallon, I make about $7.50 in the 20 minutes worth of work it takes (not including the stand time).  I usually just make it from left over rice after a meal so I’m not making more dishes, wasting energy and all that jazz… 

Go try it and come back to tell me what you think!

EDITED TO ADD: Below there is a comment from the owner of this blog.  I haven’t checked it out yet but thought it looks interesting.  While I’m not a gung-ho anti-dairyist..ahem… There is some truth to milk not being the healthiest for human consumption.  Check it out for yourself.

http://themilkblog.blogspot.com

The Most Important Meal… February 11, 2008

I’ve gotta say, I just hate it when they call it that.  Sure it is, but what mom really has time for breakfast?  And what mom doesn’t struggle with how to get a healthier one for her kids that doesn’t have the morning wrecked or her waking up at the butt-crack…you know.

I’ve got my kids used to the idea that the main purpose for food is that it is nourishment.  Fuel for their bodies to keep them going, and tasting great is a lovely side effect.  They know better than to beg for something else for breakfast, because they get what they get.  I do often give them an option between two things, but it’s off of a pretty short list.  A list that is simple, healthy and easy for me to maintain.

So, my breakfast list is mostly like this

• Homemade Granola
• Homemade grapenuts
• Frozen Spelt Waffles ( I make 40 at a time and freeze them)
• Some kind of bar I’ve got made up (right now they are Carrot Honey Squares)
• A boiled egg and a piece of toast
• Oatmeal
• On a rare occasion, scrambled eggs with spinach or something

Now, you’ll notice that I don’t ‘cook’ breakfast.  Mornings can get pretty harried around here.  I think most households are that way. My kids wake begging for their breakfast and the world could fall off it’s axis if they have to wait for me to cook oatmeal or scramble eggs. On the occasions where I sense an unexpected undercurrent of patience I play with fire… or the stove, I guess. 

We do buy cereal once in a while.  And when I do it’s a big stock up.  We pretty much only buy Cheerios and Raisin Bran.  I will wait until they are buy-one-get-one-free and even then only buy if I have coupons for $1 off or something, bringing the cost down to about what it would cast me to make my cereals.  I’ve been known to walk out with eight boxes of cereal for $5.  That was a happy day.

Over the next few days I’m going to post the recipes for my breakfast stuffs. They do take some time.  I think I took 3 hours the other day to make enough to last for 3-4 weeks.  But not too bad of a time investment in the long run, if you consider what a pain it would be to spend 30 minutes every morning making something. Or settling for feeding them Pop Tarts… don’t they wish!

I Can’t Cook Once A Month February 11, 2008

There are women out there, amazingly organized women, who have this astonishing capability to cook meals for the whole month in one day.  I know it’s possible, don’t be shocked.  I’ve tried it when I had one child who was a mere wide eyed infant.  The results were amazing and I loved it.  The results with homeschooling, working from home and three small children would be quite a different story.  Not something I feel like adding to my plate, so full already.

Like everything else, I find my middle ground. Once a month doesn’t work, but I can do a little extra every week.   I allow for a slow buildup over time by setting aside a few hours a week to work on one or two ‘convenient  ingredients’ or meal type things to have in my freezer.  For instance, two weeks ago I cooked three pounds of dry black beans in my crockpot all day.  Easy and took hardly any effort.  At the end of the day, I divided the beans into 2 cup portions in quart sized freezer bags and labeled them.  I had enough for dinner that night, lunch the next day and seven bags. 

 Why not use canned beans, you say?  Well, I’m cheap and somewhat picky.  Canned beans have been cooked twice, once to cook and again to process in the can.  Much more nutrition is lost.  Canned beans are also about $.89 a can, or you can get store brand on sale sometimes for as little as $50.  One can, once drained, is about a cup (I think).  So I have 17 cups.  17 times $.89 is $15.13.  Well, my beans are organic from the Dekalb Farmer’s Market and cost $1.39 a pound.  I cooked three pounds.  $4.17.  Thus for the time it took me to throw some beans in water, turn on the crock pot,  and divide them into bags several hours later, I ‘made’ $10.96.  That’s my ‘mom wage’.

My ‘Mom Wage’ is something I try to keep in mind when I’m working on saving money. A reminder that what I do to is VALUABLE and that I can ‘earn’ more money by being cheap as….  well, more than I would otherwise.  I try to see how high I can get it. It’s a fun challenge but typically it’s around $20-30 an hour.  I spent less than half an hour total fiddling with the beans.  Pretty good wage for the time I invested, right?

So, every week I’m going to post my ‘Mom Wage’ of the week.  Just something I did to EARN a savings.  Keep an eye out for it. See it in the list of categories?  Click there sometime. I hope it can inspire.  Feel free to comment and add your ideas, too!

I’ll also be periodically (translate-when I get a chance to breath)  adding recipes that I find simple and helpful.  I make so much from scratch.  It sound so overwhelming until you really try it.  Like making the beans. It was simple.  basically foolproof, unless you have a tendency to knock crockpots off the counter. I cna’t really help you out with that one.  Things like cream soups to use in recipes.  What recipe DOESN’T use cream of something?  Did you know it only takes a few minutes to make it yourself for much, MUCH less? You don’t have to be some crazy supermom or Martha Stewart.  I’ll tell you how.  But not tonight.  Tonight I am going to be in bed at a reasonable time.   I promise!