Healthy Eating

I love food. Who doesn't? The challenge is eating healthy AND enjoying what you're eating. Can I get an amen?

Carbs are delicious but not recommended in most diets. I posted a couple recipes using cauliflower as a carb substitute: cauliflower bites and cauliflower pizza crust.

I recently discovered a pasta made with veggies from Ronzoni. Of course, I had coupons for this pasta (see below).

We made some pasta and mixed it with salad. It was a nice way to have some solid food while getting a helping of vegetables. 

The price per box was $1.69 at Publix and it was a BOGO. I used 2 $0.75 coupons for a total of $0.19 for 2 boxes.

Here’s the breakdown:

$1.69 for 2 boxes because it was a BOGO

-$1.50 off ($0.75 coupon x2)

$0.19 total for 2 boxes

Great deal!  Needless to say, we stocked up!

Couponing: First Aid

Having just experienced a hurricane, I was surrounded by a lot of wise counsel on how to prepare for this natural disaster. One of the resources suggested having a fully stocked first aid kit. A lot of injuries take place during and after a hurricane as people are scurrying around trying to hunker down and clean up.

I found a great deal recently on CeraVe healing ointment.

Here's the breakdown at Walmart:

$3.73 each
-$3 coupon
$0.73 each!!!!

I had 4 coupons so I grabbed 4 packages for a whopping total of $2.92 + tax. That's a total of $12 savings!

Homemade Vegetable Soup

I was raised on home cooking where most everything was made from scratch. One of our family favorites was chicken noodle soup. Not just any ordinary chicken noodle soup. The soup my great grandmother made.

I was fortunate enough to have a great grandmother into my mid 30's. I had a sweet relationship with her for many reasons. We lived nearby and I was the first great grandchild. Although I'm not sure the latter contributed to our relationship. We would have dinner in her home on regular occasions. My father's request of his grandmother was her homemade chicken noodle soup.

As she aged, her homemade dinners were less frequent. I stopped by her home still and tried to get as much information about cooking, family history, and other things that she would know. I knew our time would come to an end.

Our family wanted to duplicate her chicken noodle soup so I got her recipe. She took a whole chicken and put it in a pot with water to simmer. She was careful to mention that boiling it would not produce a clear broth. We tried it and it didn't taste as good as hers, of course. Did we expect it to?

On winter days, I can still taste her soup in my memory almost as vividly as when I ate at her table. As the temperatures drop, my cooking tends to default to my childhood comfort food. Once I moved to Florida, my desire for comfort food didn't surface very often because the temperatures don't fall as far. My first couple years in Florida, I was in a year round July daze. This is the first year I have a sense of seasons. It's still not the same as up north.

I got the urge for great grandma's soup and thought I'd try my hand at it again. I looked around for ingredients at home and found a turkey neck, heart, and gizzard in the freezer. There are almost always onions, garlic, carrots, and seasoning around.

I live in a meat free zone, a decision my husband made for the health of the family. We're not vegan and so I used the turkey neck and parts to make a broth. I simmered it to maintain a clear broth. Skimmed the fat and pulled out the turkey parts next. In went chopped onions, garlic, cabbage, and carrots. I cooked rice separately and added it later.

Clear broth, skimmed fat, and remainder of turkey meat.

Simmering with carrots, onions, garlic, and cabbage. 

 Final product with rice.

Low Country Boil

One of the delights of moving to the south is discovering southern cuisine. 

My husband and I like a restaurant that does boils. We both love seafood, potatoes, and corn so it's a perfect combination for dinner. It's served in a bag while you get equipped with a lobster bib and plastic gloves. This is serious!

While delicious (and messy), it can be pricey to eat out frequently. After having this boiled dinner a couple times, I decided to try my hand at it at home. 

Jewelry Deal

I do love jewelry and I love a bargain. So you can imagine my excitement on getting a great deal on jewelry at Charming Charlie.

I had a $5 coupon for my birthday (more on that later). When I went into the boutique, I found that the clearance items were BOGO.  I got a copper necklace and earrings for just over $6 and used my $5 coupon so I ended up paying just over $1 + tax.

The cashier was new and working on her own at the cash register. She was having some difficulty ringing up the birthday coupon. She finally figured it out and offered me 2 coupons as an appreciation for my patience. The new coupons were $10 off $10 valid a few weeks from that time.

Knowing that the clearance items were currently BOGO, I was hoping that would still be going on when the coupons were valid.

Sure enough! I went back and the BOGO was still going on and I had $20 in coupons. When I have such a great deal, bargain, coupon, or gift card, it takes me longer to choose items. I want to make sure I’m getting the most bang for my buck.

I chose a variety of items (pictured below) and ended up with 8 items which totaled $24 including BOGO clearance. I paid $4 out of pocket.

I’m stylin’ and savin’ simultaneously!

Read more about how to clean tarnished silver jewelry I previously posted.

Couponing: Make Up

Recently, Publix made the announcement that they were no longer carrying CoverGirl cosmetics. What does that mean?  CLEARANCE SALE!!!

There were coupons galore on CoverGirl that were high dollar values = bonus!

Here is what I got:

4 eye shadow palettes $2.44 each

2 blush pallets $1.99 each

I used 4 coupons for a CoverGirl eye product that were $3 each.

I, also, used 2 coupons for a face product that were $1.50 each.

Here is the total:

4 eye shadows @$2.44 each = $9.76

-4 ($3) coupons

= $-2.44

2 blush @1.99 each = $3.98

2 ($1.50) coupons

= $0.98

The total is -$1.46. So now what? Publix gave me a gift card for the overage. I will be back in Publix that same week so that’ll go towards my next transaction.

Because I use various types of shopping apps, I submitted receipts at Checkout51 (see previous post on Checkout 51) for these products. They were giving $1 per CoverGirl product (quantity 5 maximum). The result is that I got back $5 from Checkout51 in addition to the $1.46 from Publix.

Sometimes you win at adulting!

Money Earning Apps: Checkout51

I featured recently 2 different apps that I use to earn money back: Receipt Hog and Shopkick.

This time I want to highlight Checkout 51. This is a great companion app for couponing.

You buy items and then you get cash back. Once you accumulate $20, they will mail you a check! Simple as that!

View items available for rebates:

Select items you want to buy: 

View notes about new products and receipts submitted: 

View the amount you have accumulated: 

You are bound to buy items anyway. Why not get money back?

Olive Garden Dinner Deal

We like to cook and eat out when we can. I've been known to run across a deal or two that can benefit us.

Olive Garden runs a promotion periodically called "Buy One, Take One." The gist is that you get 2 meals for the price of one. The first meal is served hot and the second meal is packaged for you to take home. The meals start at $12.99. They come with their famous salad and bread sticks.

In addition, there was a promotional code for an extra 15% off.

We decided to try this deal.

We ordered the cheese ravioli with marinara and the five cheese ziti.

Dinner was $11.04 for 2 entrees, salad, and bread sticks.

Photo credit: Olive Garden

Cellular Deal

I have been a customer of a major cellular company for nearly 15 years. I have always been pleased with the coverage and amount of services offered. The prices on the other hand leave something to be desired.

My contract was coming to an end so I started shopping for a phone upgrade. I'm an iPhone user and would prefer to continue with iPhone. I stopped at my cell carrier's store to get the latest on the phones, plans, deals, and was keeping in mind that I was adding my husband to my account, too. 

I went to several other carriers as well to get the scoop on services, devices, and plan pricing. Fed up with all the choices, I went to Best Buy because they host a variety of carriers and was hoping for an unbiased opinion on all the options. 

The rep was very helpful and insightful. There was an amazing deal going on there that no other store had despite having the same carriers. The deal was that Best Buy was giving a $200 Best Buy gift card for each new line activated with certain carriers. While I wasn't considering switching, it certainly appealed to my bargain self. There are 2 of us after all so that would give us $400 in store credit. 

Hmmm.....keep talking I was subliminally telling the sales rep. 

She went on to add that another incentive was trading in an older iPhone would garner a $200 gift card. I had to ask the obvious question: are all of these incentives applicable? 

New carrier with 2 new iPhones and $600 in Best Buy gift cards.

Jackpot!!!

Couponing: We Are Blessed To Bless Others

The motto of an organization I'm part of is "we are blessed to bless others." It is a 501c3 that promotes giving and music in a combination that is manifested in a festival.

My inspiration has come from Romans 12:1 in the last few years or so. Believers in Christ are called to be a "living sacrifice." I want that for my life. More practical and active. Less stagnant and dormant.

One of the amazing benefits of couponing is being able to give to others. I have been historically very active in the community by volunteering, fundraising, traveling, teaching, and so many other things. Being new to my current community, I haven't been as involved as I normally am.

It started by telling people about how great true couponing works and how much money we're saving. Next thing you know, people are asking me for tips on couponing, sales, products, and other random questions related to couponing.

I have even met with people to teach them how to do it or been a mentor or consultant in their ongoing learning of the couponing concepts.

Now, I have an event coming up called "Cocktails & Coupons" for women who want to learn couponing.

I have turned couponing into a ministry, unwittingly.

People are struggling. Even with the unemployment rate decreasing and gas prices decreasing, people are still struggling. I started couponing to reduce the struggle for our own household.

One of my shopping trips (pictured below) resulted in me paying $14 and saving $95. I also received $7.50 back using rebate apps.

We don’t eat cereal in our home. Because the cereal was FREE, I couldn’t resist! I knew the Lord would lead me to someone who needed it. If you’re a worshiper of God, you know that these things are not always revealed right away. I knew I had to buy the cereal first before I knew where it was destined.

Driving away from the grocery store, the Lord brought to mind a family I know that is a single income-4 person household. The income is not a steady stream either, causing more struggle. In their belief of blessing others, they welcomed their friend who has a child to live with them. Now the household is a single income-6 person household.

I sent her a message to ask her if she had any use for these boxes of cereal. The response was overwhelming. She and her husband were so grateful. They, then, passed some of the cereal onto another family they who in a similar situation. 

They were blessed and chose to bless others.

Paying it forward.

That was enough motivation for me. 

A few weeks later, another shopping trip to Publix (receipt pictured below) included a promotion of a free rotisserie chicken when buying 3 items (from a list of specific brands). I happened to have enough coupons for 6 items which gave me 2 FREE rotisserie chickens. I paid $6 total after coupons for the 6 items and 2 rotisserie chickens.

Again, God brought to mind a friend of mine whose husband lost his job and is the sole income earner. I dropped off the chickens to her family. We were both blessed. 

The great Shawshank Redemption philosopher, Andy Dufresne, said "get busy living or get busy dying."

I choose to be living. A living sacrifice. 

True Couponing vs. Extreme Couponing

I've talked about couponing in a few posts already. You'll notice that most of my photos show amounts of groceries that take up less than a grocery cart and sometimes less than a grocery basket.

I'm not into the Extreme Couponing show. It is really amazing the savings these folks are getting.

I don't have time to shop all day. I work full time for starters and have other things that demand my time.

After speaking with people about couponing, this seems to be the #1 block to using coupons: it takes too much time.

I prefer to follow True Couponing's method of couponing rather than extreme couponing. The method entails saving money in a way that benefits your family but does NOT clear the shelves. This method also values blessing others with items, leaving coupons on the shelf that you won't use, and using tools to ensure you're getting a good deal.

Extreme couponing entails spending large amounts of time preparing and shopping. I don't have time to spend all day in the grocery store. I also shoot for no more than 30-60 minutes in the grocery store including the check out process.

One of my recent shopping trips to Publix entailed a variety of unrelated items. I'd be hard pressed to mix these ingredients in a meal.

This shopping trip took me all of 15 minutes to gather items and 7 minutes in the checkout.

The retail amount is $34.42. I paid $9.96 after coupons. I had 1 coupon per item, both store and manufacturer.

Easy to plan and execute. Simple.

Vegetable Pizza

One of my favorite recipes is a veggie pizza. It's a really simple crowd pleaser.

There are many versions as well with the same basic ingredients.

Here's the recipe:

1. Start with a can croissants and roll it all out flat on a baking sheet. 
2. Bake it according to the instructions (between 10-14 minutes).
3. Let it cool. 
4. Brush the crust with salad dressing, veggie dip, hummus, or any type of spreadable sauce. 
5. Chop vegetables (pictured is avocado, cucumber, grapes, carrots, apple).
6. Top with shredded cheese (or nuts, seeds, herbs).
7. Cut and serve!

Attention Chipotle Fans

Here is a great promotion at Chipotle that you don't want to miss!

Play the game here and you'll get a BOGO meal texted to your phone.

Run now! You have until November 30, 2016.

Photo credit: Chipotle

Money Earning Apps: Shopkick

I was told by a coworker about the Shopkick app. 

Who doesn't love shopping? Ok,many people. This is an app that can be used by anyone because you get points just by walking in the door of certain stores including Walmart, Target, Marshalls, TJ Maxx.

The app uses the location function of your phone or tablet and pops up to tell you that you're near a "point earning" zone. It's great for those who need reminders.

You open the app and BOOM you get points (kicks in Shopkick lingo).

The kicks accumulate and turn into gift cards. 

There are bonuses inside the app also as you look at various products featured.

It's a free download at Google Play and the App Store. 

+It's free to use. 

+You are paid in gift cards!

=It's a no brainer!

See previous post on another money saving app.

Space Saving: Knife Magnet

I love efficient ways of saving space that are practical and not counter intuitive.

Years ago, I had an apartment that was lacking in kitchen space. My knife block took up too much counter space. There weren't enough drawers to have one dedicated to a knife organizer. I didn't want to mix knives with utensils and risk cutting myself groping around in the utensils.

What's a girl to do? Go to Ikea!!! I had the great fortune of living less than 10 miles away from Ikea.

Not only does Ikea have innovative space saving ideas, but the products have style and flair. They are also reasonably priced. It's a great way to live on a budget while still adulting.

In my search for a knife solution, I found the kitchen section with the Grundtal magnetic knife rack that was just the thing for these orphaned knives.

Disclaimer: My dad installed it because he's more skilled at adulting than me. Thanks, Dad!

African Cooking: Fufu

I posted about African grocery shopping and included fufu.

There are 2 parts to a fufu meal. The first part is the actual fufu made from cassava, white yam, or plantain.

The sauce:

The fufu:

The ensemble:

The fun part is eating with your hands. Here is a video of how to eat fufu. 

We have made this our "guest dish" and serve it when we have new people over for dinner. I usually forewarn them that we're doing something African and most greet this new experience with delight. 

My parents have enjoyed it. Our friends have enjoyed it. We even cooked it for my cousin and his wife while we sought refuge from Hurricane Matthew at their house. 

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

As I've mentioned, we are in the throes of healthy eating..

I bought some cauliflower in order to start experimenting with different carb substitute solutions. My first attempt wasn't bad.

My next carb substitute attempt was a pizza crust. I love New York, Chicago, Italian, and flatbread styles. I'm not a pizza connoisseur, I just love a good pizza.

I dove into Pinterest  yet again and found a recipe from Damn Delicious that inspired me to try. It has all the qualifications of a good recipe: ingredients easily found and intuitive instructions.

Mix it:

Spread it:

Bake it:

Top it:

Eat it!

We had it eat it with a fork because it wasn't solid enough to pick up. It tasted good. Not exactly like pizza, but good nonetheless!

Charity Events

There are so many people in need home and abroad. There are so many creative ways to raise funds.

Anyway, I have a friend who goes to cosmetology school nights while working full time during the day. She is very talented but needs credentials. Her school was having a fundraiser called "Shear Madness" in effort to raise funds for hunger relief locally through an organization called The Children's Hunger Project.

Free haircuts, manicures and / or pedicures. The suggested donation was $10 but anything less or more was welcome. 

Creative way to entice people to give to a good cause. Both parties benefit. 

I benefited from this fundraiser by getting a haircut by my fabulous friend.

There is still so much need, though.

Cooking Appliances: NuWave Oven

Had it not been for my lovely sister-in-law, I would never have known about this kitchen gem! NuWave oven. Who knew? 

This is a convection oven that is table top. Although, not a space saver, it is a time saver and healthy option for cooking. The racks allow for stacking different types of food and any fat to drip into the tray.

Here is the set up:

Cooking underway!

Final product (my half of the fish)

Here is more info on how it works. 

Money Earning Apps: Receipt Hog

I mentioned that I coupon which involves using certain apps. There are apps out there that are not linked to couponing but are money earning.

Receipt Hog for example is a way to earn money by shopping for anything. You submit a receipt and you earn points and entries to various sweepstakes.

Eligible receipts include grocery, gas, restaurants, and clothing from any retailer.

Scan your receipt and collect enough points (coins) to redeem at amazon.com or PayPal.

It couldn't be easier!

Lessons from Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew was a threat to central Florida's Atlantic coast. We are on that coast. We are not originally from areas that are susceptible to hurricanes.

We are rookies.

I had made a lot of plans to keep us safe. Flashlights, drinking water, non perishable foods along with produce that doesn't need refrigeration. Clean clothes and entertainment not dependent on electricity. Objects moved away from windows and walls, porch cleared, phones charged, and gas tank filled. I was pleased with these plans.

My years as a Girl Scout paid off.

Part of the experience left me skeptical that this preparation was even necessary. I still wanted to make sure we weren't caught short.

My office surprisingly closed early one day and preemptively closed the coming days. I have to confess I was excited. It felt like snow days like we had as kids in the snow belt. I was also struck by the fact that my company closed for the next few days in advance.

Suddenly it felt less like a snow day and more like a dire situation.

The locals were running around getting prepared to hunker down or seek refuge.  Soon after leaving work early, grocery stores were cleared, gas stations were closed, and highways were full. It was time to make a decision about my preparations and plans.

We hid the road.

I felt like a failure ridiculous.

After arriving at my cousin's house, we couldn't stop watching the weather forecast as the category 4 hurricane threatened to become a category 5. Flooding became a serious concern which is damaging enough but also increases mosquito breeding. Not something I ever worried about with a blizzard.

It became ever more evident that we made the right decision to get our of harm's way.

Lesson learned: Pride doesn't give the best advice. Better to be safe than sorry.

Space Saving: Narrow Pantry

I love my home but there are certain features that I find challenging. My kitchen has lots of cupboards and large ones at that.

I have a pantry that is very narrow (narrower than I am) with shelves that are deep but do not extend out to the door opening. The depth of the pantry is shorter than my arms so it's a struggle. The struggle limits the size of medium and large items being placed in the pantry which leaves room for small items. Once the small items are in there, it's too deep to get them out.

What to do?

Looking online, I found a few ideas that were great but involved pricey equipment.

After some thought, I remembered that I have an over-the-door shoe hanger. It is 4 pockets wide and wouldn't work for this narrow pantry. I went to the store and looked at the various models and chose one that can be cut in half from top to bottom.

It's the perfect width for this narrow pantry and corresponding narrow door.

Perfect fit. Budget friendly. Effective solution. It's a win-win-win!

Wonder what I did with the other half? It's on one of the bathroom doors. Saving more space over there, too. 

Regrowing Lettuce

I really am a sucker for anything labeled "hacks." I can't help myself when I see "kitchen hacks" or "life hacks."

Here is one such hack I was curious about and realized I didn't have anything to lose. I already have glasses, water, and the romaine lettuce root.

After 1 day I already started seeing results. The trick is to change the water every day. The water becomes a lime green color after a day. There's a lot of photosynthesis going on here!

I wonder how much it will grow?

Day 1:

Day 3:

Day 5:

Day 8:

Starbucks Promotion

Recently, Starbucks had a promotion that gave a $10 Starbucks eGift. I love Starbucks even though it's not always budget friendly. I do love a good PSL!

All you have to do is load (or reload) your Starbucks app with a minimum of $10 using a Visa card. Visa Checkout provides a $10 eGift card as a courtesy for using a Visa card.

That's $20 of Starbucks credit for $10. 50% off sale on Starbucks! How often does that happen?

Tortilla Bowls

I do a lot of cooking with a Mexican flair. Recently, I discovered that Old El Paso has a soft tortilla shaped in a bowl. An oblong bowl that is more like a boat.

These Old El Paso dinner kits were on sale and I used coupons for a total of $10.50 for 10 dinner kits. 

Here's the breakdown: 

$3.50 each 

Buy One Get One (BOGO) sale which brings my total to $17.50.

Now for the coupons:

I used :

$1 / 3 manufacturer coupons x 3

$1 / 3 store coupons x 3

$1 / 3 SavingStar rebate

My new total is $10.50 for 10 dinner kits or $1.05 per box. 

This has been a fun addition to dinner. I have been using them for a salad bowl. I've considered deep frying baking them.

DIY Cleaning Wipes

One facet of adulting is being responsible with the environment. There are many ways to be cognizant of the environment such as recycling, repurposing, and upcycling. 

I am drawn to some DIY projects. Some of them I actually try while others I admire. I came across this Buzzfeed post that is a DIY cleaning wipes using household products. 

Of course, Buzzfeed has catchy videos that are interesting. They even went as far as painting the plastic can they chose to use. I reused a wipes container so I kept the container as is. 

You only need water, vinegar, rubbing alcohol, and dish soap to mix a solution to poor over the paper towels. A strong paper towel is advised in order to absorb the solution and not fall apart. 

I was pleased with the outcome of this because it was easy, cost effective, and handy. Purchasing wipes can be pricy even with couponing. 

Take a look and try it out!