Dental Differences

When I first met my husband, we had a quiet afternoon one day watching a movie at his apartment. I looked over and he was chewing on a stick. Without showing alarm, I resumed watching the movie. 

Later, I was quietly looking at the scene wondering if he, in fact, ate the stick. Come to find out, he was cleaning his teeth and discarding the chewed wood. 

Bundles of these sticks are sold for 20¢ and are a common tool in Africa to clean teeth. Meanwhile, we have all these tools to clean teeth. We tend to overcomplicate things here. Ask my husband, he'll tell you all about it!

Gathering Gum

As I have mentioned, Target is my happy place. A great deal posted on True Couponing recently was for Trident gum. The 18 piece pack is 99¢ each. I grabbed 4 packs which would be $3.96 total. 

Target had 2 promotions to stack: 50% off Trident gum on the Cartwheel app and a 25% off text coupon.

After the double stack, I paid 97¢ (before tax). In addition to the great savings, there was a rebate in the amount of $1.50 on the ibotta app. 

Here's the breakdown: 

$3.96 4 packs of gum

- 50% Cartwheel app discount

= $1.98

- 25% Target text coupon

= 97¢

- $1.50 ibotta rebate

= - 53¢ Money Maker!

Smoothies

We love making smoothies at home. We're always making combinations and tried once again a different one (see another recipe we made here).

This time we used: pineapple, blueberries, almond milk, orange juice, lemon juice, plain yogurt, vanilla essence, and coconut oil.

Another home run!

Smelly Shoes Solution

My husband is such an amazing man. I respect him so much for his admirable and noble traits. He's kind, athletic, and funny. 

Let's stay with athletic for a moment. He's a soccer player which involves a lot of running which involves a lot of shoes which involves a lot of sweat which involves odor. [I've been practicing the 5 whys developed by Toyota's Taiichi Ohno.]

In need of a solution for stinky shoes, aside throwing them out and buying all new, I came across the Homemade Experiment that posted a solution for eliminating shoe odor. The solution? Tea bags!

The good news is that we are not short on tea in our home (see more about couponing adventures for tea: here and here).

The procedure is so simple I dare not make it out to sound like a procedure. Place 1 or 2 tea bags in each offensive shoe. Leave the tea bags in the shoes for 24 hours or so. It works better if the subject shoes are stored in a dry place. 

Update: 3 days later the shoes smell a lot better. A little like tea, but a lot better! The tea bags did not take on the shoe odor. 

Cajun Cookin'

I had a craving for bouillabaisse or some other seafood stew. I decided to look around for recipes for inspiration and found that Louisiana style cooking was appealing. 

I put together a seafood stew by starting with chopped onion and garlic in a stock pot with olive oil. Once the onion was transparent, I added chicken stock and tomato paste. Next, spices were needed: Everyday Seasoning, thyme, turmeric, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. 

Next, I made some rice and set it aside. Dry red beans were boiled in a separate pot and put aside.

Then, I added the boiled red beans and chopped potatoes to the stock pot. This mixture simmered for about 1 hour.

I brushed the fish and shrimp with olive oil and seasoned with New Orleans spice, thyme, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. 

I wrapped the seasoned fish and shrimp in foil and grilled it on my table top grill.

Once the fish and shrimp were slightly grilled, I added them to the stock pot. To round out the Louisiana feel, I added seasoned crawfish and let the entire mix simmer for 30 minutes. 

Dinner was served! The stew was poured over the rice.

Laisser les bons temps rouler!

Register Rewards at Walgreens

I briefly mentioned Register Rewards that is a promotion at Walgreens in a previous post. The incentive is to buy the specified products and amount and then receive a coupon to be used towards a future purchase. 

For example, I purchased 3 bottles of Aussie hair spray on sale: 3 for $8 with a Walgreens card. The purchase of 2 results in a coupon for $3 off a future purchase. 

The Walgreens app also had a digital coupon for $3 off when 3 Aussie products are purchased. I paid $5 out of pocket for 3 Aussie hairsprays and then received the $3 Register Rewards coupon. 

My future purchase (which sometimes, I make 2 purchases in a row) was for Crunchmaster crackers  (on sale 2 for $5) and Colgate mouthwash.

Just the crackers alone would have been enough to cash in on the $3 Register Reward from the previous purchase. I had a manufacturer coupon for the crackers: $1.50 off 2.  

Here's the breakdown on the crackers:

 $5 sale price for 2
-$1.50 manufacturer coupon
=$3.50
-$3 Register Rewards coupon
=50¢

Onto the mouthwash scenario. I was expecting to use the digital coupon on the Walgreens app: $2 off (any Colgate mouthwash 400mL or larger).  

The surprise came when I found a bottle on clearance marked down to $4.49 from $6.29 (a $1.80 savings). To add to the clearance savings of $1.80, the digital coupon was deducted at the register. The bottle was $2.49 instead of $6.29. Bonus!!!

I love when a plan comes together!

Dry Beans or Canned Beans?

I tend to buy canned beans because I find dry beans to be a hassle. The canned beans are decently priced in addition to being easy. For example, I bought canned beans at Publix for 4¢ each (see deal here).

I decided to try dry beans again. After looking for a doable solution, I stumbled upon an article on epicurioius.com about dry beans. Mustering up the courage, I tried it. 

Boil the beans in water alone. Let the beans sit for an hour.

After the beans sit, add salt and boil again. 

Not too difficult. A tad time consuming but if you're already in the kitchen doing things, what's one more easy task?

The Good Egg Test

We don't consume a lot of eggs. In fact, when I have eggs in the fridge, they are there for a long time. I could say how long but I don't want to embarrass myself. 

I found an article recently posted on social media that disclosed an easy and fast way to reveal the freshness of an egg. Fill a glass or bowl with water and place an egg in it. If the egg sinks, the egg is still fresh. If the egg floats, it is not fresh. Simple!

I decided to try the float test. My eggs failed the test miserably and found their way into the trash. 

Not Your Everyday Rice

Before I married an African, I would buy a 1 pound bag of rice and keep it for half a year or longer. Now, we buy a 20 pound bag of rice which lasts us less than 6 months. 

Before I was introduced to African culture, I ate plain white rice, rice pilaf, or wild rice. Nothing too complicated or fancy, just plain.

Once I started attending African events, I noticed that rice is the base of the actual dinner. A sauce is made and poured over the top of the rice. Here is an African sauce over rice I have made.

My world has forever been changed...for the better!

Here is a rice dish I made recently. I chopped onion and tomato and then grated ginger root. I set aside a scotch bonnet pepper, a high ranking heated pepper on the Scoville scale (there's a ranking system for everything!). 

I use a small container to measure: 1 part rice, 2 parts water. Bring the rice to a boil, lower the heat and then cover. Let it simmer for another 15 minutes. 

Add the vegetables to the rice and cover it again letting it simmer another 10 minutes. 

Boil dry beans then drain. 

Add beans to the rice mixture and serve. 

Repurposing Containers

I've been seeing a lot of pins on Pinterest about repurposing the containers used to package products we buy everyday. I throw things out and recycle things like crazy. I decided to start thinking differently about how we approach containers in our household. 

Once such pin provided ideas of reusing plastic containers as storage containers (see more here).

I started to look at other containers after they were empty and saving them. Here are some ideas I came up with for sunflower seeds, rice, and dry beans.

Simple & Delicious Baked Fish

While talking on the phone with my sister one evening, she mentioned they just finished a delicious dinner. I had just come home from work and was about to prepare dinner myself. I asked for details on this delicious dinner and turns out it is fast, easy, and uses everyday ingredients. Works for me!

The ingredients are mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, green onion, tomato, salt, and pepper. We use an organic mayonnaise called Just Mayo that does not contain eggs. 

1. Mix about 1/2 cup of mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese. 
2. Chop an entire green onion stalk and 1/4 tomato.  
3. Add the chopped veggies to the mayo mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. 
4. Spread the mixture over the fish. 
5. Bake  for 20 minutes at 350°.

I added salsa, guacamole, and sour cream to the baked fish. I served it alongside sweet potatoes. 

My sister appreciates good food so I knew I would not be disappointed. It was delicious!

Do You Tofu?

I was never drawn to eating tofu until I met my husband. We get protein from fish, seafood, beans, and tofu. We have tried various ways of eating tofu, but our favorite is fried tofu. 

The tricky thing about tofu is that it is so waterlogged. It is spongy by nature and absorbs a lot of water. Frying anything wet causes the oil to pop and spray. 

Another difficulty we face is the texture when it has been fried. The entire slice is crispy and loses the original texture. 

I went looking for recipes to see how I could prepare tofu better. I came across this article on seriouseats.com that provided instructions on how to get the water out of the tofu for a better final product. 

The trick is to dehydrate the very saturated tofu using hot water. Did you catch that? Add water to eliminate the water. Turns out it is basic chemistry (which I have a history of not mastering). 

I served up the fried tofu with a caprese salad, and leftover scalloped potatoes. Random grouping and delicious!

Pizza Party at the Pharmacy

Not your usual item to purchase at the pharmacy, I realize. Walgreens had a sale on Totino's Party Pizza: 5 for $5 (regularly priced at $1.99). It's already a 50% off sale!

I had a $1 off 3 manufacturer coupon from the newspaper. 

The Walgreens app also had a $1 off 3 manufacturer coupon. 

SavingStar had a $1 off 3 rebate.  Read more about the SavingStar rebate app here. 

Here's the breakdown: 

   $6 for 6 pizzas (sale price $1 each)

-  $1 (1 manufacturer coupons)

= $5

-  $1 (Walgreens digital coupon)

= $4 out of pocket

-  $1 SavingStar rebate

= $3 total for 6 pizzas (or 50¢ each)

Cash Back on Music

Seriously? Woohoo!

That was my reaction when I saw that ibotta had a rebate for purchases at the iTunes Store. I was given an iTunes gift card that I loaded on my iTunes account. I slowly have made purchases for apps, songs, movie rentals, etc.

I bought a song for 99¢ on iTunes through ibotta to take advantage of the 5% cash back. Granted, it is not the largest purchase and I will only get 5¢ back. Every little bit counts! I have earned $95 in the 18 months of using the ibotta app. Some of the rebates were only 25¢ but see how they add up!

Wedding Anniversary

We celebrated our wedding anniversary recently. We're still young and in love!

I checked our mailbox that week and found this lovely card from my mom. She's so creative and crafty. The card is homemade by her. She even made the envelope! She can see the potential in so many things and will repurpose it for her works of art. The envelope this time is a page from a wall calendar. 

I have a box of cards that she's made for me from the last few years. My only regret is that I did not start saving them sooner. 

Compassion International Experience

If you have any interest in world events, living conditions, and travel, the Compassion International Experience is for you! 

Compassion International is a non-profit organization that focuses on poverty alleviation and disaster relief worldwide. The current effort, aside from worldwide presence, is a traveling exhibit circulating the US. This is a FREE event that is coming to a city near you (find your locale here)!

Once you arrive, you are given an iPod touch and headphones. These devices will provide a commentary as you walk through the exhibit. The exhibit is set up in a tractor trailer and is divided into 2 tracks: the life of a boy from the Dominican Republic and a girl from the Philippines. 

The exhibit allows you to have a view into a child's environment and world. 

Leaving the exhibit offers an opportunity to speak with Compassion International volunteers and to sponsor a child. 

The slogan says it all: experience the world without leaving yours. 

Graham Cracker Deal at Dollar General

Graham crackers is not typically on my shopping list. However, these crackers do come in handy for many recipes and snacking.

Having a coupon in hand and a rebate in mind, I set out to purchase Honey Maid Graham Crackers. By using the Favado app (read more here), I was able narrow down the best deal location: Dollar General.

While there were not any big sales on graham crackers, the lowest price and the rebate still proved to be a savings. Each box is priced at $3. After combining a manufacturer coupon and a Checkout51 rebate (read more here), it was a good deal. 

Here is the breakdown: 

$6 for 2 boxes

-$1 off manufacturer coupon

= $5

- $1 Checkout51 rebate

= $4 for 2 boxes (or $2 per box)

Shopping at Publix: Coupon Stacking

At a recent shopping trip at Publix, I was looking for 2 products. The 2 products were to be stacked with manufacturer coupons, an ibotta rebate, a MobiSave rebate, and a Checkout51 rebate.

The goal? Enjoy life products and Simply Good Jell-O.

The Enjoy life cookies are $4.99 per box and the manufacturer coupon is $1.50 off 2 boxes. I will pay $8.48 out of pocket.

After the purchase, I will stack the savings from the manufacturer coupon with the rebates. I am adding the manufacturer to the MobiSave rebate ($1.50 off 2 boxes) and ibotta rebate ($2 off 2 boxes).

Here is the breakdown: 

$9.98

-$1.50 manufacturer coupon

= $8.48

-$2 ibotta rebate

=$6.48

-$1.50 MobiSave rebate

=$4.98 for 2 boxes (or $2.49 each after rebates)

There is a sale on Simply Good Jello-O is typically $1.49 each and on sale for $1 each.

Checkout51 has a rebate for 75¢ off 1 package. 

Here is the breakdown: 

$1 out of pocket

- 75¢ Checkout51 rebate

= 25¢ after rebate

Bonus from ibotta! Any rebate redeemed on a brand name item (as opposed to generic) is rewarded with $5! My total for the cookies and the pudding was $5.23. Adding the $5 bonus into the mix, it is like the entire shopping trip was only 23¢!