Feeding your family well-balanced, healthy, and delicious foods is very important. However, for many families finding extra money in the budget to eat well can seem impossible. Since one of the largest expenses in many families monthly budget is food, making the most of your money at the grocery store is essential. Eating well on a budget is possible, you just have to be thrifty, creative and smart. Read on to discover my 6 favorite ways to stretch your budget while buying the best groceries (even organics) for your family.
1. Set a Budget First things first, figure out how much your family can afford to spend on groceries each month – be realistic. Then, take only cash with you to the closest local grocery store – it is impossible to go over your budget when you are paying with cash only. Also, stop by the customer service counter on your way in and ask for any coupons they have available – you would be surprised at the goodies they have, if you ask.
2. Shop in Season
When it comes to produce, only buy what is in season. Not only is it more affordable, it will be fresher too! It’s a good idea to buy produce when it is in season and then freeze it. For example, hit the local farm when strawberries are in season – get an even greater deal when you buy a large quantity, then freeze what you can’t use now to enjoy all year long.
3. Cook with What you Have
This one is simple, use the ingredients that you have on-hand now to make your meals. This is a great way to use food before it spoils and while it is at it’s freshest. This goes for your refrigerator and the pantry! We eat a lot of soups at our house, because the mister will put together all of our veggies before they spoil.
4. Stock UpÂ
When an item that you frequently use goes on sale, that is the time to stock up on it. This is a great way to stock up on spices, canned goods, dried beans and rice. This is also a great time to whip out those coupons – you can double your savings when you use coupons on food items that are already on sale.
5. Prepare Vegetable Based Meals
Let’s face it, meat products are more expensive than vegetables. Instead of basing all of your meals around meat, make veggies the main course. Not only is this a healthier way of eating, it is much more affordable and better for the environment too! When you do cook meat, for example chicken – purchase a whole organic chicken and when you are finished eating the meat, boil the carcass down for stock.
6. Make Your Own Snacks
Processed foods can be expensive, unhealthy and usually come in wasteful packaging. Instead of purchasing processed/packaged foods, make your own goodis. It is very easy to make your own cookies, granola bars, frozen pops, or granola – and your children will love cooking with you!
Hello, Friends! This post was sponsored by and wasn’t written by me, it was written by Michael and Anna Mills from Mills Organic Hills. Thank you for supporting the companies that help to run Sweet Greens!
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This is a simple trick I learned while starting our Ranch. In this post I will show you how to tell if the fruit and veggies you purchase from the market are GMO or not. Keep an eye out for this valuable info.
I guess I came up with the idea out of necessity. My husband worked a job as a Bridge Carpenter in California, making close to $40hr. We have 4 children and wanted to feed them what they needed, but sadly was a near impossible task. With the price of organic, and the cost to live in CA; it seemed that we could never get ahead. I told my husband that we needed a change, having him gone all the time just so we can purchase organic foods was not good for the family, especially the children. So we made the decision to leave CA and start a farm in Colorado. We spent the next 6 months touring Colorado, looking for the right spot, then we finally found Olathe, a small farming community nestled in the corner of Montrose County. We made a point to rent there first, not wanting to get into a situation we would regret. This would give us time to prove that we could do what we planned, and “Lower the cost of Organic”at the same time.
After being successful at it, I decided that we needed to take the next step. So I told my husband: “Let’s do it!” he looked at me confused and replied: “What now?” You know how men get, their minds easily get stuck. I explained to him: “No, not that! Lets do more, lets take what we have done here and make it even bigger.” We realized that we could not accomplish this with out some assistance. So after some time discussing what we could do, we decided to start a fundraiser. We wanted to continue what we had found to be possible, but on a larger scale. We talked about it for a long time, and after convincing my husband that we could make a difference in organic. He became fully committed.
When you have 4 children, and 2 with developmental disorders, it’s not easy. I wanted the best for my children, especially the 2 most in need. I feel that if I had started an organic based life with my older children, I would not have had all the problems which I did. But there is no use crying over spilt milk, the best we can do now is work to reverse the damage that was done. We have striven for a better life for our family, but discovered that it was not enough that our kids had access to real food. We wanted more than our own children to have this privilege, so we did some math, looking into the feat that we longed to accomplish. What we found is that we could support 10 sheep on an acre of pasture. This was very important for us to know, because we knew that we could be successful with just 9 sheep. That would leave us with an extra sheep, and as a proper business we have to look at everything from a “gain, loss” perspective. What would be her purpose? Why would we want her on the Ranch? The answer was simple, if we didn’t need her, than someone would, but who. We decided to take 1 sheep out of every 10 sheep that we had and give it to the needy. We call it our 10 to 1 program. It has given our ranch a community rich drive: a loving heart so to speak, which helps us to remember where we once were and help those like ourselves, as we wanted to be helped.
Come by and take a look at what we are doing now, and if you see our operation, and how we care and love every animal on our Ranch; then I know you will want to help us!!! Remember this is not just a single business that you are helping, you are helping to change the course of the future of organic foods, so all can afford good, healthy, humanely treated, real meat. As Americans/Humans we deserve no less; isn’t this what our forefathers (grandfathers, fathers, grandmothers, mothers, and others) came into this country, and some fought and even died for; in order to grant us a future were their posterity only received the best possible. Then tell me why would we settle for anything less. Please give to enliven our dream, and make real food a reality.
Now to what I promised. This is how it works: look at the PLU that is on the fruit and veggies in your local grocery store.
If the PLU number is 4 numbers long than it is not GMO, but it was sprayed with Pesticide.
If there are 5 numbers and the first number is a 9, its Organic.
If there are 5 numbers but the first number is a 8 it is GMO.
I have another fantastic giveaway for you today! A giveaway that is perfect for the kiddos in your life. The prize is away 2 Laptop Lunches Bento-ware lunchboxes – which means there will be two winners!
Laptop Lunches Bento-ware lunchboxes are mix and match with three lidded water-tight containers and two unlidded containers. These are fun lunchboxes that are BPA free and perfect for those school lunches! Eben used his Laptop Lunches Bento-ware boxes all through elementary school. We were a big fan of them because they were very easy for him to pack and open himself.
Laptop Lunches offers a lot of fun menu ideas and recipes on their website too – which just making packing lunch even more fun!
To enter leave a comment telling me who you will give your laptop lunches bento-ware lunchbox! The winner will be announced on December 10th!
NOTE: This post wasn’t written by me – thank you for supporting the companies that help keep Sweet Greens in business.
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Ironing is a chore, but there are ways you can easily improve the efficiency of this job to make it less of a hassle and to have less of an impact on the environment. A steam iron can be a great investment because it can significantly improve the appearance of clothing and at the same time prolong their longevity. And the longer that we can use our clothing, the less often we have to buy more – making it a better choice for the environment too. For similar useful tips that will make ironing more efficient, including during the washing and drying process, check out the advice below.
Iron Temperature
Once your clothes are washed and dried, it’s important to use the correct iron temperature to efficiently get rid of those creases. The iron temperature you use will depend on the clothing material, for which there are basic temperature guidelines found on the label. Nylon and silk, for example, should be ironed out on a low heat. Medium to high temperatures are reserved for wool, cashmere, mohair, cotton, ramie and linen – the same for polyester, but preferably using a steam iron. Once you know the appropriate temperatures, “organize the garments so that you start with the coolest setting first” to make for a more efficient ironing routine.
Reducing Wrinkles
Before you even start to iron your clothes, there are some steps you can take during the wash and dry stage to minimize wrinkles and, ultimately, improve your ironing efficiency. The first thing to take note of is the guidelines on a garment’s label, which will tell you the best temperature for washing. With synthetic materials, the permanent press feature of your washing machine should be turned on, and the water needs to be warm to hot. Fabrics that only require a light wash can be spun in cold water.
Other Energy Efficient Ironing Tips
•         The preferred type of water to put in your iron for prolonging its life is soft water; hard water contains minerals that will precipitate and, over time, block your iron, making it less efficient.
•         Hang your clothing straight after ironing to prevent new creases from forming.
•         You shouldn’t iron soiled clothing as the stains will be harder to wash out.
See For Yourself
Hopefully these tips will help you improve the efficiency of your ironing and make it less laborious. Tips like using the correct iron temperature to remove creases will certainly make for a more efficient task. As will washing and drying correctly. Give the tips a try and find out for yourself.
This year, the mister and I really started to focus on buckling down and saving money. We started by establishing and sticking to a reasonable and responsible budget, made financial goals and plan to continue our strategy for 2015, in hopes that we can reach all of our financial goals in the coming years. To set yourself up for financial success in 2015, I have put together some of the tips that we are using for inspiration. I hope they help you save more money!
Get Set Up
Set up a Capital One 360 Checking and 360 Savings account, both are fee-free and earn interest. We use Capital One 360 because their mobile app makes it super easy for me to deposit all of my monthly earrings, and makes it simple to see how much we have in checking/savings at anytime, how much interest we are earning and I can make quick transfers from either accounts when necessary. Plus, if you ever need to call customer service, they are super friendly and helpful!
Set Your Goals
I highly recommend sitting down with a pencil and paper and writing down your financial goals and establishing a reasonable budget for 2015. For your financial goals, write down what each item is (whether your goal is to buy a house, go on vacation or save for college). Then, next to each item, write down how much that item is going to cost you – include the approximate date you want to purchase that object and what you can do to make that happen (work extra hours, sell items on eBay, pick up a new client). Then, take that dollar amount and divide it by the weeks until your approximate purchase date – that is how much you need to save each week to reach that goal.
Monitor Your Goals
I recommend monitoring your goals weekly – take a few minutes mid-week to see where you are at reaching your goal. This will give you a good idea of how close you are to reaching your goal, then take some extra time throughout the week to do something extra that will generate the revenue you need to hit the goal.
Enjoy the Rewards
So far, this year we have been able to save a lot of money and take all of the family vacations that we had planned all because we stuck to your financial plan. You can do this too! Just stay focused on your goals!
Now that the Thanksgiving celebrations are done, be sure to add Capital One 360’s Black Friday Sale to your shopping list. Visit Capital One 360 to give yourself the lasting gift of financial peace of mind by taking advantage of Capital One 360’s deals on banking, brokerage and mortgage products.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
