My Bella Band is on the way!

Ever since I was expecting M I've wanted a Bella Band. I am always struggling to keep my pants in the right ~ahem~ position with my ever-increasing belly! I've heard for most people, these are a lifesaver!

Today I was thinking how much I still wanted one, but just didn't want to pull any money from other budget items or savings for one. I checked the mail and guess what...a birthday check from my grandma was there! It covered all but $1 of the cost of one in the perfect color and size from Amazon.com! What a blessing:)

Jars and Lids: another frugal toy

M discovered my stash of old glass jars the other day. I hate to throw them out but haven't found a way to recycle or reuse them yet since our 4-plex doesn't have recycling. She has spent long periods of time trying on the various lids and putting things in the jar. Its almost an educational toy! :)

Please excuse our pantry area...its the scariest part of the house with daddy's old bike, all our non-perishable food and the laundry:)





More Works for Me Wednesday Here.

Mmmmmm....butter

Daniel just called from work to let me know about the awesome lunch I packed him. Guess there were two reusable butter tubs in the fridge this morning: one with leftover Beefy Cheese and rice w/cauliflower and one with butter--unfortunately I chose the one that actually had butter in it to put in his lunch:)

Nice, eh?

The sweet thing is I get to see my favorite person for lunch today! ;)

Whole Wheat Pineapple Muffins (and other healthy breakfast ideas)

Adapted from the More-With-Less cookbook:
(the only changes I made were to make these truly whole wheat and used less sugar)

Whole Wheat Pineapple Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour (can use WW pastry flour in these for a lighter taste)
3 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 cup sugar, apple juice, honey, or other sweet substitute
1/4 cup margarine (I used part applesauce for this)
1 egg
1 cup crushed pineapple, undrained

Mix dry ingredients together. Cream sweetener and fats (margarine/butter/applesauce) together. Add egg and stir well. Stir in crushed pineapple. Fill muffin tins 3/4 of the way. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Best if served hot.

Some other healthy breakfast ideas to get out of the rut:

Granola-y Peanut Butter Trail Mix (serve over yogurt)

Fruit and Veggie Muffins

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

Blender Banana Oatmeal Waffles (vegan)

Visit Tammy's recipes and Grocery Cart Challenge!

Goofy Girls

Grocery Shopping for the first week of February, 2009

This week I went to Fred Meyer, Walgreen's and QFC. I don't normally shop at QFC (in the Kroger family)-but they had a stellar deal on ground beef and its on the way home from church.

QFC: I picked up the following for a little over $10:
3 lbs ground beef (which I made into lots of meatballs)
large carton cottage cheese markdown for $1.49
avocado $1
lunch meat (marked down from $3.99 to $0.99
a small pork roast marked down to $2.64
(I realized afterward it looked like I was doing Atkins or something from my high protein purchases!)

Fred Meyer: (total about $27)
carrots
onions
bananas
broccoli
cauliflower
2 Kraft Ranch dressings (sale for 2/$4 and I had $1/2 coupon
6 grapefruit
whole wheat flour
2 wheat thins (on sale for 3/$5 and I had a $2/2 coupon)
syrup
vinegar
margarine
organic salad greens (marked down to $1.49)
loaf 12 grain bread $0.79
whole wheat hotdog buns $0.49
3 2% Kraft Cheese (3/$5 plus I had coupons for $0.75 off each one)
Yo-plus yogurt (marked down to $1.50 plus I had a $1 off/1 coupon)


And finally, Walgreen's:
This is my sugar and tooth care purchase. I thought it looked pretty funny that I had a whole bunch of candy/pop AND and bunch of mouthwash/toothpaste. We're gonna need it:)

The candy bars were free thanks to coupons from my friend Marie, and the soda/listerine/colgate were all register rewards deals that I rolled. Total out of pocket was about $3.50 after a $10 RR from last week, and I received $8.50 in RR back.

Visit the Grocery Cart Challenge to see what everybody else bought this week!

Menu Plan for the Week of Feb 1st, 2009

Breakfasts: Whole Wheat Pineapple Muffins (from More with less cookbook), french toast, coffee cake, toast

Lunches: Leftovers

Snacks: fruit, cereal, crackers, cheese

Dinners:

M: Cheesy Beef and Rice casserole and salad

Tue: Roast Chicken w/ broccoli and mashed potatoes

Wed: Bacon and Spinach Quiche and Fried Brown Rice (w/lots of veggies) -this was from last week and we didn't get to it

Th: Cheesy Pasta Casserole and salad

F: Homemade Pizza with Cheese or we may go out. Last friday we weren't able to get a babysitter, so we agreed to have our date night when we can find a sitter

Sat: Chicken Curry over Rice

Sun: Creamy Tomato Soup and cornbread or Tacos

Orgjunkie has hundreds more menu plans!