Frugal Tips to Help Food Last Longer

December 31, 2007 · Filed Under · 5 Comments 

christmas_food.jpgSorry for not blogging in a while, I found it very hard to type with a double stuffed potato in one hand and a piece of fudge in the other! Actually, that sounds kinda gross. But anyways, I have gained several pounds the last couple weeks and it is time to get back into my exercise routine. Desserts and sweets keep showing up at our house and I just would feel terrible if they went to waste. So I eat and eat until I think I am full then I eat some more. Tis’ the season! But the good news is that over the last month I have stumbled across some frugal and often healthy ways to make food in your house last longer along with some great dessert and snack ideas for the family. Here are a few that might help:

  •  Don’t throw out that extra celery from Christmas dinner. If celery becomes limp, don’t toss it! Instead put it in some cold water and toss it back in the fridge for an hour. It will get back a lot of its crispiness.
  • Yummy carrot sticks. If you think that is an oxymoron try peeling the carrots, cut them into desired size then immerse in tall container of water with some artificial sweetener (couple small packages will do). Chill for an hour or two, and what an improvement. (for me anyways!)
  • Make your own ice cream sandwiches. Slice off squares of your favorite ice cream and place them between graham crackers (cinnamon & sugar are the best!) and put them in the freezer. Awesome treats!
  • Watching your calorie intake? If so, try beating together 1 egg white, 1 small ripe banana, and 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice until fluffy. Use immediately as a tasty replacement to whipped cream.
  • Peanut butter, the old stand by. This is a classic: spread beanut butter on apples wedges or fill celery with peanut butter for a tasty snack.
  • Get fancy with chocolate curls. Ever wonder how to make those fancy chocolate curls? Easy, warm a bar of chocolate slightly, then shave with a sharp knife to make those desserts come alive.
  • Make the marshmallows last. We are constantly throwing out half used bags of rotten marshmallows from our pantry. I stumbled across the tip of keeping opened bags of marshmallows in the freezer to keep them from getting hard and sticky. They really do stay fresh this way!
  • Oh, and as for the leftovers! Make sure to cover your plate of leftovers in the microwave. If you forget, place 1 cup of water in the microwave, heat for a minute or 2, then let it set for a few minutes. This will steam your microwave and make it easy to wipe off food splatters and explosions. Don’t ask me how I know this….

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Come On In and Please Step Over The Christmas Tree!

December 18, 2007 · Filed Under , · 10 Comments 

What can go wrong, will go wrong…….sometimes I feel that way, especially recently. Do you ever feel like things are going bad and you don’t see any end in sight? My wife was sick with a bad cold last week and then on Saturday our family doctor diagnosed her with walking pneumonia. Yikes! She is doing much better and I have been doing the whole “Mr. Mom” thing, which I have been enjoying and has given me an entirely new appreciation for what my wife does on a daily basis.

Broken Ornaments

Then last night it happened. The straw that broke the camel’s back, the coup de grâce of Holiday nightmares. My wife and I were awoken by a loud “SWHOOOOOOOSH”, I glance at the clock, it reads 2 a.m.. My wife says the 2 words that NO husband wants to hear in December, especially at 2 a.m., “The TREE!” As I enter the living room and stumble to find the light switch, my worst yule tide fear has come true, the Christmas tree is on the ground! This is no ordinary tree, mind you, this White Fir stands 12 feet tall and would make Paul Bunyan proud! Bits and pieces of glass ornaments were strewn everywhere and lights were in a tangled mess. Water from the base had soaked the carpet and needless to say, tree needles were, well, everywhere. I quickly unplug the power strip so we don’t become crispy critters and we begin the clean-up and were back in bed by 3am. We did not want to leave the glass on the floor in fear of one of the kiddos tromping through it this morning before we woke.

Believe it or not, this has actually been a blessing in disguise and has made me stop and ponder what really matters this time of year. And glass ornaments are not on this list!  Here is what I am most thankful for:

  • My family is healthy. Err…almost, my wife is on the road to recovery.
  • We will have presents under the tree for everyone and did NOT have to accumualte credit card debt to do it.
  • My immediate family will all be together Christmas morning.
  • My 6 year old son understood why we were buying presents for children that otherwise might not have gifts on Christmas morning.
  • Christmas trees and ornaments will come and go, but memories created this time of year will last a lifetime. I was pretty ticked off at 2am last night, but my wife and I have already shared a couple laughs about it today. Memory created the hard way!

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Is The Gift Card a Good Gift?

December 14, 2007 · Filed Under · 5 Comments 

Starbucks Gift CardI have a little more Christmas shopping to do and I was thinking of buying a few gift cards for family and friends. I have noticed a lot of debate recently with people weighing in with their opinion on whether they feel the gift card is a thoughtful gift or just a sorry excuse for a gift. Here is when I think gift cards make sense:

  • Food and Drink Gift Cards are great. I have a friend who loves Starbucks but complains about the expense. So a Starbucks gift cards would be very appreciated by this person. It provides a special treat without the worry over the expense. I think a gift card is kinda cheesy in the case of the friend who is very athletic so I buy them a $25 Sports Authority gift card. Not very personal, plus you can’t do a whole heck of a lot with $25 at Sports Authority, where that buys 5-6 cups of Java at Starbucks. Other good examples of “treat” gift cards include Jamba Juice and Coldstone Creamery. Especially for teenagers, they love ‘em.  Also, I like the iTunes gift card for music lovers because you can get quite a bit of music for $25!
  • Only give the gift card when it won’t create more spending. I once got a gift card for Brookstone for $25. For those of you who are not familiar with Brookstone, the only thing they have that costs $25 or less is their free catalog and some luggage locks, which I ended up buying and have never used! If you are giving a gift card to a place like Brookstone or Sharper Image, only do it if the amount of the card actually lets the recipient buy something decent without having to fork out their own money. Otherwise you are buying a partial gift for someone and telling them they can buy the rest of it if they want!

Your thoughts?

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Christmas Brings Out The Best In People, Even at Walmart!

December 11, 2007 · Filed Under , · 6 Comments 

Warm and Fuzzy at Walmart!So last night I braved our local Super Walmart to do some shopping for an adopt-a-family program I am involved with. My goal was to buy some clothing for a 12 year old girl….I kept saying to myself ”this could be ugly.”  I had her sizes and colors that she liked but not much else.

After wandering around for a good ten minutes trying to figure out how the whole sizing thing works I quietly approached a Walmart employee fully thinking I would get the finger point and them saying “go straight up this aisle and turn left at the Fruit-of-the-Looms.” But instead, the employee saw my adopt-a-family list and smiled at me and helped me navigate the endless rows of kids clothing for the next 20 minutes. Her name was Ashley and I could not have thanked her enough! She was awesome, and really gave me a warm fuzzy feeling all over, unless that was the Mexican food I had for lunch. But seriously, Christmas really does brings out the best in people and this experience at the Super W confirmed this for me. After a long day at work, this experience was just what the doctor ordered. I walked out of the store singing “Walking In a Winter Wonderland.” OK, it was also playing on the Walmart PA system, but I was singing it nonetheless. Thanks Ashley!

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Have Yourself A Frugal Little Christmas

December 6, 2007 · Filed Under , · 8 Comments 

Me with our Christmas TreeMy wife and I are really trying hard this Christmas to cut back on spending and instead focus on the many blessings that we have in our lives. As much as I love to shop, I just hate getting those big credit card bills in January. We are still buying gifts for everyone on our list, but we are just dialing it back a bit so we don’t over extend ourselves financially. On a similar note, these new lyrics to an old Christmas favorite came to me in my dreams last night. Enjoy!  :-)

Have yourself a frugal little Christmas,
Let your credit cards bills be light
From now on,
our debt will be out of sight

Have yourself a frugal little Christmas,
You’ll make your savings gay,
From now on,
overspending will be miles away.

Here we are using coupons,
Happy dollar stretching days of yore.
Faithful budgets who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
We all will learn to live well within our means,
If the Fates allow
Throw those catalogs upon the highest flame.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

 

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Got Glue?

December 5, 2007 · Filed Under , · 4 Comments 

So we finally finished decorating our Christmas tree last night and we really had a great time. Only problem was my 3 year old daughter gets a little excited playing with the ornaments and the picture below pretty much sums it up. We put all the breakable and glass ornaments high on the tree but from time to time she gets her hands on one! She really tries hard to be gentle so it is hard to get mad at the little fart!

Broken Ornaments

What better place to throw in some coupons for some deals on Christmas ornaments and decorations. I wish I had some coupons for super glue though!

Hallmark.com
Save 20% OFF your ENTIRE order
Coupon Code: FB2007
Expiration: 12/31/07

Smith and Hawken.com
FREE Shipping on everything in the Holiday Gift Guide
Coupon Code: None Needed
Expiration: 12/13/07

Illuminations.com
Save $15 OFF your $60+ order
Coupon Code: 999201337
Expiration: 12/31/07

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I Knew I Was Getting Ripped Off But Bought Anyways, OUCH!

December 3, 2007 · Filed Under , · 9 Comments 

Duracell 9 VoltsLast night my wife and I packed up our three kids and went to a Christmas event that included old Saint Nick and gingerbread houses that the kids could decorate. It was a lot of fun and we were asked to bring a toy for our local ‘Toys For Tots’ program. So before the event, we went to the toy store and let our 2 oldest kids pick out a toy for a child less fortunate. Good stuff. My 6 year old son picked out a pair of walkie talkies and my 3 year old daughter picked out a book and a toy drum. So we all get back in the car and are heading to the event when my wife remembers that we should pick up some batteries for the walkie talkies. We are really pressed on time so I pull into a gas station (I need gas anyways), and while I am filling up my tank, I run into the gas station to buy two 9 volt batteries. It cost me $10.70 for two 9 volt batteries!! I almost said “forget it” when the guy was ringing me up, but I knew we did not have time to find another store and since it was for a good cause I just slapped down my cash and got out of there with my tail between my legs.

The funny thing is that the 2 batteries costs about the same as the walkie talkies. My wife and I then considered that maybe this was not such a great gift to give a child whose parents probably can’t afford to buy batteries in the first place. Even though it was for a good cause, I still had this terrible taste in my mouth that I had just been totally ripped off. I hate that feeling! This is why I know I will never be able to shop in the department stores that have the high mark-ups and that aire of superiority. If I know I am not getting the best value for my money I feel like an idiot. This is why I like shopping at stores like Ross or Marshalls. Same quality brands, just a lot cheaper. After all, a Duracell battery is the same whether you pay $5.35 or $3 for it! Not sure if this makes me cheap or just ‘price sensitive’? OK, I just totally made that term up, but it sounds a lot better than cheap!


Great Idea Jenny! Shirt costs $29.99, any buyers?

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