I am 39 weeks and 1 day. Still waiting for Skye's arrival. Have a feeling she will be overdue as my other three were. Oh well! All in God's timing. My husband will be taking two weeks off after she arrives. One week using vacation pay and the other week, we will 'eat' no wages. We will only know after we have her, if she is alright or if she has special needs. God's hands.

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So...trying to eat as inexpensively BUT as easily as possible- I'm sooo tired! This week I am utilizing my pressure cooker for some steak chili, my crockpot for German Lentil Soup, a night of chicken nuggets & mac n cheese and then leftovers. Woohoo. Exciting week.

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Have a great week!

Monday- T-Bones, Smashed Baby Red Potatoes, Green Beans in Olive Oil/Garlic/Tarragon and Strapplesauce (applesauce with fresh pureed strawberries)

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Tuesday- Whole Wheat French Toast and Orange Juice

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Wednesday- Mexican Pizzas, Grilled Zucchini and Fresh Pineapple

(recipe calls for meat, we will omit meat)

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Thursday- Herb Roasted Chicken, Jasmine Rice, Fried Zucchini and Red Grapes

(I roast 2 chickens, we eat one for supper, make sandwiches with leftovers and shred the other chicken for weekend meals)

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Friday- Homemade Pizza and Ice Cream Cones for dessert!

(dessert not homemade lol)

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Saturday- Garlic & Herb White Bean Soup, Fresh Bread w/butter and a Veg

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Sunday- Chicken Sandwiches on Whole Wheat, Carrot Sticks, and Cantaloupe

Kids will opt for Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches

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We try to have sandwiches on Sundays. Easy on mom and little clean up. I now make all our beans in the pressure cooker. You get the most delectable beans from the pressure cooker. Perfect creamy texture, intact skins and the skins are never chewy. So wonderful! Refried beans-I like to cook pinto beans in the pressure cooker with some onion, garlic and cumin- then drain and mash adding some chicken broth  to thin for my desired consistency and salt for taste. Crazy good - and cheap!

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 I have also found that I like to cook  2 roaster chickens at once in my roaster oven (not my regular oven too hot for that and the roaster makes them so succulent almost like rotisserie). Sometimes I just freeze the other cooked chicken. My family seems to never tire just eating off the bird along with some bread and a veg and they are happy! And it's the cheapest way to buy chicken (.99/lb). I get thighs, wings, breasts...and all the dark meat my little heart desires. *wink* If I need to make a recipe that calls for parts I just hack it up myself- but like I said my family seems to prefer to just eat roasted chicken as it is.

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I also have a small garden going on and it's giving me tons of tomatoes and zucchini. So I haven't been buying much in the way of veggies. Just mostly eating the organic carrots from Costco (enormous bag for $5) and the zucchini. I buy salad fixin's still- well lettuce mostly. Fruit is our big expense I would say, right now. Summer fruit is our dessert- we partake a lot! hehe Watermelon, peaches....plums...pluots and altho it's not really a summer fruit (as it's imprted) we loveeeeee fresh pineapple. We eat it at least 2 times a month! And I have my pineapple and watermelon pickin' skills down to an art! Yum!

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Some non-food ways I have been using to save money are I bought a HUGE bucket of Charlie's Laundry Soap (the best detergent I have ever used), stopped buying fabric softener (don't need it), use baking soda and/or vinegar for nearly ALL my cleaning needs, use microfiber towels around the house to cut down on paper towel usage (I bought mine from Costco in the auto section- they are yellow and awesome and cheap and you can beat them up crazy- do not use fabric softener on them!), use damp  clean microfiber cloth to dust with, use cloth diapers (still have throw aways too!), use bar soap instead of gel (we use natural soap too), we don't go anywhere unless we have to (lol) to save on gas, we have been playing puzzles/tinker toys/wooden blocks/mega bloks/play doh/games/reading books/surfing the net and looking up random bug or animal factoids/lincoln logs/matchbox cars....and seriously...yes I mean WE. We play with the kids and we all have a great time even though we went....no where. Who knew! We also budget $20 monthly for a Blockbuster membership. We get our money's worth there! We rent 3 movies at a time (lotsa family friendly flicks!), walk them into the store and trade them in for 3 movie/game rentals (FREE) and bring them back when done and they send us next 3 movies on our queue. It's the one luxury we 'afford' because all of us going to the movies...is impossible. We can't afford it! So popcorn and movie nights are a good time here!

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(pssst....we'd go outside more but we live in Northern California and the smoke from all the hundreds of fires are so bad here that it is not healthy for lots of outdoor activities with little kids and an already out of breath pregnant woman so please know we do things outside when we can!)

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Many of these things most people already do. But these are things that are working for us. Cost of living is going up but my husband's wages haven't moved in 2 years. And we aren't holding our breath for a raise and we are adding on a new little person. LOL So I might get even more daring with my cutbacks as time goes on! Who knows?! =0)

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Hope everyone is having a fun summer!

Things are going very well here. I have been continuing on my path to saving money- as it costs $70 to fill my minivan- I have to now. =0) We are pretty much ready for the arrival of Skye. She is due September 8, but my babies always like to hang out for a while longer- so we will see!

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I had tried the route of technology to keep myself organized. I failed. PDA's are fun for games but for me....paper trails are more effective. So it is back to my Franklin Covey organizer. Ahhhh much better! So I may be able to even post a few more times over the next few weeks.

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Keeping my food budget controlled is about the only major way I can impact our spending. Sooo....onward and upwards with that!

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Thank you so much for taking a peek over here now and again as we try to prepare for a new life with 4 children! God is good!

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Happy July!!

Amy

Hey! It's been a while since I have posted my menu th enight before Monday. =0) I am trying to utilize what we have on hand, so my menu this week reflects that. Our one 'splurge' of the week was hubby's request to grill some shrimp. But I made room for the added expense by not buying much else, except some pantry items.

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I make my own pancake/waffles mix and they are whole grain, I am using dried beans (healthy & cheap!), and not using much meat. I try to make some kind of dessert a couple times a week- even if it's merely nothing more than strawberries dipped in sour cream and brown sugar.

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Lunches this week are peanut butter & honey sandwiches & baby carrots, mac & cheese served w/green beans (yes the box kind), grillled cheese sandwiches & applesauce, dinner leftovers at some point...and if not- more PB&H sandwiches (a family fave)- for the kids. I'll eat much of the same but I prefer to eat some leftover soups & bread to mac & cheese and I am likely to eat dinner leftovers rather than PB&H's (not a personal fave of mine pb sammies that is). Dh will eat his beloved PB&H sandwiches and random leftovers as he chooses. Breakfasts will be oatmeal, some cold cereal, some malt o meal and one meal of eggs & toast all served with juice or fruit.

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Saturday - Friday

It's been a while since I've shared some of my own frugal tips. You will notice that most of my frugal tips are food containing. *grin* There is a reason for that. It's about the only thing in our budget that can be budged. Mortgage, gas, electric, water, garbage...we have gotten them as low as we possibly can. Water and electricity we have cut in HALF over last year. I mean exactly in half. And we have MORE family members using more utilities and we do not bathe once a week to accomplish it. So yay! God is good!

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But back to food. It's the one thing in my budget I can always- decrease or increase as means decrease or increase. It takes some creativity and some BASIC kitchen knowledge and the desire to save a few bucks- that is really all!

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Nutrition is very, very important to us. Although we would like to buy organic, we simply do not have the means to do so except on rare occasions. But produce is very important to us. We try to buy in season and as local as possible. I would much rather buy a tomato from a local farmer (even it is not organic) than buy an organic one shipped in from Mexico- how much gas did that trucker have to use to get my that tomato? I cringe! So local over organic and in season produce will assure me that I am getting a nutritious and delicious product.

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Fact. Produce is expensive. How do I afford all the produce I am told I should feed my family? I get creative! Can we only eat fresh and afford it? The answer is, no, we can not. But I do easily spend at least $30 a week in fresh produce! Sometimes more. It is the bulk of my grocery bill, to be honest. We use a combo of canned (only a little), frozen (quite a bit) and fresh (a lot). I can not tell you what would work best for you, but I can share what works for my family and my budget. Which I will be totally honest with you-

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We are a family of five and in September- six! What a blessing! We live in California which, to be frank, is one of the most expensive staes to live in right now. If I told you what we paid for property taxes, homeowners insurances (yes, plural), mortgage, gas, milk...on and on...you would cringe. We receive zero assistance. At this point, although we qualify, we do not receive even WIC. My husband is a very hard worker and is an electrician. He is required to commute daily 120 miles round trip- sometimes more. Our gas bill is sickening. We have no choice. My hardworking man takes care of us with less than $38,000 per year for almost six people. Now before some of you Easterners, go wait that's a lot of money- as I said- our taxes (sales and property and DMV here are crazy)- it is perhaps like making maybe 25K elsewhere. It's not much. But we make do, with glad hearts. We chose to homeschool, we chose for me to stay home...therefor we can not complain of not being able to keep up with the Jones'. That can be fixed- I could place my kids in public school and go to work- problem fixed. We chose a different path and our path is riddled with obstacles. Our food bill as I said is my number one movable bill. So after my little intro into our world...let's do lunch....

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Lunches in my house are sometimes sit downs and sometime...well eating and moving. LOL But I try my best to get in a protein, a grain and a fruit or veggie. That's my lunch formula. I have leetle kids, so they only need a leetle bit of food (yes, I can spell little). So a favorite in our house is a peanut butter and honey sandwich (on whole wheat bread) and a piece of fruit. I like variety- so I do force variety on my kids. Oh they love it (sarcasm inserted here hehe). But those PB&H sammies and fruit are a very healthy meal for a child! They'd eat it everyday if they could. My dh actually does. His preference!

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One way I pack in a lot of veggies, inexpensively is to use these items generously. I even splurge and by these items organic. =0) Carrots, Onions, Celery, and Garlic. I try to put them in everything I possibly can. I buy these every week or every other week- depends on how much we end up eating. These veggies are some of the cheapest available! Frozen spinach- cheap and plentiful. I also add it to anything I possibly can. Potatoes - I splurge here and buy organic but if we ate more I would not. When I buy them, I make menus that I can incorporate taters in, in some shape or form.

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So what's on a lunch menu here?

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Besides the above mentioned sandwiches my crew eats refried beans with a small bit of shredded sharp cheddar. I usually make my own refried beans in my crock pot. I buy dried  beans in 8-10 pound amounts. I also like to make a rice pilaf....fancy way of saying I toasted my rice in a bit of oil with some diced veggies....usually onion, carrot, garlic and celery! If I am making a rice stuffing for burritos or a mexi-side- then I add cumin, a sprinkle of chili powder, some cilantro if I happen to have some...maybe even some chopped tomatoes at the end. Some tomato paste depending on what I am making. I also like to cook up some pinto beans, black beans or black-eyed peas- with many of the same veggies and spices. You can eat them as is, sprinkle cheese on and eat, use as a tortilla chip dip, roll up the beans with some cheese and some of the rice and heat inside a tortilla shell and you have a burrito. Salsa or taco sauce is a good thing to always have on hand if you do this often. You can mash up the beans when you're done and serve as a refried type bean. As long as I sprinkle a bit of cheese- my kids will eat!  So healthy, so cheap and I stuffed a ton of veggies in there! If they are in season I can also afford bell peppers and zucchini and you can also add that to your rice or your beans. Mix the rice and beans after cooking for a delicious side, main dish or burrito stuffing. Combined you need no meat as they are a complete protein. And yes, I often use brown rice for my little pilafs! YUM! If anyone wants a 'recipe' for the above ideas- I can oblige.

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The veggies I most often serve to my crew at lunch- is canned green beans. Some people say gross- but my kids say, yes please!!! They will eat it- zero complaints. I don't care if they eat it as their lunch veggie everyday- I am happy they eat a veggie at lunch everyday. That is one of the only veggies I buy in a can. I usually buy them at Costco- 4 cases at a  time.

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Sandwiches are the other great way I serve healthy inexpensive lunches to my crew. Grilled cheese on whole grain bread, egg salad on whole grain bread, PB&J or PB&H on whole grain bread, the very occasional fried egg on toasted whole grain bread, if we have leftover meats like chicken- that's a treat! We have chicken salad sandwiches- I try to add cooked chopped hardboiled eggs to stretch it. Or add beans or rice (mentioned above) and roll it up into a tortilla! All healthy, inexpensive and when made is large amounts- very little time in the kitchen (except the day you prepare all those beans and rice! Or egg or chicken salads). Remember to try to stretch  those 'salads' and up the health factor by adding shredded carrot, celery or onion. I say shredded because my crew does NOT like to crunch on pieces of celery and the like in their egg or chicken or tuna salads.

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For families that are even larger than my own and have an even smaller budget (I usually spend fewer than $100 per week- shooting for $75) and this includes meats, dairy and veggies and fruit...then you may not be able to afford to try to stuff carrots, celery, onion in everything. But you should try! Even ramen noodles can be made healthier and stretched farther by adding chopped onion, carrot and celery!

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Think basics like rice, potatoes, and beans for lunch. Then think about what you can add healthfully and inexpensively. Then think about what you can add to round out the meal to make it most complete for your personal lunch budget. Remember my formula is protein (this could be meat, egg, cheese, beans), whole grain (wheat bread, brown rice or other grain item) and a veggie and a fruit if you can get in on there!

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Lunch Example:

Peanut Butter & Honey Sandwich served with half a banana (that's a leetle kid serving) and a 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of green beans. I serve ice water only. Kids can have more of anything they choose after they eat all of their meal. My sons usually ask for a peanut butter spoon when done. What's that? It's a spoon with a giant scoop of peanut butter (lol). I sometimes offer that as a snack with a couple crackers and a small cup of juice- a kid fave in our house!

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Much of this you already do, I am sure. But sometimes it's nice to read about what others do, you know?

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If anyone has any of their own ideas, feel free to add them by comment. If anyone has questions- feel free to ask! Planning meals, menus and grocery lists are actually a great source of joy for me! I like using herbs, spices, and zesting up everything I possibly can to 'disguise the fact that we eat rather humbly. My family does not notice that the bulk of our diet is very basic. =0)

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I feel very good about that.

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I will be adding my menu later today -with my shopping  list as I have been lately. I have been seriously considering buying a Bosch mixer- if anyone owns one and wants to share with me if this workhouse mixer benefits you and your family or how it doesn't - I'd LOVE to hear it! Thank you so much for coming by!

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Amy

I keep calling it Menu Monday but my menus don't start on Monday nor do I post them on Monday, so I guess it's just a weekly menu. ha!

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The ultrasounds went well. We saw baby. From all their extensive measurements from both the level 2 u/s and the fetal echo- they could find NOTHING wrong whatsoever. Does that mean baby is 100% in the clear? No, we'd have to do an amnio rule Down's out completely. But here we rest in Him. No amnio. We feel good about the results. Oh and would you like to know what baby is? A little girl!! Yay! We are ALL so excited! Two boys and two girls is so completely perfect and we are humbled that we get an even 2 and 2. makes bedroom planning sooo easy! Our little girl's name has been chosen and this weekend we celebrate her by each buying her a little 'gift'. Nothing big, but we do this after we find out the gender of all our babies. My boys would like to buy her little mits for her hands so she can not scratch her face. Aww. I don't know what daddy wants to get her, but I want to get a baby book and a photo album to place her ultrasound pics in and my baby belly pictures. We are filled with joy. I just thought I'd update! God is good!

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Due to crazy gas prices, my husband's 130 mile a day commute, increased food prices but not wages - I have really had to knuckle down on our food bill. We also have some outstanding medical bills we are still struggling to pay off. Join the club right? LOL But I am really trying hard to be economical but healthy. Lunches and breakfasts are not much different in any week than the ones listed in the previous post. So I didn't bother repeating them.

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I still make my own breads using part whole grains, I still make my pancake/waffle mix with part whole grains to healthy up our carbs as much as I can. I'd use all whole wheat but I really like fluffy pancakes. I'm spoiled! We decided to make every Sunday a sandwich day for dinner to cut down on dirty dishes and Mom's kitchen time on that day. And treat of all treats- we eat chips on this day. My dear husband and kids love Sandwich Sunday and it was his request to eat these things that day. And as we move into warmer weather- we will switch up our Family Movie Fridays with Pizza some weeks and Nachos other weeks. Some fun food. I find being a slave to the kitchen is inefficient and not necessary at this time. So meals have gotten simpler and perhaps a little less healthy than they used to be- depends on who ya are! But my husband really wanted me to free up some of my kitchen time so I was less stressed and he encouraged me that as the children get older and can help more- we can crack down on our meals and make more elaborately healthy meals at a later date. What a wonderfully sweet and understanding husband!

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My Menu:

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Posting a bit earlier...at this point I know it's only me reading my blog. LOL I just wish I had more time to keep up with the blogger world. I just don't. Maybe after this baby is born. =0)

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At an ultrasound a few weeks ago they informed me they suspect that our baby has Down Syndrome. To rule this out- this coming week we go through a round of tests to see what we can determine. I refused an amnio so they will have to determine what they can with a level 2 ultrasound and a fetal echo. It is all in God's hands and we are honestly not worried. We are excited to see our little one this Tuesday AND see what gender baby is!  18 weeks will be plenty far enough along to determine gender. *wink*

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Menus are the one of the things that help streamline daily life and I am trying to get that all back inline as I feel soooo much better!! So here we go...

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Breakfasts

Cold Cereal (3)

Oatmeal (1)

Malt-O-Meal (1)

Egg & Toast (2)

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Lunches served w/ a veg

PB&J (2)

Mac&Cheese (1)

Hard-boiled Egg, Toast & Jam (2)

Ramen Soup (with veggies & egg) (1)

Kid's Choice (1)