Frugal Friday: Frugal Clean Eating!

I have this friend named Tamera.  She's kind of a hippie... not the weird shower-once-a-month kind, but the cool rain barrel and organic garden kind.  She's been "eating clean" this year and has been talking about it a lot.  I've always been interested in clean eating, and have enjoyed learning so much from her.  We've never eaten a lot of processed foods, but didn't realize that things I thought seemed good for me still were not.

So, I challenged myself this week to eat clean for most meals.  I usually spend about $50-$60 per week at the grocery store, so I wanted to see if I could stick to that budget and still eat clean.  I ended up spending $65.35.  I didn't buy organic milk or eggs, but everything else is organic, natural, or has less than 5 ingredients (all of which I can pronounce).

They just opened an Earth Fare at Hamilton Town Center and are having some AMAZING deals going on.  So it was the perfect week to start eating clean.  I registered online before I went and got a coupon for a free organic chicken if I spent $10, $10 off for registering online, and 5 organic items for $5.

I got all this for $17.29!
frozen berries, applesauce, peanut butter, jelly, crackers, cookies, oat bran,
1 cucumber, 2 potatoes, a whole chicken, and 4 hamburger patties (all organic!)
*side-note:  the hamburger patties were so huge that we cut them in half
and were able to use them for 2 meals instead of one!  

I didn't get all organic fruits and veggies, but I kept in mind the clean 15 and the dirty dozen when shopping.  When I got home, I cooked the chicken in the crockpot, shredded it for 2 meals, and made chicken broth so that it would be easy to prepare meals during the week.

Then I headed to Meijer to get the rest of my groceries.  

Here they are, for a total of $48.06:

*side-note:  we had to buy another bunch of bananas on Wednesday and since it was a stressful day with the kids, Matt bought my favorite ice cream (homemade's peanut butter and chip)  And, I wrote this blog while eating a large bowl of that icecream.  #cleanfail  #cleanfail   #cleanfail

baby steps my friends... baby steps.

Here is our meal plan for this week:    

Dinners:  

M:  Organic hamburgers (no buns), organic mashed potatoes, and broccoli

T:    BBQ shredded organic chicken (was going to make my own BBQ but didn't end up having time so used regular... #cleanfail) with corn and salad

W:  Watched my friend Andrea's sweet children, and she made my family dinner!  Teriyaki chicken, rice, and broccoli

H: Whole wheat pasta with olive oil and tomatoes with bread from the bread machine

F:  Cubed organic hamburgers over a salad with boiled egg, cucumbers, and carrots

S: Our good friend Marla always makes an amazing dinner for everyone who helps set-up at church :)  

S: Wild-caught cod (steer clear of "farm-raised") over brown rice with carrots

M:  Organic chicken tacos (instead of taco shell, plan to use lettuce wrap) with beans 

Lunches:  organic PB&J with carrots or crackers, veggie sandwich with avocado/tomato/provolone with applesauce, dinner leftovers

Breakfasts:  natural whole wheat banana pancakes (natural syrup was too costly so I ended up using regular syrup... #cleanfail), natural oatmeal with berries and a touch of brown sugar, fruit, toast & eggs 

Snacks:  popcorn, carrots, applesauce, berry smoothies

And of course... pictures!   :)

                                                                                                                                                                               

                    

I realize that we didn't eat 100% clean, but I believe that even small changes can make a big difference.  We still have some changes we are planning to implement and I know every week will be better/cleaner.  

I also realize that this budget may not be all that accurate since I got all of those great deals at Earth Fare, but  it's a good reminder to register online for places you would like to have coupons for and take advantage of good deals and coupons when you can.  Also, Kroger has a line of natural and organic foods called Simple Truth which is less expensive than going to a natural/organic food store.   

If you are interested in the benefits of clean eating and/or would like recipes, here are some great websites to check out: 100 days of real food and A journey to clean eating.

Happy Frugal Friday!

Frugal Friday!

I'm a huge fan of fried rice, but I'm too frugal to get Chinese take-out, plus I'm never sure if I'm really eating cat... so when I found this recipe on pinterest I was pretty excited!!!

I love it because it's filling, has veggies in it, and only required 2 chicken breasts.  

<----I stole this picture from her website.
Ingredients:  (doubled from the original) 

*4 servings of cooked brown rice

*2 eggs

*1 c frozen mixed veggies

*4 chopped green onions

*4 T soy sauce

*2 minced garlic

*2 chopped chicken breasts  (would be a great way to use leftover chicken)
*3 t vegetable oil (she used sesame oil)  

Directions:
1) Whisk eggs and set aside
2) Heat 2 t oil in skillet.  Add chicken and cook thoroughly.  Transfer chicken to a different plate.
3) Heat a little more oil in pan and add veggies, green onions, and garlic until tender.  Then add the eggs.  When the eggs are cooked... add in the chicken, rice, and soy sauce.  Toss well to combine.  Serves 4.

The blogger that posted this recipe says that day old rice is better... another great way to use those leftovers!!!

Finished product:

     

  Tynnley gave her approval!  

Happy Frugal Friday!

  

Goal-Making Monday!

1) Spiritual Goal:
    Assist Warrick in memorizing Luke 6:31 "Do to
    others as you would have them do to you."
    Watch BridgeWay's message from Sunday (you 
    can join me here)
    Read Romans 8 everyday
    Read 21 questions from John Wesley for 21 days.
    This was a challenge from my awesome pastor.
    You can join me in reading them here.
     
2) Intellectual Goal:  
    Read at least 50 pages in Not a Fan.  
   
3) Health Goal: 
    Drink 8 glasses of water per day.
     
4) Financial Goal: 
     Deposit birthday money into Warrick's account.  He got a lot of money for his 
     birthday last week and with our help, decided to give 10% to our church, spend 
     50% and put 40% into his savings account.   
  

What are your goals for the week?

Frugal Friday!

Don't drink your money away!  Don't worry, I'm not talking alcoholic beverages, although I'm aware that alcohol is expensive.  But, since I'm a teetotaler, I'm talking about pop, juice, and the like.   

Buying drinks at the grocery store have the potential to drain a lot of your grocery budget.  We rarely buy pop and the only time we do is if someone is sick (7-up) or if we are going somewhere and are bringing beverages.  I do buy juice boxes for Warrick's lunches, but he only goes to preschool 2 times per week so it takes him 5 weeks to drink them all.  I buy juice 1-2 times per month... usually white grape juice so I don't worry about stains since spills in my house are inevitable.  When I get home, I pour the juice in a plastic container and add just as much water as juice.  This is because I'm frugal and because my kids don't need all that sugar.  

It's so much healthier to drink water anyways.  But when you do, drink tap water not bottled water.  Your grocery budget will thank you and so will the environment.  I know, I know... tap water... who the heck knows what's lurking in there!!!  I've seen that 20/20 where they test the water in NY and there are traces of narcotics and other craziness in it.  At church recently, a friend of mine named Steven had this super cool water bottle called "bobble" and it has a filtration system inside.  I'm going to have to get one.  It's hard for me to drink the recommended 8 glasses of water in per day, but there are so many ways to make it fun:  the cool bobble water bottle, adding a straw, slicing up lemon, lime, or your favorite fruit can make it so much easier.

I think that's enough randomness for one morning.  Happy Frugal Friday!!

Goal-Making Monday!

One of my New Years Resolutions is to make goals every week.  I decided to write them down here so I could keep track of them weekly and have some accountability.  I would love for you to share your weekly goals as well if you make them.  I think it's a good habit to start and I enjoy it!

1) Spiritual Goal:
    Watch BridgeWay's message from Sunday "Get out of debt for good"
     Read Romans 8 everyday
     Pray for the new guests that will arrive at SCC on Sunday
   
 Update:  Success!  I'm excited about this sermon series that BrideWay is doing, so I will be watching every week this month.  You can join me if you want.... watch here 

2) Intellectual Goal:  
    Read at least 50 pages in my latest book.
   
   Update:  I read 271 pages and finished my book!!!  I was excited about my goal of reading 24 books this year, until I read money saving mom's blog and she read 125 books last year!  And she home-school's her 3 children... how is that even possible???  So I figure I can read more than 24 books, but not 125 :)    

3) Health Goal:
    Drink 8 glasses of water per day.
     
 Update:  I failed miserably at this, but there's always next week!

4) Financial Goal:
    Make a January budget. It's the 7th and we haven't done this yet!
   
  Update:  still haven't, but planning to do it tonight!

Frugal Friday: My frugal bedroom renovation!

This week I spent some time renovating our bedroom.  I was getting bored and needed a change.  I had some Christmas money, so it was the perfect storm!  I found this picture on pinterest and it became my inspiration for our bedroom.  

INSPIRATION:

bedroom BEFORE pictures:

I looked at some wall art at a couple of stores and on etsy and they all seemed too pricey!  So I found a cute  art project on pinterest and went to town... here it is:

I bought a curtain rod that Matt put up, (side-note:  if you are selling your house, don't take all the curtain rods, the next owner won't appreciate it!)  I bought curtains, took off the duvet cover, and added some cute pillows.  I'm really happy with how it turned out!  I still need to get a pillow cover for the small white pillow, but couldn't find one that I liked.    

bedroom AFTER pictures:

I had a maroon frame from goodwill (I think it was originally 49 cents) and I painted it yellow.  I think it's a fun pop of color :)  

cost breakdown:

$13 curtain rod

$17 paint and canvas for art project

$30 curtains panels (2) 

$14 black pillowcases (2) and yellow/grey pillowcases (2)

$16 pillows (2)

$24 lampshades (2)

Total cost: $94!  (Was orginally $114, but I had a $20 target gift card)  

2013 New Years Resolutions

Happy New Year!  I rang in the new year with some pretty amazing people from church and had a blast.  And I made it til midnight!  That hasn't happened in a while.
I am excited to see all the new year holds.  I enjoy setting goals every year and I'm ready to make more!

Here are my resolutions for 2013:

1)  Daily devotions using youversion.com.  For the month of January, Matt has asked our church to read Romans 8 every day and pray and fast for the visitors that will be coming to our church in January.  We know that January is a large growth month for churches and we want to be ready!  I also started a reading plan on youversion called "Satan's Lies, God's Replies"... it's a 40 day plan that each day lists a myth the enemy wants you to believe and then scripture to back up the truth.  There are a lot of great plans on youversion that I plan on using throughout the year.

2)  Watch/listen to a sermon online once a week.  I especially enjoy listening to Steven Furtick, Perry Noble, and TD Jakes.

3)  Read 24 books.  And begin reading chapter books to Warrick.  Suggestions welcome :)

4)  Set weekly goals.

What are your New Years resolutions?