Frugal Doings & Eats

What I've Been Eating Lately:
Full fat Greek style yogurt w/stevia sweetened cherries and homemade granola, Caprese plate, chicken thighs w/roasted cabbage, roast beef w/carrots/potato and salad, birthday cake (didn't eat the WHOLE thing).

Frugal Doings Lately:
**Brought home a bunch of emptied dinner roll bags from work. They're a thicker plastic than the storage bags that I use for my freezer, so I've been double-bagging some items into them.
**Made a batch of (not low-carb) Cranberry & Orange Scones that I had all the ingredients already for. It was my contribution towards a coffee gathering on a Sunday afternoon. Did a second coffee gathering where I'd made brownies, offered crackers/cheese/salami/nuts using all items we already had.
**Downloaded a couple of free apps from the apps store pre-loaded on my tablet. One for tv programs and one for movies. They've allowed me to see several things that I'd have to wait quite some time to see either in Redbox or on the waiting list at the library. Sadly it is a bit buggy and doesn't always work.
**Ordered  from Amazon 3lbs of golden flax meal for roughly the same price as one pound at our local grocer. (Later found it not to be frugal as it is at Sam's Club for under half of the Amazon price!)
**Made lower carb peanut butter bars a couple of times now. These have taken care of my candy bar and sweets cravings and I've typically got all the ingredients in my pantry as I use them in other ways.
**"A" didn't want some coffee grounds that she'd bought over a month ago as they were already opened and she didn't feel it was fresh anymore. It makes a perfectly acceptable cup of joe for myself and "J".
**Spent a couple hours with friends making a Chocolate Ganache Tart. Teaching them this recipe helped build support as they are beginning a reduced sugar way of eating. Hanging out with friends = Free entertainment.
**Started adding in exercise time riding my stationary bike now and then and Leslie Sansone walking dvd's more often.
**While not really frugal, I signed up for a bellydancing class with a friend. For $46 we meet an hour each week for the next two and a half months for class. Affordable workout and socializing, though.
**Saved enough Jumbo egg cartons to start some seeds indoors. Also purchased a bag of potting soil.
**Bought some seeds from an Etsy seller that cost far less than ordering from any of the seed catalogs, especially the shipping. Additionally, they are organic seeds and a couple are for heirlooms.
**Used one packet of the seeds as a gift enclosed with a birthday card for my father.
**Used past Valentine and Anniversary cards from "J" to compile a birthday card for him. It was funny to see his face as he recognized the cards.
**I started using the library again and checked out a new book by a favorite author and am making a list of a few other new books coming out by favorites to request, too.
**Printed a day pass for Sam's Club and bought a few items that I use regularly from there. While I paid an extra 10% for not being a member, I still saved over our local grocer. I go there with a friend who has a membership, too, but she was unable to go at the time.
**Printed a coupon for a free sundae for "J" at Culver's for his birthday treat.
**Bought a new battery for our Escape in hopes that it would get it up and running (it died overnight during a cold snap). It didn't. Bought a fuel pump for our Escape. "J" and son, "D", will attempt to do this replacement under the supervision of a mechanic friend. We will likely still give some $$ to this friend, but it'll be less than at the garage. Vehicle maintenance has been killing our paychecks... grr. We will recoup some of the cost when "D" starts working again and sell him the Escape for dirt cheap.
**Made "A" and my dad's birthday cakes from scratch. "A" had a purple cake and Dad's was a pineapple cake with brown butter frosting. Neither of these were low-carb. But both were good.
**Accepted a pair of jeans that got too big for a friend who has cut way back on sugar and recently lost 16 pounds! Yay, for her... and me! She is now a size smaller than me so that will motivate me to try harder, too. Must. Not. Eat. Fries.

Are you staying frugal?

What I've been eating lately:

Sandwich buns (top 2 pics) and La Bete Noire. The buns are a somewhat altered version of Maria's at Maria Mind Body Health. La Bete Noire is an altered version, to make it more low-carb friendly, from Epicurious. Of course I have eaten much more. But I never think to take a pic of the stuff. I recently made an AWESOME salad which I'll have to add into a post the next time I make it. Note to self: Must remember to take pics!

Frugal doings lately:
>Accepted about 3 dozen eggs from a friend whose chickens are producing more than she can use.
> Watched season 1 of Penny Dreadful at brother's house as they'd recorded it.
> Made a purchase for a couple of items we already use from Sam's Club and submitted to a points program for enough points to cash in for close to a $20 value gift card.
> Finished and mailed felt ornaments for my two brothers' families for Christmas.

 

> Froze leftover spaghetti meat sauce which is enough for probably two more meals. Also froze two meals worth of canned tomato sauce from a #10 can that I'd bought at Sam's Club months ago.
> Used a $10 off $50 coupon at Shopko when purchasing several Christmas gifts.
> Traded in credit card points for Amazon codes and was able to get A an art portfolio for just over $10 that was originally $50.
> Bought a gift card that gave a free 12pk of soda pop with purchase of it. Sadly, J could've done the same and came away with 6pks of soda but had grabbed the fuel card instead of the gift card. I'm bummed. But will contact the headquarters of the station regarding this to see if anything can be done. (contact made - they gave him the sodas)
> Stayed away from stores right after Christmas so I wouldn't be tempted to pick up any "deals". We need nothing.
> J priced a new car battery at the two local shops and asked our preferred shop to price match, they wouldn't, so went with competitor for $10 less.
> Made D a homemade chocolate birthday cake with buttercream frosting - we had all needed ingredients.
> Called and gave requested info for our health insurance provider to get a headstart on re-enrollment, hopefully. (No such luck. MN Sure appears to be a mess.)
>Made lentil soup for a supper. Was able to save a container for A to have at her college apartment and a larger container for us for another meal.
>Reused the pot and soil from a nearly dead basil plant to sow some greens for the cats.
>Dehydrated two full stalks/bundles/plants of celery that I'd bought on sale for $1 each which is about as low as it gets for us here.
>Brought home an oranges box that fits two cases of canning jars stacked inside of it. Love that it has a fitting cover. Just about have one filled up and will put in garage to store. I saw we have another at work that will likely find a home with me next week for the same purpose.
>Had two codes over the past couple of weeks for free Redbox rentals - Fury & Stonehearst Asylum.
>Designated an old plastic coffee container as an egg shell holder. When it gets near full I smash the shells down with a potato masher. I rinse the shells before putting in it to avoid any "stink". This will be great to use in my battle against slugs in the spring and summer!
>My younger brother brought over about 6 reams of colored paper. This will be fine for printing coupons, recipes, etc. There's one ream of brown that I may just cut up for scrap paper as it's somewhat dark. We use lots of scrap paper at work and have some dark, thick tipped markers that will show up okay on it.
>Scored 6 free bottles of Kraft bbq sauce - gave two to A to take back to her college apartment. They were on sale for 99cents and some had coupons stuck to their tops for $1 off. (our store adjusted down - not a "moneymaker" as some stores let people do) Awesome! Wish I'd been a little more greedy and took them all... ha ha ha....
>Found heavy whipping cream on sale for $1.25 (normally it's around $3). Bought two and made my homemade, low-carb, scoopable vanilla ice cream that's here on the blog. I did waste a little money as I then threw out the store bought sugar-free, which was getting freezer burnt since I haven't eaten it much - just doesn't taste good.
>Cut up two scrub bottoms, as well as a thermal top, that had holes in them and added them to the rag bag.
>I've started (again) doing my Leslie Sansone walking videos. Since we have a gap in our insurance it seems an especially good idea.

Are you staying frugal?

Frugal plans, ideas and thoughts:

1.) Plant more cabbages than I did last year, which I think was four. They could've stood hanging out in the garden a little longer without any damage done to them and could've then been stored in the garage or porch entryway. Also could grate more and freeze it as freezer coleslaw, though would like to grate it by hand rather than use the processor since it grated too fine.
2.) Must plant some sort of squash. So far, butternut and spaghetti have grown well. As well as zucchini, of course. Again, these remain hardy long after being harvested and stored in a cool place, though I don't believe the zucchini would store as long. They also can be cubed and frozen.
3.) Grow green beans. While we are not big fans of green beans, I have found a recipe that I was able to successfully convert to somewhat low-carb that most of us agreed makes green beans... good?!? The recipe I loosely followed was here. Frozen garden beans turned out great, Splenda substituted fantastically, and there was no need to pre-stir anything together. Toss the following in crock for about 2hrs : about a pound of frozen green beans, 1/2lb chopped and fried bacon, 1T butter, 1/3c Splenda brown sugar, 3tsp soy sauce, 1 scant tsp garlic powder. So a half row of green beans will get eaten after all!

 4.) Try to include and convert recipes to use more coconut flour as opposed to almond flour. It is so much cheaper. I also would like to increase my fiber intake and coconut flour's very high fiber - think I read nearly 60%.
5.) Try to convert more recipes to use Stevia In The Raw as opposed to Xylitol. While I like Xylitol, it is hugely expensive. I also need to order it online as it's not locally available. Stevia In The Raw's cheaper and sold at our small-town grocer.
6.) Avoid stopping at the local grocer. We spend too much there. If I need an item or two for a recipe, I will make something else rather than spend the gas/time/money to run into town. It's not even worth stopping on my way home from work as it usually leads to spending more on other items that I hadn't intended to purchase at that time.
7.) Preserved foods are meant to be eaten! Stop saving them for "some day" and start using them. I have actually started to do this. But I need to make a more conscious effort to do so regularly. Some of these preserved foods I will need to look up more recipe options for, such as the dehydrated spinach and canned garden carrots. But point being, why buy a bag of frozen diced carrots when I have home-canned ones already?!?
8.) Preserve more of the apples from our two trees. We did a couple gallon bags of dried apple rings and plenty of canned and frozen sauce. But I would like for none of it to go to waste out there! Canning may be the better option for next year so that there'll be more freezer space.
9.) Clean the closet across from the bathroom. This is where canned goods are stored... all over the shelf, amidst bedding, cereal, wrapping supplies... You get the picture. If I neaten it up I will be able to see what all I have in there for canned homegrown foods.
10.) Keep a large bag in the freezer for meat scraps. I do keep the carcass from turkeys and chickens that were roasted whole (most of the time), but need to do it at ALL times and with other meats. Steak fat and bones, pork fat and bones...Ham bone, don't give it away. Simmer that puppy down to a delicious, gelatinous broth.
11.) Keep a large bag for clean vegetable trimmings. I compost. So that is where it all usually goes. But I would like to make vegetable broth that can be used right away for soups or stored in the freezer.
12.) Learn to use the free texting app that I downloaded to my Kindle Fire (text+). I've tried for a couple of days to figure it out. But still don't know how to use it well. My original intent when I downloaded it was so that I could use it in conjunction with Redbox since I have heard that people with cells can text and get free rental codes now and then.
13.) Dried beans - use 'em. Yes, I know they are not low-carb. But I do use beans now and then. I make soup and taco salads and other people in my family do eat them. Admittedly, I eat a few each time I make something that includes them. But I do mean a "few". I am experimenting right now as I type this. I have a pot of pinto beans on their second boil on the stovetop. When they are done I will drain and rinse, then bag and freeze.
14.) Use the crockpot, electric fry skillet and toaster oven more often in the winter. Right now, propane has doubled since we filled just a few short weeks ago. There's supposed to be a propane shortage due to our extreme cold temps this January to explain that outrageous cost. Extreme cold that has cancelled school a handful of times and runs -35 to -50 with wind chill. Our last fill was $760! Keeping my fingers crossed it makes it through spring. (We heat our home, cook with a gas range, run a hot water heater... all with propane.) We did recently purchase an electric infra-red small room heater that we run in the living room when everyone's home. Small appliances, small appliances, small appliances!
15.) Keep thermostat between 60 and 65 as needed. Which means, turning it up nearing mealtimes and bathing times and keeping it lower all other times. My old slippers finally fell apart and I've been anxiously awaiting the clearance pair that I bought online from Kohl's using a 30% off and free shipping code. It's already been about two weeks, so I expect them any time. But, boy, are my feet freezing right now!
16.) Exercise. I've been struggling with doing regular exercise. I've been using my Leslie Sansone walking dvd's again and have been slowly trying to build back up to at least a 3 mile walk each morning before work. But have only been rotating the 1 & 2 mile walks. I need to step it up. Something's been missing with this lower-carb way of eating. Oh, yeah. Weightloss! I haven't lost anymore since nearly three years ago. I am hoping to build up strength and stamina, as well as using it to play a mind-trick on myself - I tend to eat better when I include regular physical activity.
17.) Walking to reduce gas (in the car, silly) and sneak in more exercise. This thought is actually something I intend to do this spring. I would like to park at our grocery store's lot and walk from there to work, then back again at the end of the day. I know about how long it takes to go one way and guess it to be around a mile or so. That'd be an easy couple of miles per work day. (We do not live in town, so walking to work's not feasible.)

That's all I can think of for now. But, as always, I am constantly thinking of how else to cut costs without feeling too deprived of anything. You know. Like HEAT. What types of things are you doing to either "buck down" or to self-improve?

Winner & Fat Bombs

Comment number 6 was drawn.  Unless I counted wrong, that means Amber from Me and Jorge is the winner!  Yikes.  I forgot to thank those of you who, although did not win, did leave a comment and visited me.  Thank you! 

I've been reading about fat bombs on various low-carb sites and blogs.  They sounded interesting.  Well, actually, I thought they sounded sort of gross at first.  Then interesting.  Now that I've made my own?  I discovered that they are pretty darn good.  I just threw a little of this and that in a glass measuring cup and nuked it until nearly melted, stirred, then poured into my silicone molds and stuck in the freezer to harden.  I'll keep them stored there so they are "out of sight, out of mind", less I eat them all within two days.  They have a wonderful, melt-in-your-mouth texture... sort of like a Lindt chocolate, which, by the way, was my absolute favorite sweet ever.  I will not keep thinking of Lindt, I will not keep thinking of Lindt...  I did eat one in lieu of lunch today as we were out and about.  While I'd like to be able to say, "it was so filling", as others have claimed, I was still wishing I'd had a bit of something more for lunch.

Fat Bombs
(made 8 servings at about 1.5g sugar/4.1g carb each)
1 - 1.19oz package Artisana Raw Cacao Bliss (cocoa coconut butter)
3T coconut butter
4T butter
1T cocoa 
2T peanut butter
2 packets Nectresse sweetener


Now for some bellyaching notes for self:

11/5-11/7  It's now been several days of no sore or pained muscles.  Well, other than the low-back pain that I've had for years.  Today, the 7th, I did go to the school nurse to check my bp and it was 138/88, which is good to average for me.  So I'm happy about that. Continued chest discomfort though.

11/12  On the 10th I checked my bp while at Walmart, which I'd figured would've been reason enough for it to skyrocket.  It was down to 132/78!  I realized this afternoon, the 12th, that my chest discomfort has not bothered me at all today and had barely disturbed my sleep last night.  I did make an appointment for the 15th the other day to discuss the continued chest discomfort after reading that too much potassium could cause permanent damage to organs and death.

11/15  Saw my doctor.  She said that it doesn't sound like it'd be my heart, thought muscle or nerve pain.  I told her I didn't want her to pursue it as it appears to have stopped, which leads me to think it was most likely due to Losartan and it's just cleared my system finally.  She did draw blood to check electrolytes and something about muscle enzymes or something (?) and I'll hear from them early in the week if there's anything worrisome.  I was given the "OK" to going back to my workout dvd's and the couple of "power walks" I do in the winter during the week while D's at judo.  Yippee!  Oh, and she was glad to see my weight was down another 5lbs since I was last there.  

Quick Pork Stir-Fry Recipe

Quick Pork Stir-Fry
(majorly adapted from Food Network magazine)
(serves 4-6)
2lbs. boneless sirloin pork chops,cut into bite-size pieces
1T + 2tsp cornstarch*
1T + 2tsp balsamic vinegar
3tsp soy sauce
2tsp packed brown sugar**
1/3c water
1tsp Chinese Five Spice powder
2T coconut butter, softened/melted
2T minced garlic, heaped
3T coconut oil***
2 pkgs. frozen stir-fry vegetables mix****
s&p to taste

Toss pork with 1T each of the cornstarch and vinegar and 2tsp soy sauce.  In another bowl, place the brown sugar, remaining 2tsp cornstarch, remaining 2tsp vinegar, remaining 1tsp soy sauce, water, Chinese Five Spice, minced garlic and the coconut butter - set aside.  Heat 1T coconut oil in large pan or stir-fry pan over high heat.  Add pork and cook through, possibly doing in several batches depending on pan size.  When done, move to a paper towel lined plate.  Add remaining 2T coconut oil to same pan, over high heat, then add stir-fry vegetables.  Once vegetables are hot and at desired tenderness, pour the brown sugar sauce mixture over, then add pork back to the pan.  Add s&p as preferred.  Toss to mix and heat through.  Eat on its own or over jasmine rice.*****

*I used 1/2 cornstarch and 1/2 xanthan gum to cut back on the carbs.
**I used a loose teaspoon of brown sugar to further cut back.  You likely can omit completely or sub in your choice of sweetener.
***I used a mix of coconut oil and peanut oil.
****I used 2 Chinese stir-fry frozen veg mixes that I'd got at Walmart, which I believer were 12oz each.  Again, sub in your choice of veggies, fresh or frozen.
*****I allow myself 1/4c rice with stir-fry meals.



...Belly-Aching Alert...

11/3 - As I may have posted before, I have been having some chest discomfort and muscle pain (sometimes nearly spasms) in my lower & upper back, chest & ribs, for quite some time.  A couple of days ago I realized that I'd also had a couple heart palpitations again, which I hadn't had for a while.  I thought about my one cup of coffee each morning as possibly being the culprit.  But I've been drinking coffee for some years now and just don't believe that that once-a-day-most-days cup could cause the aching that I've been having off and on for around the last year, which I'd noticed has become around the clock recently.  Then I thought about medications.  The only one that I take is Losartan Potassium for my blood pressure, which is what I'd switched to when a previous one caused my potassium level to drop and another previous one I'd tried caused an irritating cough.  When I did a quick search I discovered that I was experiencing some known side effects, which made me decide to stop taking it yesterday.  I'm anxious to see if my symptoms drop off over the next several days.  (Yes, I did talk to my doctor regarding this over the phone last night.)  This possibly sounds like a really lame excuse, but I have been wanting to start doing my work-out dvd's again and have been hesitant to do so because of the discomfort in my chest.  I know that exercise is a key component that I have been missing while trying to continue to reduce my weight and increase good health.  I know that I feel better when I am somewhat regularly working out.  I just didn't want to fall over from a heart attack when trying to do the things necessary to avoid one in the first place - ha ha!  Now, just one day later, I am a little less sore.  But it is early in the day and may just be coincidence, so I am keeping this post as a way to help monitor.

11/4 - Woke with a small headache behind my eyeballs, which is what I notice when my bp is elevated.  But I also am getting a cold, so hard to tell yet what it's really attributed to.

Day 30 on BFC and Shake & Steak recipes!

Breakfast> Peanut Butter Shake (s/c=4/1)
Lunch> half a serving of Fage yogurt with jam, chicken fillet, pickles (s/c=3/1)
Snacks> few almonds, 3 mini sugar-free Reese's cups,1/2c raspberries w/cream (s/c=3/2)
Supper> Adobo Sirloin, coleslaw sweetened with xylitol, leftover mac'n'cheese w/salsa (s/c=2/1)
Total s/c for today - 12/5
Put in a 2 mile walk with the Leslie Sansone dvd this evening, too.

I made ice cubes with almond milk the night before.  You could just use regular ice and liquid almond milk in place of the almond milk ice and water in the following recipe instead.







Peanut Butter Shake
2Tbsp Half&Half
2Tbsp peanut butter
1 scoop Jay Robb vanilla whey protein powder
1c unsweet vanilla almond milk ice cubes
1/4c water
1/4c heavy cream



Mix all in blender until creamy.  Pour into a tall glass and enjoy.  (My glass is a 12oz.)  This was super good - yummo!







Adobo Steaks
(adapted from allrecipes.com)
1/2 a lime, juiced & zested
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
3 Tbsp finely chopped canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1-2 Tbsp of the adobo sauce from the canned chipotle peppers
2 lbs. beef sirloin steaks

Place all ingredients in a resealable plastic bag and mash around until meat is evenly coated.  Let marinate about an hour.  Grill to desired doneness.

Day 29 BFC and back to exercising!

Breakfast> 1 Ezekial toast with pb, Spam & eggs (s/c=3/2)
Lunch> chicken fillet w/ diced tomatoes sprinkled, cottage cheese, pickles (s/c=1/1)
Snacks> DQ sugarfree fudge bar (s/c=4/1)
Supper> beef & pork roast, leftover mac'n'cheese w/salsa, cottage cheese (s/c=1/1)
Total s/c for today - 9/5

Last couple of times I've weighed myself I discovered the needle seems to be stuck at about 196lbs.  Grrr.   I've decided to start using my Leslie Sansone dvd's that have been collecting dust over the past year or so, hoping to get things moving again.  (The Amazon Associate link to the right is for the dvd that I'm using currently.)  So tonight I did three miles.  I'd intended to start off slow, but once I did the first mile I still felt strong and as if I'd only just begun.  Same thing happened at the end of mile two.  I got to the end of mile three and figured I better hold off on adding more so that I don't end up regretting it by feeling sore in the morning.  That was a great, sweaty workout.  Love her dvd workouts.

Also, I realize that I shouldn't be having the DQ fudgebar as it's likely sweetened with an artificial sweetener.  But I need my sweets here and there so I don't go hog wild!  Cutting myself just a teensy-bit of slack...

Menu &... Exercise?!?

I'm hoping by posting this to the blog I will feel a sense of responsibility that will make me be more consistent and, in the end, finally successful at making workout time a priority each day. Or, at the very least, several times per week. I mean, let's be realistic now.

I'd like to say, "Starting tomorrow...". But we will be up and out and about for the day early, not returning home until later in the evening. We'll be bringing our daughter to take her ACT, visiting with the mother-in-law, possibly stopping in at my sister's house for supper, then hitting a haunted house that a nearby city sponsors. The haunted house is a must - It's FREE, after all! We went to it last year, too. Well worth the time to go through again this year.

So, I will say that starting on Sunday I will hit my poor, abandoned treadmill. I'll start with either a 20mn or 30mn walk. I borrowed Season5 of Weeds from my sister-in-law and haven't gotten too far into it, so I'll pop the dvd into my laptop and watch from the treadmill. I did this the last several times I used my treadmill and it definitely makes the time go faster. Without commercials, each episode gives me about a 25mn walk. Can't really have a more frugal workout than that, right? Well, I suppose it could be a manual treadmill...

Anyway, on to the menu planning:

Saturday > No plans, not likely to be home to make supper. If we are, I'll maybe boil some pasta and add to the leftover chicken salad. !!
Sunday> Chicken Ragu (husband is supposed to make, his mother is planning to come for supper) and Roasted Butternut Squash with Bacon (butternut from garden) !!
Monday> Clean-The-Fridge-Out- Leftovers and frozen pizza !!
Tuesday> Ring Sausage & Fried Potatoes and applesauce (homemade from our trees) as a side !!
Wednesday> Chicken & Dumplings X (had steak, Spanish rice, garden asparagus, rolls - I forgot what we were supposed to be having)
Thursday> Ricotta Stuffed Shells & Steak X (had last night's supper tonight)
Friday> Tacos X