Coupons Galore!!

Here's my new "thing" of the year....couponing! Yes, I have become a cheesy coupon mom. I know many, many women who have mastered this art and I'm doing my best to learn, but I'm not quite there yet. Basically, coupons, by themselves, don't really save much. But, when you start saving and organizing coupons, then combine them with store specials, then you can save some serious money!! Our grocery budget used to be about $110 for enough food to feed our family for an entire week. My goal is to cut that in half--$55 per week. I could probably go even lower than that, but we'd have to start eating a lot of canned and boxed food, which is full of junk. Last week, I spent roughly $70, which is a step in the right direction. Anyway, if you have always been interested in saving money with coupons, but don't know where to start, here is a list of suggestions:


1. Get your Sunday newspaper. Open it up and look for coupons books labeled "RedPlum," "SmartSource," and "PC&G (I think??)." Cut out any coupons that you are even remotely interested in.
2. Buy a plastic bin large enough to store a year's worth of coupons. In mine, I have index cards that divide my coupons alphabetically, a pair of scissors, a small notepad for lists, and a pen. You don't have to worry about doing anything with these coupons yet, just start organizing a good supply.
3. Get "savings" cards from every store in your area. I have cards for Kroger, Food City, CVS, Food Lion, and Ingles. This, alone, can save you big money.
4. Spend an hour or so per week planning out a menu for that week. Make a list of what you will need and do not stray from it at the store.
5. Read this blog EVERY day: www.moneysavingmom.com . It will help you begin to match up the store specials with your coupons. Crystal, the author, also has several sources to help you get started
6. Eventually, your goals will be to pay close attention to store specials, match up coupons to every possible deal, plan your menu based on the deals, and be able plan ahead enough to buy things in bulk when they are on sale to save additional money. I'm not to this level yet, but I'm working on it. Also, you can also get more than one Sunday newspaper to clip additional coupons. My dad, who is a circulation manager for Arkansas' Newspaper, the Democrat Gazette, is (or should be) saving all the extra papers he gets on Sundays so that he can donate the inserts to me. Thanks, Dad!!

So, there you go! This has become really fun--sort of like a game for me. I'll let you all know how I'm doing with it. Those of you out there who are already coupon kings and queens, can you share your wisdom? Please.....enlighten us!

Also, thanks for the nice responses to my "Low Blogging Self-Esteem" post! I want to make perfectly clear that I don't keep tabs on every person who comments and I don't expect every reader to comment on every post--though that would be nice :). I just hate seeing 0 comments. But, I am curious....some of you out there get 20 and 30 comments on every post....HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE??? Is there some sort of "secret blogging society" that you sign up to be apart of to get all those responses? I don't even think I know 20 people who LIKE me, much less who want to comment on my blog!

Tomorrow, I am driving to Jackson, TN to meet my mother and pick up my 3 beautiful children. I miss them so much! It was so nice getting things done around the house that needed to be done and it was wonderful having my husband all to myself for the week, but it's time for our family to be together again. My kids have done so well while they were there in Little Rock and I can't help but be in complete awe of how God continues to work in their little hearts. Aaron and I pray and pray that we are raising them right. We are the foremost of sinful parents and no one needs God's grace in this area more than we do! Sometimes we wonder if we are doing the right things. Here's what happened today that made cry and thank God for working through us: My mom took Jack to class at church this morning and sat with him for the first few minutes of class. He sat and played a little bit and then listened to the teacher as she taught about the rules in Bible class.

Teacher: Jack, do your mommy and daddy have rules at your house?
Jack: No.....But God does!

This is huge, because I don't ever want my kids to get the impression that Aaron and I are puffed up with pride in how WE want them to behave. I pray every day that they live to serve and please only God. Jack might not understand exactly what he's saying yet, but I'm thankful that he's starting to learn.

The girls have done well, too. Mom made them both "princess dresses" while they were there and they have worn those things out!! Riah has a hole in hers already. I'll have to get pictures from my parents and post them sometime this week.

On another note, I just have to post one more vegan recipe that I discovered today. It's for a Greek-style hummus and it is WONDERFUL!!

* 2 1/2 cups of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
* 1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1/4 cup of tahini
* 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
* 2 tablespoons of olive oil
* 3/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon of oregano
* pinch of freshly ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon of salt
* 1/3 cup of water (if needed)
* parsley and olive oil to garnish

Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor except the chickpeas (and the parsley and oil for garnish) and blend for 5 seconds. Add the chick peas and blend on high until it reaches the the consistency of sour cream, but granular, about 10-15 seconds. If the dip is too thick but you don't want to add more lemon juice, add a little water slowly and blend until it reaches the correct consistency.

Pour into a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. (It can be eaten immediately, but becomes even more flavorful if left to chill well.)

Drizzle of olive oil over the top and add a garnish of parsley before serving. Serve with pita wedges and veggies (cucumbers are my fav with this recipe). This is super good for you and it's super fast! Most importantly, this tastes amazing!

Everybody have a great week! Pray for me tomorrow for my drive to and from Jackson, if you get the chance. I love you all!

Vegan Recipes

Now that we've gone vegan here at home, I've had many friends ask for examples of things we are able to eat. I thought I'd post a few recipes so you can see how delicious vegan food options can be!

1. Breakfast: KATE'S FAMOUS CROCK POT OATMEAL **note-I don't really use exact measurements, so you can adjust these to your taste

* 4 cups of whole grain oats (steel cut oats are the best, but regular Quaker oats work well, too)
* 7 cups filtered water
* 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
* 1 tablespoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup ground nuts (we use either almonds or walnuts)
* 100% pure maple syrup(make sure it says "100%" on the bottle) to add sweetness
* rice or almond milk


Before bed, combine all of the ingredients, except syrup and rice milk, in a crock pot. Stir well. Turn crock pot on the "low setting" and let cook overnight. When you wake up, divide into bowls and add a little maple syrup and rice milk. Enjoy! This recipe makes 4 servings.**Another note: you can also use pure honey in place of the syrup--they are both natural sweeteners and taste great! Also, you would think that not using real milk would take away from the creaminess, but it really doesn't. We now actually prefer rice or almond milk to regular milk! They are both certainly a lot better than soy milk (yuck!).

2. Lunch: SUMMER SALAD WITH CUMIN AND LIME DRESSING

* 1 bunch dark green lettuce (we use spinach, romaine, or green leaf lettuce--do NOT use iceberg...it has the nutritional value of air)
* 2 red peppers, deseeded and diced
* 2 carrots, grated
* 1 small cucumber, sliced
* 4 tomatoes, quartered
* 4 spring onions, sliced
* a handful of herb leaves (we like cilantro and oregano)
* 2 ripe avocados
* 2 tablespoons lime juice

DRESSING:

* 2 tablespoons lime juice
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 garlic clove, crushed
* 1.2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
* 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* black pepper to taste

Cut lettuce leaves into 1/2-inch pieces and place them in a large bowl. Add the peppers, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes and spring onions. Set aside. Halve, peel and pit the avocados. Cut them into 1/4-inch dice and place in a small bowl. Add the lime juice and toss well (this prevents discoloration). Add the avocados to the other vegetables. Set aside. Place the dressing ingredients in a bottle or screw-top glass jar and shake together. Pour over salad and toss well. Makes 4 servings. This is such a fresh, clean-tasting salad that will fill you up! We've eaten only this for dinner before and were completely satisfied. Enjoy!

3. Dinner: RATATOUILLE WITH RED KIDNEY BEANS

* 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 each of red, yellow, and green peppers, deseeded and diced
* 4 cloves of garlic
* 2 zucchini, trimmed and diced
* 1 eggplant, diced
* 1.5 lbs tomatoes, chopped
* 14 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
* 6 oz green beans, trimmed and halved
* 2 tablespoons basil or oregano leaves
* sea salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the chopped onion and peppers and cook gently for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, kidney beans and green beans. Stir, then cover and cook over low heat for 20-25 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Stir in fresh herbs. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Enjoy!! **Note:We think this tastes best after sitting for several hours after cooking, either in the fridge or on the stove. This allows the veggies to really "soak in" the flavor. This tastes fabulous with a glass of red wine.

4. Dessert: FRUIT WITH A TWIST

* 1 cup each of fresh honeydew melon, cantaloupe, and strawberries, chopped
* 1 shot of tequila
* 1 tablespoon lime juice
* 1 tablespoon fresh mint

Cut fruit and place in a large bowl. Set aside. In a smaller bowl, combine tequila, lime juice and mint (if there are children eating this, please skip the tequila and only add lime and mint). Stir well. Pour over the fruit and lightly toss together. Serves 3-4. This is SOOO good!


There you have it! In between these meals, we snack on things like raw almonds, fruit, veggies dipped in hummus (try Athenos Greek Style--it's the best), or we make Juice Plus Complete Smoothies (they are dairy-free). We are NEVER hungry! The only complaint we have about it is that there is so much preparation involved, especially when there are lots of fruits and veggies to chop. This isn't always easy, but we've found that when we spend a lot of time preparing our food, we are usually more thankful for God's provision. Also, we've found different ways to save time. I usually spend Saturday or Sunday afternoon chopping up what we will need for that week and I divide it all up in sandwich bags. We have oatmeal every morning and so I will make enough to last us for 3 days. It can be kept in the fridge and reheated. If you are wondering if our kids eat this stuff, too...Well, they don't always like what we serve them, but you'd be surprised at how open-minded they become when they start getting hungry (Sorry, but I'm not making more than one meal at a time). Our philosophy in dealing with this is best said by The Rolling Stones..."You can't always get whatcha want, but ya get whatcha need." This type of diet might not be for everyone, but it is a great way to be much healthier without having to count calories or worry about preservatives. A plant based diet is loaded with nutrients and antioxidants. Statistics show that, historically, people who eat a mostly-vegan diet live longer, they are less likely to get cancer, heart disease, and stroke, and they are less likely to suffer from obesity. This type of diet has also been shown to minimize the symptoms of autism, depression, ADHD, asthma, MS, fibromyalgia, allergies, and many, many other health problems. If you ever decide to consider going vegan, or vegetarian, make sure you get enough protein in your diet through nuts and legumes (beans). Oatmeal also has a good amount of protein (6 grams per serving). Also, make sure you are getting the right balance of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Rather than a multivitamin, we all take Juice Plus, which is 17 raw fruits and veggies put into a capsule. This way, we know we are getting all the nutrients we need daily through whole food, which is a much, much better way to get those nutrients than through a multivitamin. It fills in those gaps between what we are getting and what we need to get every day. Here are a few books I recommend that will more thoroughly inform you on this type of diet--keep in mind, you might get some "animal rights" stuff in these books, which Aaron and I do not endorse:

Becoming Vegan
Detox for Life
Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook

Sorry for the long post, but, hey--I've got a little more time to blog this week while the kids are away. Happy Eating!!

The Best Brownies EVER!!

Okay, so I know I just wrote this little "shpeel" on going vegan, but I had to post this recipe for you. Every couple of months, our care group at church has dinner before our Wednesday night study. Tonight is one such night and The Mitchell Family is responsible for bringing a salad and some dessert. The salad will be basic, so to all my care group friends reading this...I'm sorry in advance for my boring salad. But, I am baking brownies that will surely make up for it! Here is the recipe, just in case you guys are interested:

BROWNIES
2/3 cup butter (it MUST be real butter--I use Amish butter from our local produce store)
5 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
1 3/4 cup sugar (I use demerarra sugar--it's the best)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon Bailey's Irish Cream
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chunks

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of a square pan (9X9X2) with shortening.
2. Melt butter and chocolate in 1 qt saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.
3. Beat sugar, vanilla, Irish Cream, and eggs in medium bowl with electric mixer on high for 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture on low speed. Beat in flour just until blended. Stir in chocolate chunks. Spread into pan.
4. Bake until brownies pull away from sides of pan.
5. While the brownies are baking, mix frosting:

FROSTING
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream
1 tablespoon milk

6. Mix powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl. Stir in vanilla, Irish Cream, and milk. Beat until smooth and spreadable.
7. After brownies have baked, make sure they have cooled completely. Ice the brownies with all of the frosting mixture. Let frosted brownies sit out at room temp for several hours (this is the key to keeping them good and moist). You can eat them now or refridgerate until later.

These brownies are sooooo good. They are very, very rich, but as my sweet Mitch always says, "Go big or go home!" If you are interested in other great recipes, check out a blog that I contribute to called Easy Meals for Busy Moms. It's put together by a bunch of ladies from our church, who are all amazing cooks. Enjoy!