Food thoughts and a little more

I don't really know why I am posting this, I just started writing this last month and thought I would share it with all of you.

You need to cut back on your food budget? Here are some tips I found living crazy cheaply in Massachusetts. Now I’m not suggesting you all do these things, I’m not even suggesting you read this, these are just things I have found for us and our family and if it helps some of you guys- go for it.

Juice. Not necessary at all. Cut back to drinking milk and water and that’s it. The nutrients in just straight up fruit is better, and juice is so expensive. My kids rarely get juice. Or go to koolaid. Doctors say that apple juice is just what koolaid is anyway- sugar and water mixed up- so drink that for pennies if you kids are dying for juice.

Beans. Dry beans. Super cheap, super healthful, and fabulous in so many foods especially to add protein to your diet.

Now- the biggest hit to their food budget when I talk to people is fresh vegetables and fruits. Its true, produce is what most of my budget went to when I did spend any money. I did buy lots of markdown produce, but a huge thing is I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS had frozen vegetable bags in my freezer, canned veggies and canned fruit. (I canned my own peaches and pears, and always looked for great deals on pineapple and mandarin oranges- especially those that were sold in their own juices rather than syrup.) Onions- cut a whole bunch at once- stick in the freezer, Peppers- same- when they were about 33 cents to 50 cents each I buy a whole bunch, cut them and throwi n the freezer to use for stir frys, omlets, and everything else I use them for.

Certain stores have certain things for really cheap. Find out what things your family uses often and where they are on sale regularly. One of my stores would have whole wheat tortilla packages that would go on sale for $1 every few weeks. I would buy 3 packages of them and rather than spending 3.69 for the other whole wheat tortillas- I bought 3 for the price of one.

Diapers and wipes? Generally the best prices I find these are at drug stores with coupons, but Amazon has been rocking it with their 30% subscribe and save option and 20% off coupon from some Parenting magazines out there. This translates in to 200 size 4 diapers for $17.83 for me. That’s pretty great I feel- since it lasts us about a month and half for 2 kids in the same size of diapers. This month I will even get it for 7.83- SWEET!!!

I make a dinner list based on what I had. Rarely do I buy items to add to my dinner. I always made my dinners based on what I already had and what was marked down at the store. The only thing I was constantly on the lookout for and would always get if it was marked down was avocados. The cheapest I ever saw these for was $1 each sale price, and so markdown I think I got them at 3 for $1 once. Usually they were 2 for $1- and lucky you guys that’s a sale price for them in Utah for good not markdown ones! But this is what saves me SOO much money. Stores go on sale cycles- and buying a whole bunch of food when it's the cheapest it has been for months rather than buying a little- then buying more at full price later.

Stocking up on items when they are at their lowest prices is the only real way to cut your bill down. You have to be thinking ahead of the game, and not just what you need. And guess what? You start building your food storage this way too.

Have lots and lots of what you use on a regular basis and go through quickly. Oats are a big one for me- I couldn’t buy enough at the usual Quaker sale every January, so I got a big 25 lb bag at the church’s food place for $7 and that lasts us about 4 months. Find those items you go through, find where you can get it the cheapest regardless of a sale and run with it.

Freezer cooking is such an amazing thing too. I mentioned I do lots of prep work and throw things in the freezer often. (Hooray for a new food processor for Christmas!) But I also would make double my meals, And freeze half of it, to eat a few weeks later when I didn’t want to cook. Or if I was eating meat for tacos, I would cook lots and lots of meat, use the meat for the tacos then freeze the rest so I wouldn’t have to brown meat later. This also resulted in less time in the kitchen for me. I generally would cook in the kitchen about 3 or 4 days a week. The rest of the time we could pull something else I had cooked previously, or I could throw something together with all my freezer stuff in less than 10 minutes.

I have a husband that loves to make anything and everything bread. This is actually a big stress reliever for him now too, but he didn’t realize this until we had to start majorly cutting back on our food budget. Maybe there is something you can learn and find out that you actually love to do by cutting back.

One good way to figure some of this out is to do a haul of your pantry. For 2 or 3 weeks or if you’re really brave a whole month- DON”T GO TO THE STORE. Or if you do only get milk and a little bit of produce. This might seem insane, but it’s a good start to figure out what you would like to have more on hand and what your family goes through and you need more of. It also helps you start learning the process of cooking from your pantry, and rather than saying I would like to make this and I have to get this and this and this at the store- you say I can make this with these items I already have here.

And onto the part where we update our lives:

Eric has had a few interviews with some companies and we are feeling hopeful for the future. We will let all you know if we do accept a job and details on that as soon as it happens, so you won't feel out of the loop if you read our blog here.

Also, Jack went to the hospital two weeks ago for taking a pill (imiprimine or something like that) he got into that apparently is really toxic for kids. He was able to drink some charcoal pretty soon after he got to the hospital which I think helped absorb lots of the medicine, and other than a higher heart rate and sleepiness he didn't have any other side effects of the drug thankfully. We are very grateful, and it was the cutest thing when Avey saw him again after not seeing him for a full day- she started screaming (happily) and smiling and trying to get over to give him a hug. It seriously melted my heart. I love being a mom to two kids and seeing them when they do actually love each other.

I also recently pulled out my guitar and have been playing songs. I have to give a big shout out to Kristen Harmon who taught me basics on the guitar a few years ago when we lived closer together, as my guitar class at college only taught me notes and fingerpicking songs, rather than strumming basic songs to sing along with people. Kristen taught me basic guitar chords and strumming and fingerpicking patterns that i still look at and use today. It has been really fun for me to be developing a talent right now, and my goal is to be able to play one new song memorized every week. (Because which guitar players ask to look at music to play songs for people? Not any that i know, but I totally have always had to read music to play the guitar, so I'm working on memorizing and playing without even looking at the guitar. It's really fun.)

I am also loving shopping for groceries and cooking dinner here at the in-laws house, and it actually is working out living here better than I anticipated it would. We feel super supported and loved, but I don't feel smothered at all. I would still love to be on the next stage of life as would Eric, but we feel it's a good thing for us to be where we're at right now.

And just because I have a hard time writing a post without pictures, here are some pictures from a swim meet that our neighbor's the Holland's had before we left Mass. We miss them, and our friends from Springfield right now. Love you guys, and we hope you're making it through this crazy snowy winter in New England.

Zach swimming like a maniac!

Jack trying out Herb's glasses
And Avey's turn!
And this is just darling, my brother Micah showing Jack how to play the piano, with Avey trying to get her sounds in on the left.