Wednesday, January 27, 2010

First "Real" Purchase at EarthFare

So... I scoped out EarthFare today (5% student/faculty discount on Wed. at my store).  Spent a while just wandering around the store, annotating prices on items that I normally purchase and would be interested in buying organic - mostly produce, canned tomato products, and dairy.  I'm still not sure if I'm ready for the jump - I guess I'm not convinced the sales are that great at EF, and since the regular prices are high... I just don't think I can do it.
I did purchase a few things though, and the checkout lady said I did "really great," so I'll take that as a positive!  Here was my breakdown:

  • Blueberry Pomegranate juice (32 oz) - $1.99 after sale + coupon
  • Dr. Becker natural soda (6-pk) - $2.50 after sale (this was a treat for me out of my "allowance", not the grocery fund!)
  • 1 kiwi - 50¢ after sale (I already ate it!)
  • 2 bags of salad (10 oz + 12 oz) - $4.50 after sale + coupons
  • 5 rolls Marcal Small Steps toilet paper - FREE after coupons
I saved 82¢ with the teacher discount, and paid $9.42 after tax, supposedly saving $7.77, or 45%.  Without the sodas, it would've been more like $6.86 with savings of $6.96... 50%!  I guess I didn't do too shabby after all!
A gallon of organic milk is, in fact, cheaper than at my regular HT or Bi-Lo... but for the 50-60¢ savings, I don't think it's worth almost an entire gallon of gas to get there and back unless I've got another good reason to go like a sale + coupon on something, or needing brown rice - quite a steal at only 89¢/lb (versus $1.85/lb at HT... just got it with a super-doubled coupon for 85¢/lb, but that's a rare occurrence - and Uncle Ben's is not organic).
Thanks for tagging along as I  shop (somewhat) organically :)

Soli Deo Gloria

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Marcal Small Steps Giveaway!

Yup... not me.  But Denise Sawyer over at Centsible Sawyer is doing a giveaway.  All you've got to do is type your name and e-address into her form to be entered to win the following (as per her website):

One lucky reader is going to win a TON of Marcal Small Steps products!
Prize Pack will include: Dinner Napkins, 180ct Napkin Drawstring Bag, Upright-80ct Facial Tissues144ct Facial,Single Roll Giant Towel1,000ct Bath4 ct bath 1000 ct3 roll Regular towel*subject to change for substitutions



I haven't tried any of these products yet, but they are on my list for this week.  I'm going to EarthFare tomorrow (hoping for a good freebie coupon - have you signed up yet?  let me know if you did!) to get 5% off my entire purchase as a teacher and to use the coupons to get free Marcal toilet paper.  I'd be thrilled to win though!


Soli Deo Gloria

Monday, January 25, 2010

Fridge/Freezer Findings Update 2

I'll spare you the REALLY long list, and I'm only going to post the changes since the last time I posted an update.  The good news is, it looks like more of a dent in my fridge than on the list!  It's nice to know exactly what I've got, but when I feel like I'm making progress and then only get to mark a few things off the list here, it's kinda sad :(

Freezer findings:

  • 4 c. diced ham
  • London Broil (from a once-a-month cooking day a while back... may already be freezer burned, so I'll have to do it on a day with an easy back-up plan)
  • 6 4 burgers
  • 1 pkg guacamole
  • 2 servings stuffed salmon
  • 2 pouches pepperoni
  • 2 individual broccoli/cheese portions
  • 2 bags grn. beans
  • 1 .5 bag broccoli
  • 1 bag/1 box corn
  • 1 bag mixed veggies w/ cheese sauce
  • 1 chicken & pasta steam meal
  • 1 bag seasoned rice
  • 2 servings salmon
  • various mini-loaf sweet breads
  • 1 lasagna
  • 2 lbs. ground beef
  • 2 x 2 chicken breasts
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 box coconut shrimp
  • various shredded cheeses
  • 14 rolls
  • 4 frozen pizzas
  • 16 oz bag blueberries
Fridge findings:
  • 1.5 tubs sour cream dips
  • turkey gravy
  • Salad Finishers kit - Ceasar
  • 3 1 burger buns
  • celery sticks
  • 1 tube buttermilk biscuits
  • 3 Pillsbury pizza crusts
  • 3 x 8oz cream cheese
  • 2 x 16oz sour cream
  • 4 + 6 egg
  • leftover mashed potatoes
  • leftover turkey
  • leftover stuffing
  • 2 pkgs guacamole
  • 1 serving Hamburger Helper
  • 1 serving cooked pasta 
  • Romaine lettuce 
Now, what's even more upsetting is the list of what all is hiding in my pantry!  Not wanting to scare anyone away, I'll simply post a link to the Google spreadsheet I just made.  Although we're 3/4 of the way through the official Eat From the Pantry Challenge, I finally took the plunge and actually made a list of what all is there.  As lame as it sounds that I actually had to take inventory of my pantry, maybe by periodically updating the spreadsheet, I can clear some things out and make way for new!  Anyway, for the not-faint-of-heart, I give you my Pantry Inventory.  Because I have some wonderful extra shelving in my Laundry Room, the "location" column indicates whether the item is in my P(antry) or L(aundry) R(oom), or whether there is some in each location.  Honestly, there are probably still a few things that escaped the list (cereals & lunch snacks definitely didn't make it on, but we rotate through those enough that I didn't think it was worth it, but I'm sure there's other stuff too).  Maybe I'll add to it in the future, but I just couldn't take any more today!  Not to mention that a friend from Spain had called and I wanted to chat with him for a bit before he and my hubby hung up.

Eating through my stockpile, Soli Deo Gloria...

Sunday, January 24, 2010

EFTP/F Challenge Update - week 3

What did we eat this week, you ask?  Started off the week with dinner at Bible Study, provided unexpectedly by a single friend who "just felt like cooking" :)  Though it slowed down the fridge-clearing process, I certainly didn't complain about not having to cook!  The rest of the week we ate:
  • Leftover Pasta & Bean Soup
  • Cheeseburgers, White Cheddar & Bacon Mashed Potatoes
  • Salmon & Primavera Risotto
  • Ceasar Salad (with organic Romaine and a Salad Finishers kit I found in the fridge!)
  • Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup (variations: left the onions in the pan the whole time, frozen broccoli, pureed 1/2 so it still had some veggie chunks, no nutmeg b/c I forgot it) and bread
  • Fiber One pancakes and 4 scrambled eggs 
  • leftover Hamburger Helper for my hubby, and I ate at my babysitting job
  • leftover Broc. Chs. soup and leftover pasta w/ sauce
I'm still in for week 4!  Honestly, I haven't even had to get very creative yet.  I mean, I've made minor variations to recipes (like adding 1/4c skim milk to the half-and-half in this week's soup b/c I didn't have quite enough), but nothing too unusual.  So far, I've been able to use my stockpile to create recipes I already had, and that should last for at least another week since I still have at least 4 recipes with all the ingredients on hand.  I'll post an updated fridge/freezer list, with the NEW pantry list feature (finally got around to listing off what's there today) in the next few days.  Thanks for tagging along!

Soli Deo Gloria

    Friday, January 22, 2010

    Yeah for CVS! or how I got them to pay me to wash my dishes.

    Okay... so this deal was more about the challenge than about the current need.  That being said, if I weren't on Pantry Challenge, I wouldn't have the time to track it down.  First, the pic.  Then, the monetary breakdown.


    The SoyJoy bars were 6 x 12¢ = 72¢.  At $6 each, with a $6 ECB, all I was paying was tax... and since they're food, tax is only 2% around here!  Unfortunately, they were essentially out of most everything but Mango Coconut, so we'll probably be sick of that flavor before long.  I'll just spread them out, mixed in with other lunch-packing snacks.  And yes, there are only 5 in the picture... that's because I already emptied one into our snack bin and recycled the box :)
    The Finish/Electrasol tabs is the biggest deal.  In case you can't tell, I got 9 boxes of 20 dishwasher tabs (=180 dishwasher loads).  I had a raincheck from a while ago for 4/$9, spend $20 get $10 ECB.  Hmm... that's $2.25 each, not counting the ECBs!!  When I saw the $2.50/1 coupon that came about recently, I was stoked!  Now... how to track down 5+ of them to make these guys free?  I had 2, and asked around to see if anyone didn't need theirs.  Eventually, I ended up with the other 7 from two of my dear friends/coworkers/fellow-couponers.  So...
    • sale price:  $20.25/9
    • coupons:  $2.50 x 8 = $20 (they wouldn't let me use the 9th b/c it would've gone over the total value... fair enough)
    • paid OOP including tax:  $1.82
    • received in ECBs to use later:  $10
    • TOTAL COST:  -$8.18 or -91¢ each!
    If I didn't have to keep eating for the rest of my life, I just might retire from couponing.  You know, quit while you're ahead and all that.  But lo, I do have to eat, and so does my hubby.  Funny thing is, I already had like 3 of these boxes already in my kitchen.  So that means I get to share most of them with my coupon-sharers, and my pastors' families... even better!
    Now... what good deals will they provide me with during the next month to use those $10 ECBs toward?  Hopefully something else I can share!

    In other news, I had a very yummy & healthy breakfast this morning.  Exhibit A:

    Exhibit B:  the organic milk featured here.
    This box of cereal came from my Pantry Makeover that I did earlier this week at EarthFare.  You, too, can bring in a near-empty box of cereal with High Fructose Corn Syrup and replace it for free with this better-for-you product, if you just go here, sign up, print out the coupon and take it to your nearest EarthFare.  Oh yeah, and when you sign up before Jan. 31 (which I know you'll do, because you love me), shoot me an email telling me the email address that you used.  If I can get a few more volunteers, I can get a $25 gift card to EarthFare, which I'd really like!  For what it's worth, I was pleasantly surprised that this actually tasted like Frosted Mini Wheats, instead of like cardboard with sugar on it :)

    Soli Deo Gloria


    Tuesday, January 19, 2010

    The Cheapest Cheesiest!

    Thanks to a Walgreens in-ad coupon and those handy Buy 3 Get One Free (B3G1) coupons from mid-December, I have now purchased 12 boxes of Kraft (is there any other?) Mac & Cheese for a whopping $1.35!  Yes, that's right... if my math serves me, that's less than $0.12/box!  Now, one of the stores I went to only had the "Thick and Creamy" variety, so I guess we'll have to see how they do.  I definitely felt like a college kid in the checkout line :)  Now... how to hide them from my hubby so they last more than a month!!

    Soli Deo Gloria

    Monday, January 18, 2010

    Fridge/Freezer Findings Update

    About 2 weeks ago, when I started the whole "Eat from the Pantry Challenge" I posted a preliminary list of what was in my fridge/freezer.  For my own sake more than for yours, I thought I'd post an update :)

    Freezer findings:
    • 4 c. diced ham
    • London Broil (from a once-a-month cooking day a while back... may already be freezer burned, so I'll have to do it on a day with an easy back-up plan)
    • 6 burgers
    • 4 waffles
    • 1 pkg each salsa/guacamole
    • 2 servings stuffed salmon
    • 2 servings sole
    • 2 pouches pepperoni
    • 2 individual broccoli/cheese portions
    • 2 bags grn. beans
    • 1 bag broccoli
    • 1 bag/1 box corn
    • 1 bag mixed veggies w/ cheese sauce
    • 1 chicken & pasta steam meal
    • 1 bag seasoned rice
    • 2 servings salmon
    • various mini-loaf sweet breads
    • 1 lasagna
    • 3 2 lbs. ground beef
    • 3 2 x 2 chicken breasts
    • 2 cups chicken broth
    • 1 box coconut shrimp
    • various shredded cheeses
    • 14 rolls
    • 4 frozen pizzas
    • 16 oz bag blueberries
    Fridge findings:
    • 1/2 pepperoni pizza (from Costco)
    • 2 1.5 tubs sour cream dips
    • 1 tub salmon spread
    • turkey gravy
    • Salad Finishers kit - Ceasar
    • 3 burger buns
    • 2 pancakes
    • celery sticks
    • carrot sticks
    • cucumber (unfortunately, this got soft before I was able to eat most of it and I had to pitch it!)
    • 21 tubes buttermilk biscuits
    • 3 Pillsbury pizza crusts
    • 3.5 x 8oz cream cheese
    • 2.5 x 16oz sour cream
    • 8 4 + 6 eggs (we ate 4, but a friend gave us 1/2 dozen fresh eggs from her chickens!)
    • leftover sweet potatoes
    • leftover mashed potatoes
    • leftover turkey
    • leftover stuffing
    • 2 pkgs guacamole
    • 1 serving Hamburger Helper
    • 1 serving cooked pasta 
    • Romaine lettuce
    So... apparently I've done better working through the fridge than the freezer! I guess that's okay, since the fridge stuff is more "urgent" as it's likely to go bad faster.  The red items have been added since I started this... some from the store, others from my Mom's fridge when she moved out of state, and some of my own leftovers.  I still need to make a list of all the stuff in my pantry... ugh.
    I guess what's important is that I am making progress, limited though it may be... and I'm saving grocery money too!  Thanks for truckin' along with me!

    Soli Deo Gloria

    Saturday, January 16, 2010

    This Week's Grocery Deal!



    This is what I went to buy today, and it was a good enough steal deal that I wanted to share :)  I paid $10.11 OOP, and while it is more than the $5 goal I mentioned in my previous post, and I didn't end up getting the cheap lunchmeat (they were out, so I got a raincheck), I still think I did pretty well.  The 24 washcloths are for this year's Operation Christmas Child boxes, and one of the Oust cans is going to Turning Point.  The milk and lettuce are both organic!  According to my receipts, I saved $41.85... a "mere" 4x what I spent :)

    Soli Deo Gloria

    EFTP/F Challenge Update - week 2

    This week worked out pretty well also.  I can at least see the shelves in my refrigerator again and there are some small gaps of free space in my freezer.  Pantry progress is slower, but at least there IS progress!
    This week we ate:
    • leftover Mexican Chicken Skillet w/ guacamole, cheese, sour cream, salsa (and Tortilla Chips on the side)
    • Pasta & Beans w/ Bread
    • Stuffed Sole w/ leftover Mashed Sweet Potatoes
    • Hamburger Helper w/ Bread
    • Salmon Turnovers (using Smoked Salmon spread instead of the filling in the recipe) w/ leftover Mashed Potatoes mixed with leftover Hevlua Good White Cheddar Bacon Sour Cream Dip (a yummy experiment!)
    • leftover pancakes (2) & frozen waffles (4) w/ syrup, scrambled eggs (4) w/ cheese
    Three of the above meals still have leftovers (one of the benefits of cooking for only 2), so we'll be working on those this coming week, interspersed with a few other recipes that I've got up my sleeve using on-hand ingredients.  I think I've still got about 7 ideas, most of which will produce their own leftovers, so we should be good to keep this up for at least another 2 weeks, barring any random occurrences.  I will be heading to the store in a bit to grab some milk, veggies and hopefully cheap lunchmeat, since we're almost out of that and it's almost exclusively what my hubby takes to work, but I'm expecting OOP expenses to be only about $5 -- yeah!

    Some of the excess will be going to a special offering at church tomorrow for Haiti.  I also went through my household goods stockpile yesterday and pulled some items to donate to Turning Point via my church's upcoming women's brunch.  It feels good to be able to give when there's a need, and yet still be able to save!  May the Lord be glorified as I Eat From The Pantry!

    Soli Deo Gloria...

      Sunday, January 10, 2010

      EFTP/F Challenge Update - week 1



      This hasn't been quite as bad/hard as I thought!  Actually, I was doing really well and made it through the week without going to the store... until yesterday.  There were some killer deals (free guacamole, yogurt, cleaner, almost-free cheese) that I just couldn't pass up.  Not to mention the pizza deal... which wasn't that great, but since I had purchased 17 pizzas (on sale, of course) earlier toward the $15 rebate, and then someone had eaten one and thrown away the UPC, I just HAD to B2G1 free to finish it up.  Argh.  Looking back, I probably should've just bought 1 @ $5 and been done with it, but $5 for a frozen pizza just sounds like a lot, even as part of a rebate.  $3.33 sounds so much better.
      Anyway, I'm still trying to participate in the challenge... and while my grocery budget was "restocked" on Friday (pay day!), I technically didn't touch a penny of it as I had leftover $$ from the previous 2 weeks.  And since one of the suggestions with the challenge was to do something "useful" with the leftover grocery money (donate/pay down debt), my hubs and I agreed to spend part of it to put towards a space heater for an underemployed family at our church that we knew needed one.  And with the coupon for 15 ECBs that I got from doing a CVS online survey a few weeks back, it worked perfectly.
      So, what DID we eat this week out of our stockpile-abundance?
      • Barley & Lentil soup (with Split Peas instead of Lentils)
      • Mexican Chicken Skillet with FlatOut wraps from the freezer instead of tortillas (I just discovered this recipe, but I think I'll call it Homemade Q'doba Burrito)
      • 1/2 Costco Pepperoni Pizza (since it was fresh, it had to be eaten)
      • Cranberry Oatmeal cookies (taken to a party Friday night, so that's not ALL we ate!)
      • Frozen pizza (after buying 3 at the store, they didn't all fit so we had to eat one right away - plus, we usually eat pizza one weekend night anyway)
      • Leftovers of #s 1 & 2 above
      There's still a wee bit of leftover soup that one of us will probably take for lunch this week, and we'll be eating some Homemade Naked Burritos one night this week since we're out of FlatOuts/Tortillas but still have the rice/chicken part.
      I've currently got a list of about 8 recipes that I know off-hand I can make without heading to the store again, though I'll probably swing by one more time in the next 2 days to grab some more free yogurt, bread (that I forgot yesterday), and $0.50 bag(s) of tortilla chips (with a coupon from today) since we're out and they'd go well with the leftover "naked burritos".
      Hope your challenge is going as well (or better) than mine!

      Soli Deo Gloria

      Monday, January 04, 2010

      Eat From the Pantry/Freezer Challenge

      Starting back to work today after two weeks off does NOT make being creative with menu items sound like fun. However, my GroceryGame membership has lapsed so instead of paying right away, I figure it's a good time to get to work on "rotating" my stockpile (I have a bit of a hard time distinguishing that from "reducing", but I'll do what I can).
      Anyway, tonight's menu item is Barley-Lentil Stew served with rolls. I've made this before (this time last year, when cold weather screamed soup) and it was a success. I still have barley leftover (tightly sealed, of course), and have some celery sticks leftover from a New Year's Eve party. My hubby and I have serious aversions to celery, unless it's buried in something else and hardly noticeable - soup is a great choice!
      Tonight I tried it with Split Green Peas instead of lentils, because that's what I had on hand. I can't recall to compare with last year, but it was yummy anyway! After some research, I chose to add them in when the other ingredients had already reached simmer stage so they didn't get overdone... but then they were not quite soft enough, so if I were to do it again, I'd add them in right with the barley and they'd probably be perfect.
      I used all water, 3 tomato bouillon cubes and 1 chicken (what I had on hand).
      I also left out the rosemary (personal preference).

      Since I about froze my hands off in the freezer/fridge, I thought I'd go ahead and share some initial findings of items that are available to work into menus for as long as I can handle this!
      Freezer findings:
      • 4 c. diced ham
      • London Broil (from a once-a-month cooking day a while back... may already be freezer burned, so I'll have to do it on a day with an easy back-up plan)
      • 6 burgers
      • 4 waffles
      • 1 pkg each salsa/guacamole
      • 2 servings stuffed salmon
      • 2 servings sole
      • 2 pouches pepperoni
      • 2 individual broccoli/cheese portions
      • 2 bags grn. beans
      • 1 bag broccoli
      • 1 bag/1 box corn
      • 1 bag mixed veggies w/ cheese sauce
      • 1 chicken & pasta steam meal
      • 1 bag seasoned rice
      • 2 servings salmon
      • various mini-loaf sweet breads
      • 1 lasagna
      • 3 lbs. ground beef
      • 3 x 2 chicken breasts
      • 1 box coconut shrimp
      • various shredded cheeses
      • 14 rolls
      Fridge findings:
      • 1/2 pepperoni pizza (from Costco)
      • 2 tubs sour cream dips
      • 1 tub salmon spread
      • turkey gravy
      • 3 burger buns
      • 2 pancakes
      • celery sticks
      • carrot sticks
      • cucumber
      • 2 tubes buttermilk biscuits
      • 3 Pillsbury pizza crusts
      • 3.5 x 8oz cream cheese
      • 2.5 x 16oz sour cream
      • 8 eggs
      I'll finish this post at a later time... now I've got to go to bed!