DIY Toys: The Sunday Paper

When my son was an infant he never wanted to be put down.  I think it's a pretty common challenge parents face and so I hope you can relate!  Reading the Sunday sales ads and clipping coupons are important to saving on groceries and household supplies in our family.  My son sat with me while I read the ads and we talked about the pictures.  Colorful, shiny sales ads are fascinating for babies.  I'd say that just like it is never too early to start reading to your children, it is never too early to start this activity with your little one.

Here's my little guy at 14 months enjoying the Sunday paper.  If I find more pictures I'll be sure to add them!

At 18 months we now use this opportunity to practice vocabulary and it is a great tool for eliciting language.  My son points to and labels objects, and I ask him questions like, "where is the blue shoe?" and "how many dogs do you see?"  Many times he asks me "what's that?"

Here are some of the things we talk about.

Pet Stores - These have lots of animals!  We look for dogs, cats, sometimes birds and fish. We talk about the sounds they make.

Drug Stores and Dollar Stores - Because they usually highlight seasonal items, this is a good opportunity to talk about holidays and weather.  With Easter just around the corner we have been spotting lots of bunnies!

Supermarkets - We talk about food, of course!  Pictures of produce, meat, and bread are the most recognizable.  Prepackaged food is more difficult to identify but we try.

Sporting Goods Stores - My son loves shoes and boots so he gets pretty excited about these ads.  We count shoes and talk about what color they are.  He also likes playing with balls so he loves to see pictures of basketballs and soccer balls.

Big Box and Department Stores - These are a little more difficult, but we do point out the things he loves like babies and toys.  Sometimes in the ads for kids clothes and toys we will spot a character he knows like Elmo or Pooh.  These are also good for learning the names of types of clothing.

It isn't all educational!  Eventually we get to the point when it is more fun to wad up the papers, tear them, and listen to them crinkle under his feet while he stomps on them.  Today he got it in his head that he wanted to hide.  He would lay down and ask me to cover him, then throw off the paper and yell "boo!"  What a goofball!

5 Tips for Shopping at Consignment Sales

I've had great luck finding good quality toys, clothes, and baby items at consignment sales.  They really help us keep our kid-related expenses within budget.  Here are some things I've learned from shopping at consignment sales.

1. Make a list before you shop.  Even if it just a mental list, think about what you're searching for before you go.  Prioritize your list.  Things get snatched up quickly so you'll want to make your way towards your most desired items first to avoid being disappointed.

2. Know your prices.  This is the same for  buying anything.  You can't know a good deal when you see one if you don't know what things sell for.  Familiarize yourself with the retail prices of items on your list before you go.

3. Bigger items are where you'll see the biggest savings.  Saving 75% on a high chair or stroller will help you out a lot more than 75% on a pair of pants.  It takes much more time to look through racks of clothes than to size up a row of high chairs and pick one, so these are the things I put at the top of my priority list.  I bought our baby swing for $10 and one of our baby carriers for $20 at consignment sales.  Each item individually was over $100 retail so that saved us a lot.  Both of these items were things that I put at the top of my list and picked up as soon as I got inside.  Which brings me to number 4...

4. Get there early.  If possible, be there when the doors open.  If you want to get a deal on a big ticket item, you have to be there when the doors open.  People I've seen have been pretty polite, but they definitely power walk over to whatever they're interested in to snag it and big items like strollers go first.

5. Carefully look over items before purchasing.  Look for stains, holes, and missing pieces.  Kids are tough on their clothes and toys.  If the item has a defect, are you still willing to purchase it and is the condition reflected in the price?  I'm pretty picky about clothing being in excellent condition, but am willing to purchase toys that aren't perfect as long as they're still functional and a reasonable price.

This weekend was one of the biggest consignment sales in my area.  Here are some of my finds.

The first thing on my list was a tricycle so I headed for the outdoor toys first.  This Radio Flyer trike was a steal for $10 and my son is loving it!  Retail price for new is about $50.

My next priority was a toy barn.  My little guy loves animals and he's been learning all of the sounds the farm animals make, so I knew he'd love one.  Thankfully toy barns are red and easy to spot!  I picked up this beautiful wood Melissa and Doug barn and animals for $8.  Brand new these are about $40.

Next on the list was was shoes.  I found these two pairs of Stride Rite shoes for $5 each.  I can get new Stride Rite shoes for about $25 at the outlet store.

One pair was even brand new with the box included!  They're 3 sizes too big for my little guy, but the thing about kids is that they're always growing!  We will need them eventually and the price was right.

Clothes are always last on my list.  I find it relatively easy to find affordable clothes for my son other ways so I'm happy to let others look first and make my way over to clothes after I have the other things I'm looking for and the crowd has hopefully thinned a little.

At these sales I look for nicer pieces like dress clothes and quality brands like Gap, Gymboree, and Oshkosh.  I know that I can find play clothes for reasonable prices at the thrift stores or even retail stores if I really need them.  Something I try to do when shopping is to buy outfits rather than individual pieces.  Some people sell items as a set, but most don't so you have to match things together on your own.  Here's what I found.

Hmm, I guess it is easy to see that I like green, blue, and plaid!  At least they'll mix and match well!  I paid $23 for 6 pairs of shorts and 5 tshirts.

After I went through my list I took some time to wander a little and look through the rest of the sale.  I found some great stuff!  Here are some of my favorite unexpected buys.

This Tigger costume was $8.  So cute and a great price!  It probably won't fit this coming Halloween, but it will be perfect for the next year.

I also happened to spot this Little People nativity set for $5.  It is missing a few pieces, but has Mary, Joseph, and Jesus so it works for me!  This was something I tried to find last year for Christmas but couldn't find for a price I was willing to pay.  $5 was perfect!

I found some other little miscellaneous things like books, DVDs, and puzzles.  All in all it was a great trip and I'm especially happy that my son has a trike to ride outside this summer and a great start on summer clothes.  Now we just need some sunshine so that we can get out in the fresh air!

Thrifty Pantry: Frozen Blueberries

A big way we save on groceries is by purchasing items when they're on sale and building a meal plan around what we have.  Much of this would not be possible without our freezer.  Though it costs us electricity to run it and space in our basement, it really helps us to stock up when we find a deal on something we love.

Today I took a very quick trip to a surplus store I like to visit and I saw cartons of organic blueberries for $1.

These were 4.4oz cartons for $1.00.  I did a quick price check against my local grocery store and their organic blueberries are $4.99 for 6oz.  We are nearly out of the blueberries I froze last summer so I grabbed 3 cartons.  We will eat one fresh this week and freeze the other two for baking and smoothies.

To freeze blueberries I first rinse them well and dry them.  Then I spread them out on a baking sheet and stick them in the freezer overnight.

The next day I transfer them to a ziplock bag.  Freezing them this way keeps then from freezing in a big clump.  They're easier to measure out for a recipe or pour  a few into a smoothie.

Only a few more months till the fresh local blueberries are back in season!  I'll be filling up my freezer!

Thrifty Shopping: Real Deals

Just a few miles from my house is one of my favorite places to shop - Real Deals.  Real Deals is also a favorite of Mrs. P's.  The flowers for her St. Patrick's Day wreath came from here.  Real Deals is a surplus and dollar store.  They sell what the usual dollar stores sell, but they also stock surplus and closeout items at a great discount.  You just never know what they'll have so I like to stop by every week or two to check it out.  The majority of what I buy there is groceries.  Everything but cold items is a dollar or less so I've been able to find some exciting deals!

Here's what I found today:

This came to $6.10.  (Refrigerated and frozen items are $1.10.)  Estimating using similar products at my local grocery store this could have cost me $17, $12 if I had purchased generic versions.  That's a great savings!

Though their inventory changes frequently, there are a few things I can almost always find so I rarely buy them anywhere else.  I get many of our spices there.  Real Deals is a good place to get cereal and oatmeal.  This is just some of what I have in my pantry from Real Deals.

Some of my favorite finds at Real Deals have been Ghiradelli chocolate bars, Chobani yogurts 3 for $1, 6 packs of sparkling water, big tubs of Trader Joe's organic animal crackers, and frozen organic vegetables.

Something to pay attention to at Real Deals is expiration dates.  Some of the items are there because they are close to their expiration dates, so you should consider how much you can use by the out date before you stock up.  Refrigerated and frozen foods I try to use by the expiration date, but dry goods I give a little more flexibility.

As with all dollar stores, you have to know your prices when you shop.  A can of soup or a box of Jello aren't good things to buy at the dollar store because they're less expensive at the regular grocery store and probably have a better expiration date.  Just because it's a dollar doesn't mean it's a good deal.

Baked Meatballs

Happy St. Joseph's Day!

When I married into a Catholic Italian family, I was introduced to St. Joseph's Day.  St. Joseph was the foster father of Jesus and also Mary's husband.  The best way I know how to describe this holiday is to say that Italians celebrate it in the way that the Irish celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  They wear red and have a traditional Italian dinner to celebrate.  In my husband's family they have braciole, and I have started making meatballs with homemade pasta and sauce for our family.  The sauce recipe I'll save for another day but here is my simple meatball recipe.

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

1 beaten egg

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 tsp Italian seasoning blend

1 tsp minced garlic

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a cooling rack on top of the foil.  The fat will drip off the meatballs and be collected by the foil.

2. Combine beef, egg, cheese, 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, and garlic.  Form into meatballs.  Roll meatballs in breadcrumbs.  1lb of meat makes about 18 meatballs.

Thrifty Tip - I purchase ground beef in a bulk pack, then bring it home and separate it into baggies with about 1 pound each.  I put them in me freezer and pull them out as needed.  Buying in bulk saves me $1.50 per pound, well worth the small amount I spend on baggies to separate the meat.

3. Place on baking sheet and bake 20 minutes.

When they come out of the oven I like to drop them right into a pot of sauce to simmer a little before serving.

Approximate Cost per batch: $3.25

*this is just the meatballs, no sauce or pasta*

Approximate nutrition per serving:

Serving is 3 meatballs

270 calories

15g fat

0.5g fiber

18g protein

Usually when I make meatballs I will use 3-6 pounds of meat and freeze everything we don't eat that day.  I save a lot of time and trouble cooking meals ahead of time and freezing them.  To retreat frozen meatballs I heat up some sauce on the stove and let the meatballs simmer for a while, up to an hour or two. They add a lot of flavor to the sauce.

Variations:  I've made this recipe with 1/3 ground sausage and it was delicious!  I will also add fresh parsley if we have it.  The meatballs are yummy rolled in breadcrumbs but if you don't have enough or want to make this recipe a little healthier, you can skip that step and they'll still be a hit.

Homemade Almond Milk

Here at the C house we have been focusing on two things in the year 2014 - eating healthier and spending less.  We have been trying all sorts of smoothie recipes for breakfast and in doing so, have been consuming a lot of almond milk.  Today in an effort to avoid another trip to the store where I would surely purchase more than just almond milk, I realized that with 4+ pounds of raw almonds in my pantry there must be a way to make it.  I did as I usually do when I look for recipes.  I went online, read about a half dozen variations, and took bits and pieces of different recipes.  Here's what I came up with.

Ingredients:

2 quarts water

3/4 cup raw almonds

1/4 tsp vanilla

1. Add all of the almonds and half of the water or as much as can fit in your blender.

2. Let the mixture blend for a minute it two, until the almonds are as ground as your blender can processes.

3. Strain the mixture over a bowl to separate the ground almonds from the liquid.  I used the back of a spoon to press the ground almonds against the strainer and get as much liquid out as possible.

4. Return the ground almonds to the blender and add the remaining water.  Blend and strain the liquid as you did with the first half.

5.  I poured all of the liquid into a pitcher and added the vanilla.

I chose not to sweeten the almond milk because I will use it for smoothies containing fruit that is sweet, but of course if you prefer it a little sweeter you could add a sweetener.  I did try drinking it straight and it tastes very similar to store-bought unsweetened almond milk, just not as thick.  I did a little bit of research and the kind you buy in the store has thickeners added, which is likely why mine is a more watery.

I also scooped up the ground almonds and put them in a container in the freezer.  I'm not sure what I'll use them for yet, but some of the recipes I read mentioned that you can dry it out and bake with it.  That's a project for another day!

Approximate cost: $1.30

Generic almond milk: $2.99

St. Patrick's Day Green Smoothie

Here's a tasty green smoothie perfect for Saint Patrick's Day.

Ingredients: (makes 2 servings)

1 cup orange juice

1 cup almond milk

2/3 cup (8 cubes) frozen vanilla yogurt

1 banana

1 cup chopped frozen spinach

Approximate cost per batch: $1.15

Approximate nutrition per serving:

200 calories

3.6g fat

4.7g fiber

9.1g protein

Overnight Crock Pot Oatmeal

It is such a luxury to wake up to breakfast already prepared.  This is perfect for making the night before an especially hectic morning or if you have a crowd to feed since it is simple, inexpensive, and makes a lot.

Ingredients:

4 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

4 cups old fashioned oats

5 cups water

3 cups milk

1. Layer apples in the bottom of the Crock Pot.

2. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over the apples.  Add later of oats and carefully pour milk and water over the top, trying not to disturb the layers.

4. Do not stir!!  The apples will cook perfectly it they are on the bottom.

5. Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Makes 8 Servings

We make this early in the week and reheat individual servings in the microwave.  Add a little bit of milk or water when reheating.

My little guy loves his oatmeal!

Approximate Cost per batch: $3.80

Approximate Nutrition per serving:

300 calories

3.7g fat

6.4g fiber

8.7 protein

Variations:

- Use half old fashioned oats and half steel cut oats.  I add an extra cup of water and it cooks up perfectly.

- Add a few tablespoons of flax and/or chia before cooking.

- Experiment with different flavors.  My father has taken this recipe and adapted it to make with raisins, cranberries, or bananas.

To make a single serving if you have a tiny Crock Pot, make 1/8 recipe and use a timer to delay start until 2.5 hours before breakfast time.

Single serving before and after:

Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli

This soup is a hit in our family and we make it once or twice a month during the fall and winter.  Even my 18-month-old likes it and he cleans his plate, veggies and all.  When I serve it to him I use a slotted spoon to drain most of the liquid and make it easier for him to eat.

Here's the recipe:

1 lb ground beef

3 carrots

3 stalks celery

1 medium onion

2 tsp minced garlic

1 15oz can great northern beans

1 15oz can red kidney beans

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 tbsp Italian seasonings

1 tbsp beef bouillon

1 cup (uncooked) ditalini pasta

1. Brown ground beef over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.

When the meat is fully cooked, drain the fat and transfer the meat to the crock pot.  Set crock pot to high.

2. Chop celery, carrots, and onion.  You can do this while the meat is browning to save a little time.

Thrifty Tip - See that plastic bag?  Whenever I'm chopping celery, carrots, or onions, I save the scraps in a plastic bag I keep in my freezer.  I use these when I make chicken broth.

3. In the pan you cooked the meat in, sauté the vegetables with the minced garlic.  Cook the vegetables about 10 minutes or until the onions begin to look translucent and the carrots are starting to soften.

4. Add the vegetables to the crock pot.  Add beans, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and bouillon.  Add 2 28oz cans of water; use the crushed tomatoes can to measure.

5. Cook on high 5-6 hours.

6. Add 1 cup uncooked ditalini pasta and cook 30 minutes.

Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and a slice of homemade bread.  Makes 8 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each.

Approximate Cost Per Batch: $7.00

Chocolate Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

Does it get any better than chocolate for breakfast?  This smoothie is my favorite!

Ingredients: (makes 2 servings)

1 cup almond milk

1/2 cup (6 cubes) frozen vanilla yogurt

2 bananas

1/2 cup quick oats

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

Optional additions:

1 tbsp peanut butter

1/2 cup frozen spinach

I like to make this smoothie with both the spinach and the peanut butter.  I was a little nervous about adding the spinach the first time, but truly, you can't even taste it and it makes you breakfast even more nutritious.

Approximate Cost for 2 servings: $1.50

Freezing the yogurt in ice cube trays gives this smoothie a great consistency and makes it nice and cold.  It is also a good way to save some yogurt if you see it in your fridge about to go out of date, or to stock up if you find a deal and want to buy a lot.

Black Bean Salsa Soup

Soup is one of my favorite things to have for lunch and this is an easy recipe to throw together.  I almost always have the ingredients on hand in my kitchen and it is very simple to make.

Ingredients:

1 cup salsa

2 15oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups broth

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro 

Cook the salsa over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, just to cook it down a little bit.

Add the beans, cilantro, and broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes.  Add lime juice.

If you like you can stop here.  However, if you prefer your soup to be a little creamier, ladle some into a a food processor or use an immersion blender to purée some of the beans.

This is what it looks like with about 1/3 of the beans puréed.

Makes 4 generous servings.

Approximate Price per batch: $3.35

*Notes:

- When I took these pictures I was making a double batch, so that's why the pot is so full.

- I have used a carton of broth, homemade broth from my freezer, and broth made from bullion.  I've also tried both chicken and vegetable broth.  Whatever you have will work just fine.

- Dry cilantro is an OK substitute if it's what you have, but the flavor from fresh really makes this soup.

- I have eaten this soup without the beans puréed, with some puréed, and with the entire soup puréed.  They're all delicious!  It is just a matter of preference, or usually in my case, time.

Trash to Treasure: DIY toys

My little guy is a busy kid, so I'm always looking for ways to entertain him and keep him out of trouble.  Here are some fun toys we've "repurposed" from things we would have otherwise thrown away.

This has been a favorite for a while.  I think we started around 8 months and he is still interested in this at 18 months.  It is just a plastic baby wipes container and a collection of caps.  We saved the caps from milk jugs and other bottled drinks.  It helps to have a family member or friends save caps for you if they shop at a different store or buy a different brand.  This will help you get a greater variety of colors.  This is a totally free toy (made from stuff you'd usually toss) and what I really love about it is that as my little guy grows we can adapt how we play.  In the beginning it was just a tool for practicing fine motor skills.  Now we talk about the colors of the caps and count them as they are dropped through the slot.  As he gets older I plan to use a marker to write letters, numbers, and maybe even sight words on the caps.

Update: we are now practicing our letters and numbers!  I also made a set of caps with the letters of his name so we can practice recognizing and spelling his name.

Here's another favorite at our house.  When we have boxes to recycle, we use a little packing tape to reinforce them, and then let our son play with them like big blocks.  He likes to stack them up and knock them down.

As the boxes wear out we put them in the recycling bin and bring in new ones.  Our collection is constantly rotating!

Crock Pot Beans

We like to use beans in soups, chili, tacos, and as a side.  Canned beans aren't the worst way to spend your grocery money, but here is a way to stretch your pennies a little further.  You can cook dry beans in your crock pot at home to save a little cash.

I've had really bad luck soaking and cooking beans on the stove, so when I found out that I could cook them in the crock pot I was pretty excited.

First, rinse the beans and put them in your crock pot.  I used a 2 lb bag of beans.

Add water to cover the beans.  You will need at least 2-3 times as much water as beans.

Now set your crock pot to low and let them cook for 10-12 hours.  Seriously, it is that easy!  I checked on mine every few hours to make sure they had enough water and I did have to add a few more cups of water around hour 6.

Here they are, all finished!  I put mine into containers and froze them for making soup later.  2 pounds of dry beans yielded about 6 pounds of cooked beans.

At my local grocery store, canned beans are $0.75 for a 15.5oz can, and dry beans are $1.69/lb.  So you can save about $0.20 per can by cooking the beans yourself.  It is a simple way to stretch your grocery budget a little further.

Stay tuned for one of my favorite recipes using beans - a delicious soup!