Why I DON'T Buy GMO Free for Halloween

It's no secret that I'm a bit obsessed with the foods my family eats.  Just a bit....

However it may come as a surprise that when it comes to Halloween, I relax my rules.  I buy all the "good stuff" and by that I mean- Snickers, Kit Kat's, Reese's, Twix and more.  Yes, I know that these brands have way too many chemicals and I know they contain GMO's.  Relax, I know.

But here's another thing that I know- my son will go Trick or Treating and come home with a huge bucket overflowing with all this junk.  And when I look back and remember those precious years spent enjoying Halloween, I do NOT want him to remember that Mommy took away all his good candy.

GMO Free Alternatives

So instead I have chosen to simply pick and choose my battles.  I allow this GMO filled candy into my home and I pass it out to all the sugar pumped Trick or Treaters- just as many other parents do.  But let me be very clear- this is the ONLY time I buy these candies.  I have also imposed strict rules on candy consumption.

I firmly believe in the 80/20 rule.  If I can keep 80% of the foods in my home organic and GMO free then I consider myself a success.  I don't stress about the remaining 20%.  I have given myself permission to relax and let my son enjoy Halloween- GMO's and all!

Now- if you just can't do it, which I totally understand, you can click this link here to read about 12 GMO free treats to pass out on Halloween night.  Whatever you decide, I wish you a safe and fun Halloween!

Green Smoothie

We've started drinking this yummy & healthy Green Smoothie several times per week.  And whenever I'm not feeling so well, my tummy is hurting, I'm tired or just a general case of the Blahs- I whip up one of these and instantly feel SO much better.

The kiddo is not a fan of these, he prefers my Yogurt Berry Smoothie's instead.  However, the other day he ate a cheeseburger from Five Guys and his tummy wasn't feeling well.  And wouldn't you know it- he actually asked for a Green Smoothie!!!  Seriously, my jaw was on the floor.  On.  The. Floor.

So here's the recipe, I hope you'll give it a try!

Green Smoothie

Green Smoothie

• One large handful of frozen pineapple
• 1 green apple, core removed        *alternately you can substitute the apple for blueberries but this will change the color of your smoothie
• 2 big leaves or 2 handfuls of kale
• 2 stalks celery, cut up
• 1/2 cucumber, cut up
• 2 cups cold water

Dump all the ingredients in the blender and blend away.  You may need to add more water depending on the consistency.  It's helpful to put the frozen stuff in first, followed by the chunks of celery and cucumber.  I layer the kale in on top and then pour in the water.  My ancient blender prefers it this way.  But really- it doesn't make a difference.

Then simply pour it into a cup.  This amount will make enough for 2 large servings or 3 medium sized servings.  I typically fill a super large plastic cup for the husband to take with him on his drive to work and then I have enough for a medium sized glass for myself later in the day.

You could also pour any extras into a Mason Jar or other container with a lid.  Just shake and drink later on whenever you want it.

So there you have it.  My Green Smoothie recipe.  Super easy, takes less then 10 minutes and will make you feel great!!  Enjoy!

Grocery Budget Challenge Week #2

Alright- so if you're just tuning in, click here to read all about this Grocery Budget Challenge I am embarking on.

Let's recap.  Week #1 was a disaster.  DISASTER!!!

If you remember, my weekly goal is $150.  Last week, I spent $189 at Safeway and then went to Grocery Outlet and spent another $60.  AAAAHHHH!!!  Not good!

I was super prepared and had my meal plan and my grocery list ready.  However, I did not account for items that I needed to stock up on and I did end up buying $30 worth of items for my Father-in-law.  Clearly I am still learning.  

This week I have revised my meal plan in an effort to make up for the colossal suckiness that was last week.  So that means I am going to be feeding my family from the items I have already stocked up on in my fridge, freezer and pantry.  I will only be going to the grocery store to buy more Halloween candy for the trick or treaters because my family ate all the Halloween candy I bought 2 weeks ago.  Seriously- ate it ALL!  And I will be using some of my grocery money to buy the pizza for our Pizza & Beer get together with neighbors on Halloween night.

Week #2

Monday

Baked Potato Soup *double batch

Hasbrowns, turkey sausage, avocado & fresh fruit for breakfast

Tuesday

Macaroni & Cheese with Green Salad *double batch

Pumpkin Bread & fresh fruit for breakfast

Wednesday

Crockpot Taco Soup

Toast w/peanut butter & fruit & yogurt smoothies for breakfast

Thursday

Pizza & Beer- It's HALLOWEEN!

Toast w/peanut butter & fruit & yogurt smoothies for breakfast

Friday

Leftovers

Pumpkin Bread & fresh fruit for breakfast

Saturday

Meatballs, Rice and roasted veggies

 Toast w/peanut butter & fruit & yogurt smoothies for breakfast

Sunday

Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce & green salad *double batch Marinara Sauce

Pancakes *double batch

I will be sending my husband to work with leftover soups- both Baked Potato and Taco.  I will also send him with some leftover Cheese Enchiladas & Beans- would you believe he'll eat this cold! Cold?!? If I run out of leftovers- PB & J it will be!  If you remember- my son and I eat leftovers for lunch too.  This saves me from having to buy lunch items- at least for this week!

You'll also notice that I'm baking Pumpkin Bread again this week.  My boys can't get enough of it! And they've requested that I bake more- thankfully I have enough pumpkin and eggs!  Did you also see that I have 4 meals that I will be adding to my freezer stockpile this week!  WooHoo!

Now all I need to do is stick to my budget!

*Want to go back and see what happened on Week #1?

The First 72 Are On You.

Say what?

The concept is pretty simple and everyone from FEMA, Red Cross,  to your local city recommends that you have enough emergency supplies to last you for 72 hours.  That's 3 days folks.

Why am I talking about this here?  Well, first of all, it's my blog and I can discuss whatever I want.  But most importantly, I feel that the job of a Wife and Mother is to care for her family in every situation.  Every single one.  And that includes emergencies.

Do you have enough food on hand to feed everyone?  What about water?  Would you be able to find your flashlights if the power went out?  How would you cook a meal if you didn't have electricity?

My goal here is not to alarm you or lead you to think I'm some sort of crazy conspiracy theorist.  Trust me...I'm not.  What I'm trying to have you do is simply prepare your family for an emergency.

First- think about where you live.  Is your region prone to earthquakes?  What about a flood?  Research what has happened in the past in your area and how long it took to get things back up and running.  Then plan for that.  Simple as that!

For example, I live in the Seattle area.  We have snow, ice storms, lots of rain and sometimes heavy wind.  OH- and we are due for a major earthquake.  Several years ago when my son was 18 months old, we lost power for almost 2 weeks in the home we were renting at the time.  This was in part to a wicked series of wind and snow storms.  I thought we would be fine because the house had a wood burning fireplace.  What I did not know at the time was that the fireplace was inoperable- completely.  We went without heat in the middle of winter, no showers and hot water and all our food spoiled.  I resorted to heating our home with candles and at night we all huddled in the master bedroom in order to be warm enough to sleep.  And by all, I mean- husband, kid, dog and rabbit.  Yes, even our rabbit.

By the end of those 2 miserable weeks, I learned a very valuable lesson.

1. It could have been worse.
2. I didn't ever want to be unprepared again.

In the last few years, I have slowly taken steps to ensure that my family won't be caught in the storm again.  Literally.  I began working on our 72 hour emergency kit.  I grabbed an old duffle bag and put in a good first aid kit, some food that only needed water to be cooked, flashlights, candles, extra dog food- basically anything I thought we would need in the first few days after a major storm or event.  In the last couple of years, I have started increasing that 72 hour kit.  I now have enough emergency supplies on hand to last 8 days.  My goal is 14.

I am also careful to make sure that I have a well stocked home.  What exactly does this mean?  Well, I always have lots of canned items in my pantry.  Extra freezer meals, a large first aid kit, extra toilet paper, firewood, charcoal grill and plenty of charcoal.  Think about it- what good would all that food be if you had no way to cook it?

7 gallons & BPA free!
  Find them at Walmart

I have also made sure that I have enough water for my family and our 2 dogs for at least 3 days.  The rule here is to have 1 gallon per person per day.  Surely you can find room in your home to store 3 gallons of water per person for an emergency?  We all know that we can go a week without food, but water- now that's a true necessity.  So if you do NOTHING else- please do this!

My hope is that you'll take 15 minutes and simply stop and think about what you need to provide for your family in an emergency.  Really think about....if you have canned foods, do you have a manual can opener?  How would you cook those foods?  Do you have enough water?  What if there was NO running water or the water was contaminated?  How about heat?  Do you have extra blankets?  Candles?  Matches and lighters?

Another important factor to remember- don't assume you'll be able to buy what you need after the storm.  If the power is out and a store's backup generator is also out, that means your credit and debits cards won't work.  If there's trees down or power lines down and they are blocking your road- how are you going to drive to the store?  And do you really want to wait in hour long backups to buy gasoline or bottled water?

A little prep time now will save you down the road.  And it will definitely add to your sense of security.  I hope you'll think about it!


***Want to read more?

Have you got the first 72 hours covered?

Well check out my follow up post that tells you what you will need for the next 2 weeks.  It's an Emergency!

What Do You Mean You Don't Have a Curriculum?

Whenever I tell people that we are homeschoolers, one of the common statements I hear is- "I know "so and so" who also homeschools.  Aren't you lucky that there's so much curriculum available."

Ugh.

Here we go.

And so begins the question from non-homeschooling people- "what curriculum do you use?"  And then I feel compelled to tell them the truth, which is- we don't.  And of course their eyes bug out just a little bit and they stammer- "wha what? how can you homeschool without curriculum?"  Hmm...well gee- I don't know.  How can you parent without a manual?  It's not rocket science here folks, although if it were I would definitely hire my son a tutor!  Ha!

The reality is that many homeschoolers do NOT use a boxed curriculum.  I talk a bit here about what we use and how we personally save money on homeschooling resources.  But there's other reasons besides money that we have chosen to not buy a curriculum.

• Boredom.  Boo- sometimes those boxed sets are downright boring and tedious.  No thanks!
• Flexibility.  My son is 8.  He is totally focused on one thing for a week or two and then it's on to another.  I have no clue a year in advance what he'll be into.  How could I possibly plan curriculum around this?  You can't.
• To follow a specific method of homeschooling.  We are eclectic homeschoolers who lean towards unschooling.  This can't happen with a boxed curriculum.
• What about the gifted or disabled kids?  A boxed set is designed to do what a traditional public school does- it aims for the middle of the road.  What if your kid is ahead of the game?  What if they have a learning disability?
• This is not the way my son likes to learn.  He is NOT a sit down with paper & pencil learner.  He's a hands on, doing, touching, feeling sort of kid.  So to go against his natural learning style would be a huge detriment to him.
• And of course money.  Holy Buckets are those boxed sets pricey!

See there- lots of excellent reasons.....So if we don't use a formal pre packaged curriculum then what DO we use?  

• Books
• Magazines
• DVD's
• Homeschool classes
• Field trips
• Workbooks
• The outside world- nature
• Participation in sports- soccer, martial arts, swimming
• Workshop classes
• The Internet
• Toys & Games
• Physical tools- magnify glass, projects, microscopes, arts & crafts, etc

So I suppose I shouldn't feel so guilty the next time someone comments on my lack of curriculum.  I think what we use and how we have chosen to homeschool is pretty awesome.  It fits our lifestyle and it fits my son's learning style- which is really all that matters.

What do you use in your homeschooling journey?

How to Homeschool for a Year for Under $20

My homeschooling budget is small.  Seriously- small.  I do my very best to keep my yearly costs under $25.  Say what?!?  Trust me- it can be done and I'm going to tell you how.

So what do we use exactly?

Just $6.99!!

I love these Scholastic grade level workbooks.  I buy them at Costco, which is just a large discount warehouse store.  The best time of year to look for these is late summer, well before Fall and the start of the new school year.  Price is $6.99- which is just awesome for the budget minded Momma's like myself!

I am also a huge fan of the website Education.com.  This is my go-to website for science experiments, fun crafts and great holiday themed activities.  You can pay for workbooks and worksheets on this site but they also offer a limited amount of free pages per month per email address.  So really- why pay for something you can get for free?!?  I have 3 email address', so you better believe I signed up with all 3!  And to increase my cost savings, I print the pages at my local library for free.  That's free + free = FREE!!!!

My son attends Edmonds Heights K-12 and they have amazing classes like Paragraph Writing, Math, Spanish, Latin, Science, Lego Engineering and more, all taught by certified teachers.  These classes are free. Yippee!!  They also have workshop classes and for an additional fee, a student can take fun classes like Musical Theater, Martial Arts, Sewing, Pottery, Jewelry Making and more!  It's a very valuable tool in our homeschooling journey.

We are also regulars at our local library.  Did you know that you can put books, movies and magazines on hold online and then pick up at your local library?  Since our library is super small, this is how I get all of our books and such.  We are lucky that our library system is pretty large so we have access to new release DVD's and a huge variety of books for all ages.  In the summer time, we also participate in the weekly Summer Reading program.  Lots of fun activities, stories and crafts- all for free!  My library also does NOT charge late fees.  WHAT!?!?!!  I know...I know....calm down Homeschooling Momma's, I know it's super exciting but let's not freak out now!

Still with me there?  That's free classes taught by certified teachers, workshop classes, free books, free DVD's, free magazine, workbooks and free science experiments and arts and craft projects.  Now let's add in sports and PE.

William participates in soccer through a local club.  We are able to get a discounted price so the registration/participation fee is just $10.  Each year I sell his old cleats on Ebay and use the money to buy new cleats.  This means, I spend nothing on cleats.  Nothing!  He's also able to wear the same uniform for 2 years in a row.  My tip here is to buy it a little big the first year and hopefully it will still fit for the 2nd year.  That's a $40-100 savings!  Sweet!

Last year William took Martial Arts classes through his homeschool program.  His school budget money paid for the classes which was $350 for the year.  Keeping score?  A $350 dollar value and all for free!

William also does swimming lessons.  Last year he went to the local YMCA which offers a Swim and Gym class just for homeschoolers.  The class consists of 1 hour of gym class and then 1 hour of swimming and meets once per week.  The fee is $125 per session however my local YMCA royally screwed up and I ended up getting the whole class for free.  Let's just say it was a huge mess....but William really enjoyed the class so we saw it through until the end of the school year.  However, this year- William qualifies for FREE swimming lessons.  There was a grant provided to the school district where he does his homeschool program and all 3rd graders get 3 free sessions.  This will give him free lessons until the end of the school year. I'll take it!

Imagine Children's Museum

Occasionally we like to take field trips and I try to pay as little as possible for these.  I have learned that most  museums offer a free night at least once per month.  I have several in my area that offer free admittance- Museum of Flight, Bellevue Arts Museum and Imagine Children's Museum just to name a few.  I highly recommend you look into this!  You are of course at the mercy of their schedule but hey- free is free! I also regularly check out websites like Amazon Local, Groupon and Living Social to find great deals on other educational and fun places to visit.

This year I was also able to use some of William's school budget money to buy a science kit and some great new workbooks.  My out of pocket expense was zero!

Here's a recap:

• Yearly workbook------------------------------------------------------ $6.99
• Science experiments ----------------------------------------------------FREE
• Arts & Craft projects--------------------------------------------------- FREE
• Musical Theater, Martial Arts, Jewelry classes & more------------------ FREE
• Foreign Language classes----------------------------------------------- FREE
• Math, Science, Language Arts classes -----------------------------------FREE
• Books, DVD's & Magazines --------------------------------------------FREE
• Soccer----------------------------------------------------------------- $10
• Swim Lessons ----------------------------------------------------------FREE
• Museum Field Trips----------------------------------------------------- FREE

Grand Total: $16.99

Not included in this cost is school supplies, supplies for science experiments and those for art and crafts projects.  But lets be honest- we homeschool.  I don't have a ridiculously long list of required unnecessary school supplies.  It's paper, pencils, erasers, markers, crayons, glue, etc.  My wonderful family routinely gifts William with all of these items for birthdays and holidays.  Want to know what to get my child for Christmas?  School supplies!

So there you have it.  A full year of homeschooling for under $20.  Lots of great activities, curriculum and classes.  If I can do it, so you can you!

Do You Have a Freezer Stockpile?

I've said it before and I'll say it again- I believe in being prepared.

That's why I like to keep my freezer well stocked with easy meals made from healthy foods.  If you've read my blog before, you know that I like to cook whole foods, mainly vegetarian and organic foods from scratch.  I keep the processed foods to a minimum.

The easiest way that I've found to build up my freezer stockpile is to simply make a double batch of a meal as you're cooking it.  I do this with just about everything- provided I have enough ingredients on hand.  This assumes you are keeping a well stocked fridge and pantry.  Sometimes you make a meal last minute and simply don't have enough ingredients on hand to make a double batch- don't worry about it!  There will be plenty of chances to double up later!

Handy Chart for Freezing Meat

Here's a list of some of my favorite meals to stockpile-

• Meat & Bean Chili
• Lentil Chili
• Black Bean Chili
• Black Bean & Cilantro Quinoa
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Cheese Enchiladas
• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Black Bean Soup
• Baked Potato Soup
• Chicken Noodle Soup & other veggie based soups
• Vegetarian Burgers
• Beef Burgers *not cooked
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Lasagna
• Twice Baked Potato Casserole
• Meatloaf *not cooked
• Meatballs *not cooked
• Muffins
• No Yeast Breads like Zucchini & Pumpkin
• Cookie Dough *not baked
• Pie Crusts *not baked

I will also cook up a roast or whole chicken (very rarely) and then make broth with the bones and save the meat to add into other meals.  The cooked meat is then easy to thaw & throw into soups, chilis etc.  One five pound whole chicken will provide a full chicken dinner for my family, up to 3 additional meals where chicken is added (soups, stews, enchiladas etc) and not the main course, a gallon of chicken broth and scraps to feed my dogs for two meals.  I use every single part of that chicken!

I also freeze yogurt, cheese, berries, chocolate chips, fresh fruit, nuts, deli meat, packaged hot dogs and more!  Just about anything can be frozen.  So stock up when your favorite items are on sale and pop it in the freezer!

I use foil pans like this one for freezing casseroles, enchiladas, lasagnas etc.  For soups, I cool in the fridge and then put it in a large ziploc bag the next day.  Don't forget to label it with a sharpie with the name of the recipe and the date you made it!  For meats that I don't cook- I will make a double batch and bake one that day then put the other half in a labeled ziploc bag.  For burgers, meatballs and cookie dough, I flash freeze then stick in a ziploc bag.  Super easy!

This is a simple way for you to save money- you won't eat out as much and for you to feed your family healthy meals!  For a busy wife and mother- it's guaranteed to make your life much easier!