Pumpkin Shake

If you love pumpkin-- you will love this!

First off: you need to make the homemade ice cream:

1/2 Cup Fat Free Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

Beat/Mix for 5-10 minutes until thick. Freeze


Then once the ice cream is frozen.....


1/2 Cup pureed pumpkin
1/4 Cup Coconut Milk
3/4 - 1 Cup of ice cream
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

Blend until smooth if you really like coffee add a splash of coffee to it :) yummmy!!!

Clean Eating Shopping List

For my husband and I to eat clean and real foods it really doesn't cost all that much. He isn't 100% sold on the clean/real foods idea, but he does try a lot of it! He is a man and wants his meat and potatoes-- but honestly that can be made clean as well.

Clean/Real foods are foods that are the closest to their natural state as possible. I focus on eating organic/local fruits, veggies, and honey, organic meats, cage free eggs and chicken, and do a lot of my own canning to stay away from all the added "stuff".

So here is a go-to list for when you start eating clean:


Stuff to always have in stock: Kroger and Meijer carry most products:

• Onions
• Garlic Cloves
• Potatoes
• Whole Wheat Flour
• Rye Flour
• Organic Cane Sugar
• Vanilla Extract
• Kosher Salt
• Various Herbs and Spices
• Coconut, Almond, and Olive Oil
• Salad Dressings
• Nuts
• Nut Butters
• Organic Salsa
• Dried Beans and Chickpeas
• Cans of Tuna Fish
• Whole Wheat Pasta
• Oatmeal
• Wheat Germ
• Organic Broths (veggies and chicken)
• Yeast

A Weekly-Biweekly Shopping List:

-When making this list you want to think of what foods you are going to eat that week. Duh right? Well I mean you have to stick to it as well so that you don't waste food.

• MEAT
• Whole Roasting Chicken (organic, cage free)
• Wild Caught Salmon
• Organic Ground Turkey
• VEGGIES/FRUITS (Pick at least 4 veggies and 2 fruits- if you are like me you will want tons! I love veggies)

• Cauliflower
• Bag of Large Carrots
• Organic Celery
• Bag of Potatoes
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Bananas
• Bag of Apples
• Kale
• Oranges
• Asparagus
• Dairy

• Cage Free Eggs
• Milk
• Greek Yogurt
• Other
• Coconut/Almond Milk (I don't usually have milk so sometimes I leave that out)

-This is just a sample list here- this is what I made the last week:

• Turkey burgers with homemade whole wheat buns
• Potato soup with cauliflower
• Roasted Chicken, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli
• Grilled Salmon with steamed carrots
• Egg white "muffins" with Kale and Onions
• Veggie Soup with added zucchini
• Super Spinach & Kale Salad
• Greek "pudding"

***if anyone wants any of those recipes please let me know! I will be posting them soon, just forgot to take pictures!****

Vegetable Soup-- that will blow your mind!

I was really craving a vegetable soup today. I wanted something that I could have that would be good for me but not fattening. I am trying to get leaner. This is a great great great soup


Ingredients
1/2 Cauliflower
1 Handful of Fresh Green Beans
1 Medium Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
4 Large Carrots
1 Medium Zucchini
1 Can of Navy Beans
1 box of organic vegetable stock
1 small can of organic tomato juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
Your favorite herbs and spices

Steps
1. Chop all of your veggies
2. In a large dutch oven- pour in the onions, garlic cloves, and olive oil
3. Cook until onions are a opaque color (3 minutes)
4. Add the rest of the vegetables and the beans
5. Pour in vegetable stock and get it to a boil
6. Add the tomato juice
7. Let boil about 3 minutes
8. Add in your favorite herbs and spices
9. Cook on low for about an hour and a half.
10. Then you are good to go!

DIY Chai Tea Latte

Okay so if you love chai tea you know how expensive a habit like chai tea lattes can be....

So I found a recipe with a little tweaking of my own... tastes amazing like the chai latte from starbucks:

(I made this is a batch and kept it in a pitcher)

3 Cups Water
3 Cups Almond Milk
1/2 Cup Local Honey
6 tea bags (4 chai 2 black)
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
shake of ginger
healthy shake of cloves


1) Boil water in a tea kettle
2) In a separate pan put almond milk, honey, and spices- boil
3) Pour boiling water into a pitcher with the tea bags. Let stand for about 5 minutes
4) Add boiling milk/honey/spice mixture to pitcher
5) Cover with tea bags still in the pitcher for another 5 minutes\
6) Pour into mug and enjoy :)

Money Saving Tips

Coupons :)

If you check your Sunday paper you can usually find coupons for great household items you would normally buy. Usually soups, snacks, and cleaning products are in the ads.

If you check around Thanksgiving and Christmas time there are a lot of coupons for baking products like flour, baking soda, corn starch, etc. Clip as many as possible and stock up- you will use these products throughout the year! Sign up for the "in store" coupons. A lot of stores have them. Plus figure out which stores in your shopping area allow for doubleing and tripling your coupons.

Get rid of the Asshole ten dollar bill

Yes you read that right. My husband and I found that ten dollar bills are assholes. This is because when you have one in your wallet you see something that isn't quite $5 but less than $15 or $20 so you think it is a "good deal". Usually this is bullshit. One item being $10 or less most of the time is junk you really didn't need or it is just something you break a ten dollar bill on so you have a five dollar bill some ones and change. Ones and Fives are really easy to spend. A twenty dollar bill is harder to spend but a ten is right in the middle. So what do you do with it? As soon as you get a ten dollar bill do one of two things 1) put it in a savings account or savings jar 2) spend it wisely. I mean really think about it before you spend it on that $2 cheese burger which you know you shouldn't be eating because it is clogging your arteries just thinking about it.

Think Big :)

Buy in bulk. I buy items like flour in bulk. If you buy a 5 lb bag of whole wheat flour- it is much cheaper than buying a 1 lb bag.

Get a Pinterest account :)

There are lots of really cool ideas for meals and crafts on Pinterest. I have found so many good meal ideas- along with many crafts that I use in my household daily.

Learn how to Can

There are 2 good ways to do this. Pressuring canning and water bath canning. Learn how to do both. You can save money by canning pickles, carrots, corn, soups, applesauce, juices, broths, jams, jellies, nut butters, etc.--- plus you will know exactly what is in it!

Trade :)

Find other people who are willing to trade items with you rather than sell your own items. I traded some dvds, a book, and like $10 for a dehydrator that would have costed me about $80 in store. So if you are looking for something and find someone who has it, offer to trade for a valuable item that you are willing to get rid of.

Go back to school

I know what you are thinking "I don't have money to go back to school". Try Financial aid. Chances are if you didn't come from a wealthy family and you don't have a job or make much money on your own, you can get grants and scholarships to go to college. It is always good to  have experience under your belt. You never know what type of job oppurtunities are out there!

Get to know your local farmers

Get to know your local farmers and buy produce or offer to help them for produce. Nothing is better than completely fresh produce. Everyone likes fresh corn on the cob! You never know that farmer could really need some extra help and wouldn't mind tossing a few carrots, heads of lettuce, pounds of beans etc.

Orchards

Go to the orchards often. Also go towards the end of the season when apples and other foods are on sale. You can make awesome apple pies, applesauce, and other great things that you can preserve.

Long time no write!

Hello everyone!

Forgive me for taking a few weeks off and not writing for everyone! I have been very busy with my husband joining the Navy and Fall classes beginning and canning season! Oh boy! It has been a busy few weeks.

First off I would like to share some of the foods I have been canning:

Salsa
Hungarian Hot Peppers
Green Peppers
Dill Pickles
Jalapenos
Carrots
Corn
Soups
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Apple Sauce
Berry-Apple Sauce
Tomatoes
Apples
Pickled Veggies

Those are just a few. If anyone has any questions about canning please ask and I will help you! I have both a pressure canner and a water bath canner. I pressure can my peppers, carrots, corn, and soups. I water bath most of the rest. If you want to water bath peppers, carrots, corn, and other veggies make sure you add citric acid- or else gases will relase and you cans will explode. (learned this from experience).

Salsa is a fun and healthy thing to keep around. I have a variety of different recipes but here is one that I use a lot lately:


8 lbs tomatoes
1 Large Onion
2 Hungarian Hot Peppers
2 Green Peppers
3 Fresh Jalapenos
5 Cloves of Garlic
4TBSP Cilantro


1-First I peel the tomatoes. How I do it is I boil a pot of water and also have a pot of water with ice cold water. I put the tomatoes into the boiling water for about a minute. Next I pull the tomatoes out and put them in the ice cold water. This should help you peel the tomatoes. Remove the seeds if you don't want seeds in your salsa
2- Next I pull out my new food processor (THANKS GRANDMA!). I put in the rest of the ingredients. I put it on 'pulse' so that there is a chunkier salsa- if you want a smoother salsa blend the ingredients until smooth.
3-Add tomatoes to the food processor
4-Blend it all together
5-Now you can put the salsa into a pot and cook it to get the excess water off or you can just go ahead and  can it. When you can fresh salsa and don't get all of the water out, there will be a small amount of water on the bottom of your jar- this is okay as long as the seal isn't broken.

Apple Sauce

Apple Sauce is a super easy thing to make and you really don't have to use any ingredients besides apples.

1- Get a large bag of apples
2- Peel, core, cut up
3- If you have a crock pot this is the easiest way to cook the apple sauce. Place the apples in the crock pot and put it on low for about 5-6 hours.
4- Stir this every half hour or so.
5- When the cooking is done the apples will be a bit mushy
6- Place all of the apples in your food processor.
7- Process on high or until apples are smooth.
8- Put in canning jars or into a container and put in the fridge.



** if you want cinnamon apple sauce.--At step 3, just put a nice coat of cinnamon on top of the apples before you cook them.

** if you want berry apple sauce.. -- Between setp 4 and 5, cook some berries in a small pan, but it is easiest to blend the berries together first. About a cup or so. I used strawberries and blue berries. Cook them for about 10 minutes then set aside. When you add the apples to the food processor-- add the berries as well.

I hope you like the 2 recipes I gave you! I support my local farmers and buy the apples from the orchards if possible. I also have small farmers and family members that have large gardens and have a lot of tomatoes, peppers, corn, egg plant, etc. I buy from some of the small farmers (which is usually very cheap compaired to the store and it is actually fresh-- most times organic) and my family members give me some veggies as well. Do your best with what you have! The place I get my apples from is a local orchard called Almar Orchards. They are based in Flushing, Michigan. They are very well known for their hard cider- you will find it all over the nation!

 

 

Until next time! be frugal! xoxox

jes

US NAVY

Any new NAVY wives or experienced NAVY wives out there? It looks like I'm about to become a NAVY wife... Not just a wife :) I need to make some friends in the community.:)

Yummy Fruit & Veggie Pulp Muffins

Hey! So recently I have been using my new juicer that my husband bought me. Juicing is amazing but it kinda kills me knowing that all of that pulp is going to waste. So I decided to try and use most of it in other meals. It is usually easy to hide veggies and fruits in cakes and brownies for picky kids, but this time I tried muffins. Let me just say they turned out really yummy.

Here is the recipe:

4 C of any pulp (I used tomato, apple, carrot, sweet potato, kiwi fruit, avocado, blueberry, and grapefruit.)
1 C of oil (I used 1/2 olive oil 1/2 coconut oil)
3 Eggs
1 C Honey
1 Tbsp baking soda
! Tsp nutmeg
1 Tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp Vanilla
3 C Whole Grain Flour

-First take the remaining pulp and put it into a food processor and turn it on high
- Next mix the frut pulp, honey, eggs, vanilla, and oil together
-Add dry ingredients
-Preheat oven to 350
-grease or put muffin holders in the muffin pan
-Fill with the badder
-bake for 45 minutes

Refrigerator Hot Dill Pickles

Hey Y'all! I don't know about you but I am obsessed with pickles! I like all kinds! My father in law enjoys growing pickle cucumbers- so I can them and eat them raw!

Here is my recipe for Hot Dill Pickles (makes 1 quart and 1 pt of pickles)

3 or 4 Large Cucumbers Slivered
1 Tbsp of Canning Salt
1 Tsp of crisp pickle
1 Small fresh jalapeno
Vinegar
Fresh Garlic Clove

-put fresh dill in the bottom of the jars
- put the salt in the bottom of the jars
- put crisp pickle in bottom of jars
-chop fresh jalapenos
-chop fresh garlic cloves
cut cucumbers into slivers
place jalapenos, cucumbers, and garlic in the jars
fill the jars 1/3 the way with vinegar
Fill them the rest of the way with water

Cover the jars and set them out on the counter for 3 days
Put in the refrigerator for 12 hours

open and enjoy!

products to invest in

Here are some products to invest in so that you can continue to be frugal.

-dehydrator
-juicer
-smoothie maker (good blender)
-food processor
-food saver
-canner
-ice cube trays
-rice cooker

There you have it! Some very good products to use! <3

Juicing... Expensive or Worth it?

So I just bought a juicer and it is so awesome! The best thing about having fresh fruit is fresh juice!
I noticed after I used fruits and veggies to create juice there was a lot of left over pulp. It can be used for many things but I didn't necessarily want it to go to waste. I could create a compost pile, but I wanted to ingest the fruit and veggies. I found out you can use left over pulp for many things: here are a few

1- put it in breads
2- put it in pancakes
3- put it in muffins
4- add some water and turn it into baby food
5- use it for smoothies to add fiber

well there are a few things to use it for! Buy a juicer from target and you won't regret it!

Healthy by choice

Healthy by choice is now up and running! A special is running $15 a week for health coach sessions! That is over 50% off! Free health history and free organic beauty product every month! Sign up for the newsletter and information at:
Www.healthybychoice2012.com

Smoothie ;)

Best after workout smoothie:
2 scoops of myoplex protien powder
1 banana
1 handful of almonds
1/3 Greek yogurt
1/3 2% milk

Blend and enjoy!

Made a New Soup!

I call this vegetable bean soup

-1 organic zucchini
-5 organic carrots
-2 stalks of organic celery
-1/2 organic onion
-5 organic garlic cloves
-2 TBSP chili powder
-3 TBSP oregano
-1 grilling steak
-1 can of northern beans (I canned these at home)
-1 can of kidney beans (I canned these at home)
-4 TBSP of organic salt free butter
-2 cups of chicken broth
-1 can of sodium free V8

In a pot put sliced carrots & celery, chopped onions, and butter- sautee for about 4 minutes
- add beans
-add chicken broth
-add v8 and garlic
-add chopped steak
-let simmer for about 10 minutes
-put contents of pot into a crock pot
-put crock pot on warm
-add spices
-cover cfrock pot and let cook on low for 8 hours

Then eat up!! yummy

Things to buy at the Dollar Store

I am one of the lucky people that have a Dollar Tree in my area. Here are a list of things to buy from the Dollar Tree shamelessly and it will help you save money!

-dog bones (rawhide)
-aluminum foil
-zip lock baggies
-brown paper bags
-timers for the kitchen
-ice cube trays
-baking soda (usually 55 cents)
-cleaning products
-greeting cards
-paper plates
-plastic silverware
-plastic cups
-tooth brushes
-mouth wash
-tooth paste
-hair gel
-brushes
-mirrors
-children's toys
-rice
-chicken or beef broth
-noodles (egg noodles)
-sponges
-kitchen soap
-bleach
-hot saue
-pickles
-jalapeno peppers
-mustard
-ketchup
-baby products (lotions. shampoo, baby powder, butt cream, etc)
-baby wash cloths
-bottles
-binkis
-candy
-wash clothes for your face
-bubble bath
-glasses and coffee cups


That is just a small list of things you can buy from the Dollar Tree!

Money Saving Tip!

Hey y 'all! There is a really good way to save money when it comes to your animals! I bathe my dog myself. I also make her LOVE having a bath. We give her treats and tell her how pretty she looks. I just buy soap from the Dollar Store, I get the most conditioning kind I can find. When Molly's skin gets irritated we put tea tree oil on her as well! <3

Save $-

So here is a funny tip I got about saving money- wash dishes by hand and sanitize the old fashoned way (boiling).

Cute

Lemonade in a mason jar

1 quart maon jar
1 lemonade crystal lite packet
16 oz purified water
10 ice cubes

Enjoy

Heat

Hello everyone!

Many states in the U.S have been experiencing excessive heat. In my area, there were at least 4 days with heat advisories and other days were very hot. I thought I would give everyone some tips on staying healthy in the heat.

-Many people tend to not be hungry or thirsty when it is extremely hot. I happen to be one of those people. Make sure to make it a point to drink water. What I do now is fill a quart size mason jar with cold water, also I add ice. I find that it is easier to drink water down when you are using a straw. I consume much more water and fluids out of a mason jar.

-When it comes to cooking for meals-- try cooking outdoors or with something that doesn't bring much heat into the house. Try having fruit and veggie smoothies, cooking chicken or turkey on the grill, or something in a slow cooker. You have to think out of the box! My sister, husband, and I had hamburgers yesterday for lunch, and then for dinner we had chicken, corn, green beans, salad, and mashed potatoes. Be sure to give your body as much nutrients as possible.

-Keeping your pets ool: Take your dog outdoors and watch them. Don't leave your animals outside unattended. If you are going to be spending time outdoors with your pet, set up a sprinkler. Also make some ice in a bowl and set it outside for your pet to drink!

-Be aware of your blood sugar! In  extreme heat your blood sugar can drop quickly due to the amount of sweat and your body burning calories trying to regulate your temperature. Keep snacks in the home- some inexpensive ones are carrots, apples (not as cheap in Michigan due to the late frost), and watermelon. I also keep peanut butter around.

-If you find yourself feeling very hot and weak, take 3 ice packs. Place one at the base of your skull and one on each wrist. Lay flat on your back and take deep breaths. Drink some ROOM temperature water-all that matters at this point is to keep yourself hydrated and get yourself cool.

Here are some tips that my family uses to keep energy costs down in the summer.

-When you run out of propane and/or charcoal, have a fire pit- be sure to have it surrounded by cement bricks. Use your awesome boy scout skills and make a fire from dry sticks. Use your rack from your grill and put it over the fire and cook on that.

-If your grill is working- use a cast iron pan to cook foods that you would normally cook on a stove.

-Invest in a bread maker to make your own bread without heating your whole house.

-Throw a slumber party in your living room. Block off all the rooms in your house that you can and sleep in the living room at night. You could even bring your bed into the living room for extra comfort.

-Keep the blinds and drapes closed when the sun is at the highest point.

- Energy efficient fans.

-Sprinkler!


Basically do your best to keep yourself cool. Keep small children in the house as much as possible. Take them outdoors when the sun is almost down and play with them. Don't leave animals outside for long periods of time. Be sure to eat and drink. Drink as much water as you can- especially if you are sweating.


Happy Summer! <3

~Jes

Dehydratedddd

Not what ya think ... Ha it is because I got a dehydrator! Dehydrating bananas, peaches, white nectarines, lemons, apples, kale, and all other types of fruits n veggies! I am even making chicken jerky today! B healthy make your own foods n snacks!