Showing posts with label money saving tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money saving tips. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Money Saving With Produce

There are some easy ways to save money on fresh produce for you an your family.
Obviously, looking for sales on produce is the first step to saving money in the produce department. Sales are a great way to trim your grocery budget in all departments in the grocery store.
There are not a lot of coupons available for fresh produce, so finding great sales are the best way to save money.
Shopping the seasons are always great as well.
Click here for a list of produce and the best time of year to purchase!
When you find a deal you can't pass up it is always a good idea to buy extras and do some freezing for future recipes!



These peppers were a little soft, but nothing that wasn't easily fixed by washing chopping and throwing in the freezer.


Now we have a huge bag of peppers in our freezer waiting to be used! 

Thursday, February 20, 2014

DIY Frugal Floor Cleaner


If you're anything like me, you hate spending money on unnecessary things. 
I hate buying floor cleaner. 
I feel like floor cleaner is basically a combination of the other cleaners I already purchase, but in a bottle labelled 'floor' just to get you to buy it.
So, I decided to make my own.
And let me tell you. 
It works wonders. 

Living in an apartment has its perks, but what is the most annoying about our apartment is that the entry way leads right into the kitchen. 
And this is Canada. 
We get a lot of snow. 
So we are constantly tracking in snow, slush, dirt, salt, and who knows what else!
I needed a super cleaner that was going to get the job done the first time.

Ingredients;
4 cups hot water (*if your tap water doesn't get hot enough, boil some or use water directly from the keurig!)
2-3 tablespoons of Dishsoap (I prefer sunlight for this!)
1/2 cup of vinegar 
1/8 cup of baking soda
the juice of 1 lemon


Saturday, February 8, 2014

Produce 101


We've all done it. 
Lets be honest. 
There are always produce items that go to waste in our fridges at the end of the week. 
I get so angry at myself when this happens. 
I buy that item for a specific meal, or to have on hand for snacks or sides. 
So why is it going to waste when it had a purpose to be placed in my shopping cart?

I personally can track this careless act of wasting produce down to two separate things.

1. Forgotten Item in Fridge
2. Leftovers never used

One of my 2014 goals is to be more frugal in the items I am purchasing, and to get more out of that particular item. 


Forgotten items in the fridge - there are many ways to make this occurrence less frequent. I have found that the produce that is placed in my crisper drawer gets forgotten about very easily. The drawer is completely opaque and I find that because we can not see into it, we forget what we have put in there. A solution might be to open the drawer more often, but I have always found that out of sight out of mind often happens with me. I recently went to the local dollar store and purchased a large plastic basket that now sits on the fridge shelf with all our produce on it. Now every time we open the fridge we can see all of the produce we have on hand. What do I now do with the crisper drawer? I put extra milk bags, extra condiments, or things I want to hide from J so he doesn't eat it before a particular meal! 



Leftovers Never Used -  There are many produce items that I buy on a regular basis; bananas, apples, oranges, pears, kiwis, etc, where there are certain produce items I may purchase for the use in a particular recipe. After making that recipe there are usually left overs of that item depending on how much the recipe has called for. After pooping the item back into the fridge I find that I often forget about these items and then they are going to waste. What I have started to do over the last few months is either freeze these items for the next recipe it calls for, or finding a new way to use that item. As you've probably already noticed, I think freezing is amazing. It is so easy! All you do is clean the item, pat it dry, throw it in a freezer bag or container, label it and pop it in the freezer for the next time you plan on making that recipe. I have also found that finding new ways and recipes to use items is also a way to reduce waste. For example, if I am making mushroom and spinach fettuccine alfredo that week, I will find other recipes that week to incorporate leftover spinach or mushrooms. By doing this I am getting the most out of the item I possibly can.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Vegetable Tray

 
 
Recently, I was pondering ways to eat all of the fresh produce we love in a timely manner. More then once I have thrown something into the crisper drawer and then completely forgotten it was there only to find it has gone bad the next time I venture into that drawer. Then having to throw it out, basically throwing out cash every week.  
I found this great tray at the local dollar store and knew it would be perfect for this project.
The container was 4 large section, and one smaller section.
It was only $3.00.
 
Currently In Our Vege Platter:
~ Baby Carrots
~ Cucumber Slices
~ Celery Sticks
~ Pepper Slices
~ Broccoli
 
These Veges Would Also Work Great:
~ Cherry Tomatoes
~ Mushrooms
~ Cauliflower
~ Radishes
~ Green Beans
~ Snap Peas
 
 
I pull this tray out every day with lunch and sometimes in between for snacking.
It is great to be able to have fresh, ready to go produce ready for eating.
At the end of the week I take whatever is leftover and chop it up and add it to whatever dinner e are having that night.
Pasta, soups, stir fry, sauces.
These vegetables are so versatile that there are tons of things you can throw them into!
 
What are your families favorite veges for snacking on?