S&%$ my Toddler Actually Eats: Quinoa Salad

It's hot out, I'm pregnant, I'm tired, and this little bugger in my belly has flipped itself into a breech position. I was going to title this post something cute about "Treats for Toddlers" or some crap like that but I just thought I would call it like it is: S#$% my toddler will actually eat. She has been really "picky" lately....
Made this for lunch today and it was a big hit with both Little Bean and I. It was easy to make too, and made with fairly inexpensive ingredients. Truthfully there was a recipe on the back of the bag of Quinoa, but I didn't have 80% of the ingredients that it called for. I just adapted it with what I had on hand and it was amazing. About 20 minutes from start to finish, accounting for a crying toddler :)

Cristina's Quinoa Salad

INGREDIENTS (all preferably organic)
1 cup Quinoa
1/2 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds
4-5 Tbsp lemon juice (juice of about 1 really juicy lemon or 2 not really juicy lemons)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 Tbsp of honey, depending on tartness of lemons (add more if dressing is too tarte)
Zest of one lemon
1/2 Tbsp of fresh chopped Thyme or 1/2 Tsp of dried Thyme
1/4 Tsp of salt
Crumbled soft goat cheese for garnish

Cook quinoa according to package directions. I just added a cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water, let it come to a boil, then put it on low and covered it for 15 mins. This allowed me the time to get the dressing made and deal with a crying child. After 15 minutes, fluff it with a fork and let it cool slightly before combining everything.










For the dressing I just threw the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, zest, thyme and salt in small mason jar and shook away. I tend towards the "mason jar" style of making dressings instead of a whisk and bowl because I need to be able to do things while holding a child.

After the quinoa cooled down for a couple of minutes I just combined it in a bowl with the dried cherries and almonds and the dressing. Toss together and sprinkle over some crumbled soft goat cheese before serving. This was a big, big hit. Plus, quinoa is super good for you and pretty cheap. Bonus!

Budget Savers - French Toast Casserole

So I have been trying diligently to stay on budget this month..... lol....

I have to confess I am having a hard time because I must be nesting or something. I just want to stockpile diapers, wipes, toilet paper, etc.... I have about 6 weeks to go if I go the full 40, and all I can think about is how hectic everything was when Little Bean first came home... now I get to do it all over again with a toddler!

One thing that has been helpful is trying to find good recipes that are not only delicious, but easy to make, use up leftovers, and don't break the bank... not too much to ask right!? But, I have managed to find one that fits the bill! French Toast Casserole! My favorite one is from Ree Drummond of course, and I absolutely love it! (click here for the recipe). If I was a good blogger, I would have made sure to take a photo for you to see this delectable treat, but instead.... I ate it all.....

Now there are a few reasons why I love this recipe, the first being that I can easily tweak it. The original recipe calls for a loaf of sourdough bread, but of course I don't have that hanging around. What I do find is that no one in my house eats the ends of the bread, and, no one finishes off the bread when it starts to go stale. If I can catch it before the green fuzzies start to grow, I have the perfect base for this recipe. I just save up all my bread odds and ends in the freezer and then take them all out a few hours before I want to assemble this thing. 

Did I mention that you can also assemble it at night and then just pop it in the fridge overnight? Then you can just wake up and throw it in the oven, looking incredibly capable like the domestic goddess you are :)

The recipe calls for 8 eggs and 2 cups of milk, which some of you may find crazy. However, if you are like me, every so often you have a bunch of eggs in the fridge that you forgot about and your milk is about to turn. Instead of making your husband chug a huge glass of milk after downing an 8-egg omelet, you can just make this :) So much better than letting stuff go to waste!

The other thing I like is that I substituted all of the sugar in the recipe for Coconut Palm Sugar and it tasted perfect. Not too sweet. Able to double as Breakfast/Brunch or even a dessert. Hubby and Little Bean gladly ate it all up!

So that's my one big find for a budget saving recipe. Something to do with all those odds and ends of bread instead of throwing them away, and a way to use up any milk or eggs before they turn. Hopefully I can find some more and pass them along! Happy Tuesday everyone :)

Budget Tweaking

So my Hubby left at the end of last month for an annual week-long fishing trip with my brothers and my cousin. He seems to wait until I am about halfway through the third-trimester of a pregnancy and then takes off for a week... coincidence?
Needless to say, Little Bean and I missed him and were very glad to see him come home. While he was gone I went a little crazy with reading about budgeting, saving money, etc.... His first day back I made him a coffee and we went over our financial plans for the next few years..................... :)

Much like our financial plans, my grocery budget seems to be ever-evolving, which I suppose is a good thing. The more I learn, the more things get tweaked, and it always seems to be a work in progress. My July grocery budget was no different. Though I didn't do as well as I'd hoped, things were better and I came in under the $600 mark (though just barely!). In June I spent about 630$ out of pocket... waaaaayyyy off my $500 goal. July saw me spend $595 out of pocket, a long way off my goal but $35 better than I was. Here's the details of how it shaped up:

Projected Budget                                                              Actual Budget
Cleaning Products: $10                                                       Cleaning Products: $11.78
Paper/Household Products: $10                                    Paper/Household Products: $14.33
Toiletries: $10                                                                         Toiletries: $14.69
Freezer Items: $10                                                                 Freezer Items: $0
Bulk/Dry Goods: $25                                                           Bulk/Dry Goods: $47.35
Produce: $85                                                                            Produce: $111.74
Center Isles: $50                                                                    Center Isles: $114.88
Baby/Kids: $50                                                                       Baby/Kids: $99.73
Dairy: $100                                                                               Dairy: $117.06
Meat: $75                                                                                   Meat: $20.08
Pets: $100                                                                                  Pets: $69.27

Total: $525                                                                       Total: $620.91
(less 25$ GC = $500)                                                        (less 25$ GC = $595.91)

As you can see I did a little better this last month, not a lot better but a little. As long as I am moving in the direction that I want to be going I am trying not to be too hard on myself. The great thing about seeing where all my money is going is that I am able to tweak and evolve my grocery budget. In preparation for the newest little Stewart's arrival in September I have now added another $50 to the budget, obviously under the Baby/Kids category. I was going to start doing this in the fall but I decided to start now so I could start buying some diapers with my August P&G coupons. I also fiddled around with some allotments and changed how I view the items that get categorized in the Center Isles budget. I realized that anything I cannot make myself should really be categorized under Bulk/Dry goods, even if I find them in the center isles of the store. This would include things like honey and rice cereal. Things like granola or lemon juice I could easily make, so items like that would stay categorized as they were. All in all, here is my new, revised, shiny, wonderful budget:

Cleaning Products: $10
Paper/Household Products: $15
Toiletries: $10
Freezer Items: $10
Bulk/Dry Goods: $50
Produce: $85
Center Isles: $30
Baby/Kids: $100
Dairy: $115
Meat: $50
Pets: $100

Total: 575$
(less 25$ GC = $550 out of pocket)

So there it is folks, my budget for August. Wish me luck!

Cooking for Vegetarians and Carnivores.... and Toddlers....

Probably the greatest challenge to my cooking and baking, asides from the fact that it seems like I have to make almost everything from scratch, is the fact that I am working with more than one dietary preference. While I am a vegetarian (lacto/ovo) my husband and daughter are both complete carnivores. I had hopes that I could maybe raise my daughter to be vegetarian at first, but when she tried to eat the family cat I figured she was trying to tell me something. At any rate, we have yet to find an animal, vegetable or mineral that she won't eat.... I lucked out really, because I refuse to make separate meals for kids and adults.  

But, our varied preferences do make dinner time difficult, even without adding the whole "organic/real food" factor in the mix. Add a toddler in and you have my nightly "oh god I have to start dinner now" routine. One recipe that has never failed me is this one from Ree Drummond. I love it because I can easily adapt it for my family's needs. That and my daughter devours it every time. Obviously I use organic ingredients, hormone-free chicken, blah blah blah... you get the idea. In the episode that aired where she made this, she was able to cook it from start to finish in about 16 minutes. If you have no children... go ahead and follow the recipe as is. If you have kids and varied dietary needs, continue reading for a more "accurate" recipe. 

Step 1. 

Look at the clock, realize it is 4:15 pm, and curse yourself for forgetting to take chicken out of the freezer for dinner. Look up on google to see if you can cook chicken from frozen. Fight with toddler for control of the ipad so you can just look up this one friggin thing.... 

Step 2.

Put frozen chicken breasts on a foil lined baking tray and pre-heat oven to 375. Deal with crying child by attempting to distract her with Disney Junior. 

Step 3. 

Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in oven at 4:30pm. Set timer on oven for 45 minutes. Turn around in time to see that child is squatting in the corner, filling her diaper.....

Step 4. 

Change diaper, wash hands, and then curse yourself when you realize that you forgot to get the cute, little cherry tomatoes at the store. Check outside to see if any of your tomato plants have been fruitful, realize that you really need to water all your plants before they die. Begin cutting up regular, non-cute tomatoes.

Step 5. 

Cut up tomatoes and decide to add some kalamata olives as well just because you like them and think that they will taste good in the dish. Feel like ultimate domestic goddess. 

Step 6. 

Look at clock to see that it is now almost 5 and decide that you can start the sauce recipe. Turn around to see that your child has not only taken all the magnets off the fridge and pulled all the pots and pans out of the drawer, but she has also gotten into the drawer with the Ziploc bags and has pulled each and every one of them out of their boxes. Contemplate drinking the wine that is supposed to go in the recipe.... 

 Step 7.
Decide that, because of current pregnancy, drinking a bottle of wine is probably not advisable. Crack open a non-alcoholic beer and will yourself into believing that it is the real thing.

Step 8.
Begin making sauce at 5:15, just in time for oven timer to go off. Hold crying child while taking hot pan out of oven with one hand. Set chicken aside to cool and attempt to finish making sauce as well as fill pasta pot with water while still holding child.

Step 9.
Convince child that you only need to put her down for a moment so you can carry a heavy pot full of water to the stove with both hands. Set child down and carry heavy pasta pot to stove with crying child clinging to legs.

Step 10.
Put water on to boil, turn sauce down to low, and sit down on floor. Let now happy child crawl all over you and use your growing belly as a jungle gym. Enjoy sitting on the floor with a laughing child because you know she won't be little forever...

Step 11.
Poor pasta in pot while holding child. Set table with one hand while pasta cooks.

Step 12.
Successfully distract child with Disney Junior.

Step 13.
Drain pasta, and add to sauce along with Parmesan cheese and spinach. Then, separate most of the mixture to a separate bowl to which you will add the cut up chicken. Dish up a plateful for your toddler and place it in the fridge to cool off.

 Step 14.
Convince toddler to leave TV and come to the table for dinner. Briefly forget that you cannot reason with a toddler.

Step 15.
Turn off TV. Dish up plateful for yourself and wrap up extras for Hubby to eat when he gets home from work. Sit down to eat with child, at about 6pm.... almost 2 hours after you started trying to make dinner. Watch happily as child shovels food into her mouth.

 

Step 16.

Congratulate self on awesome domestic goddess skills.

*Note: never forget the last step. No matter the recipe, it is vitally important!

How to Save on Baby Items

All the flyers came in the mail this last week, wrapped up like presents on my doorstep on Thursday and Friday. I love it when I see a new Brandsaver flyer. To me, Brandsaver = diaper coupons, and diaper coupons make this lady happy.... dear god I am getting old.... I have gone from XTina to coupon lady... I digress...

I have learned that the biggest part of saving on baby items has been to combine sales with coupons. If I can hit a sale at Save On or Sobeys on 15% off Tuesdays AND use my coupons, all the better. Also, don't be afraid to ask for rain checks when you go to a store and they are out of what you need. I have found that, unless it is posted otherwise in their flyer, most stores are more than happy to do this (However, I have to be honest and say that I have only done this at Sobeys and Save on Foods, both places were more than happy to give me rain checks when the diaper size I needed was sold out). Other than that the big thing is to stock up on items when they are on sale. If you wait until you are out of baby lotion to buy some, then you are usually in a situation where you are just desperate to buy some and get home, and usually end up paying full price. Here are the 3 that I buy most often and how I save on them:

Diapers:
My preference for little bean is Pampers Cruisers. I used to shop around for the best deal on diapers, but then I discovered that Superstore's price matching really cannot be beat. I aim to get my diapers for around 20 cents per diaper, and using coupons with Superstore's sale prices I am able to do just that. This month I got two big boxes of size 4 Pampers Cruisers (with 148 in a box) for 31$ each. The exception is that once in a while I can hit a sale at Save On or Sobey's on 15% off Tuesdays when I have coupons. Either way, I stock up whenever I can get them for around 20 cents or less per diaper.


Burt's Baby Bee Products:
I love Burt's Bees products. I especially love the Baby Bee line, something about how it smells... It is expensive however, and I have found that their price is consistent, no matter where you go (and they don't have coupons!). Be it Save On, Walmart or Superstore, their bubble bath always seems to be about $9.99. The only thing you can do is pay attention to the flyers, as stores will sometimes have a special on like 20% off Burt's Bees products. Other than that it's 15% off Tuesdays all the way...




Wipes:
By far the best deal I have found on these have been the Kirkland brand at Costco. I love the quality of them as well, and sometimes they even go on sale or Costco puts out coupons for them in their mail out flyer :) Big box of 900 wipes for about 21$, that works out to about 2 cents per wipe! If u can find them cheaper than that, let me know!

Homemade All Purpose Cleaner

Now, my next post was going to be about how I save on commercial cleaning products, and I will post that in a few days, but something happened yesterday that lead me to write this post. I have found a recipe for a great all purpose cleaner, one that I really, really like and has now been thoroughly tested!

A while ago I got a nice big jug of Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Soap in Peppermint for about 18$ at Superstore. I bought it because I had seen the same soap in the showers at a trendy yoga studio here in town and thought that it must be awesome (though I had not actually tried it). It uses all organic and fair-trade ingredients, yadda yadda yadda.... I bought it. However, when I came home and actually used it in the shower, it was, um.... refreshing... a little too refreshing... on my lady bits.... I'm sure you get what I mean. Henceforth, it has sat in my shower virtually unused. (I was a nice wife and warned my hubby about its "refreshing" qualities before he was tempted to try it).

Then I was reading a book about cleaning that I had checked out of the library that specifically mentioned the use of Peppermint-Castile soap in homemade cleaning products and bug spray. Bonus! I mixed up a batch and tweaked it a bit, here is what I put in an empty spray bottle:

1 cup white Vinegar
2-3 TBSP Peppermint-Castile soap
20 drops Tea Tree Oil
Fill up with warm water.

I just shake it up and use it, and it works great! How do I know it works great? Well.... yesterday when I went in to wake up little bean, I discovered that she had taken off her diaper at some point in the night.... Ya... Granted, she had not pooped, so it could have been sooooooo much worse! but she had curled up in the corner and peed so much that it went down the side of the mattress, onto the crib, and then pooled on the carpet below. I have no idea how so much pee came from such a tiny body, at least I know I keep her well hydrated!

Needless to say, the cleaner was thoroughly tested yesterday. Not only did it get everything clean, but it deodorized the carpet as well! I was a happy Mama! Works well on kitchen and bathroom counters as well, but the fact that it completely got rid of the pee smell out of the carpet is what really impressed me the most.
Happy cleaning everyone, here's hoping that you don't have to clean up what I did yesterday!

How to Save on Cleaning Products - Part I

So I have a confession, I both love and hate cleaning at the same time. I love cleaning products and gadgets, I love reading about different cleaning tips, tricks, even schedules, I love watching shows about cleaning and de-cluttering, I love having a clean house.... I love everything about cleaning except for, well, actually cleaning! Is anyone else like this?

I used to love going to Walmart and buying all of the latest and greatest cleaning products that came out. The Swiffer, the Swiffer Wet Jet, the Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner that sprays down your shower every time you get out with the simple push of a button.... you name it, I've had them all. I've probably tried every brand of cleaning product over the years, I've even tried certain cleaning products simply because I liked their smell! I have literally bought it all over the years.... and spent a pretty penny doing so.

As I've gotten older and (hopefully) a little wiser, I've learned something to be true..... the simpler, the better. It seems funny to me that the way my grandmother and great-grandmother probably cleaned their homes is now "in Vogue" at the moment. Its now trendy to have a clothesline and hang your sheets out to dry in the sun. It seems that more and more people are going back to the old school ways of doing things, for a variety of reasons. For me, I have slowly been moving away from a lot of commercial cleaning products to simply making my own. I do this for 4 main reasons:

1. Less chemicals and less packaging = better for the environment
2. Less chemicals in the home is safer for my little bean (kids seem to lick random things!)
3. The less money I give big companies like Proctor and Gamble who I know utilize animal testing, the happier I am (its the tree-hugging hippie in me)
4. ITS WAAAAYYYYY CHEAPER!

For real, its crazy how much money you can waste on cleaning products. I know I should be more about saving the environment and all but really, the big draw for me was saving money. However, one of the first things I should mention, one that was difficult for me, was the scent issue. I think we have been programmed over the years to believe that clean should have a smell, like pine or orange..... In reality, clean really shouldn't have a smell, it should just be clean. Once I weaned myself off the highly scented products, it made life a lot easier. Sure when I use vinegar to clean my floors there might be a faint vinegar smell, but it goes away after about 10 mins and I am left with just nice clean floors that are not toxic to my kids, fur and flesh alike. I've also heard that adding essential oils to cleaning mixtures negates the scent issue, and also adds some cleaning benefits! Something that I will be trying in the future. Doesn't mean that I don't still buy the odd commercial cleaning product, but the more time goes on the more I find myself asking "couldn't I just make my own?"

When you decide to start making your own cleaners, vinegar becomes your new best friend, same with Pinterest. *Disclaimer: if you don't know what Pinterest is.... just leave it that way... seriously... just don't even go there...unless you don't mind losing your soul for a little while.... The two main money savers that I make myself are:

1. Tub and Shower Cleaner - 1 cup of vinegar microwaved for one minute combined with 1 cup of blue dawn in a spray bottle. Shake, spray on and let sit for at least 10 minutes, then wipe with a damp sponge and watch the soap scum melt away! I would love to take credit for this but it was definitely a Pinterest find!

2. Floor Cleaner - My own recipe: about a cup of vinegar mixed with about a half tablespoon of dish soap, combined with warm water (to fill your container of choice). For me the Rubbermaid Reveal mop has been a godsend. You can fill it up with whatever you want, then just peel the mat off the Velcro on the bottom and toss it in the washer when you're done. So, so much cheaper than the Swiffer Wet Jet, and so much less waste created. I got mine at Walmart.

The vinegar is super cheap when bought in bulk at Costco. Two huge jugs that will last you forever. The Dawn dish soap can also be bought super cheap at the dollar store... for literally a dollar.

I am still experimenting with a good all purpose cleaner that I like (one that can do kitchen counters, high chairs, bathroom counters, etc...) and a good glass cleaner. When I have perfected those recipes I will update. A few more that I am going to try in the future are homemade laundry detergent and homemade dishwasher detergent. I have a stockpile of laundry soap and dishwasher tabs to use up first, so those last two will be a little while yet.

Other than that my biggest tip is to invest in some microfiber cleaning cloths and some sponges, which can be bought for super cheap at the Dollar Store. I recommend using microfiber cloths on your swiffer instead of buying swiffer cloths, again, sooooo much cheaper and better for the environment. Also, if you take the two middle parts out of your swiffer, your toddler can help you clean! (again... can't take credit for this idea... saw it on Pinterest!)

Microfiber cloths help you limit your use of paper towels as well, as you can waste a lot of $ every month if all of your cleaning is done with paper towels. My exception is cleaning the toilet. I have to be able to clean it and then throw that sh%& away (literally!). I just can't wrap my head around cleaning the toilet with anything that I can't throw away after... there just isn't enough bleach in the world...

Since this post is already hella long I will be back in a few days with another to tell you the commercial products that I think are worth the money and how I save on those. Happy Cleaning!

Budget Breakdown (how I intend to shop..... I have really good intentions....)

Blah.... that is how I feel right now. We are coming off a couple really warm days here in Red Deer and the last thing I feel like doing is showing you all how badly I have been doing at following a budget this last month....

Seriously.... its Hot! (standing with my dress over the A/C)

Nonetheless...

My budget the last few months has been a little (or a lot) over what I feel it could be. I outlined last week how I was going to start fresh this month and try to reel it in a bit. This month saw our grocery expenses come in at about $655. Take off my 25$ Superstore gift card (read about that here) and that puts my monthly expenses for June at $630. For the purposes of everyone's sanity I am rounding up to the nearest dollar.

So.... my golden intentions for the month were to spend around 500$ out of pocket and use the $25 gift card for a total of $525. At the beginning of the month, this was the categorized budget I set out for myself:

Cleaning Products: $10
Paper/Household Products: $10
Toiletries: $10
Freezer Items: $10
Bulk/Dry Goods: $25
Produce: $85
Center Isles: $50
Baby/Kids: $50
Dairy: $100
Meat: $75
Pets: $100

TOTAL: $525

Why do I have the feeling that some of you are laughing at me....

To break it down further, so you have a specific idea of what I am trying to do:

Cleaning Products - whatever I need to clean with. Think laundry soap, dish detergent, glass cleaner, bleach, etc....

Paper/Household Products - Think toilet paper, paper towel, tape, staples, Ziploc bags, etc....

Toiletries - Anything that Hubby and I need to be functioning members of society. Think shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, floss, etc... Does not include things such as my fancy hairspray or my mascara....

Freezer Items - I am really hoping this one is self-explanatory.

Bulk/Dry Goods - Items that I tend to buy in bulk, such as flour, pasta, etc.... basically anything that I can buy at Bulk Barn.

Produce - The stuff I want to spend lots of money on.

Center Isles - The stuff I don't want to spend so much on... basically all that processed/packaged stuff in the center isles of your grocery store.

Baby/Kids - This one will go up when babe #2 comes along in the fall, but right now I aim to spend about 50$ on little bean every month, for things such as her diapers, sunscreen, bubble bath, diaper genie refills, etc... and yes I buy pampers... please do not send me a message that I am the worst human on the planet for not using cloth diapers. I assure you I did a lot of research on that topic and decided that disposables were the ones for me. If you send me hate messages I may be tempted hurt someone.... don't mess with a hormonal pregnant lady!

Dairy - Stuff that comes from cows and goats

Meat - Stuff that once was alive but is now dead.... and eggs....

Pets - Food and cat litter. I don't buy treats because honestly, my toddler keeps those animals very well fed....

So... when I started keeping track of my food budget, this is where the money actually went:

June Expenses:
Cleaning Products: $4
Paper/Household Products: $0
Toiletries: $8
Freezer Items: $14
Bulk/Dry Goods: $28
Produce: $90
Center Isles: $179!!!!!!
Baby/Kids: $52
Dairy: $146
Meat: $81
Pets: $52

Ummmmm..... ya.... I think we can all see where the problem lies.... So for as much as I'm talking a big game here, I seem to be visiting those center isles an awful lot....

Its not all bad, organic lemon juice, organic honey, Laura bars.... but really, it's not necessary. I may have to tweak this a bit as summer goes on, but I am going to try valiantly to stick to the budget for this month. As with all budgets, I do great for the first two weeks and then.... slowly... run.out.of.money....

I think I am going to start a post on how I have managed to save money on cleaning products, as that was always a budget killer for me before. That and it might make me feel better about myself and my domestic goddess skills.... Now, little bean is sleeping and I have about an hour to clean this house before my feet swell... wish me luck!

How to Stay on Budget: Not Wasting Food

So my 400$ - $500 grocery budget was blown out of the water April, May and it looks like June as well. By blown out of the water I mean it was closer to the $500-$600 range. April was around $540 and May was a whopping $620. So far June is sitting around the $600 mark. What I am noticing is that 3 things seem to have really affected my budget:

1. Not having a detailed enough budget. Ex, how much should go towards the pets? How much spent on dairy? How much spent on produce? etc.... I have been keeping track of where exactly my grocery budget goes this month and it has been pretty eye opening. (My family really, really, REALLY likes dairy!) After June wraps up I will do a more detailed post about how I am managing, tracking, and allocating the money in my grocery budget from now on.

2. Not meal planning ahead of time because I'm too lazy/pregnant/busy.... and going along with that..

3. Letting food go to waste!

It is really hard to see food in my kitchen go to waste simply because of poor planning or a complete lack of planning on my part. For the first time in history, there is enough food on this planet to feed everyone on it. Yet people are still starving... why? Because they can't access the food they need, while others of us live in what the Pope has referred to as a "culture of waste." In fact, he has actually stated outright that "Wasting food is like stealing from the poor." Whatever your thoughts are on Catholicism, the man has a point. Here's a couple of links for those that are interested:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-holt-gimenez/world-hunger_b_1463429.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/pope-francis-condemns-culture-disposes-good-food-article-1.1365486

It is actually kind of disturbing when you think about it, how conditioned we are in North America to just mindlessly throw away food without even thinking about it. I mentioned before how I'm sure my depression-era grandfather is probably rolling in his grave looking at all the food going to waste in my fridge. We just seem to have a different mindset. I know for myself, I grew up spoiled when it came to food. It was always so abundant in my childhood home, always at least 6 cereals to choose from, 8 kinds of pop to choose from, fresh bread and milk at all times.... lack of food was not something that I ever worried about. I know for a fact I was one of those kids who would stare at a completely full fridge, close the door and then grumble "There's nothing to eat around here!"

There was a post that made the rounds on facebook a while back, and it really speaks to this notion of different cultural attitudes and traditions around food. For those of you who haven't seen it, a photographer traveled around the world and took photos of what a weeks worth of food looks like in different countries:
http://fstoppers.com/what-a-week-of-groceries-looks-like-around-the-world

It really is something to think about. Not just for budget reasons, but for philosophical reasons as well (wow, I'm really getting deep right now!)

That all being said, I set a goal for myself this next month to not have to throw any food away! Not one Ziploc container full! I plan to do this by firstly, planning my meals out in advance. Secondly, I will look in my fridge to see what needs to be used up, and plan my dinners around that instead of what I feel like eating. Lastly, I plan to follow a more structured budget, so that I don't needlessly buy food that will not get used. Also, I think I will try a hand at freezing some produce, so I'll let you know how that goes as well. That's about all from the Stewart house for now, time to get off the computer and go be a domestic goddess.

Preggo Cravings Vs. Clean Eating

Love is sitting together on the couch while your husband watches So You Think You Can Dance with you. Love is watching the commercials together, and feeling your heart skip a beat when a Reese Peanut Butter Cup commercial comes on. Love is looking over at your husband.... and having him know, without saying a word, that he is about to drive to the store to pick up Reese Peanut Butter Cups.... Love is having only to say "Baby wants...." before watching your husband sigh, put on his hat, and then walk out the door to the car. For me, last night, love was Reese Peanut Butter Cups.... 

So, I guess the point of this post is to ask, where do pregnancy cravings and "treats" fit in with clean eating and real foods? How much do you deny? How much do you indulge? Am I a hypocrite? Am I setting a good example for my daughter? Questions questions questions.

This is an often discussed topic on one of my favorite blogs: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/05/10/i-dont-want-my-daughters-to-worry-about-food/

She recently took on the topic in the link I posted above, and I have to say I agree with her on several points. It gets really hard to avoid processed food when you leave the safety and comfort of you own home. Your kids get invited to a birthday party, and are inevitably offered tones of processed foods full of sugar, preservatives and food dye. Get invited to a family member's home for dinner, and don't even think about asking what is organic and if they have cheddar cheese that isn't dyed orange unless you want to look like a huge asshole. Successful trip to the doctor? Here's a sucker. Bank teller thinks my daughter is cute, offers her a candy. The list is really endless. All the while the comment I commonly hear is "once in a while isn't going to hurt anything..." 

I read a post/rant from a doctor a while back: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2013/02/20/why-is-everyone-always-giving-my-kids-junk-food

In it he makes the conservative estimate that his kids were offered, on average, about 600 calories of "sugar-spiked junk food" each and every week from non-family sources. So really, that "once in a while" isn't really once in a while. Add holidays such as Christmas and Halloween to the list I just mentioned above, and its easy to see why so many kids and adults seem to be struggling to eat healthy and maintain a healthy weight. While I don't want to push my views of eating on any of my friends and family members, it gets hard to stand up for what what I believe in about food and eating without coming across like a judgmental asshole... the kind that no one wants to be around. So.... how do you do it? Where do you strike a balance?

More importantly, as talked about in the 100 days blog, what do I want my daughter to learn about food? Do I want her to politely refuse a treat from her grandmother with a reply of "Gramma, do you KNOW how much processed white sugar is in that!?!" Do I want her to be one of those kids under the age of 10 reading food labels and counting how many calories come from sugar? Do I want her to grow up with the notion that there are "bad" foods and "good" foods and that some foods are strictly off limits? 

Well, no. I don't want to raise a little food nazi. I want her to be aware of her food choices, to be aware of the implications of choosing humanely raised beef over the less-humanely raised beef. To know where her food comes from, to know that yogurt doesn't really come from a tube. I want her to be aware but not obsessed. And really, it starts from me. Since she was 16 months old she has wanted to eat whatever she sees Mommy and Daddy eating. If we are eating spinach and salmon, that's what she wants. If we are eating hot dogs and Doritos, that's what she wants. Is it healthy for her to eat good food at home, and see mommy cooking tortillas from scratch so as to avoid all the preservatives in the store bought ones? Yes it is. Is it also good for her to get handed a few sugar/cinnamon coated mini doughnuts from Mommy at the farmers market on Saturdays? Yes it is. 

Though she will inevitably be offered "treats" from sources other than myself and my husband, I think it is important to let her grow and navigate her own waters on that matter. Just as it is important for her to know that Mom and Dad like to keep a house full of healthy foods, its also important for her to see Mom and Dad indulge once in a while. I could just be justifying my pregnancy cravings, but really, whose going to argue with a hormonal pregnant lady? One thing that has been made glaringly obvious, is that I am going to have to start baking and having some "healthy" treats on hand. One chocolate bar once in a while is one thing.... but these preggo cravings sometimes seem to take on a life of their own!

The Evolution of Bread

     The evolution of bread.... (riveting I know...) Did anyone else ever make bread and buns with their grandma when they were little? I did. I remember standing on a stool in her kitchen and helping her. I remember how she cleverly  made me "tuck" the dough in for a nap when it needed to rise, only to turn around and tell me that I needed a nap as well and could get up when the dough's nap was over. (smart woman!) I remember how much fun it was to punch the dough down after it had risen up. I remember watching it rise up in the oven window, anticipating the warm, soft, pillow-like buns spread with butter and home-made strawberry jam.... suddenly I am very hungry... 

     Flash forward about 25 years and you find me, in my kitchen, attempting to recreate the soft, pillow-like mounds of heaven from my childhood. What I inevitably end up with are hockey pucks.... 

     Does this sound familiar to anyone else? You mix the ingredients and leave it to rise, only to come back and see that it hasn't really risen..... so you leave it a while longer... and after 2 and a half hours you give up and realize that it isn't going to rise up like the dough from your childhood. It's not soft and yielding when you go to punch it down and knead it. You shape it and put it in the pans, thinking "Surely this will rise up more during its second rise..." Then your husband walks in and asks you to stop calling him Shirley... You come back and see that the bread is exactly. the. same. size.... you put it in the oven hoping against hope that some magical science will happen with the heat of the oven and you will make your grandmother proud.... only to be faced with a very dense hockey puck when all is said and done.... Do these things happen to anyone else?

     While I am still far from the soft, beautiful bread that my grandmother made (to be fair, she used white sugar and white flour!) I have come a long way in the last 4 months or so. When I started this journey I saw that one thing I really needed to do was start making my own bread. Not only for the health reasons but for the cost reasons as well. You can get gorgeous bread at the farmer's market on Saturdays that has absolutely nothing bad in it, but, you also pay at least 4$ a loaf for it. Compared to how cheap it is to make your own, this has become a no-brainer when you are trying to eat well on a budget. Thus I give you the Stewart's evolution of bread:

My first attempt at bread I didn't even take a picture of, I was too disheartened. I got some new yeast hoping that would help, and made the loaf on the left. Not a hockey puck, but close. After some reading on the Google I tried adding some Vital Wheat Gluten, which is apparently a must when you are using Whole Wheat Flour. This resulted in the loaf on the right, a little bit better, but not quite there yet....

So I decided to try a new recipe.... You know when you read a recipe and you think to yourself "I think they left a step out..." but you are too insecure to really question it and end up following it exactly only to be horribly disappointed? Does this happen to anyone else? The recipe made no mention of greasing the baking pan.... so against my better judgment I didn't. As you can see the silicone one was fine, but the one baked in the traditional pan didn't fair so well.... I hate it when recipes leave steps out! 

And then, a miracle happened.... I got a breadmaker!!!! I know I probably sound lame but this was seriously a game changer for me. I literally dump the ingredients in and then walk away. I know this is not nearly as romantic as how I made bread when I was little, but to be fair I wasn't pregnant with a crying toddler clinging to my legs with a sky-high pile of laundry to do and dirty floors needing to be washed. 

I. Love. This. Thing.

     Another thing that has really helped the quality of our bread was me finding that I could get Stone-Ground Whole Wheat Bread Flour at Bulk Barn. That coupled with the addition of Vital Wheat Gluten has been key in having more "normal" looking bread instead of hockey pucks. We can at least have normal sized sandwiches now. And that my dears, is the riveting tale of bread evolution in the Stewart household :)

Is it possible? Sort of....

     Is it possible to eat whole, healthy foods when you are insanely busy. For the most part, yes. Is it possible to cook, bake, eat, grocery shop and blog about everything while you are insanely busy? Not so much.... Coming off a busy couple of months for this gal. Coupled with my ever growing belly, my time has been stretched. To be honest, when I have extra time I have been napping. I say that very unapologetic, I have a rule that pregnant women should never apologize for napping.
     I will admit that there has been some eating out that has happened over the last two months and (gasp!) some fast food once or twice. All in all considering how much my family has had on our plate the last little while, I think we are doing quite well! One good thing that has come from being so busy, is finding new, fast dinner recipes that can be made in 30 minutes or less with a crying toddler clinging to your legs. A big winner was this one here, courtesy of my new favorite person, Ree Drummond:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/beef-with-snow-peas-recipe/index.html

One thing that has really helped me out is my anniversary present, a brand new breadmaker! (You know you're getting old when...)

Other favorites have been:

Really, anything stuffed into a crepe and topped with whipped cream can't be all that bad. 

Frittatas have been a lifesaver, both because they are super fast but they also use up leftovers and veggies that are about to turn

Cous Cous cooks in about 10 minutes, and my daughter loves it. 

Taco night is fun, provided I have homemade tortillas on hand in the freezer. They are time consuming to make I'm not going to lie, but oh.... soooooo good! Oh, and that is homemade veggie ground round there! (also a make ahead item)

Been Chili in the slowcooker is a godsend. Really, anything that can be made in the slowcooker is a godsend. 

Who doesn't love a salad?

And a big favorite, homemade pizza, with pizza dough made for me in the breadmaker :)

So all in all the last couple of months have been going well, all things considered. I am trying a new, more organized food budget for the next little while. Instead of just making a regular grocery budget, I am trying to track exactly where my money goes. It has lead to some insights.... anyone else spending over 100$ a month on dairy products? My family sure likes cheese and sour cream!!! (We are Ukrainian after all!)

That's about all from the Stewart house for now. I am going to go now and convince a toddler to nap (ha ha ha) and see if I can clean up my kitchen. Well, maybe my whole house, but we'll start with the kitchen.

Deeper down the Rabbit Hole...

     So, something rather interesting happened to me last night while I was making dinner. On Wednesday nights I teach a dance class so little bean stays at Gramma's house until I pick her up around 7. Gramma is very nice and both feeds and baths little bean, so that all I have to do is pick her up, listen to her snore on the drive home, and then plunk her into bed as soon as we get there. Because Sean is usually still at work, this usually means that Wednesday evenings are a bit of a freebie for me, in that I can indulge whatever my preggo cravings want. Last night it was Nachos... don't judge....
     So there I was in my kitchen, organizing my organic nacho chips on a baking tray, shredding my local organic cheese, cutting up my organic olives, green onions and tomatoes... when low and behold I noticed something....

Now, my first reaction went something like this: Are you freaking kidding me? Israel? My freaking tomato is from Israel? How the hell did it get here?

     So.... ya... when I stopped to think about it, I realized it probably came here on a big jet plane, and then inevitably went driving around on a truck before finally getting to Save on Foods. And so... deeper down the rabbit hole I go. Not that I have anything against food from Israel, I just think that it should be, you know, feeding people in Israel, not North America. So really, as much as I want to buy organic, non GMO tomatoes, I also really (and maybe even more so) would like to buy food that is grown LOCALLY, like, preferably no more than a province or two away, but at least on the same damn continent as me. I have had a few people message me and tell me about an organization here in Red Deer called Pure Earth Organics, which seems to be sort of like a CSA thing. I am thinking I may need to give them a try. At first I was a little resistant to the whole CSA thing, because I am realizing that I have been spoiled and am used to having whatever I want, whenever I want. Be it tomatoes or blueberries in the dead of winter, or asparagus in November, I am not used to eating what is in season at ALL!
     The thing that I am really beginning to realize, is that I DO NOT LIVE IN SOUTH AMERICA and I do, in fact, live in CANADA. What I am getting at is that I live in a climate that will not grow tomatoes and blueberries for 10 months out of the year. So, in order to eat local, I am beginning to see that I will need to begin to eat seasonally as well.... Sigh... further down the rabbit hole.... Just when I think I am beginning to reach the bottom, deeper down I go.

Things that go Bump...

     Well well well.... it's only been about a month since my last post. In my defense, I can now let you guys know that I have had a rough last few months, thus my sporadic blogging. By "rough" I mean I spent most of the last four months with my head in the toilet (this is my ever so cute way of letting you all know that I am 18 weeks preggo). Yes that is correct, baby #2 is on route and due to arrive this September. After losing a pregnancy in the fall I was super excited to get pregnant again, although less excited to get sicker than I have ever been before in my life. The good news is that the nausea and such has subsided quite a bit, and I can begin to get back to some semblance of a normal life again (that is... until I get a newborn... and little bean turns 2... and I will never know "normal" again...)
     One of the biggest challenges I've had in the last few months was just trying to keep up with little bean and everything around the house, cooking being one of them. Not going to lie, it would have been way easier on most nights (especially when I was puking) to just toss a frozen pizza in the oven and be done with it. It was far more difficult to push through and make pizza dough from scratch... I am proud to say that I pushed through and, 90% of the time, was able to stick with our new way of eating. There were a few slips, like Easter dinner at both my mom and in-laws, one night where we ordered a pizza from Panago, and a birthday celebration for Sean's Grandma that saw me eat take out chinese food, cake, and 3 glasses of root beer. The day after the birthday party I was rewarded for my indulgences with a giant migraine that made the surface of my head sore to the touch for 3 days afterward. Needless to say, I probably won't be going quite so overboard like that again. Maybe it was the chinese food, the red dye in the cake icing, or the god-knows-what in the Root Beer. Regardless, I think I can safely say that my pop drinking is behind me. It just doesn't seem worth it anymore.
    I have noticed a couple of things in the last while. I can definitely notice a change in my tastebuds, and I don't seem to need food to be quite so sweet or salty anymore. I feel like I am beginning to really TASTE my food, which probably sounds a bit odd. What I mean is that, I can eat a grapefruit for breakfast without needing to coat it in sugar....things like that.
    I've also noticed HOW MUCH I NEED TO BE ORGANIZED! Really, doing a weekly menu is a must. Because so much of what we eat is made from scratch, I have to be really on the ball with things like taking meat out of the freezer at night, soaking beans overnight, etc... I have to really keep track of what I buy and plan menus accordingly so that everything gets used up and nothing gets wasted. Before I started making these changes I really had no idea how much food I wasted. Like, horrible amounts of food. Leftovers that wouldn't get eaten up and go bad in the fridge, produce that wouldn't get used and inevitably go green and furry..... potatoes that started to grow more potatoes.... you get the idea. It really makes me sad how much food we had been wasting with absolutely no idea. Enough that I'm sure my depression-era grandfather was rolling in his grave. I get sadder still when I think of all the people on this earth who don't have enough to eat, and here I am letting things rot in my fridge. Eating unprocessed, organic food on a budget has DEFINITELY made us a lot less wasteful, so another benefit there!
    For all of you wondering about our fur babies, we also made the switch for them as well. The poor little things were eating Beneful and Fancy Feast... which until I looked into it I didn't realize I may have just as well been feeding them anti-freeze. You may not agree with me on this one, but I feel a lot better sleeping at night knowing that ALL of my babies are eating healthy. Yes, it will mean our grocery budget will have to go up a bit, but I feel it is well worth it. I went to Global Pet foods on the north end of Red Deer here because it is closest to me. They were very sweet and took a lot of time talking to me and answering all of my questions. The sweet manager didn't even seem to mind when little bean walked over to a wall and proceeded to remove all of the doggie toys.... sigh.... (I helped put them back!)
     I will do a post in a couple of days and let everyone know how our budget for April went. I will also try to do some more in the next while and let everyone know what we have been eating, as that seems to be a big question (so.... what DO you eat?) Answer: FOOD!

Organic Shopping on a Budget

     Ok so here is the deal for this month. Usually my grocery budget is $400, and I broke it down for you in the last post where that money usually goes. This month I did my usual big shopping trip at the beginning of the month at Superstore, spending $270.81 so I could get the 25$ gift card. Now, unfortunately, this shopping trip took place BEFORE I decided to overhaul the way we eat. Though about $70 of it went towards things like diapers, cat litter and toilet paper, about 200$ of it was wasted. Wasted? Maybe lets not call it that... lets call it a $200 donation to the food bank! So, if you want you can count the full $270.81 but I am only going to count $70.81. Call it a grocery shopping Mulligans.... So now, here is how the rest of the month has gone so far:

First stop, Costco! First trip there I spent $93.94 on these goodies:

Best deals? The giant box of wipes on sale for 15$. Plus Kirkland brand doesn't use animal testing, so I like them! Also the coconut butter and Lara Bars, which I mentioned last post. 

That same day I also went to Save On Foods and picked up all of these goodies for $168.63. Though the organic whole wheat flour was on sale and I had a store coupon for 2 for 1 toilet paper, I will definitely save my shopping there for 15% off Tuesdays. Right there I would have saved about 25$.

They had not a bad selection of organic produce. Definitely better than Superstore's. 

That shopping was done on the day that I cleaned out my kitchen. Upon seeing how bare it was, I went back to Costco the next day and spent $35.80 on these goodies:

That huge bag of organic coconut sugar was a steal for under 12$. Cheaper than the other places I looked. 

I also stopped in at Big Bend Market that day, since it is on the same side of town as Costco. It is an awesome store that stocks products from local farmers. Sylvan Star farms is where the cheese is from, and I drive past it on the way out to Sylvan Lake. Great products that are local, and lots of organic, antibiotic and hormone free options. It is more expensive though I won't lie, here is what $32.83 looks like shopping there:

Have to say, the cheese is amazing!

My last shopping day included a trip to Superstore and then to Bulk Barn. I went to Superstore last, and wish that I wouldn't have because I went a little crazy at Bulk Barn and bought some stuff that I could have gotten for a little cheaper at Superstore, not to mention that I had a 25$ gift certificate that I used. Though my total at Superstore was $54.29, I only paid $29.29 because of the gift card (I also had a coupon for the Almond Butter!). Here is what I got:

I needed the big jug of bleach to do laundry with. Haven't been able to find organic yeast anywhere (is there such a thing?) so I had to go with the regular stuff. I also picked up a bag of Vital Wheat Gluten for 7$ that is supposed to help my bread be more fluffy and less like a hockey puck. 

Lastly, I went to Bulk Barn and let loose. The whole time I walked around and put things in my cart I had an overwhelming feeling that it was going to be a pricey trip. Now that I've been there once I have a little better handle on it and I know what I need to get there, what is a good price for what I'm getting, etc... As you can see I got lots of nuts and seeds, some pasta, dried beans, cereal and flour. Here is what $75.41 looks like at Bulk Barn (after I used my 3$ coupon from the newspaper flyer... love my coupons!)

One thing I will say is that they had a few really hard to find items. Best buy was that big bag of whole wheat pastry flour for about 4$. I made pizza dough with it last night as well as brownies and they both turned out awesome! 

      Now for those of you adding along with us at home, my total for the month thus far is $506.71 ($706.71 if you count my food bank donation). So yes, I made some allowances this month and had to dip into my own pocket money to make this month work. I had to buy a lot of "start up" products that I won't normally have to buy every month. The real test is going to be next month, to see how far $400 will go when I have a fresh start with the budget and a properly stocked pantry. If you are wondering how I am going to make the rest of the month work right now, well I have a little trick up my sleeve! I actually have another 25$ gift card to Superstore that didn't get used a couple of months ago and is still kicking around in my purse. I plan to use it for some milk and produce towards the end of the month, and maybe some cheese and yogurt too. I have a bit of meat in my freezer that was also bought before this kick started, so I plan to use it up by the end of the month. Call it cheating if you will, a Momma's gotta do what a Momma's gotta do.... 

In a few days I will do another post on some of the meals we have been eating. How easy they are to make and if my family eats them or not! Now, time to go start thinking about supper....

Update: I just realized that all those numbers I crunched aren't right. I actually spent 15$ on a pizza stone at Save on Foods and $3.50 on a chocolate mold at Bulk Barn. Because I would't count those items as groceries but instead as "household misc." they would come out of a different budget. So, what I have actually spent on groceries thus far is actually $488.21 and not $506.71.... hey, every penny counts!

The Coupon Queen Goes Organic....

      OMG I have been grocery shopping more in the last week than I have in the last 2 months combined.... Though I've only been on this kick for a week now I can tell you that there is a learning curve. It has been a little hard for me because I usually take my grocery budget quite seriously, and this month, well... some allowances had to be made. When I started out last year with a 400$ budget for groceries, including food, cleaning supplies, toiletries, pet needs, diapers, paper products, etc... it was tricky. (Yes... 400$ for EVERYTHING... ALL HOUSEHOLD NEEDS! INCLUDING DIAPERS!) But, I learned how to shop sales, coupon, take advantage of 15% off Tuesday and most recently, the deal that goes on at the beginning of the month at Superstore. If you are unaware, during the first week of the month, Superstore will give you a 25$ gift card when you spend over 250$ (which is easy to do, especially when buying diapers!).
      Normally what I have been doing is spending about 250$ in the first week at Superstore, then another 100$ the next week at Costco. That leaves me with 50$ for the next 2 or 3 weeks (depending what month it is) to buy things like milk and some produce. I am able to make it work because, when money is tight towards the end of the month, I can always go back to Superstore and use the 25$ gift card that I got at the beginning of the month. I am careful to check the flyers every week so as not to miss a deal anywhere, but really most of my shopping as of late has been happening at Superstore and Costco. And boy do I love my coupons! I am hoping that soon my same thrifty-ness (is that a word?) will be applied to our new lifestyle. Already I have learned so, so much in only a week. Here are my top tips thus far:

1. When making a switch like this, expect to spend about 100$ more the first month that you usually would due the change, for things like changing over to organic condiments and organic whole wheat flour, pasta, etc... as well as some new odds and ends such as coconut oil (something that I only learned about last week.) These are things that you don't necessarily buy every month, but you need them to get started. I suppose if you were less manic than I am you could just slowly make those changes, buying the new stuff as you run out of the old... I seem to like to jump into things head-first for some reason...

2. Costco has some great deals on organic stuff. My favorite so far? A toss up between the giant tub of coconut oil for 17$ (I saw one today that was the same price but less than half the size!) and my box of yummy Lara bars, 18 of them for less than 16$ (which works out to less than .90 a bar, when usually they are sold for 2$ a bar!)

3. Superstore has a surprisingly good selection of organic stuff... not so much produce but tones of baking supplies, cleaning and beauty products, dairy products, frozen stuff, etc... I was actually amazed a little today... and glad that I will still be able to do a lot of my shopping there!

4. It is very easy to go a little crazy at Bulk Barn... be warned!

5. You don't have to do all your shopping at Nutters, I actually have yet to go there!

6. Expect to spend more on your meat and cheese, you get what you pay for!

7. Organization at dinnertime is key. I was in the habit of planning dinners a week at a time, but now I am seeing that I will need to plan a little for lunches as well. I noticed when I cleaned out my fridge that I had two bad habits. Firstly, I tended to buy too much produce without much of a plan for it, and some of it would inevitably go bad (better meal planning needed!) Secondly, I have a habit of making too much for dinner, winding up with leftovers. Not such a bad thing, but if I didn't "revamp" them for lunch or dinner the next day or so, they wouldn't get eaten and would inevitably go to waste. Not only do I need to plan my dinners, but I need to plan my leftovers as well so that there is less waste!

8. Organization during shopping is also key. This one I already had down pat. My system is to, each month, put the 400$ in an envelope. As I shop, the money leaves the envelope and the receipts go in. This way I can keep track of everything. I also always shop with a list and my coupons. I am so proud of my little system that I just had to take some pictures!

The folder that my mom got me. I love it! 

I have it broken down into sections. The first part is where my grocery list and envelope with money goes (as you can see, no more money and lots of receipts!) The second section is for food coupons, the third for non-food coupons, and the fourth for coupons on baby or pet products. In the back of the folder is where I keep store-specific coupons. 

9. Lastly, you can't be afraid to bake or cook. Already in one week I have made banana bread (little dry but tasty), granola that turned out fabulous, berry sauce to flavor plain yogurt and a loaf of bread that resembles a hockey puck. The point is, there is a learning curve here too. In a way, you kind of have to learn how to bake all over again. Some of the things you make will turn out and some won't. The point is to just keep going until you get it right! (or at least until you husband will eat it!)

That's all for now. I will be back again in a few days to let you know in detail about all the shopping thus far!

PS... for all of you out there that are wondering about what I feed my fur babies, well, unfortunately right now it's Fancy Feast and Purina. I am hoping to convince hubby to let me buy them the good food soon, but first I have to convince him to let me buy it for us! It is on my radar to make this change as well, I am just trying to go about it in a way that will also keep my marriage intact!

Is it Possible? Here? In Red Deer Alberta?

      Change is a brewing here in the Stewart household this week. I am excited and have been acting like a person with bi-polar disorder during a manic phase, my husband is unsure, and my daughter is unaware. Something happened this week to our relatively quiet, average household. As CEO of this family, I decided to completely revamp how we eat, and I mean COMPLETELY. From this day forward, my home will no longer house any processed food.
      It started with a little harmless thought, and then snowballed from there. As a migraine sufferer since the age of 21, I had a bad week a little while ago and suffered 4 migraines in one week. If you suffer from migraines, you know how debilitating they can be. The thing is, I had changed so much over the last 10 years that it was really frustrating me that I was still getting them. I don't smoke, eat a vegetarian diet, I even cut out red wine and coffee (coffee was the hardest!). Hubby had bought me some bags of sugary candies for valentines day, which I happily scarfed down (he knows the way to my heart!). Sure enough, the 4 migraines followed. I began to wonder if I had been missing something, maybe its food dye that had been the culprit all along? I wondered, and inevitably found myself perusing the internet to see if maybe there could be something else in what I eat that could be causing my migraines. I stumbled upon a great blog (full of resources) http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/ and it was like I was in the Matrix. The more I read, the more I felt like I was about to swallow the red pill. Then I read (in one hour while hubby watched Escape from New York) a great little book, Food Rules by Michael Pollan (I highly suggest it, as it is such an easy, straight forward read http://michaelpollan.com/books/food-rules/). That was it, I swallowed the red pill and fell down the rabbit hole.
      What followed next was the manic phase. After finishing Food Rules I told my husband that we needed to change how we eat, that I wanted to cut out processed food. He commented that he thought it would be too expensive, I assured him that I thought it was possible. He silently finished watching his movie and I took it as a green light (maybe not the best decision on my part). The next day I completely overhauled our kitchen. Virtually all processed items were removed. If it came in any kind of packaging and had any "weird ingredients" out it went. I decided that "weird" was anything that I couldn't go to the grocery store and buy (excuse me, what isle can I find the Potassium Chloride in?) or anything that I wouldn't keep in my fridge, freezer or pantry (honey, where did you put the Sodium Citrate?). Upon cleaning out my kitchen, I discovered a few things:

1. My fridge was filthy
2. My pantry and freezer were mostly full of expired items
3. Virtually every condiment I had in my fridge had food dye in it
4. I had been eating things that I couldn't even pronounce
5. I had been feeding the people I love all kinds of ingredients that I have no clue what they are
6. Just because it is "vegetarian" or "vegan-friendly" doesn't make it healthy.
7. I was going to have to start cooking and baking more.... a LOT more...

As you can imagine, most of the food in my kitchen went. My husband came home at the end of the day and freaked out. I included some before and after photos so you can see why.

My "baking cupboard" before and after. I decided that the things like the baking soda, vanilla, coco, etc could be used up and then bought organic as I go. (as a way to help lessen the financial blow that such a big change makes!) The main concern for me was getting rid of packaged stuff full of chemicals, refined flour and refined sugar.

As you can see, a lot got hucked!

I had condiments that had expired last year and didn't even know it. 

I left Hubby's beer, because I value my life. 

So much of this was expired.... 

I kept a few jars of the homemade jam even though it is made with refined sugar. The lids have my late grandfather's handwritting on them and honestly, I just like looking at them when I open the door. 

I had a helper for this part :)

And now you know why my husband freaked out... this isn't even that bare because I had already gone to Costco and bought some Lara bars, organic peanut butter, Organic tortilla chips and coconut oil!

      After getting the silent treatment for a day, he eventually came around. But he did bring up a good point. Is it possible to eat a mostly organic, whole foods diet here in Red Deer without spending a fortune every month?  Sure its all well and good to read blogs and books about people living in the States who have loads of money to spend every month at places like Earth Fare and Trader Joe's (both of which WE DON'T HAVE HERE). Yes the girl in the blog lives in a climate that has a year round farmers market and gets local milk delivered to her door every week. Yes, they can do it. The question is, can we? Can we, an average family living in Red Deer, Alberta, eat like this without spending more than about 400$ a month? (what I currently spend on groceries) I want to find out. Thus, this blog was born. I want to be accountable for every penny spent. I want to see what eating REAL FOOD costs in a world of processed food. In a few days I will post what I have learned so far about making the switch, how much it has cost so far, and how things are going. Wish me luck!