Pinecone Research is my favorite survey company! Right now they are looking for new panelists! Sign up to take surveys and earn $3 per survey from Pinecone Research. They only send you surveys you qualify for- no wasting time doing lengthy qualifiers.
I earned about $70 last year just from Pinecone Research!
Pinecone will send you an email notification when you have a survey available. Complete the survey and earn points to be redeemed for either cash or prizes. Occasionally, they will send you a product to test, too.
Ya’ll know that I’m super excited about Fetch Rewards. It’s a cash back app. You can learn more about it here.
Now through February 25th (that’s Monday) you’ll score 3000 points (that’s $3 in rewards) for every referral. Yup, and there is no limit!
Use my code ND2TB when you sign up and you’ll score 3000 points after you scan in your first receipt with Fetch Rewards. That’s a $3 Amazon Gift Card (or whatever $3 Gift Card you choose). You can find Fetch Rewards in your app store.
One of the things I like most about Fetch Rewards is that even if you don’t buy one of the brands that Fetch Partners with (complete list can be seen here), you still earn points. And you can earn points regardless of where you shop!
So Get Started! Download the app, upload a receipt and share the app with your friends!
Thanks to my friend Jessica for the heads up on this awesome program! The CA Milk Processor Board has started a new program called “Moo Money”. Through April 28, 2019, “Moo Money” will reward milk-loving California consumers for purchasing real, wholesome dairy milk at any participating retail outlet, as well as online.
Two gallons of milk scored me 328 points. Since we buy milk several times a week (seriously, my kids are at least 50% milk), I have a feeling we’ll be cashing out for a gift card in no time! I’ll be using our gift card(s) to buy Amazon Gift cards. Perfect for those things that I buy regularly (like PBFit, Malted Milk Powder, and GoGo Squeez).
Sunday Night I went to the grocery store to pick up milk, bread, and a few other things.
I spent $42 and it was not all that much stuff. While I was waiting in line, the lady behind me in line was going through her coupons, and her grocery list. We got to talking, I showed her the store app, where she was able to find a few more coupons. We started talking about how expensive it was to eat healthy, and I confessed to her that this was not my weekly shopping trip, I was just picking up stuff that I only buy at Food4Less:
Milk (it’s cheapest at FFL),
A specific kind of higher protein bread (it’s the cheapest place to buy this type of bread and has no High Fructose Syrup),
A specific kind of popscicles
5 lb bag of bananas (cheapest place to buy that many bananas)
This doesn’t have to cost a fortune!
And I picked up a few other misc. things that we needed and were on sale (cheese, oranges, and a 5 lb. bag of Gala apples), and a 2 liter of diet Cherry Pepsi and a jar of maraschino cherries (Mama needs a cocktail sometimes, OK?).
She asked about my grocery budget and where I shop the rest of the time. I told her my shopping strategy, after I make my grocery list:
My Top Ten Deals at 99 Cents Only– Start there for fresh produce. Salad, carrots, celery, berries, pineapples, zucchini, squash (all kinds), onions, potatoes are all types of produce that are regularly stocked. They usually have other interesting seasonally available produce too. They also have great sauces, condiments, herbs and spice blends.
Keep a Price Book- I know the best place to buy Milk, cheese, bread, and butter. I keep my price book in my phone now, but I used to use a little spiral bound notebook that lived in my purse.
Stock up on food that you will eat frequently when it does on sale. I’m not talking about fresh produce that can’t be kept (like lettuce), but if you find a good deal on strawberries, for example, chop and freeze some for smoothies or baking, make fruit leather, or dry some (they are really tasty dehydrated). Bread can be frozen, so can butter! Canned goods, shelf stable foods are perfect for stocking up. I also like stocking up on chicken when it’s on sale. I can butcher a whole chicken in a few minutes, and I frequently will break up large packages of chicken breasts into meal sized portions, season them, and put them into the freezer. Learn more about meal prep here.
For our family, meal prep and meal planning saves us a lot of time and money. There are always multiple choices for each meal at our finger tips, so the allure of getting food from take-away is gone. I always have a batch of pizza dough in the freezer too! I make two batches once a week- one for the freezer, and one to go in the fridge that gets used within 1-2 days of making.
It doesn’t matter what your food budget is, you can still eat well! It may take a little prep work each week, but the health of your family is worth it, right?
If you are on a very tight budget or are facing food insecurity, here is a list of San Diego based food resources that offer healthy food.
* This post contains Affiliate links, and I may earn a commission if you make a purchase from one of my links.
I love me some Cardigan Sweaters. In fact, I wore the same one for so long, Hubs got me another one in the exact style and color and replaced it without me knowing. That was YEARS AGO, and I still wear the new one (although, I may be replacing it with one of these beauties!) Today only from the good folks at Cents of Style: Extra Long Button Up Cardis! 40% Off + FREE shipping! W/CODE: CARDITIME
There are two styles: The Misha, which is the classic length cardigan, and the Sylvia, which is extra long (like a duster). The Misha comes in a plus size version too!
I love these sweaters because they are perfect for layering, which comes in handy here in So Cal, where the weather changes like 4 times a day!
Disclosure: I received a free meal for four as compensation for writing this post, but honestly, reading/literacy is super important to me and the fam….
Chipotle is passionate about more than just perfectly rolled burritos, it is also committed to cultivating nourished minds and communities, and one of the best ways to do that is through Chipotle Reading Rewards – the annual program that rewards book smarts with delicious food crafted from real, whole ingredients.
Now through Feb. 28, Chipotle is accepting educators’ and librarians’ applications for its Reading Rewards program, which can be added to an existing reading program, or Chipotle can provide schools with turnkey resources to kickstart their own.
The program is designed to help students develop a love of reading by rewarding them with free Chipotle when they reach their reading goals.
One of the reasons I love Chipotle as a family dining choice is there is someone for everyone, even the big kid, who is super picky (he has texture/sensory issues as part of his ASD). Chipotle is committed to making real food from wholesome ingredients without any added colors, flavors or additives. Chipotle has always prepared and used real ingredients that everyone can both recognize and pronounce.
The big kid likes that his food is made in front of him and he is in control of what gets added (no meat- he is a recently self declared vegetarian). I like that there are a lot of good options- freshly chopped veggies, salsas and guac made in the restaurant.
Chipotle’s craveable food is freshly prepared by hand each day using classical cooking techniques in its 2,500 restaurants.
Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone. Ordering through the Chipotle app or website is easier than ever before, and now you can get your food faster with delivery from DoorDash.
To learn more about the Chipotle Reading Rewards Program, click here.
For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you saw all my pics last weekend of the fun (and food) from Influential Summit!
As always, attendees get hooked up with all kinds of goodies and snacks. I picked up a few extra to share with one lucky reader!
And this isn’t all of it!
There are all kinds of goodies, treats, and snacks! The awesome people at Boiron USA hooked me up with an awesome selection of homeopathic remedies, There are Probiotics from Lifeway, Lolleez Soothing lollipops (great for kiddos with sore throats),KIND Bars, KIND Kid’s bars, Hippeas, Runa, Ammo Bars (caffeine and granola together- RAD) and my personal favorite: One Bars!
Entering is SUPER EASY! All you have to do is comment on this blog post with what your favorite snack is, and I’ll choose a winner on 2/24/19! This contest is open to US Residents only!
And you missed Influential Summit, but wanna check out another cool conference, MommyCon is coming back to San Diego November 23, 2019 for the second year at the San Diego Marriott Mission Valley. Tickets are available for sale here. The goody bags are great!
This is NOT a sponsored post, I am paying to ship this package to the winner. I just want to share the goodies with you guys!
Yummy soup made with my favorite Seasoning Blend from Penzey’s
I love making chicken soup from scratch. The cook time is lengthy, but, you don’t have to pay a lot of attention to the soup for most of the cook time.
You can use whatever kind of spices/herbs you fancy. I love Penzey’s Arizona Dreaming, it’s a great smoky, rich compliment to the veggies in the soup.
Speaking of veggies, I use carrots, onions, celery, Italian squash/zucchini, but you can use whatever is in your fridge. Good additions would also be diced bell peppers, diced fresh tomatoes (or canned diced tomatoes).
You can omit the noodles/macaroni is you don’t care for them or are GF/low carb.
Ingredients:
5 lbs of chicken parts, bone-in or a rotisserie chicken with some of the meat removed and set aside
2 cups of carrots chopped, divided
2 cups of celery chopped, divided
3 cups sweet onion diced, divided
2 cloves garlic diced, divided
1 large shallot diced, divided
1T. cooking oil, your choice. I’ve been using grapeseed oil lately
12 cups of water
bay leaf
salt & pepper
2 cups Italian squash/zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 14-ish ounce can of diced tomatoes with juice, or 2 cups diced fresh tomatoes (optional)
other herbs/spices as desired
1 cup uncooked pasta/noodles/rice (your choice)
After cooking all day! Yummy Chicken Stock!
Directions:
If starting with 5 lbs of raw chicken, place 1/2 of the carrots, onions, and celery into a large stock pot with the cooking oil.
Cook on medium until veggies are soft, and onions are clear.
Add 1/2 of the garlic and shallots, and cook until fragrant.
Add raw chicken, and cook for about 10 minutes, until chicken browns.
Turn stove down to low, add 12 coups of water, bay leaf, salt & pepper, and cover. Cook stock on low for about 4-6 hours- you can cook it for up to 12 hours in your crockpot if you wish instead). Pull out a few pieces of chicken, pull off the cooked meat and set aside (you want about 2 cups of chopped cooked meat). Put bones back into the pot. Cook for another 20-30 minutes.
Take the stock off the heat, and once cool, strain off the solids, and discard. The remaining liquid is your chicken stock. While you start with 12 cups of water, after cooking the stock down, you may end up with 6-8 cups of rich, velvety stock.
Place chicken stock on the stove in a large pot, add in chopped chicken, remaining veggies, and any herbs/spices.
Once veggies have started to soften/cook, add noodles/macaroni/rice if desired. Salt and pepper to taste.
Mire Poix- Aka carrots, celery, and onions with a bayleaf, garlic and shallots. The perfect start to any soup!
As soon as noodles/macaroni/rice is cooked, remove soup from heat. Serve with hot bread (and butter).
*If you are starting with a rotisserie chicken, pull off 2 cups of meat, and add the carcass after the veggies are cooked and fragrant. proceed with remainder of recipe.
I’m home from Influential Summit, and boy, did they load us up with snacks and goodies! Our snack cupboard is full, and I’ll be putting together a big box of goodies together and post a giveaway later this week!
You may notice a lot of plant based meals- We are not vegetarian, but I am trying to get more veggies into our diet. I do a lot of cooking from scratch- I find it easier to get veggies and fruit into recipes that I can have 100% control over.
I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day:
Breakfast: Protein shakes for grown ups, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. We have plenty of protein shake fixins’- I buy the over ripe bananas, peel and slice them pop them into ziploc bags, and freeze them for smoothies and protein shakes. I also keep sandwich ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular.
Lunches are leftovers, salads, or a protein shake for me and the Mister, and The Big Kid has a specially packed lunch of whatever he’s into at the time (which changes frequently). Bitty Bird eats whatever I’ll feed her.
For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked.
This week is going to be a little different tan usual. With Mr. on the cleanse, we’ll be eating a lot of whole foods/vegetables raw, and an old family friend steel cut oats will be coming to breakfast.
Monday: Leftover night! We’ve got leftover cheese enchiladas, pizza, and some homemade applesauce
Tuesday: Homemade chicken soup – I’ll post the recipe tomorrow!
Wednesday: Cheese and Veggie Quiche! I’ve got so many eggs!
Thursday: Grilled Cheese sandwiches, Green Salad
Friday: Date Night (dinner out, but I’m not sure where)
Saturday: Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry with Cauliflower Rice
**This post contains affiliate links and I may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.
APRONS! I love aprons! I have about a dozen of them- in different fabrics, colors, and themes. When I got the email yesterday that Flirty aprons was having a $5 sale, I jumped at the chance to pick up a few more. I had $25 in my Paypal Account from completing some Pinecone Research Surveys recently. MUAHAH!
Aprons make great gifts too, so if you’ve got some birthdays coming up, Valentine’s Day, housewarming parties, or heck start your holiday shopping early (you know I have). Not only do they have feminine aprons, but chefs/grilling aprons, and kids sizes too!
Sunday Night I went to the grocery store to pick up milk, bread, and a few other things.
