family

September 2022: New Month, New Coupons!

Abby H.

file000786402730Here is your monthly reminder!  A new month means new printable and electronic coupons!

The printable coupon market is slowly coming to an end. Smartsource no longer offers printable coupons, and you may notice that there are fewer coupon inserts in your Sunday newspaper. This is in favor of more offers available on apps. But if you love printable coupons….

  • Coupons.com (printable coupons, e-coupons, and a cashback app)

One of my favorite websites is the Sunday Coupon Review.  It helps me plot out scenarios in advance and I can email friends to ask for coupons in advance. Remember if clipping coupons isn’t your thing, but saving money is, check out my list of Smartphone apps that can save you the big bucks! New offers are added on the Smartphone Savings Apps all the time!

Here are a few of my favorite printable coupons:

Save $1.00 on ONE (1) Splash Blast™ 16.9 oz. 6-pack, Any Flavor
Save $0.75 ONE (1) Sargento Balanced Breaks CHEESE & CRACKERS
Save $2.00 on ONE (1) Blue Diamond Almond Flour or Baking Mix
Save $3.00 on ONE (1) Sambucol product. Excludes 10ct Gummies and 10ct Immune Drink Powder.

September means Labor Day and Back to school! The traditional Back to School Sales will start. For most schools, classes begin the Tuesday after Labor Day. This is a great time to stock up on snacks that are healthy and shelf-stable.

For a complete list of types of foods and items that will be on sale, check out this post on the cycle of sales.

Free Food Resources for September 2022 (San Diego County)

Abby H.

Woo! A new month means a reminder about all of the free food options there is here in San Diego County.

Keep in mind there are still supply chain issues, so there may not be a lot of food at some distributions, especially those that serve a large portion of the community.

I recommend showing up a little early with a bottle of water and a book and waiting in line. Time passes quickly in these lines, and it’s a great time to learn from others about community food options. Remember to socially distance and follow local masking regulations.

You can find resources here for Central and East County, and Here for North County.

Our friends at Faith Chapel are super ahead of the game and sent out information regarding their 2022 food distributions early on in the year.

If you are located outside San Diego County, call 211. If you are not familiar with 211, here is their website and it can point you in the right direction.

San Diego Food Bank Distributions for September 2022 can be found here. Enter your address (or just your zip code) and the map will show you all of the distributions in your area or closest to you. You can filter by the days of the week to find food when you are available. If there is an income requirement/limit to participate, each location/listing will say such. You can learn more here about the Feeding San Diego Together Tour.

Neighbor distributions are intermixed with the San Diego Food Bank Distributions, however, they have no income requirements, and you come as you are. These Distributions are primarily fruits & veg, however, some locations may also distribute canned goods, dairy, and bread.

If you know of other resources, please leave a comment! And feel free to share this post with anyone you may know in need.

NEW Rubio’s Rewards

Abby H.

Introducing the NEW Rubio’s Rewards program, where you can earn points with every purchase and redeem them for free food.

  • $5 off your first order
  • 10 points for every $1 spent in the restaurant, in the app or online
  • Earn bonus points throughout the year
  • Special birthday surprises
  • Insider access to new products
  • Fast grab-and-go ordering

Tryazon Sweet Chaos Fall Snacking Party

Abby H.

We’ve been participating in Tryazon events for three+ years. We’ve gotten to try all sorts of fun toys, games, and food.  You can learn more about Tryazon here.

Bring the sweet to life’s chaos, with this Tryazon Featured Party opportunity, from Sweet Chaos. Featuring delicious fall flavors like Vanilla Chai, Pumpkin Spice, and Candy Corn, Sweet Chaos is the perfect mix of your favorite sweet & salty snacks and a delightful break in your day. Just pour a popcorn bowl of your favorite fall flavor, take a breath, then a bite, and remember to enjoy the chaos!

Tryazon and Sweet Chaos has 100 hosting spots open for this opportunity! Those selected get to receive a party pack with a variety of Sweet Chaos popcorn and other extras to share with friends and family! Learn more and apply here.

NEW XBOX REWARDS are at IHOP!

Abby H.

This slid into my inbox this morning, and while we don’t have an Xbox or eat at IHOP too often, I thought this was definitely worth sharing.

IHOP has teamed up with Xbox* to bring deliciousness to gaming. Join the rewards program, the International Bank of Pancakes, and earn PanCoins to redeem cool rewards including:

  • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 1-month trial code
  • Grounded full game download code
  • Forza Horizon 5 Premium Add-Ons bundle code

 

Tryazon: Another New Exploding Kittens Game!

Abby H.

We’ve been participating in Tryazon events for three+ years. We’ve gotten to try all sorts of fun toys, games, and food.  You can learn more about Tryazon here.

Exploding Kittens is back again with another Tryazon Featured Party opportunity! Introducing Hand to Hand Wombat, a totally unique take on classic social deduction games. Players work together in teams with their eyes closed to either repair or sabotage three stacks of square towers before time runs out. The goal is to earn points, figure out who’s working against you, and get opposing players out of the game before it’s too late!

Tryaon Has 250 hosting spots open for this opportunity! Those selected get to receive a party pack with a Hand-to-Hand Wombat game and other extras to share with friends and family! Learn more and apply here.

Recipe: Lemon Herb Chicken

Abby H.

This recipe has been fine-tuned and constantly evolving for a while.  It originally started as a copycat of the Greek Chicken restaurant near me. This chicken is now a million times better.

Lemon Herb Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken (I use breasts or thighs)
  • 2 lemons
  • 2 medium onions, chopped (I like sweet onions)
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 Tablespoons Oil of your choice (I like olive or avocado)
  • 2 Tablespoons dried oregano
  • 2 Tablespoons dried rosemary
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Prepare the marinade:

  1. Pat chicken dry and set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl juice the lemons, set the lemons aside.
  3. Add remaining ingredients and whisk together.
  4. Chop up juiced lemons, add to marinade.
  5. In a large ziploc bag, pour marinade and add chicken.
  6. Allow chicken to marinate for at minimum 2 hours- I usually let it marinate overnight.

Cooking the chicken:

  1. In a large skillet, heat 1 T. oil or spray pan with spray release.
  2. Cook chicken on each side until brown and internal temp is at minimum 165.

This chicken is also great grilled! I love serving this chicken with a crisp cool green salad, hummus, and pita.

 

Free Covid-19 Test Kits: Order Before 9/2/2022!

Abby H.

The federal government will cease providing free COVID-19 kits on 9/2/2022, as there will no longer be federal funding. Learn more at COVID.gov/tests.

However, in the meantime, Residential households in the U.S. are now eligible for another order of free at-home tests on USPS.com. Here’s what you need to know about your order:

  • Each order now includes 8 rapid antigen COVID-19 tests (FDA has more details about at-home tests, including extended shelf life and updated expiration dates: Authorized At-Home Over-the-Counter COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests)
  • Your order of 8 tests will come in 2 separate packages (4 tests in each package), each with its own tracking number
  • Packages will ship free

It’s easy to sign up for free kits. Order your free kits here. We ordered ours, and we test when we have been exposed, even though we are all vaccinated and boosted. COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere, and we need to do what we can to protect ourselves and our communities.

ZENB for Plant-Fueled Pasta and Sauces- Perfect for Picky Eaters!

Abby H.

I’ve got two picky eaters. The big kid has a lot of food aversions (textures, tastes/flavors), which is pretty common for people on the spectrum. The little kid will try new foods with greater frequency, but she loves noodles with butter.

We’ve tried so many different brands of pasta, trying to find something that tastes great and has good nutrition. a lot of veggie-based pasta gets weird and gummy when cooked, so has a weird flavor, and then there’s the “zero pasta” which is stinky even after you spend twenty minutes rinsing it.

Enter ZenB Pasta! Made from 100% yellow peas, including the skins. It comes in a variety of pasta varieties: Penne, Elbows, Rotini, Spaghetti, and Agile.

It’s an amazing source of protein and fiber. It’s gluten-free and vegan!

Both kids tried ZenB over the weekend and loved it. They both asked for seconds, which is unheard of. I love that it’s a great source of protein- it’s hard to get protein into kiddo sometimes.

If you want to check it out, The ZenB website currently has a free shipping offer, when you shop here.

And if you are looking for some new sauces, ZENB has the hook-up! ZENB Gourmet Pasta Sauce, made from WHOLE vegetables, for a rich depth of flavor.

 

8/29/2022 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgThe first week of school was great! The kids are glad to be back on schedule, and seeing their friends has made the beginning of the school year easier.

I went to the grocery store yesterday and got everything for this week plus a few extra things that were on sale for the pantry.

No CSA boxes until the weather cools down and I can be home when the boxes are delivered. With the heat and the lack of shade on my patio, if we aren’t home when it’s delivered, some of the more delicate foods can spoil.

We’ve been trying a lot of new foods lately, thanks to the really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods. I received a few more coupons over the weekend, so I’ll visit Sprouts sometime this week to pick up the new foods. I’m focusing on snacks and treats from Social Nature.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. They are also into fruit and bagels for breakfast. Lately, the big kid has been digging protein shakes in the morning. This is his favorite kind. 

Lunch: I have a plastic tote in the cupboard full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags. This is really helpful for the summer when for some reason, kids are starving all the time.

Dinner: I’ve got a couple casseroles/freezer meals this week, and other than that we’re eating easy and quick stuff so I can spend time playing, coloring, building legos, and swimming, which is the plan for the week.

  • Monday: Chicken nuggets, Buttered noodles, fruit, cheese & crackers

  • Tuesday:  Marinated Salad, Rice-a-roni, crescent rolls

  • Wednesday: Lemon herbed chicken, salad, pita, hummus

  • Thursday:  Ravioli with pesto sauce, roasted vegetables

  • Friday: Takeout night!
  • Saturday:  Leftovers
  • Sunday:  Omelets, sourdough toast, fruit