frugal living

9/30/19 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

stemarie_1650skitchen

I bought a few things yesterday to sort of “round out” what we’ve got on hand, and I think I’ll hit up Sprouts on Wednesday for Double Ad Day to get produce, but other than, we’ll be eating a lot of the stuff in the freezer I recently meal prepped this week. I don’t feel really great (Big kid brought home the new germ du jour from school and it’s felled us all).

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, so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

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: Coffee with heavy cream for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  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 soups for me and Bitty. The big kid takes his lunch to school, but once in a while, I can convince him to buy his lunch.

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot (I am picking up my new crockpot this week) in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked.

  • Monday: Soup, Grilled Cheese sandwiches, green grapes
  • Tuesday: Aunt Linda’s Mess (It’s a skillet casserole)
  • Wednesday: Baked potatoes with vegetarian chili (from the big batch of vegetarian chili I made last week), green salad.
  • Thursday: Pizza Night
  • Friday:  Date Night!
  • Saturday: Leftover night
  • Sunday:  Taco Salad (recipe will be posted later this week)

 

Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?

Freebies: 9/29/19 is National Coffee Day!

Abby H.

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Sunday is a high holiday in our house: 9/29/19 is National Coffee Day. To celebrate, here are a smattering of freebies and deals.

7/11: Score any size Coffee for $1.00- Just make sure to scan your 7Rewards loyalty app at checkout.

Corner Bakery: Get any size brewed coffee or cold brew for free (with any purchase)  at participating locations from Sept. 29 through Oct. 1.

Caribou Coffee: They are celebrating on 9/29/19 with a medium size hot coffee for $1, a medium Cold Press Black for $2 or a Nitro Black coffee for $3.

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: Get a free 16-ounce hot or iced coffee when you spend $2 or more on a bakery or food item.

Dunkin’: America Runs on it, and Sunday 9/29/19, anyone who purchases a regular hot coffee at participating Dunkin’ restaurants nationwide will score another hot coffee (the same size or smaller) for free.

And the best one for the year: Krispy Kreme! Through 9/29/19, participating shops nationwide will give away one Koffee Cream doughnut and one free cup of coffee to customers, no coupon or app needed!

Cinnabon is offering a free 12-ounce coffee all day on Sunday, 9/29/19

If your local Barnes & Noble has a cafe inside, stop by! Customers get a free hot or iced tall coffee with the purchase of any bakery case item on Sunday, September 29, 2019.

If your local mall has a Godiva Chocolatier, here is an awesome deal: September 27 through 29, get a free 12-ounce hot or iced coffee at GODIVA Café locations with any purchase.

 

 

 

October is Kids Go Free Month!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2019-09-27 at 1.23.12 PM.pngThis is the 3rd year I’ve written about this awesome month-long deal, and 2019 is the best year yet!

This year, there is a Kick off Kids Free with Museum Mash-Up on 9/29!

Celebrate the launch of Kids Free in October at the Museum Mash-Up event at The New Children’s Museum Park on Sunday, Sept. 29 from 10 AM – 1 PM. This free public event offers fun activities and displays from 12 museums, live performances by the San Diego Ballet and an animal encounter courtesy of The Living Coast Discovery Center.  In conjunction with Museum Mash-Up, The New Children’s Museum will be accepting Kids Free in October coupons from 11 AM – 4 PM on Sept. 29.

For those of us with curious kids, this is perfect! Kids can get into over 40 museums in the San Diego area free with paying adults (all the info can be found here).

Some of the participating organizations include:

Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Fleet Science Center (Galleries only)
Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
Heritage of the Americas Museum
Japanese Friendship Garden
Living Coast Discovery Center
Maritime Museum of San Diego
Marston House Museum & Gardens
Mingei International Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Museum of Making Music
Museum of Photographic Arts
San Diego Air & Space Museum
San Diego Automotive Museum
San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum
San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
San Diego History Center
San Diego Model Railroad Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat)
Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center
Timken Museum of Art (it’s always free for everyone FYI)
Women’s Museum of California

A full list can be found here. Oh, and as part of free October, Kids can get into the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park free when accompanied by a paying adult!  Other Kids go free attractions include: Legoland, Sea World, and the USS Midway!!

More info can be found here, and other fun, free stuff for kids can be found here and here.

And I’m hoping to have more info on some free events for Halloween over the next few weeks.

9/27/19: Weekly Freebies and Deals!

Abby H.

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Woo Hoo! Friday means Freebies and deals! There are a lot more freebies and deals this week. I’m excited to share!

Freebies

Free Magazine Subscriptions

Deals

Free Subscription to Cosmopolitan Magazine!

Abby H.1 Comment

Sign up and receive your FREE Magazine Subscription from Mercury Magazine.

Mercury Magazines makes it easy:

  • Tell them about yourself – Your profile will determine the magazines presented.
  • Choose your magazine – Select up to three magazines of your choice from the list
  • Complete subscription forms – Your answers will be used to determine if you qualify.
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Fetch Rewards now Accepts Convenience Store Receipts!

Abby H.

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This came in my email this morning and I have NO IDEA! You’re already scanning supermarket receipts. But did you know that you’ll also earn Fetch Points when you shop at gas stations and convenience stores? It’s true! Your receipts from 7-11 are just as valuable as your receipts from Walmart.

Got a midnight craving for chips or ice cream? Need to grab a beer or soft drinks on your way to a party? You’re gonna get points! Scan every convenience store receipt, every time you shop. Screen Shot 2019-09-25 at 7.52.39 AM.png

 

Learn More about Fetch Rewards HERE.

9/23/19 Weekly Meal Plan!

Abby H.

stemarie_1650skitchen

I’m trying to use up a lot of what we have on-hand before I do any shopping for the week. We are running low on milk and veggies, so I’ll hit up Grocery Outlet (I have a $5/$20+ coupon), and Sprouts today after the gym.

I’ve got two melons (watermelon and cantaloupe), so we’ll be having melon a lot this week.

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, so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

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: Coffee with heavy cream for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  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 soups for me and Bitty. The big kid takes his lunch to school, but once in a while, I can convince him to buy his lunch.

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot (I am picking up my new crockpot this week) in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked.

  • Monday: Chicken and rice soup (from scratch), grilled cheese sandwiches, melon slices
  • Tuesday: homemade breakfast sandwiches ( Bagels with sunny side up eggs, cheese, and sausage patties), Melon slices
  • Wednesday: Vegetarian Chili, melon slices
  • Thursday: Pizza Night
  • Friday: Homemade Pasta sauce, zucchini “noodles” (We didn’t end up having it last week
  • Saturday: Leftover night
  • Sunday:  Pasta Free Lasagna, and you guessed it- Melon (if there is any left)

 

Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?

9/20/19: Weekly Freebies and Deals!

Abby H.

file000845666076

Woo Hoo! Friday means Freebies and deals- It’s a light week this week, but there are still some pretty cool freebies.

Samples/Goodies:

Free Batman Comic Books on Saturday

Free Sample of Nio Teas

Au Bon Pain – Free Travel Mug, Birthday Lunch & More

Free Sample of Red Star Platinum Instant Sourdough Yeast

Bitmo – Free $5 Chili’s Gift Card

 

Free In-Store/Event:

Free Item at Pressed Juicery

Free Riviana Mahatma Ready to Serve Rice at Walmart

Free Dino Fossil Charm Craft at Lakeshore Learning

Free Safe Interactions with Dogs Seminar at PetSmart

Home Depot Free DIY September Workshops

 

Free Magazine:

Complimentary 1 Year Subscription to Golf Magazine

Gig Opportunity: Become a Shipt Shopper!

Abby H.

I am a huge proponent of gigs, little side hustles that help you earn extra money.

I just found out that Shipt is looking for shoppers! You shop for and deliver groceries and essentials for others. Oh, and the best part? You can earn up to $22/hour!

Shipt is a membership-based grocery marketplace, enabling delivery of fresh foods and household essentials. Shipt is all over the US, to find out if Shipt is hiring in your area, check out their coverage map here, then sign up here. Once you sign up, answer a few questions, and they’ll email you if you meet their qualifications.

I’m all about earning some extra cash! I’d love to hear about your favorite side gigs and hustles! My list of favorites can be found here.

Organic Shoppers Rejoice! BerryCart is here to help you Save!

Abby H.

You may have seen my post on Smartphone Apps mention BerryCart, but I haven’t posted about it specifically, so, let’s dive in and I’ll fill you in on all the deets.

berrycart-logo-300x73.pngFor those of us who are Organic/Healthy Shoppers, a lot of the shopping apps can be a bummer because there are not a lot of choices.

BerryCart to the rescue! With BerryCart, you can find Cashback deals on the best Organic, Gluten-Free, non-GMO, Vegan foods and more.

What I really like is that you can combine BerryCart savings with other savings apps (like Ibotta, Checkout51, and Fetch Rewards) to double and triple dip! BerryCart can be used at any store that sells the items in your BerryCart list!

You can also use coupons and other savings (like your Target RedCard to save an extra 5%) to bring down your out of pocket costs!

What I love about Berrycart is that a lot of these brands are carried at stores that don’t accept coupons like Grocery Outlet and 99 Cents Only.

Examples of items I have seen for sale at our local Grocery Outlet in the past week:

BerryCart is a game-changer for those of us who want to eat better, but have a budget.

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All Cashback rebates are redeemed through the BerryCart iPhone or Android apps. To get started, click here to check out the website and download the app.