8/16/2021 Weekly Meal Plan!

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpg2 days until school starts! I got the kids up early to get them prepared. Their new school is an early start school.

Over the weekend I picked up half a share from Porchlight- My friend Brooke split a share with me, and it’s honestly the best month spent. We got all kinds of great food, definitely more than a week’s worth.

I also did a back-to-school grocery shop with tons of lunch food for the kids.

And I’ve been getting a lot of really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods.

No CSA box this week. We’ll be back on it in the next few weeks.

And I didn’t do any meal prep yesterday. I wasn’t feeling too hot over the weekend, so I spent a lot of time napping and resting.  Thankfully, we’ve got a lot of prepped stuff in the freezer.

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. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I have made my own and you can find them for sale here on my Etsy Store.

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. The Ancient Grain bagels from Einstein Bros. are the current family favorite. I pick them up on Mondays when a dozen is only $7. I slice them and freeze them to keep them from going bad too quickly.

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. The kids are digging leftovers from dinner, or quesadillas. When school starts, I’ll be packing lunches again. However, school lunches are free this year, so I’m sure that the kids will want to buy their lunches a few times per week.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday: Nachos or BRC bowls, veggies
  • Monday: Waffle sammiches (waffles, eggs, sausage),  strawberries, and watermelon
  • Tuesday:  BBQ chicken, rice, roasted corn, watermelon
  • Wednesday:  Nugget night: Nuggets, crackers, cheese, fruit
  • Thursday: Baked Mac n’ cheese, salad/veggies, sourdough toast
  • Friday:  Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Leftovers, fruit

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Legoland CA: Brick-Or-Treat is Back for 2021!!

Brick-or-treat is back at Legoland California for 2021! And if you buy your tickets before 8/16/2021, you’ll save some cash! Prices and packages can be seen here.

Brick-or-Treat at LEGOLAND® California Resort is back with even more Halloween excitement! The Park is open after dark at the only kid-focused Halloween event in Southern California, every Saturday in October. Enjoy rides open late, trick-or-treating, live entertainment, Halloween décor, and more! Eat, drink, and be scary with seasonal food and beverage options for the whole family.

SEA LIFE® aquarium joins in on the celebration with Halloween décor, live creatures, and spooky-fun exhibits. There’s so much to do, you’ll want to have a Halloween sleepover just steps away from the Park entrance at the amazing LEGOLAND Hotel and LEGOLAND Castle Hotel.

  • October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
  • Live entertainment + shows!
  • Character Meet and Greets
  • Costume Contest
  • Treat stations
  • Dance Parties
  • Plus, don’t miss candy, decorations, and your fishy friends at SEA LIFE® Aquarium!

8/9/2021 Weekly Meal Plan!

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpg9 days until school starts. I need to get on the stick and head over to JCP and get the kids some socks and scour the mark down sections. They both need shorts, and unfortunately, most stores already have cold weather clothes out. We won’t be ready for those for a few months.

Over the weekend I picked up half a share from Porchlight- My friend Brooke split a share with me, and it’s honestly the best month spent. We got all kinds of great food, definitely more than a weeks worth.

And I’ve been getting a lot of really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods.

I also went out to the Hillcrest Farmers Market yesterday and met Farmer Donald from Yasukochi Family Farns. I picked up some amazing strawberries, watermelon, corn, green beans, and brocolli. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my meal prep pics yesterday. If you are looking for an amzing deal on produce, check out their CSA box!

Veggies and fruit are delivered by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

I meal prepped a bunch of fruit, veggies, and rice yesterday. I also cleaned out the fridge and re-arranged the freezer. We are all set for the week. I chose easy to cook meals that don’t require the oven. We are expected to have temps in the 90’s for most of 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 (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. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I have made my own and you can find them for sale here on my Etsy Store.

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. The Ancient Grain bagels from Einstein Bros. are the current family favorite. I pikc them up on Mondays when a dozen is only $7. I slice them and freeze them to keep them from going bad too quickly.

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. The kids are digging leftovers from dinner, or quesadillas.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday: Chicken Chili over rice, beans, veggies
  • Monday: Fritatta, watermelon, sourdough toast
  • Tuesday:  Pesto Ravioli, garlic bread, roasted veg
  • Wednesday:  Nugget night: Nuggets, crackers, cheese, fruit
  • Thursday: Waffles, eggs, fruit
  • Friday:  Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Leftovers, fruit

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Fall and Halloween Crafts at Dollar Tree!

Fall is right around the corner, and that means it’s time for Fall and Halloween crafts!

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen my post last week. Many of our local Dollar Tree stores are well stocked with Harvest, Halloween, and Dia de Los Muertos crafting supplies.

I love the paintable skulls, and the large wooden cutouts (I got a pumpkin).

If you are looking for some craft ideas, check out the Dollar Tree Blog. They have some cool ideas, I love their wreath ideas!

I’ll be posting pics when I get my wooden crafts painted. Make sure to check out my Instagram account for lots of crafts and other fun stuff!

 

 

 

8/1/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgWOO- 17 more days until school starts! Not that I’m counting, but the big kid yesterday was lamenting that it was *still* summer vacation and that we wanted to go back to school.

For the most part, summer lunch distribution is over, and we’re using up coupons and other freebies to stretch our end-of-summer frivolity.

There are a few events that we are going to this week, including this one.

I went to the grocery store on Friday and stocked up on snacks, and we also did a big Costco Trip to stock up on some staples that we were running low on (and a rotisserie chicken, because, YUM).

And I’ve been getting a lot of really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods.

We are skipping our CSA box this week, we’ve still got a lot left from last week.

Veggies and fruit are delivered by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

I meal prepped over the weekend and got lots of veggies roasted, rice for lunches, and the rotisserie chicken broken down. I may be making some soup this week too.

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. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I have made my own and you can find them for sale here on my Etsy Store.

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.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

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. The kids are digging leftovers from dinner, or quesadillas.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday: Chef Salad (lettuce, spinach, bacon, hardboiled eggs, carrots, corn, leftover roasted veggies)
  • Monday: Chicken Arabiatta, chopped salad, garlic bread
  • Tuesday:  Breakfast for dinner (Pancakes, eggs, fruit)
  • Wednesday:  Nugget night: Nuggets, crackers, cheese, fruit
  • Thursday: Impossible Burger taco salad
  • Friday:  Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Leftovers, fruit

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Free Food Resources for August 2021 (San Diego County)

A new month means that it’s time for the monthly update of free food resources in San Diego.

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

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 August 2021 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.

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.

Super Pantry Locations can be found here (this listing is countywide). The San Diego Foodbank website also has resources for Diaper banks, free food resources for seniors, and more.

Here is my 2021 Free Summer Lunch for kids post. It’s got all sorts of great info on where and when to pick up free lunches for kids all summer long. Most kids start school within the next few weeks, so these distributions are coming to an end.  However, kids will be able to get free lunches at school throughout 2021/2022 school year without having to apply or reside in a low-income home.

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

Dream Dinners: Now Booking In-Store Events!

This is some pretty cool news! Dream Dinners is launching its new Meal Prep Workshop program in August!
This is an exciting new twist on their in-store party and it’s a great opportunity for you to introduce your friends to Dream Dinners and earn fun rewards!
Here’s how it works:
As the host, you attend the workshop for free! This includes three pre-prepped medium-size meals, our grill marinade trio, and a private, in-store event with your friends. You also have the opportunity to earn up to $75 in host rewards! You can bring wine, Dream Dinners will make appetizers and you can enjoy your evening!

Your friends pay $50 to attend and learn about Dream Dinners. They’ll each receive three pre-prepped medium-size meals (Each meal feeds 2-3 people) and assemble a seasonal grill marinade trio, plus they’ll enjoy delicious samples of our food. We also have some exciting perks for them if they place an order at the workshop!

That’s $50 for three meals and 3 marinades!
One of the best parts of the new Meal Prep Workshops is that you and your friends get to share an experience with our exclusive seasonal workshop! Our theme for August Workshops is Summer Grilling and we’ll be making a grill marinade trio that Chef Laura created just for these events.

This is a great chance for you to get out of the house and have a fun night out with friends!
Space is limited, so if you are interested, contact your local Dream Dinners for more information and to book your Meal Prep Workshop.

Here in East County, it’s the La Mesa location.  Call or Text (619) 460-6800 or email: lamesaca@dreamdinners.com

If you are located in East County and want to join a Meal Prep Workshop, I’ll be planning one in the coming weeks. Drop me a comment or PM via Facebook or Instagram and I’ll get you an invite once I get the event set up.

7/30/2021 Friday Freebies and Deals!

Hey Gang! It’s Friday and that means it’s time for some freebies and deals.

This week has been busy, and you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been posting much. We had family in town, and the kids and I have been out having adventures with friends. We went to the zoo yesterday! Back to school is right around the corner, and I’ve got some great posts with deals and info coming up.

As usual, let’s start this off with some ways to keep the kiddos fed and entertained this summer:

If you are looking for birthday freebies, fret not! I put together a list new for 2021- Check it out here.

Most of these freebies and deals are online. I know y’all are vaxxed and ready to party, but I’m trying to keep you safe. Keep up the social distancing with strangers, wash and sanitize your hands, and cover your mouth and nose if you are going to be around strangers. The kids and I still mask up when we go out, and I’ve got hand sanitizer at the ready.

Freebies:

Free Sacred CBD Pain Balm Sample
Free Sample of Rituals Sakura Body Cream
3 Free CBD Tincture or Cream Samples
Free Prevent Motorcycle Theft Engraved VIN Sheatticker Sheet
FREE Chipotle Guacamole Saturday 7/31
Free Raising Cane’s Box Combo
Free Mtn Dew Frost Bite at Walmart
Free AC Pro Can Koozie
Free Slurpee at 7-Eleven in July
Free OHi Superfood Bar
Free Far Out Toys Products
Free Hand Held Vacuum
Free Sample of Gold Digger’s Delight Paydirt
Free Dr. Praeger’s Cauliflower Burgers
Free Pulled Pork Classic Sandwich at Dickey’s
Free L’Oreal True Match Nude Hyaluronic Tinted Serum Sample
Free CannazALL CBD Gummies Sample
Free Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Matrix
Free Crunchwrap Supreme at Taco Bell
Free Chanel Hydra Beauty Micro Serum Sample
Free Force Factor LeanFire Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies
Free Happiness Digest by Ellen White Book
Possible Free Hasbro Toys
Possible Free Mattel Toys
6 Months of Disney+ for Free ($47.94 Value)
Free Medium Fries w/ Any $1 Purchase at McDonalds – Every Friday

Deals:

Hanes Seamless Sports Bra ONLY $7.99 (Reg $23)
Corningware 10-Piece Bakeware Set ONLY $39.99 (Reg $80)
MAC Award-Winning Lip Set ONLY $35 Shipped ($55 Value)
Camel Plush-Lined Fold Over Boot ONLY $14.99 (Reg $42)
LOL Surprise OMG Remix ONLY $18.44 (Reg. $50)
Makeup Brush Set 16-Piece ONLY $7.64 (Reg. $16)
Eureka MaxSwivel Vacuum ONLY $44.99 Shipped (Reg $79)
Galanz 1.5-Pound Bread Maker ONLY $34.99 (Reg $80)
Jumbo Tennis Ball ONLY $12.99 Shipped (Reg $25)
Kids Sherpa Zip Hoodie ONLY $4.80 at Kohl’s (Reg $40)
Cuisinart 10-Pc Animal Print Cutlery Set ONLY $19.99 (Reg $40)
Traveler’s Club Kid’s 5-Piece Luggage Set ONLY $69.99 (Reg $160)
Fleece Toggle Jackets ONLY $16.99 + Free Shipping Offer
Kate Spade Leila Medium Flap Shoulder Bag ONLY $99 (Reg $379
Disney Princess Holiday Cinderella ONLY $15.99 (Reg. $40)
MUK LUKS Women’s About Us Sandals ONLY $19.99 (Reg. $40)
Old Navy Women’s Tanks ONLY $3 (Reg $6)

8/14/2021 Back to School Backpack Giveaway (National City, CA)

If you aren’t able to make the other school supply/backpack giveaways I have posted about, this event, brought to you by San Diego Child Support.

  • August 14, 2021
  • 9am-1pm
  • 401 Mile of Cars Way National City, CA 91950

8/3/2021-8/5/2021 FREE Family End of Summer Palooza (La Mesa, CA)

I’ve been looking for back-to-school freebies and backpack giveaways to post about, and I found this event, sponsored by Grossmont Healthcare District.

The event is FREE to attend and will include free back-to-school supplies, health activities, and fun prizes given away each day!

For more information and to RSVP, click here.

Each day during the event, there will be a Food drive To help local community members in need. They will be collecting canned foods to give back to the East County community.

Tuesday, August 3rd, 10AM-2PM: Get ready for back to school The park will be filled with community partners and a back to school giveaways! A DJ will get the fun time going all day long.

Wednesday, August 4th, 10AM-2PM: Get crafty The fun continues with take-home crafts in the park, face-painting activities, and a story-time led by some furry friends, including free books to those that join!

Thursday, August 5th, 10AM-2PM: Get active For a family activity, we’ll have a fun group exercise for all ages and levels of activity to get you moving outdoors! A fresh food giveaway will be this day, as well as the big prize- a $120 Gift Card!

 

Community Partners:

  • Herrick Health Library
  • YMCA
  • Family Health Centers of San Diego
  • Neighborhood Healthcare
  • La Maestra
  • San Diego Food Bank
  • El Cajon Valley High School Community Center
  • Love on a Leash
  • Aetna
  • Blue Shield
  • San Ysidro Health
  • Molina