food

New PinchMe Samples Drop June 21, 2022

Abby H.

Sample Tuesday is Coming on 6/21/2022- Mark your calendars, set an alarm on your phone!

Don’t have any idea what I am talking about? PinchMe! Join PINCHme and receive free samples that you can provide feedback on.

PinchMe is awesome! Once you are signed up, they will email you reminders when new samples are about to drop, and remind you when it’s time to leave feedback.

Answer a series of questions about your household and shopping habits in the Member Profile. PinchMe learns what you like and offer samples just for you.

Once you’ve had a chance to try the samples, complete a short feedback survey to tell PinchMe what you think of the samples.

I get PinchMe samples every month. Here is what arrived at the end of June for the June 2021 boxes. The One Bar was really good.

What are you waiting for? Sign up here and get on the free sample bandwagon! I’ve gotten all kinds of awesome sample/trial size items, as well as full-sized items to try out from PinchMe!

6/13/2022 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgSummer break is here! We’ve got all sorts of adventures planned, you can check out some of our adventures here.

We’re headed to the library in Santee today to get started on our summer reading journey.

I did some meal prep yesterday (cooking veggies and chopping up fruit). This week we’re taking a hiatus from our CSA box to use up all of the produce that we have in the fridge/freezer.

Our veggies and fruit are delivered by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $28, 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 $28. Seriously. It’s a deal. They email a preview of what will be in the boxes over the weekend, so I can start thinking about what I’d like to make.

With the increase in food costs, we are leaning more and more on our CSA box each week as the base of most of our meals.

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. On Friday night I ran to Sprouts and picked up the monthly freebies, and redeemed all of the Social Nature Coupons I had in my wallet. We’ve got all kinds of yummy snacks and treats!

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. We’ll be hitting up the free lunch sites several times a week over the sum

Dinner: We’re still working our way through our Dream Dinners order for the month, and I’ve got two meals ready for this week.

  • Monday: Meat Loaf, Green Beans, mashed potatoes
  • Tuesday: Lasagna, roasted veggies, sliced strawberries
  • Wednesday: Chicken Sandwiches, fruit salad
  • Thursday: Breakfast for dinner- Pancakes, protein shakes, fruit salad
  • Friday: Takeout night!
  • Saturday:  Leftovers
  • Sunday: 

Score a Free Taco at Rubio’s!

Abby H.

Thanks to the Padres, we all can score a free taco today at Rubio’s! Any time the Pad’s steal a base at a home game, we win! Valid for 1 a la carte taco with any purchase. Limit 1 per person/account. Valid in the following counties: San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, and the Inland Empire. Check with your local Rubio’s to verify participation.

Not valid on 3rd party apps. When ordering through the Rubio’s App, use coupon code: GOPADRES

What kind of taco are you getting?

Checkout 51: SAVE on Real California Milk products!

Abby H.

Dairy loving peeps! Check out these sweet deals from Checkout 51! Earn Cash Back on cheese, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, and ice cream—and feel good about it! When buying a product with the Real California Milk seal, you’re supporting Golden State farms and the farm families that run them. Now go dig into some dairy!

Checkout 51 is one of my favorite cash-back shopping apps! Most of the deals/cashback rebates are not store-specific, so I can save at stores that don’t accept coupons, like Grocery Outlet and 99 Cents Only.  You can also stack with store sales and other discounts!

  • Real California Milk Chunk/Block Cheese & Specialty Cheese $1.00 Cash Back
  • Real California Milk $0.50 Cash Back
  • Real California Milk Drinkable Yogurt $0.50 Cash Back
  • Buy 2: Real California Milk Yogurt $0.50 Cash Back
  • Real California Milk Cream Cheese $0.75 Cash Back
  • Real California Milk Sour Cream $0.50 Cash Back
  • Real California Milk Cottage Cheese $0.50 Cash Back
  • Real California Milk Ice Cream $1.00 Cash Back

And in addition to sweet deals on groceries, you can also save on gas at select stations. Information and specific participating stations can be found in their app.

To learn more about all of the Cashback apps I use, click here.

June 2022: New Healthy Freebies From Social Nature!

Abby H.

 If you are into Organic/Natural/Healthy products, then Social Nature is right up your alley. Sign up and apply to sample products that you are interested in. I get probably 1-2 products to sample each month. And most of the time it’s full-size products, not just a tiny sample.

Social Nature has rounded up products that are available to try at a local grocery store or mass merchandiser near you.  Apply to Try the products that interest you to see if you’re a match here.

Here are some of the new sampling opportunities:

  • Mac and Cheese by GOODLES
  • Veggie Pasta by Veggiecraft Farms
  • Cocoa & Blonde Truffle Bars by Honey Mama’s
  • Meatless Breakfast Patties by Nature’s Fynd
  • Gluten-Free Mochi Ice Cream by Bubbies
  • Plant-Based Ice Cream by Eclipse Foods
  • Plant-Based Alternatives by Big Mountain Foods
  • Plant-Based Ice Cream by Wildgood
  • Oat Crackers by Bob’s Red Mill USA
  • Various Comvita Health products

 

And More!

And one of the things I love about Social Nature is that they don’t leave our friends with food allergies out.

There are sampling offers for Gluten-free, nut-free, meat-free foods frequently.

Canadian Friends- You are in luck, there are sampling opportunities for you too! So if you love trying new products, check out Social Nature!

Arm & Hammer Complete Care Chatterbox!

Abby H.

Check out this awesome party opportunity from Chatterbox!

Introducing ARM & HAMMER™ Complete Care™ Toothpaste, now with a new and improved taste and ultra-smooth formula. Don’t brush off this chance to try it for FREE and experience up to 3X more plaque removal than a non-baking soda toothpaste. Now that’s something to smile about!

If you are selected, you will receive:

  • 1 Sample size ARM & HAMMER™ Complete Care™ Toothpaste
  • 1 ARM & HAMMER™ Complete Care™ Toothpaste info postcard

You must apply and complete the required activities by June 28th to be considered.

6/6/22 Weekly Meal Plan!

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgIt’s Monday Morning, and that means Meal Plan time! Can you tell I’ve had my coffee already?

I shopped over the weekend and did some meal prep as well. We should be set for the week!

School is over on Wednesday, and we’ve got two weeks off before summer school starts. I’ve got two lazy days planned for the end of this week, but after that, we are starting fun activities and we’ll be out and about!

Saturday is Bitty’s Birthday Party and we are having a fairy themed affair. Snacks, wands, and wings (fairy wings that is).

Our veggies and fruit are delivered by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $28, 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 $28. Seriously. It’s a deal. They email a preview of what will be in the boxes over the weekend, so I can start thinking about what I’d like to make.

With the increase in food costs, we are leaning more and more on our CSA box each week as the base of most of our meals.

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. On Friday night I ran to Sprouts and picked up the monthly freebies, and redeemed all of the Social Nature Coupons I had in my wallet. We’ve got all kinds of yummy snacks and treats!

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. I’m back to packing lunches again. However, school lunches are free this year- Little Bit has been buying her lunch and expanding her palate.  The big kid still brings lunch from home.

Dinner: We’re still working our way through our Dream Dinners order for the month, and I’ve got two meals ready for this week.

6/3/2022- National Donut Day!

Abby H.

Today is National Donut Day! Did you know there are two donut days?

Ok, so first let’s find out why there are two National Donut Days... Thanks Mental Floss.

Now that we’ve figured out that mystery, it’s onto the free donuts….

There aren’t a lot of free donut deals here in California, but there are some BOGO offers.

And more: National Donut Day Freebies & Deals RoundUp Today June 3rd!

Faith Chapel: Food Distribution Monday June 6th and More Upcoming Dates!

Abby H.

Late last year I posted about the Faith Chapel neighborhood food distributions. Here is an update on more upcoming dates, and date changes due to upcoming holidays.

There is a June 6, 2022 food distribution. Sign-up for the event can be found here.

The 7/4/2022 Distribution has been moved to 7/11/2022 due to the holiday. Later in the summer, the 9/5/2022 Distribution has been moved to 9/12/2022 due to the holiday.
As a reminder, these are drive-thru-style events, so you don’t have to leave your vehicles. The events start at 10:00am, but I suggest that you arrive about 20 minutes early to get in line.
The types of food vary each month, but it’s usually a selection of shelf-stable, frozen, and fresh foods. It is a great variety and plenty of food to help with your family’s food budget.

The Address:

Faith Chapel
9400 Campo Rd.
Spring Valley, CA 91977

 

June Sprouts Farmers Market Monthly Freebies!

Abby H.

Sprouts is hooking us up and helping us stay healthy! Every month on the Sprouts app in the Digital Coupon section, there are between 4-6 free items (they are marked “SAMPLING PROGRAM”).

Quantities are limited on the app, so if you are interested in any of these, I recommend that you add these coupons (by opening the Sprouts app, click on digital coupons, and click on each coupon in the lower corner where the little green circle is) to your app ASAP.

Not all Sprouts locations will have these freebies, so I suggest trying larger Sprouts locations in your area.

These are full-sized freebies- not small sample-sized products. they are located in the store with the other products of the same type.

Not all accounts will receive all the same products.