food

2025 Summer Reading Programs!

Abby H.1 Comment

Summer break from school means summer reading programs from the local library systems, plus a few other places.

At the time of the publication of this post, the City of San Diego has not officially posted their information, however, I spoke to a librarian at a city library, and they said it would be almost identical to the program offered in years past.  For more information on prior years’ program and prizes, click here.

Here are a few of our favorite summer reading programs. Unless specifically stated, the programs start on June 1st.

Book It has a summer program where kids can read and earn free personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut! Book It is the FAVORITE reading program in my house. parents can enroll their kids for the summer! All logging of reading and prizes is now done on an app. Learn more here.

The County of San Diego Library summer reading program started June 1st. They have all sorts of prizes for kids and adults.

If you want your family to experience a multicultural world through reading, I  recommend PJ Library.  PJ Library sends free, award-winning books that celebrate Jewish values and culture to families with children from birth through 12 years old.

My kids love learning about faraway places and experiences different from their own. The PJ library books have opened their eyes to new holidays, customs, and ways of life.

Read Conmigo provides free books for kids by mail in Spanish and English to children ages preschool to fifth grade. They are only available to kids in CA, TX, and Florida. We used to receive the books, and they are ok, but my kids aren’t interested in learning Spanish. The books were super useful for me learning to read in Spanish (Beyond what Duolingo teaches).

Barnes and Noble has a summer reading program starting July 1st. More info here.

Dolly Parton has established the Imagination Library, it is available in select regions, and those who live in participating areas can receive one book for their kids every month via mail.

Many of you have told me about Nothing Bundt Cake’s reading program. Books & Bundts is their youth reading program for pre-K through elementary students that celebrates the joy of reading. It’s easy and free with delicious results. Contact your local bakery to see if they are participating and to learn more.

If your kids like Chuck E. Cheese, this offer is great!  When they read every day for two weeks, they can fill out and turn in this calendar for 10 free play points!

 

Freebies and Deals for Teacher Appreciation Week!

Abby H.

Teacher Appreciation Week starts on May 5th, 2025. It is always the first week in May.

This year, it seems there are a lot fewer straight-out freebies and more discounts and BOGOs. Most of them require downloading an app—keep this in mind and be prepared to do a little legwork. And have your staff badge with you to take advantage of these deals!

At the time this article is posted, many freebies and deals that were available in previous years have not yet been confirmed for 2025. Be aware that if you see other articles with information to double-check that they are confirmed for 2025. I spent a lot of time going down rabbit holes and ending up at dead ends.

My absolute favorite deal is one that you can combine with coupons, store deals, and rebates apps (like Ibotta, Fetch, etc.): Vons’s/Albertson’s is offering Teachers a discount of 10% off their groceries (exclusions apply), May 3-6. With the rise in grocery prices, this offer may be the most practical.

Join Sonic’s Teachers’ Circle via their app before May 5 to unlock a whole slew of freebies to use between May 5 and May 9. You’ll receive exclusive rewards like a BOGO Sonic Blasts, entrees, or cheeseburgers, free large drinks or slushies, and a free small side with an entrée purchase. This is a legit offer, and sometimes Sonic has other in app offer throughout the year for teachers too.

15% off at Michaels. This is another one that is valid all year. It’s perfect for all kinds of teachers. I love this because teachers need supplies all year, and Michaels has great deals. You can use this online and in-store. It takes a little bit to be verified, but it’s worth it!

Not a freebie for everyone, but if you like Chipotle, this one might be right up your alley.  Teachers who verify their employment status at teacherthanks.chipotle.com between April 30 and May 12 will be entered for a chance to receive a free entree e-card. Chipotle will choose 100,000 winners who will be notified the week of May 13.

Office Depot/Office Max: They offer Discounts and additional bonus offers when you sign up and verify your teaching status through their website.

Staples: Similar to Office Depot’s offer, Staples is offering 20% off in-store purchases with an app coupon and a teacher ID.

Apple: This is a great offer- Apple offers educators and support staff a discount on a new Mac or iPad through the Apple Education Store. To take advantage of this offer, verify your educator status to unlock the discounted pricing.

In past years, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Insomnia Cookies,  McDonald’s, and other restaurants have offered freebies or discounts for teachers with an ID. If you are looking for specific freebies, I recommend reaching out to brands or restaurants directly. For year-round discounts and offers, check out the NEA website. 

 

Meal Prep the easy way with What a Crcok!

Abby H.

Y’all know I love me some meal prep. And I know most of you are super busy, which is why I wanted to share What a Crock.

I learned about What a Crock a couple years ago when I was looking for a way to send some meals to a family member that lives across country after surgery.

I scrolled through meal kit websites, but I needed something easier. When you are recovering after surgery, you don’t want to chop veggies, brown meat, or stir a pot.

Enter What a Crock.

No Subscription needed. You can choose exactly what meals you want to receive with no commitment necessary.

Got a big family, or is it just two of you? You can buy as many servings of each meal as you need!

Don’t have a slow cooker? Many of the meals can be cooked in an Instant Pot, air fryer, on your stovetop, or simply boiled in a bag.

What I like most is the variety: Stews, soups, casseroles, even desserts and baked goods!

And I’ve got two coupons codes to help you save extra money on your What a Crock orders!

April 2025: 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 usually receive 4-6 offers/freebies per month, sometimes more if I have time to shop. And most of the time it’s full-size products, not just a tiny sample.

In addition to the offers where they mail you a coupon for a free product, Social Nature has started offering 100% cash-back, similar to Ibotta and Fetch Rewards. I love this because I can select exactly what I want, Social Nature tells me which local stores have it, and I can add it to my next shopping list.

And it’s just as easy as Ibotta and Fetch Rewards. Snap a pic and upload it. You can select Venmo, Paypal, or an Amazon Gift Card for your rebate.

Here are just a few of the offers available now:

    • Small Batch Pasta Sauces by Sauz
    • Double Cold Brew Latte by Pop & Bottle
    • Gluten-Free Whipped Feta by Athenos
    • Natural Cleaning Solution by Cleanery
    • Mental Performance Shots by Magic Mind
    • Gluten-Free Twin Bar by Schär
    • Gluten-Free Cookies by Schär
    • Korean Chile Sauce by Mother-In-Law’s
    • Italian Protein Pasta by BRAMI

Looking for a new fundraiser? Check out Little Caesars Pizza!

Abby H.

Did you know that Little Caesars Pizza does Fundraising? Really.

If your non-profit group is looking for a fun, easy, TASTY way to earn some money, Little Caesars is the way to go.

There are many different ways to earn money for your organization, including Pizza Kits, Cookie Dough, and Bread Kits. We’ve purchased from Little Caesars fundraising events, and the pizza kits are awesome!

March is frozen food month: What kind of food can you freeze?

Abby H.

It’s true: March is frozen food month. In previous years, there were deals and sales on frozen foods that you just couldn’t be beaten. But with the changing economic climate, a lot of these offers and deals have sort of dried up.

That brings us to what you can freeze. A lot of us are taking advantage of what little sales we can find, stocking up on pantry staples, and making sure that our pantries and freezers are full of food and ingredients. Freezing food is also a great way to keep leftovers that you may not want to eat within the next two or three days after making them.

I freeze a lot of stuff. When I make batches of soup, I tend to freeze 2 to 4 portions of it so that we can have a meal later, and all I have to do is defrost and heat.

When we have fruits and vegetables that are getting a little too ripe for us to eat, I will chop them and put them in Ziploc bags in the store in the freezer.

Here are other things that you can freeze with a little bit of prep work:

Shredded or grated cheese. Blocks of cheese tend to crumble when defrosted.

Milk: Unopened gallons of milk, can be stored. I recommend you open and pour off/drink about a quarter of a cup before you put the lid on tightly and put back into the freezer. This step is not needed with paper curtains. 

Bread/muffins/tortillas: Make sure you put it in a freezer-safe Ziploc container/bag to keep it from getting freezer-burnt. 

Most fruits and vegetables can be frozen. I recommend cutting everything up into bite-size pieces and storing them in zip-top/Ziploc bags. I do this with vegetables that I can put into soups and stews or casseroles and fruits that could be incorporated into smoothies later. Making sure everything is cut up into bite-size pieces means that it will cook more uniformly, and smaller pieces of fruit blend a little easier. Spinach and some heartier leafy greens like kale can also be frozen!

Soups: As previously stated I freeze portions of each batch of soup I make so that we can have a quick easy meal later on down the road. Just make sure that it is cooled it to room temperature before you put it into the freezer. 

Casseroles: Did you accidentally make too many potatoes? It’s OK, just store them in a airtight freezer safe container, and you could have leftovers down the road. When you reheat it just defrosted it in the refrigerator and then heat like you normally would. 

Pizza: You can freeze leftover pizza. Not that that happens very often to my house, but I have been known to put pieces of pizza between parchment paper in a Ziploc bag and toss it in the freezer. 

Pizza dough: Speaking of pizza, you can also freeze pizza dough or bread dough. I tend to make a triple batch of pizza dough, and once it has had its first rise, I punch it down, knead it, and separate it into greased Ziploc bags. You can either butter the inside of the bag, or you can spray it with spray release.

Once you’re ready to make pizza, just take the pizza dough out of the freezer, leave it in the bag on the counter, and depending on the ambient temperature of your kitchen, in about 4 to 6 hours. The pizza dough will be at room temperature. You can give it one last knead before you roll it out and bake it.

Now that you know how to freeze all sorts of things, you too can keep your freezer well stocked and cut down on food waste.

Recipe: Marry Me Cannellini Beans

Abby H.

Maybe you’ve seen videos or recipes online for marry me chicken. It’s a creamy Tuscan style dish that can be served with noodles or by itself.

Here is my version, but instead of using chicken, I substituted Cannellini beans. Why? Because I had cannellini beans, and I didn’t have any chicken.

If you want to use chicken, substitute about a pound of either boneless skinless trimmed thighs or boneless skinless trimmed chicken breasts for the beans.

Ingredients 

  •  2 tablespoons salted butter
  • 2 tablespoons your favorite cooking oil (I used the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes)
  • One small, yellow onion, diced
  • 2 15.5 ounce cans of Cannellini beans, drained, and rinsed
  • Three cloves of crushed garlic/3 tablespoons of Jarlic
  • 2/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes 
  • 2 cups of chicken broth 
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 
  • 4 cups fresh spinach
  • One cup evaporated milk, or half-and-half (choice) 
  • 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (use the freshly grated variety, not the powdered variety)

Directions

  1. In a large skillet, melt butter and mix oil in with butter.
  2. Sauté onions over medium heat until translucent, about five minutes.
  3. Add in garlic and stir frequently until garlic is fragrant.
  4. Add in rinsed and drained beans, sun-dried, tomatoes, broth, Italian seasoning. Cook on medium, stirring frequently until mixture comes to a boil.
  5. Using the back of a spoon or a potato masher gently mash up about half of the beans. This will add thickness to the sauce or without adding any additional ingredients. 
  6. Once a thickened mixture simmer for about 15 minutes, add in milk/half-and-half, spinach,  and about a half a cup of the grated cheese. 
  7. Stir and turn stove down to low. Simmer on low for 5 to 10 minutes until mixture has thickened. 
  8. Serve with noodles of your choice, or serve mixture in a bowl with toasted/crusty Italian bread. Top each bowl with some of the remaining cheese.
  9. I prefer to serve this in a bowl and eat it with a toasted/crusty bread. 

Substitutions:

  • To make this recipe vegetarian, substitute chicken broth for vegetable broth/stock. 
  • To make this recipe vegan, substitute as above, and additionally substitute milk/half-and-half with your favorite dairy free variety, as well as your favorite dairy free variety of “Parmesan” type cheese. 

Fetch Rewards: Earn up to 10,000 Points!

Abby H.

This is a BIG DEAL. If you use Fetch Rewards, you could earn up to a 10,000-point bonus! Check your email for this offer!

Refer 5 friends by 3/19/25 for 10,000 extra points—on top of the 2,000 points for each friend who snaps a receipt.

Signing up is quick and easy if you aren’t already using Fetch Rewards! You learn more when you check out my post here. Find the Fetch Rewards app in your app store, and when you download it and scan any receipt, use my code ND2TB when you sign up, and you’ll score 2,000 bonus points. I scan all of my receipts (grocery, mass merchandiser, gas receipts, restaurants, you name it) and take advantage of extra point offers- the points really rack up!

 

FINE PRINT: In order for you to qualify for the 10K referral bonus, you must refer at least 5 friends and have them complete a valid receipt now through 11:59 PM CDT on 3/19/2025. Max of 50K bonus points. Bonus points will be awarded on or before 3/21/2025.

Fetch Rewards: 4000 Points for Every Referral through 3/12/2025!

Abby H.

Woo Hoo! Fetch Rewards is hooking us up with points out the wazoo! Earn an extra 4,000 points when you invite a friend to Fetch and they snap a receipt. Head to the app and share your referral code now through 3/12/2025!

Signing up is quick and easy if you aren’t already using Fetch Rewards! You learn more when you check out my post here. Find the Fetch Rewards app in your app store, and when you download it and scan any receipt, use my code ND2TB when you sign up, and you’ll score 2,000 bonus points. I scan all of my receipts (grocery, mass merchandiser, gas receipts, restaurants, you name it) and take advantage of extra point offers- the points really rack up!

For you to qualify for the increased referral bonus, your friends must enter your referral code and complete a valid receipt now through 11:59 PM CDT on 3/12/2025. After 11:59 PM CDT on 3/12/2025, the referral bonus will expire.

2025 Birthday Freebies

Abby H.2 Comments

My birthday was last month, and I did score some pretty good freebies. Not as many as years past, but I’ve been really busy with work and kids.

If you are on the hunt for birthday freebies, one suggestion is to search “Birthday Freebies” + your state. One of my favorite places to look is MySavings. Their Freebies on Your Birthday list is pretty long. There are a lot of great options for those of you outside of California.

For those in CA, OR, FL, NY, SC, AZ, WA, and NV,  check out eBirthdayClub. There are TONS of great freebies on this site.

Non-food Birthday Goodies:

  • Members of the Cost Plus World Market Explorers program get a surprise birthday gift, among other perks; you will also get a 10% off coupon upon enrollment.
  • Torrid– Members of the DivaStyle Club will receive $10 off their next purchase of $10+
  • Dave & Buster’s: $10 in free gameplay for those in the D&B Rewards Club.
  • Free goodies at Sephora (It changes every year)
  • DSW Shoe Warehouse – $5 off birthday coupon
  • Hot Topic-  Hot Topic Rewards members receive a $5 coupon for your birthday every year.

Free Food Birthday Goodies:

  • Red Robin:  FREE burger on your birthday and all the latest Red Robin news.
  • Starbucks – Download their app and get a free birthday handcrafted beverage of your choice on your birthday only.
  • Denny’s: Free Grand Slam for your Birthday. They also email out other freebies and coupons.
  • Dunkin Donuts Birthday Club will kick down with a free coffee.
  • Bj’s Brewhouse– Rewards members receive a free Pizookie for their birthday.
  • Jersey Mike’s: Free Sub for your Birthday! (No matter what you read online, there is no Subway or Submarina birthday Freebies- Those deals are DEAD)
  • Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt: When you sign up for a Smile-age Account, you’ll score a free Fro Yo for your B-day!  (I love Menchie’s!)
  • Nothing Bundt Cakes: Join their email list and receive a FREE Bundlet on your Birthday. (look for the link at the bottom of their website)
  • Sbarro Rewards Club: Free piece of pizza for your birthday when you purchase a drink. You’ll also get a coupon for a free slice when you sign up.
  • Bruegger’s Bagels gives you three free bagels for your birthday. SCORE! Our family eats tons of bagels, so this is a sweet deal.
  • Mary’s Donuts– East County peeps know what I’m talking about! Free drink and TWO Donuts! 
  • Habit Burger Grill’s CharClub Score a free Charburger on your birthday.
  • Panera– Sign up for MyPanera and get a free pastry or sweet on your birthday.
  • Buffalo Wild Wings- Sign up for Blazin’ Rewards to get six free birthday wings during your birth month
  • Cinnabon- Download their app and sign up for Cinnabon Rewards to get a free iced coffee on your birthday and a free order of BonBites for signing up.
  • Edible Arrangements- Join Edible Rewards to receive a birthday reward (it varies).

And as always-

There are tons of other birthday freebie lists, but they may include offers that are not available here or may include stuff that I don’t consider worth it (like a free Rice Krispy treat when you buy an entree that’s $10+, looking at you Noodles & Co.  That’s a hard pass from me, or the Aveda “freebie”- pay $10 and receive a product valued at $23+… No thanks.)

Another deal that everyone and their mama go nuts about is Benihana Japanese Restaurant – a complimentary meal up to $30 when you purchase an Adult meal at Regular Price (You must sign up for The Chef’s Table club). This used to be a FREE meal, no strings attached, but it has changed to basically a BOGO. That’s a no-go for me, but it may still get you excited.

I have not included Ulta in my list because you have to make a purchase the year previous (and it needs to be a certain amount- I’ve been told different amounts by various Ulta Employees, anywhere from $5-$50), so for me, that’s not a freebie. If I have to buy something to receive something, that’s a BOGO deal.

Remember to read the fine print for these offers. Most of them are for adults, ages 18+ (19 in some states). Some offers require the coupon/offer to be printed out, and for some, you can just show your phone.