If you live in the San Diego, CA area and like to eat and earn money, this is an awesome way to earn a little extra scratch.
I’ve been doing it for 10+ years, as have several of my friends and family members.
And I know they are recruiting because a friend got a sticker on his Jumbo Jack last week with a link to a taste tester sign up.
Visit the website here and sign up. Please don’t comment or email me to sign up- I don’t work for Jack in the Box, I am just passing on a great opportunity.
The big kid LOVES banana bread, so I am always looking out for new recipes, especially those that are higher in protein or lower in added sugar.
Recently we found ourselves with an overabundance of oatmeal, so I looked online for recipes to use it up and I discovered Oat Flour. You basically grind up oatmeal in your blender or food processor. Because it doesn’t contain any natural gluten, you have to use another flour with it otherwise your bread just… falls apart. It also doesn’t rise, so you will need to add leavening (baking soda in this recipe).
I also had received 30 bananas the next day, so I knew the time had come… TO MAKE BANANA BREAD!!
After looking through several recipes, I cobbled together a recipe that incorporated what I had on hand, and had all of the appropriate chemicals via ingredients to form quick bread. If you are interested in learning about baking and cooking ratios to form new recipes, check out Ratio by Michael Ruhlman– It’s great!
Banana Bread
Ingredients:
Directions:
Options:
We were busy with doctor’s appointments, so we didn’t get the awesome stash of freebies and deals up yesterday, so here ya go!!
Free Events
Free Samples
Free Magazines
Online Deals
For those of you who have read my blog for a while, you know that food insecurity is a cause near and dear to my heart.
In San Diego County, one in seven families experience food insecurity. Food insecurity means you’re not sure where your next healthy, nutritious meal is coming from. It means you probably don’t have extra cans in your cupboard, or that you need to be more than just a little creative when it comes to cooking that a few days before payday.
Food insecurity is an issue that I feel very strongly about. No one should be hungry, and no one should have to eat mass-produced, poorly made, food devoid of nutritional just to fill their belly. Quality, nutritious food should be available to anyone and everyone at an affordable price.
That is one reason I am so excited to share with you today about an awesome organization in Linda Vista called Porchlight Community Services.
Porchlight Community Services is different from a lot of other food organizations in that they are a food rescue organization. They work with produce distributors, grocery stores, and bakery to rescue food that is otherwise destined for the dumpster.
Next time you’re at the grocery store take a look at all the fruit, all the produce, all the baked goods. The likelihood of all of those items will sell before their pull date is slim.
So when items are pulled off the shelf prior to their expiration date, they are frequently thrown in the trash. That trash heads to the landfill. Grocery store, bakeries, food distributors do not compost their unwanted food. Food rescue agencies like Porchlight Community Services pick up the food (that is still good, by the way, pull dates are usually arbitrary, and only affect the appearance of the food, not it’s quality or viability). They then take the food back to their offices where it is gone over to make sure that it is still quality, and edible. And it is been distributed to families who support Porchlight Community Services mission.
Produce that can not be distributed (it’s leftover at the end of the event), is often donated to neighbors with animals, or local animal organizations. Once again, eliminating food waste and helping others,
Some of the companies that donate to Porchlight Community Services include Ralphs, Boudin Bakery, Wal-Mart, Starry Lane Bakery, and California Produce.
Porchlight Community Services is not your average food bank or pull date co-op. There is no minimum or maximum amount of money your family needs to make to participate. Some people who shop at Porchlight do so because they believe in the mission of keeping food out of landfills (like my family- it hurts my heart to see perfectly good food go to waste). Some people go to Porchlight Community Services because they are in need of wholesome nutritious groceries that fit a specialized diet (like Gluten-free or Dairy-free) but can’t afford to shell out money every week or two for the costly groceries at a mainstream grocery store. Some people are in a tight spot and need to stretch what little money they have until payday.
Distributions are usually held weekly. You can find out about upcoming events here on their website, or follow them on Facebook.
All funds that are raised go towards paying rent and utilities- to keep the Mission of feeding others going.
If you are interested in helping Porchlight Community Services, they are always looking for volunteers to help unload food as it comes in on distribution days, organize and stock shelves, refrigerators, and freezers.
They also need help volunteering with event prep- setting up tables and bins.
This might be a good opportunity for girl scout troops or other civic organizations! Contact Porchlight Community Services here to find out about more volunteer opportunities.
It’s Friday- Time for Freebies and Deals! This week is pretty small, but everyone is a good one!
Deals:
Lodge Cast Iron Scrub Brush ONLY $4.56 on Amazon
Harry Potter Complete 8-Film Collection $39.99 (Reg. $100)
FREE Harrys Razor, Shaving Cream and Cover (just $3 to ship)
Eyeshadow Brush Set ONLY $5.50 (Reg. $13)SoBe LifeWater ONLY$ 0.90 Each on Amazon
Melissa & Doug Fill & Roll Grocery Basket ONLY $10.99 (Reg. $25)
Freebies:
Free Books, Journals, Stickers & More (I’ve done this one before- I scored a journal)
2 Free Chicken Tacos & Shake at Del Taco
Sprint Customers – Free $2 Amazon Gift Card
Free Pack of Baseball Cards on August 10th
National Bowling Day – 2 Free Game of Bowling on Aug. 10th
Free Sample Box Tuesday from PINCHme is Coming SOON
Free Fruitlove Spoonable Smoothie at Albertsons
Free Quest Protein Bar for Kroger & Affiliates
Fly for Free if Your Last Name is Green or Greene
Free Subscription to Fast Company
PayPal Users – $5 Off at Subway (I’m trying this today!)
I missed my usual Freebie Post on Friday, so let’s see what’s going on in the world of freebies this Tuesday afternoon.
Free Backpacks with School Supplies at Boost Mobile
Free Lancome Monsieur Big Mascara & Foundation Samples at Ulta
Free Box of Palm Oil Free Products
Free Back to School Event at Walmart – No locations in CA
Free Glade PlugIns Scented Oil Warmer at Sam’s Club
Verizon Up Rewards Members – Free $3-$5 Amazon Gift Card
Free Sample of Qunol Turmeric Instant Drink Mix
Free Sample of Garnier Fructis Sleek Shot In-Shower Styler
Lowe’s Build & Grow Clinic – Free Build-a-Saurus
Free Scarecrow Planter at Home Depot
Free Duracell & Energizer Batteries at Office Depot & Office Max
Here is your monthly reminder! A new month means new printable and electronic coupons!
Check out the following sites:
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 new coupons:
Y’all know how much I love freebies, I post them at least once a week. There are a lot of sites out there that promise to deliver freebies, but fall short.
Here are my top five favorite freebie sites:
Once you’ve had a chance to try your samples, complete a short feedback survey to tell Pinchme what you think of the samples. New samples are available once a month!
2. MySavings– MySavings updates their freebies and deals daily! I love the variety of samples they post. And if the offer is no longer valid, you just click the Expired button and notify them.
3. Social Nature- If you are into Organic/Natural/Healthy products, then Social Nature is 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.
4. Smiley360 is a Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing website. Sign up for campaigns and you will receive samples to use, and coupons to share with friends. Report your sharing and earn points! I’ve received Laundry detergent (full-sized bottles), vitamins, supplements, tampons, and razors all in the last year.
5. Home Tester Club is pretty cool. They are one of my new favorites. You sign up to review items and they send you something. A lot of the time they don’t notify you prior to shipping, you’ll get a package in the mail and a few days later, you’ll get an email notifying you that you were selected and a link to the survey to complete once you have sampled the product. I’ve gotten a Changing Pad Cover, Flushable Wipes, Makeup Remover, and a moisturizer.
BONUS- Looking for some freebies to celebrate your birthday? Check out my list here.
Summer School is over, so we are enjoying our first “real” week of summer break! Besides our usual weekly appointments, we’ll be checking out the zoo, and the local library has some fun events coming up that we’re checking out!
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. The kids will be enjoying free lunches all over the county with free activities and playtime before or after 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.
I also plan on doing some batch cooking this week to get some crockpot meals in the freezer.
Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?
Today is National Hot Dog Day! Let’s celebrate with a couple yummy deals!
If you’ve got a Weinerschnitzel nearby, stop on by for 5 chili dogs for just $5! (Original Chili Dog only, must order in multiples of 5. Cheese extra, today only)
Feeling more like a Sonic Drive-in Coney?
Open up your Sonic App, and use promo code YUM for $1 6-inch Chili Cheese or All-American Dogs all-day*. And don’t forget when you order via the Sonic App, it’s half-price happy hour** all the time!
*$1 Dogs: Includes 6″ Chili Cheese Coney and All-American Dogs. Tax not included. Add-Ons cost extra. Limit 5. Valid only July 17, 2019 at participating SONIC® Drive-Ins. Not valid with Combos or any other offers. Not valid with third party delivery services.
**Happy Hour Any Time: Get ½ Price Drinks and Slushes Every Time You Order Ahead in the SONIC® App. Includes Soft Drinks, Iced Teas, regular Lemonades and Limeades, Frozen Lemonades and Limeades, Ocean Water® and Famous, Real Fruit and Candy Slushes. Add-Ins cost extra. Excludes Mini size, Ice Cream Slushes, Combos, Wacky Pack® Kids Meals and other offers. Discount based on menu price. Order Ahead available only at select locations. Offer good for a limited time only at participating SONIC® Drive-Ins.
Hewes Family Fun 