Hey- Do you like bagels? We do, more specifically, Big Kid does. If you cut him open, he’d be at least 55% bagel.
If you have a bagel connoisseur in your home, consider joining the Shmear Society from Einstein Bros. Bagels. When you join and make a purchase, you’ll score $5.00 off your next purchase. That’s a tasty breakfast!
We survived Thanksgiving break. Now it’s back to school, and back to work!
I did not go to the grocery store last week, other than to pick up milk. So last night I hit the store to stock up- The pantry was pretty bare. I ran out of flour- and for someone who bakes a lot.. well, I was pretty shocked.
This week we’re relying on a couple meal prepped items from the freezer, they come in so handy, especially on Mondays when we have so much going on. The big kid has a 2-day research study this week- he’s so excited!
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I 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 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 (well, the big kid is, but the rest of us aren’t), 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 1/2 and 1/2 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 in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked. We’ve got a bunch of stuff in the freezer, as I’ve been portioning out 2-3 adult-sized entree portions from several meals a week and freezing them for later meals.
Monday: Chicken Fajita bowls with rice, beans, grilled onions and peppers
Tuesday: Baked Ziti & Steamed veggies
Wednesday: Butter Chicken, jasmine rice, and green salad
Thursday: Soup (we have a couple kinds in the freezer), Grilled cheese sandwiches, and apple crisp
Friday: Breakfast for dinner: Corned Beef Hash, poached eggs, toast, and fruit
I had someone ask me how we always have enough of anything for leftovers. I always cook enough of the main dish for 6-8 servings, that way we have leftovers for lunches later in the week or leftover night. And really when you make stuff like soup, it’s hard to make a batch of soup that only feeds 4 people.
Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?
We love our local YMCA- They have great exercise classes, awesome free events for members and the community, open gym for the kids to run and play in the gymnastics area three times a week, an activity pool that is open in the spring and summer, and I could go on and on.
We go to the Y 4-6 times a week for exercise and so the kids can play and socialize- this is a HUGE help during school breaks because the kids club/child watch has great programs and play opportunities- and it’s included in the price of membership. And it’s so much more than the kid’s area at most chain gyms. The folks at child watch and kids club do crafts, lead games, read stories, and teach the kids how to play new games, and take them into the gym area to bounce on the huge trampoline!
Today Only, December 2nd- Cyber Monday, New members pay no joining fee if they join online using our special My Y Code CYBR19. Your friend will save up to $60! And if you are a member and your friend mentions your name at sign up, you’ll get a free month of membership! If you are going to sign up, mention my name, Abby Hewes. Any way we can save money helps our families bottom line!
For our family, YMCA is definitely frugal: for $75/month, I am able to go to the gym for 2 hours a day and the kids can go to play and have fun. Any of our other local gyms can’t touch that price, and they don’t have the other programs or benefits.
The YMCA offers scholarships and reduced monthly membership fees for military families, families that receive WIC, and many other programs- don’t forget to ask about them!
And if you are the parent of a special needs kid, let me tell you that our local Y has the most wonderful, caring staff that cares for all kids. My big kid is autistic and he loves going to Kids Club to hang out and play. He also loves the monthly Kids Night at the Y.
This is a great deal, even if you don’t plan to give it as a gift!
When you download the new Dave & Buster’s app (in the App Store or Google Play), you’ll score 50% off your first purchase. This offer ends 12/4/19.
If you need to buy a gift for someone on your list who loves video games, yummy bar food, and tasty drinks, this second deal is pretty good too! Buy a $50 Gift Card and get a $10 Free Game Play Card.
I love this deal because you can buy this as a gift, and keep the $10 card for yourself/your family and keep it for when you need a family night or a date night out, especially when you combine it with some of the deals/values below.
Here are a few everyday deals you can take advantage of:
**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.
Cross Country Cafe has an awesome deal for Black Friday! They’ve started their sale early, so you can get it now.
The bundle includes:
1 K1500 Keurig® coffee maker
4 boxes of K-Cup® coffee (96 pods total) including Holiday Blend, Cinnamon Sugar Cookie, and Peppermint Bark Mocha
1 wire K-Cup® storage rack (holds four boxes)
Sale ends Friday 12/6/19 at midnight EDT.
If that’s not your cup of tea (or coffee), Cross Country Cafe has all sorts of other deals on tea, coffee, K-cups, Nespresso pods, non-dairy creamers, and more! They have a great gift guide here.
One of my favorite gift ideas is the monthly subscription to the K-cup of your choice!
This week is Thanksgiving here in the US, so the kids are off school all week, and I’ve got tons of fun stuff planned! Zoo, making Turkey Cookies with the kids and my niece, playing at the park, and of course, daily visits to the YMCA. Meals will probably be light because we’re super stoked for all the yummy treats on Thursday. I’m taking this dish on Thursday!
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I 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 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 (well, the big kid is, but the rest of us aren’t), 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 1/2 and 1/2 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 in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked. Last week I did a lot of veggie prep and I’ve got a bunch of bags of veggies in the freezer for meals this week.
Monday: Breakfast for dinner: Smoothies and Dave’s Killer Bagels with Cream cheese.
Tuesday: Quesadillas, green salad, fruit
Wednesday: Chicken and Veggie soup
Thursday: THANKSGIVING FEAST WITH FAMILY
Friday: Some sort of Thanksgiving leftover based meal (perhaps a Moist Maker Sandwich- Friends fans know what I mean)
Saturday: Pizza time (also salad will be served)
Sunday: Leftovers, as per usual
I had someone ask me how we always have enough of anything for leftovers. I always cook enough of the main dish for 6-8 servings, that way we have leftovers for lunches later in the week or leftover night. And really when you make stuff like soup, it’s hard to make a batch of soup that only feeds 4 people.
Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?
To facilitate this review, the awesome folks at Dinnerly provided our family with 3 meals (4-6 servings each). I received no financial compensation to write this review- All opinions are my own.
I’ve reviewed dinner/meal kits before, and my complaint is always that they are so expensive, upwards of $10 per person, per meal. At that point, I better be going out to dinner, and I am not washing dishes! Secondly, the meals are usually not child-friendly, especially if you have a kid on the spectrum (like we do), who also happens to be a vegetarian.
Enter Dinnerly! At $4.49 per adult-sized serving, Dinnerly is so much less expensive than other meal kits. But how? digital recipe cards instead of paper, fewer ingredients per dish (which means less chopping and cleaning), simple packaging, and no fancy marketing campaigns.
The big kid and I looked at the website and he chose two meat-free recipes, and I chose one with meat.
Mediterranean Meatball Stew with Carrots & Couscous
Coconut Curry Ramen with Snow Peas & Jammy Eggs
Baked Squash & Kale Risotto with Parmesan
What I really like is that the recipe tells you what is in the kit for your recipe, and what you will need from your own kitchen (and trust me, it’s nothing special or fancy).
The directions are great for those who don’t have a lot of cooking experience. My 8-year-old was able to read the steps and follow them. He helped me cook the Risotto, and he measured, stirred, poured, and ripped up the kale into bite-sized pieces.
The 4-6 adult-sized servings are pretty generous, by the way. With every meal, there were closer to 7 servings. I always serve side dishes with the main dish. Most nights we had salad or some kind of veggie side dish. When we had ramen, I picked up a bag of pork potstickers from 99 Cents Only for the grown-ups, and also made a miso dressing coleslaw. If you want to stretch meals further, I suggest adding sides, or maybe sneaking in some extra veggies (I added 1 cup of peeled, diced crook-neck squash to the Mediterranean Meatball Stew).
Tamari Sauce for Ramen
Some of the recipes needed a little “kick”- especially the ramen- so we added ginger, red chili flakes, and a bay leaf to the broth. BUT, since everyone has different levels of spice tolerance, Dinnerly Kits are a great place to start if you want to explore different flavors and cultures without having the buy a bunch of new and/or different spices. For example, the ramen kit comes with two of these cute little packages of Tamari sauce. I did clean one of them out when I was done and now it’s in the kid’s toy kitchen.
Everything is pre-measured and ready to go, even the spices. This is another reason I love Dinnerly- It cuts down on food waste.
The veggies are all super fresh and ready to be cut up! The risotto came with two little cubes of parmesan cheese, that my 8-year-old grated and sprinkled like a pro!
I made the Mediterranean Meatball Stew with Carrots & Couscous and took it to a friend for a night in. It was cheaper, healthier, and tastier than stopping to grab takeout. It was so tasty and filling.
If you want to check out Dinnerly, they have been nice enough to create a promo code just for my readers! The code to use at check out is hewesfamily15, and it’s active through the first week of December and only valid for first-time users. The coupon code is worth 15% off! To get started, visit Dinnerly here.
I think Dinnerly would also make a great gift for a family that just has a baby, or someone who might need a little love.
Butternut Squash & Kale RisottoCoconut Curry RamenMeatball Stew and Cous Cous
I didn’t make the chocolate peanut butter cupcakes I had hoped to make last week, but I am eyeing them for this week’s baking, in addition to chocolate chip cookies (always the kiddos favorite).
This week is starting off with a trip to the YMCA for yoga and some time at child watch. There is a lot going on over the next few weeks around here, so I’m trying to get us into a new routine with meal planning and getting more exercise for all of us.
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I 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 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 (well, the big kid is, but the rest of us aren’t), 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 1/2 and 1/2 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 in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked. Last week I did a lot of veggie prep and I’ve got a bunch of bags of veggies in the freezer for meals this week.
Monday: breakfast for dinner: Everything bagels with various toppings (options will include scrambled eggs with cheese, avocado slices, bacon crumbles, sliced sharp cheddar, cream cheese), and smoothies.
Tuesday: Leftover Kale and Butternut Squash Risotto from Dinnerly (It made a HUGE amount). This time I’ll be adding bacon crumbles and serving it with fresh rolls.
Wednesday: Chicken fajitas with onions and peppers, rice, and refried beans (quesadillas as the main dish for my vegetarian kiddo)
Thursday: Veggie Soup with grilled cheese sandwiches
Friday: Date Night (Dinner out- Woo)
Saturday: Pizza time (also salad will be served)
Sunday: Leftovers, as per usual
I had someone ask me how we always have enough of anything for leftovers. I always cook enough of the main dish for 6-8 servings, that way we have leftovers for lunches later in the week or leftover night. And really when you make stuff like soup, it’s hard to make a batch of soup that only feeds 4 people.
Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?
Tomorrow, November 14, 2019 is $1.00 Hot Dog Day! 6-inch Chili Cheese Coneys or All-American Dogs all day! Pair them with your favorite Drink or Slush for half price when you order in the app.***
This is a perfect dinner out with the kiddos! For less than $10 you can have hot dogs and Chery Limeades!
**$1 Dogs: Each Hot Dog is $1. Tax not included. Add-Ons cost extra. Limit 5 per customer. Valid only for 6″ Chili Cheese Coney and All-American Dog. Offer vaild only on November 14, 2019, at participating drive-in locations while supplies last. Not good in conjunction with Combos, delivery or any other offers. Hot Dogs are approximately 6″ pre-cooked.
***Happy Hour Any Time: Get ½ Price Drinks and Slushes Every Time You Order 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. Mobile ordering available only at select locations. Offer good for a limited time only at participating SONIC® Drive-Ins.
I haven’t gone to the grocery store for this week, and I’m holding off, as we’ve got all kinds of stuff in the kitchen. I’ll be making some chocolate peanut cupcakes this afternoon, and pumpkin donuts later this week. And we’ve got two meals from Dinnerly to cook this week!
No school today, so I’m a little late in posting this. We slept in until 8:15. Ahhhh.
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I 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 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 (well, the big kid is, but the rest of us aren’t), 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 in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked. I did a little meal prep over the weekend, chopped and bagged veggies soups and chili, and made cookies for the kids.
Monday: Birthday dinner for my dad with the fam
Tuesday: Kale and Butternut Squash Risotto (From Dinnerly)
Wednesday: Grilled Cheese sandwiches and Soup
Thursday: Coconut Curry Ramen with Jammy Eggs (Also from Dinnerly)
This is a great deal, even if you don’t plan to give it as a gift!
I love this deal because you can buy this as a gift, and keep the $10 card for yourself/your family and keep it for when you need a family night or a date night out, especially when you combine it with some of the deals/values below.
What I really like is that the recipe tells you what is in the kit for your recipe, and what you will need from your own kitchen (and trust me, it’s nothing special or fancy).
The veggies are all super fresh and ready to be cut up! The risotto came with two little cubes of parmesan cheese, that my 8-year-old grated and sprinkled like a pro!
Hewes Family Fun 