lunch – Page 24 – Hewes Family Fun

3/27/17 Meal Plan Monday!

March 27, 2017March 26, 2017Abby H.

Bringing it back! To help get us back on track and use up what we’ve got in the pantry. I just did a pantry and freezer inventory, and I’ll need to do a quick trip to pick up some frozen veggies and fresh fruit tomorrow, but other than that (and a gallon of milk), we should be good for the week!

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos have started eating a small toasted bagel with cream cheese for breakfast along with fruit. Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes with frozen bananas and PB2.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

D:Crockpot pulled BBQ chicken, steamed veggies, garlic bread

Tuesday:

D: Bean, Rice, and cheese bowls (they also have caramelized onions and peppers)

Weds:

D: Fritatta (with veggies, bacon, and cheese) and fruit salad

Thursday:

D: Veggie Enchiladas (it’s a complete meal, no sides needed!)

Friday:

D: Date Night! (we go out)

Saturday:

D: Crockpot Chili (I’ve got a batch in the freezer- I’ll de-frost and toss it into the crockpot!), fruit salad

Sunday:

D:Chicken and Veggie teriyaki stir fry, rice

The menu may change, as I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first. I need to replenish our snack bag that lives in the car, and make sure to take our water bottles when we leave the house!

Boudin is Celebrating National Clam Chowder Day (BOGO Offer)!

February 24, 2017February 24, 2017Abby H.

screen-shot-2017-02-24-at-7-57-39-pm I love a good ol’ bread bowl of soup! Tomorrow (2/25), stop by your local Boudin’s for a Clam Chowder in a Bread Bowl and you’ll get one FREE.

In addition, you’ll get another coupon! Boudin will be issuing another offer to guests who purchase the Clam Chowder deal. These guests will get a coupon printed on their receipt good for a Buy One, Get One Free of any entrée (of equal or lesser value) on the menu good for use between February 26^thand March 12^th.

SCORE! That’s four meals for the price of ONE! That’s what I call a GREAT DEAL!

To find your local Boudin’s location, click here.

Big Holiday Meals on a Budget!

November 2, 2016November 2, 2016Abby H.

imgp8302 Now that we’ve gotten through with Halloween, we can start focusing on Thanksgiving and Christmas. That means two big family dinners, and most likely, countless other get togethers, potlucks, and shared meals.

Here are a few tips on how to prepare some healthy meals and stay on budget!

Ask for help! Everyone has a dish that they excel at making. Ask friends and family to bring their best dish. It will make everyone feel included and cut down on your budget. Each Thanksgiving, my parents make a turkey, rolls, stuffing and potatoes (I make the gravy as soon as my mom pulls the the turkey out of the roasting pan to rest!). Our guests bring all sorts of other awesome dishes. We all end up stuffing ourselves and taking home tons of leftovers. But the best part is trying all of the great, different dishes! Just make sure that everyone tells you what they are bringing.. You may just end up with 10 green bean casseroles!

Make a Budget and stick to it Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses! If you can’t afford everything that you think you need, just do with what you can afford. Trust me, you don’t NEED 5 different types of dessert!

Shop at discount stores. You all know my love of 99 Cents Only and Grocery Outlet by now, so I shouldn’t have to remind you, but don’t forget to shop at discount stores too! You’ll find all kinds of deals! I love starting my weekly shopping trip at 99 Cents Only. While they don’t accept coupons, I frequently find great deals on produce from name brands like Dole, Del Monte, Foxy, Driscolls, and Earthbound Organics! Check your local stores websites to see what’s on sale before you leave home.

Stretch your budget with low cost items. Potatoes are usually very inexpensive, so stretch your menu with a tasty, filling potato dish. Despite their bad reputation as being full of carbs, potatoes are also high in vitamin c, potassium, vitamin B6, and manganese. Roasted spuds tossed in olive oil and fresh herbs- YUM! Other inexpensive foods this time of year are apples. Apple crisp is one of my favorite dishes. I’ll be posting the recipe later this week!

Don’t forget your coupons! Starting in the next week or so, printable coupon sites (like the ones listed here) and coupon inserts will be peppered with coupons for holiday feast foods. Canned soups, french fried onions, stuffing, pantry staples. And don’t forget rebate/couponing apps (like these) too! You will be saving money left, right, and center!

Prepare food that is in season. For the fall, that means root veggies, gourds (yeah, that includes pumpkins!), apples, dark leafy greens (think kale, etc.), and for those in warmer climates oranges and pomegranates! Buy meat that is on sale (typically turkey, ham, and prime rib). Tons of baking supplies and pantry staples go on sale in the fall and winter too. Stock up when prices are low- most pantry staples have a long shelf life. It will help you stretch your budget through the spring.

Bake/cook from scratch! Not only is home made food more cost effective and healthier than pre-packaged foods. Bonus- home made baked goods like bread and cookies always taste better, right? Here is my go to beer bread recipe and my families favorite cookie recipe

My favorite: Use what you have on hand! Before you hit up the stores, write out your menu for these special occasions. Make a list of ingredients needed for the recipes and check your pantry. You’d be surprised what you may already have.

I’d love to hear your tips for saving money on food this holiday season!

School is Back in Session- Time to Start Saving!

August 31, 2016Abby H.

Bus2 I don’t know about you, but when I’ve got both kids home all the time, it’s a lot harder to keep on my frugal goals.

I’m all about taking advantage of local free and cheap fun (like events at our local library or community center, local parks and splash pads), but for some reason summer vacation always distracts me from frugality. Maybe is the 100+ degree temps we’ve been having most of the summer.

Well, we are into our second week of school and I’ve re-committed to my frugal lifestyle for my family. Here are just a few things I’ve done over the past two weeks:

Meal Plan using what’s on hand in out cupboard before heading the the store. I’ve also planned out school lunches too!
Committed to taking drinks with us when we leave the house. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but when it’s over 100 degrees in the shade, we go through a lot of water on our daily adventures. Check out the cool growler I got on Amazon. It’s supposed to be for beer, but I fill it with ice cubes and water each day and it comes with me in the car- it’s an easy way to get your 8 glasses in! I also take iced coffee with me in the morning to school drop off.
Set a schedule for Bitty Bird and I. Again, a schedule doesn’t sound like a way to save money, but now I know what we are doing each day after Big Boy is at school. I have time each day while she is napping to write, research, and do Amazon Reviews.
Plan out shopping trips a little better. Now that I don’t have two extra sets of hands helping me shop (especially a 5 year old who is constantly near death starvation when in proximity to a grocery store), I can look at ads, check my smartphone apps for rebates and deals. I also have more time to print coupons! This really saves me money (and time).

Now that school has started, I’d love to hear how you’ve recommitted to your goals (whatever they might be).

Bringing it Back: Meal Plan Monday!

April 18, 2016Abby H.

It’s back! After a long hiatus, I’m back to meal planning! If you are new to meal planning, check out my article on how to get started here.

This week I’m starting off by doing a quick fridge and pantry inventory, and making a batch of cookies.

Monday:

D:Baked Ziti, steamed veggies

Tuesday:

D: Indian food (Chicken Korma, steamed rice, steamed veggies)- I have a kit!

Weds:

D: breakfast for dinner (probably pancakes, eggs, and sausage) and fruit salad

Thursday:

D: Salsa Chicken with brown rice

Friday:

D: Bean and veggie enchiladas, green salad

Saturday:

D:Veggie and cheese egg bake

Sunday:

D: Leftovers

Lil’ Man has started eating a small toasted bagel with cream cheese for breakfast along with yogurt and fruit. Mr. C has been eating Oatmeal (from a awesome recipe I found online and altered) every AM, and I usually have an HMR Protein Shake, or I’ll make myself a bagel too.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually a grilled cheese, yogurt, a granola bar, and fruit (cut up apple, orange, or banana). I have leftovers or a frozen entree, and Mr. C usually a salad or leftovers or an HMR protein shake (He did the program last year and really digs on the shakes), or he has a business lunch and opts for a salad and lean protein.

Now I’m off to make a big ol’ batch of cookies!!

Review: Freshly

April 11, 2016April 11, 2016Abby H.

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Have You heard of Freshly? It’s a gourmet fresh meal delivery subscription service. Every Freshly meal is free of gluten, wheat, refined sugars, peanuts, artificial colors & artificial flavors. And as a bonus, most of the meals are Paleo too!

Packed with veggies and lean proteins, these meals are low in calories too, especially when compared to other fresh meal delivery services. What I love about Freshly is their four company tenets:

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It’s nice that a company is concerned about what goes into it’s food! We tried six meals, and here are the two I was able to photograph before they seemingly evaporated (into our tummies, that is).

Grilled Chicken Breast Fajita after heating for just 2 minutes — Grilled Chicken Breast Fajita

Chicken Rustica with Roasted Cauliflower

The Grilled Chicken Breast Fajita was very moist and juicy- and the chicken breast was HUGE! The rice with the sauce was super tasty!

Hubs gobbled down most of the Chicken Rustica with Roasted Cauliflower– The sauce was so rich and creamy!

They have breakfast entrees too!

While I love to cook, I know that some people don’t. And for those people who crave healthy food and either can’t or don’t cook, Freshly is a great option! They are a bit pricey compared to frozen entrees in the grocery store, but honestly, the portions with Freshly are 2-3 times bigger that that frozen entree in your freezer! And they are delivered FRESH to your door! These entrees were perfect for the week when Hubs was working 14 hour days, between his day job and rehearsal for the play he is in.

To check out their current offering of entrees and any deals, visit their website at https://www.freshly.com. I don’t have a coupon code to share with you, like I usually do with my reviews, but you may be able to find one with a quick google search.

Disclosure: I received six meals free from Freshly in order to facilitate this review. I received No financial compensation, and all opinions are my own.

Packing an awesome school lunch on a budget!

November 27, 2015Abby H.1 Comment

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Most kids are on Fall break right now and school starts back up on Monday, but this post comes from my heart. I can’t tell you how many times I opened my lunch bag as a child, only to be disappointed by a limp, sweaty bologna sandwich, a warm juice box and a bag of chips. My mom is an awesome cook, but lunches as a kid were always uninspired. She packed us the same lunch that our friends had.

Kids now have a lot more choices when it comes to lunches. Cooler bags/soft sided insulated bags are now chic, and many schools have restrictions on what kids can bring to school (mostly due to common food allergies).

Here are some tips that can help you pack a yummy, nutritious, frugal lunch for your kids (or heck, even for you if you pack your lunch for work):

Plan ahead. Take an inventory of your pantry, fridge and freezer. Make a list of lunches you can make with what you’ve got on hand.
Eat what’s on sale! You’ll save more if you eat what’s in season.
Involve the eater of the lunch: if you involve the kids, they’ll be more apt to eat what’s packed.
Keep Lunch fun! Use cookie cutters (like this one– I love it for sliced cheese) to make sandwiches, fruit, and cheese into fun shapes.
Set aside time for prep: When you get home from the store, set aside some time to chop veggies, fruit, and cheese and place single servings in baggies. Store the baggies in a drawer in the fridge. Resist the urge to snack on them!
Resist the urge to buy individual packages of snacks. They are usually not the best value for your dollar. Set aside some time after your shopping trip to portion out cookies, crackers, snacks and even yogurt.
Along the same lines: Resist the urge to buy pre-made sandwiches, like UnCrustables. Many schools don’t allow Peanut Butter (or other nut butters) in school lunches. If your kids love those sandwiches, make your own. All you need in an empanada press (like this one) or a Wonder Bread Sandwich Sealer and D-Cruster a loaf of bread, your fav. peanut or other nut/seed butter, and some jam or jelly. Make about 12 sandwiches for less than $10. The average price for a box of 4 UnCrustables is around $3.50! You can use whatever type of sliced bread you like too!
Sandwiches need not be an everyday food! Make wraps with tortillas, sliced cheese, deli meats, and flavored cream cheese. Send sliced cheese, sandwich meat, and crackers (think a homemade Lunchable!) in a plastic box in separate muffin papers. Cold Pizza, salads that include a protein, soup in a thermos, heck, even cereal in a plastic container and a thermos of cold milk.
Re-use your empty Mio containers to send condiments or salad dressing to keep sandwiches and salads from getting icky and soggy. Simply remove the wrapper from the empty bottle, pop the top off and clean out the bottle and lid. Once they are dry, fill 1/2 to 3/4 full and write on the front of the bottle with a sharpie.
Don’t just stick to Major Grocery Store chains! I love shopping for lunch yummies at Grocery Outlet. They have a wide variety of crackers, cookies, lunch meat, and a killer cheese section! Now that we have a Grocery Outlet and a 99 Cents Only in the same shopping center, I can get most of my school lunch shopping done in one trip!

Oh, and most importantly- Don’t forget the note. My mom always put a note in our lunch each day. It made my day, especially when I was having a hard morning!

Looking for more ideas on keeping school lunches fun? Here are a few books I found on Amazon:

Today is National Sandwich Day!

November 3, 2015November 3, 2015Abby H.1 Comment

Today is National Sandwich Day, so that means a few BOGO Offers! Before heading down to your location location, call ahead to make sure that your preferred location is participating!

Togo’s is offering a FREE 6″ Regular Sandwich with purchase of any 6″ regular or large sandwich, chips & 20 oz. fountain drink. This deal may be limited to those in the Togo Tribe (Their Loyalty club). I received this offer via email.

Have the McDonald’s App on your phone? Open it up to to find a BOGO Chef Crafted Sandwich coupon. There may be other coupons available to you too.

Subway is offering a free sandwich with the purchase of any sandwich and a 30 ounce drink. (Source Twitter)

If you know of any other free or BOGO Sandwich deals, please leave a comment!

Cutting down on food waste in 30 minutes!

May 4, 2015Abby H.

One of the ways that we save money is to cut down on food waste. For me that means once we are home from the store and all of the perishables are put away, I pull out the cutting board, a sharp knife, the spiralizer, some zip top bags, and reusable storage containers.

This was last weeks fresh fruit and veggies (plus 3 bags of baby carrots and a cantaloupe- not pictured).

I set to work, chopping, packaging, and spiralizing. In less than 30 minutes I had all of the fresh fruits and veggies prepped and measured into small bags to be dropped into lunches, or packed into plastic containers.

This of course is only for the fruits and veggies that require prep. The oranges, apples, and bananas require no prep to eat, so they just go into the fruit bowl.

Fruits and veggies all ready for a week of healthy lunches!

Cantaloupe chopped up and ready for my belly!! The bottom container has 3 spiralized Italian zucchini squash, ready to be made into “pasta” salad.

By spending a little time each week getting veggies and fruit ready to eat, you’ll cut down on food waste, because the food is all ready to eat. No scrambling to cut up cucumbers for lunch early in the morning, no putting off eating something because you are short on time in the evening.

You will also be saving money over purchasing pre-chopped and pre-packed vegetables and fruit. All of this produce was purchased at 99 Cents only for less than $12.00. So you can eat well (and healthy) on a budget!!

And if it turns out atthe end of the week that you aren’t able to eat all of your veggies and fruit and they can be frozen (pretty much anything except melons), toss the bags in the freezer and you now have veggies for a casserole, or fruit for a smoothie!

The average American family of four throws away $25.00 in food a WEEK! Here are a few more tips to help your family curtail food waste!

Eat your leftovers: this seems like a no brainer. When you divvy out your portions for dinner, make yourself your lunch for the next day. If you won’t eat it right away, pop it into the freezer- label it, so you don’t forget what it is.

When it looks like your fruit is about to go south, freeze it. This includes bananas! You can use defrosted bananas in banana bread or frozen bananas are great in smoothies. Other frozen fruit can also be used in smoothies.
Citrus fruits can be juiced and frozen or the juice can be consumed for breakfast or put in smoothies. Apples can be peeled cooked into applesauce or made into apple butter.

When I buy fresh tomatoes and they get just a little too ripe- I freeze them whole, then I bake them with chicken breasts and herbs and top with fresh parm- Yummy!

Buy less. I know it seems like a strange concept, especially with all of the really great deals you will be finding, but, the one proven way to waste less is to bring less home to waste.

It’s Yum Time- Easy Frittata!

February 26, 2015Abby H.2 Comments

Whomever coined the term “morning sickness” either had never been pregnant or couldn’t tell time. I’ve been really nauseous lately all the time, so I’ve been cooking a lot of dinners that I haven’t been eating. Most of my evening meals have comprised of cold cereal and a splash of whole milk.

However, I made an awesome, easy Frittata last night that smelled so good, I actually ate about a quarter of it.

I love making Frittatas. They are super easy to make, and you can use basically anything in your kitchen. Veggies, cheese, and protein of any type. Frittatas are gluten free, and can be made vegetarian (but not vegan, since they do have eggs as a major ingredient).

Here is the recipe that I cobbled together. I didn’t write anything down, I just rummaged through the fridge and pulled out stuff that looked good together. I chose the yellow potatoes because when they cook, they have a rich, creamy texture without adding tons of empty calories (Potatoes are high in potassium, which his mama needs to keep the charlie horses at bay).

Easy Frittata (serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

6 eggs
3/4 cup Milk (use whatever kind you normally use- soy, cow’s milk, whatever)
1/2 lb turkey sausage (or your fav. breakfast sausage)
2 T. butter, divided
8-10 small yellow potatoes, chopped into small pieces (you can leave the skin on)
1 16oz bag of peppers and onions
1T minced garlic
1 ripe tomato, roughly chopped
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (If you are watching calories, opt for a low cal. cheese)
salt, pepper to taste
Olde Westport’s Gold Coast Garlic Shake or your favorite garlic powder to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a large oven proof skillet, cook sausage per package directions. Once sausage is cooke, remove from the pan, chop into bite size pieces and set aside (You can also use pre-cooked sausage- just heat it up and cut into bite sized pieces).
Deglaze the pan with a scant 1/4 c. water. scrape the yummy brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add the potatoes and 1 T butter. Cook the potatoes on medium/low until the potatoes are “al dente”.
Add the remaining butter, garlic, and the onions/peppers. Continue to cook on medium heat until the veggies are soft, about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat, add the sausage back into the pan.
Pour the reserved egg mixture over the veggies, and sprinkle with a touch of garlic powder (if desired).
Top with the chopped tomatoes and cheese
Place the entire oven proof skillet in the oven, bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the eggs are set.
Serve right away with a small green salad or with fruit. I love frittata topped with fresh salsa and a little plain greek yogurt or sour cream.

And here are some shots before we demolished it. If you can’t eat it all in one meal, you can always stash the leftover in the fridge and eat it cold, or re-heat it in the microwave. It’s good for breakfast too!

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