Week 34: Water Use

Here it is Wednesday already.  I've had a lot on my mind this week and trying to come up with an important change was tough at best.  We will be hit with a 10% decrease in income this next month. Our budget is stretched as it is with trying to increase our savings a bit and building up a few "what if" funds (car repair specifically).  We have emptied our cafeteria plan for medical reimbursement also.  That means the monthly payment for Baby Girl's braces is now coming out of our pocket.  All of this has been bouncing around in my brain the past week or so and I've been trying to come up with ways to save money on our current bills.

I am coming up empty on quite a few things.  All of the usual places to cut back, we already have.  There's no cable, our cell phones are bare bones and our internet/phone is as cheap as it can go  This leaves utilities.  I don't believe our water consumption is out of control, but I'm sure there are ways to conserve.  Water conservation is both green and good for my wallet (at least that's the plan).

This week I'll be reasearching ways to save water and see what strategies we can put in place to lower our water use.  I think I'll also call our local water district and see what average use is in our area and see how the bill is calculated.  I'm particularly interested in how the sewer rate is figured.  I think the amount we pay for sewer seems excessive (we'll see).

Week 33: Juice

Last week I posted about an article that I came across.  It was about fresh squeezed/not from concentrate juice being de-oxygenated (to extend its life span) and reflavored with "flavor packets" containing orange oil and other things.  There are even different flavor packets depending on which part of the country you live in as taste preferences of the South may not be the same as the Midwest.  Good grief!  Can food producers stop tampering with our food?

We aren't huge juice consumers in our house.  I usually reserve it for a breakfast with the daycare kids and my kids will share the little bit that is left.  We do that once a week or even every other week. It's not like we're using a gallon a week or anything, it's more just the idea that another thing that I thought was ok, really isn't.

For those occasions I want or need juice, I will have to make my own (my girls love to make orange juice anyway).  I think this will end up being one of those changes where we just refrain from juice altogether rather than go through the task of making our own.  We'll see.

School Lunch links

Since I've been reading nearly every blog known to man regarding packing school lunches, I thought I'd pass along a few links. :)

I'm a huge fan of 100 Days of Real Food.  Here are a few posts that relate to school lunches.
21 Ways to Plan Ahead for School Lunches
10 Ways to Switch Up Your Kid's Lunch
Real Food School Lunches
Real Food School Lunches II
Real Food School Lunches III

Family Fun has some themed foods that seem fun.  Typically I'm not that organized, but I can aspire to be such.

School Lunch Ideas has some informative articles.  I don't subscribe to all their ideas regarding nutrition.  For example, I don't do the low fat dairy or feel like carbs need to be the center of the meal.  But, like any site, take what is good and leave the rest.

About.com has several articles on "brown bag lunches."  Some of the recipes, my kids wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole and they aren't picky kids, but they are unique and could get you out of the "same 'ole, same 'ole" rut.  At the bottom of their articles are links to related articles.

Tomorrow we will be trekking across the state for my nephew's birthday party.  During my 5 hours in the car, I hope to compile a long list of items besides leftovers that can be used for lunches.  And, I still need to make those cereal bars.  Hmmm, the work never ends! :)

You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!

Are you a person who buys the "not from concentrate" orange juice expecting to get a healthier "fresh squeezed" product?  I am... well, was.  It appears that fresh squeezed orange juice is far from fresh and is loaded with flavorings and chemicals.  This article, featured on Health Impact Daily News uncovers the truth about OJ (and other 100% juices).

It just goes to show that unless you can see your food being produced, you cannot trust that it really is what it says it is.  We don't drink much juice.  I buy a bottle a week for the daycare kids.  My kids will usually drink the leftovers though.

I think I'll be making my own juice if I get a hankering for it.  I wonder how many oranges it would take to make half a gallon of juice.  I'm off to Google that one!

The First Day of School

It's been long awaited by me, but dreaded by my kids-today is the first day of school.  Excitedly no one left in a fit of tears this morning.  Actually they were pretty chipper.

I stuck with the plan for lunches for the most part.  I went to the store last night for something unrelated, but picked up a box of strawberries as a special "first day of school" treat.  Here's their lunch.

On the menu today is lettuce salad with shredded cheddar chese, grape tomatoes, and homemade ranch dressing.  Then there's strawberries and a small container of chocolate chip cheese ball with a few chocolate Bunny Grahams and then spaghetti as the main dish (to be put in a Thermos).  A water bottle is ready to go with ice water.  There you have it.  Lunch on day one.

Please note that I will not be this prepared all the time.  I actually stayed up until 11:30 last night to finish lunches so I wouldn't run late this morning.  That doesn't usually happen! :)

Oh, I also did a breakdown of the cost for the portions each lunch had.
Strawberries = $.26
Lettuce = $.21
Cheese = $.03
Tomatoes from the garden = free
Ranch = $.04
Bunny Grahams = $.14
Cheese Ball = $.10
Spaghetti (meat, sauce, noodles) = $.31

Total = $1.09

Menu Plan for 8/15 - 8/21

After my previously abysmal shopping trips the past couple of times, I think I did well this week.  I spent just under $73 and I bought toothpaste and a new toothbrush for Little Man with that.  I will need to pick up a bag of potatoes later in the week since Wal-Mart doesn't carry an organic option, but it shouldn't be more than $3.

I'm also including school lunches as well, mostly to prep myself so I'm not wandering around tomorrow morning forgetting what the plan was.

Monday
Breakfast:  Cinnamon Bites, Apple Slices
Lunch:  Chicken Quesadillas, Spanish Rice, Lettuce Salad, Watermelon
Snack:  Strawberry Smoothie
Dinner:  Venision Steak Nuggets, leftover rice and watermelon

Tuesday
Breakfast:  Biscuit, Oranges
Lunch:  Spaghetti, Green Beans, Carrots w/ PB, French Bread
Snack:  Banana Bread
Dinner:  Tacos, Bean Dip and Chips, Salad

Wednesday
Breakfast:  Coffee Cake, Raisins
Lunch:  Waffles, Yogurt, Banana, Hash Browns
Snack:  Ice Cream
Dinner:  Chicken Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Peas
School Lunch:  Spaghetti, Salad w/ chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese and Ranch on the side, Orange Slices, small scoop of Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball w/ Chocolate Bunnies

Thursday
Breakfast:  Scrambled Eggs, Blueberries
Lunch:  Cheese Pizza, Peas, Apple Slices, Pretzels
Snack:  Mango
Dinner:  Beef Enchiladas, Salad, Rice
School Lunch:  Mashed Potatoes with Chicken Gravy, Carrot Sticks, Plum, Almonds

Friday
Breakfast:  Granola Bar, Juice
Lunch:  PB&J Pinwheels, Tomatoes, Cottage Cheese, Cantaloupe
Snack:  Cheese & Crackers
Dinner:  Ham or PB&J Sandwich, Pasta Salad, Carrots
School Lunch:  Cheese Pizza, Apple Slices with Cream Cheese Fruit Dip, Corn, Strawberry Cereal Bar

Saturday
Breakfast:  Freezer Stash
Lunch:  B-day party with family (they usually choose a Mexican restaurant close to their home)
Snack:  Birthday cake
Dinner:  Pork Sirloin, Corn, Cucumbers, Noodles

Sunday
Breakfast:  fend for yourself before Church
Lunch:  Leftovers (clean out the fridge)
Dinner:  Egg Casserole, Fruit Salad

Week 32: School Lunches

It's that time of year.  For us, school starts tomorrow and that means several months of brown bag lunches.  My kids have a love/hate relationship with bringing lunch from home.  First, the vast majority of kids eat school lunch, so those brown bag kids are stand outs from the start.  Second, there are a few kids in each of my girls' grades that have made fun of the girls' lunches.  Obviously, I'm not a Fruit Roll-Up and Cheetos kind of Mom, so that makes their lunches "weird."  As an adult, I can point out that the lunches are nutritious, tasty, comprised entirely of things they like, (and that those kids are dorks), but that doesn't hold much weight with the girls.  They do like bringing their own homemade goodies and they do like the food I send, so that, along with getting a fun new lunchbox keep them semi-satisfied.

My goal (beginning this week and lasting for the school year) is to widen the variety of foods I send, find homemade and healthy alternatives for the fun items that other kids bring, and keep the budget well below what the school lunches cost.  My purpose in making the girls' lunches is two-fold.  One, I don't fully endorse the meals that our school prepares.  I think they are doing great things and are well ahead of their public school counterpart in nutrition and freshness, but they follow a set of dietary guidelines that I do not believe to be healthy.  They are set on low-fat dairy options, soybean based oils, commericially produced meat and canned goods.  Those are things that we don't served at our house and while the Earth isn't going to come crashing down if my kids eat canned corn, it isn't something that I want them consuming on a regular basis.  My second reason for making their lunches is money.  Lunches cost $42/month/child.  $84 out of my $500 grocery budget is a good-sized chunk (almost 17% to be exact).  I can find better things to do with my money.

This week I hope to post recipes of snacks that the girls are taking, as well as a few pictures of their lunches.  I already know that I'll be trying a fruit-filled cereal bar (think Nutra Grain) that Zaira posted on Living, Loving, Learning Naturally.  I've been looking for something like this for a long time and I think this might be the one!  I'm excited!  I will probably also be on the lookout for softer foods since Baby Girl had her braces adjusted this morning.  The next couple days will require some soft foods!