Menu Plan Monday

My self esteem has soared 3 fold this past weekend! My hubby told me he could tell I was losing weight. Well, quite frankly I didn't believe him as I thought my DH was just being nice. To tell you the truth, I have felt better but weight loss? nawwww! My brother in law from Indianapolis stopped in yesterday and out of the blue he told me I looked like I had lost some weight. hugh? He doesn't know I am dieting neither.Well I must be doing something right and you can bet I will continue doing what I'm doing. This is great news for me. Losing excess body fat has not been an easy task for me. I am determined to lose this blubber once and for all. After I injured my back I couldn't exercise, let alone move around for 2 months! I am trying to slowly incorporate exercise in my everyday routine. Springtime needs to arrive soon so I can start walking daily outside.

Making smart healthy choices and watching my portions will be the same. My menu this week is just that while keeping costs down and using what I have on hand.

MONDAY

chili ( made with venison)

cornbread

TUESDAY

Baked lemon chicken

steamed california blend(broccoli,cauliflower, carrots)

tossed green salad

WEDNESDAY

chicken and noodles

green beans

apple sauce

THURSDAY

low fat shepherds pie

fruit of some kind and or jello

FRIDAY

chicken stir fry

brown rice

SATURDAY

mini meatloaves

mashed potatoes

steamed peas

SUNDAY

on our own today!

Go to organized junkie for more amazing menus and recipes!

Walgreens 2/28/2010

I spent $5.43 with tax!

Received $8.00 RR"s back

total savings $43.95

At Walgreens today I felt I did pretty good. I stayed around the $5.00 mark which I have been desperately trying to do every week. I wished I had did the Kleenex deal, however, I may still do it yet this week. I am very pleased with the Starbucks frappachino deal as I love this stuff and will not pay full price for it. I am glad I saved my coupons for this to get it at .25 cents each. My deals from this trip went like this:

4 Starbucks frappachinos $2.29 each
used 4-100/1 MQ and 4.16 off in ad/Q
final price $1.00 for 4
1 Schick intuition razor $8.99
used 4.00/1 MQ
final price $1.99

2 Nivia lip shimmers $7.98
used BIGI MQ and in ad/Q for .99 cents each
final price $2.01 MM

2 reach floss $1.79 each
1 reach toothbrush $ 1.59 each
used 3- 1.00/1 MQs and in ad/ Q for .99 cents each
final price FREE

2 Motrin pm $2.99 each
used $1.50 off from March coupon book and 3.00/2 MQ
final price .49 cents each

2 Tylenol cold $4.99 each
used 3.00/2 MQ
final price $6.98

1 bowl fresh ( filler item) .99 cents
used in ad/Q .6o off
final price .39 cents

I also used $2.50 in RR"s

How about you? Did you find any thrifty deals at Walgreen's?

Menu Plan Monday

I had an amazing week and an amazing weekend! I am dying to tell you about it! I will give you the details later. I have been prioritizing my health. Going down this healthy path hasn't been easy, but, I am feeling better already. I hope I can maintain the momentum with this healthier lifestyle. One thing is for sure, springtime is just around the corner (even though you can't tell by looking outside at the moment) and at last, the perils of the winter snow are behind us. Ahem! ( well mostly) and I am looking forward to getting in some good outdoors time once again. This is my menu this week.

MONDAY

Baked chicken

asparagus

brown rice

TUESDAY

out?

WEDNESDAY

vegetable soup

grilled cheese

applesauce

THURSDAY

Breakfast for dinner with

omelets (veggie for me)

toast (whole wheat for me)

fruit

FRIDAY

Easy salmon cakes

tossed green salad

rice pilaf with peas

SATURDAY

Oven BBQ pork chops

cornbread

coleslaw

SUNDAY

On our own!

Be sure to check out organizing junkie for more menu ideas and recipes. Bon Appetite!

Dealing with a canker sore and free toothpaste

Painful shallow sores in your mouth called canker sores, have you ever had them? Let me tell you, I have had my share of them through out the years. I noticed one last night in my mouth,. I haven't had one in ages. Although canker sores are harmless, they can be painful. No one knows what causes canker sores but, some causative factors may include fatigue, emotional stress and certain foods, even biting the inside of the cheek or tongue or chewing a sharp piece of food like for example, potato chips ,may trigger a canker sore. Drugs like anti inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen can also have an effect. Whoops! I have been taking alot of this in the past month and a half! Your toothpaste may have an effect as well from the sodium Laural sulfate in the product. I learned avoiding hot, spicy or acidic foods and beverages may help. Does this include sprite zero?Although, not brushing my teeth is not an option, switching to an SLS free toothpaste may help. I found this site that has a toothpaste that has just this, and a trial size you can send for free. Yay! Verve ultra toothpaste at https://verveultra.com/ is just the toothpaste for canker sore prevention. It comes in soothing fresh mint. It has fluoride for cavity protection, whitening with no bleaches or peroxides and vitamin enriched. Verve ultra is priced at $4.89 at tube. A free trial size will be nice and can't wait to try it. If you have canker sores you may want to check Verve ultra out. Maybe, you will just want to give it a try even if you don't have cancer sores.

Menu Plan Monday

Do you ever sit down to plan a weeks meals for your family and you find yourself staring at your notepad without a single idea in your head? For the most part that is me! Perhaps it's because DH wants and loves meat and potatoes, nasty, greasy foods are all the better, while I prefer healthy whole foods. Not good! But, in reality meal planning will save yourself time, effort and money, and by working out in advance what to cook and shop ahead so you have everything you need. You will also be less likely to resort to using processed fast foods because there"s nothing in the house. Healthy meal planning doesn't have to be hard and it's worth getting in the habit. My menu this week is pretty much the same, simple and nothing fancy while still trying to please my not so healthy DH and the healthy conscious me and still being able to use food I have on hand.

MONDAY

Beef and noodles (using leftover beef from last weeks beef roast)

steamed broccoli

pears

TUESDAY

Baked chicken ( boneless chicken breasts dipped in egg, rolled in crushed durkee onion)

brown rice

harvard beets

WEDNESDAY

going out!

THURSDAY

cube steak with mushrooms

mashed potatoes

green beans

FRIDAY

chicken stir fry with brown rice

SATURDAY

spaghetti and meatballs

tossed green salad

SUNDAY

ON our own!

There is more great menu plans at Organizing Junkie

My Walgreens and CVS scenerio 2/14

Happy Valentines Day!

Hubby treated me to a wonderful breakfast out this morning for valentines day. Then I went to Walgreen's and CVS. It feels really good to be out and about even if it's for a bit. The sun is shining brightly here in northern Indiana and I didn't seem to mind the cold. I did 5 transactions at CVS. I spent a total of $12.33. I made a mistake on transaction #2 and forgot to give my $3.00 reach CVS Q thus making my oop more than I anticipated Pooh! I also made a mistake with the crest pro health toothpaste by picking up the wrong one and not only paying more for it but also not getting ecb's for it. Live and Learn! I believe we've all made mistakes like that before.

I got all this for $12.33

Transaction #1

1 Aussie hairspray $2.99

1 Colgate total toothpaste $2.99

2 sobe lifewater BOGO $1.59 each

I used - $1.00 Aussie product

- $1.00 Colgate total

-BOGO sobe water

-2 ecb's

total oop with tax $1.51 saved $11.08

ECB's earned 4

#2 transaction

2 sense and spray kits $6.00 each

3 reach floss $1.99 each

I used - (2) $3.00 sense and spray

- (3) $1.00 reach

- $1.50 ecb

- $4.00 ecb

total oop with tax $4.73 saved $22.48

ECB's earned 4

#3 transaction

1 cover girl foundation $6.00

1 covergirl pressed powder $6.00

I used - (1) BOGO cover girl

- $1.00 cover girl

- $4.00 ecb's

total oop with tax $1.84 saved $12.98

ECB's earned 5

# 4 transaction

1 crest pro health $3.89

1 Gillette disposable razors $5.29

I used- .75 crest pro health

- $2.00 Gillette razors

- $5.00 ecb's

total oop after tax $2.61 saved $11.45

ECB's earned 2

#5 transaction

2 honey nut cheerios $1.00 each

1 crest pro health $3.50

2 sobe life water BOGO $1.59 each

1 cottonelle 12 pack $5.49

2 CVS tissues .99 each

I used - (2) $1.00 cheerios

-.75 pro health

- BOGO lifewater

- $1.00 CVS Q for tissues

-$7.00 ecb's

total oop after tax $2.04 saved $24.32

ECB's earned $ 3.50

All and all I did pretty well! For my Walgreens scenerio scroll down......

I got all this at Walgreens for a total of $ 7.83. Do you see the Gopher pickup and reaching tool? This is going to help me so much right now when I get the dropsy's which happens to be most of the time lately. DH can't be with me 24/7. I lost alot of RR's but they were going to expire anyways.

Transaction

1 reaching tool $9.99

2 Quaker oatmeal $ 1.50 each

1 Walgreen's wipes for glasses $ 3.79

2 crest pro health rinse 2/$7.00

1 20 oz 7 up $1.49

I used -$1.00 Quaker oatmeal

-(2) $2.00 pro health rinse

-$14.00 RR's

total oop after tax $7.83 saved $23.58

Got back $2.50 RR's

Not bad at all! Thus making a grand total of $ 20.16 for Walgreens and CVS. It's a little more than I anticipated but hey I will take it!

Aloha Friday

It's another Aloha Friday and another simple question for you. This doesn't require a lengthy response. For some reason I haven't done Aloha Friday in a long time so, I am thinking it is about time! My question for you this week is........What is your favorite winter Olympic event?

My favorite winter Olympic event would be the ice skating. The other events I am not much interested in.

Go to island life and visit other participants and participate.It's a great way to make bloggy friends !

Thankful Thursday

It is Thankful Thursday and I am thankful it is Thursday! This has been quite a tiring week. There has been so many times I have felt the need to go back to bed in the mornings as I can hardly stay awake and function. I know if I do go back to bed I am even more stiff and sore so, instead I have been trying to stay busy. I suppose its just cabin fever. With my housework behind, staying on top of my housework has been a challenge in itself.and with my email jammed with spam and mailbox full, I am trying to step into the normal life again. I am hoping this muscle injury will begin to fully heal soon. But for now I am very thankful that my hubby has been able to help out as God has been keeping him very busy lately. DH doesn't seem to mind though. As snowstorms seem to hammer the east coast, I am thankful for the mere 9 inches or so we have on the ground. I've never been much of a fan of winter weather. However, if we would get snowed in for awhile I am thankful our freezer and pantry is full. And, the number one thing I am thankful for is.....drum roll please........I am very thankful to be able to resist the bag of peanut butter m&ms sitting in front of me by this computer left there by my DH who is NOT on a healthy diet! Thank you Lord from refraining to partake from these . Every day can be a struggle but, I can take those struggles now as a blessing. What are you thankful for today? Even when things are going badly there are still so many things to be thankful for. Some big some small. Check out Iris at Grace alone for more Thankful Thursday. You will be blessed!

Menu Plan Monday

Menu planning for me can be very frustrating at times. Sigh! Well, I have found this amazing site called supercook. You type in the ingredients that you have on hand and supercook does the rest by searching thousands of recipes to find the one that matches what you have on hand! This is a great resource and soooo easy to use. My menu planning is no longer a daunting task for me. You can check it out here.This is what I will be cooking at my house this week.

MONDAY

Broccoli Salad*

macaroni and cheese

BBQ meatballs

TUESDAY

Salsa chicken

corn cassarole

WEDNESDAY

salmon patties

potato soup*

apple sauce

THURSDAY

goulash (from last Saturday that didn't get made)

tossed green salad

FRIDAY

chili

whole wheat bread ( I make my own)

SATURDAY

ridiculously easy crockpot roast

potatoes and carrots ( in crockpot with the roast)

whole wheat bread ( what is left from Friday)

SUNDAY

We defend for ourselves on this day!

Stop by organizing junkie for more great menu ideas! Also check out my potato soup and broccoli salad recipe!



* Potato Soup



7 med potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 celery ribs, diced

1 med onion, chopped

1 quart water

4 tsp. chicken bouillon granules

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

In kettle, combine potatoes, celery, onion, water and bouillon; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 min. or until potatoes are tender. Cool slightly. Place half of the potato mixture in a blender; cover and puree; set aside remaining potato mixture.To the same kettle, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper, until smooth. Gradually add milk; bring to a boil; boil and stir until smooth, (2 min.) Return puree and potato mixture to pan and heat through.



Broccoli Salad

3 cups chopped broccoli (and or cauliflower also if have or want)

1 med. onion

1cup bacon pieces ( I use real bacon)

1 cup raisins ( dark and golden)

2 T balsam vinegar

1 cup mayo ( I use Hellman's lite)

1/2 cup sugar

mix all ingredients

Menu plan Monday

My father is home from the hospital and all seems well. I feel so much better now knowing he is okay. He had another stent put in his artery ( the aorta) as it had 80% blockage. As for myself, as with any muscle injury, it all takes time and patience is not one of my virtues but, I try. I am a little slow today with my meal plan for this week but, here is my attentive for this week.





MONDAY- Batter dipped cod


brown rice


butternut squash





TUESDAY-chicken and veggie stir-fry


with brown rice





WEDNESDAY- out? well I am going to try anyway





THURSDAY- lemon pepper chicken breasts


baked potatoes


steamed broccoli





FRIDAY- cabbage and smoked sausage


whole wheat bread





SATURDAY- goulash


small tossed green salad





SUNDAY- leftovers (defend for yourself)





For more menu ideas check out organizing junkie!