Freezer cooking for real!

I've always loved the concept of freezer cooking / OAMC / whatever you want to call it. I think I was a pioneer wife in a former life. It's been great for when a baby was on the way, or to prepare for those nights when I'm just too lazy (or busy) to be bothered. Now I'm about to start work again for the first time since Nate was born and I think it will be especially important!

I applied for, and got, a position at the Embassy called Secretary Rover - I fill in when people are out on vacation, sick, maternity leave, or when a position hasn't been filled but they still need help. It's on an "as needed" basis, and it looks like right now they really need help in a few departments! The sense I got was that I'd be working full-time for at least a month, I should get some more information about it this week. I start on November 6th, and of course the kids both are out of school that WHOLE week. Ack!

Between friends and our housekeeper, I think the boys will be fine. I plan to spend this next week cooking and freezing as much as I can to make sure we can still eat well, if a little simpler than usual, on those busy nights. I don't want to spend the time I do get with the kids worrying too much about food.

So I made up a meal-plan for this coming week with all freezer-friendly foods, and as I cook for each night this week I will double, triple, or quadruple (or more!) the recipes and freeze. It is harder to find vegan options that freeze well as compared to an omnivore diet (so jealous of meat and cheese which freeze so beautifully!) but it still can be done. Here's what I plan to make this week:

* Sweet and Sour Lentils
* Vegan sausages
* Peanut sauce (to put over noodles)
* Sweet Potato Burritos (without the cheese) - these freeze wonderfully!
* Veggie chili
* Pasta/tomato sauce
* Black bean burgers
* Dal Makhni
* Falafel patties
* Granola for breakfasts and snacks

It's a pretty heavy list, I'm not sure if I'll finish it all, but I'm going to give it my best shot. I'll try to blog what I can so stay tuned!

CVS bought my holiday gifts!

In addition to giving me most of the supplies for my Oreo Truffles, CVS also gave me 10 wonderful holiday gifts to give away:



I donate most of the freebies I get to Bread for the City, but I don't donate makeup or housewares since most clients are homeless. I also keep back some very expensive things, like $10 razors and such. I paid $1 for each red reusable bag from Target - I thought it gave it a holiday feel. Then I took a lot of the goodies I've collected this year and divvied them out.



I gave these out to people I thought might appreciate some "luxury" stuff - our favorite cashiers at the grocery store, two of the women who work at Bread for the City, a few homeless friends we see each day, and the mailman (for his wife). Love spreading the CVS joy!

Speaking of hippy-dippy frugality

I like to feed the kids organic when I can, especially milk and cheese. I don't go terribly out of my way, but when the cost is reasonable I opt for organic. Thank goodness for Trader Joes and their cheapie organics!

So it's baby food time for Jack, and try to keep costs reasonable means I can either buy non-organic food or make my own organic, like I did with Nate. I happen to love "putting food up" - it makes me feel all Little House on the Prairie. So I made him the food.

It's so easy it's almost ridiculous: bake the sweet potatoes and acorn squash until mushy, puree with breastmilk. Glop onto cookie sheets in glumps, freeze, put in bags. Boil apples until mushy, rinse, repeat. Bananas are the easist: puree with breastmilk, freeze in glops. I cut up a bunch of avocados, froze in slices, and put one into his meals here and there, to cut back on the sweetness of the foods I picked.



I'm especially glad I did this because the boy is a pig. He eats food three times a day, probably about 5 ounces each feed. It's a good thing I'm learning frugality now; when these boys are teenagers I think our food bills are going to be outrageous.

Hippy-dippy frugality

I read a lot of "frugality blogs" and I learn a lot, use some of it, and reject a whole heck of a lot of what they have to say. A woman today wrote about setting a timer for her showers; she's proud to have cut them down from 10 minutes to 5. She's shooting to get it down to 3 minutes. I read a lot about how and when people find time to clip coupons, how they cut their own hair at home, and how they visit four grocery stores each week to maximize the bargains.

I do have the luxury of being able to buy what I need. I try to be frugal and smart with our money, but we don't have to pinch every penny until it hurts. I know that some people are very close to the bone.

But for people somewhere in the middle, I just say this: please consider the cost of your precious time. To spend three hours making bread, which you can buy for $3, seems like a losing proposition. If you love making bread, it's worth every second. To save a couple of bucks? I won't do it.

Here's an example: my husband drinks 2 or 3 beers a night. It costs us about $15 a week. This is the ultimate in luxury purchases. That said, I'd never ask him to give it up. He works hard, spends time with his kids, and indulges very little. Let him have his beer.

It's hard, when you're trying to stay in the "frugal mindset", to remember to be sane and balanced about money. To remember that the point of it all is to create a happy, safe life for everyone; not to die with money in the bank. I tend to err a bit too much on the frugality side; my husband a little too much on the spendy side. We're lucky to have a built-in system of "checks and balances". Knowing what he's thinking makes me consider the time and money-worthiness of some of my projects; knowing that I'm going to see the credit card bill makes him do the same.

What kinds of balanced choices are you making these days? Any suggestions to share?

A great site

Grocery Guide

You tell them your local store and it lists every item on sale there right now. The good part: when you click on each item you like, it will tell you where you can find a matching coupon!

Since I don't go through the coupon inserts unless I know what I'm looking for, this could be really helpful to add extra savings on top of the sale prices at the grocery store.

Cheap cereal!

Two days before the coupons expired, I was finally in a Giant that carried the LiveActive cereal. Cost: $3.69 / box. Coupon: $3 / off per box. Net cost of each box: $.69 (81% off).

Yay for cheap cereal!