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Menu Plan: #329

  Menu Plan #329 NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although all prices were correct at the time of the blog postings, the current cost of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Published September 2025:  USDA Thrifty Food Plan According to this plan, our family’s weekly budget is $190.80.  Since January has 4 weeks, our monthly budget is $763.20.   However, we have specific dietary needs, so I have increased our budget to $200.00 per week or $800.00 for a month.     We elevate our dining experiences by including fresh fruits, vegetables, and higher-quality meats.  Since our family has specific dietary needs, we limit our consumption of highly processed food.   Grocery Shopping Tip:     Eggs are on sale this week, and our family enjoys eggs for breakfast and/or lunch.    When high-quality items go on sale, I...
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Frugal Five: #126

  With inflation rising and salaries staying the same, our ability to make ends meet is becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, we must be more careful with our money. The Frugal Five is a series that celebrates the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     This year, my focus is on Simple Abundance , so finding ways to live well while staying on budget will be challenging.    Come along and enjoy my journey of elevating joy, enjoying what you have, and finding luxury in my local area.    1- Freezer Resource  Your freezer is a valuable resource that can “freeze” the price of meat, butter, cheese, and so much more.    This past week, pork loin was on sale for $1.99 per pound, so I picked up a loin.    Cutting the loin into chops and freezing will preserve the rock-bottom price while allowing you to have a high-quality cut of meat in the future.    Another way to use your freeze...

2026 Word of the Year

  Last year's word was Pragmatic. This word has served us well this year.     As our families' schedules intensified and diminished our free time, we made more pragmatic choices throughout the year to help manage all of our obligations.  However, this did not feed our souls.  We recognize that slowing down and living a simply abundant life will elevate our quality of life, which we are craving.       Our family’s schedule will continue to intensify, limiting free time and elevating our stress levels in the upcoming year.  This makes it extremely important to guard our time and carefully choose what we do and how we interact with our world.        Therefore, this year I am claiming my phrase of the year to be “simple abundance”.   We will simplify our lifestyle while living a luxuriously abundant life.  This will take careful planning and eliminating activities and tasks that do not benefi...

Menu Plan #328

  Menu Plan #328 NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although all prices were correct at the time of the blog postings, the current cost of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Published September 2025:  USDA Thrifty Food Plan According to this plan, our family’s weekly budget is $190.80.  Since December has 4 weeks, our monthly budget is $763.20.   We elevate our dining experiences by including fresh fruits, vegetables, and higher-quality meats.  Since our family has specific dietary needs, we limit our consumption of highly processed food.   Grocery Shopping Tip:     Every 6-8 weeks, schedule several days to eat flexibly.   This means cleaning out your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry.   Get flexible and utilize substitute items in recipes.    Here is what we did this week to make our week easier:   Wash...