The Sweet Life On A Budget

  Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down, and maintaining your sanity throughout a workweek.   In addition to meal planning, I try to prepare meals as much as possible over the weekend.   This helps to lower my stress during the week.    However, if we have a busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.    Meal Preparation Plan Cut Crudites Baked Oatmeal Hard-boiled Eggs NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although at the time of the blog postings all prices were correct, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Breakfast Options:  Bagels Egg McMuffins (Recipe Linked) Hardboiled Eggs Monday Pasta with Homemade Gravy Salad Broccoli  Tuesday   Chicken Taco Wraps Salad Chips w/ Salsa Wednesday Burgers Roasted Potatoes Corn Thursday Pizza Salad Chips Friday Eat Out Saturday Microwave Dinners Sunday Cajun Shrimp Pasta Salad Bread M- Mexican Co

  The Sweet Life On A Budget Thank you, Walgreens for another great offer this week. Walgreens is offering 2 free 5X7 Prints.     Historically, I use these deals to print pictures off to save for Christmas presents later in the year.   I have ordered  2 prints today, but I am not sure if they will be Christmas presents or gifts for other times this year.      In order to complete this gift, I shop thrift stores or Michael Craft Store Sales for nice-looking cheap frames.    Add 2 5 X7  prints to your Walgreen’s cart.    Then at check out add the promo code:     TWICEFREE .   This will make your prints free when you select pickup from your local Walgreens.   Here is the link to get your pictures:  https://photo.walgreens.com/store/prints?tab=Photo%20Nav%20|%20Prints This deal has been up for a few days and I ordered my prints today, February 27, 2022, but I do not know when this promo code will end.   So,  head on over and order your prints ASAP.   STOP THE PRESSES! FREE 8 X10 Print from

  The Frugal Five With inflation on the rise and our salaries not being able to keep up, it seems like we have taken a pay cut and must be more careful with our money.   The Frugal Five is a series where we celebrate our daily or weekly activities that help us to live a frugal life.     1- Use Hotel Points to Lower Cost of a Stay We needed to travel and stay overnight for my son’s swimming meet.   Therefore, we did a price comparison of the hotels in driving distance from the meet and applied our hotel points to lower the final cost.    As a bonus, the hotel stay comes with a complimentary breakfast.    We will be taking advantage of this amenity to lower our overall trip cost.  2- Shop the Sales This week the Kroger box of baked shrimp was on sale at my local grocery store.   We picked up one box of this because it makes for a quick and easy dinner.   On tough days when it would be easy to eat out, we replace that thought with this easy meal.   The $4.00 price tag is much cheaper than

  Oatmeal is a healthy and cheap grain to add to your diet.   This is a simple, easy, delicious, and frugal breakfast item. This recipe is modified from the Frugal Mom Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bake Recipe .  INGREDIENTS: 3 c. rolled oats ¾ c. brown sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. salt 1 c. unsweetened coconut milk ½ c. butter melted 2 eggs, beaten ¼ c. dark chocolate chips or (replaced w/ fruit of choice)  ¼ c. of fruit INSTRUCTIONS: 1.  In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.  2.  Add melted butter and stir.  (NOTE- Combine the eggs and milk prior to adding to the mix)  3.  Add combined wet ingredients and stir.  4. Fold in chocolate chips and/or fruit.  5. Pour into a greased  9″ in. baking dish and smooth. 6.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and the center is set. Yields: 9 servings Tip:  Let Bake completely cool before cutting and it will come out the pan nicely.     Cut a piece and enjoy with a hot cup of coffee.  Give

  Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down, and maintaining your sanity throughout a workweek.   In addition to meal planning, I try to prepare meals as much as possible over the weekend.   This helps to lower my stress during the week.    However, if we have a busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.    Meal Preparation Plan Cut Crudites Baked Oatmeal Hard-boiled Eggs NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although at the time of the blog postings all prices were correct, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Breakfast Options:  Bagels Egg McMuffins (Recipe Linked) Hardboiled Eggs Monday Pasta Salad Broccoli  Tuesday   Crockpot Chicken Soft Taco Wraps Salad Chips w/ Salsa Wednesday Jambalaya Salad Thursday Baked Shrimp French Fries Salad Friday Pizza Salad Chips Saturday Salmon Rice Broccoli and Cauliflower Sunday Lasagna  Salad Garlic

  The Frugal Five With inflation on the rise and our salaries not being able to keep up, it seems like we have taken a pay cut and must be more careful with our money.   The Frugal Five is a series where we celebrate our daily or weekly activities that help us to live a frugal life.     1- Eat Leftovers  On Sunday, I made a huge pot of potato soup and portioned it out for lunches.   I paired it with a green salad and enjoyed a healthy and economical lunch all week.    I call that a Win-Win.    2- Make your coffee at home Each day we have a large cup of coffee in the morning.    Instead of going to Starbucks to get a Vente cup of coffee, we make it at home.    The combination of buying Starbucks coffee on sale for about $7.00 a pound and making it at home instead of picking it up at a store, saves us a ton of money each year.    3- Travel with a Water Bottle Each morning I fill a large water bottle with ice and take it with me to work.  I am able to fill it up with filtered water at sch

  Minestrone Soup is a classic vegetarian Italian soup that is hearty and warms the soul on a cold winter day.    Over the winter months, this is one of our go-to soups because it makes an incredible amount of soup that can be taken for lunch for the week.   It makes a filling delicious treat for the week.    Ingredients  6 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock, then more as desired 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes 1 cup diced celery (3 stalks) 1 cup diced carrots (2 carrots) 1 cup diced yellow onion (1 small) 2-4  tsp Italian Seasoning (to taste)  Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 1/3 cups zucchini sliced into half-moons (1 small) 1 1/3 cups small or medium shell pasta 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups packed chopped fresh spinach or kale 1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed 1 (15 oz) can white navy beans or cannellini or great northern beans, drained and rinsed Finely shredded parmesan or romano cheese, for serving Instructions  Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a

  Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down, and maintaining your sanity throughout a workweek.   In addition to meal planning, I try to prepare meals as much as possible over the weekend.   This helps to lower my stress during the week.    However, if we have a busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.    Meal Preparation Plan Cut Crudites Muffins Hard-boiled Eggs NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although at the time of the blog postings all prices were correct, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Breakfast Options:  Bagels Muffins Egg McMuffins (Recipe Linked) Hardboiled Eggs Monday Crock Pot Chicken Tacos Sauteed Peppers and Onions Salad Chips and Salsa Tuesday   Jambalaya Salad Wednesday Coconut Shrimp Roasted Potatoes Salad Thursday Minestrone Soup Bread  Friday Cheese Steaks Roasted Potatoes Salad Saturday Sunday Potato Soup