Healthy eating doesn’t depend on where you shop. You can shop at Costco, ALDI, or even Walmart and put real food on the table without spending a lot of money. Still, every store has hidden secrets to getting the most bang for your buck – even Whole Foods! I’m new to Sprouts in a couple of ways – I never lived near one until I moved to Georgia, and I always thought they were expensive! When we started the ... Continue Reading
Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe
Mix up this homemade taco seasoning recipe in only 2 minutes! It’s not too spicy, not too mild, and WAY better (and cheaper!) than the packet. We use it for ground beef taco meat and my kids always clean their plates! We are a taco family. Whether they’re in Corn Tortillas, Flour Tortillas, served with Instant Pot Brown Rice or Coconut Rice, or on a bed of Cilantro Lime Coleslaw – we LOVE tacos. What we ... Continue Reading
7 Harmful Household Cleaners to Avoid
Earlier this year I hosted a chemical-free living challenge, showing you how to replace dangerous chemicals in your house with natural cleaning options that were just as effective. We worked through one area at a time, focusing on the rooms and spaces that would affect us the most: kitchen, bathroom, laundry and personal care. I knew the chemicals in commercial cleaners were dangerous, but I had NO IDEA just ... Continue Reading
How much does the Whole30 cost?
I’m sure you’ve heard somewhere along the line that the GAPS diet or the Whole30 or Paleo style of eating is expensive, right? Let me set the record straight - it is!! At least it's more expensive than what we're used to. My family and I did the Whole30 earlier this year and it was one of the most expensive six weeks in our grocery budget history! Readers who have been following us on this journey have ... Continue Reading
My Favorite Easy Dinner Salad Recipe
For the first week of our Whole30, I meal planned like a crazy woman. I knew who was eating what, and when. Which is important when you have four people who eat two of the three meals in different places. About two-thirds through the Whole30, I got really, really tired of cooking. So tired, I was perfectly okay cooking massive amounts of food on Sunday and relying on leftovers for the next five days. Anytime ... Continue Reading
50+ Ways to Use Essential Oils (besides diffusing them)
As a frugal person who is allergic to too much clutter under sink cabinets, I’m all about buying things with multiple purposes. That’s one reason why I use coconut oil to cook AND to moisturize my face. It’s also why I use a bar of soap to wash my hair and why I use a heating pad to make yogurt. Buying multiple things that each only have one purpose is not only a waste of money, but it's a waste of storage space!! ... Continue Reading
Rich and Creamy Mashed Cauliflower
Not all fun foods can be fun foods… that’s what I told my kids when they wanted homemade pizza and stove-top macaroni and cheese for dinner and cared less about the pan-seared broccoli I was making. “Perfect example: Mommy doesn’t like cauliflower. To me, it’s not a fun food at all. But I still eat it, because it’s a vegetable and it’s good for me.” Well, here I stand eating crow. Because thanks to this rich ... Continue Reading
Sheet Pan Hawaiian Shrimp
Whoa nelly – if someone had told me that being on the Whole30 meant spending all day every day in the kitchen, I probably would have second-guessed this adventure… But thankfully, I found a couple of life-savers: batch cooking (i.e. making 4 pounds of homemade breakfast sausage instead of just one) and sheet pan dinner. Batch cooking has been easier by far. Whether it’s spatchcock chicken, roasted potato ... Continue Reading
14 Common Instant Pot Mistakes (and how to fix them)
True story: The first thing I made in my Instant Pot was chicken stock (here’s the tutorial). The second thing I tried (← keyword) making in my Instant Pot was my classic pot roast. And it failed in so many, many ways!! I got the burn error… I filled it too high… I didn’t even turn the pressure valve! I figure I’m not the first to make these Instant Pot mistakes, and I surely won’t be the last. At least ... Continue Reading
6 Ways the Instant Pot Saves Money
If I had to guess, 98% of people who buy the Instant Pot do so because they’re trying to get dinner on the table faster. Another 1% bought it because everyone else was buying it. And then the last 1% of people are seeing if the Instant Pot saves money. Turns out, that last 1% are on to something… ... Continue Reading