A No Spend Challenge is great for the budget, but what is it and how do you start? Get the simple rules and game plan for a successful fiscal fast. Create a meal plan and learn how to regrow your food in water for your no spend challenge! A few years ago we embarked on a no spend challenge where we spent zero dollars for a whole month. That’s right...zero spending for an entire month! Benjamin Franklin is ... Continue Reading
Showing all results for: Instant Pot
6 Tips to Help You Stick to a Meal Plan
Learn How to Stick to a Meal Plan and your grocery budget! Tips for staying organized, making your meal prep plan easier, and having more control over your eating habits. Meal planning has revolutionized my kitchen and my organization. (By the way, if you’re new to meal planning, you can check out my original how to meal plan post). A very short while into meal planning bliss, my husband asked me if we ... Continue Reading
Homemade Italian Sausage
This basic recipe for authentic homemade Italian sausage is so easy to make! Uses a few simple ingredients. You can customize the seasonings to make it mild too! This recipe is great for batch cooking. I don’t know about you, but there have been a few times when I’ve gone to the grocery store for something and they were COMPLETELY sold out. It’s happened when a storm was coming, it’s happened when the ... Continue Reading
10 Steps to Stretching Meat at Home
10 steps for stretching meat makes it easy to save money! Learn how to stretch ground beef, chicken, and more with meals that stretch meat, like tacos and Instant pot whole chicken, and helpful tips. So… you went grocery shopping and you bought some meat. Your spouse makes googly eyes at the ground beef and requests the best burgers for dinner. Worse yet, Mr. Crumbs sees a whole chicken and thinks we're ... Continue Reading
Cooked Beans or Dry Beans, Which is Cheaper?
Which is cheaper, canned or dry beans? Here is a break down of price, nutrition and cooking time for 4 different types of beans. Plus recipes for how to cook dried beans in a slow cooker or Instant Pot! Part of my strategy for eating real food on a budget, which is the EXACT same strategy I teach in Grocery Budget Bootcamp. is to make foods from scratch when it counts. Have you ever wondered if cooking ... Continue Reading
How to Cut a Whole Chicken
Learning how to cut a whole chicken is a great way to save money on food! Use this step-by-step tutorial on how to carve a raw whole chicken. My favorite way to use the chicken pieces is in sweet and sticky chicken! Have you ever stood in the poultry section at your grocery store and just stared at the cases of options? Anyone? Yeah, it’s overwhelming! I’m just going to scoot over to the whole ... Continue Reading
Feeding a Crowd on a Budget
Simple and practical tips for hosting company on a budget and ideas for feeding them well without going broke or sacrificing quality. One of the most common questions I get from my Grocery Budget Bootcamp students is, how do I budget for feeding a crowd? Whether it’s a holiday meal, company coming into town, or a family & friends dinner after church, I keep all our meals within our regular monthly ... Continue Reading
Homemade Pesto Hummus
This basil pesto hummus recipe is a Zoe's Kitchen copycat and is better than both Sabra and Costco! Make it easy from scratch (or just mix pesto and hummus) and serve over pasta or as a dip. Do you ever find a restaurant that you just LOVE, and you can’t help but want to make all the things you order there at home? When we did the Whole30, we searched EVERYWHERE for a restaurant that was Whole30 compliant ... Continue Reading
How to Freeze Herbs
Stop throwing your hard-earned grocery budget in the garbage! Learn how to freeze mint and other fresh herbs with this easy tutorial so you can keep that fresh flavor at your fingertips – no dehydrator necessary! I love cooking and baking with fresh herbs. Whether it’s fresh rosemary for Rosemary Sea Salt Flatbread or sage and thyme for Instant Pot Whole Chicken or a blend of herbs for 15-minute Italian ... Continue Reading
Leftover Oatmeal Cakes
Knowing that not wasting food is one of the best ways to save money, I’m always looking for ways to re-use leftovers. My family loves oatmeal, and it’s one of the few grains that sits well in our bellies (in moderation) after completing the Whole30. My famous cinnamon blender waffles are always a hit, but my kids also enjoy Instant Pot oatmeal a few days during the week. No matter how hungry my people are ... Continue Reading
