A Super Exciting Announcement!

 

Hello!  I have some great news!  Many, many, many of my long time readers from this old blog have been asking me to do a recipe book or a book on tips and tricks of thrifty living and that is what I’ve been working on, but with a twist.  I went through eleven years of recipes and articles compiling the best of the best into this project.  I even added some recipes that were not on the blog.  Not only is it a recipe book (with wipe off pages!), but it is also has a section called “Pearls Of Wisdom” with tips and tricks to save money at the grocery store, meal planning, school lunches, stockpiling, pretty much all things food related.

 

Additionally, it is a journal with areas to expand and add your own recipes, food related memories, meal ideas, whatever you want.  Places to tuck things like coupons and gift cards, recipes you might clip from a newspaper or magazine.  Plus!  A surprise ephemera pack is enclosed with each one to get you started so you can make this journal your very own.

 

I put my heart and soul into this journal along with a lot of thought.  Each journal is unique, no two are identical as far as the styling, but the information contained inside is consistent with each one.  Journals need to be tailored to the owner so that is what you will have, the opportunity to tailor this journal to meet your specific needs and requirements.

 

We have a three volume set of journals in mind, based on how well the first one does.  Volume one is based on all things food management related.  Volume two will be based on home management and volume three will be all things Christmas and other celebrations!

 

Right now we are doing a “soft launch”.  I am listing Thrifty Mom In Boise A Journal For Everyday Living Volume 1 available for sale on eBay with a lower introductory rate of $49.95 throughout the month of September for those of you interested in purchasing a copy.  The reason I chose eBay is so I can ship them internationally as I have a lot of readers outside the U.S. and I wanted them to have an opportunity as well.

 

I am ever so grateful for the chance to do this and it wouldn’t have been possible without the great readers I have.  Thank you for following along with me all these years and for the massive amounts of encouragement to do this.  I’m praying this goes well so I can offer the additional two volumes in the near future.  I hope you like it.  Happy Cooking!  Happy Eating!  Happy Journaling!!

 

My Food & Health Journal

 

With all the crazy crap that has been going on with me I created myself a health and food journal to help me keep track of stuff.  With all the things I need to monitor I knew there was no way I was going to remember everything, let alone even remember to do all of the things I'm supposed to do.

 

I have to monitor my weight to make sure I don't gain suddenly which would mean I'm retaining water, monitor my blood pressure, my heart rate, and my O2 levels.  Monitor my sleep patterns, how I am feeling throughout the day, my energy level, how tired I am, all kinds of things.  I keep track of my medications as some I take routinely and some only as needed.  And there is always that moment when I ask myself "Did I remember to take that?"  Plus I track my food to make sure I'm getting proper nutrition and eat healthy.  Of course my doctor appointments, tests, etc.  You get the point.  It's a lot of information and data.  And I don't like to do it.  Not at all! (insert foot stomp)

 

I am using one of the composition books from our school supply bin because it is small, I already had it and I didn't have to go out and buy something.  Use what you have!  To motivate me and make it less ominous I decided to decorate the front cover.  It helps.  The other day I glued on a bunch of die cut hearts I had and then plastered it with a bunch of cute stickers I like from my sticker collection.  I even added a few bits of bling.  It makes me feel better about this whole process.  It's silly and cute but it seems to be working for me.

 

The best part of having this journal (yes, there is an upside) is that once I write it down I no longer have to carry that information around in my head or worry about it.  And I will admit it has been really helpful when I've needed to refer back to it because all of this is just too much to remember.  And sometimes my days mesh together.  You know how that goes?  Anyway, if you find yourself taking on a tedious task you really don't want to do my advice is to do whatever it takes to inspire you and make it more enjoyable.  Even if it makes you look like a twelve year old.

 

Are Beans (Legumes) A Good Keto Food Option?

 

Beans are one of those foods that pack a lot of very good nutrients and fiber into a small package.  Additionally they are super inexpensive making them very affordable, not to mention that dried legumes have a very long shelf life.  For all of those reasons I personally think of beans as a super food and as such I will be adding them back into my diet.

 

Black beans are my favorite

To learn more about beans and my decision to bring them back into my diet (even though they are technically not considered Keto) click here.  Let me know your thoughts about the bean.  Do you like them?  Do you eat them often?  And what is your favorite recipe?

 

Super Thrifty Meals Stretch Budgets

I've written a similar post before, however I want to talk about his once again.  We have had and still have a very minimal grocery budget to work with each month.  My goal with that budget is to buy the healthiest and best quality food I can afford.  We keep a minimal grocery budget in order to afford the other things we need and want in our life as well as to build my savings and prepare for retirement.  Groceries are an area with the greatest flexibility to allow me to do these things.

 

This pork chop was one of two in a markdown package I picked up for $1.25
The stir fry package on markdown for $1.49

 

This yielded four good sized servings for a very minimal cost

We eat remarkably well, we have a full pantry, a well stocked chest freezer in our garage and a prepper pantry for emergencies.  I meal plan based on items we already have on hand, I use a pantry list to make sure we always have what we need on hand, I utilize a pull and replace method when I make my grocery lists, I download digital coupons and use rewards offered by my supermarkets, I use paper coupons too.  I am also, in large part, an opportunistic shopper.

 

This meal was super thrifty using a half loaf of Frenchbread we got for free playing
a store came, leftover pepperoni slices, cheese and olives I had in the refrigerator and
adding a $.27 can of tomato sauce seasoned with herbs & spices we already had on hand

Whenever I am shopping I seek out sales, loss leaders and I will go through the stores in search of markdowns and clearance items.  Most of our meat and produce actually comes from the markdown bins at our grocery stores.  Most of what I buy is almost always on sale and if offered in the weekly sales flyer as a loss leader I will stock up on that item so I pay rock bottom prices.  This allows me to acquire much more food than I would normally be able to buy each month.  If I need something that is not on sale I will purchase it at the store I know carries it at the lowest price.

 

The other half loaf of free Frenchbread was used to make French toast, 4 servings
Our chicken eggs and a little cream was used along with some homemade pancake syrup

I bought the sausage for only $2 using a digital coupon offered to me by the grocery store

We are careful about food waste, use up what we have in the fridge before it spoils, eat our leftovers and rotate items in the pantry and freezer so it doesn't expire or freezer burn.  Our kitchen scraps go to the chickens.  I cook mostly from scratch, meal prep and batch cook, dehydrate and can foods whenever I come across bulk deals, and try to keep it really simple.  I think we all can agree that the closer you keep your food to its original form the healthier and more nutritious it is.

 

Sliced leftover steak on top of mixed greens I picked up for $.79 on markdown
Do you know how much they charge for this dish in a restaurant?  A lot!

Markdown veggies & a bottle of salad dressing I got for FREE using a coupon offered by the store

Please share some of the ways you keep your grocery spending within budget.  How do you stretch your food to get more mileage?  Favorite budget recipes?  Do meal plan or prep?

  

Meal Prepping For Keto & My Kiddo

 

It has been a while since I'd done a meal prep session, but I was itching to spend some quality time in my kitchen and I had a few items in the fridge to use up.  I started with a loaf of French bread we had in the freezer and some of our farm fresh chicken eggs and made my daughter a big batch of French toast.  She enjoyed brunch with sausage links and our homemade pancake syrup drizzled over her French toast.  Then I made some for myself using my Keto bread.  All of the leftovers were divided up and bagged in individual portion sizes and place in the freezer.  A quick spin in the microwave and we'll have an easy meal anytime we want.

 

Frenchbread pizzas using up leftover olives, cheese & pepperoni

Next I took the remaining half loaf of French bread and sliced it down the middle to make two French bread pizzas for my daughter.  I topped the bread with pizza sauce I made using an 8oz can of tomato sauce, minced garlic and dried basil.  Then I sprinkled cheese over each one and added pepperoni and some leftover olives I sliced up.  I put them into an eight inch square baking dish and they were ready to bake in our toaster oven the next day with plenty of leftovers for another meal.

 

Beefaroni using home canned pasta sauce

I boiled up a 7oz package of elbow macaroni and added a jar of our home canned pasta sauce to that along with the leftover pizza sauce I had made.  I place that into a microwaveable casserole dish.  Once cool it went into the refrigerator to wait until it was needed.

 

Deviled eggs

While I was working on the pizzas and pasta dish I had a half dozen eggs in my egg cooker.  Once they had cooled I made deviled eggs for me to have for brunch throughout the week.

 

My french toast using Keto bread

Lastly, I took two nice ripe bananas and made my daughter a loaf of banana bread.  Once it was cool I sliced it up and placed it into bags for her to grab on her way out the door to school.  I put half of the slices in the fridge and the rest in the freezer.  She will have these for a quick breakfast for several days.

 

Marinading chicken breasts in a little salad dressing

The next day I marinated some chicken breasts in Italian salad dressing.  I sautéed some spinach and mushrooms I had picked up on markdown with olive oil, minced garlic, dried basil and chopped red onion.  I had plenty of vegetables to put some into freezer containers for other meals later on.  I cooked the chicken in a pan with olive oil and served the squash as a side dish.

 

The frenchbread pizzas were a hit!

I mainly wanted to prep some food for my daughter.  She is such a busy kid right now with her AP classes and homework as well as working her part time job that I wanted her to have some easy and quick meals she can enjoy when time is short and her schedule is hectic.  She always comes home from school or work hungry too so she can eat right away and not have to wait for me to cook or prepare something herself.  Now she can just heat up a plate and start on her homework while she eats or get a quick meal down before she heads off to work.

 

Targeted Keto & Some Meals I've Been Eating

 

The most popular form of Keto is the strict diet most people use for weight loss.  35 grams or less coupled with an approved food list has helped countless people to lose weight and keep it off.  It is also a fantastic option for diabetics and patients with life threatening diseases such as cancer.  When I initially began my Keto journey I did this diet in an effort to gain control over migraine headaches that had been plaguing me for years.  It has really worked well for me.

 

Deviled eggs, sliced strawberries & banana

I've been Keto for over three years now.  After the first year I changed from the stricter version to a modified or targeted version to maintain my health and well being.  I began by slowly adding back healthy food items, mainly fruit (like bananas) and Keto bread or low carb tortillas.  I still stay away from refined sugars and complex carbohydrates for the most part, opting instead for sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit.  Occasionally erythritol.

 

Roast chicken, salad greens, olives, sliced almonds, Asian dressing

I've done really well with a targeted Keto lifestyle.  I very rarely end up with a migraine and when I do they are not nearly as severe as they once were.  Keto has been a real life changer for me.  After my recent cardiac issues this year I was quite concerned about having to abandon my Keto lifestyle.  I have seen the approved cardiac diet recommended by the American Heart Association and looked at the Mediterranean diet which is also advised for heart health.  With both it seemed to me it was a lot of carbohydrates and refined sugar.  I was extremely concerned that it would cause me to gain weight, which I knew would not be good for my heart, blood pressure or my joints.  I also do not want to reintroduce migraines back into my life.  Fortunately the Keto lifestyle is still very much doable for patients with heart issues.  You just have to be smart about your food choices.

 

Salmon, steamed broccoli, spinach salad w/ sliced mushrooms & cranberries

Not a whole lot has really changed for me as far as the meals I am making, except that I am much more careful about the amount of sodium I consume so I don't retain water and I am much more particular about the types of fats (olive, avocado & nut oils) I consume.  I don't really enjoy animal fats that much so this works better for me anyway.  I've also increased the amount of fish and chicken based meals and am boosting my fruit and vegetables a little bit more.

 

Scrambled eggs, sugar free yogurt, banana

For many, many years I have typically only eaten two meals a day.  I'm just not a breakfast eater and I have always been an intermittent faster before I even knew that was a real thing.  I love breakfast foods, just not first thing in the morning.  My body does not like to eat too early and I seem to do better if I have brunch later in the day and then supper so I am continuing to that.

 

Egg roll in a bowl topped with chili sauce, scallions & ginger, egg drop soup

My meals are simple to prepare.  Lean meats in small portions, loads of nutrient rich vegetables, some fruits, plus nuts and nut oils to garnish certain dishes.  I'm upping my game by putting more effort into my cooking and meal preparations with an emphasis on making my meals as pretty as they are nutritious and delicious.  Having a wide variety of food options to avoid burn out is also very important to me as well.

 

Stir fry vegetables w/ sliced pork chop & sugar free teriyaki sauce

So far I feel I am doing pretty well.  I am making food a huge priority in my life to prepare my healthy meals every day.  I'm finding that I truly enjoy cooking and meal planning even more than I did before.  I very much look forward to it on a daily basis.  Good food is the best medicine.

 

 

Did My Keto Lifestyle Hurt My Health?

 

Nope!  Not one bit.  If anything, I am so incredibly grateful I made the decision to go Keto just over three years ago.  While in hospital I had a lot of blood work done.  One of the tests ordered by the cardiologist was a complete lipid panel and it came back perfect.  My cholesterol is spot on as was all my other blood tests.  I am not overweight and in great shape.  By all accounts I am healthy as a horse!  Except for that one heart thing I've got going on…..  But a poor diet and unhealthy habits and lifestyle are not contributing factors.  Yay!

 

I had said to the nurse that if I was told I had to give up
my keto coffee there would be some real tears

So, with that in mind, I was told to stick to my regular diet and keep it up.  As with anything I do I know there is always room for improvement.  While I'm not one of those keto peeps that eats a ton of red meat and bacon and drinks bacon grease (I'm joking about that, I don't think anyone really does that), I do know I want to be even more particular about my food choices.

 

I plan to make a few more tweaks and changes to my menus, in particular to watch my sodium so I don't retain water and tax my heart, focus on super healthy fats like olive oil, nut oils and avocado oil for cooking, lean cuts of meat, more fish and chicken and loads more vegetables.  I'm adding fruit to my diet in small quantities for more nutrients and better variety.  I have also upped my water consumption to flush out all the toxins I had been given in the hospital (highly recommended by the nurses).

 

Finding keto bread has been a real game changer

I don't want to find myself eating leftovers day in and day out either so I'm cooking in smaller batches so I don't burn out on my food choices.  And because I am worth it I am focusing more on the creation of my meals as well as how I prepare them and plate them.  I think it is really important that our food is not only healthy and nutritious, but also pleasing to the eye.  I love, love, love dishes and I have a nice collection of cute ones.  It will be a lot of fun to use them on a daily basis instead of waiting for special occasions.

 

Because I do truly believe food is medicine I feel this is an important place for me to focus my attention and efforts right now.  I'm excited to try some new recipes and enjoy some foods I haven't had for a while.  I will be sharing more about the meals I make in some upcoming posts so stay tuned.

 

 

Easy Carne Asada

I am quite confident this is not authentic carne asada at all, but it is super easy to throw together and it tastes pretty darn good too.  I had picked up a nice hunk of meat already sliced and marked down for a quick sale.  At that price I couldn't pass it up.

 

I placed it in my slow cooker and covered it with a small can of red enchilada sauce.  I cooked it on high for four hours and it was done.  Tender, juicy and quite flavorful.

 

I made some rice so my girls could use that as the base for a burrito bowl.  I chopped up the meat and we topped it with queso fresca, sour cream, avocado and a squeeze of lime.  Fantastic!

 

This would also be wonderful as the meat for tacos or burritos.  I like to use the street taco size tortillas or corn tortillas for the tacos.  You can use some rice in the burritos too.  Tons of delicious possibilities.

 

Trying To Stay Keto During A Pandemic

When I began my keto lifestyle almost two and a half years ago it never entered my mind that the food I needed might not be available.  Or become unaffordable.  This year is testing me in more ways than I could've ever imagined.

 

Keto buns and bread have been a real game changer for me

For the most part I am doing okay.  I eat healthy, stay away from junk and processed foods most of the time and try my best not to falter along the way.  Last spring, and even still, I have had some difficulty finding the things I used go and purchase whenever I needed to.  Runs on meat have been especially challenging in the last few months, however I think even that has settled down now.

 

Still my favorite thing ever!

A few times I've run into issues with certain items like cream for my keto coffee haven't been in stock due to transportation issues.  At that time I opted for half and half, but definitely not the same.  Nonetheless, you just have to roll with things sometimes.

 

For the most part I'm still able to manage things.  When I can't get what I normally buy I just go with the healthiest alternative I can find until things are back in stock.  Or I just go without.  At a minimum I stick to a whole food diet and keep it as clean as possible.

 

I scoop up bargains on meat every chance I get

What is something you've had a difficult time finding when you grocery shop?  Are you still facing shortages or are things more normal for you now?

 

Low Carb Coconut Cream Pie

I made this pie a couple weeks ago and I have to tell you, it is the bomb! 

Low Carb Coconut Cream Pie

1 cup almond flour

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 packet sweetner

1 cup cream

1 cup very cold water

1 small box instant sugar free vanilla pudding

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

In a small mixing bowl combine almond flour, butter and sweetener until it forms a crumbly mixture.  Press into an 8 inch pie dish to form a crust.  Chill in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Almond flour pie crust

Filling will double in volume and be thick and fluffy

In a large bowl add remaining ingredients.  Use a hand mixer to combine until smooth at low speed for one minute.  Increase speed on mixer until filling doubles in volume and becomes thick and fluffy.  Add filling to pie crust and smooth.  Refrigerate for two hours to set.  Makes 8 servings.

Wouldn't this make a lovely Easter dessert?  A little dollop of whipped cream on top of each slice is good too!  I really liked this dessert and I hope you will too.