Baked Apples and Pears

Leading up to Thanksgiving, I was looking for a delicious, simple and healthy dessert to make.  Thankfully I happened to stumble up this fantastic recipe! It takes about 15 minutes to prep and then you just throw it in the oven, go do some chores for about an hour and all of a sudden, you have a tart, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth dessert ready!

Baked Apples and Pears

1. Peel, core and cut up six apples (any kind!) and three pears (any kind!)
2. Smear a tiny bit of butter all along the bottom of a medium sized baking dish to avoid the sugars carmelizing and sticking to the pan, making clean up a breeze!
3. Mix apples and pears in the baking dish with 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp sugar (brown/sucanat/white/raw, whatever you have on hand!), 1/3 cup dried cranberries and 1/3 cup walnuts
4. Bake at 350 for 55 min

 

This is also fantastic cold, or as a topping on a warm bowl of oatmeal – perfect for those chilly winter mornings!

 

Need a Christmas gift idea?

Go over to my friend Kristen’s Etsy shop….  KG Cute Creations.  She is a stay at home mom like myself and she knits these hats!  She uses her adorable son as her model and the hats are ADORABLE!  They aren’t just for babies either – she has sizing up through adult!

Delivery runs about 2 weeks so make sure to get your orders in ASAP for Christmas!

My son is getting the snowman one in his stocking

Pricing is $25 a hat.

Help! I have too much turkey left over!

This seems to be the case with just about every family in the nation, so the question often arises “What can I do with all of this turkey?!” Well, over the course of the long holiday weekend I have found 3 ways in which you can use up all of that turkey while feeding your family and minimizing waste (and that’s money that you get to keep in your pocket!)

First, the infamous turkey soup. It is so easy to make and uses up lots of the extra veggies that didn’t make it into your Thanksgiving dinner (the ones that did however, are coming up in another recipe!).  Start with boiling the bones that are left over after you take all of the meat off of them – you can just as easily throw it in a crock pot and let it cook over night. In the morning, take the  bones out and put it in the fridge to cool down (this lets the fat harden on the surface so you can remove it!). Then, put all of the broth in a stock pot (I would say we had about 8 cups of broth) with some peppercorns and any chopped up veggies you have left over in the fridge – we had carrots, celery, onions and garlic. Once the carrots start getting a little soft, throw in 3-4 cups of turkey and 2 cups of elbow macaroni noodles. Simmer until the noodles are soft and voila! Dinner for days. Feel free to adjust the veggies and amounts to what you have on hand – we wanted a really hearty, chunky soup so we added a lot of everything!

Second, shepherd’s pie! Line the bottom of a pan with any left over biscuits/bread/stuffing that you have (if it’s stuffing, pat it down flat for maximum crustiness). In a separate bowl, mix together your left over veggies, turkey and gravy then pour on top of the biscuits/bread/stuffing. Scoop your left over mashed potatoes on top, sprinkle with a little bit of cheese if you wish and bake at 350 degrees F until the potatoes and cheese starts to brown. Dinner for the family, while cleaning out your fridge! This, as well as the turkey soup would probably freeze well for easy on the go dinners.

Finally, if you STILL have turkey left over you can make an endless variety of sandwiches! You can make an open-faced sandwich with mashed potatoes, turkey and gravy on top heated up in a toaster overn or microwave, or you can make a simple turkey sandwich with either mustard or cranberry sauce smeared on the bread with turkey and stuffing layered in between. Yum! What do you do with your holiday leftovers?

Rolling Rewards

I’ve had many people ask me how I get so many items for free when I hit the Big 3 (Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS).  I tell them I just roll the rewards!

Rolling rewards (ECB’s, RR’s and UP) from drugstores is the best way to get many of your items for free.  What you do is simply buy an item up front that has a reward attached to it (ideally a high price item with a high reward), then roll it into your next transaction, and you just keep repeating.   You ideally want to make sure every item you purchase has a reward attached to it to maximize savings.

For example (not actual scenario):

 

Transaction #1
Remote Control – $5.99, earn $5.99 Register Reward (RR)

OOP:  $5.99, earn $5.99 RR

Transaction #2

Crest 3D White Toothpaste – $3.50, earn $3.50 RR
Gillette Pro Series Skin Care – $2.49, earn $2.49 RR

• Use $5.99 RR from Trans #1
• OOP: FREE, earn $5.99 RR

Now, at Walgreens, you CANNOT use the Register Rewards you earned from one item to buy more of that item.  It will NOT print another reward that way.  In the above scenario, if you wanted another free remote, you would have to use the Register Rewards you earned from Trans #2 to buy the item in Trans #1.  See below… again, these are all fictitious scenarios to just show how to roll rewards!

Transaction #1
Remote Control – $5.99, earn $5.99 RR

OOP:  $5.99, earn $5.99 RR

Transaction #2

Crest 3D White Toothpaste – $3.50, earn $3.50 RR
Gillette Pro Series Skin Care – $2.49, earn $2.49 RR
Use $5.99 RR from Trans #1

OOP: FREE, earn $5.99 in RR’s

Transaction #3

Remote Control – $5.99, earn $5.99 RR

Use $5.99 in RR’s from Trans #2
OOP:  FREE earn $5.99 RR 

Walgreens also has the coupon to item ratio rule.  

If you have 3 items and 3 manufacturer coupons (MFR) plus a RR you want to redeem, you need to add a cheap 4th item to make the coupons balanced.  Register Rewards count as a manufacturer coupon.  This does NOT apply to the Walgreens in-store coupons, as you can stack the store and MFR coupons together.  See below…

Transaction #1
Gillette Venus Razor – $5.99
Use Walgreens in-store ad coupon for $1/1 Gillette Razor
Use $1/1 MFR coupon
Use $3.99 RR earned from a prior transaction

In this scenario, you have 1 item, 1 in store coupon, 1 manufacturer coupon, and 1 RR.  The in-store coupon and MFR coupon on 1 item is allowed, but since we are using the RR we need to add in an inexpensive item to balance.

Add in $0.13 Christmas Bag
OOP:  $0.13 without tax

This is only the case for Walgreens.

At CVS you can use your Extra Care Bucks (ECB’s) earned on one item to turn around and buy more of the same item in the following transaction.  Same at Rite Aid!

One of my favorite blogs Fabulessly Frugal has amazing breakdowns of store policies for Walgreens and Rite Aid along with more scenarios.  Krazy Coupon Lady has one for CVS.  Follow the links below if you need more clarification!

Rite Aid
CVS
Walgreens

Cheap Pantene at Rite Aid!!

Pantene products are on sale right now $3.50 each.  WYB 2, you earn a $2 UP reward.

Transaction #1:

Buy 2 Pantene products (shampoo, conditioner, style product) @ $3.50 each = $7

Use $3/2 Pantene MFR coupon from 10/30 or 11/27 PG Insert

OOP: $4, earn $2 UP Rewards

Save on Christmas Candy at Rite Aid

Rite Aid is having a good sale on some Christmas candy – use this promo to fill up your holiday stockings!

Hershey’s and Reese’s Holiday Miniatures, Andes, or Nestle Jingles $2.50 
Buy 2, Receive $2.00 +Up Reward  
Use $1.00/3 Hershey’s Kisses brand chocolates, 10 oz or larger from 11/13 SS insert
or use $1.00/2 Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s, Hershey’s Miniatures, York, Kit Kat, Rolo or Hershey’s Bliss bags, 7.8 oz or larger from 11/20 SS insert
OOP: $4, receive $2 UP Reward

Cyber Monday Deals

Get ‘em before they’re over!!!!

Bath and Body Works - 25% off entire order online

Kohls – Free Shipping plus extra 20% off everything with CYBER20 code

Children’s Place – 30% off and free shipping with CYBER30 code

Target – many deals on cameras, iPod’s and more!

Babies R’ Us and Toys R’ Us – Up to 70% off on thousands of items

Walmart - Free Shipping on $45 orders of home free items

 

Fore more deals visit http://www.cybermonday.com/!

How to Make Coffee Shop Drinks Healthier

Coffee shops can be a place of excitement, and understandably so - salted carmel hot chocolate with whipped cream and carmel swirled on top?! Peppermint mocha with more whipped cream, chocolate sauce and peppermint pieces on top?! What is there not to be excited about, right?! Well, there is one thing…

These drinks come loaded with calories, sugar and fat.  Without knowing which ones are bad for you, or how to make healthier adaptations, these can drinks can set you back almost a half a day’s worth of calories (yes, half a day’s worth!) As a former barista I know exactly what goes into each drink – which typically can be mind numbing. However, it also means that I know exactly how to make these drinks as healthy as they are enjoyable! First, I’ll break down the basics of what is in each drink so you will be armed with knowledge when you go to get a coffee and can break down any new drinks that they may have:

Coffee = Plain brewed coffee
Misto or Cafe au Lait = 1/2 brewed coffee + 1/2 steamed milk of your choice
Latte = espresso + steamed milk
Flavored Latte = espresso + flavoring + steamed milk
Cappuccino = espresso + steamed milk + 1 inch of foam
Flavored Cappuccino = espresso + flavoring + steamed milk + 1 inch foam
Mocha = espresso + chocolate syrup + steamed milk + whipped cream + chocolate syrup drizzled on top
Macchiato = espresso + milk foam
Flavored Macchiato = espresso + flavoring + milk foam
Tea Lattes = tea concentrate + steamed milk
Smoothies = flavor concentrate + milk + ice
Frappuccino = iced coffee + ice + whipped cream
Flavored Frappuccino = flavor + ice + whipped cream + flavored sauce drizzled on top
Americano = espresso + hot water
Hot Chocolate = Steamed milk + chocolate sauce

Are you seeing a pattern? Anything with a flavor in the title, you just add that flavor to the basic drink. Anything that has carmel or chocolate in it will also get whipped cream with that flavor drizzled on top. For example: Peppermint mocha. It is a mocha, so  espresso + chocolate syrup + steamed milk + whipped cream + chocolate syrup drizzled on top. However, it’s a peppermint mocha so you just add peppermint syrup to it. The crushed candy cane pieces go on top, which is an additional topping for holiday drinks like this (ie/ holiday drinks like pumpkin spice have pumpkin pie spice sprinkled on top, honey cinnamon has honey bits with cinnamon on top, etc.).

Now, for size variations this is typically how syrup pumps go for flavored drinks (vanilla lattes, mochas, etc.):
Small/tall = 3 pumps
Medium/grande = 4 pumps
Large/venti = 5 pumps

This is how espresso shots vary by drink size for any espresso drink (except an Americano, which will be noted)
Small/tall = 2 shots (Americano = 3 shots)
Medium/grande = 3 shots (Americano = 4 shots)
Large/venti = 4 shots (Americano = 5 shots)

Difference between hot and iced? Only the temperature

Alright, now that you’ve mastered the basics let’s get on to how to make them healthy!

Ask for no whip. This alone will save you on average 120 calories and 7 grams of fat. Whipped cream is made by pouring an entire quart of heavy whipping cream into a canister with 8-10 pumps of vanilla flavored syrup (whipped cream without the added syrup is even more gag worthy), and then attaching a canister of nitrous oxide to infuse it with gas to make it fluffy. Um…delicious? No.

Ask for skim. This one is super simple – just ask for it! This simple change alone will save you 80 calories and 10.5 grams of fat for skim!

Ask for only 1 pump of flavoring or sugar free flavoring.  Asking for just one will save you on average about 60 calories and 20 grams of sugar per pump for the syrups, and even more for the chocolate and carmel!

Asking for these three things above can be done all at once at Starbucks by asking for it “light”.

Avoid shakes. Shakes are horrific nutritionally, and I’m not talking about frappuccinos. While frappuccinos are still anywhere from 300-500 calories a piece (if you get the light version, they are about half of that!) shakes, on average, contain about a pound of ice cream for a medium. Yes, an entire pound, as in scooping into a container on a scale until it says exactly 1 pound and then blending it with coffee powder and chocolate sauce. Many coffee shops no longer have these, however the one that I used to work at did and the fat content was around 57 grams and 600 calories. Unless you are in danger of dying from starvation, or the idea of atherosclerosis is especially appealing to you,  do NOT order one of these.

Start with the basic drink. If you want a mocha, but without all the frills (and calories!) order a latte (remember, once you take out what makes it a mocha – chocolate – you are left with espresso and milk, which is a latte!) and ask for one pump of chocolate – voila, a lower calorie, healthier for you mocha!

Ask for a smaller size. A lot of coffee shops have a size smaller than their smallest listed (at Starbucks, it’s called a short). While sometimes it costs the same as the smallest size (for some drinks it’s cheaper!), you’re saving yourself all those extra calories and chances are you won’t even notice that you drank a third less when you are done! Plus, the cups are so darn cute…

Lastly, look at the nutrition pages of your favorite coffee shops to familiarize yourself with them:
Biggby
Starbucks
Caribou
Coffee Beanery
Seattle’s Best

Now, some modifications do cost extra to have done to your drinks, but most of the ones listed above don’t! Here’s a list of what does and doesn’t cost to modify at most coffee shops:
Holding the whipped cream = free
Skim milk = free
Soy milk = on average, $0.60
Sugar free instead of regular = free
Adding a flavor to a basic drink = on average, $0.60 – but since I only ask for one pump, often times they give it to me for free!

Finally, I know that asking for modifications can seem daunting and make you feel like you are being complicated but trust me, barista’s get them all day long. The difference between us viewing you as complicated versus us making your drink accurately is kindness and patience. We have no problem making a drink with lots of modifications if you’re kind to us and patient if it takes a little bit longer than normal. Also, a little understanding (and a smile!) goes a long way! If we accidentally put whipped cream on your drink when you asked for it to be left off, just simply remind us of that and we’ll gladly scoop it off for you. Throwing a steaming hot (things are brewed between 160-200 degrees F) green tea latte at my head because it isn’t perfect will NOT result in you getting what you want (Yes, this did happen to me. Thanks to my cat-like reflexes, I didn’t suffer any burns to my face). What it WILL result in is you having to pay, again, for me to remake your drink and chances are, the barista remaking it will change something up that you won’t notice (I have personally seen a former co-worker use heavy whipping cream instead of skim milk to re-make a customer’s drink who was rude to them. Not only terrible, but seriously unhealthy!)

Now that you are equipped with all the knowledge that you need to spend less on coffee and make healthier choices while you’re there, go take on your favorite coffee house and start the day off right!

Free NYC New York Nail Polish at Target

There’s a $1/1 NYC New York Product on Target’s coupon webpage and this makes the nail polish FREE!

I have been able to print multiple copies of this coupon!  YAY! (Some sites only allow 2-3 prints)

Click here to print!

Wool Dryer Balls on Sale through 11/27

I love using wool dryer balls for my diaper laundry and my regular laundry – it shaves about 25 minutes off my dry time (and I have 7 balls).  When you use these dryer balls you do not have to use fabric softener in the wash or a sheet in the dryer, and the lint is compostable!

My favorite dryer ball retailer Buddha Bunz is having their wool dryer ball Black Friday sale and it’s still running!  Only $5 for unscented and undyed balls (I use these), or $6 for undyed and scented.  I’m going to snag some more!

Click here for the link to shop!

If you choose NOT to buy any items from the Black Friday page but find something on another page, use the code ‘thankYOU’ for 10% off & FREE shipping now through 12/1!