This morning I was looking for something to have for breakfast. I typically have a protein smoothie but we just got a Keurig (for free!!) so I was trying a coffee concoction and I thought that would be too much liquid to do a smoothie for breakfast too. I always need high protein in the morning though or I get sick so what can I do but Pinterest about it!
I found this recipe but I only had 2 bananas on hand so I cut it in half.
So I did 2 bananas, 1/2 cup oats, 1 whole egg, 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, 2 T baking powder, and 1/4 cup peanut butter. I mixed it all by hand since I still haven't been able to find my mixer (it's packed) but that actually went better than I expected. This made 6 muffins perfectly (I don't think the original poster ever mentioned how many muffins it makes). This was really good! I'm glad I added the chocolate powder too. I could even see this being good with other powders. I think you could change it up quite a bit and still get a good result!
If you're sharing it with kids, like I was, I recommend a plant based protein powder. It's gentler on their tummies :)
I will definitely make these again and it actually went really quick! (I'm always nervous to make something that requires bake time because I need to eat pretty soon after waking up but this wasn't so bad!)
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
10 Ways I Save Money
I would like to think I've always been money conscious but since moving out here, we've had to be a little more careful because we are buying our house supplies out of pocket (instead of with a loan or bigger mortgage on the house). We get a lot of our stuff from auctions, which is great because we can even get NEW, in the box items if we're super lucky. And we never pay more than 50% of what it's worth. In fact, we usually pay much less than that. For instance, I bought new knotty pine interior doors for our house and I got them for $16 a door! They are worth about $200 at Menards (our favorite shopping place!).
So auctions save us a lot of money but for the day to day savings, it takes a little effort. The following are in no order and I'm sure I'm forgetting some!
1. We very rarely buy something that isn't on sale. Even when we use coupons (which surprisingly isn't that often. Typically, generic is cheaper than name brand even with the name brand coupon!), we wait until the item is on sale. The only exceptions are things we need, like milk.
2. We shop at cheap places. For us, this means Menards, Walmart, and Aldi. I try to exclusively grocery shop at Aldi, Walmart is for household and presents. And Menards is for everything else. Menards runs an 11% off sale frequently throughout the year so if we need to buy something that we know doesn't really go on sale, we wait for one of these sales. They also give away lots of stuff for free after rebate.
3. We also shop at Amazon. We pay for Amazon Prime and it's definitely worth it for the free shipping (but we also like the Amazon Instant Video stuff too). We pair it with Honey and WikiBuy so we know we are always getting the best deal. These add ons tell you where the best price is. If you need more info, comment below. Here are our referral codes if you are interested:
http://wbuy.me/B9R2665
http://joinhoney.com/ref/vdypyd
4. We utilize the library! I can't believe how many people don't. This is SUCH a great resource. You get books, even brand new ones, for FREE to keep almost as long as you like (with renewals). They have DVDs, books, even toys for the kids to play with. It's such a family friendly place. We go here at LEAST once a week.
5. We cook. I'm not saying I'm a gourmet, 5 star chef or anything but cooking saves more money than going out. This is also healthier so technically, you are saving on medical costs too by doing this. Even if you are cooking with a pound of butter and 5 cups of sugar, it's not all the preservatives and additives in prepackaged food. We do go out sometimes. Actually, we still go out more than I wish we were but it's a work in progress. I totally get that sometimes you're on the go or in a hurry and those nights it seems so perfect to grab something from a drive thru but if you can prevent it, it's better. If you can't, you can't.
6. We keep our thermostat at 65 during the winter and 72 in the summer. This may seem extreme to some of you but our bodies easily adapt. We do usually go down a degree at night (in the summer) because I can't sleep if I'm too hot. We had a few years without air conditioning (and we don't have air conditioning here) but I just hate that miserable feeling. In winter, it's so easy to turn the thermostat down a little because we can add a sweatshirt or we're asleep under blankets anyway. An adjustable thermostat is great for this so you don't forget to change the temp at night. We use a Nest.
7. We typically shop once a week. This not only saves on gas, but it saves on impulse purchases. If you buy something not on your list every time you go out, the fewer times you go out = fewer impulse buys. We do sometimes end up getting milk at the gas station because that's usually what we run out of first. We tried shopping only once a month but then we weren't eating anything fresh (because what fruits and veggies just don't last all month) so that wasn't working out for us. But we aim for once a week (or less).
8. Back at our old house, we went to Ruby's Pantry once a month. This is SUCH a great organization. Anybody is eligible. You bring two boxes or laundry baskets and you leave with them filled (or even overflowing!) of a variety of food and sometimes household products. Since starting to go to Ruby's two years ago, I haven't had to buy toilet paper, bread, or chicken. They even give you fresh produce sometimes and they always give you at least one package of meat. Sometimes, during our lucky months, they would have so much bread that they would tell us to "take as much as we wanted"!!!! This is when having a chest freezer really comes in handy. Since moving, I haven't been able to go (although they do have one near me) because of my lack of storage space but as we get more settled and eat up more of the food we do have, we are planning on returning. When we were going frequently, i could go to Ruby's and the rest of the month, the only things I would have to buy would be fruit and veggies and maybe milk (they give milk away frequently too).
9. We love reusable products. Yes, you pay more initially but then you can stop buying that product for years and years and that is your savings. We use Norwex (comment below for more info) for lots of household things. I use reusable pads and a menstrual cup. We all have stainless steel water bottles. We use gift bags over and over again. We use reusable grocery bags. Our kids love silicone straws and I use stainless steel ones. You get the idea. We are always looking for more and more ways to have zero waste and less plastic in our lives.
10. This is probably my most important tip. We follow the old saying of "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without". We try to use every last drop of something, we wear our clothes, towels, sheets, etc until they get holes or wear thin. Sometimes I even patch our clothes if they rip at a seam. I use the "make it do" part most in cooking. If I don't have a special ingredient, I find a way to make what I have work. And the do without part is the hardest. But with limited space and trying to downsize, it makes a lot of sense. We don't need so much stuff in our lives. Living in our camper over the summer really showed that. We lived in less than 175 square feet and we were HAPPY. We were getting by just fine. I need to remind myself of this all the time because sometimes, I think "stuff" makes us happier but it really doesn't. Kids don't need toys, toys, toys. Mine can play in a pile of sand for HOURS (yes, literally). And having less stuff, I really notice a decrease in stress levels, despite my current living conditions. It's really crazy. But the best way to save money is to not spend it in the first place.
So auctions save us a lot of money but for the day to day savings, it takes a little effort. The following are in no order and I'm sure I'm forgetting some!
1. We very rarely buy something that isn't on sale. Even when we use coupons (which surprisingly isn't that often. Typically, generic is cheaper than name brand even with the name brand coupon!), we wait until the item is on sale. The only exceptions are things we need, like milk.
2. We shop at cheap places. For us, this means Menards, Walmart, and Aldi. I try to exclusively grocery shop at Aldi, Walmart is for household and presents. And Menards is for everything else. Menards runs an 11% off sale frequently throughout the year so if we need to buy something that we know doesn't really go on sale, we wait for one of these sales. They also give away lots of stuff for free after rebate.
3. We also shop at Amazon. We pay for Amazon Prime and it's definitely worth it for the free shipping (but we also like the Amazon Instant Video stuff too). We pair it with Honey and WikiBuy so we know we are always getting the best deal. These add ons tell you where the best price is. If you need more info, comment below. Here are our referral codes if you are interested:
http://wbuy.me/B9R2665
http://joinhoney.com/ref/vdypyd
4. We utilize the library! I can't believe how many people don't. This is SUCH a great resource. You get books, even brand new ones, for FREE to keep almost as long as you like (with renewals). They have DVDs, books, even toys for the kids to play with. It's such a family friendly place. We go here at LEAST once a week.
5. We cook. I'm not saying I'm a gourmet, 5 star chef or anything but cooking saves more money than going out. This is also healthier so technically, you are saving on medical costs too by doing this. Even if you are cooking with a pound of butter and 5 cups of sugar, it's not all the preservatives and additives in prepackaged food. We do go out sometimes. Actually, we still go out more than I wish we were but it's a work in progress. I totally get that sometimes you're on the go or in a hurry and those nights it seems so perfect to grab something from a drive thru but if you can prevent it, it's better. If you can't, you can't.
6. We keep our thermostat at 65 during the winter and 72 in the summer. This may seem extreme to some of you but our bodies easily adapt. We do usually go down a degree at night (in the summer) because I can't sleep if I'm too hot. We had a few years without air conditioning (and we don't have air conditioning here) but I just hate that miserable feeling. In winter, it's so easy to turn the thermostat down a little because we can add a sweatshirt or we're asleep under blankets anyway. An adjustable thermostat is great for this so you don't forget to change the temp at night. We use a Nest.
7. We typically shop once a week. This not only saves on gas, but it saves on impulse purchases. If you buy something not on your list every time you go out, the fewer times you go out = fewer impulse buys. We do sometimes end up getting milk at the gas station because that's usually what we run out of first. We tried shopping only once a month but then we weren't eating anything fresh (because what fruits and veggies just don't last all month) so that wasn't working out for us. But we aim for once a week (or less).
8. Back at our old house, we went to Ruby's Pantry once a month. This is SUCH a great organization. Anybody is eligible. You bring two boxes or laundry baskets and you leave with them filled (or even overflowing!) of a variety of food and sometimes household products. Since starting to go to Ruby's two years ago, I haven't had to buy toilet paper, bread, or chicken. They even give you fresh produce sometimes and they always give you at least one package of meat. Sometimes, during our lucky months, they would have so much bread that they would tell us to "take as much as we wanted"!!!! This is when having a chest freezer really comes in handy. Since moving, I haven't been able to go (although they do have one near me) because of my lack of storage space but as we get more settled and eat up more of the food we do have, we are planning on returning. When we were going frequently, i could go to Ruby's and the rest of the month, the only things I would have to buy would be fruit and veggies and maybe milk (they give milk away frequently too).
9. We love reusable products. Yes, you pay more initially but then you can stop buying that product for years and years and that is your savings. We use Norwex (comment below for more info) for lots of household things. I use reusable pads and a menstrual cup. We all have stainless steel water bottles. We use gift bags over and over again. We use reusable grocery bags. Our kids love silicone straws and I use stainless steel ones. You get the idea. We are always looking for more and more ways to have zero waste and less plastic in our lives.
10. This is probably my most important tip. We follow the old saying of "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without". We try to use every last drop of something, we wear our clothes, towels, sheets, etc until they get holes or wear thin. Sometimes I even patch our clothes if they rip at a seam. I use the "make it do" part most in cooking. If I don't have a special ingredient, I find a way to make what I have work. And the do without part is the hardest. But with limited space and trying to downsize, it makes a lot of sense. We don't need so much stuff in our lives. Living in our camper over the summer really showed that. We lived in less than 175 square feet and we were HAPPY. We were getting by just fine. I need to remind myself of this all the time because sometimes, I think "stuff" makes us happier but it really doesn't. Kids don't need toys, toys, toys. Mine can play in a pile of sand for HOURS (yes, literally). And having less stuff, I really notice a decrease in stress levels, despite my current living conditions. It's really crazy. But the best way to save money is to not spend it in the first place.
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