If you’re looking for an easy, frugal meal that you can make up ahead of time in the slow cooker, this is it! The flavors are delicious and it tastes great as leftovers! It might just be your new favorite weeknight meal!
Why We Love Making a Taco Soup in a Crock Pot
Our family loved Crockpot Taco Soup!
It was so, so easy to make and so versatile.
If you watched my video where I made this recipe live, you can laugh because y’all, I just can’t seem to follow a recipe perfectly. For the life of me. I just can’t! 😂
Maybe it’s the experimenter in me. Maybe it’s the stubborn side of me. Or maybe it’s just because I’m not good at following directions!
(Don’t even ask my husband about me trying to navigate to a new destination… I basically never make it there without taking at least a few wrong roads — even with WAZE loudly directing me exactly where I should go!)
Whatever it is, I’m just not the girl who would ever win the BEST RECIPE FOLLOWER AWARD. Nope. I would likely come in last place if there was a contest for that.
So, of course, you know that I didn’t follow this recipe exactly as the original stated… that would just be boring. 🙂
Here’s how I tweaked it:
Crockpot Taco Soup Recipe Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
- 1 can beef broth (14.5 oz.)
- 1 can kidney beans (16 oz.)
- 1 can black beans or black-eyed peas (16 oz.)
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz.)
- 1 can diced tomatoes & green chilies (10 oz.)
- 1 bag frozen corn (8 oz.)
- 3 Tablespoons taco seasoning (here’s a homemade recipe)
- 2 Tablespoons Ranch salad dressing
- 1.5 teaspoons onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
How to make Taco Soup in the Crock Pot
1. Add all ingredients to your crockpot and mix them together.
2. Cook on high for two hours or until heated through (or on low for 4 hours).
3. Serve with cheese, tortilla chips, Fritos, and/or sour cream.
Taco Soup Recipe (Crock Pot) FAQs
Not unless you use spicy taco seasonings. Also, if you top the chili with sour cream and cheese, it will be even milder.
Yes, but you’ll need to alter the cooking time. Check your Instant Pot settings and use whatever they suggest for soup.
Yes, you can let it simmer on the “warm” setting of your slow cooker for several hours if necessary. You can also freeze it and warm it up on the stove whenever you’re ready to eat.
What to serve with Crockpot Taco Soup
Tortilla chips are a must.
Even better — chips and cheese!
You could also pair this soup with a delicious taco salad, or even serve it as a “first course” to a Mexican feast!
Taco Soup Toppings Ideas
Any of your favorite taco toppings also work for taco soup!
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream
- Guacamole
- Fresh cilantro
- Diced onions (white, red, or green)
- Diced tomatoes or salsa
- Chopped peppers (you can go spicy if you want!)
- Crushed tortilla chips, Fritos, or Doritos
- Taco sauce
How to Store Crockpot Taco Soup Recipe
Depending on how much soup you plan to store, you could either put it in a large food storage container or portion it up into individual serving sizes for quick lunches later in the week.
Store it in the fridge for up to a week, or pop the containers in the freezer for longer.
Can I freeze Taco Soup?
Yes, it freezes wonderfully!
Simply divide it up into whatever portion sizes you’ll want to reheat and freeze it in a tightly-sealed food storage container. Zip-top freezer bags actually work really well for freezing soup.
When you’re ready to warm up the soup, simply warm it up on a small sauce pot on the stove or even in the microwave.
Crock Pot Taco Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef browned and drained
- 14.5 oz. canned beef broth
- 16 oz. canned kidney beans
- 16 oz. canned black beans
- 14.5 oz. canned diced tomatoes
- 10 oz. canned tomatoes & Green chilies
- 8 oz. frozen corn
- 3 Tbs. taco seasoning
- 2 Tbs. Ranch Dressing
- 1½ tsp. onion powder
- ½ tsp. salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to your crockpot and mix them together.
- Cook on high for two hours or on low for 4 hours.
- Serve with cheese, tortilla chips, Fritos, and/or sour cream.
Notes
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream
- Guacamole
- Fresh cilantro
- Diced onions (white, red, or green)
- Diced tomatoes or salsa
- Chopped peppers (you can go spicy if you want!)
- Crushed tortilla chips, Fritos, or Doritos
- Taco sauce
Nutrition
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FREE DOWNLOAD: 60 Meals To Help You Avoid Takeout!
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National Consumer Panel: Earn rewards for scanning your grocery purchases
National Consumer Panel: Earn rewards for scanning your grocery purchases
The National Consumer Panel (formerly known as Nielsen Home Scan) is accepting new applicants in many locations.
If you are accepted as a panel member with National Consumer Panel, you will be sent a small hand-held scanner and will scan all the bar codes of everything you purchase. Once a week, you’ll transmit this information to Nielsen and you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for a variety of items from the Nielsen Gift Catalog.
While I have personally not been a part of this panel, I have known many who have. I have heard that it takes a while for your points to add up but you can earn some fairly nice prizes – like electronics and household items – if you stick with it.
Some of you have signed up in the past for this and really enjoyed it. Others of you have tried it and found it was too tedious and time-consuming. Feel free to share your experience in the comments!
Sign up here to get started.
Looking for more opportunities to make money from home? See my list of recommended survey companies here.
5 Things I’m Loving This Week (and guess where we’re headed on Thursday??)
5 Things I’m Loving This Week (and guess where we’re headed on Thursday??)
1. Seeing Your Kids Stretch And Step Outside Their Comfort Zone
Look who got to play George Washington at school on Friday!! They did a little presentation for the parents at chapel and he had his first on-stage speaking part.
l was so proud of him… This once incredibly shy, would-not-even-look-at-someone-he-didn’t-know boy spoke with poise and confidence and a smile.
Watching your kiddos stretch and grow and step outside their comfort zones and develop character is such a rewarding thing as a parent!
2. Poldark: Season 2 is Coming!
Oh happy day!! Did you see that Season 2 of Poldark is coming?!?!
I’m super picky about what shows I’ll watch. To me, a lot of TV is boring, lacking character depth and engaging storylines.
So most of the time, when we try out a new show that has been raved about, I feel let down. But not Poldark!! From the first episode, we were hooked.
It is 100% my kind of show. I love the rich character development and have high hopes for Season 2!!
3. Photos From South Africa
My phone showed a message from WhatsApp earlier this week — which can only mean one thing: Someone from South Africa was texting me.
I was thrilled to get the text with these photos from the large building you all are helping to build at Reagaboka. After going last year and getting to see the classrooms you all helped build, I’m just ecstatic about this new building knowing what a need it is going to meet in so many ways in this community.
Can you believe that they are putting a roof on it now?? It’s getting SO close to being done. And this could have never happened without you all.
4. We’re GOING to South Africa Next Week!!!!!
You guys, I’m SO excited! And seeing the above pictures just makes me more excited.
Those of you who are long-time followers know how part of my heart will always be in South Africa. And I’m absolutely thrilled that I get the opportunity to bring a team of my readers with me to South Africa.
We leave on Thursday (September 8) and will get back the following Saturday (September 17). The onlyreally sad part for me is that our kids are staying back in the states this time. (We took them with us on our last trip to South Africa and it was such a special time for our family!)
My mom has been so kind to be willing to come and stay with them and they are looking forward to getting to spend a lot of quality time with Grandma while we’re gone.
If you want to follow along with our trip, be sure to follow me on Instagram (if you aren’t following me already). That’s likely where I’ll be updating the most.
I may also post some on Snapchat (I’m crystal.paine there) or see if I can get good enough wifi to hop on Facebook Live. And I’ll be sure to post some details about our trip on my blog — either while we’re in South Africa or after we get back home.
5. Peace In My Heart
I was struggling and stressing over some situations in my life that are outside my control and I read a chapter in Wild and Free last week that kicked my behind. I realized my fear and anxiety was really just my lack of trusting in my all-wise, all-knowing, always-working-for-my-good Heavenly Father.
I can leave my burdens, my stress, my anxiety at His feet and I can rest in the truth that He is in control.
He doesn’t need me to try to fix, solve, or micro-manage all the details of my life and others’ lives. He calls me to rest in His Master Plan and trust His unfailing goodness.
This truth brought so much peace at a deep level. He is good! And this truth sinking deep in my soul made this past week a thousand times better.
What are YOU loving this week?
We Purged 80% of Our Stuff in One Week
Guest post from Caroline of Cow Country Housewife
I want to tell you about my lastest all-over organizing, closet clearing, drawer dumping, box emptying purge. This very purge helped me to clear out ALL of the needless clutter and junk that took up so much space in my house.
I’m calling my purging the “all of the dressers in my house got recalled then my basement got 6 inches of water” purge.
Why the weird name? It’s inspired by true events.
In the span of a week, all of the dressers in my house got recalled by IKEA in their huge recall, and then we had a flash flood and got 6 inches of water in our basement. For real.
During this week, we got to see all of the articles of clothing that we owned. All 5 of the people in my house had their drawers emptied and their contents dumped on the floors.
We saw everything. All of the clothes that we never wear. All of the jeans that fit before the babies came along. And all of the impulsive purchases. All of the hand-me-downs that were kept despite the stains or holes.
We got to see how much junk we were holding onto for the sake of keeping it.
We became painfully aware of how many times we looked into drawers bursting with clothes and wondered what we were going to wear. And all of the times that we went clothes shopping and added more clothes to the over-filled drawers.
It was painful… It was embarrassing… It was ridiculous.
We went through and filled 8 garbage bags FULL of clothes to go to the Salvation Army. And we were still filling bags 2 weeks later as we decide whether or not to keep the remaining clothes before putting them into the new dressers.
The cherry on the cake was the basement flood.
The basement flood was a shock. We’d already had a flood the year before, so we were prepared for the most part. Even with the sump pump and shop vac at the ready, there’s still not much that can keep you calm when you walk into your basement to see water gushing out of the storm drains.
When the flood waters went down and we removed all the standing water, it was then time to throw out everything that was damaged.
We threw out the infant carrier I was keeping for sentimental reasons. We threw out all of the old paint cans and other renovation equipment that had been untouched for years. We threw out or donated many toys we were keeping, even though the children never even missed them.
It was messy… It was frustrating… It was cleansing!
The “all of the dressers in my house got recalled then my basement got 6 inches of water” purge changed from a horribly stressful situation into the motivation that we needed to get rid of all of the junk that was bogging us down.
My husband and I had always talked about how we needed to get rid of all of the junk in the house that had accumulated over the years, but we always found excuses not to do it. It’s too nice outside to spend all day cleaning, I’m exhausted, the kids are grumpy… we had every excuse in the book to avoid purging our stuff.
It took 2 huge setbacks in the span of a week to force us to see that there’s no better time than the present to start.
The purge forced us to take sentimentality out of our decisions. We got smaller dressers so we couldn’t fit more stuff in them — everything needed to be practical, fit well on us, and fit inside the drawers.
The basement flood forced us to take anything that wasn’t stored neatly in a closed plastic container, and throw it out. We got plastic shelving, but anything that didn’t fit in a box or on a shelf has been thrown out. Nothing can be put downstairs without a plastic box, just in case. Everything needs to be contained, organized, and intentionally placed downstairs.
Now, a few weeks later, we’re still finding things to throw out and donate. We were motivated to start, and we’ve been on a roll ever since. We continue to donate bags and boxes to the Salvation Army (which they always accept with open arms.)
We got rid of at least 80% of everything in our home, and we’re not even done yet!
Our house feels lighter, happier, more full of love and less full of stuff — and we decided we will do this kind of purge every year to get rid of all of the clutter and junk that accumulates.
Our forced purge showed us how comfortable we had become with clutter and adding more things into our lives without taking anything away. We learned that we needed to be content with what we have and not always looking for the next thing to buy.
When you’re faced with piles of clothes on the floor and soggy cardboard boxes, it’s easy to decide to get rid of things. If you’re overwhelmed by what you have in your house, try the “all of the dressers in my house got recalled then my basement got 6 inches of water” purge and see how much stuff you’ve been holding onto!
Caroline is a wife, mom of three boys, Christian, penny pincher extraordinaire, frugalista, cloth-diapering-essential-oil-loving-home-birthing hippie, and lover of life. She lives in beautiful Cow Country, PA where she shares her love of saving money on her blog: Cow Country Housewife!
Gretchen’s $54 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan
Dillons
1 Stonyfield Organic Yogurt – Marked down to $1.89
1 lb Ground Beef – $2.99
1 Silk Almond Milk – $1.99
1 Goldfish – $0.99, used $1/1 mailer coupon – Free after coupon
2 bags Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – $4.99 each
1 carton Kroger Ice Cream – $1.99, used $0.40/1 e-coupon AND $0.25/1 Ibotta rebate – $1.34 after coupon and rebate
1 Frozen Orange Juice – $1
2 Krusteaz Cookie Mix – $0.99 each, used 2 $0.50/1 printable – $0.49 each after coupons
4 boxes Cheerios Cereal – $1.29 each, used 2 $1/2 printable – $0.79 each after coupons
1 box Cocoa Puffs – $1.29, used $1/1 printable (no longer available) – $0.29 after coupon
0.91 lbs Bananas – $0.54, used $0.25/1 Ibotta rebate – $0.29 after rebate
1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99
1 bag Peppers – Marked down to $0.99
1 bag Apples – Marked down to $0.99
1 Apple & Eve Juice – $1.49, used $1/1 printable – $0.49 after coupon
1 Pineapple – $1.99
2 Lara Bars – $1, used $0.50/2 e-coupon AND $0.50/2 SavingStar.com rebate – $0.50 each after coupon
1 Nabisco Ritz Crackers – $1.69, used $1/1 e-coupon – $0.69 after coupon
Used $1/$5 produce coupon
Total after coupons and rebates: $30.05
Aldi
1 lb Butter – $2.69
1 bag Corn Chips – $0.79
2 pkg Flour Tortillas – $0.99 each
1 dozen Eggs – $0.99
1 bag Mandarins – $2.49
2 pkg Strawberries – $1.29 each
1 loaf Bread – $0.99
2 pkg Baby Carrots – $0.49 each, used $0.25/1 Checkout 51 rebate – $0.36 each after rebate
1 gallon Milk – $2.40
1 Applesauce – $1.89
1 pkg Roma Tomatoes – $1.49
2 pkg Cheese – $1.69 each
1 bag Spinach – $1.79
1 can Tuna – $0.65
Total after rebate: $24.84
Total for both stores: $54.89
Menu Plan for This Week
Breakfasts
Eggs & Toast x 3
Cereal x 3
Cinnamon Rolls, Fruit Salad
Lunches
Cheese, Crackers, Fruit, Veggies
Tuna Sandwiches, Carrot Sticks
Mac & Cheese, Strawberries
Salad Bar x 2
Cheese Quesadillas, Sliced Apples, Carrot Sticks
Leftovers
Dinners
Baked Chicken Drumsticks, Spinach Salad, Mashed Potatoes
Spaghetti, Soft & Fluffy One Hour Rolls, Steamed Peas, Fruit Salad
Chicken Tacos, Fruit Salad
Waffles, Eggs, Orange Juice
Dinner with family x 2
MySurvey: Earn cash or rewards for taking surveys
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MySurvey is a company that I have used in the past and earned money from. You can redeem your points earned for cash or prizes, and every 1000 points equals $10.
Go here to sign up.
Looking for more opportunities to make money from home? See my list of recommended survey companies here.
Freezer Cooking: Blueberry Coconut Crisp, Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars, and Pumpkin French Toast
Freezer Cooking: Blueberry Coconut Crisp, Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars, and Pumpkin French Toast
I did something different for this week’s Freezer Cooking session. Instead of doing a few Facebook Live videos and taking lots of pictures for a blog post, I decided to do the entire cooking session live on video!
You can watch the full video here — if you’re interested. This gives you a peek into how I work in the kitchen (I might appall you if you are someone who follows recipes precisely!) and how I adapt based upon what I have on hand or how I substitute when I don’t have one of the ingredients! 🙂
The entire session took me 30 minutes total — and then a little clean up time. I’d love to hear your feedback on whether you like me doing the full cooking sessions live like this. I love that people can interact live, share tips, ask questions, etc. It’s live-blogging at its finest!
Here were the final results:
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars — I love recipes from Chocolate Covered Katie! I especially love how she makes her recipes so flexible so can adapt them if you have food allergies or preferences.
These bars were pretty good. Quite soft and sweet. I’m not sure that I’d recommend subbing pumpkin for applesauce, but at least I used what I had and saved myself a trip to the store, right? 🙂
Blueberry Coconut Crisp — I had some leftover coconut in cupboard and some blueberries from ALDI, so they served as the inspiration to try this recipe.
I was really happy with how it turned out and think it would be amazing served over Greek Yogurt for breakfast or with ice cream for dessert.
It’s not as healthy as My Favorite Blueberry Crisp recipe, but the coconut gives it a different twist and it’s definitely a recipe I’d recommend.
Pumpkin French Toast — I know it’s just barely September, but I’m all about the pumpkin over here. Have I mentioned that I absolutely adore fall? Oh yes I do!
And I start pretending that it’s fall just as soon as it hits near the end of August. Gratefully, the weather has even been cooperating with my plan some of the days and it’s been cooler temperatures instead of crazy hot!
So when I saw this Pumpkin French Toast, I was all over it. It was SO easy to make and it’s a really inexpensive recipe that can be made with ingredients from ALDI!
Jesse said that this was his favorite recipe of the three I made. I was surprised and happy about that as he’s not as ridiculously into pumpkin as I am! 🙂
Did you do any freezer cooking this week? Tell us about it in the comments!
P.S. See Last Week’s Freezer Cooking Session Here.
Fall in love with exercise… even if you don’t have a fit bone in your body!
Fall in love with exercise… even if you don’t have a fit bone in your body!
For 15 days, we’re exploring the topic of making our health and well-being a priority as part of the 15 Days to a Healthier You series. You can read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here, Day 6 here, Day 7 here, Day 8 here, Day 9 here, Day 10 here, and Day 11 here.
Exercise is often one of the thing that tends to get pushed to the back burner when schedules are busy, but starting the day with a little exercise is one of the best ways to wake you up and make you feel energized for the rest of the day.
If you’re dragging along and feeling like you’re lacking energy and enthusiasm for life, exercise just might be the best antidote.
Exercise is one of those things that you’ll likely never regret doing. Instead of making excuses as to why you can’t find time to exercise, change your mindset and start thinking of ways to you can fit some exercise into your morning — or somewhere in your day!
Your health is worth the sacrifice of a little time, sweat, and effort. And the trickle down benefits you’ll experience the rest of the day — in having more energy, feeling more encouraged, and feeling stronger — will make it all the more worthwhile.
If you struggle to regularly exercise, here are some practical ideas and suggestions — none of which require you to hire a personal trainer, invest a lot of money in workout equipment, or buy a gym membership!
1. Check Out a DVD From the Library
If you can’t afford to pay for a gym membership or a trainer, check out the workout DVD selection at your local library. Typically, they have quite a large variety to choose from.
Some of my favorites are by Jillian Michaels (more intense workouts) and Leslie Sansone (these are great for beginners or those looking for low impact exercise).
I’ve found exercise DVDs are a great way to mix things up — especially if my current routine seems like it’s becoming a bit mundane. And it’s a lot less inhibiting (especially as an introvert!) to work out in your basement or living room, rather than in a group of people at a class at the gym! 🙂
2. Watch Exercise Videos Online
Can’t make it to the library? The internet is goldmine of exercising videos and resources. Here are some links to get you started:
- Fitness Blender — This site offers free full-length workout videos for guys and girls. They tell you the time it will take, the calorie burn, the area the workout targets, and the intensity level.
- The Best FREE Workout Videos on YouTube — If you search for free full-length workouts on YouTube, it’s going to pull up a TON of options. Greatist has put together a list of the top 21 FREE workouts on YouTube that would be a great place to start.
- The Top 10 Workout Channels on YouTube — You can also check out Shape magazine’s recommended Top 10 Workout Channels here.
3. Experiment With New Things
If you don’t enjoy exercising, there’s a good chance it’s because you’ve not yet tried enough different kinds of exercise options to find one that works best for you.
Exercise doesn’t have to mean going to the gym and sweating it out on the treadmill. It could be a walk at the park with your friend, or playing basketball with your son, or swimming together as a family at the neighborhood pool, or taking a family bike ride, or walking around the mall with your husband.
There’s pretty much something out there for everyone, so keep trying things until you land upon something you love. I’ve done exercise DVDs, running, walking, bike riding, the elliptical, and this year tried my hand at rock-climbing, snow-boarding, knee-boarding, and fell in love with weight-lifting.
I didn’t know that I’d fall in love with weight-lifting. Honestly, I thought I would hate it. But I made myself go out and start doing it every day and committed to stick with it for a few weeks.
At the end of a few weeks, I realized that it wasn’t the torture it once was. Instead, there was a little part of me that was enjoying it — much to my shock. And the more I’ve done it, the more I’ve fallen in love with it!
Remember That Something is Better Than Nothing
If you only have five minutes in the morning to exercise, then exercise for five minutes. Sure, you’re probably not going to get the benefits of a 45-minute workout in five minutes, but you can definitely work up a little sweat and get your heart pumping with a short and intense workout.
Do what you can do with the time you have. Something is always better than nothing when it comes to exercise.
4. Find a Workout Partner
Teaming up with someone else can be a great way to be more successful when it comes to fitness. Why? Because it’s amazing how much it will motivate you to actually follow through with your plan when you know someone else is going to show up and hold you accountable!
Find someone to meet you for a morning jog, to come over and do that exercise DVD with you multiple times per week, or ask who will text or email you and see if you followed through with the goals you set for exercise each day. There are also many different online accountability forums and Facebook groups (or you could start your own!) for whatever exercise program or regimen you want to do.
I’m currently working out with my husband and a good friend every week day using a pretty intense workout plan Jesse put together based on the book Thinner, Leaner, Stronger. We work out every week day at 5 a.m. There’s incredible accountability to get up and get out of bed when you know that someone is showing up at your house at 5 a.m. to work out!
While the workouts are kicking my tail and I sometimes have a bad attitude because they are hard, I’m now at the stage where I’m all, “Bring it on!” Why? Because I have SO much more energy, feel so much better, and am already seeing some real, legit muscles in places where I’ve never seen them before. Plus, if I take a few days off, I can tell a difference — I feel more sluggish and unmotivated and I don’t sleep as well.
The best part is that my husband absolutely LOVES that I’ve become one of his workout partners. Our workouts in our garage “gym” every day have become one of our very favorite parts of the day! We cheer each other on, we sometimes tease each other, we have deep conversations while we’re resting between sets, we laugh, we process through hard things in our lives.
5. Set Small Goals
A lot of people want to lose weight or run a marathon, but wanting to do something won’t get you anywhere. You have to actually set a goal and break it down into bite-sized, realistic pieces if you want to be successful.
What are your fitness goals? What tiny steps can you can take this week to help you get where you want to be in six months from now?
If you’ve never exercised before, don’t expect that you’ll be running five miles in a few weeks. Start slowly, set small goals, and focus on the progress you’re making (even if it seems tiny) instead of being discouraged by the fact that you’re not where you want to be.
You’d rather slowly build up your endurance and stamina then to try to do much more than you’re capable of and end up burning yourself out before the first week of exercise is over with.
Tip: What motivates you? Plan some rewards for when you hit your goals. Maybe you decide to put a quarter in a jar every time you exercise for 25 minutes and then you can use this money on a little special treat (coffee at the coffee shop, a used book from Amazon, etc.) every few weeks.
6. Track Your Progress
Don’t just think about the goals in your head; actually put them on paper (or on an app!) and then track your progress.
Each week, keeping a log of the workouts you do, how much time you worked out for, or how many miles you ran. This will inspire you to keep going, will encourage you as you see yourself growing stronger and building endurance.
There are many different online sites to help you track your progress such as: MyFitnessPal, SparkPeople, or Nike+. All of these have cool features that make logging your exercise time more rewarding.
I got a Jawbone UP3 earlier this year and it has literally made SUCH an impact on my life. I realized within a few days that I was getting a lot less sleep and was a lot more sedentary than I realized. The band has inspired and motivated me to make sleep and exercise a much higher priority.
It’s amazing how motivating the act of setting goals, breaking them down into small pieces, and then tracking your progress can be. You can do this — one step at a time!
Day 12 Project
1. Choose one type of exercise or exercise regimen that you are going to commit to doing for the next two weeks.
2. Tell someone you’ve made this commitment — or post it in the comments here or on Facebook or other social media space.
3. Ask someone to keep you accountable to stick with your plan. Make sure you tell them what you are planning to do and when you are planning to do it.
4. Track your progress and check in with your accountability partner regularly. You can do this!!
Looking for some more practical help?
- Want to take things to the next level? Consider becoming an exercise instructor so you can earn money while burning calories! Or, a simpler idea is to burn calories while collecting Coke points that you can cash in for gift cards!
- Need some more practical ideas? Here are 7 ways to save money and stay motivated while getting fit and six tips for losing weight on a budget.
- Struggling with negative self-talk about how you’re just not cut out for fitness or regular exercising? Read this post on simple steps to change your mind so you can change your life and this post on how three small things can add up to a changed life.
- If you’d love to lose some extra weight, but you’re on a budget and can’t afford a gym membership, diet programs, or a personal trainer, don’t despair! See how MaryEllen lost 33 pounds and has kept it off for five years — and she only spent $30 out of pocket to do so!
This Week’s $52 ALDI Grocery Shopping Trip
We went to ALDI on Sunday night and spent $52 total. Because I’ve been buying extra deals here and there over the last few weeks, we had more to work with this week and I didn’t need to spend as much this week — which was great!
Note: If you missed my post on Why I’m Back to Grocery Shopping, Menu-Planning, and Freezer Cooking, be sure to read it here.
Our Grocery Budget
We currently budget $125 per week for groceries for our family of 5. This does not include eating out once a week (we budget separately for that).
We also get some of our expensive groceries and personal products (such as makeup) via Amazon using credit earned from Swagbucks + we get the majority of our household products (cleaners, toothpaste,detergent, etc.) via credit earned from Grove.
I only spent $52 this week, which leaves me lots of wiggle room to buy more markdowns at Kroger if I have time to swing by there later this week to see if they have some great markdowns. If I don’t have time or they don’t have good markdowns, I’ll roll over the extra $$ to next week.
This time around, our whole family went to ALDI together because we had a Community Group lunch right after church and it was held close to ALDI.
So, you might see a few extra things in my grocery purchases that I wouldn’t normally splurge on (hello, Goldfish crackers and fresh salsa!), but that I was happy to buy since everyone was willing to go to the grocery store with me and because we had quite a bit of extra wiggle room in the budget this week.
Here’s what we bought:
- Tortilla Chips — $1.19
- Freezer Bags — $1.99
- Baby Lettuce — $1.99
- 3 Macaroni & Cheese — $0.33 per box
- 3 Cucumbers — $0.25 each
- Feta Cheese — $1.79
- Bag of Red Grapes — $1.58
- 2 bags of String Cheese — $1.99 per bag
- Crispy Oats Cereal — $1.19
- Triple Chocolate Cake (purchased for an event we were heading to right after the shopping trip!) — $2.99
- Fresh Salsa — $2.49
- Milk — $2.39
- Goldfish Crackers — $1.85
- Pretzel Sticks — $1.29
- 3 bags Baby Carrots — $0.49 per bag
- Cinnamon Crunch Cereal — $1.29
- 2 bags of bananas — $0.44/lb. — $1.95
- Butter — $2.49
- Dried Cranberries — $1.29
- Honey Nut Oats Cereal — $1.19
- Blueberries — $1.49 (got a $0.25 rebate back from Checkout 51)
- 2 dozen eggs — $0.49 per dozen
- 1 bag of apples — $2.99
- Cottage Cheese — $1.99
- Cantaloupe — $0.99
- 24-pack of Purified Water — $1.99
- Gallon Water — $0.79
Total with tax — $52.86 (Plus, I uploaded my receipt to Yaarlo & earned a little cashback for doing so. If you haven’t signed up with Yaarlo, use my coupon code MONEYSAVINGMOM when you sign up to earn more.)
This Week’s Menu Plan
Interested in what we’re eating this week? You can see our menu plan for this week here. I plan our menu based upon what we already have on hand, so I didn’t have to buy every single item needed to make everything on our menu.
Struggling with menu planning? Check out this post on How to Be a Meal Planning Mama.
This Week’s Menu Plan (+ fitting in real meals around a full schedule)
This Week’s Menu Plan (+ fitting in real meals around a full schedule)
We are sticking with a really simple meal plan this week — and 4 of the meals are coming from Blue Apron because I did a live unboxing video review for them on Facebook and they sent me some extra boxes to prep for that.
This week is our first week where we have school + swimming for Kathrynne 4 days per week, baseball for Silas on 2 days, and skating for Kaitlynn 4 days per week. We’ve been slowing easing into the routine of school + being in downtown Nashville for skating four afternoons per week, so adding on baseball and swimming in downtown Nashville four evenings per week should go okay.
Kathrynne is still undecided whether she wants to continue on with swim team during the school year since it’s a lot of extra hours in addition to her school load. Swim team practices are downtown Nashville and don’t get done until 7:30 p.m. and then there’s a 30-45 minute drive back home, depending upon traffic.
She loves swimming but we don’t want her to be too tired to really apply herself in school and we also want her to have some breathing room in her daily schedule, too. So we’re letting her make the ultimate call, but we’re testing the waters this week to see how it feels and if it’s too much or not.
Jesse and I both love how much character and confidence having a sport that you really apply yourself to breeds, but we also want to be wise and not overwhelm our kids or keep their schedules too full. So we’ll see how it all shakes out after we try it this week.
We’re planning to prep all our dinners ahead — with Jesse taking care of the 4 Blue Apron meals and I’ll be in charge of the other 3 dinners — so that there is good food ready to eat on busy nights.
Breakfasts
Breakfasts are a big deal at our house. Not necessarily because of what we eat, but because this is the one meal we’ve committed to eat together around the table pretty much every single day.
Dinners are often somewhat grab and go or brown bagged — especially on the 3 nights a week the girls have swimming and skating. But breakfast, it’s a given. We eat, we talk, we read together, we pray together, and we linger around the table. It’s been a beautiful addition to our schedule + a great way to start the day!
Choose from:
- French Toast Bake
- Cereal
- Bacon & Eggs
- Oatmeal
Lunches & Snacks
We’re trying something for lunches during the school year. Our extra refrigerator is 100% devoted to lunch items.
We’re making up a big batch of freezer-friendly PB&J on the weekends and, in addition, I’ll have 4 different bins of items that the kids can choose one from — cheese sticks, snack packs, veggies, fruit, applesauce, chips, cookies, etc.
Each bin has something different so that when they choose one item from each, they’ll have a well-rounded lunch.
Kathrynne helped me set this up and she took the initiative to write a board with details on how to put together the lunches. So far, I have literally done NOTHING for lunch prep other than help set the system up and make sure we had the items on hand for Kathrynne to get everything into baggies in the extra refrigerator.
And then the kids have been entirely in charge of each making their own lunch every night. I haven’t had to remind anyone and no one has yet to forget their lunch. I know we’re only two weeks in, but I’m pretty excited at how well this has worked so far — especially because the kids seem to be loving it!
Jesse and I are in charge of our own lunches and I’m going to have items on hand to choose from: fried eggs, toast, chips & salsa, yogurt, refried beans & cheese, salads, fruits, veggies, and/or leftovers.
Snacks: Blueberry Coconut Crisp, Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
Dinners
We’re planning to prep all our dinners ahead — with Jesse taking care of the 4 Blue Apron meals and I’ll be in charge of the other 3 dinners — so that there is good food ready to eat on busy nights.
- Fried Potatoes/Ground Turkey, Corn on the Cob, Fruit
- Build-Your-Own Haystacks, Fruit
- Blue Apron Meals x 4
- Breakfast for Dinner: Pumpkin French Toast, Eggs, Bacon
Freezer Cooking
I’m doing a Freezer Cooking session on Thursday where I’m combining dinner prep with freezer cooking. This means that I’ll really only have to bake/cook one day this week. I’ll be making Blueberry Coconut Crisp, Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars, and Pumpkin French Toast. Look for more details on how that goes later this week!
Because of the Blue Apron meals and because we’ve been buying items ahead of time when they are on sale, we only spent about $52 on groceries this week from ALDI. Look for my post tomorrow with full details on what all we bought and how much we paid for everything!
What’s on YOUR menu plan this week? Share the link to it in the comments or tell us what you’re most excited about cooking!
Related Menu-Planning Posts:
3 Recipes I Made Recently Using What We Had on Hand
Last Week’s Menu Plan
Last Week’s Freezer Cooking Session
Why I’m Back to Menu-Planning, Grocery Shopping, and Freezer Cooking
Why We Stopped Making Family Dinners a Priority
YEARS of Past Menu Plans We’ve Shared Here
6 Ways We’re Keeping Our Grocery Budget Low
Why We More Than Doubled Our Grocery Bill
OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!
Click here to download!
5 Things I’m Loving This Week (+ a little update on us)
1. Blueberry Crisp
This is my favorite Blueberry Crisp recipe. And yes, I made a personal-sized pan of it this week and ate the whole thing almost all myself.
I not only ate it for snack, I also ate it for breakfast. It has oats and blueberries, so it’s basically oatmeal, right?? 😉
If you’re interested, you can watch this video I did here where I make it live and swoon over how much I love it.
2. Nail Art by Kaitlynn
Kaitlynn (my 9-year-old) has been obsessed with nail art videos on YouTube and she’s been trying out different designs on anyone willing to be a guinea pig.
She did this design for me today. She also encouraged me to “work on growing my nails out longer” so she could try more designs on me. I’m working on that whole nail-biting thing, so here’s more motivation to continue to break that habit!
3. My Little “Business Man”
He got his first real suit for Presentation Days at school this year… and he rocked it. 🙂 Once he was all dressed up, he came into the room and said, “Mom, let’s talk business!”
I just about busted up. This kid. There are no words for him. He has so much life and spunk and you just never know what’s going to come out of his mouth next.
I’m so glad that he’s not so grown up that he’s grown out of snuggling with Mom, though. Just about every morning and every night, he asks if we can snuggle together — and I’m more than happy to oblige!
4. These Three Kids
I’m SO proud of these kids and the maturity they’ve shown the last two weeks in stepping out of their comfort zones and experiencing a lot of firsts and new things.
I know I’m biased and all that, but I really am so impressed with them and how they’ve faced their fears, adjusted to a brand-new schedule, and had (for the most part) great attitudes and resilient spirits, in spite of their inhibitions.
I’m seeing so many new character traits blossoming, so many new sides of them come out, and we’re having so many wonderful conversations together. I think we’re all growing together as a family and I’m humbled and grateful.
God is so good to lead us and I’m grateful to see His hand in this new chapter of our lives. (And thank you to the many of you who are praying for us! You have no idea how much it means!)
5. Kaitlynn’s Skating Competition
Today was Kaitlynn’s second time to perform this Showcase Program in competition. I love to see how her confidence as a skater continues to grow (watch a video clip of her performance here).
This was her first competition where there were no tears, she didn’t get stressed about the experience, and she was able to go out and just have fun competing/performing!
That is a huge accomplishment for her — especially since this was her first competition to compete at the No Test level (she just moved up from High Beginner). I’m so proud of this girl and can’t wait to see how God uses her gifts and talents in the future!
What are YOU loving this week? Tell us in the comments!
An open letter to ALDI
Dear ALDI,
I tried to break up with you, but I just couldn’t.
When I step into your doors I’m instantly taken back to the lean law school years when your low prices allowed us to survive on a tiny, tiny grocery budget. You’ve saved us thousands of dollars over the last 13 1/2 years.
And even though I could afford to pay fancier grocery store prices now, you continue to woo me with how you simplify my life and keep our grocery budget low.
Thank you for not offering 27 different kinds of ketchup. Or 56 types of salad dressing. Or 14 variations of Cheerios.
Thank you for not being all flashy and slick. Stay humble, small, and inexpensive. I like you best that way.
You rock.
Sincerely,
Your lifelong BFF and not-so-secret admirer
Do you want to take better control of your grocery budget? If so, you’ll want to read my newest eBook, 5 Days to a Better Grocery Budget!
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In this eBook, you’ll learn:
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[better_budget_form]
5 Ways to Save During Infertility
Guest post from Liv of LivRyan.com
Financial stress is one thing — infertility on top of it is a beast of its own! Your stress levels are forces to be reckoned with. Trust me, I know.
My husband and I went through three years of waiting for a child. We lost six babies through miscarriage and another through a failed adoption before we finally became parents of children on earth.
I remember the medical bills pouring in. I remember heading to see the Reproductive Endocrinologist for the first time and thinking, “I wonder what this is going to cost.”
You can’t put a price tag on a baby, but infertility is quite the expensive road to travel.
If you can relate, or if you are in the beginning stages of infertility, I’ve put together some ideas to help alleviate some financial burdens that come along with infertility, adoption, and miscarriages.
1. Buy CHEAP Pregnancy Tests and OPKs (Ovulation Predictor Kits)
Your local dollar store will likely have the cheapest tests around. Amazon also offers a number of different options for inexpensive pregnancy tests.
Bonus Tip: Stay away from blue dye tests. You will waste your money because they have evaporation lines that make you think you’re pregnant so then you will end up taking more tests!
2. Get Free Help and Ultrasounds When You Can
Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers (sometimes called Women’s Choice Center or Pregnancy Resource Centers) offer pregnancy tests and ultrasounds free of charge at any point for any reason.
Bonus Tip: If you are prone to loss or tend to get overly stressed about your baby, ultrasounds can offer so much peace of mind. These facilities are usually highly equipped as grief counselors, too; just in case you ever received bad news. They will sit with you and pray with you and love you well through the pain.
3. Apply for Grants
There are so many resources and grants that support families who are facing the financial stresses of infertility treatment or adoption.
4. Don’t be Afraid to Fundraise
It takes some courage, but don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. People want to help people! Consider writing letters to friends and family, selling things, or hosting your own a fundraiser.
Kevin and I put on a “Fun Family Fitness Morning” with a $10 entry fee. All food and silent auction items were donated, and so was the zumba instruction! Additionally we sold T-shirts and made over $1,500 in one morning!
We also held a fundraising garage sale. Not only did people donate items to sell, but when some shoppers learned that our garage sale was an adoption fundraiser, they donated extra money.
Go Fund Me is another awesome website you can use to raise money for any cause.
5. Budget and Save and Trust God to Provide
It can be tempting to put treatments on credit cards, but with some smart budgeting, fundraising, and intentionality, you will be able to save up for those infertility treatments in no time.
I know you are weary, sister. But don’t give up! You can and will survive this desert season. Don’t stop fighting for your marriage. Take it one step at a time. And don’t give up!
If you need some hope, don’t worry, I have plenty to share.
Liv is a Midwest gal who loves to inspire women to bear hope into the world. She is a writer, speaker, wifey, mommy, and lover of all things coffee. She survived the desert of waiting once upon a thirsty time, and lives to tell you that you will too! Her new book Bearing Hope: Navigating the Desert of Waiting for a Child was just released August 1st, 2016! It’s an inspirational companion, a “Desert Sherpa” of sorts that will make you smile, lend you courage and hope, and give you practical ways to survive (and thrive) through infertility and loss. You can get a free chapter right here.
Gretchen’s $62 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan
Aldi
1 bag Navel Oranges – $1.99
1 pkg Flour Tortillas – $0.99
1 pkg Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips – $1.79
1 pkg Baby Carrots – $0.99
2 Cucumbers – $0.59 each
1 lb Butter – $2.69
1 pkg Frozen Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – $5.49
1 pkg Cheese – $1.69
1 loaf White Bread – $0.79
1 loaf Wheat Bread – $0.99
1 gallon Milk – $2.40
1 Pure Maple Syrup – $6.49
2 dozen Large Eggs – $0.89 each
1 jar Spaghetti Sauce – $1.19
1 pkg Red Grapes – $1.58
1 pkg Roma Tomatoes – $1.49
2 pkg Strawberries – $1.29 each, used $0.10 Mobisave rebate – $1.24 each after rebate
Total after rebate: $36
Dillons
5 boxes Kellogg’s Cereal – $1.88 each, used $3/5 printable AND $0.50/1 e-coupon AND $1/2 Checkout 51 rebate AND $0.25/1 Ibotta rebate and $0.75/1 Ibotta rebate – $0.78 each after coupon and rebates
1 Sunbelt Granola Bars – $2.50, used $0.75/1 printable – $1.75 after coupon
1 Jennie-O Ground Turkey – $1.99
2 Kroger Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate – $1 each
1 pkg Kroger Sour Cream – $1.25
1 pkg Frozen Peas – $0.88
2 Yoplait Yogurt – $0.60 each, used $0.50/2 printable – $0.35 each after coupon
1 bag Kroger Spinach – Marked down to $0.99, used $0.25/1 Checkout 51 rebate – $0.74 after rebate
1 lb Kroger Ground Beef – $2.99
1 Kroger Cottage Cheese – $1.25
3 Annie’s Mac & Cheese – $1 each, used $1/3 catalina coupon – $0.67 each after coupon
2 bag Apples – Marked down to $0.99 each
1 bag Green Peppers – Marked down to $0.99
1 bag Kroger Flour – $1.79
1.64 lbs Bananas – $0.97, used 20% off SavingStar.com rebate – $0.78 after rebate
1 Pineapple – $0.99
1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99
Total after coupons and rebates: $26.98
Total for both stores: $62.98
Menu Plan for This Week
Breakfasts
Cereal x 2
Eggs and Muffins (from freezer) x 3
Oatmeal, Fruit
45 Minute Cinnamon Rolls, Orange Juice
Lunches
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Tossed Salad, Fruit Salad
Salad Bar
Mac & Cheese, Carrot Sticks
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Sliced Veggies
Baked Potatoes, Cottage Cheese, Sliced Fruit
Leftovers x 2
Dinners
Lasagna, Tossed Salad, Biscuits
Easy Country French Toast, Scrambled Eggs, Fruit Salad, Orange Juice
Homemade Pizza, Tossed Salad
Chicken Fajitas, Fruit
Grilled Tilapia, Steamed Peas, Amish White Bread
Chicken & Rice, Green Beans
Leftovers
All the details on my Freezer Cooking Day + some WINNER recipes!!
All the details on my Freezer Cooking Day + some WINNER recipes!!
I did another Freezer Cooking session on Wednesday and it was really successful!
I love that cooking and baking ahead cuts down significantly on the time I need to spend cooking and baking and cleaning up the kitchen each week!
Here are the recipes I made this week:
- Pumpkin Spice Waffles
- Crockpot Baked Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken
- Egg & Sausage Breakfast Bites
And here are lots of pictures, videos, and details on how it all went down:
First off, I made Egg & Sausage Breakfast Bites. I used ground turkey instead of sausage since I got such a good deal on ground turkey when I went grocery shopping and I left out the veggies because we didn’t have them.
These were SOO good. SOO good! And they were incredibly easy to make!
I shot a video here while I made them if you want to watch it. And you can see how crazy simple these are to make!
Also, I used the Silicone Muffin Cups for the first time and was pleasantly surprised with how well they worked and how easy they were to clean and wash! I’m definitely sold on using these — especially because they kept the muffin pan so clean and easy to wash!
Next up, I made the Crockpot Baked Potatoes. This was my first time to make baked potatoes this way and it was so easy, as well.
The only thing I will mention is that they took longer to bake through then the recipe said they would. This would be such a great way to make Baked Potatoes if it’s hot in the summer or you’re having a big group of people over for a Baked Potato Bar!
If you’re interested, I shot a quick video here while I was making them. You can laugh at my exercise shorts and how I got my shirt all wet while washing the potatoes!
I also made the Pumpkin Spice Waffles (and forgot to get a picture of them once they were baked!). These were good, although they were almost too sweet for me. If I make them again, I’d cut back on the amount of sugar in them.
And last but not least, I made Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken. This recipe was the BOMB. So, so, so easy. And it turned out beautifully and incredibly moist and delicious. I’d highly recommend this recipe!
I also threw together a pan of the French Toast Bake using eggs I got for $0.49 at Aldi and Bread I got marked down at Kroger. I didn’t get a picture of this, but I’m going to have to make it again soon and take pictures and share how I’ve tweaked the recipe because it is SOO good!
Did you do any freezer cooking this week? Tell us about it in the comments!
P.S. See Last Week’s Freezer Cooking Session here.