These waffles are easy, delicious, and packed with nutrients. They freeze well… and everyone will love them! Add them to your recipe roundup this week!
A while back, I had a Freezer Cooking Day and I tried a few new recipes — including a new recipe for Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Waffles.
In all honesty, I wasn’t sure I would be impressed with the recipe. I really only made it because we had some carrots that needed to be used up.
I was pleasantly surprised when our whole family decided we loved these waffles!
Jesse especially loved them and kept raving about how good the waffles were. He was all, “Do we have any more of those Carrot Waffles and can I have them for breakfast tomorrow, too?”
Yes, these Carrot Cake Waffles are Amazing!
They have such a great texture, they are extremely hearty and filling, and they taste almost like dessert (especially if you top them with a little whipped cream!)
They are healthy and nutritious… but they don’t taste like it.
If you love carrot cake, you’ll love my spin on Carrot Cake Waffles!
Ingredients for Carrot Cake Waffles
- 1½ cup flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)
- 1/4 cup sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cups unsweetened almond milk
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1½ cups shredded carrots (about 4-6 large carrots)
How to Make Carrot Cake Waffles
1. In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.
2. In a large bowl, mix all wet ingredients (except carrots).
3. Dump dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
4. Fold in shredded carrots.
5. Spray hot waffle iron with cooking oil or brush with melted butter.
6. Bake waffles in pre-heated waffle iron for 3-4 minutes.
NOTE: The batter is quite runny, so you’ll want to bake these until they are completely browned — otherwise, you might struggle to get them off the waffle iron!
More Easy Waffle Recipes:
- Easy 1-Ingredient Soaked Quinoa Gluten-Free Waffles
- Whole-Wheat Pumpkin Waffles
- Red, White, & Blue Waffles
- Pumpkin Waffles
- Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Waffle Recipe
Easy Carrot Cake Waffles
Ingredients
- 1½ cup flour all purpose or whole wheat
- ¼ cup sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cup almond milk unsweetened
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- 2 Tblsp maple syrup
- 1½ cups shredded carrots about 4-6 large carrots
Instructions
- 1. In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.
- 2. In a large bowl, mix all wet ingredients (except carrots).
- 3. Dump dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- 4. Fold in shredded carrots.
- 5. Spray hot waffle iron with cooking oil or brush with melted butter.
- 6. Bake waffles in pre-heated waffle iron for 3-4 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Love this recipe?
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FREE 50+ Easy and Cheap Breakfast Ideas!!
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Gretchen’s $64 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan
Aldi
2 pkg Blueberries – $0.99 each
1 jar Spaghetti Sauce – $1.19
2 dozen Eggs – $0.79/dozen
1 pkg Grapes – $1.58
1 pkg Spinach – $1.79
1 Frosted Flakes – $1.29
1 Unsweetened Applesauce – $1.89
1 pkg Roma Tomatoes – $1.49
1 can Pineapple Chunks – $0.99
1 pkg Taco Seasoning – $0.35
1 can Enchilada Sauce – $1.89
1 Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate – $1.19
1 can Refried Beans – $0.79
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup – $0.79
1 pkg Brown Sugar – $1.29
1 can Diced Green Chilies – $0.65
1 Cucumber – $0.59, used $0.25/1 Checkout rebate – $0.34 after rebate (This was accidentally placed in the Aldi picture.)
1 loaf Bread – $0.99
2 pkg Strawberries – $1.29 each
1 bag Tortilla Chips – $1.19
Total after rebate: $25.83
Dillons
2 Cottage Cheese – $1 each, used 2 $0.20/1 e-coupon – $0.80 after coupons
1 Sour Cream – $1, used $0.20/1 e-coupon – $0.80 after coupon
2 pkg Kroger Shredded Cheese – $1.49 each, used $0.65/1 e-coupon AND $0.25/1 Ibotta rebate – $1.04 each after coupon and rebate
1 Nestle Milk Chocolate Chips – $3.59, used Free e-coupon – Free after coupon
2 Smuckers Jelly – $1.49 each
1 Kroger Cream Cheese Bar – $1
1 Kroger Soy Sauce – $1.39
2 pkg Kroger Butter – $2.50 each
1 Kroger Peanut Butter – $1.79, used Free e-coupon – Free after coupon
1 Kroger Unbleached Flour – $1.79, used $0.40/1 e-coupon – $1.39 after coupon
2 lbs Sterling Silver Ground Beef – $3.99 each, used $0.20/1 Shrink rebate – $3.89 each after rebate
1 Annies Mac & Cheese – $1, used $0.50/1 e-coupon AND $0.50/1 SavingStar.com rebate – Free after coupon and rebate
1 Weber BBQ Sauce – $1.39, used $0.50/1 e-coupon AND $0.75/1 Ibotta rebate – $0.14 after coupon and rebate
2 Cascadian Farms Cereal – $1.99 each, used 2 $1/1 printable AND $1/1 SavingStar.com rebate – Free plus overage after coupons and rebate (Plus, a $1/$5 Natural Foods e-coupon came off of my Dillons card for buying these cereals and the Annie’s Mac and Cheese. Yay!)
1 pkg Chicken Drumsticks – $3.75
1 gallon Dillons Milk – $1.99, used $0.25/1 Ibotta rebate – $1.74 after rebate
1 pkg Frozen Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – $6.99, used $1.50/1 e-coupon – $5.49 after coupon
2.29 lbs Bananas – $1.35
1 Green Pepper – $0.79
1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99
Total after coupons and rebates: $38.25
Total for all grocery items: $64.08
Menu Plan for This Week
Breakfasts
Eggs, Spinach, Toast x 4
Oatmeal, Fruit
Cereal x 2
Lunches
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Grapes, Carrot Sticks
Grilled Cheese, Steamed Peas
Mac & Cheese, Fruit, Veggies
Baked Potatoes, Cottage Cheese
Tossed Salad & Leftovers x 3
Dinners
Crockpot Sweet & Sour Meatballs, Rice, Fruit Salad
Easy Cheesy Tex Mex Skillet, Spinach Salad
Baked Spaghetti, Amish White Bread, Steamed Broccoli
Baked Chicken Drumsticks, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes
Warm Bean Dip and Chips, Fruit Salad
Green Chicken Chile Enchiladas, Chips, Steamed Carrots
Dinner with friends
Freezer Cooking/Snacks I Plan to Make This Week
Homemade Freezer Biscuits, Blueberry Muffins, No Bake Energy Bites, Double Fudge Banana Muffins
Who wants to do some freezer cooking??
So, at l-o-n-g last, I’m bringing back the “live-blogging” of Freezer Cooking today. I’m not sure exactly how this is going to go down and I’m going to have to find my new groove, but we’re just going to jump out and try it and we’ll figure it out as we go, okay?
From 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. this afternoon/evening, I plan to do some Freezer Cooking and I’d love for you to join me!
I’ll be making:
- Homemade Energy Bites
- Homemade Biscuits
- Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Whole Wheat Carrot Waffles
- Homemade Chicken Nuggets
My hope is that I can get all of these made and the kitchen cleaned up in 2 hours. We’ll see! 🙂
I’ll be doing some quick videos on Facebook Live as well as sharing some videos/pictures on SnapChat. And then, when I’m finished cooking, I’ll do a wrap-up post with pictures and details on Friday to let you know how the Freezer Cooking went.
Want to join me? You can either just follow along vicariously by reading the post/watching the videos or you can actually join me in your kitchen and do some of your own freezer cooking. If you’re planning to do some freezer cooking yourself, leave a comment to let me know what you’ll be making. Let’s inspire one another and keep each other accountable!
And I’ll see you over on Facebook Live/Snapchat at 4:30 p.m.-ish!
When you feel like you’re not good enough & you don’t measure up
When you feel like you’re not good enough & you don’t measure up
You look at her and wish you had what she has. You wish you had her life, her marriage, her kids, her figure, her house, her skills, her ability to make life look effortless… or whatever it is of hers that you wish you had.
You can waste hours of time and enormous amounts of energy wishing you had someone else’s life. But guess what? You won’t find happiness trying to chase after someone else’s life and success.
Contentment is the key to true joy. It’s also the foundation of financial stewardship.
It’s hard to enjoy living on a budget if you aren’t willing to be grateful for exactly where you are. It’s hard to stick with a financial plan if all you can think about is wanting more than you currently have.
As I told you recently, I’ve wasted much of my life pining away for a different time, a different season, a different set of circumstances. I also wasted a lot of time chasing after more.
In fact, looking back, I realized that I bought into the lie that more is always better. More money. More influence. More impact. More fame. More stuff. More friends. More. More. More. More.
While there can be good things with some of those “more’s”, it’s time we stop spending our life chasing after more and really stop and ask ourselves, “When is enough, enough?”
I’ve been asking myself the following questions:
- Am I only feeling contentment when I’m doing a lot?
- Is my joy and fulfillment coming from when I am having the biggest impact?
- What does enough look like for me?
- Would I be settled right where I’m at with what I have?
- Would I be content if I knew that where I am right now will never change?
I’m committing to love my actual life. The one I’m really living. Right here. Right now. Today.
It’s sometimes messy. It’s sometimes disorganized. And I rarely get everything done that I hope to in a day, but that doesn’t mean I can’t embrace it, savor it, and fall in love with it.
It’s a gift. All of it. And the more I choose to see it as such, the more I notice the gifts and the beauty all around me.
We can’t change who we are, but we can make the most of our situation. We can’t choose the personality we are born with, but we can choose to be thankful–even in the midst of difficulty.
And we can choose to be intentional and purposeful in how we live our lives so that we make the most of all that we’ve been given instead of wishing we were someone else.
Get The Comparison Trap Devotional App for FREE!
If you struggle with discontentment, feeling like you’re not good enough, and feeling like you don’t measure up, I encourage you to check out The Comparison Trap devotional app. This is a 4-week FREE devotional app for women.
When you download the FREE Comparison Trap Devotional App, you’ll get:
- Four 20-minute videos featuring Sandra & Andy Stanley–Watch & be inspired during the 4-week study.
- 28 mini-devotions by Sandra Stanley — Read one each day and be encouraged in your journey!
- 28 social media images — View and/or post these as extra reminders!
- 5 Worship Songs by North Point Music — Listen to these during the month to uplift you!
The free Comparison Trap Devotional app is available for iPhone or Android devices. Go here to download it FREE.
If you struggle with discontentment or feeling like you’re not enough in comparison to other women, The Comparison Trap is for you. There is SO much joy that comes from realizing your own worth, adopting a grateful attitude, and being content right where you’re at in life.
Want to go through The Comparison Trap devotional book with a friend?
I’m thrilled to be offering a special giveaway to go along with the FREE The Comparison Trap devotional app. The Comparison Trap devotional book is a companion guide to the app and can be used individually for personal study/quiet time, or you can utilize the discussion questions to go through it with a friend or in a small group setting.
I have 25 pairs of The Comparison Trap devotional book to give away to my readers! That means you’ll win TWO copies of this devotional book — one for you and one for a friend, so that you can go through it together! Use the box below to enter the giveaway.
This Week’s $83 ALDI Shopping Trip
We went to ALDI last night and got some GREAT deals! (Check out this post for the deals I found on coconut oil and eggs!)
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 $83, which leaves me wiggle room to buy 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.
Here’s what I bought:
- Cucumbers — $0.39 each (got $0.25 back Checkout 51)
- Milk — $2.29
- Bananas ($0.29 per pound) — $1.32 total
- Half & Half — $1.89
- 4 Plums ($0.25 each) — $1
- 2 bags of Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips — $1.39 each
- Strawberries — $1.69
- String Cheese — $1.99
- 3 cans Arizona Green Tea — $0.74 each
- 8 Kiwis — $1.98
- 2 cans Black Beans — $0.59 each
- Blackeye Peas — $0.65
- Macaroni & Cheese x 4 — $0.33 per box
- Brown Rice — $1.49
- 2 packages cheddar cheese — $1.69 each
- 2 bags of frozen Chicken Tenderloins — $5.79 per bag
- 2 avocado — $0.79 each
- Wheat Bread — $0.99
- Cabbage — $1.19
- Lettuce — $1.99
- Feta cheese — $1.79
- Butter — $2.49
- 10 lb. potatoes — $2.89
- Whipped cream — $2.29
- Grapes — $1.58
- Tomatoes — $1.49
- Bacon — $3.49
- Cantaloupe — $0.99
- Sweet Corn — $1.49
- Natural peanut butter — $1.49
- Sour Cream — $0.99
- 1 gallon water — $0.79
- Organic chicken broth — $1.79
- Refried Beans — $0.79
- Sauerkraut — $1.69
- Diced tomatoes — $0.55
- Crushed pineapple — $0.99
- Mandarin oranges — $2.49
- Peppers — $2.89
- Dried cranberries — $1.29
- Total with tax — $83.80 (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. However, because we were out of town the week before, I had to restock a lot of perishable items, so I bought the majority of items for this week’s menu.
Struggling with menu planning? Check out this post on How to Be a Meal Planning Mama.
What is your family’s grocery budget? I’d love to hear (and remember this is not a competition; we’re here to inspire one another not guilt others into feeling they are doing enough!)
This Week’s Menu Plan (we’re trying 8 new recipes!!)
We’re trying eight new recipes this week! Can you believe it?? That might be a record!
And it makes me happy because it’s a sign of how much I’m loving being adventuresome in the kitchen again! (If you missed my post on why I’m back to menu-planning and grocery shopping again, read it here.)
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 if the girls have swim team or 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!
- Overnight Oats
- Pumpkin Pie Smoothies
- Oatmeal x 2
- Blueberry/Banana Smoothies
- Bacon/Eggs x 2
Lunches & Snacks
During the summer, we’ve been doing Make Your Own lunches. I have some assortment of the following items on hand and the kids and Jesse and I are responsible for choosing from the list of items to make our own lunches. It’s worked well this summer — especially because the kids are getting better and better at cleaning up after themselves, too!
Make your own:
- PB&J
- scrambled eggs
- hard-boiled eggs
- leftovers
- fruit
- veggies
- refried beans & cheese
- chips & salsa
- yogurt
- smoothies
Snacks to have on hand: Energy Bites, Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Dinners
Jesse and I splitting up the cooking responsibilities for dinner this week. He’s in charge of the first two nights (since I have busier work days on Monday and Tuesday this week). I’m in charge of everything else.
- Grilled Chicken, broccoli, rice, fruit
- Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos, fruit
- Easy Baked Chicken Nuggets, Homemade Biscuits, green beans, fruit
- Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowl with avocado & sour cream, fruit
- Breakfast for dinner: Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Waffles, eggs, fruit
- Crockpot Baked Potatoes with broccoli, cheese, bacon, & sour cream, fruit
- Dinner out
Freezer Cooking
I’m doing a Freezer Cooking session on Wednesday 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 Energy Bites, Homemade Biscuits, Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Waffles, Easy Baked Chicken Nuggets, and Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins. Look for more details on how that goes later this week!
Related Menu-Planning Posts:
3 Recipes I Made Recently Using What We Had on Hand
Our Menu Plan From Two Weeks Ago
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
What’s on YOUR menu this week? Tell us in the comments!
I earned 33.5 points with InstaGC this weekend!
I told you all that I’m going to be sharing very practical ways you can earn cash and gift cards to help pay for some or all of Christmas (or anything else you’re currently saving for!)
One very easy way to earn free gift cards is through Swagbucks. If you’ve not signed up for Swagbucks, go read more about it here and then sign up here.
I’ve heard rave reviews of InstaGC — which I’ve been told is similar to Swagbucks — and finally had some time to check them out this weekend. The jury’s still out on my complete thoughts on InstaGC as I’m currently just experimenting with it, but I wanted to share what I’m learning as I’m experimenting.
Personally, I found InstaGC harder to navigate after I signed up. But I was excited to discover the Click section today and I am impressed with what I’ve seen so far.
There are quite a few offers under this section — easy ways to earn 1 and 2 points for a simple click. And it looks like most of these reset every single day!
Here’s what I’ve earned over the weekend:
As I get faster and understand how InstaGC works, I think I’ll start to see these numbers go up much quicker and be much higher every day.
Do you use InstaGC? If so, I’d love to hear your tips and also details on how many points you’re able to earn in a typical day.
Other Links You Should Check Out:
5 Things I’m Loving This Week (+ pictures from our trip to Arkansas!)
5 Things I’m Loving This Week (+ pictures from our trip to Arkansas!)
We spent this past week in Arkansas at Bull Shoals Lake with all of my extended family. This is a yearly tradition for us and it’s something we all look forward to.
We rent a boat and take turns going out in groups to do various water sports and swimming.
The kids LOVE getting to hang out with all of their cousins on my side of the family!
Grandpa (my dad) spends almost all day driving the boat so that his kids and grandkids can enjoy tubing, water-skiing, kneeboarding, and more!
Here are 5 things I’m loving from this past week:
1. Time Away
It was good to be away… we loved getting so much time to just be together as a family and to do fun things together. We made so many great memories.
Also, it’s amazing how much easier it is to travel now that our kids are older. This was the first time that we took a road trip where our kids completely packed themselves and I didn’t even check what they had packed! That was pretty incredible and made packing a complete breeze!
2. Kneeboarding
I learned how to kneeboard two years ago, but I actually fell in love with kneeboarding on this trip. I realized how much stronger I felt doing water sports now that I’ve been weightlifting.
3. Bowling
We went bowling while on our trip and, I’m not sure what happened, but I found some sort of winning stride and I ended up bowling the highest score I’ve ever bowled before.
{By the way, if you’re on Snapchat, be sure to follow me there. I post lots of photos and videos of behind-the-scenes things in our life that I don’t post on the blog or anywhere elsewhere online.}
4. Fishing
The kids were so excited about getting to fish. They jumped out of bed early every morning eager to go down to the lake to fish with Uncle Zachary.
{Uncle Zachary not only is great at helping kids fish, he also has impressive skills in taking photos… This catch looks pretty amazing until you look closer and see how tiny the kiddie fishing pole is! :)}
5. The Olympics
A list of what I’m loving this week wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the Olympics. You all know I’m SUCH a fan of pretty much all the Olympic sports — especially swimming, diving, and gymnastics! If you need me the next week and a half, I’ll be in front of the TV. 😉
{We kicked off the Olympics by doing the activities in the Olympics-themed Surprise Ride box I got just for the price of shipping recently. Get your FREE box here (just pay $5.95 shipping!).}
What are YOU loving this week? Tell us in the comments!
3 Recipes I Made Recently Using What We Had on Hand
Now that I’m back to doing most of the menu-planning, grocery shopping, and cooking again, I’m having fun being creative in the kitchen and making do with what we have on hand.
To me, it’s like a game: to see what yummy recipes I can concoct using mostly ingredients we already have on hand or that I was able to get marked down. When you approach it like it’s an exciting adventure, it makes it much more fun and enjoyable.
{As I often say, your attitude makes or breaks every situation. And guess what? You get to choose your attitude! You can choose to embrace your life and make the most of right where you are or you can choose to hate your life and be miserable where you are. It’s your choice.}
When I’m planning our menu each week, I ask myself a few questions:
- What do we already have on hand? I look through the cupboards, pantry, and fridge and freezer and see what we already have on hand — maybe items I got on a great sale or got marked down or items we didn’t use the week before.
- What’s on sale at the store? Most stores post their sales on their websites or send their fliers in the mail. Look for what is advertised on the homepage especially as these are usually the best deals.
- What recipes do I feel inspired to make based upon those ingredients? Need some help? Check out RecipeMatcher.com, SuperCook.com, and MyFridgeFood.com.
- What can I substitute? Over the years, learning how to substitute ingredients has saved so much money and extra trips to the store. Here’s a great list of recipe substitutions. You can often Google for ingredient substitutions and get some great ideas.
3 Recipes I Made Recently Using What We Had on Hand
You can see last week’s menu plan here. (Next week’s menu plan is coming on Monday. We were in Arkansas on a family vacation with my extended family this week so I didn’t make a menu plan because my sister made the menu and we all pitched in on the cooking and clean up together).
Here are three recipes I made that were classic examples of “using what you have on hand” to feed your family:
French Toast Bake — I had gotten a bunch of eggs marked down and bread and hot dog buns marked down, so I used those as the inspiration to make two pans of this.
I made a lot of substitutions: I used almond milk instead of regular milk, half almond milk/half half & half instead of cream, the marked down bread and hamburger buns, coconut sugar + brown sugar (because I didn’t have much brown sugar), and coconut oil instead of butter (because we were out of butter). The final result was still really yummy!
Sweet Potato Hash — I had gotten sausage marked down and had some sweet potatoes and onions that needed to be used up. So I turned it into a Sweet Potato/Sausage Hash and it was SO good! I’m a big fan of hash — it’s basically some kind of meat (ground beef or sausage), some kind of veggies (peppers, onions, or even squash), and potatoes or sweet potatoes.
I brown the meat first (if it’s meat that’s not already pre-cooked, like some sausage is) and then throw in the chopped up veggies and potatoes and fry until done. We sometimes serve it with ketchup or hot sauce, depending upon what kind of hash it was. (You can also do all sorts of variations of this: Ground Beef/Peas/Potatoes, Sausage/Sweet Potatoes/Onions, Ground Beef/Onions/Potatoes/Corn, etc. The possibilities are pretty endless!)
Berry Cream Muffins — When I was planning our menu, I saw that blueberries were on sale for $0.99 and I looked in the fridge and saw we had some leftover sour cream from a taco night we’d had with friends. So I knew I should make these muffins!
I substituted coconut oil for butter since we didn’t have any butter on hand and I used coconut sugar instead of sucanat because that’s what I had on hand.
As I expected, these were incredibly delicious!
Have you concocted any recipes with what you had on hand? What are your favorite things to make when you feel like you “have nothing on hand”? I’d love to hear!
Related Menu-Planning Posts:
5 Fancy Habits That Are Actually Frugal
Guest post from Erin of The No Drama Mama
Fancy and frugal don’t seem to go together, but they certainly CAN go hand in hand quite nicely. I don’t consider myself to be a fancy person at all, but I am very frugal and have learned how to make money-saving habits feel rich.
If you want to treat yourself, here are five habits that might look fancy, but are actually frugal.
1. Using Your Good China
I find that even using simple washable dishware makes everyday meals feel fancier than if I had used paper plates. Don’t wait for special guests to come over. Treat your family as the special people they are by grabbing the good china and make a special meal on an ordinary week day. Even macaroni and cheese will feel fancy on nice dishes.
My husband and I have been using the same dishes for 14 years. That’s 14 years of not buying paper plates every single month. We are fortunate to have a dishwasher with a delay setting so we’re able to set it to run after midnight when the electric rates go down and wake up to clean dishes.
2. Using Cloth Napkins
I often think one of the tell-tale signs of a fancy restaurant versus a non-fancy one is if they use cloth napkins. I started using cloth napkins about four years ago and took one more disposable item off my grocery list.
Not only does it save money, but it makes meal-time feel special just like eating at a fancy restaurant. Plus, they hardly take up any space in the washing machine.
3. Having Your Clothes Tailored
When you save a ton of money buying second-hand clothes, you can afford to get your clothes tailored to fit you. When my husband was up for a job promotion he found a $30 suit at a thrift shop and spent $10 to have it tailored. He ended up getting the promotion without breaking the bank on a new suit.
You can check out thrift stores in the expensive areas in your community and score really great work and special occasion attire, which you can have tailored to make you look like you spent a million bucks.
4. Celebrating With A Fancy Meal (At Home)
Americans love to celebrate special occasions by going out to dinner… and while that’s fancy, it’s not exactly frugal.
Instead, get that expensive dish you’re craving by stopping by your local grocery store or butcher shop. Some grocery stores will even steam a fresh lobster for you. You can find great cuts of meat at the butcher or even reduced for quick sale at the grocery store.
The internet is chock full of recipes for any dish you can dream up. I’m no expert chef, but I’ve learned that I can be extremely good at following directions. So have your steak and lobster on occasion, but do it at home and save a ton of money.
Better yet eat it on your good china with real cloth napkins, wearing your custom fit party dress. Now that’s fancy!
5. Giving Generously
Nothing makes you feel more like a million bucks then being able to give back — whether it’s to your favorite charity, your church or even a friend in need.
You don’t need to have a lot of money to give generously. Living frugally has taught me to use my money-saving skills to help others. I’ve used coupons to purchase food and household items for local homeless shelters and the troops stationed overseas.
Giving generously could be as simple as giving a couple with kids some free babysitting so they can have a date night or inviting an elderly neighbor over for a fancy dinner at your house. When you remind yourself of your blessings by being a blessing to others, you are rich indeed.
Living richer has more to do with the state of your heart, than the state of your wallet. So go ahead and treat yourself to a life of contentment where the fancy choice is often the frugal one.
Erin Johnson is the author of “So, You’re Broke? 18 Drama-Free Steps To A Richer Life.” She also blogs at The No Drama Mama.
OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!
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5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying Clearance Items
As I’ve posted about buying markdowns at the grocery store recently, a lot of people have asked me questions on buying markdowns and how to know if a clearance item is still good and worth buying.
Before I buy something that’s marked down at the store, here are 5 questions I ask myself:
1. What is the Sell By date?
Look at the Sell By Date. Is this item good for a few more days? Will we be able to use it up by the Sell By Date?
If you can’t use it up by the Sell By Date, is it something you can freeze? You can freeze so many different things — like most fruit and veggies, bread, milk, meat, cheese, cottage cheese, butter, and so much more. Here’s a great list of 31 Things You Can Freeze.
2. Does it still look fresh?
Check to make sure that it still looks fresh. Are there dents or holes in the can or package? Do you see any mold or spots going bad?
If it’s fruit or veggies, if the price is really great, you might be okay with buying those bananas with black spots on them or those sweet potatoes growing eyes because you’re going to freeze the bananas to use in smoothies or just cut off the eyes.
For other things, like bread or cheese, you definitely don’t want to buy it if there’s mold on it! One of my Facebook Live viewers told me that she bought some garlic bread that was in a foil package marked down to a great price only to discover that it was moldy inside. Yuck!
3. Is this something my family will eat?
This might seem like a no-brainer question to ask, but I think sometimes it’s easy to get so caught up in something being a “great deal” that we forget that it might not be something our family would even eat!
So be sure to stop and ask if at least a few people in your family will eat the item before you just get all excited about a cheap, cheap price on something no one in your family will touch with a ten-foot pole!
4. How much will they eat before the Sell By date?
If your family will eat it, how much will they eat before the item goes bad? Be realistic here! For instance, when I found the eggs marked down to $1.49 per dozen recently, I wanted to buy all 20 dozen that were marked down. But I knew that was being unrealistic because the Sell By date was in less than a week.
Instead, I thought through what we could make over the next week, what we could make and freeze, and what was realistic. I ended up buying 7 dozen and we had no trouble going through that many.
Tip: One thing to keep in mind is that Sell By dates are just that — when a store needs to sell an item by. They aren’t necessarily Eat By dates. 🙂 Items will still often be good to eat a few days or even weeks after the Sell By date.
5. Do I have room in my budget?
This might seem like the first question you should ask, but I really think putting it at the end is best. Why? Because sometimes, we allow ourselves to think something is a good deal just because it’s a great price and we can afford it. 😉
Do yourself a favor and make sure you convince yourself that something is worth buying, still good, your family will eat it, and you know how much your family will eat first. Then, if you haven’t already talked yourself out of the purchase, you can determine if there’s room in the budget for it.
Note: You may have some room in the budget, but not enough room to buy multiples. Don’t stress over the fact that you don’t have enough room in your budget to buy as many as you wish you could, just be excited that you were able to buy some!
It’s better to leave some great deals on the shelf and walk away knowing you stuck to your budget, then to bust your budget in the name of “getting a great deal!”
More Grocery-Saving Resources:
Why I’m Back to Grocery Shopping, Menu-Planning, and Freezer Cooking Again (it might surprise you!)
Why I’m Back to Grocery Shopping, Menu-Planning, and Freezer Cooking Again (it might surprise you!)
As you may have noticed if you follow me on social media or watch my Facebook Live videos, I’ve been doing a lot more deal-shopping recently.
I feel like this Year of Rest has impacted me in so many different and powerful ways — some very personal and some very practical. One of those practical ways it has impacted me is in helping me to clarify what I love, what I want to invest my time in, and what I want to be sharing here on this blog.
In all honesty, as this blog grew, life got so full of good things. Things like speaking opportunities, travel opportunities, writing opportunities, interview opportunities, partnership opportunities, etc. These began crowding out my time to do things I loved — like deal-shopping, menu-planning, and cooking.
Between the business growth, my team’s growth to accommodate the business growth, and trying to juggle everything and still make my family a priority, a lot of my former loves had to take a backseat.
I just couldn’t do it all. And I had to choose between spending my time growing a business and keeping up with the demands or shopping deals, finding markdowns, menu-planning based upon what’s on sale at the store, freezer cooking, and making things from scratch.
I struggled with this because the whole reason I had this growing business in the first place was because I was known for being so frugal and finding such great deals. So it felt weird to let go of some of my frugal practices or hand them off to Jesse in order to focus more time on the business.
Truthfully, I missed it. I missed the days of being able to just leisurely stroll the store seeing what markdowns they had. I missed being able to tinker around in the kitchen. I missed getting to make some of our favorite recipes. I missed getting to share those things here on the blog, too.
And I know many of you missed these things, as well. But you’ve been patient with me as I’ve struggled, grown, floundered, learned, experimented, and fumbled along.
For that, I say thank you so much. Thank you for sticking around here with all of the changes and ebbs and flows. Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for giving me the space to experiment, the space to try new things, the space to stretch my wings and stretch myself as a person.
I took the first 6 months of this year to do a lot of pondering, sitting, thinking, processing, and letting go. With all my heart I can say that deciding to cut way back, to say “no” to almost everything new, and to downsize just about everything when it came to the business, was one of the greatest blessings to me and to my family.
I have joy and peace that I’ve not experienced in years. I feel so much calmer. I feel so much happier. And I feel so much more settled in who I am, what I’m called to, and who I’m not and what I’m not called to.
Many people have asked me what my plans are for the rest of this year and how I see the Year of Rest playing out and changing my life.
Well, I plan to spend the rest of this year similar to how I’ve spent the first 6 months, with a few exceptions. As I’ve had space in my life to breathe and try new things, I’ve also had space to start doing some of those things I used to do that I’ve missed so much — like deal-shopping, shopping the markdowns, menu-planning, and freezer cooking.
And I’ve enjoyed it oh so much! I realized that even though our income is in a different place now and we aren’t on a beans and rice budget, I get so much fulfillment from finding great deals, planning a menu based upon the markdowns, and cooking healthy and yummy food for my family.
So, all this to say: while Jesse is still going to be doing some of the cooking and grocery shopping (because he discovered he really enjoys it, too!), I’m taking a lot more of it over again (because I’ve missed it so much!). Which means that there’s a good chance you’ll be seeing a lot more of menu-planning, cooking, and grocery shopping posts around here again. 🙂
I’m excited to feel like I’ve “come full circle” in sorts… getting back to my roots and back to some of the foundational parts of what this blog was founded on in the first place.
I don’t regret the journey it took for me to get here. I’ve learned so much along the way.
I’ve learned that fame and success aren’t where the joy is. I’ve learned that blog numbers and income numbers don’t equal happiness. And ultimately, I’ve learned that I find a lot more fulfillment in the quiet, small, simple spaces of life.
I’m not going to run from stages or platforms or opportunities if I feel like it’s in line with my priorities, but I’ve stopped chasing after more. Because, at the end of the day, I’ve discovered that I already have enough… exactly where I am.
5 Things I’m Loving This Week (+ why I’ve fallen in love weight-lifting!)
5 Things I’m Loving This Week (+ why I’ve fallen in love weight-lifting!)
1. Reminders to Live Life with Abandon
This girl lives life with abandon. She doesn’t worry about tomorrow, she shows up fully for today and believes wholeheartedly that every single day is a good day to wear fancy hair — even if you’re just staying home all day.
I think God knew how desperately I would need constant reminders to embrace and celebrate life instead of just plowing through it in get-er-done mode, so that’s one reason He gave me this beauty!
2. ALDI
As I told you earlier, I was reminded just how much I love Aldi this past week.
If you are looking to lower your grocery bill and have an Aldi in your area and haven’t checked it out, please do yourself a huge favor and go check ALDI out. It is basically one of my lifelong missions to get as many people as possible to regularly shop at Aldi. So it would make my day/week/month to find out I had convinced another person to give it a try! 🙂
For more tips and encouragement on shopping at Aldi, check out my post here.
3. Making Do With What’s in the Fridge
Now that I’m back to the menu-planning and grocery-shopping, I’m loving getting creative using with what’s in the fridge and freezer. One of the hit recipes from this past week was thisFrench Toast Bake. I never managed to get a photo of it, but it was a winner.
In typical Crystal style, I made some changes to the recipe. I used almond milk instead of regular milk. I used half almond milk/half half & half instead of cream. I used day old bread and hamburger buns I got marked down at the store. I used a mix of coconut sugar + brown sugar. And I used coconut oil instead of butter. Okay, maybe a few more than “some changes”, but even with all these changes, it was SO good!
In case you missed it, you can see our menu from this past week here. Pictured above was one night’s dinner — Chicken Sauce over Rice with broccoli and fruit (I was going to make a Chicken/Cheese/Broccoli Sauce over rice but changed my mind and did this instead.)
4. All The Light We Cannot See
I’ve been listening to this book on audiobook, thanks to the FREE OneClickDigital app from our library, and I’m truly loving it. It took me a few chapters to really get into and I almost gave up on it, but I’m so glad I persevered.
It’s truly a well-written and deeply moving book. I’m especially struck with the way the author crafts words and sentences as well as weaving together stories is inspiring.
5. Weight-Lifting
I know I’ve talked about this a lot, but you’ll just have to pardon me while I (once again) gush about how much I’ve fallen in love with weight-lifting. Because I have. And I just can’t help but talk about it.
I’m especially loving it right now because I’m starting to really see the effects of all that time in our in garage gym every week. I feel so much stronger. I have muscles I never knew existed. And I feel more energetic and healthier than I can ever remember feeling.
I have gained muscle weight, but I’ve lost fat… and I’m truly seeing my body transform from being borderline too thin and lethargic, to strong, muscular, and powerful. I’m definitely nowhere near where I hope to be as far as my personal records go for maxing out reps and weights, but I’m so proud of how far I’ve come.
As an added benefit, I feel like this is helping me having fewer mood swings, feel more emotionally and mentally strong, and am emboldened and braver by my weight-lifting success to step out and try new things.
If you follow me on Snapchat, I post often about my workouts (in case you’re interested or would love the regular motivation to make fitness a priority). This week, I got to celebrate the fact that I finally mastered Skullcrushers — something I’ve been working on for weeks. And I conquered some of my ongoing fear of squats.
You can read more about why I’m weight-lifting and what plan I’m using here.
What are YOU loving this week? Tell us in the comments!
3 Lessons We’ve Learned by Living Debt Free
Guest post from Dina-Marie of Cultured Palate
Becoming grape farmers was a huge lifestyle change for us with important lessons about financial freedom… but first let me give a bit of background.
In 2008 our family moved from Alabama (where my husband had been a chemist for 20 years) to west Texas, to start a vineyard. At that time, we had 8 children… and leaving the secure corporate world was a big step!
We were counting on the sale of our home to fund our vineyard expenses. We rented a small house within walking distance of the land and began work to turn the old cotton circle into a vineyard.
It took 5 years for the house to sell but during that time, we learned 3 valuable lessons:
1. Frugality and Good Stewardship Go Hand in Hand.
We were able to use our retirement and another small investment to pay the needed expenses to plant and care for the growing grapevines. But, when the money ran out, we were forced to make a choice – return to Alabama or do what it took to make things work without debt. To make ends meet, my husband and older children took a couple of paper routes. They would wake around 4 am, deliver papers, return home to sleep for an hour or so and then work in the vineyard.
When money is tight, perspective changes and items which would have been thrown out now have value. With eight children still home, I had made a monthly meal plan and knew how much each meal cost to serve. I was already in the habit of budgeting so I knew where the money went. Shopping sales turned into shopping thrift stores and coupons became a way of life. Getting staple items like laundry detergent, free or almost free, became a game I really enjoyed.
2. Working Together as a Family Strengthens Relationships
Who would ever think of a paper route being such a blessing! It paid our monthly living expenses and I got all the unused Sunday papers, so I had a wonderful stash of coupons!
All the children helped with the paper route, milking, chickens, gardening, and vineyard work which gave us a stronger family bond. Working together for a goal builds character and relationships!
With everyone working together, and with the Lord’s help, we made it through until our first harvest. Plus, we learned so much about frugal living.
3. Staying Out of Debt is a Choice
We were committed to stay out of debt, so we planned our home at the vineyard to be built in stages.
It took three years, but we now live in what will eventually be the basement. This past year after harvest we even started the upstairs by adding the first floor walls and roof.
Doing the work ourselves has saved money and taught important skills to the children.
Yes, it is slow but it’s worth it!
We have a debt free, comfortable home and have learned so much in the progress!
Dina-Marie and her family live in west Texas on their family vineyard. She is the mom of 10 children and author of Cultured Palate blog where she shares about life on the vineyard and simple healthy living. Remaining debt free and encouraging others in financial freedom is important to the whole family. Home educating takes most of her time but she also enjoys cooking and gardening.
The Before & After Hair Photos You’ve Been Begging to See
So, here’s something you may or may not know about me: I’m naturally a very shy and reserved person.
I’ve learned how to fake being an extrovert and I’ve learned that I enjoy life a lot more when I don’t live in my safe little shell. However, even though I’m a blogger and have live video shows almost every day, there are lots of things I’m still incredibly awkward about sharing.
Case in point: when I posted about how much the NuMe Silhouette Straightener and Argan Oil had changed my hair you all begged and begged for me to post before and after pictures.
The very thought of taking before and after pictures was enough to terrify me. I mean, really, there are some things I’d rather not share with the world. Some things I’d rather that you never see.
The truth is, I’d like to pretend that I have my ducks more in a row than I do. I’d like for you to think that I don’t have bad hair days. I’d like for you to assume my hair really isn’t as much like straw as you could imagine that it is.
But since I’m working on being more authentic and honest and vulnerable, I figured it was high time I just step outside my comfort zone and take and post some Before and After pictures.
It’s scary for me to put this kind of stuff out on the internet… the place where you can’t really ever take back what you put out there.
But because I love you all, because so many of you begged, because I want to encourage others to step outside their comfort zones, and because I figured if I’m going to rave about a product then the pictures would speak volumes more than my words ever could, here you go…
I wasn’t kidding when I told you I was born with straw hair, was I? 🙂 {I did put on makeup, though, because I figured there should be some sort of limit to my over-sharing today. ;)}
For years, I made ponytails and buns and blobs and braids and curling my hair my go-to’s instead of wearing my hair straight because I just couldn’t figure out any way to prevent the straw look.
But all that changed thanks to the NuMe Silhouette Straightener and Argan Oil. Here’s the picture proof…
I am madly in love with this straightener and oil. Madly in love.
Because for the first time in my life, I love wearing my hair straight. I love how it looks. I love how it feels. And I love how easy it is to take care of.
How I Straighten My Hair
So many of you asked for step-by-step details on how I straighten my hair. I haven’t gotten brave enough to actually take pictures for a hair tutorial (maybe that’s the next thing I’ll try??), but I’ll give you a run-down on how I style my hair straight:
- Wash hair with shampoo and conditioning cream. (I only wash my hair every 4-6 days. I use this conditioning cream. A little bit goes a long way. I leave it in for about 3-5 minutes and then rinse it out.)
- Put about an 1/8 teaspoon of this on your hands and rub it around and then run your fingers through your wet hair.
- Blow dry.
- Put a few drops of Argan Oil on your hands and rub it around. Start from the underneath sections of your hair and run your fingers through your hair. Then smooth down the outer sections of your hair. (This prevents a greasy look.)
- Section off the top of your hair with a clip. Straighten the bottom half in small sections with the NuMe Straightener. Let cool before running a brush through.
- Then, take the clip out of the top half and straight the top half.
- Spray with hair spray.
All of this from start to finish (including my shower and hair-washing) takes me about 25 to 30 minutes. On the 2nd and 3rd days when I don’t wash my hair, I just do a quick straighten of my hair with the straightener (it takes me about 4 minutes to run through all my hair).
On the 4th and 5th days, I usually add a little dry shampoo to my scalp and brush it out and then I will often wear my hair up in a blob or bun since my hair is a little greasy by then and has more volume so it will stay in a bun or blob better.
It’s SO easy to do this and I LOVE how it looks. You can see a lot more pictures of it styled straight in my videos here.
