Tech Tuesday: Online Shopping Tools

Welcome to another edition of Tech Tuesday!  The idea for this week’s entry came to me this morning from this article from MaximumPC.  Its about online shopping, specifically, browser add-ons that help you get a better deal when shopping online!
So you might be wondering, “what’s a browser add-on?”, heck you might be saying “what’s a browser?”.  The browser is the thing on your computer that you are reading this on, the 3 big ones are Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome.  An “add-on” is something you install in the browser to make in function differently than originally intended, think of it as putting a custom exhaust, suspension, or turbo on your car.  The great thing about these add-ons is that they are usually free, and can save you time and money on the things you already do online.  As with anything you put on your computer, only install add-ons from a reputable source.  Here are the official sites forFirefox, Internet Explorer, & Chrome.
The two add-ons that I want to highlight today will, as I said, help you get a better deal when shopping online.  The first is called “Invisible Hand”, and you can download it at getinvisiblehand.com.  Despite its creepy name, this add-on will help you by showing you better deals when you are shopping online.  So say you are shopping for a TV at amazon.com, if Bestbuy.com has that same TV for $50 less, Invisible Hand will drop down a message at the top of your browser telling you.  Simple, and it saves you a lot of time going from website to website looking for the best deal.
The second add-on is a new one to me so I cannot vouch for its usefulness, however I have used the website it is from for years.  It is calledretailmenot.com!  If you aren’t familiar, have you ever noticed that when you are about to check out an online purchase you see that little “coupon code” box next to your total, and you find yourself thinking, “Man I wish I had a coupon code for this!”  Retailmenot.com is a conglomeration of coupon codes for times like that!  And using the browser add-on that you can get from retailmenot.com under the “power tools” section(IE & FF only right now, sorry Chrome), this gets even easier.  Just like Invisible Hand, this add-on only makes itself known if it finds something useful to you, at which point it gives you a drop down notice.  I just installed this one myself this morning, so hopefully these 2 will play nice together.
Any other great add-ons you know about to help save money?  Leave them in the comment feed, and have a Techriffic Tuesday!

Mitch Ross

Frugal Friends’ Friday!

“use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without!”

Thank Goodness It’s Friday! I certainly think sharing some tips from our readers will add to the goodness. Here goes…

“Don’t throw away those “empty” bottles! If you think you’re done with your shampoo, conditioner, lotion etc, then stop; Cut them open and use your finger to swipe out any that is left. You can even usually put the two sections back together making a lid- just in case there is more in there for next time.” -Mary, Lorain OH

Love it. I haven’t done this, I usually just get out what I can by taking off the full lid and using my finger. This sounds better!

“My tip is to buy 17 cent (additional ounce) stamps and use them rather than slap another first class stamp on an envelope over an ounce.  I was going to say buy a cheap postage scale, but I can’t seem to find any on-line. I would think you could get one for under $10, but I couldn’t confirm that.  However, you can make your own– (this concept would actually work).  Here’s the link: http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Letter-Postage-Scale” – Patti, Wakeman OH

Keeping 17c stamps around is a wondeful tip- I often send out coupon envelopes that are just over the one stamp weight, so I find it a money saver to put 17c on rather than another full 44c!! You could keep your eyes open for a cheap scale at a garage sale (that’s where I found mine), thrift store, etc. I haven’t actually tried the wikihow “scale”…but it looks like a great, frugal trick! I’d love to hear feedback if anyone tries it.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! And if you come across any handy frugal tips while enjoying it, remember you can send it to me at frugalmegan@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you!

~~FrugalMegan~~

Welcome to Tech Tuesday!

Welcome to the first edition of Tech Tuesday! Please leave any thoughts or questions in the comment feed as usual. Enjoy! ~~ FrugalMegan

Hello there, this is Megan’s husband Mitch and I am going to be starting a new weekly segment called “Tech Tuesday”.  This will run (hopefully) every Tuesday and will feature a tip or suggestion on how to live frugally with regards to technology.
For my first week I am going to take a swipe at the hot topic of the month, the iPad.  I know what you’re wondering, “how could he possibly have frugal advice about the iPad?”  Well I won’t keep you in suspense, my advice, don’t buy one.  Or two for that matter if you and your spouse simply must have one. There are many arguments about whether or not this is a good device, or whether it is a step forward or a step backward in technology, or whether its just a giant iPod Touch. But I don’t need to address all of that. No, since this website is about frugality, I’m going to talk about the economics of the thing.  What are the economics of the thing? Well, its simple, this is a $500 device (minimum) that doesn’t do anything you can’t do now with something you probably already have in your house.  Now I am a tech geek, and I LOVE having and playing with the newest things, so I certainly get the cool-factor of having Jobs’s latest creation, but for the price tag here I think this falls in the “do-without” category for most of us.  Don’t get me wrong, if you have piles of cash lying around, no debt, an emergency fund, and are saving for retirement, go nuts, buy all the iPads you want (and give some to your frugal friends).  But for most of us this is a foolish purchase.  I heard one tech-journalist defend the iPad by saying that it is basically a TV.  It has more functionality but in essence it is a TV.  That may be, but let’s think about it: it is essentially a $500, 7-inch TV. And that…is rip-off.

You know and I know that this is just the first generation, it is going to get better and cheaper very quickly, so skip the iPad, play scrabble the old-fashioned way, and if you are really jonesing for that new experience, fire up your gmail account and try this to give you the thrill of the iPad.

~~Mitch

Raw and Gluten Free Recipes We LIKE

I certainly know and understand how hard it is to sift through all the recipes out there. I thought I may as well have a section about recipes I’ve tried and actually enjoyed. I’ll admit to you that this post is going to be used by me as a form of food diary. I’ll be updating and adding to this post as my own e-recipe-book. Most are links to the blogs/sites where I found the recipe. I hope you enjoy! I will specify if each recipe is R (raw), GF (gluten free) and/or V (vegan). Maybe as I’ll go I’ll find so many recipes that I’ll have to have “sections”. Glee!

Sandwich Bread (GF/V): http://www.glutenfreecookingschool.com/archives/finally-really-good-sandwich-bread/comment-page-5/#comments

-I used the flaxmeal/water as substitute for the egg. I have found that flaxmeal works best as a binder when it is freshly ground. Try a small chopper, your food processor, blender (if you grind a lot at once) or even an coffee grinder. I used Sorghum flour in place of the soy.  Also, I used 1 tsp Guar Gum as a more natural replacement for 2 tsp Xanthan gum.  The dough WILL be like pancake batter. It’s ok. Technique: I used an oven method. I preheated my oven to “warm” (or under 200 will work). Once preheated, I let the dough rise in the oven for 30 minutes. Please don’t open the door to check on it- It could flatten! It should have doubled in size by then. At that point, I simply turned the heat up to 350F and let it bake for 20 minutes. Allow to set in the oven for 10 minutes after it is done and the oven is off. Bring out of the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

Broccoli Salad (R, GF, V): http://allthingsnice.typepad.com/tastebuddies/2008/06/raw-broccoli-sa.html

-I used Braggs apple cider vinegar with the “mother” in place of lemon juice. I use a splash, or 2 TBS. I also added walnuts. If you are nut free, I think sunflower seeds are a great addition!

Carrot “cake” (R, GF, V): http://therawchef.com/therawchefblog/carrot-orange-cake

- This was my first “raw” food hit! I left out the coconut, since I didn’t have any and it turned out just fine. For the cashew sauce, I didn’t have agave or coconut oil, so I used raw honey and light olive oil instead. You could also use maple syrup, but that is not considered “raw”.

Coleslaw (R, GF, V): This recipe  was adapted from the Hallelujah Acres “Recipes for Life; From Gods Garden” by Rhonda J. Malkmus

- 1/2 cabbage

- 2 carrots

- handful of raisins (optional)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Shred cabbage and carrots, toss with raisins

Dressing:  We start with Rhonda’s No Oil Dressing

1 cup almonds    1 cup distilled water

Soak almonds in water for 24 hours. Drain almonds and place in a blender with 1 cup water. Blend on medium for 3-5 minutes, or until creamy (the longer you blend, the finer texture you’ll get, which I think is desirable). Stop blender and add:

2 tsp Kelp (or other sea vegetable)

2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp sea salt  (or Braggs liquid aminos, if you still use it)

1 tsp mixed herb seasoning  (optional)

1 TBS minced parsley (or 1/2 TBS  dried)

2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup chopped onion (or 2 TBS dried onion flakes)

1 tsp dill weed  pinch of cayenne pepper

1 TBS raw honey

** If you stop here, this is her basic salad dressing. In order to make it a coleslaw dressing, take 1 cup, add 2 more TBS of honey, 3 cloves of minced garlic and 1 tsp of poppy seeds. I highly recommend adding a splash of apple cider vinegar as well, but that’s just my taste. Combine with cabbage mixture and either serve, or refrigerate for up to 5 days.

~~FrugalMegan~~

Meal Planning Monday

Well, it’s been a few weeks, but I think I’m finally back to planning out meals (and having a few spare moments to post them). You’ll be seeing non-raw meals here, since we’re still transitioning, eating up what we had, and because my husband is still eating meat .. I don’t think I’ll be explaining cost anymore, since these posts will be much more about being frugal and healthy by planning. I show “how” I purchase cheaply in my other FrugalMegan posts. Plus, maybe if I don’t exert so much energy, I can actually keep up with my Monday Meal Planning posts! LOL. And remember…you will see a LOT more uncooked meals on my menu! I’m not a 100% raw foodist, but I am trying to greatly increase my use of uncooked methods for preparing meals.

Breakfasts: This week, I will be alternating fresh, raw bananas and dates for breakfast with smoothies made with banana, almond milk and spinach

Why: Bananas are inexpensive, nutrient filled, easy to digest fruits that don’t leave you feeling hungry. Dates are little powerhouses of energy, and not very expensive as well- Especially since I only need about 3 with my banana. I was given some fresh garden spinach, and was able to score $.25 almond milk this week, so smoothies are easy and cheap for me this week.

Morning Snack: Juice! I base all of my morning juices on carrots, and this week I’ll be making carrot/spinach/apple as well as carrot/cucumber/apple juice for my snack since we were given an abundance of these items in the produce basket last week. My typical juicing rule: Juice veggies, eat fruits. I have a hard time getting in all of my veggies since they are so full of fiber and take a long time to chew. I am getting plenty of fiber in my diet from other areas, so why not juice the veggies and get all of their nutrients in a easy to sip glass? I get many more nutrients that way! Fruit is so easy to enjoy as it is, and you don’t want your blood sugar to spike like fruit juice tends to cause, so I prefer to simply eat it. Does that make sense? I toss apples into my veggie juices for now to get used to the flavor, and because apples are a rare fruit that digest well with veggies. Plus my son will drink it that way too .

Lunches: I don’t have these planned out per day, but here is a potluck of what I’ll be choosing from: Salad, marinated mushroom/zucchini/bell peppers (these are really good in a gluten free flatbread), coleslaw with nuts/carrots/dried fruit, a dehydrated veggie flatbreads with tahini or guac, topped with paper thin sliced veggies, sprouts and homemade oil vinegar dressing. I’m still learning fast and nutritious lunches! Raw hummus and falafel are next on my to do list.

Dinners!

Monday: Veal Parmigiana with penne and a Salad

Why: The veal parmigiana was frozen as leftovers from Valentines Day. Time to start cleaning out the freezer! My husband is the only one eating the  veal, I’ll be enjoying my one cooked meal of the day- Penne tossed with veggies and a salad.

Tuesday: Pad Thai and a salad

Why: Classic favorite with us, and I have all the ingredients. Better yet, it is a wonderful dish for adding lots of veggies! I will be adding an egg to my husband’s portion, but not to mine. Considering the “area of different consistency” on my thyroid, I try to avoid all animal products at this time, except for special occasions.

Wednesday: Falafel in flatbread and a salad

Why: We have frozen falafel’s leftover from the last time we made these. I think I will try to bake them instead of fry them. My goal is to make gluten free “pitas” with no pocket (so basically flatbread) for these, but we’ll see if they turn out . Otherwise, they may just be ON our salad.  Plus, I splurged on tahini this week, so I’m excited to make a yummy raw sauce for these.

Thursday: Steak and Potatoes with a salad

Why: I know, I know! Thursday is leftover night! Buuuut, since we’re eating a lot out of the freezer this week, those are already leftovers. These are also things that are leftovers in the f reezer. I will be making the steak for my hubby, and the potatoes for both of us. I have a raw “cauliflower steak” recipe I’d like to try, with marinated mushrooms on top. We’ll see if I can find the time for that. It will be warmed in the dehydrator. And of course…big salad .

Friday: PIZZA NIGHT!

Why: Because it’s the same thing we do every Friday night pinky…try to take over the- Oh wait, I mean eat pizza. Right. I’m going to snag some dairy free cheese this week for my half, and let hubby have regular on his. He has greatly increased his intake of raw fruits and veggies, so this is one of his splurges. Plus I don’t think I could otherwise get him to go along with most of this if I took away his pizza!! And luckily I have coupons for $1 off any specialty cheese. Yay!

Saturday: Pulled Chicken Sandwiches and a salad

Why: I have so much chicken in the freezer, it’s not even funny. We have to eat it, and doing so makes this transition easier and less expensive all at once. So hubby will be enjoying this for dinner and lunches over the next couple of days. I, however, will be enjoying a veggie burger on a gluten free bun, stacked high with raw tomatoes, cucumber, and sprouts. I’m actually really really excited about this one.

Sunday: Salad

Why: We have a church picnic in the afternoon, so we probably won’t be very hungry for dinner. What better than a small salad to finish off the day?

Nighttime treats: We can make air popped popcorn, frozen fruit sherbet in the juicer, or eat banana/grape “icecream” that I made this week.

Whew! There you have it! A transitional raw food diet meal plan. Um…enjoy?

Here’s to living: happier, healthier, more FRUGAL lives!

~~FrugalMegan~~

Raw Food Diet??

Basket of Eggplant, from Library of Congress

Yup. That’s what I said. Raw. Food. As in…no cooking.

This is what we’re doing around the FrugalMegan household, eating lots of raw food! I’ll just address a few questions to help you understand. Further questions can certainly be left for me in the comment feed.

WHY??!! – Haha, well that is complex question at this point. I would say “for my health” but many people wouldn’t understand that, considering we live in a society where we’ve been told that milk is most necessary for calcium and protein, that meat “makes us strong” and that as long as something has few enough calories and is low in sugar, we can disregard the rest and count it as healthy. Those foods are what make up the standard american “diet”. If you’ve read my blog, you’ve seen that I believe health more heavily relies on eating an abundance of whole grains, unprocessed foods, grass fed beef, cage free eggs, organic chicken & dairy,  ingredients that aren’t made in a lab (hydrogenated oils, etc) and lots of fruits and vegetables. Well, so like, that’s what we’ve been eating. And we’re sick. I have no energy. ACK. WHY? I found the answer reading several different books. One on holistic thyroid treatment, one from the famous “Halleluiah Acres” and finally the Juicing Bible. Over and over I noticed a trend in what these books are saying, and the research they show to back it up. They show that vegetables and fruits loose most of their nutrition when cooked, contain amazing nutrients when fresh and ripe,  and that animal products cause harm, over time, to our vegetarian made bodies. It spoke to me, mostly because we have been cooking most of our produce, and using our fair share of animal products. Now, while most fruits and veggies certainly don’t become harmful and “bad for you” when you cook them, they do lose a lot of good, valuable nutrients that your body needs to grow and thrive. And so when you start seeing your immune system fail, your organs becoming strained, your mental alertness gone, your energy decrease to zilch and your body overall not functioning well, you can easily see that your body is asking for help. For nutrients! And I can see the best source of nutrients are from foods that contain all that you need: vitamins, minerals, protein, live enzymes, phytonutrients, antioxidents, etc. The best place to find all of those things, unadulterated, is in fresh, uncooked, ripe fruits, vegetables and grains. The things that keep your body from healing itself, and can cause harm to your body are the things that change your natural pH levels and are difficult for our bodies to digest: namely meats, dairy and soy-meat replacements.  In my case, since my body has some healing to do, I am opting to increase my uncooked (raw) fruits and vegetables, and cut out the meat/dairy so my body has the greatest chance at healing, and at a nice pace. So there is my “why”.

So…you ONLY eat raw food? Eh, not quite. Right now I’m eating about 60-75% raw food, and as I learn more that should increase to about 85% average. I’m certainly not a “raw foodist” here! I’m just trying to incorporate many raw food techniques into our every day lifestyle, and hopefully greatly increase our health.

What do you eat? Lots of things! All the fresh fruits and veggies I want . Grains, nuts and healthy oils in moderation. Food is considered “raw” if it is not heated 105-116F (from the sources I’ve read, that is when enzymes die). That means I can utilize my food dehydrator to make crackers, flatbreads, “fruit roll ups”, chips made from sweet potatoes and other veggies, and plenty of other things. Raw almonds and coconut can be used to make “milk”, and then can in turn be made into yogurt (which is ideally made below 116F anyhow). Also, I was fortunate enough to find a Champion masticating juicer at a garage sale a few weeks back, so I can make all the fresh juices, nut butter or frozen fruit sorbets I want. It’s not so bad! But it has taken time for me to plan ahead, find the best prices on whole raw ingredients and find recipes to help me get started. Soon it will take me much less time and effort, as I get into the swing of things. A typical daily menu? Sure! Wake up, eat a banana and some raw granola. Then I’ll make some carrot/celery/apple juice for my midmorning snack. Lunch is a big salad with nuts and homemade dressing, then more juice for mid-afternoon. Maybe a handful of dried dates, a fruit roll up or some dehydrated flax crackers too. Dinner will be a small salad with some lightly sautéed veggies and rice. Then for dessert, a wonderful frozen blueberry sherbet with honey. Yum! If I ever feel hungry, I can eat fruit/veggies or another snack I’ve prepared.

Where are you getting your protein? As you probably know, proteins are made from amino acids. Amino acids are most abundantly found in uncooked vegetables, and you body can store them. That means if you’re only getting some amino acids here, and some there, your body can make protein from them as you eat different amino acids over time. Eating nuts and grains helps with this tremendously as well. Since on this diet you eat LOTS of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains, well- I pretty much shouldn’t have to worry about it. But I will certainly keep my eyes open for problems. Plus I’d like to leave you with this thought: How many load bearing animals do you know of that eat meat? My top two most impressive (elephants and oxen) eat nothing but grass and foliage in the wild. They must be building protein from their vegetarian diet.

What about cheese? Don’t you miss cheese? So far, I don’t miss cheese. I do have some options for our weekly pizza though! There are several dairy free, soy based cheese on the market. I have to go to a specialty store to find it, but they’ll take my $1 cheese wine tags, so I’ll do it. Also, I have found a TON of nut “cheese” recipes online that I’m hoping to try out soon. If I’m buying nuts in bulk, that should be cheaper than buying the soy cheese.

If you’re not eating meat, aren’t you eating lots of soy? I’ve heard a lot of soy is bad for you. Well I believe you’ve heard right! Especially if you are changing to a meatless, raw food diet for health reasons, a diet full of soy can cause all of the same problems meat can. For that reason, I’m not focusing on replacing meat. I’m focusing on increasing my fresh veggie intake, so those fresh veggies will be replacing meat, plain and simple. I want ham strips on my salad? Let’s go with strips of marinated beet. And yes… I DO like beets!

Um- You’re FrugalMegan. How on earth are you going to keep your grocery bill low NOW? Goooooood question. I’m wondering that myself. For now, I’m letting my couponing and general frugal experiences guide my path. I know where to look for good coupons, I know the health food stores that offer and take coupons, and I’m always keeping a look out for good deals. I will need to stock up when almonds go on sale, scour the grocery store for marked down produce to dehydrate, find a local organic farmer to buy produce from cheaply, grow some of my own produce and trade garden surplus with friends. Some things I may mail order in bulk. Heck, maybe I’ll start a vegan, gluten free “bakery” in my kitchen. Where there is a will, there is a way!

Does that answer most questions? I will try to answer any and all questions that come my way about this. Remember…I’m new at this too! And keep your eyes open, as there are some interesting post to come; Make your own almond milk/yogurt, gluten free recipes, raw food techniques and more. That is, as I find time. I’m feelin kinda hectic with all this change right now :shocked look:

Here’s to living- Happier, healthier, more FRUGAL lives!

~~FrugalMegan~~

The “Dirty Dozen” and helpful tips

Have you ever heard of the “Dirty Dozen”? In the produce industry, it refers to the common fruits and vegetables that end up containing the highest amount of pesticides when they hit your kitchen counters. Since all of us just simply can’t afford to buy all of our produce organic, it can really help you prioritize! If you can simply make sure when you eat these items they are organically grown (or home grown with no pesticides), you can reduce your family’s exposure to pesticides my more than 50%!  Here is the “Dirty Dozen” list:

1. Peaches

2. Apples

3. Bell Peppers

4. Celery

5. Nectarines

6.Strawberries

7. Cherries

8. Kale

9. Lettuce

10. Grapes

11. Carrots

12. Pears

I didn’t even realize Kale was on here last week when I planted some in my container garden. Holla! I guess I didn’t have this very well memorized . Now, while I certainly suggest buying these items organically, let me expand a little. There is not “black and white” in the food industry… but many shades of grey.

“Organic” is not always best, nutritionally. If you’re in SC purchasing organic pears from California (via the grocery store) you are not doing your family many favors, and paying an arm and a leg for produce that is nutritionally weak. If produce is shipped that far it is often picked green, and shipped with lower nutrient value. I would FAR prefer you purchase pears more locally, so they can be picked at the peak of ripeness (and therefore are more nutritionally dense). Even if they are not grown “organically” I believe that the live nutrients in the ripe, local pears would help your body rid itself of any pesticides you may consume. Moreover, if your high pesticide produce is shipped in from overseas, we have no idea what kinds of pesticides might be on the produce. In many countries it is still legal to use DDT, and few places have as high of chemical standards as the US. So local, non organically grown wins again. Thought local organics would clearly be the most awesome-ist choice

Plus, I have a great tip for you! My totally amazing doctor gave me this heads up last time I went to see him. He studied under the famous Dr. Weil, and they have had great luck doing research on removing pesticides from produce. He recommended I wash my produce in a solution of 1 part white distilled vinegar to 10 parts water. For items like apples, squash, lettuce and broccoli, i just fill up my sink with this solution and let them soak for a few minutes. Vinegar is already known and proven as a wonderful disinfectant, so two minutes alone will clean your veggies. A few minutes more, and the vinegar leeches out pesticides as well. COOL HUH?? I wash all of my produce this way when I return from the produce co-op, the store and even the farmers market. For produce that is best washed right before consumption (like berries) you would wait until you’re ready to eat them for the soak.

Lastly, I will give you the final 8 fruits and vegetables that have the LOWEST pesticide load- So you can feel more confident about purchasing them non organically. I still recommend the soak, however! There is no “safe” level of pesticide consumption. These are listed in highest to lowest pesticide load.

1. Kiwi

2. Sweet Peas

3. Asparagus

4. Mango

5. Pineapple

6. Sweet Corn (frozen)

7. Avocado

8. Onion

I hope this can help us decide (if we have to) between organic and non organic produce, and what to spend our tight dollars on. If you can afford all organic…Do it! Your family’s health with thank you!!

Here’s to living- Happier, healthier, more FRUGAL lives!

~~FrugalMegan~~

FrugalMegan Is Under Construction

…and I don’t mean frugalmegan.com.

As many of you have noticed, I haven’t been posting for a while. Well, let me just start by saying a lot is happening around here. Nothing huge, but it’s leading me to some huge thoughts and possibly paradigm shifts. Maybe I should start at the beginning. Oh, and I might warn you…I think frugalmegan.com is about to  get a touch more personal.

Three things have happened in the last month:

1. We found out my son might have Celiac Disease. Ouch. Test results still aren’t back. For now though, no wheat, barley or rye, as well as a strick dairy and casein free diet.

2. My husband had been having a pain in his side, right below his liver for several days. It kept him up one night last weekend, and when we discovered he had a slight fever…well…it was off to the ER. Results were inconclusive, but it seems to be a gallbladder issue. Goodbye cheese, meat, and saturated fats of any kind.

3. I went in for a routine thyroid check up (I have Hashimotos Disease, or hypothyroidism. Every woman on my moms side has it). My levels looked OK, but my thyroid gland was enlarged. I had an ultrasound done, and they found an area of “different” consistency. It’s not a “mass” so it’s not too concerning YET, but I will have to have routine ultrasounds every 6 months to keep an eye on it.

All of these things really don’t sound to scary. My son might be allergic to wheat- So we bake with different flours and learn a new way. Big change, but I’m up to the challenge. My husband needs to decrease his saturated fat intake- What else is new? I have a spot on my thyroid gland- eh, I’m sure it’s nothing.

ACK! WHAT? We’re in our TWENTIES. My son isn’t even 18 months old yet. 2 out of the 3 of us have (or might possibly have) autoimmune disorders. We already eat what most people would consider a very healthy diet. WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING HERE???

Switching Caspian’s diet to gluten free IS a big deal. So I’m just changing most of what he eats from refined (in which I am actually including whole wheat) wheat flours to rice, potato, and soy flours? That might remove the irritant, but that doesn’t solve the problem. My son’s body, and immune system is not functioning correctly. Same with my husband- Cutting out saturated fats doesn’t solve the fact that his gallbladder is malfunctioning. And me sitting around waiting to find out if my “spot” will turn into a “mass” which could be cancerous is just dumb. Did you know something like 10% of people with thyroid conditions experience thyroid cancer? No thank you! And since my condition is also an autoimmune disorder like my son, I am tempted with the same outrage: What is wrong with my immune system? And WHY are these things wrong with us? As mentioned previously, we eat a healthy diet. Very little processed food. Most things are made from scratch. Our beef is grass fed and local. Eggs are cage free. Nothing is eaten out of moderation. We don’t smoke, do drugs, binge eat or drink soda all day long. We should be the model healthy family with glowing white teeth and flawless skin. Oh, so have I mentioned my horrendous acne that I haven’t been able to get rid of since my son’s birth? UGH.

As you can imagine, I have thinking, and contemplating and praying to my sweet Jesus that He help me be the best wife, mother and personal caretaker of His temple (my body) that I can be. And then my Aunt gave me a book about raw food diets. I know about  that diet. I’ve thought about it in the past. And I might just be crazy, but I’m reading the book. As fast as I can.

Please don’t write me off as crazy. I will certainly be blogging about my journey through our dietary transition. I’m twisting, and turning and fighting the notion that I might one day be on an all raw diet. Do I really think that will happen? Maybe. Will it happen tomorrow? No. But what I AM doing, and AM excited about is incorporating more raw food techniques into our diet. I honestly was cooking most of the veggies we were eating, and even the fruit sometimes. It makes complete sense to me that enzymes and phytonutrients function most effectively to help us absorb nutrients best. That antioxidents from raw produce are more powerful. But do I think meat is evil or wrong? No way! I NEVER would have pictured myself a vegetarian. But I can picture myself “raw” for the health benefits.

Please join me in my journey. Perhaps these things were all meant to happen so a frugal gal like me could truly help her dear friends, family and all my readers not only eat a more healthy, nutrient filled diet- but also be able to afford one.

HERE GOES!!

~~FrugalMegan~~

Frugal Friends’ Friday!

“Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without!”

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend! Here’s to each weekend getting warmer and warmer

“Don’t waste money buying the foaming hand cleaner refills, which are mostly water.  Once you have the dispenser, make you own refill buy squirting some liquid hand soap in the bottom, and add water (only to fill line on back of dispenser).  Shake. Let foam settle and you’re ready to go.  I haven’t measured amounts–I just put in enough liquid hand soap to cover the bottom of the dispenser.”   Patti, Wakeman OH

-Great idea! You can also find these foam soap dispensers sold separately- So keep your eyes open this spring at the garage sales! If you coupon, you might be able to score a foaming soap dispenser (full of soap for FREE.

“Ditch paid TV = more family time and less $. Get movies and books at the library instead or try www.hulu.com. There are tons of free tv shows there – new and old! We don’t even miss the cable!!” – Amanda, Kipton OH

- Oh my goodness why have I not done a post on this yet? We don’t have cable either! We watch shows a day after they air on Hulu.com…though we have to watch them on the computer. We also belong to Netflix (the 2nd most basic suscription) and get free instant movies from them that we stream through our game system onto the TV. We basically pay $11 a month for TV entertainment! There are even ways to stream Hulu.com onto your TV. Just google it and see if your computer and TV are compatible. (Honey, is there anything you’d like to add?).

Thats it for this week- And if you do anything that saves money for your family this week, be sure to let me know. Your tip could be featured in next week’s Frugal Friends’ Friday, but more importantly, you’ll be helping all of us save a few more pennys. That is awesome! Just email me at frugalmegan@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you!

Here’s to living- happier, healthier, more FRUGAL lives!

~~FrugalMegan~~

DIY: “Making Do”

I have been looking and looking at wooden music toys for my Dear Son (DS). I have scoured reviews, checked prices and peeled my eyes for good deals. Well, you can imagine my excitement when  I found a grocery bag full of wooden musical instruments for $6 at a consignment sale yesterday! But you can probably also imagine my disappointment when I got home that several of the items were broken. “You know better, Megan!” was the feeling I had. But I’m a garage sale gal-what you see is what you get. Going to consignment I must have expected…well…more! I thought they had pretty strict guidlines at most of them…but I digress.

So I cleaned the instruments this morning and had a good stare. Luckily for me…most all were easily fixed. Here was my first “project”:

The tambourine was missing two little disks on each side. Bummer right? But there was also a little straight tambourine that was missing parts as well- It had 4 discs I could use. So I went into the garage and low and behold my hubby had Maze Nails, just the perfect length and diameter to secure the new discs. Voila! One complete tambourine!

Project number 2: The set had two Melissa and Doug castanets. One had fallen apart with no elastic, and one was way too loose with too much elastic. So I cut the elastic in half and could tie them both back up. Good as new! (Though this pic doesn’t show it tied tightly).

All in all, DS came out with 10 instruments or instrument sets for $6. And my “projects” took me less than 10 minutes. We’re both happy Now all we need is something to use with the triangle…

~~FrugalMegan~~