Change Your Think into a Thunk! Cheap Protein Sources

I have recently read in the news that some beef and pork plants have temporarily shut down because of Covid-19 cases in their workers. This is supposed to be temporary but what that may mean to us is a temporary lack of the abundance we are used to and a potential for a bit of inflation. For some, who aren't able to handle any hike in price or you are simply needing to cut back because you have no income you may be looking for some cheap protein sources. Fortunately, there are a number of them! You don't have to spend $5.00 a pound for hamburger or more for roasts and steaks! Here are some cheaper protein sources: 

Eggs are a great protein source and are quite inexpensive and they are so versatile! You can have them scrambled, poached, boiled or made into an omelet. You can make an egg-salad sandwich. You can make deviled eggs. You can put them in baked goods. If you carry your lunch, which is much more inexpensive than eating out, you can put a boiled egg or two in your lunch with whatever sides you want. At $1.20 per dozen, eggs are only .80 a pound. 

Another great source of protein is beans and rice. You can make beans and rice in a number of different ways. You can make them for dinner and they are also easy to put in a container for a packed lunch, as long as you have a refrigerator and microwave to keep them in. Rice is very inexpensive and quantity buying can make a  difference, but expect about .75 a pound and beans around .80 a pound. 

Dried beans are an amazingly cheap source of protein. You can make Boston baked beans, split pea soup, lentils and a number of other bean dishes and soups. One trick I like to do is save bacon grease from when I make bacon. I freeze it and then put the bacon grease in the beans. This has the tendency to make one feel extra thrifty and makes the dish more tasty. A pound of dried pinto beans is about $1.04 a pound.

Canned fish is a good source of protein and keeps very well. You can buy tuna, canned salmon, sardines and a number of other canned meats like oysters, octopus etc.  A can of tuna like the one below is about .80. 

Refried beans can be used as a substitute for hamburger in burritos or eaten with tortilla chips. A one pound can is about $1.00.

One meat that is very low priced is chicken gizzards. I really like them but not everyone does. I love them fried. They run about $1.39 a pound.

Chicken Leg quarters are also inexpensive at about $1.07 a pound. They are very versatile and there are so many way to cook them. Add some rice and a side of canned green beans and you can create a very inexpensive, filling and tasty dish for very little. 

During this time, it's time to put our creative hats on. When we change our think into a thunk, meaning we change our thinking to fit the challenge, we can learn new skills and make a difference for ourselves, our family and the world at large. Happy Savings and be safe!

Pennies, Pennies Everywhere! Make Your Own Yogurt!

Did you know you can easily make your own yogurt for pennies compared to grocery store prices? I have a yogurt maker and I will show you my process but you don't need a yogurt maker to make yogurt! 

First, you will need starter. This is from my last batch but if you don't have any starter, you can just buy the smallest container of plain yogurt from the store. 

Here is my yogurt maker. The above glass jar is like the ones that fill this maker and I can use them over and over (no trash!)

First, I take about a quart of milk and pour into a bowl. I heat the milk briefly after pouring it into the bowl. 

I add some real cream to mine because I like the thick, rich flavor. 

Then, I add my starter and stir. 

After that, I fill the jars and add it to the yogurt maker. 

I turn it on and leave it for 24 hours. You don't need a yogurt maker but, living in a cooler climate, I like the even heat that gets applied to the yogurt with the maker. 

Once the yogurt is done, I either use it in smoothies or add some jam like this for flavor. 

Here is a link to making yogurt without a yogurt maker. Easy peasy! https://frenchwomendontgetfat.com/recipe/homemade-yogurt-without-a-yogurt-maker/

Happy Savings! 

Springtime Dandelion Greens! Food From Your Yard

Here's a springtime money and health hack for you! Eat dandelion greens! Dandelion greens in early spring are good and good for you. Here is an article on how to find and use dandelion greens:

http://www.moneycrashers.com/eating-dandelions-health-benefits-leaves-greens-roots-flowers/

 Dandelions have calcium, iron, Vitamin C and Vitamin A and Vitamin K.  Here are some dandelion green nutrition facts: http://foodfacts.mercola.com/dandelion-greens.html Dandelions are great for your eyes, containing both zeaxanthin and lutein.

A couple of rules:

• Make sure you know what you are picking! Use online resources so you can compare and know for sure. If you are not certain of what you are picking, take them to your local extension office for verification before consuming.
• Make sure they are not covered with pesticides or other pollutants. 
• Remember you are responsible for what you eat. Safety first! Never put anything into your mouth when foraging unless you are sure you know what you have. This goes for all foods you pick. 

You can cook dandelion greens in a few ways. You can saute them in a pan like in this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/222744/dandelion-greens-with-a-kick/

I like to take a few like this, and just throw them into a smoothie!

Food right from your yard! Now that is frugality!

Happy Savings!

Stretching a Haircut Between Salon Visits

I'm doing a lot of re-runs here but many of these are so fitting right now. I have stretched my haircuts for years and it is really easy to do. With the salons all closed, you may feel the need for a trim until they open up again. You can easily stretch a haircut without too much courage. There are two pairs of scissors in the upper photo. One is regular hair-cutting scissors and the one next to it is thinning scissors. If you look close, you can see that the thinning scissors have a straight edge on one side and a toothy looking edge on the other. These little scissors are rather amazing, because you can take some hair and think you are going to cut it all off but in reality all these scissors do is thin the hair out. They are pretty neat. I bought these at Wal-Mart. I think they were around $7.00.

So, if you comb the hair with a little mist of water around the frame of your face, hold the hair down so you can see the straight line. Cut with the first pair around the frame of your face about 1/2 an inch or so. Then, take the thinning scissors (if your hair happens to be thick) and thin it out a bit. Take care to thin towards the ends of the strands of hair rather than towards the scalp. This will keep the main shape of the haircut for the most part but it will feel lighter and look better until you get into see the hairdresser or barber and give you a couple of weeks reprieve. If you get a haircut once every 6 weeks, that's 8.6 haircuts a year. If your haircut is around, say, $15.00 (which I do not pay BTW, tips on that later, but I think $15.00 is about average) you will pay about $130.00 a year on haircuts (for one person). If you stretched every haircut an extra 2 weeks that would change to 6.5 haircuts a year for $97.50 for a savings of $32.50 a year. If you did this 6.5 times a year, you would be getting paid $5.00 per time you stretched a haircut. It takes about 15 minutes to stretch a haircut (at the most 1/2 hour). That equates to $20.00 an hour for your time, or at the least, $10.00 an hour, plus the gas and time you saved by not getting your haircut. Multiply $32.50 by everyone in your family that gets a haircut and that's how much you can save per year.

Revision: Apparently I was too cheap. Here are some US averages for haircuts:  http://www.usnews.com/.../28/what-america-pays-for-a-haircut

Happy Savings!

Pennies Pennies Everywhere: Reuse Freezer and Storage Bags

A good way to save some money is to re-use your plastic freezer and storage baggies. I usually manage to re-use mine a few times before throwing them away. I suds them up well using some dish soap and hot water and wash them out well. I then turn them upside down to dry on whatever I have available. Usually that is on top of cups or a faucet handle or a bottle of some kind. There is often a little moisture left in them so I dry them out before putting them away. Depending on how many baggies you use per year, you can save a fair amount of money. If you normally use 100 bags per year, for example, and you buy 20 and re-use them over and over, and you normally pay 99 cents per 20 (which is what I get them for on sale), you can save about $4.00. That might not seem like a lot of money but remember when you save pennies on a little of everything all year long, and do it year after year, it can amount to a lot.

If saving a few dollars isn't a good enough incentive for you, you may want to consider washing baggies out for environmental reasons. According to Ecowatch, "Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth four times. We currently recover only five percent of the plastics we produce. The average American throws away approximately 185 pounds of plastic per year.Apr 7, 2014"  There is so much plastic thrown away, it really is quite tragic. A great thing about frugality is that it usually has further reaching effects than just your personal purse-strings. This is one reason why frugality is such a great concept.

Here is an article from Mother Jones on washing out sandwich baggies: http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/06/washing-out-sandwich-baggies-waste-time

I re-use plastic baggies over and over and have not had a problem. I just make sure they are clean. However, there comes a point when I do throw them away. It is not recommended to re-use discolored baggies or baggies that had meat or oil in them for food use. Use common sense when re-using baggies.

Here is an article about re-using plastic baggies in ways other than putting food into them if you still want to use them after you feel they are no longer food safe. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/06/reusing-plastic-bags-tips_n_1859303.html?slideshow=true#gallery/248738/0

Happy Savings!

Pennies Pennies Everywhere: A Use for Bread Crusts

So, I admit that some of these are resurrected older posts. But they are just so timely right now! Since writing this post, I have gone gluten free. And since then, I hate throwing out bread crusts even more because a loaf of gluten free bread runs about $5.00! Even so, in this time of wanting to save money and for some, simply not wanting to go to a store, here is an idea for older bread crusts:

Don't you just hate throwing out bread crusts? There are many uses for them and here is one:

Tonight, I made sloppy joes, but instead of buying buns for the sloppy joes, I toasted bread crusts! After the bread crusts were toasted, we loaded them up with pickles, sloppy joe sauce, cheese and onions. They can be eaten either by picking them up or cutting them with a fork.

Other uses for bread crusts are using them with chicken gravy, mini-pizzas or some people like making bread pudding or stuffing with them. To make with chicken gravy, just toast the bread and make a chicken gravy with meat to pour on them. To make mini-pizzas, simply top with tomato sauce and cheese and any other topping you may like and broil. To make stuffing, you will need to cut up the pieces. Here is a recipe for stuffing https://www.spendwithpennies.com/easy-stuffing-recipe/

A few pennies here and a few pennies there all add up to dollars, not to mention not having to go to the store. 

Happy Savings!

How to Stretch a Chicken: 5-6 Meals Out of One Chicken for 3-4 People

Here are 5-6 meals out of one chicken for 3-4 people. 

Day 1: Meal 1: Roast Chicken. Yum Yum! This is so easy to make with a couple of baked potatoes and side veg. I usually make extra potatoes for leftovers.

 Day 2: Meal 2 Leftover Roast Chicken and Potatoes. Heat and eat.

Day 2 or 3: Meal 3 Chicken sandwiches for lunch or dinner! Add whatever you want, lettuce, mayo, cheese etc. Another option is using tortillas and making enchiladas.

Day 3 or 4: Meals 4 and 5 Chicken noodle soup with all the meat left on the carcass.

Everything that didn't go into the soup went into the pot. I will boil this on low for about 4 hours and make bone broth. I will strain out all the bones and skin etc. I usually just drink the bone broth, it is so good for you! (Can be used for a meal 6 or be used for the soup stock as well.)

None of this chicken goes to waste! There should be enough soup left for tomorrow night as well. The bone broth can be frozen into cubes for later soup if desired.

Last but not least, scraps for the cats.