“Tasty Baby” for Babes (and Moms) with Taste

Yes, when we had a baby we tried to make our own baby food. But honestly, working full-time and trying to prep all the little containers of food ended up driving me crazy. I know there are tons of moms out there able to juggle more balls than me, but I just could never quite get down the routine of boiling the veggies, pureeing them, and storing them. So I usually resorted to the good ole’ Gerber for help. But I am happy to pass on that help is now here! In the freezer section of many health food stores has arrived “Tasty Baby” which is organic baby food, already prepped, frozen, and ready to use.  Yes, it tastes good too, and saves a few precious minutes that a parent with a newborn needs. So, for us moms that just quite can’t get that food processor going, thank you Tasty Baby for doing it for us!

A Great Treat for a Mom in Motion

I am currently addicted to Luna Bars. Honestly, I am. Our grocery store just had a special of “10 for 10″ and of course I bought ten. I just wanted to pass on that this mommy treat is relatively low in calories, high in protein, full of vitamins, and made up of mostly organic ingredients. I usually store one in my purse or diaper bag for emergencies, but mostly I have one to hand for when I feel my energy is waning and I need a bit of a kick. My personal favorite right now is “S’Mores” and “Nutz Over Chocolate” but they also do a “Peanut Butter Cookie” version which is delicious. These are definitely great healthy treats for any mom in motion.

Mom’s Favorite Chocolate Treat

Yes, I admit it – I am addicted to chocolate. I figure that there could be worse things to be addicted to, and although I do *try* to limit my chocolate in-take, I have to admit it is hard. Recently the health food store near us started stocking one of my favorite chocolate bars which is now widely available in the United States- Green & Black’s Organic Chocolate. I know I should be more skeptical about all the “health benefits” of dark chocolate – but this company makes me sold – as I rationalize every little piece away. Their Maya Gold bar is especially good, as it has a hint of orange & spice. So when you need a little mommy treat, you might want to try one of this mom’s favorites – because a little does go a long way (honestly).

How Do You Spell Relief? C-O-S-T-C-O

I have a confession to make – I have never been a huge fan of Costco. It always seems too busy, too big, and too overwhelming. I have also felt that you tend to walk out with more than you really need and impulse more than you really should. One of the things we wanted to do in the second half of our family budget challenge, was get ahead on some of the basics, spending more money upfront, leaving us with less to get by on for the rest of the month. Our solution: a trip to dreaded Costco. Boy, how things change when you are trying to save money. This week we went to Costco to stock up on some basics, and I kept lingering on every aisle saying aloud to my husband “Do you know how much this is in the grocery store?” Now I am sure that you don’t win on all items at Costco, but I felt we really did. We bought a half pound of yeast for $3.59 (two small sachets cost me $1 and only made one loaf of bread). We bought six boxes of penne pasta for $6.00 when one was costing me $1.76 for the same box in the grocery store. We bought cleaning items as well as the basics of milk, eggs, yogurt, and cheese and figured out that on each item we were saving up to a third or half the price we had previously paid elsewhere. We realized we were in risk of what many do at superstores like this one – buy too much because “it is cheaper.” So you have to use common sense when shopping in such places:

• Make a list before you walk in.
• Don’t impulse. If you see something you want that is not on your list, make note of it and put it on your list for a future shop.
• Make sure you have the room for what you are buying in bulk (if the milk goes bad because you don’t have room for three gallons what was the point of buying it?)
• Make sure you can finish the item. Although the avocados were cheaper we would have to use ten of them in the week – a bit of stretch for us.
• Don’t make it a habit to shop in these sort of places more than once a week (as over time you might spend more not less).
• Make sure you can get there often enough to make it worth the membership cost. If not, don’t join.

We walked out having spent more than half of what we had for the rest of the month, and we think realistically that we will have to “borrow” from savings to get by this month. But we did notice that since our shop on the 15th, we haven’t had to go grocery shopping once, and we are creatively using all the items we have in. So once again, we will keep you posted on our budget challenge – but more lessons are being learned every day!

Saving Strategies

Sunday grocery shopping is not our favorite event. As discussed in the Healthy Lifestyle section we try not to shop at busy times. However, what we do try to do on a Sunday (besides going to church) is collect coupons. A lot of us out there are trying to pinch pennies where we can, but sometimes this takes work. Recently, I caught a feature on ABC from the “Coupon Mom” reminding us all how to save money when grocery shopping. In a nutshell, she reminded shoppers to buy generic items, plan your shopping (and eating) around what is on sale at stores, check receipts, and use coupons (which she has available online).

This mom has a few other favorite ways to save money at the grocery store, and some might seem a bit counter-intuitive:

Let things run out. We found that if we have a lot of something we use more of it and usually gratuitously. Think of how you get when your toothpaste is finished but you just need a teeny bit more. Well you get it by rolling over the tube 4-5 times, cutting off the end, or pushing hard at the top because you need that little bit to get your teeth clean. Whereas, if you have 2-3 in the closet you might just throw out the toothpaste when the cap gets too messy or it is almost gone. So as the saying goes “waste not, want not.”

Keep your cans. At our grocery store we get charged a deposit just for the possibility that we might bring our cans back. On a 12 pack that is 60 cents. If we don’t take the cans back we loose 60 cents. So keep them, collect them, and get your money back.

Drink water from the tap. Call me crazy, but we have a good friend that works for a public water company and he can’t believe people drink bottled water due to rigorous State and Federal water testing. If you just can’t stomach that buy a filter that attaches to the faucet.

Mom’s Favorite Treat for a Snack Pack

So our little one is just about to make his first foray into a summer program, and all of a sudden we find ourselves desperate to find good and healthy snacks he can take with him. We love cut up grapes, apples, halved cherry tomatoes, and defrosted beans – which all hold up well with heat and travel. But we have recently found a new favorite to add to mom’s list – which is a healthy & organic version of “animal cookies” – called Barbara’s Bakery Vanilla Snackimals Animal Cookies,. Although we try to limit sweets, every now and again we do allow a little treat and we discovered these at our local health-food store. We love them so much, that we have now started to buy a pack of 18 through Amazon.Com as they make a nice addition to a healthy snack pack for mom & dad too.

Mom’s Top Tips for Eating Organic Without Breaking the Bank

As I have mentioned several times, this mom believes in raising her family as much as possible in an “organic manner.” But with rising food costs this sometimes seems impossible while keeping our family budget. So Mom’s Favorite tips of achieving the balance in healthy & organic eating without breaking the bank include:

Pick and choose produce that is in season. Sometimes having a little patience and eating in season can save lots of money on all produce, not just organic produce.

Look out for coupons. Increasingly, as organic companies are becoming more popular they distribute coupons in mainstream newspaper circulars – so look out on Sunday for those great savings. You could also directly visit your favorite organic company’s website, as many post printable coupons.

Find a local health food store and compare prices. You might be surprised that most organic products are cheaper in these small stores because the demand is higher.

Follow the guide above to pick and choose the produce that it is most important to eat organically. Some produce simply acts as a sponge in soaking up unwanted pesticides, so if possible try and buy organic versions of high pesticide foods.

Just like with all of Mom’s Favorite tips – pick and choose your battles. Sometimes compromise is necessary, so if you can’t buy organic, do try to buy local, fresh, and healthy!

For more information on organic eating, see The Food News guide to organic & healthy eating or see the Health Section of the NY Times.

Mom’s Favorite All Purpose Bag

Today our town had a “sidewalk sale.” This is always a popular event, and the sidewalk ends up teeming with strollers, shoppers, and vendors. It is no small feat to negotiate around all the people to see what deals might be found. Most of the stores are locally owned businesses (which this mom really appreciates), and offer little “gems” not seen in big commercial shops. One find that I made was something that I have been looking for – a large canvas bag for carrying groceries, kid “kit,” or beach gear. I was thrilled to find (at a very reasonable price) this canvas bag from AU of Maine.  After doing a bit of Mom’s Favorite investigation when I came home, I discovered they do a ton of great, versatile, kid friendly bags. An added plus is that many of them are made in the USA (hooray!).