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7 Days of Low Cost Breakfast Ideas from Costco

September 21, 2023 by Laura 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Here’s an entire week worth of low cost breakfast ideas from Costco!

Can you get the ingredients for these breakfasts at any grocery store? Sure. Do whatever works best for you! I have personally found that buying in bulk at Costco and enjoying their high quality mixed with great prices is a great combination to save lots of money on wonderful meals!

Download a free grocery list here.

Get ready to buy the few ingredients needed to make these breakfast ideas! Many of the ingredients can be mixed and matched so you’ll get great bang for your buck!

Download a free grocery list here.

7 Days of Low Cost Breakfast Ideas from Costco

First, take a look at the seven day menu. Doesn’t this all sound tasty?

  1. Oatmeal with Berries
  2. Homemade Granola with Yogurt
  3. Eggs and Smoothies
  4. Biscuits and Gravy
  5. Pancakes and Bacon
  6. Blueberry Muffins and Eggs
  7. Warm Vanilla Soother and Toast

Ready for the recipes and details? Take note as you make a grocery list that many of the ingredients needed in these breakfast recipes can be mixed and matched. So if you buy these ingredients, you can make multiple recipes and have a wonderful variety of breakfast meals!

1. Oatmeal with BerriesYum

What to buy at Costco:

  • Old Fashioned Oats
  • Your favorite Berries

Costco has awesome prices for both. Their oats comes in 10-pound packages so it will go a very long way. (I usually keep some in a canister in my kitchen for easy access, and then freeze the rest to keep it fresh longer.)

Make it easier:

Here are some fun oatmeal recipes that your family might love!

  • Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets
  • Frozen Oatmeal Cups (make-ahead, thaw, heat, and serve!)
  • Hot Cocoa Oatmeal

2. Homemade Granola with Yogurt

What to buy at Costco:

  • Old Fashioned Oats (maybe you’re buying it anyway for the above-mentioned oatmeal!)
  • Coconut Oil
  • Honey
  • Yogurt
  • Look through the recipes below to learn about any additional ingredients you’ll need for individual recipes. Remember when you see the ingredients at Costco – you’ll be able to make several recipes worth of granola or other goodies with these ingredients. This makes it worth paying for and saves money in the long run!

Recipes you’ll love:

  • Easy Peanut Butter Honey Granola
  • Easy Oats and Honey Granola
  • Dark Chocolate Almond Granola
  • Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola
  • 5-Minute Stovetop Granola
  • Cranberry Pecan Granola

3. Eggs and Smoothies

What to buy at Costco:

  • Eggs
  • Frozen Fruit
  • Milk
  • Fresh Spinach

Recipes you’ll love:

  • My husband and I love these smoothies. Our kids prefer this version. Both are full of greens!
  • Tropical Smoothies
  • Pineapple Mango Smoothies

Scramble or fry eggs to enjoy while you sip your smoothies. You’ll be nourished well and ready to start your day!

4. Biscuits and Gravy

What to buy at Costco:

  • Flour
  • Butter
  • Sausage
  • Milk
  • Baking Powder
  • Salt

Recipes you’ll love:

  • Easy Whole Wheat Biscuits
  • Sausage Gravy

It’s amazing how inexpensive it is to make biscuits and gravy at home compared to buying it at a restaurant. And it’s hard to beat homemade!

5. Pancakes and Bacon

What to buy at Costco:

  • Flour
  • Baking Powder
  • Milk
  • Butter
  • Eggs
  • Maple Syrup (a little goes a long way!)
  • Bacon

Recipes you’ll love:

  • Simple Pancake Mix Pancakes
  • Whole Wheat Pancakes
  • Peanut Butter Pancakes
  • Pumpkin Pancakes
  • Easy Whole Grain Chocolate Pancakes
  • Simple Banana Pancakes
  • Whole Wheat Applesauce Pancakes
  • Baked Apple Pancake

6. Blueberry Muffins and Eggs

What to buy at Costco:

  • Flour
  • Coconut Oil
  • Brown Sugar
  • Baking Powder
  • Milk
  • Blueberries
  • Eggs

Recipes you’ll love:

  • Blueberry Streusel Muffins
  • 40 more muffin recipes to enjoy!

7. Warm Vanilla Soother and Toast

What to buy at Costco:

  • Milk
  • Eggs
  • Cornstarch
  • Maple Syrup
  • Bread
  • Butter

Recipes you’ll love:

  • Warm Vanilla Soother
  • Warm Chocolate Soother
  • Warm Pumpkin Custard
  • Chocolate Mint Soother
  • Easily make your own bread for toast! Stir-n-Pour Bread

I love how simple these ingredients are and how you can use them in so many ways to make great meals. Enjoy these 7 breakfast ideas, and consider making them for dinner too. Breakfast for dinner is a favorite!

Get our free grocery list to make this easy!

Download your free grocery list here.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

What I Buy at Costco to Pack in School Lunches

August 16, 2023 by Laura 3 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I realized that there are many items I buy at Costco to pack in school lunches for my kids. These are great money savers, so I wanted to share!

Does it actually save money to pack a lunch?

Last year, if you recall, I did a price breakdown on many of the lunches I pack for my kids to see if it actually saves money to send lunch in a lunchbox vs. buying lunch at school. (It does, in fact, save money.)

But more than that, I found that if my kids eat school lunch, they don’t make good choices (I wouldn’t have either at their age!). They tend to eat the cookie first and not much else because they either run out of time because they were distracted or because they didn’t like the main dish offered. Veggies never happened at school – not because they weren’t offered but because Mom wasn’t there to make them eat them.

Packing lunches for our kids ensures that they eat better, they eat more, and at the end of the day I can talk with them about what they enjoyed and what they would like done differently next time.

What I Buy at Costco to Pack in School Lunches

We only pack sandwiches and chips for a Fun Friday lunch. The other four days of the week, we like to pack a different variety of foods they like. Some lunches are hot, some are cold, and both work very well!

Here’s a big run down at food we get at Costco that works great as we pack school lunches!

Fruits and Veggies

Costco’s Organic Gala apples are the perfect size for a school lunch, plus they are high quality and always priced wonderfully per pound. Their grapes make a great side dish, and I simply buy whichever variety is priced the lowest at that time. Clementines pack well and are easy to peel. I pack fresh Costco pears and bananas occasionally, but those are tricky because they tend to get squished in the lunch box. ;)

When GoGo Squeeze are on sale, I stock up! These are great to throw into a school lunch because they don’t even require a spoon. ;) I get applesauce cups also, and every once in a while I put a GoGo Squeez yogurt into a lunch (that’s usually a special treat that I include in a Fun Friday Lunch).

Peach Cups and Mandarin Orange Cups in 100% juice are great to send with the kids for fruit variety and because we often run low on fresh fruit at home (I buy a ton but we eat a ton, so I struggle to keep up!). Having these cups on the shelf is super convenient and great for lunch boxes. They really like Pear Cups also, but it is hit and miss on finding those.

Baby carrots and cucumbers are great lunchbox options. Brayden discovered this summer that he LOVES cucumbers. :) Kiya isn’t a fan of cucumbers but she does like baby carrots dipped in peanut butter. :)

I’ve found that it’s worth it to splurge on Costco’s Avocado Cups and Guacamole Cups as they pack well and are fun to eat with tortilla chips.

And speaking of tortilla chips…

These huge bags from Costco are our favorite. They are a great price and go a long way, even for our large family.

Often I’ll pack a little baggie of these chips to go with any of these dips I’ve made and put into small containers:

  1. Simple Bean and Cheese Salsa Dip
  2. Cream Cheese Salsa Dip
  3. Bacon Ranch Chip Dip
  4. French Onion Dip
  5. Bacon Tomato Dip
  6. Black Bean Salsa
  7. Healthier Cheese Dip 
  8. Nacho Cheese Pretzel Dip
  9. Easy Guacomole

From the cheese aisle

Big packs of cheese sticks come in handy as something easy to throw into a lunch box to help fill the kids’ bellies. Plus I like to get big packs of sliced Colby jack cheese to use on Friday’s sandwiches or to enjoy with crackers.

Lunchmeat

These Kirkland brand varieties of ham and turkey are our favorite. We don’t just use them on sandwiches for our lunchboxes. Often we’ll roll them up and put them into a bag to eat as-is.

These Cheese and Cracker 12-Packs are a bit of a splurge, but I like to keep them on hand anyway because they are a great lunchbox item that I can fall back on if I don’t have much time to put together anything else. And yep, even though they are a convenience item, the overall cost is still lower than paying for a school lunch.

Mac and Cheese

For a hot lunch option, I buy cases of mac and cheese at Costco. Typically, if I’m making mac and cheese for lunch for the littles, I’ll make extra to warm up and put in a thermos the next day for the elementary-aged kids. It’s perfect! (See how I send hot lunches to school here.)

Costco Frozen Pizza

Remember how I figured out that buying Costco Frozen Pizza is a great frugal meal option? They are also a great school lunchbox option! I’ll bake one, let it cool, cut it, and baggie it up to throw into the kids’ lunchboxes. So easy and they love it!

Packaged Treats

It costs less to bake homemade muffins (40+ recipes here) and other baked goods (huge list of recipes here) to send in a school lunch. But Costco offers big boxes of pre-made treats like this that are nice to add to a lunch box. We like their 100% fruit strips, Nature’s Bakery brand items, and Bobo’s muffins.

What do you like to buy at Costco to pack in school lunches?

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How to Take a Salad for a Family Picnic

July 19, 2023 by Laura 9 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Who takes a salad for a family picnic?! We do. When you go out for as many picnics as we do, you start to get creative. :)

Now that we are living in Lincoln, we’ve been taking our seven little kids out for almost daily “adventures.” The weather has been beautiful and the outings are sooooo good for our kids’ mental health (and for mine, actually). Plus this has been a good way to help us all become familiar with our new surroundings.

So many family picnics

I’m telling you, we pack food a lot for our crew to eat while we’re out. They love it, it’s not hard to do, and the best part: THERE ARE NO DISHES TO WASH AFTERWARD.

We live a few blocks from the zoo, so we bought a membership and go there for an hour or two whenever we can. Here’s our picnic last week: meat, cheese, applesauce, carrots, crackers, and juice. We had lunch with the giraffes.

Another day Eva, Kelsey, and I took the kids to a splash park and enjoyed sandwiches, chips (wow, what an actual normal picnic), mandarin oranges, and juice.

One Saturday we took the kids to “Discovery Day” at a UNL campus where they featured all kinds of science-based, hands-on learning booths for the kids. We enjoyed doing experiments at many booths before sitting down under a tree to eat nuts, cheese sticks, and fruit.

A couple weeks ago Eva and I took the kids to play at a huge park all morning, then ate hotdogs that I’d heated and “bunned” ahead of time for us to eat at lunchtime.

And yes, we also enjoy a lot of picnics in our backyard. This one was pizza and fruit. But it all tastes better outside. :)

Other picnic ideas we’ve enjoyed:

  • Quesadillas
  • Hamburgers
  • Chicken Sandwiches
  • Burritos
  • Summer Sausage
  • Tortilla Roll-Ups

How to Take a Salad for a Family Picnic

So now let’s talk about salad.

This idea came to me as I was quickly searching my refrigerators to see what I could throw together for my kids to eat at the zoo this week. I had already grabbed some sliced meat and cheese, but we needed a veggie that could easily be transported and eaten at a picnic table. I was out of carrots, but aha! There was a Salad Kit I’d bought for Elias sitting in my veggie drawer. We could make that work at the zoo!

(This is the photo I sent Elias from Aldi asking if he wanted me to get it for him. And then I bought it for him. And then we ate it without him. Sorry Elias. I’ll get you a new one.)

I threw the kit into a gallon-sized ziploc bag along with avocado cups for our toddlers, applesauce cups and muffins for everyone, and juice boxes. We got to the zoo just in time to sit down for a Baby Cheetah “show.” We settled everyone in with an applesauce cup and spoon, then I dumped the salad kit into my ziploc bag.

I added all the extras included in the kit, closed up the ziploc, and shook it up. This took 5 minutes and it was brilliant! (I did wish I had scissors. That would have made the process only take only 4 minutes.)

I then dumped salad out for Brayden, Keith, Kiya, Matt, and me, handed out forks, and we learned about baby cheetahs while we chomped on salad. Truly, this idea is genius.

These kits are around $3 at Aldi, which is a GREAT PRICE for a lunch on the go. Plus they have several varieties to choose from. I will definitely be grabbing more next time I’m shopping so that I’ll have these on hand for outings as needed!

Meanwhile, Acacia ate her avocado cup with a spoon. She loves those!

Want to make your own salad to take along on a picnic? Here are some great recipes:

  • Bacon, Egg, and Avocado Salad
  • Black Bean Taco Salad
  • BLT Chopped Salad
  • Easy Taco Salad
  • Chicken Chef Salad
  • Tuna Salad
  • Perfect Pasta Salad
  • Simple Bacon Broccoli Salad
  • Strawberry Spinach Salad with Vinaigrette
  • Easy Salsa Chicken Salad

How about fruit salad?

  • Strawberry Christmas Salad
  • Easy Blue Raspberry Salad
  • Pineapple Fluff Salad
  • Hawaiian Fruit Salad
  • Simple Strawberry Fluff Salad

Ever tried taking salad for a family picnic?

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12+ Ways to Use a Rotisserie Chicken as Fast Food

May 3, 2023 by Laura 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Use a Rotisserie Chicken as fast food? Oh yes! Here are 12 full meal ideas to work with as you get your creative meal idea juices flowing…

Seeing as Costco and Sam’s offer their delicious Rotisserie Chicken for just $4.98 every single day – we should keep this in mind as a Fast Food option as a way that saves money and provides a healthy meal! Here are some tasty ideas to create a meal with a Rotisserie Chicken:

Ways to Use a Rotisserie Chicken as Fast Food

There are so many different food combinations we can put together to enjoy a rotisserie chicken as a meal! Anything you choose will offer a fast food meal at a fraction of the price compared to ordering take-out at a restaurant. And you can put together some very healthy meal options too!

Look through all the different Rotisserie Chicken meal combinations below. Put these items into your cart, take them home, and put them on your table. Or, how about taking any of these to the park for a simple picnic?? So delicious and fun!

Rotisserie Chicken Meal Ideas:

  1. Rotisserie Chicken, Caesar Salad Mix, Fresh Strawberries
  2. Rotisserie Chicken, Croissants, Romaine Lettuce, Grapes (at home, grab out mayo, mustard, and ranch to complete your sandwiches)
  3. Rotisserie Chicken, Potato Salad, Pickles, Blackberries
  4. Rotisserie Chicken, Mixed Greens, Sliced Cheese, Crackers, Watermelon (enjoy salad dressing that you already have in your fridge with your mixed greens)
  5. Rotisserie Chicken, Hawaiian Rolls with butter, Coleslaw, Grapes
  6. Rotisserie Chicken, Baby Carrots with Hummus, Veggie Straws, Cherries
  7. Rotisserie Chicken, Tortilla Chips with Guacamole, Grape Tomatoes, Sliced Melon
  8. Rotisserie Chicken, Baked Beans, Fruit and Veggie Tray
  9. Rotisserie Chicken, Pasta Salad, Cherry Tomatoes, Fruit Cups
  10. Rotisserie Chicken, Tortilla Chips with Salsa, Olives, Pickles, Peaches
  11. Rotisserie Chicken, Tomato Soup, Cheese and Crackers, Pears
  12. Rotisserie Chicken, Steamed Veggies, Rolls with Butter, Cuties

Mix and Match any combination of these, or add anything else you find that looks good! Simply grab a Rotisserie Chicken (or two if you have a large family, pick up some simple sides, and you have a quick, easy, and healthy meal!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

How to Make Uncrustables

March 22, 2023 by Laura 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Let’s talk about how to make Uncrustables and all the reasons you should make them at home!

Yum

What is an Uncrustable?

Uncrustables are a lovely convenience item found in the freezer section of the grocery store. They are pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwich with crusts removed. Perfect for most of our kids, right?

Yes, but the cost.

I can’t let myself spend $4.18 for just four crustless pb&j sandwiches. Surely it costs much less to throw together a simple sandwich at home, right? Right.

Here’s what you need to make Uncrustables:

100% Whole Wheat Bread: $0.19/sandwich
Natural Peanut Butter: $0.13/sandwich
100% Fruit Jelly: $0.13/sandwich

Uncrustables at the store: $1.05 per sandwich (made with less-nourishing ingredients)
Cost for a Homemaade Uncrustable: $0.45 (made with much better ingredients)

Oh, and you’ll need this handy tool which is a one-time, very worth it purchase.

Don’t waste the crust!!

When I use two loaves of bread to make 20 Uncrustables, I end up with a 10×13 inch pyrex full of crusts. I can’t stand the idea of throwing them out, so I use them to make Easy Bread Pudding. My family loves this and I love that nothing goes to waste!

How to make your own Peanut Butter

Want to make your own peanut butter? It’s truly the most delicious! Here’s the recipe. It’s so very easy to make!

If you don’t make your own peanut butter, look for brands that don’t have hydrogenated oils in them. Those oils are best avoided. :)

The joy of Homemade Uncrustables

If you make Uncrustables, I recommend making many at once so that you get more mass for your mess. :) I make two loaves of bread worth each time I make Uncrustables (which produces 20). Then I freeze them to pull out for quick lunches for my kids (either at home or in lunchboxes at school). Having these ready in the freezer is so handy! And if we’re at home and want to eat them straight from the freezer, we put them into our air fryer for a minute or two to thaw/crisp up. So good!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Easy Recipes and Tips to Help Keep Food Costs Down

April 3, 2022 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

With grocery prices going up, we can still keep food costs down. Here’s how!

For my own sake and for yours, I decided to do some digging. I wanted to put together a thorough list of recipes and meal/snack ideas to help us all keep our food costs down.

First, do not despair

Media wants us to panic. I feel that we really have no need to worry! Sure, grocery prices are up and may still climb. But we can make this work!

Next, some ways to save big bucks:

Here are some of my initial ideas for saving some money on groceries. None of these will likely work for everyone, but maybe you can find one or two that work for you.

  1. Garden if you can. Or purchase from a gardening friend.
  2. Raise your own meat and eggs if you can. This is a no-go for most of us, but perhaps you know some local farmers you can buy from.
  3. Take advantage of any and all offers of free or inexpensive food you might have available to you. We often have friends with extra garden produce to give away. We also have friends with fruit trees and they tell us to come “have at it!”
  4. Make food from scratch if you can. See lots of great and easy recipe ideas below!
  5. Avoid processed food if you can. Packaged convenience foods can really deplete our grocery budgets. Consider other easy-to-make meals (recipes below).
  6. Buy and eat “in season” produce. The prices of fresh fruits and vegetables are still very reasonable and one of the best ways to get nourishment! Don’t buy into the lie that fruits and veggies are too expensive.
  7. Frozen fruits and vegetables are very reasonable in cost! Take advantage of this as a way to keep buying and eating healthy foods.
  8. Don’t let food go to waste. If produce is going bad, freeze it to use in broth (veggies) or smoothies (fruit). Save leftovers and be creative in how you use them up.
  9. Take advantage of “loss leaders” at grocery stores. Our local stores are still offering great sale-priced items to get us into the stores, and I bet yours are too! Take advantage of these and stock up when you find a great sale.
  10. Look for items that have been marked down. I almost always check the meat section at our grocery stores to see what might be close to expiring and therefore marked down. I save a lot of money this way and have freezer space to keep the meat good until we need it.

Easy Recipes to Help Keep Food Costs Down

I’ve noticed that the cost of prepared baked goods has gone up. Instead of buying them, I’ve been making inexpensive recipes like this for my family:

Muffins

  • Use this Basic Muffin Recipe (easy and inexpensive!) then add in anything you found on sale or have on hand!
  • Banana Muffins
  • Breakfast Cake Muffins
  • Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins (omit the chocolate chips if that adds too much cost)
  • Chocolate Swirl Muffins
  • Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
  • Cornbread and Cornbread Muffins
  • Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins
  • Eggnog Muffins
  • Flourless Brownie Muffins (great way to get protein!)
  • Flourless Pumpkin Muffins
  • Honey Cinnamon Muffins
  • Lemon Muffins
  • Muffin Waffles
  • Orange Muffins
  • Peaches and Cream Muffins
  • Snickerdoodle Muffins
  • Stuffing Muffins
  • Sweet Potato Streusel Muffins
  • Whole Grain Lemon Muffins
  • Whole Grain Orange Poppyseed Muffins
  • Whole Wheat Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
  • Whole Wheat and Honey Zucchini Muffins
  • Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

Easy-to-Make Breakfast Breads and Bars

  • Applesauce Bread
  • Apricot Breakfast Bars
  • Banana Bread
  • Breakfast Cake
  • Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread
  • Chocolate Swirl Bread
  • Cinnamon Swirl Bread
  • Honey Whole Wheat Bagels
  • Honey Whole Wheat Bread
  • Lemon Bread
  • Monkey Bread
  • No Knead Whole Wheat Bread
  • Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
  • One Hour Whole Wheat Yeast Rolls
  • Peanut Butter Breakfast Cake
  • Pita Bread
  • Poptarts
  • Pumpkin Breakfast Cake
  • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
  • Strawberry Bread
  • Stir-n-Pour Bread – So Easy!
  • Whole Wheat and Honey Zucchini Bread
  • Whole Wheat Butterhorns
  • Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
  • Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
  • Whole Wheat Hot Dog Buns
  • Zucchini Carrot Bread

Cereal prices seem much higher than normal, so consider these fun ideas:

Homemade Cereal – Easier than you think!

  • Cracklin’ Oat Bran Cereal
  • Dark Chocolate Almond Granola
  • Granola
  • Granola ~ 5-Minute Stop-Top Version
  • Grape Nuts Cereal
  • Instant Oatmeal Packets

Inexpensive Meal Ideas:

  • Lentil Nachos
  • Tuna Patties
  • Banana Pancakes
  • Applesauce BBQ Chicken
  • Hashbrown and Egg Nests
  • Cornbread Waffles with Chili
  • Veggie Fritters
  • Lemon Garlic Chicken Legs
  • Simple Noodle Soup

Meals you can make instead of buy:

These meals are not necessarily the cheapest to make compared to those listed above. But these are less expensive to make from scratch compared to buying them premade or compared to eating out.

  • Lasagna
  • Pizza
  • Hot Pockets
  • Calzones
  • Chicken Burritos
  • Meat and Cheese Burritos
  • Chicken Nuggets and French Fries
  • Chicken Patty Sandwiches
  • Chicken Pot Pie
  • Chicken Salad
  • Corndogs
  • Homemade Tomato Soup
  • Pizza Pockets

Grocery Shopping Tips:

If you’re looking to save money, here are some foods you want to stock up on and some foods you might want to avoid.

Buy This:

  • Fruit that is in season and/or on sale
  • Chicken legs
  • Whole chicken
  • Boneless chicken thighs or breasts
  • Ground turkey or chicken
  • Ingredients for homemade baking: flour, sugar, honey, spices, oil, baking powder, salt
  • Oats
  • Rice
  • Potatoes
  • Pasta
  • Pasta sauce

Avoid This:

  • Fruit that is out of season
  • Ground beef (buy this when it’s on sale to use sparingly as it is significantly more than ground turkey)
  • Cheese and cream cheese (we eat a lot of cheese, but I’ve been trying to use it less in our meals overall to save a few bucks)
  • Premade baked goods (with the exception of bread and buns which are still reasonably priced)
  • Frozen meals

What are your go-to meals that are money savers?

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Easy Lemon Chicken Zucchini for Breakfast

October 24, 2021 by Tasha Hackett Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

As promised, in the What To Do with All the Zucchini post, here’s the actual recipe to one of my new favorite breakfasts. Since I have to give the thing a name, I settled on Easy Lemon Chicken Zucchini. But really we call it the “lemon zucchini thing.” Is it easy? Or is it simple? Is it simply easy? Or easily simple? No matter which way you want to look at it, it’s real food that fuels my body and gets me ready for another awesome day. Bonus: It’s paleo! Gluten free, dairy free, soy free, sugar free… but not boring or complicated.

Chicken and zucchini for breakfast?

Do you have to eat it for breakfast? Duh, no. But for some reason I do. That’s about all I have to say on that. Eat it for any old meal you like, but I needed more grain-free breakfast food ideas. The paleo diet is not at all restricting once you get the hang of it, but the western culture has this idea that breakfasts are for all the sugar and carbs, or either all the protein and fats… and as it turns out, there is no authority that says you can’t have chicken and zucchini for breakfast, therefore I do.

Easy Lemon Chicken ZucchiniYum

 

lemon chicken squash

We used a yellow summer squash for this one!

If you’re using a cast iron skillet, remember to slowly pre-heat it so it’s ready to go. (Check out this post for tips on how to use a cast iron skillet.)Pre-heat for a few minutes and then melt 3-4 tablespoons of butter. While the skillet is heating and the butter melting, chop a summer squash—a yellow summer squash or a zucchini both work interchangeably in this recipe. OR A CUCUMBER. It sounds nuts to me, but my dear, sweet husband accidentally chopped a cucumber for this recipe instead of a zucchini and I could smell that it was a cucumber and I could see that it was a cucumber and by-golly I could taste that it was a cucumber, but it was surprisingly delicious. (He did not believe me that it was a cucumber until he tasted the final product for himself.) So we laughed and then ate our breakfast, but now we know… a cucumber fried in a bit of butter in place of squash is still yummy.

Okay, the skillet is pre-heated and the butter is melted, now toss in the squash. (I like to scrape out the middle if it’s a larger zucchini because I think it gets soggy and I don’t like it. ) Let it cook for two minutes and then flip and stir it about. When it’s right on the edge of being done add in a can of chicken. Season with salt and pepper and pour 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice over the top. It will sizzle and smell amazing.

Lemonize at your own risk.

Ben made this recipe the first two times. (Once with the cucumber in disguise and once with a zucchini.) When I made it, he wasn’t around to ask how much lemon juice to use. Thankfully I’m a pretty smart gal and I used two tablespoons. I even measured it out on purpose to make sure I could tell you exactly how much I used. Two tablespoons was the perfect amount for me. As long as you stir it up well. If you’re scared, just start with one and see how it goes.

What are your thoughts on squash for breakfast?


Tasha HackettTasha Hackett is Laura’s friend and author of the Christian romance Bluebird on the Prairie set in 1879, Nebraska. Though she used to be a closet Cheeto eater, she’s been on a strict paleo died for months to help fight migraines (with great success). She often pretends to be a ballerina while unloading the dishwasher and has a hard time going more than a few days without any homemade chocolate bars. Her favorite thing is writing with hope and humor to encourage and entertain women. She spends most of her time with four chatty children and an incredibly supportive husband; they give her the kind of love people write books about.

To find out more about Tasha and her fiction writing, connect with her at www.TashaHackett.com.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

How to Eat Healthier While Traveling

September 8, 2021 by Tasha Hackett Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

paleo while traveling

Remember when I shared how I survive road trips while eating paleo? We can eat healthier while traveling by planning ahead, eating before we leave the house, and pack our own homemade delicious snacks… but sometimes we are just hungry and we’re miles away from resources and a kitchen and there are business all about with their flashy signs and great deals and what’s a girl to do but order a medium potato óle? Again, I urge you to set your boundaries and know why you chose to eat the way you do. If you’re doing the Whole Thirty challenge. You can not afford to go off-plan. One sip of a milkshake will set back two weeks of the dairy and sugar cleanse you are on. It can take 30 days for your body to fully rid itself of the dairy and up to 90 days for gluten. But if you’re just trying to lose 5 pounds, you may give yourself a treat here and there. I get it.

If finances are tight, eating out ever can wreck your food budget.

I’m not here to talk you into anything. But I’d like to encourage you in your healthy food journey! Let’s hear it for REAL FOOD! Where can you get real food while traveling? There are some ways to eat healthier from fast food. Some offer salads that aren’t half bad. But if you’re counting calories, you’ll be surprised what you find in the dressings or add-ons. I don’t count calories, but I do avoid most commercial dressings.

The #1 way I eat healthier while traveling is to “eat out” at the grocery store.

Go to the grocery store! Just pretend the grocery store is a huge buffet. Grab a cart, bring all the kids inside and walk around the outer edge of the store and buy lots of things that you can eat immediately. Get some fruit. A few vegetables. Some protein. I promise this will save you money and keep you feeling great. My husband will argue that he doesn’t get full this way, but I argue it’s because he just didn’t eat enough—and next time he will need to get a rotisserie chicken or some other hot meat.

What do we actually buy to make a meal for the family?

Anything we want! And we don’t just do this for traveling, we swing by the grocery store to grab food for picnics, parks days, play-dates, etc. Here are a few meal suggestions that I’ve bought in the past:

Romain lettuce, lunch meat, guacamole, bell peppers, dill pickles, grapes, oranges, carrots. My total was $23 and we had enough for two full meals. We used the lettuce to make wraps with the guac, meat, peppers, and pickles and ate the fruit and carrots on the side. (Hint: I usually have a knife handy to slice bell peppers, cucumbers, etc.)

Last time we splurged and spent a whopping $45 dollars. We bought oranges, apples, bananas, guacamole, Nuthins, Ritz crackers, salt & vinegar potato chips, 12 pack of Lärabars, lunch meat, almonds, and a jug of water. Oh, and The Wonky Donky.

My kids are currently 9, 6, 5, and 2 years old. The six of us generally eat paleo, but nobody but me reacts to gluten, dairy, or sugar, so they’re allowed to eat whatever they want. I prep them before we go inside the store: “Don’t ask for a bunch of things you know we’re not going to buy. I will let you know when it’s time for you to pick something out. You will stay with me and not run off down the aisles. Let’s go get some yummy lunch!”

Here’s a $12 dinner: Small jar of peanut butter, jelly, loaf of bread, bag of oranges, and a 6-pack of ice cream sandwiches. Even though it’s still processed food, it goes better for my family than buying a meal’s worth from a fast-food joint. And you will probably have leftovers of everything but the ice-cream sandwiches!

A few grocery store recipes to eat healthier while traveling:

1) Single serve apple sauce, yogurt cups, deli meat and cheese, Hawaiian rolls, carrots, grapes.

2) Hot chicken from the deli, clearance French bread, sliced cheese, rocket apples, dill pickles.

3) Premade salad mixes, a $1 bowl, can of chicken, small bottle of dressing, ask for forks at the deli counter.

4) Fruit/veggie pouch for the toddler, variety of Naked or Bolthouse Farms juices to sample, bag of chips and jar of favorite dip, box of Lärabars, container of mixed nuts.

5) A protein, a vegetable, a fruit, some add-ons to make the meal fun.

6) Yes, sometimes I still find myself munching down on a handful of potato óles and I have no shame in this.

healthier food while traveling

Don’t make food while traveling harder than it has to be. Just . . . pick out some yummy healthier foods and eat.

My favorite is to let each kid pick out something. One kid will get to pick out his favorite vegetables, while another is in charge of the fruit, one helps decide which type of meat or nuts. You get the idea. They’re much happier this way and so am I.

Is this something you have ever done? Can you bypass the fast-food and grab lunch at the grocery store and eat at the park? Or the trunk of the suburban? Or your friend’s backyard?


Tasha Hackett Tasha Hackett is a friend of Laura and author of Bluebird on the Prairie. When Eloise and Zeke meet under an extremely embarrassing circumstance, Eloise is fine with pretending the whole thing never happened. But they continue to be thrown together when Zeke lands a job working for her brother and it appears God has other plans for this couple. Find a copy of this touching romance wherever books are sold.

To connect more with Tasha and her historical fiction writing, you can find her at www.TashaHackett.com.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

What to do with All the Zucchini

August 27, 2021 by Tasha Hackett Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Trying to figure out what to do with all the zucchini?

what to do with all the zucchini

Yum

It’s zucchini season! I didn’t grow any this year. Sad. But other people did and around this time each year people are giving them away because when a zucchini plant does well, it does well. And when it doesn’t, we all curse the vine-borer grubs in unison and praise God for grocery stores and our friends who somehow fought off the nefarious and disgusting grubs. Ah-hem. Back to the yummy part.

What to do with all the zucchini?

Zucchini might be one of our favorite versatile vegetables. Here’s what I do with it:

  1. Chop it up and pan fry with salt and pepper and other stuff to make a quick skillet dinner: a.) garlic, onions, mushrooms, shrimp. b) garlic, onions, beef, cabbage. c.) garlic, onions, tomatoes, parmesan cheese. You get the idea: cook it and eat it for dinner with some meat and garlic and onions.
  2. Shred (or use the food processor to chop) and bake it into muffins, brownies, pancakes, waffles, breads, etc. Some people freeze the shredded zucchini to use for later. I have done this and I NEVER have good luck with it later. It gets all weepy and soggy and then I get weepy and never use it. Best of luck to you if you decide to freeze it. I’d rather bake the bread and freeze that instead.
  3. Cut in half, scrape out the middle and make pizza boats. (Broil, then melt on your pizza toppings. Dip in pizza sauce.)
  4. Slice in half, or chop, and roast, broil, or grill with oil, salt, and pepper and just eat it!
  5. Use a zoodle thingy and make noodles. Easy Alfredo and shrimp used to be my favorite with this.
  6. Have I ever been tired of zucchini? No, I have not.
  7. This is my announcement: I will take your extra zucchini.

Don’t let all the zucchini go to waste, let’s start baking!

Of course, Laura already put together many of her favorite zucchini recipes, but that was ages ago and you may have forgotten about it. Click through some of those recipes or search “zucchini” on this site for more great ideas.

Are you a zucchini lover like me? I used to only be a zucchini bread (which is usually cake, let’s not kid ourselves) kind of girl. But then I grew up and realized that as a vegetable it can take on the flavor of butter and garlic and I do so love butter and garlic. Here are some great recipes for you to try as the zucchini crop comes in.

Simple Oven-Baked Pizza Nachos

Finely chopped and baked over the nachos is a great way to sneak more veggies into this meal.

Last Minute Stir-Fry

Frozen chopped zucchini will be a little soggier than fresh, but it holds up better than shredded, OR just add a few fresh ones to your frozen veggie bags.

Zucchini Waffles

This is a pumpkin recipe. I know. You can sub one squash for the other. It will be fine. Really. Many popular baked zucchini recipes have so much sugar in them they may as well be cake… try a less-sugar option and top with just a few drops of maple syrup, honey, or nut butter.

Have zucchini for breakfast!

Why have we decided that most vegetables are for lunch and dinner? Here’s a quick breakfast that I’ve made many times already this summer: In a hot skillet I melt butter, fry up a chopped summer squash (yellow or green), add in a can of chicken (because it’s breakfast and people are hungry for the food), salt and pepper and (here’s the secret ingredient), a tablespoon or so of lemon juice. You must not forget the lemon juice. Once the chicken is warmed and the lemon juice has sizzled for a few seconds, we eat and dance and go about our day warm and well-fed.

In hindsight, I will need to make that one into an actual recipe post for you. You will need to be reminded of it again because it is so delicious.

Do tell, what is your favorite way to eat this amazing and versatile vegetable?


book cover of bluebird on the prairie Tasha Hackett is a friend of Laura and author of Bluebird on the Prairie, a historical romance set in an 1879 Nebraska town. Zeke has his sights set for California, but Eloise prefers the quiet safety of her home. Is it possible they’re both searching for the same things? Find this heart-warming romance wherever books are sold.

To find out more about Tasha and her world of historical fiction, connect with her at www.TashaHackett.com.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Simple Coconut Blueberry Lime Smoothie

July 25, 2021 by Tasha Hackett Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Another great smoothie!

by Tasha Hackett

You’re surely not tired of them yet, are you? This coconut blueberry lime smoothie is going make you do a little hula dance right there in your kitchen. Or in your friend’s kitchen when you make it at her house. Or in the camp kitchen you’re working at this week.

blueberry lime smoothie

Simple Coconut Blueberry Lime SmoothieYum

I (Tasha) have been on a paleo diet since before Christmas. You could say it’s been the year of the smoothies. Even more than most years. It’s just so easy to get in the vegetables this way! Ack… this one doesn’t even have vegetables in it. I’m sorry. But you can go drink your salad another time.

While I’m at camp this week, I brought my Blentec—blender snob alert… yes, it’s me. High calorie smoothies like this one keep me from starving to death when not eating camp mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets.

I did say simple smoothie, didn’t I?

If my daily chocolate shake has too many ingredients for you, try this one! The recipe is in the title… Ding-a-ling! Easy peasy. It’s coconut milk, frozen blueberries, and the juice of one lime. You can stop there, or you can add a touch of sweetener:

  1. 13 oz. can coconut milk (I currently use Nature’s Greatest Organic 17% Coconut Milk Fat)
  2. 2 cups frozen blueberries (Or other berries, but then it wouldn’t be a Coconut Blueberry Lime Smoothie now would it?)
  3. Juice of 1 lime (Or 2-3 tsp of lime juice if you don’t have time for the squeezing of the lime… but I recommend the real deal.)
  4. Blend until smooth****

****If your kids are, well, you know, average kids, you may need to add a touch of a sweetener of choice. I use 1/2 teaspoon of THM Super Sweet stevia blend.

Put the lime in the coconut…

If you’re looking for more great smoothie ideas, search smoothie over there on the search bar on this sight and be wowed by the variety. How about this cinnamon one? And a homemade Orange Julius. Remember your high protein chocolate shake here. And lastly, don’t be scared to throw a few goodies in the blender and see what happens! Just PLEASE and I mean, PLEASE stay away from arugula in smoothies. Spinach and maybe some kale, but arugula does not play nice in a smoothie. That is my best advice to you. And beets… unless you like eating pink dirt. Haha. Some people will fight me on this one, but that’s a topic for another day. For now, go enjoy this fresh summer treat.

blueberry smoothie

 

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