Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Add Spinach to Cake (It Tastes AMAZING!!!)

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It’s true. I add spinach to cake now. We will get greens into these kids, will we not?!

Look at this and tell me that you see spinach:

Right? And neither did he:

Now, he is a 3-year-old. Therefore, he also eats the occasional dirt or piece of tortilla that has been stuck under his car seat since last Christmas. So can he really be trusted?

Look at that face. If he can’t be trusted, who can? Though he is not to be trusted with choosing an outfit. It was snowing the day he was determined to wear these swim trunks. Why? Because they had sharks on them, which perfectly matched the sharks on his shirt. Obviously.

So about adding spinach to cake. I got the idea from Justus’ fiance.

She can absolutely be trusted. With food, with picking outfits, and of course, with picking a husband. She’s a keeper.

One day in my kitchen she saw me making these smoothies (yes, she already knows we’re weird and she still wants to marry into the Coppinger family). She was like: “Hey, did you know you can add spinach to a cake mix? I saw it on a reel!”

Fascinated, and seeing as I am in a desperate way to get as many nourishing foods into my kids as possible, I decided to pick up a cake mix the next time I was at the store. (<— Read that sentence again. Weirdest thing I’ve ever typed. Hahahahaha. Who even am I anymore?)

Yes, I picked up a cake mix. To help us eat greens. Yo. Betty Crocker gets salad into the children. We love her.

There’s the blender filled with spinach, oil, and water. If that doesn’t look like a delicious cake waiting to happen, I don’t know what does.

Then, in went eggs and cake mix.

It’s a cake mix? It’s a smoothie? No one actually knows what this is.

In fact, Malachi (our 17-year-old) watched in horror as he saw me blend this up and then pour it into a cake pan. “Mom, what are you doing??!!”

Poor kid. He knows his mom is tired. He really thought I’d lost my mind (some more). He thought I was pouring smoothie into a pan and putting it into the oven.

So then I told him what I was actually doing and he was disgusted that he’d seen the entire thing transpire. Not knowing there was spinach in the cake would have been much better, thought he. But alas, the damage had been done. He’d seen the spinach get blended into the cake. He left for soccer practice full of skepticism.

Would you look at that? It’s just a chocolate cake. Full of spinach that no one can see. Bah.

I frosted it, you know, just to add more sugar to our nourishing cake. What in the world. I then took a blurry picture.

Let’s take another look at that first taste-tester, shall we?

Can you see a slight green tint within the chocolate? No, you cannot. Only because you know it’s there do you think that you see greenish-brown.

Below you can read about how you can also put greens into your cake. We have all lost our minds. I guess we don’t care if our kids eat the sugar as long as they are also eating salad??

How to Add Spinach to CakeYum

5.0 from 4 reviews
Add Spinach to Cake (It Tastes AMAZING!!!)
 
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Author:
Serves: 15
Ingredients
  • 1 chocolate cake mix
  • 1¼ cups water
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 3-4 cups fresh spinach
Instructions
  1. Blend everything up in a high power blender.
  2. Pour the batter into a 9x13 inch baking pan.
  3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  4. Allow cake to cool before frosting.

And that’s how it’s done.

Will this be a way I frequently get greens into my children?

I don’t think that it will. But then again, I’m kind of on a roll with thinking of new ways to add veggie nourishment to our food. Wonder what else I can add spinach to?

Oh, in case you’re wondering…

Malachi’s Response:

He loved this cake and couldn’t get over it. “It’s so good! How is it this good?!” said we, between bites of cake.

I bet he’ll never be skeptical again when I put green stuff into a cake pan.

Listen, we all loved this cake. We decided that spinach makes it extra moist. I dare you to try it. :)

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Big Family Food: Sneaking Veggies and Avoiding Food Fights

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Does anyone else have picky kids? No? Oh. Well, I guess this “sneaking veggies and avoiding food fights” post is just for me then. But just in case you want to read along just for fun…

Phew. Just when I thought I’d been parenting long enough to have been around all the blocks multiple times, God gave us more precious kids and said, “Here you go. Start all over again. It’ll be just like the first go-’round except that it’ll be also very different. All of these kids are dealing with trauma of some sort. Also, some of them only like sugar dipped in sugar.”

God didn’t say exactly that. He actually said, “I have called you to this. You are equipped for this, even when you feel like you aren’t. I am with you. I will never forsake you. I will give you everything you need. You can trust me. You are loved.”

What a God we serve! Never have I realized my need for Him more than now. And I’m not talking about my work in the kitchen. Clothing and feeding these babes is the “easy” part compared to the rest (though I need Him for the physical work too, no doubt). He continually teaches me what to do and how to do this life. Praise Him!

So here we are. I’m too busy to focus on food compared to how much I used to focus on it in the past. At the same time I:

The biggest way I make sure we are all getting plenty of nourishment, even when I serve compromise foods is this: We have fruits and veggies with every meal.

Awesome, right? Right. Except that some of our kids are very picky, and some of them have sensory/texture issues, so I can’t just say, “go eat your green beans.” Because someone might actually throw up. Good times.

Sneaking Veggies and Avoiding Food Fights

We’ve tried idea after idea with multiple kids, and I can’t say that we’ve settled on what works for each of them. But we are making some progress, and for that, I am very thankful. When it comes to food, we simply want our kids to be nourished and healthy, and we are doing what we can to help make that happen.

Veggies are the hardest for some of our kids to get down. So I’m having fun being creative with ways to sneak them into our meals.

Let me be clear:

When I say “sneak veggies” I’m not necessarily trying to pull a fast one on our kids. In fact, our kids are in the kitchen watching me and “helping” me so they actually watch me sneak veggies all the time.

It’s been super good for our 6-year-old and 8-year-old to be a part of our kitchen life. They are learning by helping and watching. But we’ve learned with these two (who have experienced so much trauma, have been lied to, and have had life yanked out from under them too many times) that we have to be fully honest always.

So we “sneak” veggies simply by adding them to meals in any way we can.

And our kids know that we do this. They think it’s fun!

Here are some examples:

1. When I make broth, I add as many veggies as I can, especially onions and carrots. After it’s cooked, I blend the veggies and whisk them into the broth. As a result, we have orange, flavorful broth, and in almost every batch of soup I make, it looks like “cheesy soup.” Ha. Everyone loves my soup, and no one thinks about the hidden veggies that add so much flavor and nourishment.

2. I tear pieces of spinach into our quesadillas or sandwiches.

This works great, and not one kid complains! In fact, the first time our 6-year-old saw me tearing spinach into our quesadillas, she was like, “Oh, is that how we’re going to eat our veggies tonight?” :)

You betcha, girlfriend!

Later, when she was eating her quesadillas, with a big grin she said, “Mom, I can’t even tell there’s spinach in here! I can’t even taste it!”

One day I made the most delicious sandwiches with whatever buns I had on hand, shredded chicken, ranch dressing, torn up greens, and sliced cheese melted on top. They were SO DELICIOUS. And we couldn’t taste the greens at all.

3. We fill our smoothies with greens.

The kids put the greens into the blender themselves, laugh about the weird color of the smoothies, then guzzle them down. They love that they are getting both fruits and veggies in this treat, and think that they are winning over the veggies. Because they are. Take that, spinach. 

4. We make pumpkin muffins and pie.

Is this stretching it just a little bit? Yes. But listen: there’s pumpkin in pumpkin pie, is there not? There is. So it’s a vegetable pie. Amen.

(Also, is pumpkin technically a fruit? What even is a gourd?)

Also muffins. Pumpkin muffins, sweet potato muffins, acorn squash muffins. It all turns out the same product that has nourishment within. See also: Pumpkin Chocolate Cake

These Flourless Pumpkin Muffins are especially nourishing. :)

5. I add veggies to spaghetti sauce.

Ha, check this out and learn a little bit more deeply how weird I actually am.

Three of our foster babes qualify for the WIC program, so we get quite a few containers of baby food every month. This is super nice, and because I have so many I’ve started using some of the pureed veggies in creative ways. Last week I stirred pureed pumpkin into our spaghetti sauce and no one questioned it as they asked for seconds and thirds.

6. I added the same veggies to a pot of Chili.

We add shredded cheese, sour cream, and fritos to our bowls of chili. So when I added pureed butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots to a big pot of chili, no one noticed!

If you don’t have pureed baby food (I won’t buy it once our WIC benefits run out), I suggest adding canned pureed pumpkin or blended cooked carrots – anything you have on hand!

7. We learned that we can add greens to cake mix. For real.

It’s as easy as this. You can also add a can of pumpkin like this. Or add both pumpkin and spinach. It works great!

What ways have you found to add more veggies to your family table?

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Stay tuned for more Big Family Food posts, where I share all about how I make food for our big family! And read here to catch up on other posts in this series you may have missed. :)

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

Big Family Food: March 2022 Costco Trip

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I think I’m getting the hang of how to “do Costco” for my family. Here’s a look at my March 2022 Costco Trip!

Did you read My Big Costco Experiment? That is when I figured out how to shop Costco effectively for my family. It looks something like this:

My New Costco Plan

  1. Walk into the store, take a deep breath, and shop for all non-perishables. Clothing, paper products, canned goods, boxed snacks and chips, baking products, applesauce, and whatever else doesn’t require refrigeration or extra care.
  2. Check-out, load the van, then go back in.
  3. Take a bathroom break.
  4. Eat a hotdog and drink a big cup of water.
  5. I’m not even kidding. This job makes a person need some major sustenance and $1.50 for the big dog/drink combo is pretty rockin’.
  6. Grab an empty cart again and fill it with all the fresh produce, frozen foods, refrigerated foods, and bread products that we need.
  7. Check out again, load the van again, open the box of Kombucha I just bought, and drink a bottle for refreshment and survival.

Anyone else shop at Costco like this?

So, March 2022 Costco Trip Round 1:

  • 2 bags tortilla chips
  • 2 loaves bread
  • hot dog buns
  • hamburger buns
  • bag of veggie straws
  • bag of granola
  • case of tuna
  • box of granola bars (x2)
  • jars of peanut butter
  • quinoa and rice packets
  • case of canned chicken
  • bag of brown sugar
  • case of mac and cheese
  • a bunch of clothes and a bridal shower gift :)

Total for the food: $149

The much-needed hotdog (in case you thought I was kidding):

Then Back for Round Two:

  • bag of frozen meatballs
  • bag of frozen hamburger patties
  • bag of frozen corn
  • bag of frozen green beans
  • bag of frozen peas
  • goat milk cheese
  • 2 gallons milk
  • tortellini
  • heavy cream
  • white queso
  • naked smoothies (x2)
  • avocado mash (x2)
  • shredded mozzarella cheese
  • shredded colby jack cheese
  • polish sausage
  • container of croissants
  • red grapes
  • blueberries
  • blackberries
  • raspberries
  • strawberries
  • spring mix
  • fresh spinach
  • pink lady apples
  • gala apples

Total: $265

Total Costco Trip (for groceries): $414

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Stay tuned for more Big Family Food posts, where I share all about how I make food for our big family! And read here to catch up on other posts in this series you may have missed. :)

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

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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

Easy-to-Make Breakfast Breads and Bars

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

Homemade Cereal – Easier than you think!

Inexpensive Meal Ideas:

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.

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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Big Family Food: Family Picnic

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Mid-March gave us the opportunity for a fun family picnic!

The more kids we have and the more adulty our older kids get, the more difficult it is for us to all find an opportunity to all be together at the same time. The stars aligned one day in March, and we were able to meet up in Lincoln for an awesome day at the park together! (Asa and his wife Eva, Justus and his fiance Kelsey, Elias, Malachi, Brayden, Keith, Matt, me, and our four foster girlies)

One of our goals when we get together is to find something we can do that we will all enjoy – from baby to toddler to preschooler to elementary kids to high schooler to adults. Oh, and it helps if we can find something that doesn’t cost much money. Of course. :)

On this particular day, we found a park with a fun playground for all the littles plus plenty of grassy areas for all the bigs to kick around a soccer ball. And the best part – we had packed the frisbee golf equipment we’d invested in one Christmas. So the boys set up our goal and created a course. After lunch, the bigs had fun playing frisbee golf for hours while the littles played nearby.

Also, it was a perfectly sunny, 67-degree day. Gorgeous!

I grabbed this picture of the big boys and in short, while we were together, I couldn’t stop staring at this scene. When our older boys get together, this is what happens. The four of them find their way into a square with a soccer ball at their feet. They kick around and chat without even realizing they’re doing it – it’s what they’ve always done. Be still my heart. God gave us amazing adult sons.

Meanwhile, the amazing babies.

Daddy was holding the littlest. These two had a blast on the swings. The other three were playing and playing on the playground (which I failed to get a picture of, phooey!).

Oh yes. And we also ate a super tasty picnic.

This ended up being a perfect lunch that was easy to put together and pack for an outing. Everyone got their fill and loved it.

The night before, I made a big bowl full of chicken salad.

I packed two bags full of chicken salad, croissants, grapes, applesauce, chips, salsa, and avocado cups.

I also packed water bottles, forks, a knife, napkins, and paper plates.

There was nothing fancy about our meal, but it was perfect for our needs that day!

Do you know how the Bible says that “Mary treasured all these things in her heart…”? That’s what I feel like I do on days like this. They are a gift, they are rare, and I love standing back and watching all my dear ones together. :)

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Stay tuned for more Big Family Food posts, where I share all about how I make food for our big family! And read here to catch up on other posts in this series you may have missed. :)

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

Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Ideas

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Need some Wedding Rehearsal Dinner ideas? I had the honor of preparing my first one this summer. I get to make another this summer! Here are some of the ideas we considered and the ones we landed on!

Some things to consider when planning your Wedding Rehearsal Dinner:

  • Do I have oven space to work with or do I need to rely more on crockpots or offer a cold meal?
  • Will I have time or desire to cook the day before the wedding, or should I plan a meal that can be made ahead of time?
  • Do the bride and groom want a fancy meal or a casual one?
  • Will I have much refrigerator space to work with?
  • Will I have people to help me prepare and serve this meal?

When my oldest son, his fiance, and I were planning their rehearsal dinner, we were originally thinking that Lasagna would work well. But then we took a peek at the kitchen for the wedding venue and realized that with just one oven, we couldn’t make that work.

So we changed course to consider ideas that would utilize crock pots instead. We ended up having a fun and delicious Burrito Bar. This worked perfectly because everyone could build Burritos or Burrito Bowls just the way they liked! As a perk, the friends who joined us for the meal who needed to eat Gluten Free were able to eat this meal without any trouble! (They just skipped the tortillas.)

Here are some great and easy ideas for your Wedding Rehearsal Dinner:

1. Burrito Bar

Prepare meats and rice ahead of time and rewarm them in crock pots before serving. Pick up (or make) a wide variety of add-ins for people to choose from. Set everything out in buffet-style form and let everyone build a Burrito Bowl or Burritos!

  • Shredded Salsa Chicken
  • Shredded Salsa Beef
  • Stick of Butter Rice
  • Black Beans
  • Sliced Olives
  • Shredded Cheese
  • Diced Tomatoes
  • Shredded Lettuce
  • White Queso
  • Guacomole
  • Corn
  • Cilantro
  • Salsa
  • Tortilla Chips
  • Tortillas

Extras:

  • Plates
  • Forks
  • Bowls
  • Napkins
  • Cups
  • Drinks

2. Lasagna

This meal is always a hit with most people. And it’s one of my favorites for feeding a crowd because I can make it ahead of time, freeze it, then pull it out to bake for the meal. The work is done!

Extras:

  • Plates
  • Forks
  • Bowls (for salad)
  • Napkins
  • Cups
  • Drinks

3. Sub Sandwich Bar

This is an informal idea if you want to have fun and keep things simple. Let everyone build their sub to their liking, and at the end of the day, all you have to do is brush away a few crumbs!

  • Hoagie Rolls
  • Variety of Deli Meat (Ham, Turkey, Roast Beef, Salami)
  • Variety of Sliced Cheeses
  • Lettuce
  • Tomato Slices
  • Pickle Slices
  • Banana Peppers
  • Onion Slices
  • Mayonaisse
  • Mustard
  • Honey Mustard
  • Individual Chip Bags
  • Fresh Fruit like Watermelon, Strawberries, and Grapes
  • Veggie Tray with Ranch Dip

Extras:

  • Plates
  • Knives (for condiments)
  • Forks (for fruit)
  • Napkins
  • Cups
  • Drinks

4. Simple Grilled Chicken

This is incredibly delicious and wonderful for a summer wedding rehearsal dinner. Grill or smoke chicken thighs ahead of time and keep them warm in a roasting pan. Serve with summery sides – so easy and good!

  • Simple Grilled Chicken
  • Sauces for Chicken (like Bbq, Teriyaki, Sweet and Sour)
  • Potato Salad
  • Pasta Salad
  • Baked Beans
  • Watermelon
  • Strawberries
  • Grapes
  • Rolls with Butter
  • Veggies with Ranch

Extras:

  • Plates
  • Forks
  • Napkins
  • Cups
  • Drinks

5. Easy Enchiladas

Make this Layered Cheesy Salsa Enchiladas casserole ahead of time and freeze it. Pull it out and bake it for an easy way to serve a crowd! Everyone loves this casserole!

Extras:

  • Plates
  • Forks
  • Bowls (for fruit, for salad, or for salsa or queso)
  • Napkins
  • Cups
  • Drinks

6. Grilled Burgers and Brats

If your rehearsal dinner is at a park or another location where there is access to a grill, it can be fun to have a cook-out!

  • Good quality Hotdogs and/or Brats
  • Hamburgers
  • Hotdog and Hamburger Buns
  • Sliced Cheese
  • Sliced Onion, Pickles, Lettuce, and Tomatoes
  • Ketchup
  • Mustard
  • Mayonaisse
  • Sweet Pickle Relish
  • Baked Beans
  • Potato Salad
  • Chips
  • Veggie Tray with Ranch Dip
  • Watermelon
  • Grapes

Extras:

  • Plates
  • Forks
  • Knives
  • Napkins
  • Cups
  • Drinks

Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Dessert Ideas

Special occasions like this call for special desserts! Here are a few ideas:

  • Build a Brownie Sundae Bar
  • Cheesecake
  • Variety of Pies
  • Selection of Cookies on trays
  • Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Bonus Idea: Set up an Iced Coffee Bar for your guests!

Our second son and his fiance (getting married his summer!) loved the lasagna idea and it works in their setting. So lasagna it is!

Have you made a wedding rehearsal meal before? What did you make?

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Big Family Food: My Recent Walmart Pick-up Orders

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To supplement my once-a-month Costco or Sam’s trips, I put in Wal-Mart pick-up orders every ten days or so. Here are a couple of pictures from recent orders!

Sometimes when I talk about how much I enjoy taking advantage of Walmart Pick-Up, I hear how some of your experiences with it have been less than positive. Shucks, I’m sorry! For me, it has been a lifesaver. Like, I think it has actually saved my life. Or at least it has saved hours and hours of my life and much of my sanity (which is actually already gone, doggonit).

Apparently our local Wal-Mart rocks in the Walmart Pick-Up department. On the flip side, ours has gone to almost entirely self-checkout which I reallllly struggle to do when I have a huge full cart and babies with me. Thus, my Walmart Pick-Up life-saving claim.

My Recent Walmart Pick-up Orders

I love that I can add all my needed groceries into my online cart in just a few minutes. Then I select a time to pick up that works for me. I take a kid or two with me for an outing when I go pick up, or I send a friend or one of my older boys. And then boom, my groceries walk themselves out to my van (with a little help from an awesome associate), put themselves into the back, TELL ME THANK YOU, and I go home. This is beautiful.

Here’s what I got from this particular pick-up order:

  • 4 pounds strawberries
  • 2 pounds spring mix
  • 5 ounces fresh spinach
  • 6 ounce raspberries (x4)
  • 4 crowns broccoli
  • 8 bananas
  • 2 pounds grapes
  • 18 ounces blueberries
  • bag of avocados
  • 2 packages hot dog buns
  • family size caesar salad kit
  • 5 pounds frozen tator tots
  • 4 pounds frozen hashbrowns
  • 3 pounds frozen strawberries/bananas
  • 4 pounds frozen fruit mix
  • wheat germ
  • cocoa powder

Total cost for all this: $99.

I know grocery prices are on the rise, but truly when I see all I got for a hundred bucks, I’m very thankful.

Another trip I got:

  • 2 gallons milk
  • 2 packages hamburger buns
  • 2 packages hotdog buns
  • 3 pounds clementines
  • 5 pounds shredded Colby Jack cheese
  • 2 pounds shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 boxes lasagna noodles
  • 6 jars pasta sauce
  • 2 quarts heavy whipping cream
  • 2 quarts half&half
  • coffee creamers
  • 2 cans pears
  • 1 can peaches
  • 2 bags petite baby carrots
  • 1 pound mixed greens
  • 2 containers cottage cheese
  • 3 pounds gala apples
  • 2 pounds pink lady apples
  • 4 boxes frozen hashbrowns
  • Totinos (ha, gross right? I get these for Malachi sometimes as they are his fav.)
  • 3 bags tortilla chips
  • 4 pounds strawberries
  • large tub sour cream
  • bag of meatballs
  • 2 16-packs of beef hotdogs

Total cost: $168

Do you do Walmart Pick-Up? What has been your experience?

Stay tuned for more Big Family Food posts, where I share all about how I make food for our big family! And read here to catch up on other posts in this series you may have missed. :)

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

Big Family Food: My Big Costco Experiment

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Slowing but surely, I’m figuring out more time and money-saving grocery shopping methods. Check out my big Costco experiment! I’m learning so much!

In this post, I shared that I had tried ordering all of my non-perishable Costco products online and letting them ship it all to me for free. Sounds so smart, right??? Yes. What a great way to avoid having to fill so many carts at Costco, right??? Yes. And this way, all of my non-perishables would land on my porch (with free shipping) and all I’d have to do in-store is buy fresh and frozen food. Maybe I could even get away with just one heaping cart, right??? Yes.

BUT WAIT.

One of you left a comment here to share that when ordering online, the prices are slightly higher than when purchasing in-store. I had no idea! And then I decided that I wanted to know how much more. Because if it wasn’t significant, I figured that my newly-discovered online-ordering method might be a huge time-saving help even if it did cost a couple of bucks more overall.

My Big Costco Experiment

The next time I was able to go back to Costco, I bought everything (and I do mean everything, as you will see in the pictures below) perishable and non-perishable. I filled an orange cart (you know the ones?) and I thought I was going to have a disaster in which everything on that orange cart would topple over onto the aisle as I turned. The stress – it was too much! WHO CARES if it costs more online, thought I. I can’t even fit everything I need onto this huge orange cart! I decided that I would go back to ordering online just to save the headache!

Hmmm. But then later, I pulled out my receipts for in-store purchases and compared several items to the online prices. Well, would you look at that??

Almost every online item costs around $1.50 more than the same item when purchased in the store. Some cost over $2.00 extra. This really adds up since I buy so many items!! I didn’t price check every single product from my past online order, but last time I shopped online I ordered 19 things. If I paid $1.50 more per item, that added up to $28.50 more compared to when I buy them in the store. Yikes, no thank you. I’d rather buy food with that $28.50!

So, now what?

Well, I think I figured out something that might work!

See, I can only make it to Costco about once each month if that. So when I go, I have a really long list of items that I need. If I’m by myself, there’s no way I can fit everything I need into one cart, or even onto one big orange cart. But here’s a plan that will be less stressful, I believe, than trying to Tetris everything onto an orange cart before it topples over.

I’m going to need to fill a cart, check out, unload into our van, then go back into Costco for round two. Ha! Sound like a ridiculous plan? Of course it’s ridiculous. But I think that’s where I’m at.

My New Costco Plan

  1. Walk into the store, take a deep breath, and shop for all non-perishables. Clothing, paper products, canned goods, boxed snacks and chips, baking products, applesauce, and whatever else doesn’t require refrigeration or extra care.
  2. Check-out, load the van, then go back in.
  3. Take a bathroom break.
  4. Eat a hotdog and drink a big cup of water.
  5. I’m not even kidding. This job makes a person need some major sustenance and $1.50 for the big dog/drink combo is pretty rockin’.
  6. Grab an empty cart again and fill it with all the fresh produce, frozen foods, refrigerated foods, and bread products that we need.
  7. Check out again, load the van again, open the box of Kombucha I just bought, and drink a bottle for refreshment and survival.

When packing our van, I usually fill a cooler bag full of meat and cheese, and a second cooler bag full of perishable produce.

This particular Costco trip, pictured above, filled the back of our Ford Transit! This was an exceptionally large shopping trip because we had a lot of events I needed to prepare for, as well as the need to fill our fridge/freezer/pantry at home for normal use. I got:

  • Cheeses and crackers to serve for refreshments after Justus’ senior vocal recital
  • Oat milk, Nature Valley snacks, olive oil, and a few other items for Kelsey (Justus’ fiance) and her roommates
  • Chips, bottles of water, and paper products for Malachi’s Homeschool Melodrama performance nights (each parent signed up to provide items for concessions)
  • Pork butt to make a pulled pork meal to feed the Melodrama group during a dress rehearsal
  • Apples, grapes, mixed greens, spinach, blueberries, and raspberries
  • Shredded cheese, kombucha, and Naked drinks to share with our college kids in apartments
  • Oats and bagged granola
  • Frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, and tilapia
  • Hamburger meat and chicken thighs
  • A few other odds and ends that I’ve forgotten and these:

These are for our 6yo and 2yo for Justus and Kelsey’s wedding this summer! What an amazing find at Costco!

Am I the only one?

So, what do you think about my Costco experiment? Have you ever had to go in twice in order to successfully make all of your purchases without items falling out of your cart?

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Stay tuned for more Big Family Food posts, where I share all about how I make food for our big family! And read here to catch up on other posts in this series you may have missed. :)

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Big Family Food: Snacks I’ve Made Recently

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Did you see my post about Meals I’ve Made and Served Recently? Today I’m sharing some snacks I’ve made recently. These fly out of the kitchen at this house, that’s for sure!

Lately, I’ve been feeling a little desperate for more good foods for my kids to snack on. The problem is that I really want them to eat mostly healthy, homemade snacks (instead of foods like purchased crackers or granola bars), but I don’t have much time to make the good stuff. And when I do have time to make them, we go through them really quickly!

This is all a very good problem to have, of course. And I give my kids lots of fresh fruit for snacks (which is nourishing and super quick and easy!). But I’ve needed other snack options, and I need them in large volume. So I’ve tried to put together one or two snack options each day recently, and of course, I make a huge batch so I can freeze extras or simply in hopes that they will last us at least two days, ha!

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One day, I had several dozen eggs so I decided to see if the babies would eat boiled eggs for snacks.

This was a no-go all the way around. But bless them for trying (and smearing boiled egg all over the high chair tray and table). Never fear, I used all the remaining eggs to make Angeled Eggs – a rare treat around here (you know, because it takes like three entire steps to make this luxurious, gourmet food). :)

The above picture shows you part of our lunch the day I tried the boiled egg snack. We had Angeled Eggs, strawberries, apples, carrots with ranch, and good ol’ beef hotdogs.

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I made a quadruple batch of Mudballs one morning. These turned out to be very popular with every kid and adult too.

Friends came over to play that afternoon. By evening, the container looked like this:

And by the next day, they were all gone. :) Looks like I need to make these more often!

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I made a huge pot of Tapioca Pudding one day, which is delicious and great for snacks and even breakfast. But I don’t really have time to stand at the stove and stir the pudding for as long as it takes to make such a huge batch, so I won’t likely be making this very often. (I used over a half-gallon of milk in this batch so it took quite a bit longer to cook.)

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Since the Mudballs were such a hit (and also gone quickly), a few days later I quickly stirred together a double batch of No-Bake Snickerdoodle Bites. This recipe makes up for the extra time it took to make the above pictured Tapioca Pudding. The cookie dough bites are ridiculously fast to make and I don’t have to stand at a stove to make them. Truly, get yourself the ingredients for these No-Bake Snickerdoodle Bites. They are so tasty, filling, nourishing, and easy.

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Another day I made a batch of these Peanut Butter Muffins. These are different from regular muffins in that they are grain and dairy-free. We don’t have any grain/dairy allergies at our house, thankfully. I make them because they are full of protein!

The best thing about these muffins is that they are very filling. So they last a little bit longer than other batches of muffins I make!

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We are provided a lot of free cereal because three of our little ones are a part of the WIC program. So I used some Chex cereal to make a big container of Chex Mix. The kids love this!

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Banana Bread is always a hit around here! And while we do eat a lot of bananas, somehow we still often have over-ripe bananas too. So this is perfect.

I love how all of these snacks that I’ve been making double as great breakfast food too!

Stay tuned for more Big Family Food posts, where I share all about how I make food for our big family! And read here to catch up on other posts in this series you may have missed. :)

 

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Big Family Food: How to Use Produce Before it Goes Bad

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Here are some suggestions for how to use produce before it goes bad!

Obviously, my biggest tip is: EAT IT.

Great post. See ya next time.

But I actually have a few other tips too, simply because I realized that as I regularly buy my big family such a large amount of fresh produce, I also have a system for how we eat it all up to avoid anything going bad. If only everything could be turned into banana bread like over-ripe bananas!

First, a look at my produce selections

I frequently buy a large quantity of fresh fruits and veggies each time I go to the store. My hauls look something like:

Typically, I load my carts with:

  • Berries
  • Apples
  • Bananas
  • Clementines
  • Pears
  • Grapes
  • Mixed Greens
  • Nectarines
  • Kiwi
  • Carrots
  • Broccoli
  • Potatoes
  • Onions
  • Cucumbers
  • Whatever is in season and for sale at a good price

How to Use Produce Before it Goes Bad

We usually go through what you see in each of those pictures in about a week or a week and a half. Here’s my system to eat it before it goes bad:

  1. We eat the berries first. These are the most sensitive and tend to go bad quickly. We try to eat all of our berries within just two days, and usually, it’s not a problem because we love berries! If they do begin to go bad, I freeze them for smoothies so that they don’t go to waste.
  2. We start on the grapes next. They’ve stayed good in the fridge while we’ve worked our way through the berries. If they begin to get squishy, I freeze them for smoothies.
  3. Mixed greens get eaten within a week, otherwise they get slimy. We go through two pounds every week by eating them in these smoothies and these. So they almost never have a chance to go bad at our house.
  4. We’ve been eating on the bananas all along, but we never feel urgency to eat them quickly because we love over-ripe bananas in smoothies and muffins. Sometimes I buy extras just so we’ll have enough to use in these recipes. ;)
  5. Clementines are also being served all throughout the week after the berries are finished off. We find that they taste best if eaten within one week, but sometimes they last longer. If they start to get hard (or mushy), I peel and freeze them for smoothies like this.
  6.  Meanwhile, the pears, kiwi, and nectarines have ripened and are ready to eat. We start slicing these to put on our plates at every meal. If we can’t get through all the nectarines before they turn mushy, I slice and freeze them for smoothies.
  7. The potatoes, broccoli, carrots, onions, and cucumbers have kept just fine, so we just use these as needed without much worry.
  8. The apples are usually just fine too, although we have found that if we haven’t eaten them in a few days, they stay crispier if we refrigerate them. If we do happen to have any grainy apples, I blend them and make Applesauce Bread.

What do we do when the produce has run out and we haven’t made it back to the store?

We open cans of fruit (in 100% juice) like pears, peaches, and pineapple. This gets us through until we can make a run to the store.

What about other veggies?

We keep frozen green beans and peas in the freezer at all times. That way, if I’m out of fresh vegetables, I can quickly steam something from the freezer.

What do you do to keep produce from going bad?

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