Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Menu Plan for the Week – Feel Free to Steal Ideas!

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Here’s a peek at my grocery store run this week. I was excited to get 2-pound packs of butter for $3.97, so I bought enough to build a tower on my table. There were quite a few price-matches for cheese that I took advantage of. Then I loaded the rest of my cart with fruits and veggies!

groceries march 14

We keep our meals simple at our house. All real food (at least as much as possible) and heavy on fruits and veggies – but simple. Take a look through the following lists and grab some ideas for your week!

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Fruit and Veggie Side Dishes (I serve 1-4 with each meal)

  • Green Beans
  • Broccoli
  • Strawberries
  • Apples
  • Applesauce
  • Peas
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Homemade Pickles
  • Mixed Greens
  • Spinach
  • Blueberries
  • Blackberries
  • Clementines
  • Mushrooms
  • Asparagus
  • Zucchini
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Menu Plan for the Week

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Phew. What a weekend. We loved every minute of our time with our homeschool basketball team competing in the big tournament to end our season. I have pictures and fun memories to share, but I’m too tired to upload and type. ;)  Maybe by Gratituesday I’ll have slept.

Thankfully, I had my menu typed out before we left home. Our bodies are ready for some yummy home-cooked meals!

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Fruit and Veggie Side Dishes (I serve 1-4 with each meal)

  • Apples
  • Bananas
  • Strawberries
  • Pears
  • Green Beans
  • Peas
  • Mixed Greens
  • Spinach
  • Applesauce
  • Cantaloupe
  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Avocados
  • Asparagus
  • Cucumbers
  • Tomatoes
  • Homemade Pickles
  • Sweet Peppers

Tell me what you’ve been up to this weekend!

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Menu Plan for the Week and a LOT of Groceries

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Goodness. Remind me not to grocery shop at the store until after I pick up my Bountiful Baskets order. Come to think of it – never mind. We’ll eat all of this, and maybe I won’t have to buy as much next week. Maybe.  It is a good thing we have a second refrigerator because we have a lot of food in our house right now. Here’s how this week’s grocery shopping went for me:

On Tuesday night, we picked up our Azure Standard co-op order. I got 5 pounds of carrots, 6 pounds of yams, 5 pounds of peanuts, 25 pounds of red beans, 6 pounds of chicken thighs (not pictured), and 50 pounds of yellow potatoes (not pictured).

groceries feb25

I use roasted, unsalted peanuts (like the ones pictured above) to make delicious homemade peanut butter. If your family wants to avoid hydrogenated oils, but you don’t like the taste of plain, natural peanut butter – try this recipe. It’s incredible!

On Friday, I filled my cart at the store – mostly with price-matching items. I scored some great deals! I got apples, pears, sweet peppers, grape tomatoes, bananas, grapes (two varieties), spinach, mixed greens, baby carrots, cucumbers, and a cantaloupe.

groceries feb 27

Then on Saturday, I picked up my Bountiful Baskets order. Mmmmm! Asparagus, celery, apples, oranges, bananas, lettuce, pineapple, carrots, broccoli, sweet peppers, cucumbers, and avocados came in the surprise basket this time. Plus, I had ordered 28 pounds of green beans. It was perfect timing for these to be offered since we are almost out of our garden-grown green beans from last summer.

groceries feb 28 (1)

I had also ordered heirloom tomatoes and strawberries. It feels like a little taste of summer with these goodies!

groceries feb 28 (2)

I’d say our family is pretty well set for at least one week – if not two. I am so thankful we have such great sources for such great food!

We are feeding a big group of high school kids from our youth group here on Sunday night, and I plan to put out a big plate of veggies and a big plate of fruit along with sliced ham, french bread, and Angeled Eggs. Maybe I’ll need to grocery shop next week after all. :)

Here’s what’s on our menu this week:

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Fruit and Veggie Side Dishes (I serve 1-4 with every meal)

  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Spaghetti Squash
  • Sweet Potato Fries
  • Asparagus
  • Mushrooms
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Cucumbers
  • Clementines
  • Oranges
  • Apples
  • Applesauce
  • Tomatoes
  • Green Leaf Lettuce
  • Mixed Greens
  • Spinach
  • Green Beans
  • Peas
  • Strawberries
  • Bananas
  • Pineapple
  • Cantaloupe
  • Avocados
  • Grapes

We’ll be heading out of state for our end-of-season Homeschool Basketball Tournament on Thursday night. I’ll be saving many of the “packable” fruits and veggies to take along with us to munch on all weekend.

Because I’m sure you’re dying to know:  The toilet is still sitting right outside my kitchen – but looooook! There is tile on our new bathroom wall and floor…

bathroom 8

It looks so very pretty! My husband is a work horse right now. I am thanking him by loading his plate with heirloom tomatoes and fresh green beans.  I do what I can.  ;)

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227 Healthy Snack Ideas and Recipes

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It’s here! The eBook that is going to take care of all your snacking needs. Nourishing, simple, easy, and YUM – 227 times over.

Healthy Snacks cover

Yum

This book contains 59 pages full of 227 awesome snacking ideas. These have all become our snacking staples, and they are sure to become yours too!

  • All 227 of these snack ideas and recipes can be prepared ahead of time for easy snacking.
  • More than 200 can be prepared or mixed up in a matter of a few minutes.
  • 145 of them are naturally gluten free or are recipes that can be easily adapted to become gluten free.

And how about the 78 recipes in this book? I can’t tell you how much fun I’ve had creating new recipes for this resource! From homemade Payday candy bar knock-offs to oyster crackers to hearty cookies and bars to several varieties of crackers and so much more – you will love these simple, real food recipes. Just for fun, I’ve even perfected a homemade fruit snack (lightly sweetened with honey)!

227 Healthy Snacks

I am so excited for you to enjoy this resource along with me!

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Just for fun, I thought I’d share part of the recipe index this ebook includes:

Fruit and Veggie Snacks 

Apple Cinnamon Fruit Leather
Peach Fruit Leather
Apple Ring Pancakes
Sweet and Easy Fruit Salad
Hawaiian Islands Fruit Salad
Peaches and Cream Fruit Salad
Strawberry Kiwi Bowls
Asparagus Fries
Zucchini Pancakes
Cucumber Sandwiches
Chocolate Whipped Cream Topped Strawberries
Sweet Potato Fries
Cool Pineapple Cream Dessert
Orange Creamsicles
Strawberry Creamsicles

Snackin’ Dips

Super Easy Hummus
Green Chili Dip
Fresh and Quick Salsa
Spicy Sausage Chip Dip
Spicy Lentil Dip
Strawberry Yogurt Fruit Dip
Easy Nacho Cheese Dip

Popcorn Varieties

White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn
No Corn Syrup Caramel Corn
Chili Cheese Popcorn
Ranch Popcorn

Muffins and Quick Breads

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Pineapple Upside-Down Muffins
Pizza Muffin Bites
Orange Cranberry Muffins
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Broccoli and Cheese Cornbread Muffins
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins

Hearty Snack Bars and Cookies

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars
Caramel Oatmeal Bars
Crispy Snack Squares
Coconut Fudge Bars
Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Sweet Potato Squares
Chewy Flourless Peanut Butter Bars
Simple Baked Granola Bars
Banana Bars
Applesauce Bars
Pecan Pie Bars
Quick Snickerdoodle Bites
Strawberry Brownies
Pineapple Bars
Pineapple Coconut Bars
Chocolate Raspberry Bars
Carrot Bars
Cream Cheese Blueberry Bars
Chocolate Walnut Bars
Easy Peanut Butter Snack Bars
Chocolate Date Peanut Butter Bars
Chocolate Almond Granola Bars
Rice Crispy Balls
Honey Peanut Bars
Chocolate Peanut Butter Raisin Balls

Homemade Sweet or Savory Crackers

Oatmeal Crackers
Shortbread
Cheddar Pecan Crackers
Oyster Cracker Bites
Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Snackers

Healthy Drink Snacks

Morning Glory Smoothie
Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie
Green Machine Milkshakes
Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Smoothie
Cool Watermelon Chiller
Pumpkin Spice Smoothie
Strawberry Banana Sipper
Chocolate Whipped Cream for Coffee

Other Snack Recipes

Homemade Fruit Snacks
Cranberry Nut Trail Mix
Pizzadillas
Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
BLT Roll-Ups
Mexi Roll-Ups
Super Creamy Peanut Butter
Quick and Easy Crepes
Cream Cheese Filling for Crepes

Get it here!

Our Heavenly Homemaker’s Club Members have access to this amazing resource plus ALL of our eBooks, eCurriculum, printables, and so much more – for one very low price! Join us here!

Or purchase separately below:

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Menu Plan for This Week and a Freezer/Pantry Challenge Update

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Well, with my huge stock-pile of food, we are still doing just fine with only purchasing fresh produce, eggs, and dairy. Confession:  You will see a little package of Hormel’s Naturals lunch meat in this grocery shopping picture from this week. I needed some slivered ham for a fun breakfast idea my friend Brenda told me about at Bunco. I had to have it, yes I did. You’ll be thankful she told me about this and that I veered off course just enough to buy it. Just wait until I share the recipe. :)

jan 22

This isn’t everything, by the way. I had to make a mid-week run to the store since we were almost out of everything fresh.
I got cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, and I can’t remember what else because it’s gone already.

Can you believe I bought strawberries in January?? I can’t even believe it. Somehow, they were a great price and actually looked good. This never happens in Nebraska, but seeing as we are having 50° weather, it does sort of feel like spring. Even if these strawberries aren’t as delicious as they are in the summertime, I figure that at the very least we can choke them down with some Chocolate Whipped Cream. Yes, that shouldn’t be a problem.

I bought three packages of blueberries this week – woohoo for price matching! I also price-matched broccoli, cauliflower, and apples. This price-matching thing has been saving me a bundle.

Speaking of which, I am excited to share that our family has seen some significant grocery budget savings this month since I’ve bought only fresh food and have avoided buying anything for our freezers or pantry. We will be ending the month with spending at just a tad over $400. This number is fantastic for my family in this season of life. (Oh my, I remember the days I spent less than that for everything including meat and pantry staples. Hello, teenage appetites.)

I have also found it interesting to note that it takes between $100-$130 per week to keep us in fresh produce, eggs, and milk. Seem like a lot? I beg to differ. That amount goes a long way toward awesome nutrition so it is very, very worth it. I also love thinking about how our preserved garden produce helps keep that amount as low as it is. I also (how many times can I use also in the same paragraph?) realize how blessed we are that our fresh milk and eggs are priced so very reasonably.

And now, here is our list of menu items for this week. What a blessing to have so much variety and so much good food!

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Fruit and Veggie Sides (I serve 1-4 with each meal)

If you are also taking an “Eat from the Pantry and Freezer” Challenge, I’d love to hear how it is going for you!

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Cook Your Breakfast ~ Money Saving Monday

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Money Saving Monday Banner

Boxes of cereal, boxes of granola bars, boxes of poptarts, boxes of donuts, boxes of muffin mix – there are so many boxy choices. You’re probably assuming that I’m about to tell you that all the food that comes from a box is not very good for you. But I won’t say that. Nope, I’ll just purse my lips and produce a forced smile because I’m not going to tell you about the dangers of eating all those preservatives and additives and empty calories that give you no energy and keep you from concentrating all morning. After all, that would be a run-on sentence.

Instead, I’m here to express the joy of how making your own healthy, real food, preservative-free breakfast will save you lots of money.

I spent about 10 minutes on Saturday making 20 cups of Homemade Instant Oatmeal. This is huge money savings, in about 10 minutes. (It’s also healthier than what comes in a box, but we’re supposedly not talking about that today.)

I spent about 30 minutes on Saturday mixing up three different kinds of wholesome muffins for the freezer. This is huge money savings, in about 30 minutes. (It’s also healthier than what comes in a box, but we’re supposedly not talking about that today.)

My family can polish off 2-3 boxes of cereal in one sitting, easily. That can add up to being a $12 breakfast, and that doesn’t include the milk and fruit. Plus cereal only keeps them full for about two hours.

See, making a homemade breakfast does more than just save money. It satisfies my family’s need for nourishment, so they are full longer and are able to concentrate on their school work all morning. This must be because the breakfast is healthier, but we’re supposedly not talking about that today.

TIP:  Make breakfast the night before. I do this almost every day, making our mornings go so much more smoothly!

100+ Money Saving (and Healthy, shh!) Breakfast Recipes

You will find 90 real food breakfast recipes on my Bread and Breakfast page. I add more to it all the time. There are so many great breakfast options!

90+ Real Food Breakfast Recipes

We also have a free eBook for you:  Healthy Breakfast Made Simple. Download and enjoy!

breakfast_e-book cover_sm

Or, it’s as simple as scrambling or frying an egg, making a smoothie, or spreading natural peanut butter on toast. Make a homemade breakfast!! You will save all kinds of cash (and feel better too, but we’re supposedly not talking about that today).

What are your favorite homemade breakfast foods to make?

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Menu Plan for the Week, a Freezer/Pantry Clean Out Challenge Update, and How I Got Ahead This Weekend

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It would appear that my “only buy produce, eggs, and dairy” challenge has also turned into a “see how deep you can dig down into the pantry and freezer to surprise your family with random food choices” challenge. I’m having a lot of fun. My family? I don’t even think they’ve actually noticed.

It’s just food to them. As long as there is plenty and as long as it is tasty, there doesn’t seem to be any argument to eating muffins made with freeze dried strawberries (this recipe, only with almost expired freeze dried strawberries) or an un-named casserole that used up the rest of our turkey and some odds and ends of pasta.

Kids: Mmm, what’s this casserole called, Mom?
Me: Dinner.
Kids shrug and get seconds

I have not made a dent in our store of food, though I am panicking a little bit as it appears we are completely out of the vital ingredient dried cranberries. I’m not sure how we will survive.

I had fun doing some price matching and buying our fresh produce for the week. Actually, most of what you see in the picture is gone already. We plow through it. I’ll probably head back to the store on Wednesday if we can wait that long.

groceries 116

Yes, that is one big sour cream tub.
I like that this brand contains only one ingredient, “cultured cream.”
We go through it pretty quickly, and as a side note:
When I use up the sour cream, the container is perfect for soup when I take meals to other families.

Regarding my plans to get ahead, can I just confess (again) how much I dislike cleaning? I was very willing to spend hours in the kitchen, but finding the motivation to go upstairs to tackle some filth? That is not nearly as much fun. Let’s focus on the fun food, shall we?

First thing, I grabbed out my Oh, For Real book and all spices needed to make Turkey Sausage and Ranch Salad Dressing Mix. Two full jars of spice mixes later, I put 12 pounds of ground turkey with spices on the stove to cook.

weekend 1

While the meat was cooking, I went to work on muffins. I had already put together and frozen Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins the night before, so I started on Banana Muffins and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins. Super easy!

Realizing I was hungry and about to faint (not really, but I thought I should add some drama), I pulled out tuna salad and a bunch of fruits and veggies. The boys had slept in and weren’t hungry yet for lunch, so I munched alone while jotting notes in my Menu Planning Notebook.

weekend 2

After working on menu ideas for this week, I turned over to the Freezer Section of printables. I decided to start jotting down what I have left in my freezers since I’m working on getting them cleaned. Having a running list will be helpful. I didn’t finish the list, because the turkey sausage was finished cooking and I was done eating. I’ll take my list out to my freezers later to take final inventory.

weekend 3

Yes, I know. Corn isn’t a vegetable. 

Last, I took a few minutes (yep, that’s all it took) to make a double batch of Instant Oatmeal. It filled three half-gallon jars, so we should be set on that for a while. I love having that on hand!

 weekend 4

After the meat cooled, I separated it into freezer bags for easy “almost ready” meals. We’ll be using some for Sausage Gravy this week!

Here’s what our menu choices look like for this week:

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Fruit and Veggie Sides and Snacks (I serve 1-4 with every meal)

By the way, this Easy Veggie Dip continues to be a big hit as we work our way through lots of raw vegetables!

How has your weekend been?

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Menu Plan for the Week and My Grocery Budget Goals for January

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Now that we’re back from our holiday travels, I have felt the need to clean out some of our pantry and freezer items. Buying in bulk and buying ahead really works well for our family, but I’m thinking it may be a good idea to dig down to the bottom of my storage containers and freezers to see what random items I’ve kept pushing to the side for the last few months. I have plenty of meat, plenty of frozen vegetables and fruit, plenty of pasta, plenty of so many food items!

So I thought to myself, “What if? What if each week during January (and maybe February?) I only buy fresh produce from the store, eggs and milk from our local sources, and (wait for it)…nothing else? What if I forced myself to think simply, to use what we have, and to be creative?”

I’m really not sure if this little experiment is going to work for me. The beauty of buying in bulk when I come across a sale is that I pretty much never run out of anything we need and pretty much never have to pay full price for anything. One or two months of eating from our food storage and not taking advantage of deals might set me back a little bit. Plus, whatever shall I do if I run out of applesauce?!?!??!?!

Right. I am not going to run out of applesauce.

applesauce_2

There are dozens more jars where this came from. We had a great apple year.

Recovering from my bulk-food-obsession-panic, I realized that there will likely be good deals to be found in February and March when I’m ready to stock up again. Duh.  In the meantime, I think we’ll see some big grocery budget savings. Sweet!

Our menu this week reflects all the food I have ingredients to make without having to shop. Because this is the beginning of our experiment, I have plenty to work with. And who am I kidding? My family could probably eat well for more than three or four months with all the food I have stored away. It’s like a Coppinger Family Grocery Store in my back room. I’d show you a picture, but it’s freezing in that room and therefore a terrible mess because it’s too cold to organize, and I’m not humble enough to share the insanity all over the internet.

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

 Fruit and Veggie Sides (I serve 1-4 with every meal)

  • Spicy Avocado Dip
  • Sliced Cucumbers
  • Baby Carrots
  • Broccoli
  • Mixed Greens
  • Spinach
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Oranges
  • Blackberries
  • Applesauce
  • Spaghetti Squash
  • Pineapple
  • Zucchini

Have you ever done an “Eat from the Pantry and Freezer” Challenge? Anybody care to join me in this little experiment? That way, on January 31 at the end of this challenge, together we can enjoy eclectic meals of whatever is left of our rice, tuna, and of course, applesauce. Don’t forget the applesauce.

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Menu Plan for the Week

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We’ve been on the road for many days. My husband’s family is from California, so once every two years we make the long journey to visit them. Flying and renting a car would be super expensive for the six of us, so a three day road trip (one way) it is! Phew, what a trek.

We are en route right now, getting hungrier and hungrier for home cooked meals as we go. Once we arrive at home, here are the meals we look forward to (depending on what fresh produce I’ll be able to pick up at the store):

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Fruit and Veggie Side Dishes (I serve 1-4 per meal)

  • Fresh Pineapple
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Clementines
  • Carrots
  • Broccoli
  • Applesauce
  • Asparagus
  • Spinach
  • Mixed Greens
  • Green Beans
  • Peas
  • Pomegranates
  • Blueberries
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Cucumbers

Did you do any traveling this holiday season?

Be sure to get your free shipping and BOGO coconut oil this weekend!

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Menu Plan for the Week With Four Different Shopping Trips – Phew!

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I think I was out of town more than I was home this week. Between basketball games and appointments, I traveled 5 out of the last 8 days. I am a wee bit tired. Thankfully, we were still able to eat fairly well thanks to how easy it is to grab and pack fruits and vegetables for the road.

With all my comings and goings, how did I have time to actually go grocery shopping four times this week? It was a little crazy, but also kind of necessary. There were amazing sale prices to be had, plus – my family eats tons and tons of food. I’ve found that if I put out the fruit – the people will eat it. Pounds and pounds of it, I tell you. #lifewithteenageboys

Here’s a little grocery run-down of my week. And by the way, we also eat meat, grains, and dairy – I just get them from our food co-op or local sources in bulk, so rarely take pictures of those. Next time I get a big meat order, I’ll snap a shot of all the frozen packages, since I know you’re dying to see them.

On Monday, we were out of almost all fresh fruits and veggies. I went to our local grocery store, which is just a few blocks away. I took advantage of their sale price on cream cheese (Pumpkin Cheesecake, here I come), plus picked up some fresh produce to get us through for a few days. I found a fun deal while I was there which gave me a FREE bag of clementines with my $25 purchase. Sweet!!!

groceries 12-8-14-1

See that fresh coconut up there? My 12 year old was with me and was very interested in trying it. This week, I’ll be assigning him the task of learning how to crack that open and use the insides. :)

Tuesday I went to Walmart to try my hand at price matching. I got avocados for just 29¢ each, honey crisp apples for 99¢ per pound, and pomegranates for 49¢ each. I made Easy Cream Cheese Fruit Dip when I got home, and the entire bag of honey crisp apples disappeared. #toldyoutheycaneat

groceries dec 10

On Wednesday, the boys and I were in Lincoln for appointments. This also happened to be the grand opening day of a new Aldi store a few blocks from our appointments. All five of us walked the very busy aisles grabbing butter for only $1.89/pound, sweet potatoes for 33¢/pound, and many more goodies for very low prices. What a fun shopping trip! I won’t be able to go to Aldi often, but I will continue to use their prices on produce for price matching at our local Walmart.

aldi shopping

By Friday, we were already out of mixed greens, pears, clementines, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. I decided to run to our local store for deli meat and cheese for our basketball travels, so picked up more fruit and greens while I was there.

groceries 12-12

Now here’s hoping I can stay out of the store for several days and instead work with all the deliciousness we have on hand. Hope you don’t get tired of my grocery store pictures. You like looking at pictures of food, right?!

Here’s what our menu choices will look like for this week:

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Fruit and Veggie Side Dishes (I serve 1-4 with each meal)

I’m so thankful for all the wonderful options! I’m also thankful I get to stay home most of this week. I like home best. :)

Don’t miss the BOGO Coconut Oil with Free Shipping this weekend!

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