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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Peanut Butter Granola Bar Recipe

Peanut Butter Granola Bars. This recipe is fun and easy to make. Let your kids have fun making them with you.

• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 ½ cups rolled oats, quick cooking
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Beat together peanut butter, honey, egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla blend well.
3. Mix oats, sugar and salt together and mix well.
4. Add oat mixture to peanut butter mixture mix until batter becomes sticky.
5. Stir in chocolate chips (optional)
6. Press into a 13” x 9” pan coated with cooking spray. Use a piece of wax paper to press mixture into an even layer in the pan
7. Bake 12-15 minutes. Cool completely and slice into bars. Makes 18.






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Monday, July 27, 2009

Tip #6 Cooking with the kids can be fun, exciting, and educational and builds Self Confidence.

Cooking basically is following directions. (Remember Tip # 5 is to follow directions). One of the first lessons in elementary school we are taught is to follow directions. By following directions the outcome is already proven to be successful. By following directions your children will learn how to read and comprend each step given (with your help of course) for example the recipe states to stir not mix. Following directions will teach them about math (fractions to be exact) how to convert cups, ounces, teaspoons, tablespoons. Your children will be having fun while learning, can you imagine you and your children making homemade peanut butter granola bars, you packing the granola bars in your child’s lunch, and your child’s friends and class mates will want to know where those granola bars came from and your children can say I made them myself, or they use it for show and tale. It builds self confidence, teaches them patients, and teaches them how to work together.
Self Confidence is one of the greatest gifts you as a parent can instill in your children. If they make a mess or if it does not come out perfect just remember what is important you are making memories and teaching them many lessons that will follow them for the rest of their lives.



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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Tip # 5 “If All else fails follow the directions”

Believe it or not directions are created to make our tasks much easier and to guarantee us (especially in today’s state of affairs) much needed success. Following directions will also save money. Can you imagine a chemist deciding just to add a pinch of this and a handful of that what could happen? Something could catch fire, singe his eyebrows or worse yet he could blow something up and singe his whole face. That can’t be good.

Directions have already been tested by the companies that package foods, write the recipes, and calculate the number of loads you should get from a box of Tide. So follow the directions!


My next tip will be a complete article on how following directions can be fun, exciting and educational for your children.










Sunday, July 12, 2009

Tip #4: 7 Tips to Stop Throwing Away Food


There are several reasons we throw so much food away. We impulse buy, we buy food in bulk that have a very short shelf-life, such as fruits and vegetables, we throw away leftovers, or we simply don’t eat it because we cannot just open the package and put it in our mouth (i.e. it requires cooking first). So here are some very simple solutions to keep more of the food you purchase:

1. Make a list and stick to it.
2. Go shopping only once week and buy exactly what you need. (Unless you choose to buy in bulk and, if so, make sure the food use through date is long enough for you to use it.)
3. When it comes to fresh fruits and vegetables, buy only what you need for the week and no more. (Warning: fruits and vegetables have a very short self-life.)
4. Clean all fruits and vegetables and place them in the refrigerator, for easy use and access.
5. If you find that you are still not eating something, DO NOT BUY IT AGAIN. Create a meal with those items before you have to throw them out.
6. Use your leftovers. Create a different meal with your leftovers. My book, Save Your Money Save Your Family has a whole chapter on turning leftovers into big winners and will be in bookstores soon. In the meantime I’ll be sharing some of those very same tips with you – and a few more not found in the book – on this blog.
7. Buy frozen food items (green peas, mixed vegetables, beans, corn, blue berries, fruits, etc.) that come in re-sealable packaging. This is a great way to take exactly what you need, reseal the package and throw away nothing.


Recipe of the Week: Perfect Banana Bread
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons soda
• 4 cups flour
• 6 large bananas, very ripe, mashed
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

1. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Sift dry ingredients together; add to creamed mixture. Stir in bananas and chopped pecans.
2. Pour banana nut bread batter into 2 well-greased loaf pans; bake at 325° for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. This banana nut bread recipe makes 2 loaves.


Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Tip #3: 4 Reasons to Eat At Home Tonight


Did you know that every family throws out approximately 15 % or more of the food items that have been purchased each week? If you spend $400.00 per month times 12 months, that is $4,800 per year in groceries times 15 % that you throw away; this equals $720.00 per year! Well, I don’t know about you but I don’t like throwing away my hard earned money. Here are 4 reasons to eat at home tonight:

1. Much Healthier! The average meal from a fast food restaurant not only costs you more per serving, but has more calories, more saturated fat then what you normally would prepare at home. Meanwhile, you know exactly what is in the meals you prepare at home. By shopping carefully, experimenting and cooking regularly, you can learn to make satisfying, filling and appealing meals that are both fun to cook and healthy to eat.
2. Get rid of leftovers. Every family has a fridge full of leftovers, but they often just sit there getting moldy because no one wants to the same meal experience twice. Well, if you learn to spice, dress or jazz up your leftovers you can make them appealing as well as use them for a second meal. For instance, two pieces of leftover meatloaf may not be enough for a full meal for four, but if you make macaroni cheese and add meatloaf crumbles you have a nice casserole that, with a salad and rolls makes meal # 2 from the week – mostly using meal # 1!
3. Family time. Use this time to be creative with your family using your leftovers. Make sure you get your family involved because, believe it or not, the family who cooks, eats and cleans together is more likely to stay together.
4. Most importantly it saves money. Remember the 15 % that is thrown out, well, use it! You have already paid for the food, so why throw it out? See menu suggestion below for a simple way to combine leftovers (like chicken or broccoli) with quick fresh items (like pasta and butter) to make a meal that will not only stretch your food budget but fill you up:


Recipe of the Week: Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

• 6 oz uncooked fettuccine (or whatever pasta you already have)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli flowerets
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, already cooked and cubed
• 1 can (standard size) Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
• ½ cup milk
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Add broccoli for the last 5 min of cooking time. Drain.
2. In Medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat butter, add chicken, heat until chicken is browned.
3. Add soup, milk, cheese, pepper and pasta mixture; warm until warm all the way through; make sure to stir often to prevent sticking.
4. Then serve.














Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Tip # 2: Spend Less, Get More – 5 Ways to Save Money at the Grocery Store

The five ways takes you very little time and can save you hundreds of dollars on your grocery bill each year.

It’s no secret that groceries take a huge chunk out of the family budget. The more people in your house, the more you spend each week at the grocery store. Saving money on groceries is one way you can actively affect the amount of money you spend every week, month and year. The good news is that you don’t have to make huge sacrifices to find huge savings. In fact, the following five simple steps take you very little time and can save you hundreds of dollars on your grocery bill each year:

1. Take the time to look at coupons, ANY coupons: store coupons, manufacturers’ coupons, local coupons, coupons from magazines and coupons that you print off the internet. If at all possible, use them. It may not be the brand you normally buy but many off brands come from the same place as the more well known brands. Check to see what is on sale - and I mean really on sale. For instance, some grocers place some offers at “10 items for some dollar amount.” Well, you have to ask yourself: is it really a bargain? Bring a calculator and do the math; if it IS a bargain, snatch it up. If not, walk on by.
2. Stick to your lists. DO NOT BUY IF IT IS NOT ON YOUR LISTS. You took the time to prepare your menu for the week or month. (See my book Save Your Money, Save Your Family coming soon) and made a lists of food items that you need. Stick to it.
3. Eat before you go. Even if it is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk. This will keep you from impulse buying because you are hungry.
4. Don’t buy non food items at a grocery store. Toiletries, laundry, paper products, make up even spices, bread, wine are to be purchased from a discount store, 99 cent store or day old bread store.
5. Always remember: the bigger companies that can afford to have their products at eye level pay to be there. So this convenience costs you, the consumer, more money. If you don’t believe me, try this simple experiment the next time you go shopping: look up above eye level and look down at the knee level, these companies are smaller companies but have as good as or better food products for much cheaper prices.



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