Goals & Gratitudes for 2013

 

 Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Another year is drawing to a close, and once again I find myself wondering where on earth it went! It seems more important with each passing year that I pause for a few moments and take stock of the good things the year has brought, because sometimes it's just too easy to forget about the good stuff in the middle of life's challenges.

I have hundreds of things, large and small, to be thankful for (many of which I have a tendency to take for granted, like most of us do!). In my lists I want to share some of the "bigger" things that happened this year for which I feel especially grateful. I don't really think "gratitudes" is a word :) but it's a list of some favourite things that came into my life this year. 

GOALS:
1. I started out the year by getting my Food Handler Certificate in January (this allows me to do cooking demos and classes that require this certification, such as at the Farmers' Market).

2. I did regular cooking demos at the Farmer's Market (roughly one Saturday per month) and a 2 hour cooking class at a local supermarket chain.

3. I got some great local media exposure; I was on the local news (CHCH) 3 times, cooking live on the air on 2 of my appearances, plus had a whole sidebar of tips in a "local food" article in Hamilton Magazine. You can find links to all of these on the media page of my main site. Which brings me to my next point...

4. I got around to making myself a proper website at cookwithkaren.com

5. I launched a menu planning service in July - more details about that are HERE (one of my major goals for 2014 is to grow this service!)

6. I rode 1000 km on my bike recreationally this year, which I haven't managed to pull off for a decade or so (this doesn't count any of my riding for transportation).

(I'd also like to tip my hat to the rest of the family for their accomplishments this year: My hubby Joe finally got himself a proper website, too at joemclaughlin.ca (check him out if you're in the Hamilton area and you need a Realtor!). My 16 year old son completed a month long student counselor training program at Camp Wanakita, earned his Bronze Medallion in swimming, and got his Basic Canoeing certification through ORCA. My 14 year old earned his Bronze Star in swimming. Yeah family!) 

"GRATITUDES":
1. I finally got to meet one of my closest friends in person! Yeah, I know that sounds kind of weird :) but I met my friend Linda online through a mutual friend over 5 years ago and we quickly became like sisters! She was living in New Zealand when we first "met" and is now in Albuquerque. She came to visit my family for about 10 days this summer and it was a BIG wish come true for both of us.

Linda & I at Queenston Heights

2. A laptop computer at last. This also came courtesy of Linda, who generously gave it to me when she came to visit (you know someone is a good friend when they give you their computer because "you need it more than I do"). I'm writing this post on it and it has saved me a world of aggravation since it came to live with me - previously I'd been making do with my 10 year old PC and trips to the public library to use their computers. A new computer has been on my wishlist for quite a while, but something else always seemed to take priority in our budget!

3. I made my first-ever batch of cold-process soap. This is yet another skill I've been hoping to learn for ages, and never quite worked up the courage to play with lye on my own. My friend Kerry Turcotte led a small group of us through our first soap making experience and it wasn't as scary as I had expected. I was thrilled with the resulting soap, much of which ended up being Christmas gifts for friends and family.

4. We welcomed an abundance of free furniture into our home, including two different couch and chair sets, 2 end tables, and a roll-top desk passed along to us by family and friends. One chair & couch set is now in residence in our living room, while the rest of the furniture is awaiting further progress in our great room reshuffling plan (which we hope to make some big strides with early in the new year).

5. I deepened my local food ties: We established a solid relationship with a local small-scale egg producer and a successful Egg Buying Group to buy eggs in bulk. This has worked out really well for all involved and allowed us to access great quality eggs from happy, free range chickens for a great price. I also had the opportunity to get involved in a variety of aspects of the Mustard Seed Community Grocery's development, which has been very exciting. I've gotten to watch from the "inside" the emergence of a brand new food co-op from idea to reality (the store is scheduled to open on January 24th!) and have met many amazing people as part of the process.

6. I had some more victories in the DIY personal care department: I finally got around to making a nettle tincture, which worked amazingly well for my allergies (and hubby's too!) and I created the most fantabulous body butter ever - check it out HERE.

Wow, looking over that list, it's no wonder the year seemed to race on by :)

What are some of your favourite accomplishments of 2013?

 

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Homemade Christmas: Healthy (*AND* Decadent) Holiday Truffles

If you're still looking for a great food gift you can whip up at the last minute, this recipe should fit the bill. Not only is it quick and easy, the basic recipe can be adjusted to accommodate a wide range of dietary needs (it's naturally dairy- and egg-free, and can be made nut- or gluten-free, too).

One of our favourite new treats this year is the Chocolate Powerball recipe I created back in the spring. They taste very sinful but are packed full of nutritious ingredients! They're so good I decided they are gift-worthy, so I took my original recipe and gilded the lily a bit to make them extra-special for the holidays. I added dried cranberries and some extra spices to make them more festive.

I love this recipe for many reasons, not the least of which is the many ways you can customize it to suit your own tastes. You could add some orange extract (or even some rum extract if it's intended more for adult tastes). You can use just about any type of nut butter in these; cashew or almond butter would make them extra decadent! Also, you could substitute ground nuts for some or all of the rolled oats or quinoa.

I doubled the quantities in this version of the recipe so you have enough to share around (plus a few for yourself!) Also, I tried rolling these in cocoa for a more traditional truffle look, but it didn't work out too well, so I'd recommend either the coconut or ground nuts for coating them. 

Ingredients:
1 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup peanut butter or sunflower seed butter (or any nut butter of choice)
1 cup coconut
1 cup *uncooked* rolled oats or *cooked* quinoa
1/3 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
coconut for coating

Instructions:
In a medium saucepan, combine the honey, coconut oil, cocoa powder and sunflower seed or peanut butter.

Heat over medium-low heat just until mixture blends together well.

Remove from heat  and add coconut, oats, apricots, cranberries, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves.

Chill for about 45 minutes or until mixture firms up enough to roll into balls (I just stick a wooden cutting board under the saucepan and put it in the fridge).

Shape teaspoon-sized amounts of mixture into balls; roll in coconut. Store in refrigerator.

Makes about 4-5 dozen balls. 

If you missed the earlier installments of my Homemade Christmas series, check out Create Your Own Tea Blends, this super-luxurious Chocolate Orange Whipped Body Butter, a lovely Lavender & Calendula Face Scrub, and for the menfolk, a Bay Rum Aftershave Balm. For even more holiday ideas, you can find my whole Christmas on a Dime series HERE. 

This may end up being the last time I post before Christmas, so I want to wish you all a wonderful holiday.  I appreciate each and every one of you and I'm glad you stop by every once in a while to read my ramblings :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

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Homemade Christmas: Bay Rum Aftershave Balm

Homemade personal care products are so much fun to make and give, but usually it's the women on your gift list who benefit from your efforts. So I'm pretty excited that I've finally made something that the men in my life should appreciate!

Quite a few years back I had bought my hubby a Bay Rum gift set from Burt's Bees and I really loved the smell of it. Unfortunately, they stopped making this line a few years ago - but maybe that ended up being a good thing in the end, since it forced me to get creative and see what I could come up with on my own. Joe has taken to using my hard lotion bars on his skin after shaving, and I thought it would be nice to make him something that's a bit easier to apply with a special masculine scent to it.

While it's probably not even close to an exact match for the Burt's Bees products, I did manage to create a satisfyingly manly scent, nice and spicy and fresh smelling with a hint of orange. Best of all, there's nothing too exotic in this balm, so you should be able to find nearly everything you need to make it (except for the beeswax and essential oil) at the grocery store!

Here's what you'll need:
11 oz coconut oil
3 tbsp olive oil
4 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
zest of 1 orange
1 oz beeswax
10 drops sweet orange essential oil
1/2 tsp rum extract

In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil and olive oil together over low heat (you can do this over a double boiler if you've got one). Add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cloves and orange zest. Leave the spices infusing in the oil over low heat for 1-2 hours (check periodically to make sure that the oil is not boiling).

Once the spices are done infusing, strain the oil through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth into a heatproof bowl or another small saucepan. Add the beeswax and heat over low heat (if using a saucepan) or set the bowl over a pot of boiling water (you can also pour into a Mason jar and set it on top of a washcloth in a pot of simmering water). Stir occasionally until beeswax is completely melted.

Once beeswax is melted, remove from heat and add essential oil and rum extract. Place bowl in fridge for about half an hour, then transfer to freezer for about 10 minutes. There should be some solid areas starting to form around the edges (if not, just give it a few more minutes). Beat the balm with an electric mixer for a minute or two so the solids are broken up and it has a uniform texture. Return to the freezer for another 5 minutes or so, then beat with mixer again (if the solids are really stuck to the sides, use a knife to scrape them off before beating). Return to the freezer for about 5 more minutes and beat one final time (at this point it should be light and fluffy and look like the balm in the photo).

Transfer the balm to clean jars (try not to touch it with your fingers as it will melt on body contact - I used a spatula/spoon combo to get the job done).

This recipe will make about 2 cups of balm, enough to fill 4 jars as shown in the photo.

Do you have a homemade gift you love to make for the menfolk?

If you missed the earlier installments of my Homemade Christmas series, check out Create Your Own Tea Blends, this super-luxurious Chocolate Orange Whipped Body Butter and a lovely Lavender & Calendula Face Scrub. For even more holiday ideas, you can find my whole Christmas on a Dime series HERE. 

 

Love what you read here? Click HERE to see the ways you can help support this blog (many of them won't cost you a thing!) 

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Weekly Menu Retrospective #123

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes, check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here. 
 
Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92)  Zucchini Raisin Bran Muffins (variation of the recipe on p. 102), Gingerbread Pancakes (recipe coming soon!)

Lunches: 
leftovers, sandwiches, pizza, quinoa with scrambled eggs & veggies

Dinners:

Monday:  Chickpeas with Potatoes and Peas (p. 138)

Tuesday:  Black Bean Chili (p. 160), cornbread (p. 212)

Wednesday: Sausage & Lentil Stew (p. 158), leftover cornbread

Thursday: Macaroni & Cheese (p. 174), peas & carrots

Friday: Lemon & Garlic Chicken (p. 184), Easy Oven Fries (p. 194), Colourful Cabbage Salad (p. 207)
  
Saturday: Spicy Beef & Rice Skillet, leftover cabbage salad

Sunday: Turkey Pot Pie (p. 175), mashed potatoes, Old-Fashioned Butterscotch Pudding (p. 233)

In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), raisins, sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), flax seeds, quinoa, corn, lemons, coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), cornstarch, mustard, tamari, oregano, basil, parsley, Fairytale tea, peppermint tea, lemon balm, oatstraw

Local: potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, red peppers (from the freezer stash), zucchini (from the freezer stash), apples, salsa (home-canned), ground beef (from VG Meats), honey (unpasteurized), sour cream, whole wheat flour
 
Local AND organic:  oats, milk (used to make yogurt), eggs (not "certified organic", but real free range and fed organic feed), apple cider vinegar, cornmeal, *green onions

*from our backyard veggie garden 

Want to know more about the specific food products I use and where I buy them? Check out my "What's In My Pantry" board on Pinterest.  I will keep this board updated with current information on what products we use, where we're buying them, and how much we're paying. It's a work-in-progress, and you can find it HERE.

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com. 

 

SOUTHERN ONTARIO READERS: Tired of figuring out what to make for dinner? Want ALL the best weekly deals, plus menu plans and grocery lists based on what's on sale and in season? I just launched a new weekly budget menu plan service, featuring the best weekly deals and seasonal foods in Southern Ontario. I have a free sample available that you can read here! It's super-affordably priced, too - more details are here.  

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Our Christmas Gift Plan for 2013

Photo courtesy of Grant Cochrane/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It's now a few days into December, and about time I did a quick check through my gift list to make sure I have everything I need for this holiday season! For the last few years I have shared my Christmas gift plans with you here on the blog, and hopefully it has given you some inspiration to help round out your own gift-giving strategy for the season.

WARNING: GIFT SPOILERS AHEAD! 
If you're on my gift list, please stop reading NOW :)

This year there will be very few surprises under our tree, because our "big" gifts are going to be shared and family gifts.

Since we desperately need new winter bedding, hubby and I decided to splurge a bit on an L.L. Bean flannel sheet set and duvet cover. As it's been close to a decade since we last purchased new bedding, we feel justified in spending a bit more and getting a good quality set!

We have also decided to get a family gift this year - tickets to a Walk Off the Earth concert in January. With the boys now both in their teen years, it's getting more and more difficult to find things to do as a family that we will all enjoy (other than our annual camping trip!) and we want to start taking the boys to see more live music. The tickets for this show are very reasonably priced and I think we will all enjoy seeing this band. Walk Off the Earth are a creative and fun bunch so I'm hoping they will capture the boys' interest! (Check out their new Little Drummer Boy video HERE).

We'll still give the boys an individual gift each as well: 

My 16 year old son doesn't have anything in particular he'd like this holiday, so we might just end up giving him some cash as he and his brother are saving up money to build their own computer.

My 14 year old son will be getting new Nine-O sports base layer top & bottoms to replace the ones he's outgrown - both my husband and son have worn these for years under their hockey gear, and we love that they are made by a local company that is owned by a family in our neighbourhood! 

Stockings: 

Stockings have always been one of my favourite parts of Christmas! One year when things were really tight, my hubby and I decided not to do stockings for each other. I don't know what we were thinking - we *really* missed them and I don't think we'll ever try skipping them again :)

Stocking stuffers for teenagers are a lot harder to do on a budget than they are during the little-kid years There is a great list of 97 Stocking Stuffers for Teens or Tweens over at Frugal Upstate that is handy for browsing through if you're in need of some ideas.

For the boys: $5 gift cards for Tim Hortons (we have one in our neighbourhood and they love to go there with their friends), a box of Gingerbread Spice tea (one of the holiday teas by Celestial Seasonings and a favourite with both of them), assorted candy (mostly homemade), some "natural" pepperettes (bought on sale and stashed away) and a can or two of Blue Sky natural soda (These were on sale for 6 cans for $3 and I used a $1.00-off-when-you-buy-6 online printable coupon from The Healthy Shopper and got 6 cans for $2 plus tax). It's a tradition in our family that an apple and a couple of clementines go in the very bottom of the stocking, so that should just about fill them! 

I will probably add in a couple of small personalized items for each of them as well. My 16 year old is always in need of painting and art supplies so I might throw in a few new brushes for him. Not sure about what to put in for my 14 year old yet but I guess I better hurry up and think of something :)

For hubby: He will also receive homemade candies in his stocking, plus a homemade Bay Rum Aftershave Balm that I'll be sharing the recipe for here on the blog. I've also got him some Camino chocolate covered coffee beans (Fair Trade, organic, and yummy, purchased through ONFC) and a
Camino Chile and Spice chocolate bar. And of course he will find fruit at the bottom of his stocking, too.

My dad and his partner, and my grandmother will be receiving gift baskets of baked goodies and canned goods which I have been giving them for years and years, so this year will be no different in that regard. The contents vary somewhat from year to year to keep things interesting; this year's baskets - which are usually repurposed clementine orange crates - will include Cran-Raspberry Jam, Pear Chutney, Candied Peanuts, Coconut Neapolitan Candy and Christmas Granola as well as the Floral Tea Blend I shared here earlier this month. I'm hoping I might also get around to this Chai Chocolate Chip Biscotti, which I planned to make last year but didn't get around to as we were busy dealing with a nasty virus :( In addition to the food gifts, I also have Chocolate Orange Body Butter, Vanilla Bath Bombs and Lavender & Calendula Lip Balm for the ladies, and my dad will be getting some of the Bay Rum Aftershave Balm as well. Everyone will also be receiving some of my first-ever batch of homemade soap! It's got a lot of great fats in it, including shea butter, avocado oil, castor oil, coconut oil and olive oil. I just tried a bar myself a couple of days ago (it was still curing up until now) and it has a nice rich creamy lather.

I'm sure there will probably be a few last-minute additions to this list, as there usually are, but that gives you a good idea of what Christmas gifts will look like around here this year.

 Are you "ready" for Christmas? What's going under your tree this year?

 For even more holiday ideas, you can find my whole Christmas on a Dime series HERE. 

 

Love what you read here? Click HERE to see the ways you can help support this blog (many of them won't cost you a thing!) 

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Homemade Christmas: Whipped Body Butters, Two Ways

It's official: body butter is my new favourite "anyone can do this" DIY personal care product. Especially the delicious Chocolate Orange version I just cooked up (must.not.eat.body.butter).

Today I'm going to share two different ways to make body butter. The first one is the more extravagant Chocolate Orange version and then I'll fill you in on my friend Kerry's easy Whipped Coconut Oil Body Butter.

Chocolate Orange Body Butter
I made a batch of this earlier today so I could photograph it for this post and I'm having trouble not sneaking back into the kitchen to continuously slather myself with this (or at least give it a good sniff and admire its fluffy rich texture).  While the chocolate orange scent smells delicious, the sweet orange essential oil is also known to have a number of health benefits, including boosting your mood (and who couldn't use a bit of that in the middle of winter?). Below is the recipe I used and then I'll tell you how you can adapt it to suit your own tastes. Using an unrefined cocoa butter will give the final product a more intense chocolatey scent.

Ingredients:
4 oz jojoba oil
4 oz cocoa butter (unrefined if you can get it)
4 oz mango butter
4 oz coconut oil
20-25 drops sweet orange essential oil

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and cook over low heat until totally melted (give it a good stir at the end to make sure the oils are thoroughly blended).

Place the pot in the fridge on a trivet or cork mat to cool for about half an hour. Add the essential oil, then transfer to the freezer and let cool for another 15-20 minutes or until it is starting to solidify on top but NOT all the way through.

Remove from the freezer and beat on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until it changes to a light, fluffy consistency. Return to freezer for about 5 minutes or until it is fairly firm but not rock-solid (i.e. it will still yield slightly if you give it a poke). Beat the butter again to a smooth consistency then transfer to storage containers (try not to touch it while transferring it, or it will melt under the heat of your fingers - I used a combination of spoon and spatula to get it all packed into jars).

This recipe will make 3 to 3 1/2 cups of body butter. When I costed it out with the ingredients I used, it came to around $27.50 for the batch. That's fairly pricey in my world, but it will yield you 6 half-cup jars to give as gifts with a little bit extra to keep for yourself. That's about $4.60 per gift, which is really reasonable even for a frugalista like me. If you want a more extravagant gift, you could add some homemade scented bath salts or a sugar scrub, hard lotion bars or lip balm, face scrub or a personalized tea blend, all of which are very inexpensive to make!

You could lower the cost of this recipe by using another oil in place of the jojoba, like grapeseed or olive. You could also use any combination of solid fats you like, as long as the ratio of solid to liquid fats is 3:1. If you don't want a chocolate scented body butter, you could use shea butter in place of the cocoa butter or use twice as much each of the mango butter and coconut oil (6 oz of each rather than 4).

If this (admittedly fabulous, but somewhat pricey) body butter isn't in your budget, here's another quick and easy option that only uses two easy-to-find ingredients.
 
Kerry's Easy Whipped Coconut Oil Body Butter
My friend Kerry Turcotte shared this recipe with me. She is a whiz at DIY personal care products, and runs workshops on how to make everything from sugar scrubs to cold process soaps - check out her events HERE if you're in the Hamilton area!

Ingredients:
7 oz coconut oil
3/4 oz beeswax
essential oils, if desired (about 10-15 drops)

Melt the beeswax and the coconut oil together in a small saucepan (or in a glass dish in the microwave).

Place in the fridge for half an hour to cool, then transfer to freezer until it starts to firm up but is not rock solid. Beat with an electric mixer until it has a light and fluffy consistency. Transfer to storage jars.

This recipe should only cost you about $3.00 or so, depending on the coconut oil you use (even less if you use cosmetic grade rather than food grade coconut oil). It doesn't make quite as much body butter, either (I'd say less than 2 cups), so you might want to double it if you want to have enough to give to several people.

Where to get the ingredients to make body butters:
I bought my mango and cocoa butters from Mountain Rose Herbs, but as I mentioned before, their shipping rates to Canada are pretty steep. So, if you're in the U.S., I'd definely recommend Mountain Rose, but if you're in Canada,  a better option may be Saffire Blue, especially if you're in Ontario. They have a FANTASTIC deal on cosmetic grade coconut oil and you'll find all the other butters and oils you need to make these recipes as well.

You can usually buy beeswax from a local honey producer (or, failing that, the health food store). Mountain Rose sells it as well, although you should be able to find some locally for the same (or even lower) price.

I buy most of my essential oils from Well.ca - I find the Aura Cacia brand reasonably priced and good quality)

 If you missed the earlier installments of my Homemade Christmas series, check out Create Your Own Tea Blends and a lovely Lavender & Calendula Face Scrub. For even more holiday ideas, you can find my whole Christmas on a Dime series HERE. 

Note: The links to Mountain Rose are affiliate links and I will receive a commission from them (at no cost to you) for any purchases you make after clicking these links.

 

Love what you read here? Click HERE to see the ways you can help support this blog (many of them won't cost you a thing!) 

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Weekly Menu Retrospective #122

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes, check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here. 
 
Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92) with (homemade) yogurt, Aloha Muffins (p. 99), Orange Cardamom Oatmeal Scones (recipe coming soon!)

Lunches: 
leftovers, sandwiches, pizza, quinoa & scrambled eggs with veggies

Dinners:

Monday:  Chickpeas with Potatoes and Peas (p. 138)

Tuesday: Spicy Pork Alfredo (variation of this recipe), green beans

Wednesday: Black Bean Chili (p. 160), cornbread (p. 212)

Thursday: Indian-Spiced Honey Garlic Chicken (p. ), Coconut Rice (p. 199), green beans and carrots

Friday: Broccoli and Cheese Egg Puff (variation of the recipe on p. 181), hash brown potatoes
  
Saturday: Out at my dad's for his 70th birthday party!

Sunday: Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted carrots, Apple Crisp (p. 220)

In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), raisins, sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), flax seeds, quinoa, blueberries, lemons, coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), cornstarch, mustard, tamari, oregano, basil, parsley, Fairytale tea, peppermint tea, lemon balm, oatstraw

Local: potatoes, onions, carrots, red peppers (from the freezer stash), cucumbers, apples, salsa (home-canned), chicken, ground beef (from VG Meats), honey (unpasteurized), sour cream
 
Local AND organic:  oats, milk (used to make yogurt), eggs (not "certified organic", but real free range and fed organic feed), apple cider vinegar,  whole wheat flour, cornmeal, *green onions

*from our backyard veggie garden 

Want to know more about the specific food products I use and where I buy them? Check out my "What's In My Pantry" board on Pinterest.  I will keep this board updated with current information on what products we use, where we're buying them, and how much we're paying. It's a work-in-progress, and you can find it HERE.

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com. 


 

SOUTHERN ONTARIO READERS: Tired of figuring out what to make for dinner? Want ALL the best weekly deals, plus menu plans and grocery lists based on what's on sale and in season? I just launched a new weekly budget menu plan service, featuring the best weekly deals and seasonal foods in Southern Ontario. I have a free sample available that you can read here! It's super-affordably priced, too - more details are here.  

Love what you read here? Click HERE to see the ways you can help support this blog (many of them won't cost you a thing!) 

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Homemade Christmas: Lavender & Calendula Face Scrub

 

I'm back with another DIY Christmas gift suggestion this week. This lavender and calendula scrub rocks on many levels: you can whip up a batch in minutes, it's perfect for all the ladies on your gift list, it's extremely inexpensive to make, and oh-my-goodness, what it does for your skin. Especially in the middle of a Canadian winter :)

I have been using one variation or another of this scrub on my face for a couple of years now instead of any type of commercial cleanser or soap product, and I've never looked back. It's very similar to those pricey "cleansing grains" you see in upscale cosmetics boutiques. Apparently my skin still has a dewy, youthful glow as a stranger told me a couple of weeks ago that she thought I was about 26 - you should have seen her jaw drop when I told her I had a 16 year old son!

But I digress...

Seriously, I don't think you'll be disappointed if you make this face scrub. It lends itself well to lots of variations (for example, you could use rose petals and rose essential oil instead of lavender for another spin on the floral theme). I would definitely keep the calendula in the mix, as it's used more for its healing properties than as a contributor to scent or colour.

I specifically went with the lavender-calendula combo so I could pair it with this lavender-calendula lip balm!

I use a spice grinder to grind all the ingredients - don't use your coffee grinder or your scrub will smell like coffee and your coffee will taste like lavender :)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup finely ground oats
2 tbsp finely ground coconut
1 tbsp ground lavender flowers
2 tbsp ground calendula flowers
10-20 drops lavender essential oil

Instructions:
Combine the rice flour, oats, coconut, lavender and calendula flowers. Add the lavender essential oil and stir until evenly incorporated into the scrub.

That's it!!

To use: Put about a teaspoon of scrub in the palm of your hand and add enough water to make a thick paste. Gently rub on face in a circular motion, then rinse off (I find it easier to use it in the shower rather than trying to rinse off in front of the sink).

Where to find dried herbs for making scrubs:
If you have a local health food store with a bulk section, check there first! My local store carries both lavender and calendula flowers.

If you don't have a good local source of bulk herbs, I highly recommend Mountain Rose Herbs. They have great prices on high quality organic herbs (as well as culinary herbs and spices, tea blends and many other wonderful things!) Their shipping costs to Canada are fairly steep, but their prices are so good that the overall cost is still lower than anywhere else I've found for comparable quality products.

If you missed the first installment of my Homemade Christmas series, check out Create Your Own Tea Blends. For even more holiday ideas, you can find my whole Christmas on a Dime series HERE. 

Note: The links to Mountain Rose are affiliate links and I will receive a commission from them (at no cost to you) for any purchases you make after clicking these links.

 

Love what you read here? Click HERE to see the ways you can help support this blog (many of them won't cost you a thing!) 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to sign up for my Cook with Karen newsletter (max 2 emails a month)

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Homemade Christmas: Create Your Own Tea Blends

I'm finding it hard to believe, but Christmas is just 6 weeks away!

Even thought I feel like I haven't planned for the big day as well as I usually do (largely because I didn't hit all that many yard sales this year, one of my main sources for great gifts at super low prices) I do feel like I have things pretty well under control and I already have everyone on my list covered except my immediate family members.

That's mainly because I have some great DIY gifts up my sleeve. I'm going to share a bunch of them with you over the next few weeks so you can make them, too! These are all going to be quick and easy to make (as well as being easy on the budget). And those of you that are on my gift list, no peeking on these posts unless you don't want any surprises under the tree!

I'm kicking things off with this post on how to create your own custom tea blends. You can make your own herbal teas using high quality organic herbs for *much* less than it costs to buy the boxed varieties! For example, you can buy 4 oz of organic peppermint leaf from Mountain Rose Herbs for just $3.25 (that amount is enough to almost fill a quart jar and lasts me for months!)

I think an herbal tea blend is a perfect gift for the holidays for many reasons:

• it's easily customizable to the recipient

• it takes literally minutes to mix together

• just about everyone will appreciate a hot cup of tea in the middle of winter!

• unlike many other food gifts, instead of contributing empty calories, it's likely to have health benefits (depending on what herbs you use in your blends)

As noted above, the actual act of blending a few herbs together doesn't take long at all. The more time-consuming part of preparing this gift will be researching what herbs you want to include (if you don't want to use any of my suggestions!) I think good blends for winter are those that include warming spices (such as chai teas), those that include a floral element such as rose, hibiscus or lavender (hints of beautifully coloured flower petals in the middle of winter will boost anyone's spirits!) and those that contain mint (a flavour we already associate with the holidays, and a helpful digestive aid as well as a general pick-me-up).

Here is the floral tea blend I will be making for gifts this year (pictured above). It's from the Book of Herbal Teas by Sara Perry and is very similar to the Hibiscus High Tea blend offered by Mountain Rose Herbs.

Floral tea blend:
1 part hibiscus flowers
1 part lemon verbena
1 part dried orange peel
1 part rosehips
1 part peppermint

Many recipes for herbal blends call for "parts" instead of specific measurements. This means it's really easy to customize the amounts to suit whatever quantity you want to make. I used one cup of each herb to make a large batch for multiple gifts, but you could use 1/4 cup of each or even 1 tbsp of each to make a much smaller amount.

Some other ideas to get you started:

Relaxing blend: lemon balm, chamomile and oatstraw

Lemon Lovers: lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemon grass and dried lemon peel

Lavender mint: 1 part lavender to 4 parts mint

Chocolate mint: 1 part cacao nibs to 4 parts peppermint

Beat the Winter Blues herbal tea from Frugally Sustainable

New Moon Tea (raspberry leaf, chamomile and lavender) from At Home Om

Calming Herbal Tea from Country Living Magazine

Lemony Chamomile Spearmint Tea from Fiskars

Tea Blending Guide from Mountain Rose Herbs

To brew a cup of tea, use 1 tsp of herbal tea blend to 8 oz boiling water.

If you create a particularly pleasing blend, I'd love to hear about it!

Where to find dried herbs for making teas:
If you have a local health food store with a bulk section, check there first!

I buy most of my herbs for tea making from Mountain Rose Herbs. They have great prices on high quality organic herbs (as well as culinary herbs and spices, tea blends and many other wonderful things!) Their shipping costs to Canada are fairly steep, but their prices are so good that the overall cost is still lower than anywhere else I've found for comparable quality products.

Note: The links to Mountain Rose are affiliate links and I will receive a commission from them (at no cost to you) for any purchases you make after clicking these links.
 

Love what you read here? Click HERE to see the ways you can help support this blog (many of them won't cost you a thing!) 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to sign up for my Cook with Karen newsletter (max 2 emails a month)

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking

Weekly Menu Retrospective #121

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes, check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here. 
 
Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92) with (homemade) yogurt, Blueberry Streusel Muffins (variation of this recipe on p. 97)

Lunches: 
leftovers, sandwiches, pizza

Dinners:

Monday:  Leftover Buffet

Tuesday: Chicken & Cheese Quinoa Skillet (variation of this recipe with chicken instead of ham)

Wednesday: Black Bean Chili (p. 160), cornbread (p. 212)

Thursday: Pork and Apple Stew (p. 156)

Friday: Apple & Bacon Baked Beans (p. 177)
  
Saturday: Macaroni & Cheese (p. 174), peas

Sunday: Lime & Garlic Chicken (p. 184), Easy Oven Fries (p. 194), carrot sticks, Old Fashioned Butterscotch Pudding (p. 233)

In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), raisins, sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), flax seeds, quinoa, blueberries, lemons, coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), cornstarch, mustard, tamari, oregano, basil, black pepper, parsley, Fairytale tea, peppermint tea, lemon balm, oatstraw

Local: potatoes, onions, carrots, red peppers (from the freezer stash), cucumbers,  apples, salsa (home-canned), ground beef (from VG Meats), honey (unpasteurized), sour cream
 
Local AND organic:  oats, milk (used to make yogurt), eggs (not "certified organic", but real free range and fed organic feed), apple cider vinegar,  whole wheat flour, cornmeal, *green onions

*from our backyard veggie garden 

Want to know more about the specific food products I use and where I buy them? Check out my "What's In My Pantry" board on Pinterest.  I will keep this board updated with current information on what products we use, where we're buying them, and how much we're paying. It's a work-in-progress, and you can find it HERE.

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com. 


 

SOUTHERN ONTARIO READERS: Tired of figuring out what to make for dinner? Want ALL the best weekly deals, plus menu plans and grocery lists based on what's on sale and in season? I just launched a new weekly budget menu plan service, featuring the best weekly deals and seasonal foods in Southern Ontario. I have a free sample available that you can read here! It's super-affordably priced, too - more details are here.  

Love what you read here? Click HERE to see the ways you can help support this blog (many of them won't cost you a thing!) 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to sign up for my Cook with Karen newsletter (max 2 emails a month)

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking