Naturally Frugal Living
My daughter was a tomboy growing up. She preferred to be Robin Hood rather than Maid Marion. She would rather collect bugs than play dolls and the only reason she agreed to wear dresses is because it meant she only had to put on two articles of clothing in the morning. I was quite pleased [...]
I love being able to shop in the garden; it is such a frugal source of organic vegetables. This year we expanded the herb garden, so I have been adding fresh herbs to dishes every chance I get. My daughter likes squash prepared with herbs so much that I have caught her eating it as a snack by dipping [...]
I often buy Basmati Rice Medley at Trader Joe’s ($1.89 for 16 oz.). In addition to aged Indian basmati rice, it contains wild rice and some dehydrated vegetables. I think it makes a lovely base when I make a stir-fry. My oldest son doesn’t mind eating it with a stir-fry, but thinks it is too bland to [...]
This evening I had a hankering for pasta salad, but I didn’t have any broccoli. I just harvested cauliflower from the garden and decided to substitute it for the broccoli…and then since I have been on a noodle substitution kick, I decided to use cauliflower as a substitute for the pasta too. Cauliflower Salad with Chicken and Carrots [...]
During the summer when I have excess vegetables I use them as a frugal, low-calorie, high fiber substitute for pasta in many dishes. Tonight I am sharing my Vegetable Lasagna with Spinach “Noodles” on $5 Dinners. I replaced the pasta layer with a layer of spinach leaves. You can replace the lasagna noodles with any [...]
My daughter’s friend shared this idea with my daughter. It is an easy alternative to making a graham cracker pie crust and it only uses 2 ingredients: crunchy granola bars and butter. Granola Bar Pie Crust Recipe Yield: 1 – 9in. pie crust Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes Ingredients: 8 – 9 oz crunchy [...]
I love Asian Coleslaw, but so many of the varieties contain ingredients that I or someone in my family can’t eat. And so many of the slaws are pretty high in calories and fat, despite all of that low-cal cabbage. Every time I turn one down, I vow to create a healthier version that we can [...]
Last week on $5 Dollar Dinners, I explained that my recipes are occasionally inspired by my children’s interests. I shared how my kids like Lord of the Rings and pretend that my Stuffed Cabbage with Turkey and Brown Rice is made by elves since it is a food item wrapped in a leaf. This generated some discussion [...]
Since my 3 year old announced that my Sweet Potato Egg Puffs were his favorite muffins, I have looked at egg puffs in a whole new light. He is right; they are light and fluffy like muffins, but they have very little flour and sugar, making them a healthier alternative. They also come together very [...]
My family loves my Traditional Toffee. In fact they like it so much that when I make Christmas candies to share with our friends the first batch of this toffee doesn’t make it out of the house. Although it is my husband’s favorite candy, instead of eating all that I sent him when he was in Iraq, he used some to [...]
