Berry Easy Easter Desserts

Growing up, my grandma always made sure that our family’s Easter buffet included at least two non-chocolate desserts. My mom’s traditional bunny cake didn’t include chocolate, but our Easter baskets featured huge quantities of chocolate treats. To offset a potential chocolate overload, my nutritionally-conscious grandma would show up at our home with the following fruity desserts: SIMPLE STRAWBERRY TRIFLE Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups sugar 4 tablespoons cornstarch 1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin 2 cups water 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled, divided 1 package (8-ounce) cream cheese, softened 1 can (14-ounce) sweetened condensed milk 1 container (12-ounce) Cool Whip, thawed … Continue reading

Nutrition Made Easy

Are you at a loss as to how you should be eating healthy? The new food pyramid website can show you how. At http://www.mypyramid.gov/ you can learn about anything pertaining to healthy eating. This website will let you know what you should weigh, what you should be eating and how much you should be eating. You can track your weight and activity on My Pyramid as well. At My Pyramid you will be taken inside the pyramid to discover what food groups and how much of each are recommended. There are tips and resources available to answer any of your … Continue reading

An Easy Way to Make Some Money–Expires January 31st 2007!

I just found this last night, and I thought, “How cool and easy; I have to pass this one on!” There is a company called Nutritional Tree, and they are in the business of reviewing thousands of health and beauty products such as Airborne, Men’s One-A-Day vitamins, and other popular (and not-so-popular) products. They not only supply these reviews, they will allow you, the reader, to rate and write reviews of your own. They are currently paying $1.00-$1.50 per review, depending on several factors. I signed up with them and made $3 within 15-20 minutes. They have several requirements, which … Continue reading

Keeping the Grocery Bill Low

How do you keep your grocery bill down to the same amount that it was two years ago despite the fact that food has gone up? It isn’t easy, but I am determined. Since our income hasn’t gone up, neither can our spending. We’ve already cut corners in other areas, such as with entertainment and activities. Now it is time to wrestle that grocery bill back down to the ground. Keeping Track I’m now back to keeping a running total of our grocery expenses week to week. Having this running total gives us a number to challenge. Can we spend … Continue reading

Six Critical Skills for Frugal and Eco-Friendly Kids

These are frugal times, and these are times when environmental consciousness is rising. How can you prepare your kids to live as adults when times are more frugal and much more ecologically conscious? This generation of parents has lost a lot of the skills that our grandparents had. I know I have, and I’m trying to regain them. Here are six ways that you can help your children become frugal adults. By modeling these skills and allowing your kids to help, you’ll give them great know-how for the future. Preparing Food Prepared food is something that is easy for kids … Continue reading

Lunch Box Winners

How can you prevent boxed lunches from becoming boring? Fill those lunch boxes and bags with some winners, and you’ll have your kids happy to be back to school. My kids rarely want to buy lunch at school, which is good on the budget, but bad on me because I have to keep coming up with new choices that will keep them interested. Here are some of the favorites in my household that are sure lunchbox winners. Tortilla Wraps and Salad Wraps Take a flour tortilla or a large piece of lettuce, add your favorite meat, cheese and vegetables and … Continue reading

What Foods Are Really Good For You

As a mom I try to make sure my daughter eats healthy foods. When I was married I cooked a big dinner every night, I’m not a great cook but no one died. When I got divorced those marathon cooking sessions after working all day went right out the window, but I still tried to make sure they were healthy foods in the house. Now, I think I may have been doing it all wrong. I just read an article that said beer makes you a better problem solver, whiskey boosts good cholesterol and pork fat is good for you. … Continue reading

Toddler Snacks You Can Feel Good About

If you feel like you are lucky to get a few bites of each meal into your toddler, you are not alone. Even toddlers who enjoy eating are sometimes too busy to sit down long enough to eat an entire meal. Of course, they eventually do get hungry and they usually do not let you know about it until they are starving and want something to eat immediately. Parents can help their toddlers to get the nutrition that they need by offering a variety of nutritious, easy to prepare snacks throughout the day. Snacks that include both protein and fat … Continue reading

Solutions to Meal Time Madness

One challenge that the parents of toddlers often face is nutrition. Toddlers are notorious for being picky eaters. They also tend to become so engrossed in playing that they are reluctant to come to the table at mealtime and resist staying at the table once they are there. Of course there are things that toddlers are perfectly willing to eat – things like sugary sweets that you are probably trying to keep out of their diet, at least for the most part. So, what’s a parent to do when their toddler turns up his or her nose at the nutritious, … Continue reading

Fun Smoothies for Kids

Recently, I introduced you to a new brand of chocolate milk called TruMoo. TruMoo Chocolate milk is not a chocolate drink. It is made from real milk but void of high fructose corn syrup and growth hormones. The milk is not organic yet it does eliminate two dangerous elements. Growth hormones and high fructose corn syrup have no place on a child’s menu. If your children love chocolate milk as much as mine and you are looking for a less expensive yet safe option then TruMood may be for you. I know my children love it. They ask for chocolate … Continue reading