Saving Money and the "what's for dinner" blues

Being new to the whole coupon scene I find saving any amount of money a good day. We don't really stock pile much food and the items that are on coupons we really can't have due to the Dairy allergy or just to much sodium. Prepacked foods that fall under the coupons most if not all have some form of dairy in it, or are just so unhealthy for toddlers that I can't justify purchasing it for when I am to lazy to cook.

I have been trying to cook simple, quick and of course dairy free meals. How has been possible for us since we live on pretty much a single income and I have been taking care of both our food allergy son but also his non food allergy big (15 months older) sister? Some days are a simple pasta dinners or more interesting crock pot meals, for days where i am either to busy or to tired to try to take care of dinner.

Here are some ways that I am able to save money and maybe some of them might help your or your friends family to be able to provide food.

1) Wic- Now I know that there is a stigma to this government program, but let me say that they have been a very important part to our success as providing food for both of our kids. My son was allergic to not only animal dairy but all animal dairy including my breast milk. We went through 6 different formulas till we were able to find one that he was able to keep down at least some of when he was eating. He was born with a few medical issues making feeding him and giving him nutrients he needed to survive. The most expensive of these trail formulas was $75 a bottle and the bottles were smaller then the size of a small Gerber formula container. Wic was always able to give us the formulas we needed and now that he  is over a year old they are now giving us his toddler formula as well. His current formula is $19 a can sure that sounds doable but he was going through 5 cans a month and still is that formula alone cost roughly $95. That is JUST his formula they also give my daughter her milk, beans, bread, eggs, juice, and we get a monthly allowance of $16 for fresh fruits and veggies. If you qualify for Wic and are having issues with being able to provide healthy vitamin filled foods I suggest really looking into this program. Because of them my kids and my family are able to eat fresher better foods in a processed unhealthy world.

2) Rewards cards- I use Winn-Dixie for a majority of my shopping. Though it is more expensive then Aldi which I also shop at and Walmart that I refuse to shop at due to quality, Winn- Dixie has a great baby perks system and the amazing FUEL PERKS. The perks system is really simple sign up for the free Winn Dixie card. I signed up for both fuel perks and baby perks. For every $50 or if you purchase items that have fuel perks attached you get money towards gas off at Shell locations. Baby perks gives you coupons every month for items that you purchase a lot plus coupons for Diapers, Wipes, baby food, and baby item/bath product every packet. As well as every $25 you get money towards baby perks. With this alone I save tons of money, not to mention reward members also get certain foods on sale like fresh fruits and veggies even meats.

3) Coupons and Coupons site- I also use coupons from coupons.com as well as coupons that come in the smart source we get in the Thursday paper. I also have started to use Saving star which has a fresh fruit or veggie as a featured product for coupons. Today the healthy item is 20% off broccoli. This site is connected to my Winn Dixie card so when I purchase the item it gets taken off at the register.

4) Pinterest- I bet some of you are thinking, "How can a site that makes you want to put pom poms on pine cones for a Thanksgiving centerpiece help you save money on food?" It is really simple and one of my biggest money saving secrets. When I go shopping I stop at the Meats section and see what is either on sale or cheap. Then I log onto pinterest through the stores wifi and type in the piece of meat and recipes. If I find something that sounds good, that I have either all the ingredients for or most of them, and if it is a dairy free or easily turned into a dairy free meal, I buy it. Not only does it keep cost down but keeps the kitchen interesting. Just yesterday I made a meal of Pork Neck bones in a Jamaican style int eh crock pot with onions, vinegar and spices. I only had to buy the ginger, onion and pork neck bones at the store everything else i had. The neck bones came 2 to a package it was $3.58 for one and the other was $3.18. It feed 6 people and the whole meal was under $9 for everything. And the most amazing part is that it was really really good and fresh.

Hope that this list of things you find helpful. I really love using pinterest. It works with all diets and that is pretty cool if you think about it.

In the end everything I do is so I can see these two amazing people smile and I know that we may not have much but I know that they are eating well and not all this unhealthy cheap easy foods. I don't like being on government assistance but I will do what ever it takes to keep my kids healthy. That is what is most important.

Food Allergy Savings, How FARE can help you save money and your family

I don't know how many people know about FARE. FARE stands for Food Allergy Research and Education. It is a great program and their website has a lot of great information on many food allergies. But one thing that many people don't know is that FARE will help you pay for certain things you or your child need. If you need to get a medical alert bracelet or in our case dog tag they will cover some of the cost. If you need to get extra epi pens for school FARE will help by giving the school epi pens! Along with some really good printed materials. Also at least in my state of Florida, the child can legally carry their epi's with them at school. 

I highly recommend going to the FARE website and taking a good look around. You can find their site here. 

You can become a member and even participate in the annual FARE WALK. We did this for the first time back in June. Was a lot of fun for the whole family and learned about a lot of important things I had not even thought about before going there. 

Dairy Free in the kitchen ~ Crock Pot Breakfast Tacos

Back when my husband and I lived in Texas we fell in love with breakfast tacos. Since being stationed to Florida we can't find one anywhere that is as amazing as those from San Antonio. So I decided to figure out how to make some dairy free of course for my little man.

CROCK POT BREAKFAST TACOS

Ingredients

1 dozen eggs
1/2 lb of shaved beef and pork (you can use all beef or all pork if you want to)
1/2 yellow onion
salt & pepper
1 lb frozen roasted tri-cut potatoes (I use Alexia 98% FF Smart classic)
1 cup original almond milk (or which ever milk you need to use just make sure it is unflavored)
Flour Tortilla Shells

Directions
1. Brown meat and onions together, Set aside.
2. Add potatoes to the crock pot
3. In a glass bowl add the eggs, salt and pepper, whisk together then slowly add the milk.
4. Put the meat onion mixture on top of the potatoes, stir. Then add the egg mixture evenly.
5. cover and cook on low for 7 hours.
6. place tortilla shell on a plate spoon the egg mixture into the middle of the shell, roll up and enjoy.

Served 6 with extras.

Sorry no pictures, sadly phone battery decided to die, The whole reason for this meal today was because we were taking a trip to Tampa for my little guy's allergy appointment, so it was a crock pot dinner for us. We left at 1130 am and didn't get home till after 630pm

Little guy might have a new allergy

So this last week has been a bit tough on my little guy and myself. I had to rush him to the night time doctors and it was determined he had an allergic reaction, but not from dairy because he doesn't eat dairy, so the doctors have told me to go back to the allergist and get more test done.

It all started after dinner we removed his diaper and gave him a bath with his big sister(2.5 years and 17 months) he was fine dried him off and got him into a night time diaper and pjs. A few minutes later he started to cry and he had pooped himself, so my mom who was with me the whole time goes to change his diaper she then calls for me slightly panicked and told me something was not alright. my little guys rump was bright red, had lumps and white marks all over him. We quickly got him cleaned up a new diaper, I grabbed the diaper bag, his epi pens and ran to the doctors.

The first thing they did was check his oxygen levels to make sure he wasn't in any a serious medical state. When it was determined he was alright we were able to be slower and more medical with him.

Long story short, though it is already slightly long, he has a new allergy appointment next week and will be tested for bananas, red, yellow, and wheat.

Dairy Free in the Kitchen ~ Easy baked salmon

Now this recipe is most likely the easiest way too cook salmon in the oven. I also cook it in the steamer, but since I was not able to cook this meal myself ( I had a meeting to go to) and my mom is not the worlds best cook I thought it was the best way to go. Everyone loved this well every adult, the kids enjoyed the side of veggie Rotini pasta. This recipe will yield really delicious salmon and incredibly crispy skin. Think of it as a salmon skin chip.

SIMPLE SALMON WITH CRISPY SKIN

Ingredients

Salmon fillet (doesn't matter how many or how much)

Olive Oil

garlic powder

dill

pinch of salt

Directions

1. Place tin foil on a cookie sheet

2. Place salmon onto the tin foil

3. Add salt garlic and dill to the salmon (use your eyes and your taste to add what you want)

4. Drizzle with olive oil

5. Place in the cold oven 

6. Turn oven on 400 degrees and keep the salmon in the oven for 25 min.

That is it. Simple and yummy. The key is the salmon going into the oven while it is cold. 

New sandwich at Wendy's Possible Cross Contamination Issues

August 2014: Wendy's Introduces New Sandwich Containing Egg and Milk

These notices are distributed when food manufacturers provide information to FARE about upcoming changes in their products.

Wendy’s recently introduced a new limited time offer sandwich, the Smoked Gouda Chicken on Brioche. This product is served on a brioche bun that contains egg and milk and should be avoided by egg and milk allergic consumers. The bun is also topped with an egg glaze and is placed in the same toaster as our premium sandwich buns, which are used for our larger sandwiches. The brioche bun may be used for future products as well.

Each of our sandwiches are made to order, so please request your premium hamburger, chicken, or pretzel sandwich buns WITHOUT TOASTING if you have concerns about eggs and milk.

Contact Wendy’s Customer Service at (800)-443-7266 or consumer.relations@wendys.com with any additional questions.

Dairy Free in the Kitchen~ Cilantro Lime Garlic Shrimp Quinoa

This meal makes about 5 cups. This one was not a big hit with the kids but the adults all liked it, minus my picky eater husband because it had to much green in it...sigh. I think if the kids were older they would have been fine, I just think ti was to early to try shrimp with the toddlers.

CILANTRO LIME GARLIC SHRIMP QUINOA

Ingredients

1.cup quinoa
2. cups water
1lb shrimp (precooked frozen shelled divined thawed)
4tbs. minced garlic
2 tbs. veggie oil
juice from 1/2 a lime
1.cup chopped loosely packed fresh cilantro

1. Add quinoa and water in a pot. boil, cover simmer for about 15 min. ( you don't want any more water in it.
2. While it cooks saute shrimp with garlic and oil.
3. Take the juice from the lime and cilantro and put it in a bowl, add shrimp including juices and quinoa, mix and enjoy.