MEATBALLS 

is it worth it?

So I found this recipe for baking meatballs. I've always found it to be more labor-intensive than I was up for. But if this works, it could be a game changer...I think. My whole house loves meatballs, toss them in pasta, in sandwiches, in soups, even just heat and eat on their own as a little appetizer. But with the prices of meat skyrocketing I'm just curious, is it worth it. Today the obvious answer is yes, because I have left over groud beef that needed to be used up and wasn't sure what to make with it. But would I go out and buy it? I'm going to break it down here. 

This is the recipe I was looking at. Meatballs in a Muffin Tin

Though I often shop at winco or costco I'm going to be price checking on walmart just because their website is easier to navigate and the prices are very similar, usually. 

1 pound of ground beef - $5.50 - 8.00 depending on fat level

most of the other ingredients are things I would normally have on hand or are easily substituted.

1 pound of meatballs - $8.47 for 32count  but that's a 2 pound bag. 

The math ain't mathin' because I just made 24 with some left over of about a pound. None of these are very big... The only thing I can think of is that being froze caues them to weigh more? 

The thing about making it from scratch is you know exactly what's in it. But for the prise it's a hard beat especially because where I buy them, they are often on sale for $4 a bag. So I think this one is still up in the air. Either way with a house full of hungry teenagers, it's a good thing to have on hand. 

Spiritual Leaders

Imagine; a group is on a journey. Everyone has a different God given role that they were designed for with a purpose in this journey. Everyone works together, has a specific value and is necessary to fulfill the mission.

There is the leader, this person is in front, choosing which roads to take, which obstacles to overtake, and in general leading the way. 

There are those just along for the ride, learning from their leader and being encouraged by the helper. 

The helper is holding it all together, making sure things are taken care of, nurturing hurts and wounds, bringing nutrition and wisdom.   

While this can be a natural battle it is often a spiritual battle. And while those are often soldiers, they are also the family unit. In a relationship the man is called to be the spiritual leader. They must have a strong relationship with God, have integrity, be proactive, ready to guard and defend. This image has fallen out of cultural norms. More often than not it's the woman who leads in the spiritual realm. But it is a weight she was not designed to carry. To be both the leader and the helper means she will become exhausted at some point. This is why so many woman experience high levels of depression and anxiety.

I am currently very blessed that my daughter has found a suiter that has his own faith and one that he is passionately pursuing on his own accord. I find this to be so uncommon in this day and age and am very grateful for it. She equally has the desire to follow him through it and support his decisions regarding it. Though her faith is strong on her own and she is versed in the scriptures much more, she does not feel the need to lead. I am excited to see how their journey progresses.

Suggested reading:

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/EPH.5.NLT

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/men/why-should-men-be-the-spiritual-leaders-in-the-home.html 

DIY Pampering

For many reasons growing up I never got into the self-pampering things that most girls I know love. The ideas about spa days sound anything but pleasant. I would much rather be gaming with my hubby, making graphs/charts, planning or working in my garden or anything else that keeps my hands busy. Not to mention we haven't always had the disposable income for such things. However, having three daughters, there are some skills we need to learn if we don't want to spend on some self care treatments. 

Learning how to cut hair has been easy but I would love to learn some new tricks for cute dews. 

However, today I want to learn how to do a nice manicure/pedicure. Something a little more than your basic nail clipping. 

https://www.marthastewart.com/853529/diy-manicure-and-pedicure-tips?slide=169f5fe2-1168-4e36-8486-f8691d7289a4#169f5fe2-1168-4e36-8486-f8691d7289a4

Think it's time for me and my girls to learn some self-care. Thankful for the opportunity. 

I think the main thing is skin hydration, everything says to soak your hands and feet. Then a nice buffer over the nails, also the cuticle solvent is something to try. Well, wish me luck lol. My hands are going to be digging in the dirt soon but I still want them healthy.

Get out of the kitchen - Get some fuel and move on

It's nice when eating doesn't take up your day. I grew up in a fashion that you sat around the table an ate for an hour or so. That involved a lot of food. I'm doing some cutting. Short simple and back to action.

Breakfast

Toasted coconut yogurt and berries.

No sugar added. Warm berry mix with some cold greek yogurt, it's so yummy I want a second helping but that isn't nessisary so I just get back to work. By the way the price on this. $0.88 (berries are $1.98 for 16 oz. we only used 1/4 cup or 4 oz) $0.49. So breakfast under $1.50

                    Whoever says eating healthy is expensive just wants an excuse. Try a little harder.

                    Lunch

Easy peasy taco no salad.

1/2 cup ground beef

1/2 cup moz cheese

1/2 an avocado

salt and pepper

Could easily add some spinach and lettuce to bulk this up but this is nice simple and warm. 

Dinner

Cauliflower        $1

Broccoli            $1

Sausage             $3

Veggie Mix     $1

$6 dinner, fed our family of 5 with some leftover. That's $1 a plate.

Lotta greens, good protein. Fix it forget about it, don't have all day to spend in the kitchen type of person. I mean for starters the longer I stand in the kitchen the more I'll find to eat and snack on. Kinda adds to the bill and the waistline. We got more important things to do anyway.  Houses don't run themselves. 

Now go write your grandma a letter, she still doesn't understand emails and you can prove to your kids you still know how to address an envelope. 

 

 

 

Liven Lovely on Scraps

Yeah for making affordable healthy food!

So here's a little secret.  I don't do cereal.  It's my food crack.  My kids act like wild banchies when they eat it, much goes to waste and if you think about it.  If thats all we're having for breakfast (not only are we missing a large amount of nutrician but) that's about $3 a box. So $6 + milk at $3 a gallon.  That adds up a little too fast for me.

That being said, I am ok with and really like granolla (just not as a regualar breakfast).  Maybe as a cereal, maybe as a snack, top some yougurt or bake it into muffins.  It's good stuff.  You know what it is? Baked oat's.  That's it!   So why is it ssssoooooooooooo expensive? 

We do however go through a good deal of oatmeal, so much so that we buy it in bulk.  My only problem this round was that I didn't get the whole oats.  That's a problem and wont make as good granolla but it's a start.

I'm not that great at photo pics so sorry about that.  Anyhow it's this simple.  Pour 2 cups of oats on a baking sheet, mix with a little vanilla then drizzle a little honey and olive or coconut oil, and a pinch of ground sea salt over the top.  Bake at 300 for 10 minutes, a little longer if your using a small pan like mine.  It all depends on the thickness and how crunchy you like your oatmeal.

You can also mix in nuts, seads, dried fruit in with the vanilla if you like.  I don't have any right now so plain and simple is how we roll.  
Store in an air tight container for a week or two.  

I would break down the cost but I can't this time.

Oatmeal I bought in bulk several months ago and 2 cups out of 25 pounds isn't much.

The honey and the olive oil was a gift from our neighbor who was moving.  

So this is really bits and scraps of what we already have.  No spending necessary.  

Eating right doesn't really cost that much.

Ok these aren't dinner salads or anything fancy.  They are just ready to go lunches for busy days.  I find if it's already made I'm much more likely to eat it. What I don't understand is everybody complaining how expensive it is to eat healthy.  So I broke it down.

 5 ready to go salads.
1/4 head of lettuce
1 cucumber
4 stalks of celery
20 cherry or grape tomatoes
hand full shredded kale
1 orange bell pepper
hand full shredded mushrooms







Lets brake that down price wise
Lettuce - any kind will work.  I can usually get a head of lettuce or even some leaf lettuce for $1 but I'm only using 1/4 of it.  So that's $0.25
1 cucumber (theres usually some left over) That's about $0.70 not on sale.
4 stalks of celery is about  1/3 of a bunch today cost $1.39 which comes to under $0.40.
20 grape tomatoes I got a box of rufly 100 at costco for $6 which comes to $1.20
1/10 of a bag of kale shredded.  I've had this for a while I think I paid $2 for the bag so that's $0.20
1 orange bell pepper a bag of 3 was 3.99 so thats $1.33
Some mushrooms about 1/6 a box, if you buy them individually they are cheaper.  So about $0.50.

That made 5 ready to go salads for under $1 each!

Turns out that eating healthy if you give some prep time can be cheaper than eating off the dollar menu at MacDonald's.  Add in a glass of water and you're ready to go.  Want some variety just add in some left overs, some shredded turkey or chicken, slice up some ham.  The possibilities are endless.  You can also combine it all together and have a large salad to feed the family for under $5 not including a little dressing which if you use it sparingly, goes a long ways.

Yes these are all non organic prices.  Honestly the price in our grocery store for organic to non organic don't vary much.  My reasons are my own.  I grew up near a organic farm and whenever I see 'organic' I smell 'organic' if you understand me.  I don't mind it all the time but I don't go out of my way for it.  I wash my food and whenever possible I grow my own.  So do what you want but don't say that eating fruits and vegies is to expensive because not only is it affordable it will cost you much less in medical bills down the road.  Happy trails!