A Modest Project

Last week, I stumbled on the opportunity to buy a number of beautiful, high-quality, brand new prom dresses for an unbelievable price. I bought a number of them with the intent to start a rental business for modest formal dresses. Only problem is - almost all of them are strapless and have to be modified. So now I am in crunch mode to fix about 40 dresses over about the next month! I am blogging my progress on www.modestprom.blogspot.com. (sorry I can't get the link to work) Follow along, and be glad you're not as crazy as me!

Case Lot Sales

This time of the year, all the local stores offer sales on canned goods purchased by the case. It's the perfect time to stock up. Buying by the case, on sale, has several advantages: First and obvious, you save money. Not as obvious, perhaps, is that you also save time and frustration: A well-stocked pantry means fewer trips to the store, and less chance of running out of an ingredient right when you're preparing dinner.

Let's look at some of the things that are on sale right now and what you can do with them.

Canned vegetables, such as corn, green beans, and peas, are on sale for 49 cents a can ($11.76 a case). Usually, they cost up to 70 - 80 cents a can. I usually like to buy a case of each vegetable to have on hand. Depending on what your family likes, you can serve these as side dishes; add them to soups; and add them to casseroles.

Olives are 89 cents a can (21.36 a case). Olives are handy for home made pizza; to put in Italian dishes such as spaghetti or lasagna; and in cold salads, such as macaroni salad. Now is the time to buy, because olives are typically between $1 - $1.25 a can.

Canned beans are on sale for 57 cents a can ($13.68 a case). The absolute cheapest way to have beans is to cook them from dry. But canned beans are a great convenience, especially for smaller families or individuals. I like to have a case each of black, pinto, kidney, great northern, and garbanzo on hand.

Canned beans are extremely versatile. Use them in soup; casseroles; mexican/southwestern dishes, such as burritos, tacos, and enchiladas; just about anything, really. A can of black beans pureed in the blender and mixed with a brownie mix makes great fat-free brownies. A can of garbanzo beans pureed with some lemon juice, oil, and garlic makes a quick, easy hummus dip to eat with crispy vegetables or crackers.

Tomato sauce is 20 cents a can, $9.60 for a case of 48. I like to keep a couple of cases on hand because tomato sauce is an ingredient in so many dishes. Mix a can with oregano, basil, garlic powder, and a little thickener to create home made pizza sauce. Mix a can with sugar or honey, Liquid Smoke, and a little garlic or onion powder to make home made BBQ sauce. A can of tomato sauce plus some sweetener and vinegar makes home makes sweet and sour sauce. Then too, of course, tomato sauce can be used in any number of dishes such as soups, lasagna, spaghetti sauces, casseroles - and the list goes on.

When you cook from scratch using basic ingredients, you save a lot of money. When you purchase the basic ingredients in bulk a few times a year and keep them on hand, you save time as well. You also increase your family's security - both in the event of a crisis, and day-to-day.

That's what case lot sales are all about.

The Swine Flu is Coming, Part I

Seems like we've been hearing a lot about the Swine Flu lately. Some large local institutions are making contingency plans based on as much as 50% of the population becoming infected this fall/winter.

For some reason, the swine flu seems to engender a panic that other infectious diseases - such as the "regular" flu - don't seem to. Part of me thinks it's all overblown. But another part of me thinks, better to prepare than to panic. And better to even over-prepare than to be sorry.

For myself, I think a very important part of preparing is doing everything you can to be in the best possible health - including pumping up the immune system and cleansing the digestive system. Diet is a prime factor in this. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables plus a high-fiber diet are key.

So a part of my personal strategy is to have a Green Drink each day. (No one else in my family will drink them, and I don't force the issue. But I figure if anyone needs to not "go down" should there be a pandemic, it's me, the mother. So I drink Green Drinks regularly.)

This is what I do.

When I go grocery shopping, I buy a bunch of red chard and a bunch of kale. (Spinach, beet greens, collards, any other dark leafy green would work as well.)

I chop them up, rinse them thoroughly, and spin them dry in my salad spinner.
Then I mix them together in a large bowl.

Last, I package them in 1-gallon zip loc bags, which I keep in the fridge.


Then it's easy to prepare my green drink in my high-speed (K-tec) blender:

1. Put in 1-2 C of water.

2. Put in a large handful or two of greens.

3. Add a banana and other fruits (I like an apple and frozen blueberries. But I also use peaches, strawberries, and whatever I have on hand).

4. Blend on the "Whole Food" setting.

This produces a thick greenish-brown drink about the consistency of V-8. It has your full day's allowance of fresh fruits and vegetables (about 2 servings veggies, and 3 servings fruits, depending on what you add). My family thinks it's disgusting, but I have grown to really like it. I notice that when I drink my Green Drink, I feel better and have more energy. I think it will help me to stay healthy - or at least healthier - in the event of a swine flu outbreak as well.