My Last Hurrah...

For a while :0)

Apologies to those who read my other blog- this is nearly the same :0)

Ben is about to pack up the computers ready for the big move tomorrow morning.

There still seems plenty to do before then...and after then with all the cleaning...but I (we) have done masses.

Our eatng has been all over the place this week. So much chocolate, we should buy shares in Cadbury. But we're getting the work done, dh that's the main thing. I know what I want to be doing health-wise, and I am considering this a temporary measure.

I made sourdough pizza that didn't taste disgusting...actually, it was surprisingly good! I've made sour dough fruit loaf 3 times, and Princess loves it.

I amde creme fraiche, and while I thought it was bit odd (having never tasted it before, so nothing to compare) my friend who had tasted it before enjoyed it and said it was good.

My yoghurt has been going great, not this week, since I decided we don't need it. Princess has taken to eating yoghurt mixed with strawberry conserve on muesli. I guess the muesli should be soaked, but we're taking smallish steps. I'll be reading plenty when we're gone.

I can't wait to get really stuck in again. We've had no fridge since Tuesday...that's been interesting. With no real plan for what to do isntead of refrigerate, I've floundered a little- but it's worked alright...

I wish this could be a loverly long post about all the cool things we've been up to...actually not that many cool things, but we have spent some time with friends, and lots have been happening while the kiddos grow and learn at home.

I can't even add photos for some bizarre reason. I have a neat one of Tombliboo stacking cans of drink...I know, what happened to minimising sugar?

Well, when I have a big job (and what could be bigger than moving out our lives from the last 3 years?) I need Coke. I don't apologise for it, or even wish it wasn't so- it just is, and that's life. I need chocolate too. It would be nice to sit down for a meal some time soon.

So Tombliboo got busy stacking them- he managed to build a tower of 8 coke cans before I got the camera. It was quite impressive. I really didn't think he would get past 5. Then he stacked them according to colour (Sprite and Coke), and then alternating colours. The side-by-side towers...then a big long row. He had so much fun with those cans, it was crazy!

I've got a really cute one of Princess, who has lost both her top front teeth...she looks adorable, and hilarious all at the same time. I've got several of her with some items she won in a mega prize pack on Sticky TV.

It was super mega...she got a Dora packpack, towel, duvet set and dvd, a Diego backpack, towel, duvet set and dvd, Twister, Guess Who, an mp3 player (which is her current fave), pink Lego, a Narnia book, a Charlie and Lola activity book, some Slime, some more slime that glows, a Wall-E soft toy, a BalaNZe Board (which is super-cool btw), and an Avalanche snow-maker.

There's a fair bit of it that isn;t interestign to her, which we will eb able to sell when we get settled, and get her somethign she does want. But it was a massive buzz!

J-Man has been busy making a video clip for his best friend. It makes me cry. I'm not much or a cry-er, but I blubber like a baby when I see how much he adores J12.

So, it's all go. Ben will be at het truck place at 9am, back here as quickly as possible. Grandma and Poppy will eb here too with a van, and maybe a trailer...and then we will load everything up. I've got a box or two to pack tonight before I sleep, but mostly it's all done. Phew!

I more or less emptied the garage today- was very ruthless. Put it all out the front, and before I had even done so there were people to take it all away.

We only have one shelf left inside, and possible a couch...some shelving in the garage which we'll offer to the neighbour's if N doesn't want them...and that's about it.

Oh, there are plenty of dirty tools and so on outside, which will need to be arranged on to the truck somehow. But mostly, it's all under control.

Once the truck is gone, I will clean for a bit, but I think I'll need to take off right away to take the kiddos to a show we have tickets for. It will be a nice break from the monotony of constantly cleaning/packing/tidying/throwing away.

I think I might go to sleep actually.

The truck needs to be back in Auckland by 10:30am Sunday, so Ben will decide if he wants to do a round-trip in a day, or leave early Sunday morning. There'll be a bed for him in Keirkeri (unlike here, lol).

Actually, we have had offers of beds, but I think a night on the floor might be fun.

Then, Sunday morning will be devoted to cleaning as much as possible in as short a time as possible, so we can possibly enjoy some time together before we split.

Ben will be staying with Nana, and the kiddos and I will be heading for the bach.

It's as neat place, right on the beach...it's kinda basic, and yet not at all! There's a toilet now!

Mostly, by "basic" I think I mean there's no phone. Cellphone coverage is pretty dicey. We get texts though, so it isn't as bad as it once was (you used to have to drive for a few minutes to stand at some rocks and dial out).

The kids can't wait...they are sooo excited! Not Tombliboo, I don't think he knows what is going on- he keeps telling me about what is missing and saying, "I want to go home", when we're already here.

I'm looking forward to really being with them. J-Man asked where Twilight is. He read 60 pages on the first day we got it but none since. We will eb rading a lto more books, andthat is ezxciting. I shoudl ahve organised hwo we get library access today, but I didn;t...we'll ahveto wing it.

Or get books out hedre and drive a bit further to return them (an hour). Not sure yet...but I am lookign forward to lots of snuggly book-reading.

I have a picture in my head not really based in reality, of us all snuggling up lsitneing to a wodnerful story (read by me wihtotu lsoign my voice, or fallign asleep).

Normalyl Tombliboo steals the book adn hides it, adn the same with it'sreplacement...maybe it will be differnt in a different place.

I'm also imagining that maybe the kids will pile in to my bed (those that aren't already in there, lol) for stories in the morning ,since I won;t be up checking my e-mails (because I can't).

I hope some of that comes true.

I hope I can learn to be a "lazy", not completely, just enough to relax...really relax.

As I type, Tombliboo has gone to sleep early (9pm), and J-Man and Princess are having fits of giggles playing a bizarre chasing game which has something to do with the green slime from her prize pack. Ben is packing up the her computer, and I need to get pack to all my millions of jobs.

Hopefully this lets everyone know what we will be up to.

I hope to add snippets whenever I am able...which really might not be very often...so it's adieu from me for a little while.

You'll be hearing a lot from me when we are settled in our new house, in a new town.

If anyone would like to visit, please do :0)

Update

We're chugging along, getting rid of stuff and packing the rest away.

I finally got the lounge clear yesterday- I haven't been doing as much "usual" tidying, just moving-related stuff, so it was a tip.

I made fruit loaf with sourdough, and Princess loved it- said it was "the same as the one at the shop!"

I made it in a similar way to the hot cross buns- I never write things down, just add a bit of this and that.

Basically the usual sourdough, and at the kneading stage- added sultanas, xylitol, nut meg, mixed spice, cinnamon and a bit of salt.

I just made it again this morning (we were nearly out!) and added some melted butter as well, and forgot the salt, so we'll see how that one turns out.

We ate butter chicken for tea last night- a favourite with everyone. When I wasn't eating meat, I made butter chickpea instead- noone else liked it, but I thought it was pretty good!

Butter Chicken (or chickpea)

Saute some chopped onions and little snippets of carrot in butter, when they're nearly done add some cinnamon.

Take out half of that mixture and put it in with the rice to cook.

Add more butter, and cook the chicken (or skip that step if you're using leftover chicken).

Add two tins of Indian tomatoes (or ordinary tomatoes, with garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric- anything really to get it indian flavoured), and let it simmer.

Add 2T (or so) ground almonds, and coriander (preferably fresh, but whatever) and cumin seeds (if desired).

Simmer until the tomato juices reduce. Before serving, add sour cream or creme fraiche or just plain cream.

I got creme fraiche, because I want to try to make my own after or next trip to the farm.

Phew...

I packed over 60 boxes last week, which is why you haven;t heard from me :0)

Still, it doesn't look like anything has been done- the place is a pigsty.

Plenty more to do.

But, and I'm really proud of this "but"...I haven't just thought "oh well, we'll eat whatever".

Yes, there were easter eggs, and yes, we even bought a loaf of bread on Saturday (mostly for the sake of our poor cousin M11 who probably didn't know what him him when he saw what we now eat!), but mostly, mostly- the diet has remained the same.

My sourdough started to go al l funny, and I suspect this is because our house is like a fridge (no, I'm no exaggerating!). It;s sorted now though, and as the photo above will show...

It actually rose for the first time ever!

It was sooooo lovely and bubbly, I couldn't believe the difference. It's like "ahhh- so that's what "bubbly" means!"

Previously I'd only had the odd bubble here and there. And this coincides with what I read, that sourdough gets better and better- this will be my 4th loaf of bread I think.

Princess has requested fruit toast, and I think after the success of the hot cross buns- I just might be able to pull that off!

It's payday today- but we haven't been paid...silly boss not sorting stuff out for Easter (again!), but it doesn't matter in the slightest. I have a chicken casserole (leftover) in the freezer, a tray of chicken breasts, some steak which I will throw in to the slow-cooker.

Got heaps of apples, carrots, enough lettuce, plenty of spuds...a half loaf of sourdough ready to eat, another whole one in the oven now, a bag of mini sourdough rolls in the freezer. It wouldn't matter if we weren't paid for three more days, except that the rent is due today.

The only thing we are out of is raw milk and cream- we didn't go to the farm this weekend. I made a bavarian cream (gourmet dessert) but the cream was smelling a bit iffy- and it wasn't good. It was OK, but not good.

Rather than adding a whole 'nother post- I wanted to say what this is like so far...

Princess, aged 6 and a half has amazed me...she has perfectly adjusted to a new diet. She sees all sorts of possibilities, rather than noticing all she can;t have. (And we don't really use the word "can't), I don;t want her being denied anything she is hankering after).

She loves the bread, loves eating more meat, isn't asking for anything "bad"...is basically very happy.

She is lactose intolerant, and her speech is a bit muddly atm, and her nose permanently blocked- but, it was like that before we switched to raw milk, so I can't be sure if she reacts to that as well, or not.

Tombliboo just fits in- his main food is breastmilk, so he's cool :0)

J-Man (10) is not at all happy...he is bemoaning the lack of "real" bread, and "real" milk, and "real" ice cream and all sorts of other bits and bods. He has spent over $30 (of his own money) on McDonald's and rubbish food in the last few days. He wakes up wanting chips, which is the only snack food he knows we have in the house. It's hard work. Hard to know what to do.

DH didn't know what to do with himself last wek about lunch..his lunch in the weekends has always been sandwiches. But he seesm to be coping just fine. He just wants to be full...he would like more icecream, and I will work on that- but it's not cheap when you make it yourself with *real* ingredients.

Me...well, I love it. I felt like Coke in a major way yesterday- and had dh bring some home. I haven't had it in the house for weeks...but it's the thing I have (and chocolate) when I am hard-out on a mission (packing the house). I found it really sweet, still love it though...alas.

I love being able to make bread with no yeast- in fact only flour and water! I love eating (small amounts) of icecream with nothing nasty in it.

I even like the raw milk in my tea- which I never did before.

Now for the gross bit...for the first time in I can't remember how long, I had my monthly without bleeding right through my clothes. It was light. Possibly normal even. Like it was when I was dairy and wheat free when Tombliboo was a baby- but i wasn't dairy or wheat free this month...hooray!

Hot Cross Buns!

I made hot cross buns from the sourdough! They were good!

It was on a bit of a whim really, though I had thought of it earlier in the week. I suddenly realised if we wanted to eat them on Good Friday morning (as we usually would), I would need to get them started on Thursday night.

With all the busy-ness around here my sourdough has not been fed properly, and it was all turning to rubbish...there were no bubbles, and only a slight sour smell. I didn't have any hopes of the buns rising, but hoped it wouldn't matter.

It really didn't...sourdough, Karen assured me, and I am discovering for myself is very flexible :0)

We had our first date since my 30th birthday last night, so it was a rush to get them organised....but i did it.

This is what I did...At the final stage, I added flour, cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg, a pinch of salt, a little xylitol (sugar replacement) and some cocoa. Kneaded as usualy, then made little buns out of them. Left them in the oven overnight.

This morning, I added crosses, baked them for 30 minutes, then glazed them.

They're not overly pretty, but they tasted great.

J-Man wouldn't try one, Tombliboo said, I 'fraid I don't like dis" (but he has never been in to bread of any sort), but Princess, dh and I loved them!

Sorry I'm late...

I know my three readers must be wondering where I disappeared to- it's frantic here.

Looks like we'll be moving sooner than we thought, much sooner...and with the added stress of not having an income in 4 weeks, there just seems no time for the puter (naturally).

Then I've been out all day today with the tinies, having lots of fun...I'll try to write in the next day or two.

Meanwhile, the sourdough is dead easy...basically it's this.

Get some filtered water...if nothing else (and this is all I did) make it un-chlorinated by leaving water in a glass jar or jug uncovered in the fridge.

Mix equal quantities of (preferably) wholemeal flour and filtered water in a glass jar.

leave for a day or two...the website I saw said two days, mine was ready in one (however, it's suddenly got much colder). Leave the lid loosely on, or (as I have done) a large-mouthed jar with a towel over it.

The bacteria necessary to "catch" a sourdough starter is already in the bread- it doesn't need to be open to the air.

When it starts to smell sour, and this is a judgment call really- I wasn't sure initially...out 1/2C flour and 1/2C water in the jar and mix.

When that gets bubbly, or sour-smelling and rising, add another cup and leave that a few hours to get really bubbly.

If it doesn't bubble you get a hopeless loaf, which is pretty good for mousetraps- but not right, lol.

Once that's ready, add more flour to knead it, then leave it *again*, this time in a loaf tin, oiled and lightly floured. Bake for 35-45 minutes in a moderate oven.

Sunday, Day 6, Week 3

Breakfast: Omelette (for the boys and I), weetbix for Princess
Lunch: Cruskits with chilli sauce or marmite and cheese; hot chips from the shop,
fruit
Dinner: Domino's Pizza...bought 4 pizzas so we can put 2 in the freezer and not pay
the surcharge on Easter Sunday (next week), and homemade boysenberry ice
cream (yum!)
Snacks: Homemade sourdough and jam, popcorn, cruskits, apples, pears

What did I do today?

Baked Sourdough...Check.
Made Boysenberry ice cream...Check.
Made yoghurt...Check (won't be ready until 6pm tomorrow)
Got flour ready to make muffins tomorrow...Check.
Got porridge ready for hte morning...Check.
Made sugar-free tomato sauce...Check.
Made Chicken Casserole for dinner tomorrow...Check.
In the kitchen basically all day...Check.

But at least I'm organised :0)

It worked!

Oh my goodness...the sourdough worked!

It tasted yummy... I had been warned the kiddos might not enjoy it for some time- but Princess liked it right away (with butter and strawberry jam,sweetened with concentrated fruit juice).

I am like the sourdough queen...going to pinch the title of Karen before I know it.

I've got one half-eaten delicious loaf there, and another one ready to bake in the morning, and my starter just needs to get bubbly and then I can get that ready tomorrow as well.

I can;t quite believe how easy it is...I was sure mine wouldn't work first time, but it did!

So I don't need to buy yeast any more...how cool is that? (Actually, nearly every jar of yeast I've ever bought, I've needed to tip out before I finished it all).

J-Man hasn't tried it yet, dh enjoyed it- though is still bewildered by all the changes around here.

It's all happening here...

See my kitchen bench, lol...

It has sour dough waiting to rise...2 dessertspoons of last week's yoghurt, waiting for the milk to get warm so I can make some more...another lot of sourdough just at stage 2 (added 1/2C of water and flour)...3C wholemeal flour mixed with 2C of homemade yoghurt, soaking for 12 hours so I can make blueberry muffins tomorrow...

And then there is what you can't see...I have another boiler chicken in the crockpot with onion, garlic, kumara, carrot, celery, bay leaves, lemon and salt & pepper.

I also have homemade custard (well, egg yolks, raw milk, raw cream and xylitol) and sieved and reduced boysenberries getting ready to make ice cream.

There's a loaf of sourdough bread waiting for it's final rise...not sure if it will rise though- I only just realised I haven't been using the non-chlorine water after the first addition...DOH!

We've had omelette for breakfast, and Princess is still getting to her weetbix (11:30am) because she is busy making Easter cards for all of us. Tombliboo is enjoying a Curious George movie, stopping every few minutes for more milk, or to check what I'm up to.

dh has taken J-Man off to the Games Workshop with his friend J12 to paint LOTR figures. It helps that it's daylight savings today (we got an extra hour), and also that I have been up since 6am, but still I'm tickled with how much I'm getting done :0)

Oh, I've even drawn up a shopping list for Tuesday and done some tidying, checked e-mails, played my little game, and all sorts...but I am tired!

Saturday, day 4 week 3

Breakfast: Porridge with honey (and cream), and xylitol for the littlies...dh put half
as much honey on twice as much porridge as I did and declared it delicious.
Mine, otoh and rather obviously probably, was disgustingly sweet and tasted
only of honey.
Btw, our honey is from a friends' bees...it has all the good bits still in,
including propolis which has almost magical healing properties. I hope to
find ways to get that in to the kids to avoid winter coughs and colds.

Lunch: At a birthday party...there was masses of barbecued meat which the kids
(especially Princesss) thoroughly enjoyed. They also ate cucumber,
lettuce (J-Man), carrots and cherry tomatoes. Without any discussion on
the matter they avoided white bread rolls, which surprised me somewhat.
It got a bit worse with birthday cake to follow, and jelly, but they ate
very little since they were having too much fun on a bouncy castle.

Then it got really bad with a party bag overloaded with mini chocolates
and biscuits etc. It would have been a lot to share between 3 kids, but
they got one each!

I felt a bit gutted that we have tried hard to avoid treats this week, and
it's a bit undone...but then I got real, and remembered they have eaten
rubbish for years and one more day won't be any worse..except it's not a
day's worth of treats (more like a month's, lol).

The dentist I used to work for said it is preferable to eat loads of
lollies at once than a little over a long period...so I tried to encourage
them to eat as many as they liked...and also offered to buy the sweets off
them for 50c each. Josh took 50C and Princess took $3...her's are nearly
gone now- hooray :0)

Dinner: Nachoes
Snacks: lollies all over the place

In other news, my first attempt at catching a sourdough starter is going great! If I have done it right (and I think I have) it is dead easy...

I've taken off the first lot, and added flour to it, kneaded it and rolled little mounds into mini pizzas. I've cooked them in an electric fry pan, and don't have nay idea what they taste like, but hope it will be something snackified for having with jam or honey.

I added more flour and water to the starter, and am waiting for it to increase in size by 50% and get all bubbly...then the next time it does the same, we'll be ready to make our first loaf of bread :0)

More tWeAKinG...

This week I've discovered, well it's not entirely new to me, but this week I know for sure, my children prefer plain. That is, they like meat, spuds and three vege (well, not J-Man)...but generally speaking, if the meat is plain it will be eaten, if it's not- it won't be...or it won't be eaten by the children.

So the next plan is to buy more meat. The meat I buy is such a small amount fora family of 5 that I make it go further by adding sauces and so on- I think I'll try just buying more meat, also in the hope that there will be leftover met for lunch the next day- particularly for Princess who seems to need it.

Or at least, it is something she loves to eat, and won't hurt her teeth...so best to have it in larger amounts. I'm a bit conflicted about that, and not sure how long the *next* new regime will last, but there it is...

Next thing...dh came home last night with the news that his job will not exist in around 5 weeks. My first thought was that it wasn't so bad since we plan to move soon anyway...but realistically we are not ready to go even a week wihtout a job. The savings we do have are for a small, cheap car, and the holiday pay he will be owed was air-marked for our movers (we are moving 3.5 hrs away).

Obviously all the money-saving ideas in the world won't come up with rent for us or enough to buy groceries, so we need a job...asap.

dh never as much trouble getting a job, but getting one for 5-9 weeks is something different. He will look at possibly getting a contract. I could work at the local shops, but again- who would hire someone just for a few weeks (when it's not Christmas, lol)?

I am welcome back at my old job any time, but with an hour and 15 minute drive each way (best case scenario) it really isn't worth considering.

The best idea I can come up with at the moment, is that dh moves up north after his job winds up, gets a job there, and we come when the house is done.

That of course isn't very good family-wise, or even a guarantee that there will be a job for him in the little town we are moving to...but it seems the best solution to me (less than 24 hours after the news).

We'll just keep thinking of plans, and get more info on the final details about the last day of work at a meeting next Thursday. Right now the aim is to not spend anything if we can help it...and yet, there are things we *could* buy immediately that all seem very valid, so we're not sure how that will go :0)

Friday- Day 4, week 3

Breakfast: Porridge...with raw honey/blueberries/xylitol...Princess doesn't like the
sweet of the honey, or the taste of blueberries in porridge, but is happy
with xylitol. She had a big cry over no more brown sugar, but I think
it was more a culmination of grief over all the proposed changes. She
knows we're in it together- that she doesn't have to do this alone, and
there are plenty of things she can have that she likes to eat, and won't
hurt her teeth. I cooked her a piece of bacon and she had it in our last
piece of bread.
Lunch: Salad with chillibeans, cheese and sour cream for me (yum!), salad for
Salad for J-Man, salad veges and fruit for Princess and Tombliboo
Dinner: Creamy Pasta with onion, bacon and mushrooms...was going to be on brown
rice, but got some bad news and felt like we didn't need to try something
different tonight.
Snacks: Cruskits with marmite and cheese (grilled...yum!), popcorn, apples,
pears, nashi pears, frozen blueberries, dried cranberries

Had a hard time today knowing there are chocolates in the cupboard (for Easter) and thinking it wouldn't hurt to have some of them (there's tonnes)...but persevered- veyr cool :0)

Thursday, day 3 week 3

Breakfast: Porridge with brown sugar (and cream)...noticing a pattern?
Lunch: Salad for J-Man and I, salad veges and fruit for Princess and Tombliboo
Dinner: Steak, homemade chips and salad (or salad veges)
Snacks: Apples, pears, frozen blueberries, cheese, cruskits

Wednesday, Day 2 Week 3

Breakfast: Daddy and J-Man had a glass of flavoured raw milk before heading out
early, Princess, Tombliboo and I had raspberry jam on toast before
rushing out too
Lunch: Oporto...yeah, pretty well stuffed
the whole thing- took the tinies out for lunch
Dinner: Pork Mince Noodles, since it was already ruined thought I may as well use
up the noodles
Snacks: chocolate, apples, nashi pears, bananas

We were out all day, and once home there was all the day's work to do, plus it had been mildly hellish at the shops, and then carrying a sleeping Tombliboo home on a train and a bus, and a short(ish) walk. I was terribly tempted to get takeaways, so happy to have avoided that, even if we didn't avoid refined grains...and really after the garbage we ate while out, I doubt it will make much difference!

I realised today I need to lose weight, fairly urgently...I've know it for ages, but haven't managed...I think two weeks of not walking up to the shop nearly every day has not been good. Today I puffed going up stairs. Granted, I was wearing a bakpack full of library boks ,and carrying a full reusable bag and a 28 month old toddler...but I should be able to do that without puffing- I always used to, unless Tombliboo suddenly got a whole lot heavier. Or maybe eating meat makes me more sluggish? That seems the opposite of how it's meant to be, and yet I do wonder if I feel better without it...I've heard others say that, I'm just not sure....I'm not aware enough.

A man commented today about my still feeding Tombliboo- he said, "Oh he's 2 and you still breastfeed!? Oh then you're still eating for two." I said "I eat for 5 more like it." It shouldn't be so hard to lose weight...it feels like I'm juggling so many things at the moment, but it shouldn't be hard to eat less- hopefully when we cut all the bad bits, it will fall off...oh, and when I start getting to sleep for more than an hour at a time.

Excuse the pity party, I'll be right tomorrow :0)

Tuesday (Day 1, week three)

Breakfast: Rice Bubbles and Raw Milk (Daddy and Tombliboo- this is the first time
Tombliboo has had milk on his rice bubbles); Muesli and Yoghurt (Princess),
Creamed Corn (J_man) and an apple and a *cough* easter egg for me (on my way
home with all the shopping).
Lunch: I made kebabs for the kids with a Kransky sausage, cubes of cheese and a
cocktail onion (which they wouldn't eat), rings of cucumber, carrot sticks
and pieces of nashi pear
Dinner: (Crockpot) Chicken Casserole and mashed potatoes
Snacks: Nashi pear, pear, potato chips, popcorn, banana, apple, raisins, carrots,
sandwiches, cruskits with marmite

Chicken Casserole

I added far too much water to the crockpot, and still didn't cover the big boiling chicken (which really grossed me out, being so used to meat nicely prepared at the supermarket), chopped onions, a lemon (squeezed and cut in to 4), a few carrots, 2 sticks of celery, some paprika, salt and pepper and mixed herbs.

It wasn't looking good...there didn't seem to be any meat on the carcass, and it was way too watery...but my good friend N said to pop it in a pot and reduce it, and add some rosemary. I thickened it, and added more salt and a bit of xylitol, then some chilli powder once the kids' meals were dished up. It was pretty nice, and surprisingly there was loads of chicken.

Princess liked it, except for the cooked carrots (lol), but J-Man wouldn't touch it. Tombliboo hadn't slept so he missed dinner completely.

While the stew was cooking, dh started making some ice cream, but he put the egg whites in with the xylitol instead of the egg yolks. I thought I'd fix it by making meringues, but just guessing. When I checked the recipe, I realised I had put vinegar in when none was required...so I thought we;d make pavlova instead. Then checked *that* recipe, and saw it needed cornflour and water, so didn't have high hopes of it working out. I also noticed (too late) that I only had half the amount of sugar in that was required...it was pretty horrible, but at least now I understand how my low-carb friend N (a different N, lol) makes bread from egg whites!

In the pipeline...

dh (bizarrely) had muesli and yoghurt for dessert last night, and Princess discovered she loves it!

I don't know how long I have tried to get her to try it...it's homemade, and very delicious. So, now I will work out a way to make it a bit more healthy (soaked grains).

I made it with organic rolled oats, banana chips, organic raisins, organic dried apricots, dried mango, dried pineapple, dried apple...toasted (slightly) with butter, and probably brown sugar- though I'm sure that is not necessary with sweet yoghurt and so much fruit it was magic.

I made yoghurt yesterday with raw milk, and a spoonful of plain greek-style yoghurt. I mixed it with strawberry conserve for Princess, but she said it was gross- tastes lie milk. I didn't really want to try it, but did, and it's really nice! Next time, I might just put it on her muesli, because the nasty yoghurt is now all gone anyway.

We're using up bits and pieces of things we don't plan to eat any more...and giving away some more.

I am going to cook the boiling chicken today and see what that is like. I am also going to make some ice cream without sugar...not sure if dh will be keen, but we'll see. Also not sure if I want to use stevia (so nasty!) or maybe try honey...oh, i think xylitol will probably work. Also, raw milk, raw cream and free range eggs straight from the farm...bliss.

I also want to get started on making sourdough soon...first of all I need to get the chlorine out of the tap water...

I've ordered Nourishing Traditions so I can read more about soaking grains, and have recipes for such.

I'm also looking in to buying Tooth Mousse to try to remineralise Princess' (and J-Man's) teeth. I'm sure I've looked at he ingredients before and am not happy with them, but I think it's necessary now.

I'm also going to make my own sugar-free tomato sauce...for those that like it. I prefer chips without sauce, just with salt- or maybe some vinegar :0)

Shopping (payday!)

Today is the first day trying not to get sugar and refined grains. I decided to go to the shop when it opened, without the children, so that we can have the evening free...I thought I'd be OK because we still have 5kg (and some) spuds at home, and plenty of trolls (toilet paper rolls)...I was wrong.

I'm still all wobbly from carrying this lot home! I had 2 giant bags in one arm, 3 in the other and a backpack with around 12 cans of food in!

I do like the photo of all the food layed out, but it takes too long- and requires the table to be cleared, lol...so I'm going to write what I got, with the price beside it.

I also mucked it up, and forgot to keep aside cash for the farm...doh...so we will go over budget this fortnight. I'll try to make that work a bit by buying some bulk stuff for next pay.

Tuesday 31st March (17 years today since I moved to Auckland)

$1.19 Sesame Seeds, 100g
$1.49 Ground Almonds 70g
$1.99 Hazel Nuts, 70g (going to make dukkah...mmm)
$1.18 2x Chopped Nuts 70g
$1.49 Slivered Almonds 70g
$2.19 Dried Apricots 200g
$3.59 Cranberries 170g (really annoyed- didn't see they are sweetened!)
$1.98 2x Baking Soda 400g (on sale for 99c woot...I've got tonnes of it now)
$2.29 Gelatin 50g (will try to make healthy, lol, jelly iceblocks)
$4.89 Ground Linseed, 500g (to add to baking and bread)
$5.92 2x Corn Cruskits 125g (Princess' favourite- only maize and salt)
$5.29 Tabasco Sauce (Red) 60ml (we like it hot!)
$3.99 Rolled Oats 1.5kg (on sale)
$2.19 Red Lentils 500g
$2.98 2x Canned Chopped Tomatoes (these were *meant* to be on sale...grrr!)
$1.49 Canned Chopped Tomatoes with chilli and herbs
$1.29 Canned Chopped tomatoes in naturally thick sauce
$1.89 Tomato Paste 310g
$1.25 Canned Beetroot
$2.38 2x Canned Creamed Corn (contains sugar!)
$3.18 2x Canned Kidney Beans
$1.59 Canned Canneloni Beans
$0.79 Marshmallow Easter Egg (for me on the way home)
$5.69 Pure Olive Oil 500ml...amazingly we used nearly @450ml in a fortnight!
$6.58 2x Youth (Shrek) toothbrushes
$3.99 Floss 50m
$2.99 Fluoride child toothpaste 110g
$2.59 Natural toothpaste 110g
$1.69 Paprika 40g
$2.38 2x Coconut Cream 400ml
$3.69 Brown Rice 1kg
$2.84 2x Potato Chips
$4.38 2x Peanut Butter 375g
$4.95 St Dalfour Apricot Conserve (sweetened with juice) 284g
$4.95 St Dalfour Strawberry Conserve
$2.49 Wholemeal Flour 1.5kg (on sale)
$4.17 Energy Booster 262g (nuts seeds and fruit mix)
$19.80 Beef Mince 500g, Pork Mince 500g, Chicken Nibbles (corn fed), Rump Steak
$3.99 Braeburn Apples 2kg
$3.94 Bananas 1.5kg (some green)
$1.41 2x Lemon
$3.23 Nashi Pears 1.08kg
$3.99 Bosc Pears 1.5kg
$4.98 2x Lettuce
$1.98 2x Bok Choy
$2.49 Celery
$0.24 Garlic
$0.90 Red Onion
$3.99 Kumara 1kg
$4.58 2x Carrots 1.5kg
$2.75 Vivid Marker (for writing on boxes, or making puzzles for kids)
$7.49 800g Colby Cheese
$3.29 Butter 500g
$3.99 Verkerks Sweet Chilli Kransky Sausages 280g (no msg)
$2.59 Verkerks Hot Beef 100g
$2.99 Blue Brie 125g
$3.99 Frozen Boysenberries 500g
$6.69 Frozen Blueberries 500g
-----
200.08

How cool am I???

I also got a voucher for $180 for next week, and $20 cash is for dh to buy some non-msg corn chips, carob, and a bit more for the farm. $400 total, but will end up spending more next week probably, unless we don;t go to the far at Easter.

Monday (Day 7), Week 2

Breakfast: Porridge with brown sugar...got to change the topping soon!
Lunch: Corn Fritters...turns out only J-Man and I like them. Princess ate a
tomato sandwich and some canned peaches; Tombliboo asked for a jam sandwich
and (as usual) didn't eat it- he ate our last banana.
Dinner: Family Chow Mein, boiled spuds and salad for dh, Tombliboo and I, Princess
only ate potatoes, J-Man had creamed corn and salad.
Snacks: Canned peaches, corn fritters, apples, toast with peanut butter and jam,
homemade potato chips (crisps)

Family Chow Mein

This is one I do when I need to feed a crowd unexpectedly...you don't need much mince.

250g Mince (or more, whatever you like)
Onion
Carrots
2-3T Rice
Cabbage (lots)
Apple
Sultanas (or not)
Frozen peas (if you have them)
Curry Powder
Salt & Pepper, and a touch of sugar/xylitol/stevia if you like- but not really necessary with the fruit

Brown the mince with the onion- I don;t add oil, it's fatty enough.

Add the rice, and the curry powder. Cook for 30 seconds or so, then add some water to simmer. Throw in the veges and fruit, and seasonings, a bit more water, and simmer to get rid of the juice. Very easy, very yummy...however, our kids won;t normally eat it because of the curry. I'm pretty sure if they woudl just try it, they'd love it- but they won;t yet.

I'm sort of hoping that with our new regime, when it all comes together, they might become a bit more adventurous. Tombliboo eats it, but it was around 2 that the others stopped having anything with spices (taste!), so we'll see how that goes.

Homemade Chips (crisps)

This is from Schuyler's Blog, but I'm still tweaking it.

I got the potatoes ready for dinner, and then peeled extra bits and put them on an oven tray with some oil. Baked at 220 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes or so...there's a bit of a knack to it, but as long as they're cooked, and not burned, they're yummy (seasoned with seas salt). Next time I will try bigger peelings, wiped first (less starch), and layed out individually instead of in heaps. The kids loved them, and it was an easy hot snack to make since we're out of popcorn.

Sunday (Day 6), Week 2

Breakfast: Porridge, toast for J-Man
Lunch: Hot Chips and Bread, apples
Dinner: Domino's Pizza (so nearly bought 3...but 2 is the budget, and it is
still too many calories!)
Snacks: Apples, pears, choc-chip cookies, tinned fruit

We are doing really well at using what we have, and not popping to the shop for this or that :0)

Saturday, week 2

Breakfast: Porridge with brown sugar (soon to be honey or fruit..and cream!),
Spaghetti for J-Man
Lunch: Spaghetti cheese and onion on toast for dh and Princess, salad for J-Man,
Curried egg sandwiches for me, and boiled eggs for Tombliboo (plus cookies
and fruit)
Dinner: Homemade Burgers- oh, these are good. I normally cut Tombliboo's bun
really small for him, but didn't tonight and boy did he think it was
funny! "Look Dad! Look my burger! Dat bunny! See dat Daddy? Dat a
BIG one!"
Snacks: Homemade choc-chip cookies, banans, cucumber, carrot, tomato (Tombliboo
eats whole tomatoes), cheese

I planned to bake burger buns today, but realised the house was a tip and I can buy them for $2 at the shop...eeek...I told you I was hopeless at sticking to anything.

But seriously, there was no room on the bench to make anything. I had to do the dishes in two sittings. I swept and mopped the filthy floor, tidied the table so we could actually eat there, did lots of washing, tidied the whole (hideously messy) lounge, and vacuumed it as well. I also went to the shops once to buy a container for cream, and to the library another time to quickly swap our books on tape before it closed.

Also, I had been up-and-doing from 5:30am (awake since 4:15am), so I was a bit jaded.

It was $2 well spent imo...but what to do when we are not eating refined grains? I think it will be a long way off, needs to be a bit of a journey...making changes slowly (not too slowly) so they stick. I think we can get some nice wholemeal (cape seed) bread rolls at a specialty bakery.

Or maybe I'll be more organised and make my own healthy ones...or maybe we will just have the burger middle, and no buns...we shall see, lol.

New Shopping List

$7 Bacon or Baking Supplies (this is mainly to add to Princess' lunch)
$7 Non-MSG corn chips and carob (dh to pick up from a different shop)
$25 Farm...3L milk, 1L cream (produce the next), 12 free range eggs, an
organic Boiling chicken, produce ($9 or $4 when having cream)
$5 Lunch meat for Saturday...a special request from dh
$43 Fruit and vege
$27 Meat...steak (2, one for a casserole), mince (2), boneless chicken breasts
$1 Ham Steak
$8 Cheese
$5 Sour Cream/Cream Cheese/Other cheese
$5 Canned Beans (hopefully these will make meals more filling)
$5 Canned tomatoes (also want to make my own sugar-free sauce)
$8 Cleaning/Personal Care
$3 Butter (this is a bit light, since it's normally $5, but has been on special
the last 2 weeks)
$6 Cruskits (2) This is Princess' special request. They are made with corn
(probably gm...wail) and sea salt
$3 One lot of Pasta, preferably wholemeal...just so we don't completely cut it yet
Will Probably need dh to pick that up too, since there is none at our local shop
$2 Herb/Spice
$2 Tomato Paste
$4 Honey/Marmite/P. Butter
$4 Weetbix/Rolled Oats (no more cornflakes or rice bubbles)
$3 Coconut Cream (2) or Mayonnaise (will probably attempt my own)
$3 Baking Soda
$3 Potato Chips (2)
$10 Frozen berries and vegetables
$7 Olive Oil or Stationery
$4 Nuts
____
$200

Now we'll see if I can make a menu plan for 3 meals (plus snacks) a day for 5 people with that...how exciting.

Maybe my problem is not sticking to stuff, rather it is making ordinary stuff more exciting...oh dear.

Another Learning Curve

I've found a hole in one of Princess' baby teeth. She won;t let me look at it, but it is there- very grey in deed. I'm not sure how deep it is, she'll let me in another time. This is actually number 3 for her. She has two (now very large) holes that we are opting not to fill. We didn't opt not to treat them at all- but sadly, that is what we have done.

Nothing can assuage my guilt on that, but at least this new piece of horrible news has propelled me forward.

Luckily too, I have at least 4 friends who have already moved in that direction so I won't have to slog it out as much as they probably did. Yes, I'm stubborn. Yes, I have good friends that have given me good information before, but I chose to think about it later. Silly, silly me.

I was already starting to cut sugar a bit, but not in any real way. A bit here and there, but nowhere near enough, and not particularly quickly either.

I had started to think of other ways to get "sweet", and was making a lot of headway there...until, a good friend said there was little point eliminating/minimising sugar if we were still eating refined grains. Oh dear.

So, now I need to work out how to stick to my budget, avoid sugar, and avoid refined grains. I didn't like how much wheat we were eating, or sugar for that matter...but I am struggling just at the moment to get my head around feeding us all for a week on $200 with no pasta or bread to fill us up. And what about lunch? Princess doesn't like salad, or eggs. She's intolerant to potato, not that you would guess with the amount I feed her...oh, I am a bad mother :0(

Looks like her body new best- she loves meat. She doesn't want all these other things in place of meat- she wants meat...and it's one thing that won;t upset her body (because of intolerance) or hurt her teeth.

I've worked out a new shopping list, and it looks pretty good...and I think I can do this. I need to work out a new menu plan, but already ideas are forming about how it will all pan out.

I probably need a big sign up in the kitchen to remind me (and my little girl) about what we are doing and why. She has been wonderful, we've talked things over and she is happy to make big changes to try to heal her teeth, or at least not make them any worse.

As for me, I will miss sugar in my tea...I have tried and tired to have it without- and while it is drinkable, I don't enjoy it, and usually just stop drinking it altogether. I still haven't discussed things with J-Man, and this will all affect him, for the better too, but he probably won't like to hear it.

dh is inclined to think a toothbrushing after sugar will suffice, but I don't think so. A more gradual move to a new regime makes sense too, but it's not my style. Still, I normally begin things with a hiss and a roar, then fizzle. As you have probably already seen.

I've packaged up the sugar to give away...why not just throw it? Can't, too Scottish. I forgot I'm getting organic raw sugar (5kg...doh!) this week, but will find it a new home.

I'll post my new shopping list shortly.

Oh, that's not the most exciting part...

We finally got our own raw milk! dh, Princess and Tombliboo drove to a farm to pick up raw milk, raw cream, free range eggs and an organic boiling chicken.

We will go each week...raw milk is supposed to be fine for lactose intolerant people. We'll know shortly...or probably not, since we've all been eating a lot of dairy lately anyway...but I'm pretending all is well.

Princess wants us to never run out of blueberries and cruskits and she will be happy, lol...and she loves frozen mixed berries and raw (thick) cream.

Friday, Week 2

Breakfast: Omelette (Plain) for J-Man, Tombliboo and I; Jam and Peanut Butter on
frozen bread for Princess (yes, that's what she asked for)
Lunch: Hot (homemade)Chips...Princess told me chips are terribly bad for you
because of all the fat. I explained I bake them with only 2T oil so they
are not like the ones fried in oil at the shop :0)
Dinner: Noodles with Steak...or just noodles for J-Man, noodles without greens for
Princess, noodles with chilli powder for dh and I, and no steak in mine :0)
Snacks: Pear, banana, apple, carrots, homemade choc-chip cookies...I keep
forgetting to say Tombliboo has a mini cucumber from our garden each
day...I guess they are probably the kind you grow to make gherkins- he gets
really excited looking for them, and loves to eat them- I must remember to
find more seeds for next year!

The noodles were delicious. I had far too many. I only used one small steak- put the other in the freezer. I cut the fat off both first, and put them in a pot with the "stock vegetable scraps" I had been saving all week (carrot peelings, onion tops and bottoms, brocolli stalk, celery), added salt, pepper and parsley and made stock.

I've never made my own beef stock before. It smelled nice. It's in the freezer waiting for a recipe that needs it. I have since read that if you want to get all the goodness out of bones (which I didn't use remember, lol, but for future) you must boil them for 6 hours. Who knew? (Besides Johanna, Nola, and Natalie and Karen, lol). Sigh...I'm on another learning curve.

Thursday, Week 2

Breakfast: Porridge with brown sugar (and cream...mmmm...cream)
Lunch: Sandwiches...salad for J-Man, tomato sammies for Princess, salad and
cambozola sammies for me, jam sammies for Tombliboo- which he licked the
jam off, and the rest went to the birds).
Dinner: BBQ Chicken kebabs, rice and green salad (with tomato, cucumber, carrot,
and feta (with homemade balsamic viniagrette)
Snacks: Choc chip cookies, pears, bananas, apples, cucumber, ice cream and sorbet

I'm getting a bit bored with this...lol...I'm hopeless at sticking with anything beyond a week. I'm thinking the other big concern about this eating plan is the consumption of sugar (as well as wheat). I'm also thinking I should be baking our bread. We're not really eating any, and I would like to cut those plastic bags..but not sure if I will keep it up- since (as I said) I'm not much good at sticking at things. I'm planning to have burgers (homeburgers) on Saturday night, but if we are out all day and then I have to bake bread rolls, it just won;t be fun.

OK, it's probably time to recognise it's nearly that time of the month- so everything gets so much harder for a bit. Deep breath.

We used some of the bus money we haven't spent on more groceries...boo hiss, I stuffed it...but not really. I bought honey, because i plan to use more in baking, and in place of sugar. I bought more lettuce, because I really didn't think we had enough left to last until Tuesday. We bought more apples because they looked so nice. We bought chips and wheatmeal bread for J-Man because I forgot them on Tuesday. We bought chocolate because it felt essential...sigh.

The chicken kebabs were yummy. I marinated them in soy sauce, tomato sauce, chilli sauce, a bit of sugar and 2 cloves of garlic. The kids loved them- they wanted more, but there wasn't any. I had set aside some chicken for another meal, there were 3 for dh, 2 for his lunch tomorrow, 2 for me and 1 each for the kiddos.

If I do them again (And I probably will- just on a day I already have a spare lunch for dh organised so the big kids can have 2 each)...I won;t tip out the marinade, but will boil it instead to pour over the rice...or maybe just make a satay or lemon sauce.

Wednesday, Day 2 (week 2)

Breakfast: Toast with Raspberry Jam and Butter
Lunch: Homemade Pizza, Golden Apple slices
Dinner: Bean Nachoes, with friends
Snacks: Choc-chip Cookies, apple, banana, Fruit Strings

I normally make pizza base with yeast that is delicious- but the pizza we made today was still delicious, and super-quick.

QUICK PIZZA

2C Flour
2t Baking Powder (I don't measure it properly, I may have used closer to 3t- it was really fluffy)
1/2t Salt
1t Mixed Herbs (I used parsley)
2T Olive OIl
up to 1C Warm Water (get a cup ready, but you don;t have to use it all)

Add the dry ingredients, then the oil, then add water and mix. Add more if necessary. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, and roll out on a floured board.

I only added tomato paste and cheese, with onion on one half (for Tombliboo and I), and I put chilli powder on top at he end...yum!

Bake on 180 degrees for around 25 minutes, or until it's done.

I had some choc-chip cookies to put in the oven after the pizza was out. I made a double batch, cooked one lot (yum!) and made the rest in to flattened balls on a cookie tray, and froze them....that way I will just need ot cook them for 5 minutes longer, and we can have nice hot biscuits on another day without any effort.

I use half the suggested sugar amount in the recipe, and they still taste delicious. Also, the kids don't seem to notice- they are still a sweet treat.

BEAN NACHOES

These were superb. I don't even think dh noticed there was no meat. I sauteed a red onion, a brown onion and some chopped garlic. Added 2 tins of chopped tomatoes and 1/4C of tomato paste. Let it simmer and reduce. I added salt, peper, ground cumin, cinnamon, coriander and a touch of chilli powder (I add more once the kids have their meals dished up). Next I added a can of rinsed kidney beans (hate brine), and a tin of Craig's Mexican (Hot) chilli Beans (these are the only ones that don't contain wheat).

I dish it up on to a bed of corn chips, and then the kids (and our guests) can choose what they want around it...lettuce, tomato, cucumber, grated carrot, with cheese and sour cream on top.

It was nice to have a wheat-free meal...one thing with this new regime, it seems like we have wheat all over the place. I can't see how to get shopping this cheap without lots of wheat though :0(

Saving Money on Cleaning Products

There is more than just the frugal aspect to saving money on cleaning products...there is the planet to consider, and our own bodies. We are not meant to be inhaling the fumes most supermarket cleaning products give off.

Some people are more sensitive than others, for sure, but everyone would be better off not being around potent chemicals.

There is plenty of money to be saved by avoiding these items. There has even been a whole niche market opened for non-toxic, healthy-for-the-planet cleaners...these are a better alternative, but the fact remains- most of it is completely unnecessary!

There is very little that baking soda and vinegar (and some elbow grease) can't clean :0)

KITCHEN:

Washing Dishes...I use ecostore dishwash. I read recently you can use citric acid in dishwashers, so I presume the same is true of sink dishes. I'm keen to try it, but haven't got there yet.

I wash the sink surround (which gets impossibly groady) with an old tooth brush. Whenever we have lemons I use a half lemon to scrub around that area, and the inside of the sink...it makes it smell nice, and shine. I use a spray bottle with half and half water and vinegar, and baking soda when I think it is warranted.

Floors: I use boiling hot water, and dishwash.

Cupboards and surfaces: I have used vinegar (and will again), but currently am using an ecostore cleaner I bought when Tombliboo was a baby!

Other surfaces: Vinegar does nicely- it stinks a bit, but only for a short amount of time. You can add essential oils to the mix. You can also use plain old hot water and elbow grease.

I use flannels I have specially set aside for cleaning. I no longer buy products to do these jobs. I use a scrubbing brush, scourer and flannels in the kitchen. This way the flannels can get washed every day, and there is nothing sitting around attracting, or breeding germs.

TOILET: I have some ecostore toilet cleaner I'm using up. It's the second one I've bought since Tombliboo was born (28 months ago). Mostly I use vinegar on the floor around the toilet, and the cleaner on the seat. Inside I just scrub hard, and add some vinegar. I've never used baking soda, but I'm sure it would work a treat. When I have it, I add bleach, but that seems to go against everything else have said!

BATHROOM: You know what I'm going to say already...I use vinegar and water, and baking soda. I also use a microfibre cleaning cloth on the mirror. That is- I wipe it down with a flannel and water, scrubbing where necessary. Then I wipe it dry with the cleaning cloth...works beautifully.

In the bath/shower, I use baking soda and vinegar, and I scrub wit ha scourer- I usually do this when I'm having a shower so it is easily rinsed away.

CARPETS: I f I had my way, I wouldn't have any. They're germ-filled no matter how good you are at vacuuming...and I am not a clean-freak. Our new hose will have cork floors...I have been wishing for no carpets for years!

If having a carpet is inescapable, I think a Bissel Spot Cleaner (or some other such thing) is essential...it might cost around $250 initially, but the benefits will be well worthwhile. It is like steamcleaning the carpets yourself, but without much extra effort.

I vaccuum fairly often, and use a dustbuster for small spillages...or the dustpan and brush then throw it out to the birds. Once a month or so, I sprinkle a mixture of baking soda and essential oil all over the carpets, and vacuum that up. Notice the carpet cleaners in the shop introduced a Magic, Wonderful New product- baking soda...lol...all for only $6 or so. Too funny. As I said with the shopping last night- I got 800g of baking soda for $2. I havne't seen it that cheap before, but even at full price ($2.50/500g) it is still an insanely cheap (and super-effective) cleaning product. What else can you use in place of shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, and as a carpet cleaner, in your washing, and on nearly every surface of the house?

LAUNDRY:

I mostly use soapnuts and tea-tree oil, but they don't really clean anything well. That's when you ask yourself if it is important...I mean, they are clean, in the technical sense, but they don't necessarily look clean.

Whites don't stay white...they go greyish. There is supposed to be a (natural) product available that will fix that, but I haven't used it yet. Stains don't really come out. Our clothes aren't too badly off, but Princess' clothes are diabolical. She is my messiest child by far. Well, Tombliboo is close, but since he so rarely wears clothes it is not as much of an issue.

I've got a "down to earth" cleaner at the moment, hoping to restore a bit of cleanliness to our clothes...I don't think it's working, but there it is.

Saving money on Rubbish Bags

I was thinking about how we minimise our rubbish, and thinking that saved the planet (just a bit), but it does save money too...on rubbish bags.

We have got our rubbish down to a supermarket-sized bag each week- I'm sure we can do better as well.

When J-Man was a toddler, our council provided 240L bins for our rubbish...we never filled it, but it sickens me now to think how much garbage we tossed out each week. I only recycled obvious things, and wasn't bothered about it. We had a long driveway, and if I only had a few things in the recycling bin (about 20L)- I threw them in the rubbish bin instead of taking both bins to the roadside, or leaving them until next week. So lazy :0(

When they changed the bin size to 120L, and gave us a 240L wheelie bin for recycling (instead of a @20L tub), I thought it was crazy...I wasn't sure we could get all our rubbish in a 120L bin.

Now we have 3 children, and in a different part of Auckland- we can put out as much rubbish as we like. We have a 240L recycling wheelie-bin, which is collected fortnightly- our's is nearly always full (but this week only 3/4...hooray!).

Our neighbour's on each side will put out as many as 5 black rubbish bags (around 5 supermarket bags full) every week (and rarely a recycling bin)! Princess is horrified every time she sees it. One of these families have a couple and a baby. There will be a tonne of "disposable" nappies in their big black bags...but it is astonishing to me just how much rubbish these people can produce in one week.

Today I haven't put any rubbish out. I have less than a supermarket bag full, and none of it is smelly. I have been putting this sort of amount out each week without thought. Luckily my good friend N, made me think about that...why does it need to go out every week? It doesn't smell, why waste a bag?

So, we are recycling as much as we can, reducing a bit (and can work on that still), composting a lot, and burying any leftovers/meat scraps.

BURYING When I first heard there were people who buried their foodscraps, I wasn't sure how it could work. We have a number of stray cats around here, and the odd dog that visits our property too. We have never had a problem (we've maybe been doing this 8-12 months).

I wait until we have an icecream container (2L) full of rubbish, then take it outside. I dig a spade full of a small patch where we just have grass...it's always completely shaded. I get out as much dirt as possible, but it is maybe the size of a container in width, and about 3 containers deep. I squash the rubbish down with the spade, and refill the dirt. I put the last slab of dirt and grass neatly back in place, and step (jump) on it to make the ground look even.

I've been fairly random about where I dig in the little spot, but have still not run in to anything. I doubt that is because it has all broken down, but it seems that way.

Lastly, I rinse and scrub the container, and leave it in the sun to kill bugs, then use it again. If it starts to stink, I put some vinegar in, or ecostore dishwash.

I throw extra crusts, uneaten bread or toast, biscuits cereal to the birds- it always goes really fast, and if we are quiet- we get to see them arrive. For a few months last year we even had 3-4 ducks who came to visit each morning!

Once I stopped getting plastic bags, I didn't know what to put in our kitchen bin as a liner...but just stopped using one. Occasionally I need to scrub the bin (usually because one of the kiddos forget where to put food rubbish), but generally it is only filled with plastic packaging, so no effort is required.

I also wash any ziploc or plain plastic, or bread bags we get. The frugal mum I used to board with did this, and pegged them on the line...I thought she was silly back when I was 18- I thought she could buy them for far less time and effort. Now I do the same, and it takes no particular effort at all actually. I wash them with he dishes, rinse them and hang them out. They may take a day or two to dry, but they're not essential items, so it doesn't matter in the least.

So, our kitchen set-up is...a 1.7L container for fruit compost scraps (emptied at least every day) on top of a 2L container for meat and cooked food scraps; a kitchen bin for stuff that is definitely rubbish (I check, lol), and a bucket for stuff to go to the recycling bin outside.

Tuesday, Day one (week 2)

Breakfast: Toast with butter and marmite (Tombliboo didn't want anything but bananas-
which we were out of, so we needed to go early to the shop twice)
Lunch: Potato Nuggets and Chicken Kebabs from the shop ($4)
Dinner: Our favourite paste...pasta, with bacon and mushrooms, onions sauteed in
butter, cream and fresh parsley (and slat and pepper), with green salad &
homemade dressing
Snacks: Nacho popcorn, bananas, apples, the kids bought lollies with their own money

NACHO POPCORN

I thought this was delicious, noone else did.

Popcorn cooked as usual, then add cumin and paprika (I used chilli powder which is possibly the problem) to melted butter- toss through the popcorn and add grated parmesan and salt (if desired).

We've got no baking left, but I really couldn't be bothered baking again today...tomorrow I will :0)

Shopping (take two)

Tombliboo woke up desperate for bananas, so we bought some things this morning, and I went back with J-Man to get the rest tonight. having the kids with me meant I bought all sorts of extras I wouldn't have bought had I been alone- but I didn't feel too bad about it since there is still plenty of food at home, and I didn't think we honestly needed $200 for the second week prior to being paid again...I sense a possible cut in the budget already- yay!

One step at a time :0)

So, first off we spent $69.70 and purchase nothing in particular...sigh.

10 bananas, some ready to eat now, some more green. I looked up (just now) how to make them last a bit longer. I wondered about the "Green Bananas" in our shop, but assumed they were some sort of specialty fruit...doh...turns out I already have a solution.

OK, so I got 10 bananas, some fruit strings (sigh....natural, but still sugar-laden, and not particularly kind on the budget though they were on sale), mini potato biggest...well these were not on the budget, and I could make potato chips for less- but they were on sale for $2, and with some ready-made chicken kebabs- I did an easy lunch for the 4 of us for $4- so no real complaints, 500g baking soda, hoisin sauce (for making delicious noodles, or using as a marinade), kikkoman soy sauce (naturally brewed, without added msg, and not as insipid as tamari), pkt of 10 mini easter eggs (Tombliboo just had to have them and the whole wide world would have known about it if I wasn't quick), 3 slices of streaky bacon from the deli (it only cost $1.80!), a ham steak, some nice coloured (dried) pasta, some flat mushrooms (6 for $1.35!), 1,5kg carrots, 750g tomatoes, 1.5kg sugar, 250ml balsamic vinegar (for less than the price I normally pay for cheap balsamic viniagrette already made up- it's time I went back to making my own, and I'm wondering why I stopped?), Anathoths Raspberry jam (only raspberries and sugar- so yummy- tastes like Nan's!), pkt of chilli powder, pkt of lollies, Oyster sauce (again fr the noodles, mmm), 250g Cocoa and a acket of corn cruskits...these weren't on the list, but they are Princess's favourite snack, and they only contain corn and sea salt.

The second round came to $131.77, for a total of $200.47...but $6 (actually more) of that was for celebrating J-Man's month day.

I'll send dh off to a different shop to get corn chips without msg for our nachoes tomorrow night...also a lemon, and a bottle of cream (about $10 worth in total).

The bummer of tonight's shopping was that I found 400g packs of baking soda on sale for 99c- I got 2...in other words, I got 800g for $1.98 tonight, and 500g for $2.48 this morning! I would have been far more easily distracted this morning trying to get through as quickly as possible since my toddler does not enjoy shopping.

As well as more baking soda, I got some packets of sultanas, a loaf of multigrain bread, 1kg Weetbix, a tin of apricots and one of tropical fruit salad, tins of mexican beans, kidney beas and 4 bean mix, 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, a 750g jar of pasta sauce (I don;t normally buy this- but it wasn;t much more than 2 tins of tomatoes, and I lie kteh size of the jar- it was also giving 2 free flybuys points, which otherwise cost me $50), a natural laundry powder, 2L bleach (I also don;t normally buy bleach- but the kiddos have had some fun in mud, and their whites are brown), macaroni, dried spahetti, dried lasagne sheets, 375g plain dried noodles, 2 toothbrushes (colgate budget ones for less than the price of one fairly standard brush- yay), 375g crunchy peanut butter, 1kg brown sugar, 500g icing sugar, 750ml blackcurrant concentrate (the kids and dh love this as a hot drink), special reserve feta (to make salads more interesting), sour cream, 500g cheese, 2L organic milk, 1.5kg plain flour, a red onion, a bulb of garlic, a piece of root ginger, 1.5kg onions, a lettuce, a large cucumber, a bunch of pak choy, @ 1kg each of golden apples, royal galas, pears, 8 more flat mushrooms, 6 free range eggs, 500g butter and 2L ice cream.

Monday, Day 7

Breakfast: (Leftover) Pancakes, Apples
Lunch: (Leftover) Potato Salad, cupcakes, tinned fruit salad
Dinner: Shepherds Pie (had a tray of mince left for last week's shopping)
Snacks: We went out and I had $4 to spend...the kids chose non-msg chips, and
hashbrown nuggets for us to cook when we got home....we also ate homemade
raspberry sorbet.

Time to shop again tomorrow, and we have plenty still to eat. Only cabbage, a bit of lettuce and cucumber for vege though, and 2 apples. I really feel like some chocolate, and maybe even some Coke :0( I asked if anyone else feels like they're missing anything and noone is. Well, Tombliboo would like more bananas. I don't know how to make them last a week...will try to buy one lot of green ones. An old (and frugal) friend of mine used to put bananas in a brown paper bag in the hot water cupboard...but that may have been to ripen them.

Make Money doing Surveys

Most of these are a have, but some are for real...

Smile City takes quite a long time to get points, but it is very easy to do so. For a start you can make it your home page, then just remember to do the 10 second survey (one question) once a day when you log on. That earns 3 points, and when you ave 3300 points you can have a $30 voucher or cheque (cash) sent out. It takes up to 6 weeks to have it sent, bizarrely, but it is money for jam. You can also get extra points for clicking on silly banners, going there first before you shop online (to see if the place you want to shop at is a Smile City "Reward Partner",sign up for e-mails (5 points each), and do surveys when they are sent to you- you can earn as many as 200 points for one 20 minute survey.

The beauty of these surveys is that you can do them when it suits you (they do have time limits occasional), and it is ok to leave it to deal with something else and come back later.
___________________________________________________________________________________

AC Nielsen

These are very sporadic, but you earn good numbers of points for doing surveys, and they add up quickly to $20 petrol or Warehouse (or various other places) vouchers. I managed to get 3 before Christmas without even realising I was owed any.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Places like Colmar Brunton also do focus groups- you need to go to their office for around 2 hours, and answer questions in a small group. It's fun, and you get fed and watered, and then you get paid :0) The pay is usually around $70-80. You can also do online surveys for flybuys points with Colmar Brunton.

This works for Auckland people, but there are likely similar set-ups in other main centres, and possibly smaller towns as well.

Saving money on Personal Care

HAIR: I just cut my own hair. It needs a bit of touching up, but dh won't do it in case I get cross...just quietly, I'm more cross at the possibility of leaving it all uneven at the back, or going to a hairdresser to tidy it up...but he is convinced he won't do it right (even though I cut the back myself by bringing the hair round the front! Can anyone do worse??).

Technically I didn't save any money, because I don;t spend any. I went to a hairdresser the last time I butchered my own hair (2 years ago), and once when J-Man was 2 (8 years ago). Both times I spent $15-20 which is the going rate for a cheap (no washing, no style) haircut.

I save money on hair products by not buying any. I have not used shampoo for around 6 months. My basic hair routine is that I wash my hair 5-7 times a week. One of those times I wash with baking soda, another time I wash with apple cider vinegar and essential oil, the other times I wash with plain water.

I have no idea how much this saves, it doesn't matter to me. It is just one of those things where I think if hair is meant to be self-cleaning, and oil-regulating then I should do it.

I think it looks ok, no worse than when I used products. I occasionally get an itchy scalp, and this worries me- but ultimately, I have always had this, so I'm not about to go back to buying products.

If you want to attempt this, it can look a little groady (is that a word?) for the first 3+ weeks. This is my third foray in to "No Poo", and it got better much faster. I think the key that has kept me going this time, is that I didn't wash with Baking Soda and ACV, and I have days when I use nothing but water.

I'm not sure how people can do this while they are working. I felt embarrassed enough just with ordinary life...still, I knew my hair was cleaned every day, and it wasn't as though I wasn't showering. It just take a little time for the hair to work out how much oil it needs (since I'm not stripping the oils with shampoo and replacing them with conditioner).

Tombliboo has never had hair products on him. Princess, who has skin just as sensitive as mine, has had a variety of "natural" , "organic" and "Baby" products- all of which upset the balance of her skin and hair terribly. Her hair never looks (and feels better) than when she washes with baking soda. She doesn't like the smell of vinegar, even when I water it down, but will consent to it's use on occasion.

DEODORANT: There are huge links between breast cancer and aluminium containing deodorants. We stopped using them years ago, but replaced them with natural products which sometimes worked, sometimes didn't. They cost a bomb usually, so there are no savings in that regard.

A few months ago, dh and I started using baking soda as a deodorant. Not only does it work- it is cheap (@$2.50 for a 500g box) and friendly to the environment.

DH thought I was a bit dotty until he tried it- and discovered he could work all day and mow the lawns and not smell a bit! It sounds too good to be true, and it is really.

I have one issue- my sensitive skin. If I use the baking soda every day, I get a bit f a rash. I'm not sure of the reason, and it is possibly unique to me, but it is an issue. However, after using this for several months now, I have noticed that I do not need it every day- this is incredible news for me, because I used to put deodorant on after my shower, before I went out, before bed...several times a day basically, and still stunk!

FEMININE HYGIENE: A moon or diva cup will save $$$ each month, and last for many years. It also has zero impact on the environment, as opposed to disposable products which I can only imagine the cost to our planet. Reusable pads are a wonderful option too, and you can buy them in organic cotton or bamboo (which uses less chemicals to grow, and renews speedily). If you can sew, you can make your own- if not, there are a few people making them to sell on Trade Me. There are loads of different options. Don't get the patterned ones if you have sensitive skin :0)

TOOTHPASTE: I have an objection to mass-medicating in the form of fluoride (or anything really). Most people get enough fluoride from ordinary water-drinking, and do not need it applied directly to the teeth. Too much fluoride can result in fluorosis of the teeth, which is irreversible. This is particularly pertinent for children, because their bodies are so much smaller than our's. Also, because of the tendency of young children to eat the paste.

Natural toothpastes that don't contain fluoride are readily available in health shops and some supermarkets. But guess what? You can also use baking soda! Well, my kids aren't particularly keen, apart from J-Man who likes the feel of his teeth after brushing with bs. The cool thing about bs is that it makes your teeth really white! After 3 days use, I noticed a dramatic difference with my teeth. Now I don;t use it that often. I usually brush only with water, because after all it is the brushing that removes plaque, not what is on the brush.

You can mix the baking soda with stevia or xylitol to make it a bit more palatable- I don't like it, but it could be an option.

SOAP: I need a cheaper alternative to mainstream soaps. We've been buying our soaps from Blue Earth for the last 2 or 3 years. They make gorgeous natural soaps, but they are not cheap. I usually spend $45 (to get free postage) about every 3 months. This also includes an essential oil. They also tend to send offcuts as samples which are much appreciated too. When you consider the supermarket sometimes sells 5-packs of soap for $2, lol, it is not a good choice...but this is the problem really. I could go waaaay cheaper, but it wouldn't be good for the environment, or my health. In fact, I kind of resent the whole idea of doing things on the cheap because of the inference that I don't give a stuff about the world I live in or my body. Take eggs for instance- Free-range (non-organic...there are no organic eggs at my local shop) eggs are $3.50 for 6 at my supermarket. However, cage eggs are $6 for 30! For an additional $2.50, I could get 24 more eggs. Or, out another way, free range eggs cost approximately 5 times more than than those produced by battery-hens. But I don't consider the other eggs as an option, as much as it is nice to save money.

Sunday, Day 6

Breakfast: Homemade Pancakes with Maple-Flavoured Syrup
Lunch: Noodles
Dinner: Bought Pizza, Potato Salad, and green salad
Snacks: Cupcakes, apples, potato chips

Noodles are a yummy lunch that everyone here lieks- but we all like different flavorings. I made a sauce with oil, onion, garlic, grated ginger, cabbage, carrots, tamari, peanut butter and chicken stock (I normally don't bother with stock, just that dh likes it). It was really yummy, and I topped it off with some chopped nuts.

alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316124787427404226" />

We only bought 2 pizzas, which is actually plenty calorie-wise for a family of 2 adults and 3 children...but not as much as we normally buy. I figure it is best to buy 2 twice, than 3 once. With the other dinner food, we all had plenty (too much probably) to eat. We took it up to a park to eat, and play as well.

I bought a packet of 10 mini caramel eggs for $3, and we all had 2 each. I hid the kids' ones in the playground, and they enjoyed looking for them.

We had a very cool evening out, for $15.

Saving Money on Compost

Make your own :0)

It's really easy. You don't even need to buy a composting bin...you just need some way to contain it, then the fun is in filling it up and making wonderful compost for your garden.

Basically you need 2 parts green: 1 part brown. Green is vege waste, lawn clippings, eggshells, tealeaves (actually those two might fall under brown, I don't know- I put them in with my vege scraps). You're not meant to put in much citrus or dairy products. I haven't got any dairy in mine, but i have a tonne of orange and grapefruit peel...it turns in to an orangey sludge, still with a citrus smell. Brown is leaves, pizza boxes, newspaper, and egg cartons. It will all break down quicker if you cut the pieces in to smallish bits.

When we move, I will have two compost bins/areas...one for use now, another that is in the making.

The real bonus about composting though, is that all that waste is not going in the landfill.

Saving Money on Nappies

I personally don't think disposables should be considered...they have an incredible impact on our planet. There are, as far as I know only one type of biodegradable disposable nappy on sale in New Zealand. However, this still requires you to a) remove the contents , and b) dissect the nappy in to parts for composting. I am almost certain the instructions are not followed by many of the people who have at least bothered to avoid ordinary "disposable" nappies.

My first two babies had cloth nappies, and we used disposables at night and when we were out. I didn't plan to do that second time round, but was dismayed when someone at a playgroup held my dd and pronounced her "wet"...which she was not, but a cloth nappy has a way of feeling wet, when you are used to holding babies in slim-fitting disposables.

There are huge numbers of cloth nappies now beyond the square piece of cotton flanellette I used to use. We had those for Tombliboo and later bought some Peapods reusuable nappies, which were fabulous. Further, their resale value is very good should you decide to discontinue their use. I think I got at least 2/3 my money back.

It is nearly always possible to use cloth or reusable nappies when out or on holiday.


Cleaning Nappies

Nappies become beautifully white with only the following treatment.

Soak them overnight in a bucket of water with baking soda, apple cider vinegar and tea tree oil. Rinse and spin in the machine, and line dry. I used hot water to kill stuff, and figured it was a good option since I was using the lowest water-depth setting.

This is a gigantic saving on products, is more natural and better for your baby's skin, and is far more friendly on our waterways.

Natural Infant Hygiene or Elimination Communication

Did you know babies don't actually want to pee/poop on themselves? NIH or EC simply means you are giving your child the opportunity to pee somewhere other than on themselves.

Just like any other mammal, human babies don't want to soil themselves or their clothing (since that means sitting in their waste). They also see no distinction between themselves and their primary caregiver(s), so they do not want to pee/poop on you either. This is a wonderful bonus as fr as saving nappies (and therefore money) goes.

By observing your child's signals (what they do immediately before they pee/poop) you will soon begin to anticipate when they need to go. You can buy a small potty designed for infants, which you place between your legs and sit baby on. Or you can use any container at all (including a bucket), or the garden, or the laundry tub or the toilet.

When you see your baby urinating, if you like, you can make a cue sound- before long, you will be able to make this sound, and have your baby eliminate (if he needs to).

Please note: All babies are different, but mine did not care about peeing/pooping on the carpet once he got mobile. He wasn't peeing on him or I, and he knew he could move away from it. This tied in with him not wanting to use the potty at all, and we persevered too long, imagining it would all be back to normal in a day or so. If I did this again, I would put baby in nappies when he was starting to crawl...if I had carpet. I think if I had wood floors, I would keep him nappy-free.

I'm happy to answer questions.