Monthly Challenge for July: Reduce Trash in Half

This month, my goal is to reduce our trash in half.  I have made a lot of progress in this area in the past several years.  4-5 years ago, I had a medium sized trash can that I filled to the brim every week.  I didn't bother to recycle on a regular basis.  It was something that was important back then.  After watching a movie  in a hotel one night on Dirty Jobs about where our trash goes, etc. I decided to get the smallest trash can offered by our garbage company so I could reduce the trash in our household.  You can fit approximately 2-3 kitchen trash bags in the smallest can.  It was definitely a step in the right direction.  It was really a challenge for me at first, but then we started to recycle more regularly and got used to it.   This past year, I have already reduced our trash down to 1 kitchen bag a week on average.  This month, I will do what I can to reduce it even more.  How can someone reduce their trash?  Try some of the following suggestions:

1.  Recycle your old computer paper, newspaper, junk mail, catalogs, phone books, advertisements, etc.

2.  Recycle plastics that your area accepts.  If you are buying orange juice in a carton that can't be recycled, try purchasing things in recyclable packages.  Or, squeeze your own orange juice if money isn't an issue.

3.  When you are finished with cereal boxes, toilet paper rolls, and other cardboard items, recycle them.

4.  Use cloth bags instead of plastic bags.  If you have a stash of plastic bags, take them to a grocery store that recycles them.

5.  Take your own water bottle with you filled with tap water.  If you don't trust tap water, boil it for 5 minutes, let it cool and then use it.

6.  Stop purchasing processed food and single serving items.

7. Buy items in bulk and bring your own containers.

8.  Compost.  We haven't done a lot of this yet, but are beginning to do some.

9.  Drink water.  Skip soft drinks and juices.

10.  Don't bring the trash home.  Stop it before it comes into the house.

There are a lot of other ways to reduce your trash.  What are some of your ideas?

I find that if I take the time to look at what I am recycling, I can see where I can improve.  I also try to be more careful about what goes into my trash can.  If there is a way I can recycle or donate, I try that route first.  

Monthly Challenge for September: Middle Eastern Meals

For the challenge this month, I am going to try Middle Eastern meals. We went out to eat at a restaurant last week, and it made me realize how much I enjoy the Mediterranean Cuisine. I have some Moroccan Lentils cooking right now and they smell great. I don't like lentils, and would be happy to never eat them again, but this recipe is an exception. I guess the spicing is the thing that makes the difference. I made some Pita bread to go along with it. If you want to try something different this week, or if you are a vegetarian, this would be a great dish to try. If you can deal with the video, it is worth eating the recipe. I had to cook the lentils longer and add a lot more water.

July Challenge: Tracking Every Penny

I am almost 1/3 of the way through the month, and I am finding that the monthly challenge for July has been very beneficial.  We have had a lot of company, and I can get a realistic idea about how much money to plan to set aside in the future when we have company again.  I am staying in my budget as usual, but by writing down what I spend I can get an accurate idea of just where the money is going.  I can also look at what I have spent, and see if there are things I can do to improve.

Do you track every penny that you spend?  Are you aware of where your money goes?

July Challenge for the Month: Track Every Penny

Next month, I am going to track every penny we spend.  I have a pretty good idea, but don't know exactly so we are going to do this for our monthly challenge.  Please join me if you would like to!

Do you keep track of everything you spend?  How faithful are you in keeping to your budget?  Do you have any suggestions you would like to share that have worked for you?

Monthly Challenge: April and update on March challenge

This month we our challenge is to drink Eight 8 oz. glasses of water per day. I haven't been drinking as much water as I should lately, so this should get me back on board.

As for March, the challenge to eat oatmeal every day went pretty well. The nicest thing about it was that when we woke up, we didn't have to figure out what to make for breakfast each day. I think we will continue to have oatmeal regularly, but if we want something different one day we will have it.

Are you doing a monthly challenge? What did you do? How did it go?

March Challenge for the Month: Hot Cereal for Breakfast

For March, we had a family vote between 3 days of food storage per week, whole grains the whole month (no white flour), or hot cereal every day in the morning. The hot cereal for breakfast each morning won and so starting tomorrow, we will have hot cereal every morning. I was going to just do oatmeal, but there are some wonderful hot cereals with several grains in them or they could have cream of wheat. I would imagine that most days will be oatmeal. It will be nice to have a little bit of variety, though! We will see how the month goes and if we can convert everyone to eating hot cereal more often in the future!

February Challenge: Weekday Vegetarian

For the month of February, we are going to try to eat vegetarian (meatless) meals Monday through Friday and eat meals that have meat on the weekends. We don't eat a lot of meat, but we use it for flavor in our meals, so this will be a bit of a change. As I don't have a lot of good vegetarian recipes, I will just use some of our regular recipes and skip the meat if I make it Monday - Friday. I am using cheese and eggs during the week, but not meat. This may not be considered eating vegetarian meals in some people's minds, but I am doing this one step at a time.

We are still going to continue eating salads most nights with a little bit of a main dish.

December Use It Up Challenge Update

It is the last day of December, and I have done pretty well using up stuff in our freezer this month.
It was pretty full when we started the month. I will have to start buying milk soon, as there are only 4 cartons left in the freezer. We have mostly raspberries, zucchini, cherry pie filling, applesauce and some chicken left.

January Challenge -Clean Out One Drawer or Shelf Per Day

I was going to do a Financial Fast this month, but we really don't spend a lot of extra money other than our needs and I was really motivated to just go through and clean things out this month. So, I am going to clean out a drawer or closet or shelf every day. It shouldn't take more than 5-15 minutes each day, but I always feel good when I get things cleaned up and organized. I don't have a lot to get rid of, but I can work on getting things cleaned and back to where they were now that company is gone. I don't want my home to be a burden to clean or keep up and going through it every 3-6 months help keep things under control.

Join me if you want, or find something that you are motivated to work on for the month of January.

December Christmas Challenge

Yesterday I wrote about the Use It Up challenge for my freezer for December. I am also going to do a cash only challenge for Christmas - if I use a credit card, (sometimes you can't get a sale price unless you use a credit card) I go home and write a check immediately for the purchase. There will be no unpaid bills after Christmas. Everything will be paid for upfront or have a check waiting in the drawer whenever the statement comes in the mail. I saw something about a woman that buys her children all kinds of things they can't afford for Christmas. It takes her until September of the next year to pay for it. She wants her kids to have all the cool toys so other kids will think they are so lucky. I think it is a recipe for disaster. It is sad when people live their lives trying to look good in the eyes of others. They are not being honest with themselves or with others when they buy things they cannot afford on credit.

I hope you will join me in this challenge. You will be very grateful on December 26th if you do. It feels so good not to have any unpaid bills and I can tell you by experience that it is worth it.

Do you have a Christmas budget? Do you stay in it? Do you pay cash each Christmas or do you have bills waiting for you after the holidays are over?

December Challenge - USE IT UP!

For December, I plan to use up food in the freezer that needs to be used. I went through cupboards in November and donated food to the food bank and ate things that needed to be used. My freezer is still pretty full, even after sending a cooler of food down with the kids to college. So, I want to focus on that and make sure we finish everything from last year and then start working on this year. I will use some of the money I have for food each week ($50) to stock up on holiday deals or replace some things in the freezer that we eat.

Do you have things in your freezer or cupboards that need to be used? Join me in the challenge if you are interested.

November Challenge - Donate Food to Food Bank

I just realized that I didn't post my November challenge yet. I went through my pantry and cupboards and took out everything that we wouldn't be able to eat before it expires. I also found items that would be good for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I planned on donating a can per day, but so far it ended up being 60 pounds of food. I find that when I donate food to others, it reminds me of how blessed we are to have enough to eat when there are so many others out there who don't have enough or struggle just to get by. I found out that our food bank can take items up to 1 year past the expiration date. So, even if you have some outdated food, don't throw it away. Check and see if you food bank will take it.

If you feel like you have the means, think about donating some cans of food you have to others in need. I find that we always seem to have plenty when we share with others.

September Challenge Changed

Instead of beans this month, I am changing my challenge to cleaning the house an hour a day for 6 days per week.  It is too warm to be cooking a lot of beans, our garden has lots of things that need to be eaten and after getting rid of so much clutter in the house in August, I really want to clean the house instead.  So, that is what I am going to do instead.  I will do the month of beans in the winter some time when I won't have as much to do with the garden.  It is also nice to have warm soups, etc. when it is freezing out side! 

30 Days of Beans in September - Hummus

I love hummus.  My father was Arabic and it seemed like we always had hummus in the fridge.  It is easy to make and I think homemade tastes much better.  Here is the recipe:

1 can of Garbanzo beans, drained
1/4 cup tahini (My favorite is Joyva)
1/4 cup lemon juice (I always use fresh, but you can also use bottled)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Put in food processor and mix until smooth.  If it is too thick, add water until it is the consistency you like.  Add spices if you would like to such as garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, etc.  Mix.  Eat and enjoy.  Sometimes we sprinkle paprika on top when it is done.  Most of the time, I just make plain hummus without spices.  It is fun to experiment and see what you like. I usually serve this with homemade pita bread.  

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Holiday Challenge and 2011 Monthly Challenges

As you may have noticed by now, we are doing a different challenge each month.  We would love to have you join us anytime if you are interested in doing so. 

For July, we made 31 different breads.  There was a different kind each day. 

For August, we got rid of 25 things a day.  I am looking forward to this one being done.  There isn't much more left in the house to get rid of and I still have two days!  If you want to see what I got rid of, it is here at the Dollar Stretcher.

For September, I am going to cook with beans each day.  We will still eat some meat, but try to make a different bean dish each day. 

For October, we are doing Freezer Cooking.

For November, we are doing a service month and donating 30 items to the food bank for Thanksgiving for others. (Equivalent of 1 item per day)


We were going to try to do a crazy 100 dollar Holiday challenge (our families were starting to panic) for December, but decided against it since we already have the money saved that we are going to use for Christmas.  So, for Christmas we are doing a DEBT FREE CHRISTMAS.  We are telling you now so if you want to join us, you can have some time to plan ahead and save money.  No credit card bills after Christmas to have to pay that drag out for months!  You use whatever you have saved for Christmas and don't give in and spend more than you have.  We would love to have you join us!

How much do you regularly spend at Christmas time?  How do you feel about giving or getting used things at Christmas?  Would you like to join us in this challenge?  Link up and share your ideas and progress!

31 Days of Bread in July! French Baguettes

This is my daughter, Amy, who requested the 31 days of bread.  She wanted to be in the picture this time.  We ended the month with French baguettes, and they were fantastic.  My pans weren't long enough, so we had to do the best we could with what we had.  That is why they aren't perfectly straight.  I am glad I am done for the month, but it has been fun.  My teenage daughter knows how to make different kinds of bread and can tell when the dough is just right.  That in and of itself was worth it. 

31 Days of Bread in July! Slow Rise Bread

I started the dough for this bread last night, since it has to rise 10-12 hours.  It has hardly any yeast in it, so if you are looking to save a few pennies, a slow rise recipe might be just the thing for you.  I can't believe how big it got!  The recipe I used had some rye flour in it too.  Only one more day left....I am looking forward to it.  It will be nice to have a freezer full of bread for August!

31 Days of Bread in July! Orange Rolls and 3 Flour Braided Bread

Yesterday we made Orange Rolls.  We got the recipe from one of my friends, Margaret.  We did knots with half the dough and rolled the other half out into a rectangle like you would for cinnamon rolls but just put butter and white sugar on top before rolling up and cutting. 

ORANGE ROLLS

1 pkg. yeast

¼ cup water

1 cup scalded milk

½ cup shortening or 1 cube margarine

1/3  cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

about 5 to 51/2 cups flour

2 beaten eggs

¼ cup orange juice (concentrate??)

Orange Icing:  2 Tbsp. orange juice(concentrate?) and 1 cup powdered sugar

Soften yeast in warm water.  Set aside.  Combine hot milk, margarine, sugar and salt.  Cool to lukewarm.  Stir in about 2 cups flour and beat well.  Add eggs. Mix well.  Stir in yeast.  Add orange juice and remaining flour to make a soft dough.  Knead.  Cover and let rise about 2 hours.  Punch down, cover and let rest 10 minutes.  Roll dough into rectangle, ½ inch thick.  Cut strips 10” long, ¾ inch wide.  Roll each strip in fingers.  Tie in knots.  Arrange on a greased baking sheet.  Cover and let rise 45 minutes.  Bake in hot oven at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.  I prefer 375 degrees myself. 

Today I made 3 flour braided bread with white, wheat and rye flours.  You basically mix the dough for the bread and only add 1/2 of the flour.  Then you divide the sticky dough into three parts and add white flour to one, 2 tablespoons of molasses and wheat flour to another, and 1 tablespoon cocoa and 2 tablespoons of molasses and rye flour to the third.  The recipe was like a french bread dough.

The hardest thing is to get the picture taken before someone cuts into the bread to try it!

31 Days of Bread in July! Sesame Studded Grissini

My  daughter has been wanting to make Grissini for a long time.  She made the dough all by herself.  I think the best thing about doing a different bread every day is that she is learning to cook all kinds of bread and learning how to tell what a good bread dough is.  Since she isn't too fond of sesames, we made some small ones with sesames and made most of them with Romano cheese.  Only 4 more days left!

31 Days of Bread in July! Glazed Poppy Seed Bread

I tweaked this recipe for our bread for today.  Mine is a little dark because I had to cook it longer since it was a little doughy.  The bread turned out really well and my husband really liked it.  This recipe has almond flavoring, so if you don't like almond flavoring, I wouldn't suggest making this recipe. 

What I did differently:

I used evaporated milk instead of the milk only because it expires next month and needed to be used.  I would have used regular milk normally like the recipe calls for. 

I used 4 Tablespoons of poppy seeds instead of 3

I used juice from a lemon instead of orange juice

I used grated lemon zest in the dough to give it a better flavor.

When the bread was done, I also poked the bread with a toothpick, used a knife to go around the edges of the bread and then left the bread in the pan when I put the glaze on instead of getting it out first and putting paper towels under it for when the glaze dripped.   After the glaze soaked into the bread for 5 minutes, I took the bread out of the pan.  Since I had used parchment paper at the bottom of the pan, it came out very easily.


If you aren't used to using parchment paper, I would HIGHLY recommend it.  No more bread sticking to the pan when you get it out.  It is wonderful!!!!  It would be perfect for cakes, too.  And, you can even get it for less if you use a 40 percent off coupon at Michael's or Joanne's.