Homemade Monkey Smoothies

ti guy is obsessed with dannon danimal fruit smoothies, or as we call them “monkey smoothies”. if we let him, he will drink 4-6 of them a day & still ask for more. since i can’t always find these on sale at the price i want often enough (i like to only pay $0.50-$1.00 for a 6 pack). i decided it was time to make my own healthier version.

now,  in the past we have tried to just give titan a regular smoothie in a cup, but it hasn’t gone over near as well, since they weren’t “monkey smoothies”. so, as titan finished the last few batches of store bought monkey smoothies, i decided that once we were out, we’d be doing something a little different and that was to make our own homemade monkey smoothies.

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the first thing i did was start cleaning out & saving the containers from the store bought monkey smoothies. i did this for few reasons:

  1. i am fairly certain that as long as it is in a “monkey smoothie” container, i can get titan to drink anything, even a green smoothie. i like that they are already familiar to him. 
  2. the containers are a durable plastic and easily rinsed/cleaned & used a few more times
  3. they are the perfect size for him right now
  4. i also really like the idea of reusing something we already have on hand. trying to reuse and recycle more this year.  

once i decided to reuse the containers, the only thing left to figure out was how to make the top the same so that we can still stick a straw into them like we always have before. the store bought smoothies come with a reynolds wrap type top that you can just poke a hole into with a straw.

this is where i had a pure “ah ha” moment and decided to use our own reynolds wrap & the mini clear elastic bands that you can pick up at any grocery store for added security. i figured just pressing reynolds wrap over the top wouldn’t be very secure. the clear elastics are great though because they are the perfect size & they are also reusable. plus, since they are clear, ti guy doesn’t know the difference which is an added bonus.

so once i had that figured out, it came time to actually make the smoothies. i decided on a simple berry banana smoothie + i added in flaxseed & protein powder for added nutrition.

then of course it came time to test out the homemade monkey smoothies on the little man himself…

i’d say they were a success! he likes them & i am liking them for the following reasons:

  • they were about 50% cheaper to make than had i just purchased them at the store.
  • i was able to add extra things to them like the flaxseed and the protein powder to give them added health benefits. plus, i know exactly what is in them. remember, we’re simplifying what’s in our food around here this year.
  • also, these homemade smoothies seemed to fill him up faster (probably because of the added protein powder and flax seed) so we aren’t going through them near as fast! which is another added savings! 

::side note:: since these are freshly prepared smoothies, i’ve been making a batch and then only keeping one or two in the fridge, while the rest go straight to the freezer. that way they last longer and we always have some on hand. slowly but surely our fridge is looking more and more healthy! love it!

The Money Saving Mom’s Budget & A Giveaway!

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a new book was released last week called the money saving mom’s budget. it’s a book all about slashing your spending, paying down your debt, streamlining your life & saving thousands a year…and it’s a book that i’m quoted talking about our $50 a week grocery budget in.

i know…me quoted in a book about saving money??? that’s something you’ve got to see with your own eyes. (of course, it’s not like i actually wrote the book, it’s only a small paragraph with my name on it, but hey, i’ll take what i can get.)

i’m telling you “old me” would never recognize “new me” in a million years!!! if you had told me a couple years ago that i’d be working for a deal finding and money saving site & be quoted in a book on saving money & have a goal of a $50 a week grocery budget…i would have laughed my head off and said you must not know me very well….i guess you could say that i’m living proof that you can teach a shopaholic new tricks! 😉

with that said, i still have a ways to go until i can say i’ve got this whole money thing under control and all figured out. i have made HUGE improvements though and i am very happy about that. i am now a firm believer that coupons are awesome and so is being in control of where your money is going.

i’ve also learned that when it comes to saving money – knowledge really is money! the more you know, the more you can save and the easier it is. the first step to saving money really is educating yourself about all the different ways there are to save money! (and luckily there are books like the money saving mom’s budget & sites like freebies2deals to help you out)

now, with all that said, i’ve decided to do a giveaway so that one of you can get a jump on your money saving goals this year…

i am giving away a copy of the book the money saving mom’s budget! 
  • to enter just leave a comment on this post telling me how you plan to save money this year! 
  • if you would like extra entries, you can get additional entries for tweeting about the giveaway, following live to be inspired on the sidebar through google connect or posting about the giveaway on your facebook page. just make sure to leave an additional comment for each thing you do! 

i’ll announce the winner of the giveaway on january 23rd! good luck!

ps: if you are new to the whole money saving/couponing/deal finding thing & have no clue where to start…i’d recommend reading the starting fresh in 2012 couponing series that is available on the freebies2deals site! it will give you all the info you need to get started!

Just Don’t Buy The Crap!!!

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in our effort to simplify around here we have two new goals when it comes to our food. the first goal is to better organize our food storage & keep track of what we actually have from here on out.

the second goal is to eat up what we have bought up to this point, but then replace anything that isn’t as healthy as we’d like it to be with a healthier alternative, or not at all when it runs out. for example, i’d prefer there  be less processed food & junk food in our house. so, that means when all ti’s scooby doo fruit snacks are gone, i’ll be replacing them with a healthier option, either an all natural option or a homemade option. and when all the christmas candy/junk is gone (and my personal stash of hostess cupcakes are gone…). we just won’t replace any of it!

i figure, while i cannot bring myself to throw out all the junk food and processed food in our house (i mean, if we’ve been eating it the past five years, its not really going to kill us to eat it another couple months & i really cannot bring myself to throw away all that money) i am buckling down and really trying to limit what i do purchase & bring in from here on out. time to simplify the food we are eating and by that i mean simplify what’s actually in our food!

i remember in college when i was studying interior design i had an art teacher that said:

“staying skinny & healthy is easy…just don’t buy the crap!!! why in the world people spend hard earned money on stuff that will make them fat i will never understand…”

i have never forgotten those words. “just don’t buy the crap” yep, that’s our new food motto for this year in the parker family, “just don’t buy the crap!” i might even have it embroidered on a pillow or at least put on a card for my wallet as a reminder at the grocery store.

there really is a ton of truth in what my teacher said that day (almost 8 years ago, yikes!). 90% of the food adults put in their bodies, they spent their own hard earned money on. then we sit around and complain that we are fat and don’t have enough money…is that kind of screwed up or what? i know i’ve been guilty of that!

in fact, i remember seeing the following pinned like crazy at christmas on pinterest, i even almost pinned it myself:

how about this year we all (my family included) stop relying on santa to pad our bank accounts and make us skinny and just do it ourselves…let’s all “just not buy the crap!” together!!! 
::side note:: i realize that there is more to being healthy than just the food we put in our bodies. starting with the food that we put in our bodies though is definitely a GREAT starting point for anyone who wants to be more healthy and have a healthier family. i also realize that there is huge belief out there that “you can’t afford to eat healthy” because all the healthy food costs more…that train of thought i’ll cover in another post… 🙂