Try-it Friday: Homemade Peppermint Mocha

The long-awaited Starbucks e-mail arrived two weeks ago: red cups have returned - and thus, the peppermint mocha is back (though you can order it anytime, there's just something different about it when it's actually on the menu). For us, it's a season of trying to resist the most wonderful drink of the year. I've tried to replicate the drink at home. But mocha sauce is really hard to come by. I used to do a decent job of at least replicating a mocha Frappuccino, but then Torani (the brand that previously sold a pretty good mocha sauce) changed their product. And you cannot replicate a coffeehouse mocha using chocolate syrup. It is way too sweet. The sauce needs to be darker, bolder, richer.

Pinterest to the rescue!

I altered a recipe slightly, and made this sauce. I think it does a stand-up job of filling in for my favorite $4.50 coffee choice.

Makes approximately 32 oz.

3 cups filtered water
2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder (Hershey's Special Dark)
1 oz. vanilla extract

Bring the water to a boil. While it is heating, mix the sugar and cocoas in a bowl, until lumps are gone and powders are well combined. Once the water is boiling, pour in the dry mixture and stir vigorously with a wisk for about a minute. Once it is well dissolved, turn off the heat and add the vanilla extract. Stir again to incorporate the vanilla.

Once the sauce has cooled, transfer it to plastic squeeze bottles (or other plastic liquid containers that will allow you to pour a syrup).

Store in the refrigerator.

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Once my mocha syrup proved a success, I used it to make a peppermint mocha. These proportions will make a 16-ounce ("grande") mocha. Basically, a mocha will be one part syrup, two parts espresso, four parts milk.

2 pumps peppermint syrup (I buy the bottles from Starbucks to ensure it's the same flavor they use)
4.5 ounces cold-brewed espresso
2 ounces homemade mocha syrup
9 ounces milk

Heat in the microwave for 3-4 minutes (or until very hot), stirring every 90 seconds or so, to avoid a milk skim on top. Once hot, stir well.

I also mix this recipe (minus the peppermint) in quart-size portions (double everything listed above) and store in the refrigerator, to send cold (bottled Frappuccino) with Jack in the mornings. **He doesn't drink a quart at a time. I do that so I only have to mix it every 2-3 nights.**

Try-It Tuesday: Homemade Nutella

Oh, heavens. Last week, I made homemade Nutella. (For trademark purposes, I should probably say that I made homemade chocolate hazelnut spread.) I will include the full recipe at the bottom, as I concocted my own variation of some I found online.

It's wonderful. I can't decide if I like the underlying salt flavor or not ... I might try it next time without the salt, or with only half the amount, and see if I like it better. I also will try substituting additional cocoa powder and oil in place of some of the processed chocolate ... and I may try other oils besides generic vegetable oil (Nutella uses palm oil; there are lots of other exotic options, too).

But I made it in the food processor, and it has just a tiny bit of texture from the ground nuts. I like the texture, though. I like the additional hazelnut flavor compared to the jarred version. And I think this one has a fuller palate of flavor.

The hazelnuts cost me $2 (Farmer's Market). The chocolate chips cost no more than $2 (I usually get them on sale - and buy in bulk from Sam's regularly). The remaining ingredients are marginal ... bringing the recipe grand total to about $4.50. The yield is 2 cups, which is roughly the volume of the large Nutella jar ($7 on sale at the grocery store, or $6 at the Farmer's Market). Considering that Nutella spread on graham crackers has become a recent family-favorite snack around here, this recipe may just be worthwhile. Though we are going to have to pace ourselves a little better (and by "we" I mean "I" ... because I ate at least 3/4 of the batch). The first batch was gone within 24 hours. Oops.

Heavenly Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

1 cup raw hazelnuts
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup milk chocolate (or use 2 cups any combination of milk, semi-sweet or bitter-sweet ... to your personal preference)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 heaping tablespoons powdered sugar
1 heaping tablespoon unsweetened powdered cocoa
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Roast hazelnuts: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet (so they don't roll off). Bake for 10 minutes, stirring mid-way. Skins should be blistered and nuts should be slightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Rub nuts with a dish towel to remove skins (or use fingers to remove them individually). It's okay if some skins remain on the nuts. Allow nuts to finish cooling.
2. Using a double boiler or microwave, melt the chocolate. Stir until smooth, then let cool slightly.
3. Load nuts into a food processor (or high-powered blender, like a Vitamix) and grind until pasty. Add the oil, sugar, cocoa, vanilla and salt. Blend until the mixture is well combined and is taking on a creamy texture. Add the melted chocolate and blend some more, until smooth (or nearly smooth). 

Mixture was relatively runny at first, and gradually thickened. Somewhere around 12 hours after blending, the spread had taken on what I assume would be its final texture (but it was all gone after about 18 hours). At that point, it was similar in texture, to spreadable margarine.

Iced coffee

I think I have successfully replicated the McDonald's iced coffee (vanilla). The Keurig does a fine job of brewing coffee - for hot or cold drinking. But I recently read an e-book about cold-brewing coffee (called "toddy"), and it has been making a big difference. Benefits of cold-brewing rather than cooling a hot-brewed cup: purer flavor, lower acid and brewing in bulk (then storing it in the fridge).

Depending on the price of the coffee and milk, the iced coffee listed below can come out as low as about $.25 per 16-ounce cup ice coffee style (16 ounces being the cup size, not the actual volume of liquid), to $1 per 16-ounce iced latte style.

I've brewed two different strengths: an iced coffee strength and an espresso strength.

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Iced coffee strength:

12-oz bag ground coffee (to achieve McD's comparison, I used Starbucks "medium" roast, decaf)
3 quarts tap water (I use filtered)

Pour bag of coffee into a bowl or pot large enough to hold at least a gallon (and preferably one with a lid). Use a circular motion to pour half the water onto the coffee. Let sit for 30 minutes (once the grounds are wet, oils will begin to separate - which is why half the water is added in a second phase). Stir to ensure no dry spots. Add the second half of the water. Cover. Let sit for eight hours or longer.

Use a collandar lined with coffee filters to strain the coffee into a second pot or bowl. Allow the grounds to set for a good 30+ minutes, to allow almost all the water to drain out of them.

You may need to repeat the straining process, if silt was present after the initial straining.

Transfer the toddy to air-tight containers and keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

I combined about six ounces of this strength toddy, with about two ounces of French Vanilla Coffeemate, then added ice, and it tasted like the McDonald's iced coffee.

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Alternatively, toddy can be brewed stronger, for espresso-based drinks. I made a smaller batch here, so I'm listing the amounts I actually used.

1/2 pound espresso beans, coarsely ground (I used Starbucks espresso roast, and I ground it at home)
4-1/2 cups water

Pour grounds into a bowl or pot large enough to hold at least two quarts (and preferably one with a lid). Use a circular motion to pour half the water onto the grounds. Let sit for 30 minutes (once the grounds are wet, oils will begin to separate - which is why half the water is added in a second phase). Stir to ensure no dry spots. Add the second half of the water. Cover. Let sit for 12 hours or longer.

Use a collandar lined with coffee filters to strain the coffee into a second pot or bowl. Allow the grounds to set for a good 30+ minutes, to allow almost all the water to drain out of them.

You may need to repeat the straining process, if silt was present after the initial straining.

Transfer the toddy to air-tight containers and keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

I mix one ounce vanilla flavor syrup with 4.5 ounces of this toddy, and 6 ounces skim milk, then fill with ice, for a nonfat iced vanilla latte. Today I also made a hot peppermint mocha with it: Combine 2 oz toddy and 4 oz skim milk in a mug. Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir in 2/3 oz. peppermint flavor syrup and 1 to 1-1/2 oz mocha syrup.

Homemade Tortillas

I decided to be a little domestic last weekend. After I--ahem, we--made that cookie cake for Jack, I tried my hand at homemade tortillas. I actually made semi-homemade tortilla chips on Thursday (?) by cutting store-bought tortillas into wedges, and then baking them (at 450 degrees for 5-7 minutes, in case anyone is interested). They were pretty enjoyable, and I decided that if the price worked out, I'd rather have these tortilla chips than the store-made ones, since these are much lower in fat.

But I didn't stop there. On Friday, I decided to try actually making the tortillas. I found a recipe at The Happy Housewife and gave it a try. It was really simple; the only bad part was that rolling the tortillas took a really long time. I made 24 tortillas in 90 minutes - and about 60 minutes of that was rolling. Not a good return on investment. Even considering I used whole wheat organic flour, organic taco-size tortillas would be - what - $5 for 24? So I saved myself like $3 per hour of work. Hmmmm. I may look into a tortilla press because I liked the homemade versions, and think they'd be healthier (and it's just plain nice to make them from scratch), but I don't think I'll be doing it again by hand.

They did turn out well. A little floury-tasting, which was remedied by eating them with something (salsa, fajita fillings, etc). But otherwise, they turned out well. I think. Brad and Meredith shared the joy with us, after they watched Carter during my Saturday morning run.

And, in the process, we learned that Carter likes salsa. He asked for some when Jack and I were using it, and I let him dip his own chip. I thought he would balk. Instead, he said "mmmm" and kept going back for more! We made him chase his salsa (probably all of a teaspoon in actuality) with some milk.

Deprived!

In the month of January, I semi-joined an effort to clear out some of our pantry/freezer stockpile by using foods on-hand for meals and only shopping for perishables (for us in January, that means milk, yogurt, bananas and clementines) and rock-bottom sale-price items (like the cheese that I got for free after coupons and the Ro*tel that actually netted me $.11 overage after sale and coupon).

So our produce selections for the month of January consisted of canned and frozen vegetables, bananas and clementines. NOT our typical diet. During the spring or summer, we usually go weeks without using canned or frozen vegetables because we usually buy fresh. Twice a week, we eat giant salads for dinner. Once a week, we eat plates full of fresh vegetables (roasted cauliflower, grilled squash . . . don't even get me started on perfectly ripened corn on the cob). Hence our stockpile of canned and frozen . . . we don't eat them regularly, but I buy them on sale (sometimes for pennies) because we'll use them in a pinch. We can't NOT have bananas in our house, thanks to Mr. Monkey; and because clementines are in season right now and come in five-pound crates, if I'm going to buy them (and Jack would have cried if I hadn't since they're only in season for like two months a year), that's pretty much all the fruit we need. (A five-pound crate lasts us 1.5-2 weeks, with each of us eating 2-3 per day.) Oh, and I was craving an apple during the third week of January . . . a cold, crisp, fresh red delicious . . . so I bought a single organic apple for myself. Hey - six weeks of clementines have been mostly for Jack; I wanted my apple.

So when February rolled around, I had to get my fresh produce fix. So during my lunch break on February 2 (yeah, I didn't make it two days into the month), I made a pilgrimmage to the DeKalb Farmers Market and basked in all its glory. For about a year, I visited once every 2-3 weeks. Then I realized I was actually spending more on each trip merely to justify the three hours (45-50 minutes driving each way, plus shopping time) and $5 gas consumption each time. Yes, in comparison to grocery stores, the prices are lower, the produce is fresher, there is a HUGE selection and LOTS of organic options. But realistically speaking, I couldn't justify that trip just to save a couple dollars. So I all but stopped going, about six months ago.

My office is half-way to the market from our house, so I took advantage of that location and went on my lunchbreak. I didn't let myself look at the baked goods (that's where I always blow my budget - "why yes I'd like giant organic peanut butter muffins") or the fish/meat/dairy (I was returning to the office, so where would I put them?). I focused on my beloved fruits and vegetables, a few spices (they sell bulk spices REALLY cheap; I got like 1/2 cup of dried basil for $.33) and a treat (dried pineapple) for Jack.

I came out under $15 and got: dried pineapple, Old Bay seasoning, basil, marjoram, three zucchini, organic romaine lettuce, organic broccoli, organic baby carrots, bananas, two oranges, and (2 pounds) four organic apples. I think that's it. We still have about 1/3 crate of clementines at home. It probably would have cost about $25 at the grocery store (comparing apples to apples, organic to organic). Mmmmm, fresh produce. I got them home and just inhaled the wonderful aroma. As fruits come into season, I will be stalking the market. Last year, I got one type of grape that was absolute heaven. I cannot even describe them to you. They were some special variety, and each grape was just perfect. Perfect color, perfect form, perfect flavor. Jack and I ate the whole two-pound package in like two days. I don't remember what they were called, but I would know them by sight. I only wish I could remember what month I found them!

Coupon Workshops

If anyone is interested in attending a couponing workshop, there are four scheduled for the Atlanta area, run by the Southern Savers blogger. I've never been to one, and from the description given, it sounds like I've self-taught most of what's covered, just by the practices I already held and then reading that blog for months on end. However, if anyone wants an introduction to extreme couponing, this may be a good place to get up to speed. She says the four workshops cover "everywhere" in Atlanta, but she isn't from Atlanta - and thus her four locations fail to offer anything on the east/northeast side of town. But if you're on the west side, or are willing to drive there, opportunities abound!

http://www.southernsavers.com/2010/01/new-couponing-workshops-atlanta/

Super Savings

I have to brag about my super savings on groceries this week. First, I have challenged myself to dig into our pantries (yes, that's plural), cabinets and freezers (yes, plural again) to use up some of our stockpile. Some of the "coupon blogs" I follow led an "eating from the pantry challenge" this month. While I didn't go so far as to say we wouldn't do any grocery shopping, or even only shop for super-perishables (milk and fresh produce), I did set a goal of only spending 1/4 our normal food budget, and using the resources I have on hand. I also used part of our normal grocery budget to get a headstart on stocking some items that have been running low lately, like baby wipes (we don't use many at home anymore), toilet paper (I buy in bulk and not very often), dish detergent and a long-term investment of cotton training pants rather than Pull-ups (more on that in another post).

Well, I don't have the final numbers yet; we're more than a week behind on updating the budget spreadsheet. But I know I've done very well. I don't think I kept to 25% of our normal budget, but it's definitely well below the 50% mark. And, I restocked a lot of things in the house this weekend. Let me also say that I really thought I'd have to clear more of our stockpile than I did. I might need to do this again in March, and be tougher on myself. Because seriously, I thought we'd clear out some of our pasta boxes or jarred sauces (I think I have 6-8 of each), or more of our cereal (seriously, at least 10 boxes remaining) than we did. We've had pasta once a week, but it was from a bulk batch I made at the end of December and then froze for four different meals - that's been the extent of pasta here (oh, and some frozen Bertolli skillets).


Anyway, I was really excited about the shopping I did this weekend. I spent $2.00 to buy some coupons on ebay, which I redeemed for 15 bags of frozen vegetables at a cost of $.20 plus tax (most were free; some had overage and some were a few pennies over the coupon value). So, $2.20 for 15 bags of Steamfresh vegetables = not bad. Plus, I restocked cheese and snack food (and some of my normally-large expenses) today for a total of $13 and change:

• 5 bricks of Kraft cheese ($.99 each minus $2.50 in coupons, and I got back a $5 voucher for my next purchase, which I used in my second transaction)
• Kraft 2% singles
• Saltines
• 2 three-packs of Horizon organic milk singles
• 2 boxes dish washer packets
• Rice cakes (overage after the coupon)
• Popcorn
• Granola clusters
• 2 boxes granola bars
• Johnsonville brats (for Jack, which he harrassed me about, because they have cheese in them . . . but it's a long story)
• Ro-tel (which had overage after the coupon)
• I Can't Believe It's Not Butter sticks
• Brawny paper towels

Pretty good. Full price (haha - what's that? I haven't paid "full" price for almost anything, as long as I can remember), $13 would have gotten me the paper towels and the granola clusters. My savings for the trip: $62.76 (If I count the vegetables from another store, I add $.20 to what I spent, and add $30 to my savings.) And Jack is excited to have something besides homemade muffins and Ritz crackers for snacks. (We had other stuff too, but nothing that interested him.)

Beware of Large Packages Wrapped By Small Hands!

Where to begin? I suppose one could say 2009 was less eventful than 2008 because we didn’t acquire any new people or dogs in the house. But aside from that, you know how it goes – things are always changing these days.

To say the least, Carter is the talk of the house and is into everything! Shortly after my last update, he started moving around on his own (I could walk by myself at a month old; it took this kid a little more than 10 months to start walking). Now he’s talking (he calls me “Lala”), running, jumping, climbing – and he seems to particularly enjoy throwing himself on me. I might be minding my own business, napping on the couch, and he runs up, jumps on me and gives me a gigantic hug. But most of the time I enjoy his company. I’m discovering that he actually can be pretty fun to play with—plus he is my primary source of table scraps!!

Jack made a lot of changes this year, and I can’t keep up with his schedule anymore. This time last year, I knew that I’d have the house to myself from 6:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and that Christina and Carter would be home on Fridays. After witnessing schedules from one extreme (Jack home all the time) to the other (Jack home to eat, sleep and do homework – and sometimes not even that), recently he seems to have found some balance. His office is at home, and calls me his water cooler buddy. He’s been trying to convince me to buy something called a “yearbook”. Not sure what that is, but Jack seems to have taken a very heavy interest in it. I’m just glad he lets me nap during the day! Jack also has begun the countdown to May 7, 2010, when he will graduate with his master’s degree.

Christina has been the real glue for the family during this chaotic year. From staying home all the times when Carter was sick (although it has been better since Carter got ear tubes in the spring) to being a coupon queen helping keep the budget in check, she has outdone herself. She got back into her running routine after Carter’s birthday. Personally, I wouldn’t call running with a toddler for six miles “stress relief” but she does – I’m just glad I don’t have to run with them! Hopefully 2010 will bring some relaxation with it. Besides, I need to get back my beauty sleep with my daily 18-hour naps.

Now, if someone could help me out of this box, I’d appreciate it.


Love,

Sleep Sheep On Sale

Okay, folks. I have touted more than once how wonderful Sleep Sheep is. We have used ours every single night since Carter was two days old (in other words, when we came home from the hospital). Literally every single night. He loves it. We love it. We love it because he loves it. Now that he's old enough to turn it on himself, it is very useful in the car - if we want him to nap in his carseat, I hand him Sleep Sheep (and his paci). He grabs it, turns it on, and he knows it's time to sleep.

In case anyone is interested in buying a Sleep Sheep for their own little one, I want you to know that Amazon has an amazing deal right now! Normally the "on the go" version (slightly smaller, with a velcro strap - this is the one Carter has) is $24. The full-size one (same function and same sounds, but bigger and I think without the velcro for attaching to the crib/car seat) runs $28. And they are never on sale. Last week Amazon dropped the prices to $15-16. Today, they are at $13.99 and $13.72! They are eligible for free shipping with Amazon Prime or a $25 order. This price has me racking my head for ideas of who I can gift them to - I have wanted to give one on numerous occasions but didn't want to spend the $24-28.

Cloud b (the company that makes Sleep Sheep) also has some similar animals - giraffes, ladybugs, sea turtles, etc - which have similar soothing sounds and which are deeply discounted to prices below $20.

My $22 Rite Aid Money-Maker

Rite Aid is offering a whole bunch of free-after-rebate items this week, mostly cold and flu stuff. I took full advantage of the offer. I have two rebate accounts set up with them: one for me (with our home address) and one for Jack (with his work PO box). I bought all the stuff in the picture above (two duplicate transactions, except that I had an extra $1 coupon on one). Here's how it worked out.

Bought:

Children's Simply Saline

Carmex 3-pack tubes

Organic Honey Cough Drops

Comtrex 30-count box

Cold Wars tablets 20-count box

Children's Sore Throat Pops, Sucrets

Children's Sore Throat Pops, other brand

Body Heat Pain Relieving Muscle Pads

Sub-total: $25.42 plus tax

Used Coupons:

$5 off a $25 purchase

$1 off Simply Saline

Total Spent: $21.20 (with tax)

Getting back in rebates (rebates are checks):

$25.42 weekly item rebates

$10 Fall Gift of Savings Quarterly Rebate

Made: $14.22 profit

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Transaction #2: Identical to above, but without the $1 Simply Saline coupon. Also, Fall Gift of Savings total is less, so it's only a $5 rebate.

Total Spent: $22.20

Getting back in rebates:

$25.42 weekly

$5 Fall Gift of Savings

Made: $8.22

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Between the two transactions, I profited a total of $22.44 cash (well, check made out to me/Jack) and I got all the stuff pictured for free. So someone will be getting a "cold and flu" supplies gift basket come Christmas. :-) Just kidding. Not really. Well, maybe.

Saving Money on Coffee

So, five years ago Jack and I were not coffee drinkers. I enjoyed the occasional frozen cappuccino from Quick Trip or maybe a hot cappuccino while fighting jet-lag in the bitter cold streets of London. I guess we started to develop our bad habits about three years ago. I remember standing on the second floor of our semi-framed house, which must have made it late october--because we were bricked by Thanksgiving. I was trying to drink a coffee that I wasn't too keen on, and Jack was drinking a hot chocolate that he wished had caffeine. Sometime shortly thereafter, he met the Mighty Mocha at QT, and I met the sweetened iced coffee with milk at Starbucks. Since that time, we've gone through periods of cutting it out (like pregnancy and nursing) and ramping it up again (like vacations and grad school). Our palates have expanded and the only line we draw is that Jack will not drink coffee if it tastes like coffee. He prefers mochas, while I'm content to drink hot or iced varieties of coffee, latte, mocha and macchiato (mmmmm). But we have tried to at least cut back on how much these drinks cost us. Through trial and error, we've come pretty close. Below are my recommendations for our favorites.




Iced Coffee

• Brew your normal hot coffee
• Pour it into plastic cups in portions of 1.5-2 "servings", 8-12 ounces (I normally brew only two or four servings, as four is the capacity of our coffee maker)
• Stir in your preferred amount of sugar or sugar substitute (to ensure it dissolves in the hot coffee)
• Place the cups in the freezer for about 30 minutes (this step cools the coffee without losing the fresh coffee flavor)
• After 30 minutes, fill a large (minimum 16 ounces) cup with ice, and pour the coffee into it
• Add milk or creamer and stir

Iced Mocha

• Brew your normal hot coffee (we're about to try some Folgers Chocolate Truffle variety, which might make this recipe even better)
• Empty a packet of hot chocolate mix into a plastic cup (so far, Jack really likes using the white chocolate variety of Land o Lakes hot chocolate, but it's not readily available; the standard Nestle hot chocolate was fine but not as good; you probably could substitute flavored hot chocolate for a flavored mocha)
• Pour 8-10 ounces of hot coffee into the cup and stir to dissolve the hot chocolate mix
• Place the cups in the freezer for about 30 minutes (this step cools the coffee without losing the fresh coffee flavor)
  After 30 minutes, fill a large (minimum 16 ounces) cup with ice, and pour the coffee mixture into it (some brands of hot chocolate separate from the coffee and film a skim in the freezer; be sure to mix well before pouring over ice; Land o Lakes seems to not do this)
• Add a couple splashes of milk for a creamier consistency, and stir

Considering I usually buy our coffee, hot chocolate and creamer at 50% off the retail price, we spend about $.25 on one (16 oz) iced coffee or iced mocha (more like $.70 if I use Land o Lakes). Compare that to $1.79 for a 16-oz iced coffee at McDonald's ($2.25 at Starbucks) or $2.79 for an iced mocha at McDonald's ($3.75 at Starbucks), and I think we did pretty well with our versions.

$1 Pull-ups

Couldn't wait until tomorrow . . . had to share today!

I ran out at lunch and scored a pack of Pull-ups (plus five bottles of Johnson's baby items, which I'll have to give as gifts because Carter can't use them; plus a bottle of lotion for me) for $1! I also got a pack of Huggies Pure & Natural diapers (stocking up for gifts and future use--I'm done buying diapers for Carter, ready or not) for $2.99. How?? I got my shopping ideas from http://www.southernsavers.com/.

The Pull-Ups and Johnson's deal at Rite Aid:

Buy:

(5) Johnson’s baby items, on sale for $2.99 ea

(1) Pull Ups/GoodNites $8.99

(1) Suave Body Wash $1.99 ea
Use:

-$5 off $25 printable coupon

(5) -$1 off Johnsons printable coupons

-$2 off Pull Ups/GoodNites in-ad (store) coupon

-$2 off Pull Ups printable coupon

Total Due: $11.93 plus tax (used part of my $25 gift card from a Huggies deal in July)

Get Back: $10 rebate on Johnsons + $1 rebate on Suave, makes it $.93 plus tax for all

The Pure & Natural deal at Kroger:

Buy:

1 pack of Pure & Natural at $8.99

Use:

-$3/1 manufacturer coupon

-$1.50/1 Shortcuts.com eCoupon

-$1.50/1 towards college via Upromise
Total: $4.49 plus $1.50 in my Upromise account toward college, or equal to $2.99 for the diapers

For details and similar deals, check out the Southern Savers blog. Rumor has it, there will be another Pull-Ups deal at Rite Aid next week. It can take some time to pick up on how to work these sales, and I started gradually. Before I started reading the blogs, I was shopping Kroger and Publix (our two main grocery stores) and pairing their sales against coupons. I also kept mental track of what the good sale prices were, which items went BOGO (buy one, get one free) often, etc. When I started tracking these blogs, I learned about stacking store coupons with manufacturer coupons, using eCoupons on my shopper's cards, starting a uPromise account for college savings, and printing internet manufacturer coupons. I started shopping the drug stores (Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid) one at a time, taking a couple weeks to get the hang of it before adding another. Southern Savers also has a "target price list" that shows the blog owner's goal prices for common goods. She tries to stock up when she's able to get these prices, so she won't have to buy the items at higher prices before they go on sale again.

For baby-oriented deals, check out Baby Cheapskate. For natural and organic deals, see The Thrifty Mama.

All 4 Kids

I participated in another kids' consignment sale last week. This one was All 4 Kids. I registered as a seller so that I could unload an extra jogging stroller (picked up last summer and then determined there was one feature--a stationary front wheel--which I could not live with), as well as some miscellaneous items that aren't worth holding onto for future babies, and also so I could maybe scope the presale. Well, I did end up hitting the presale (wasn't entirely sure if I would). But I am so glad I did! I got a cute khaki jacket for fall/spring, a pair of jeans, a halloween costume, a toddler play table with chairs and three pairs of Stride Rite shoes. The best purchase? By far, the shoes. Carter wears a 5.5 wide now, and at this age they typically outgrow their shoes about every three months (which is how long the size 4.5 lasted). I picked up two pairs of 6.5 wide (one pair of sneakers and one pair of dress shoes) and a pair of 7.5 wide boot-type sneakers. The 7.5 wide look like they were never even worn! The total cost for all three pairs of shoes? $19. Unbelievable. Even at the outlet, the least expensive pairs are $25-30. I paid $5, $6 and $8 for these (the unworn 7.5W being the $8 pair). It made the effort of going to the presale, 100% worthwhile.

Oh, I also picked up another booster seat for him. We have one that I keep in my car for restaurants and other people's houses. My intent was to get this one (at $4 I couldn't pass it up) for one of the grandparents' houses. But, we're actually using it at our house. Carter is kinda growing out of his high chair (he still fits in it, but he fights it; he'd rather be at the table with us). So we've been using the booster at home now. I guess we may think about putting away the high chair eventually . . . for now, its seat is holding his box of bibs and wash cloths.

And, in the end, I sold most of the stuff I tagged. Most importantly, I sold the jogger. Woo-hoo!

Diaper Reviews

In my previous post, I mentioned a blog with reviews of numerous diaper brands. This site got my gears turning and I thought I'd share our diaper brand experiences. First, I must say that from what I've read (and I have to go by what I've read, since I only have one diaper "tester"), different fits/absorbancies/materials/brands work better for different children, depending on that child's shape, size, schedule, etc. Also, I'll go ahead and state up front that we are a disposables-only house. No cloth diapers for our babies, except as burp cloths. (Also, I apologize for the lack of photos. Carter never appears outside his bedroom/bathroom in just a diaper, except on vacation when he made some living room appearances dressed only in a swim diaper.)

In my experience with Carter, diaper preference also evolves as the child grows. We have tried all three national brands, all styles of them (except the overnight styles, which we will be trying soon), and a few generic brands.

Newborn: I liked Huggies supreme (I think they're called Little Snugglers now, but they were called Gentle Care a year ago). We tried Pampers Swaddlers also and they were fine. But, reasons I liked Huggies better: They had an umbilical cord cut-out and they were substantially larger than the Swaddlers. Carter was born big enough to go straight into a size 1 instead of newborn. But we had some NB packs, so we used them for about 10 days, I think. After day 5 or 6, the Swaddlers newborn were too small. Because Carter was so big at birth and because he breastfed which meant pooping at every feeding (8-12 times a day) for the first week or so, we didn't really test absorbancy; he was being changed every 1-2 hours while awake. Fit was the primary factor for us.

Size 1 through 2/3 (roughly 10-20 pounds, or 1.5 weeks to 4 months old for Mr. Carter): There is a size 2/3, which falls in between 2 and 3. In a change of opinion, I prefered Pampers Swaddlers at this stage. Size 1 was when we got adventurous. We tried Pampers Swaddlers, Swaddlers Sensitive and Baby Dry. We tried Huggies regular and supreme. We tried Luvs. We tried Parent's Choice (Wal-Mart brand). Overall, during this period, Pampers Swaddlers were the favorite. They seemed to "puff out" almost immediately when wet. Also, they seemed to wick away his liquidy breastmilk stools much better than any other brand.

• Huggies were fine (and fit a little bit longer--I think he grew out of Pampers at three weeks) but didn't puff out as much as the Pampers.
• Luvs were not a success in our house. After multiple wet leaks in the period of a couple days (despite diaper changes every 1.5-2 hours), we abandoned the pack before we'd finished them all.
• Parent's Choice were fine. No leaks. Seemed to run a little smaller than the national brands.

Size 3 (around 5-10 months for Carter?): Pretty neutral between Pampers and Huggies. I didn't find much difference between Pampers Cruisers (the older-baby version of Swaddlers) and Pampers Baby Dry. Maybe because he was beginning to transition to a more solid diet, and so his stools were becoming more solid as well? I think he was in size 3 for a really long time. I'm pretty sure he'd made the transition by Thanksgiving (5.5 months), and I don't think we moved up to size 4 (during daytime) until April or even May. As previously noted, Huggies seem to run a little bigger than Pampers. So as Carter started to grow out of Pampers, we started using Huggies size 3 or Pampers size 4 overnight.



Size 4 (around 10 or 11 months for Carter): Huggies Little Movers (supreme) are king at our house. I usually can score awesome deals on Huggies, and have decided that there is a significant difference in the grippers on supreme (Little Movers) vs. regular (Snug N Dry)--enough to justify a pack containing three or four fewer diapers. We also tried Kroger Comforts. No complaints there; they held up just fine. And we tried two anonymous brands. I participated in a diaper study through Compass Market Research in which we received two 22-packs of mystery diapers and tested them. In addition to the free diapers, we earned $20 for our time. We're pretty confident that we identified one of the brands, but both held up reasonably well.

Swim diapers: We only used Huggies Little Swimmers, because I had high-dollar coupons for them. They seemed fine. Here is some info I learned about swim diapers, which I did NOT realize prior to this week (read: did not realize until AFTER our beach trip). Swim diapers are intended to contain #2 but not #1. It makes sense now that it has been brought to my attention (on the Baby Cheapskate blog), but it never occured to me before. They are designed to release the urine. If they contained the urine, they'd swell and become a drowning hazard, adding dangerous extra weight to a small child in the water. Urine is not a contamination risk; it's actually sterile. It's the poo that needs to be kept out of public pools, lakes, oceans, etc. for sanitation. Good to know . . . wish I had known it before I put Carter down for a nap in his swim diaper at the beach. But now it explains the MAJOR leak we experienced in doing so. At least we know for next time!

Stockpiling

I'm a deal shopper. I almost never pay retail for anything. I stockpile our house to ensure we never fall victim to the "need it now" game. Of course, sometimes things fall through the cracks and we realize we are completely out of napkins or toilet paper or cooking spray or--heaven forbid--Infant Motrin . . . but for the most part, I'm able to avoid those emergencies. And some things we can hold out until they go on sale: if our milk is full price, then Jack and I eat something else for breakfasts until it's on sale again (since there's an unending supply of alternatives like Pop-Tarts, breakfast bars or muffins that have been frozen). At my house today you will find . . .

• Four half-gallon containers of Carter's organic milk (a two-week supply)
• Three unopened boxes of Infant Motrin in addition to the two opened bottles of Motrin and two opened bottles of Tylenol--which probably will last another 6-8 months, provided we have no relapses of ear infections, major teething troubles or 104-degree fevers
• 17 tubes of toothpaste, which should last about 17 months (almost all of them were completely free or better)
• Five large bottles of body wash, which should last 8-10 months
• 12+ pounds of peanut butter, which should get me to at least next month (just kidding--but seriously, there have been many weeks when I alone consumed an entire pound; and it seemed like last year, I never had enough on hand for holiday baking and I had to pay higher prices, so this year I won't be caught offguard)
• 10 boxes of Eggos (all free)
• A closet shelf full of diapers in sizes 4 (Carter's current size) and 5, and wipes, and one pack of Pull-Ups: enough to last roughly 18 weeks. I actually had a bigger stock than what is pictured, but I used one pack and sent another to daycare in the days before I took the picture

Now, I have been "stocking up" on diapers since my first OB appointment, when Carter was the size of a nickel. It really helped after he was born, when I didn't have to worry about buying diapers for the first three months (though I did have to exchange some when he grew out of the size 1 earlier than anticipated--before one month!). Well, I always combined sales with coupons but never tracked off-the-beaten-path sales or rebates. Since I've started tracking these opportunities on my coupon blogs, I've realized that what I thought was a good price back then, was not! It was an okay price. I have grown my stockpile since then, and am now on a self-inflicted restriction. I have started introducing Carter to the potty (more on that later), and now am hoping to transition out of diapers before we use up all of these! So I have promised Jack that I won't buy any more for at least a month. I think. I have a really great coupon right now . . . so I might use that one and add to my stockpile for the future. Yes, add to it . . . I have one pack already (stored in my closet, not pictured). [On the topic of babies. Don't get excited, folks. We have a (somewhat altered) plan and aren't quite where we need to be. Very close, but not quite.] But I will really try not to buy one single pack for Carter until we deplete this supply. For heaven's sake, there's no more room in Carter's closet!

Diaper Brand Tip: For anyone who is interested, I have found a blog with user reviews of national and generic diaper brands (dozens of them--and all varieties). I just stumbled across it and am reading the reviews to see how their analyses stack up to my experiences. I see a future blog post topic in the works . . . http://delicious.com/babycheapskate/diaperreviews

Swag Bucks

A blog that I follow (Money Saving Mom) has turned me on to a search engine that allows you to earn points toward prizes for using their search engine. The search engine is powered by Google and Ask, and it doesn't seem to miss a beat. I just joined so I haven't accumulated many points yet--but I did earn two points on my first search (none since then).

You can earn gift cards from merchants like Amazon, Starbucks and Target. They also offer merchandise prizes.

If you're interested in trying out this service, click here to learn more about registering with them.

Making Baby Food

I've had a few people inquire about homemade baby food. I've commented before on here, that I find it easy and inexpensive. For those who really are interested, I'm devoting this post to a more in-depth explanation of what I make, how I make it and what I use to make it.

I've posted a photo of the equipment I use. There are some variations that are sold in stores, and preferences that other people may have. But here is what I have found to work for me.

• Small (six-cup) food processor ($30 on Amazon)
• Small (approx. one-cup) hand blender (prices vary widely, but $20+ on Amazon)
• Two baby food books (I really like "Top 100 Baby Purees", $11 on Amazon)
• One set 2-oz. Baby Cubes ($10 on Amazon)
• One set (two in a pack) baby food freezer trays with lids ($10 at Babies R Us; $13.50 on Amazon)
• Assorted small food storage containers
• Quart-sized freezer bags

One item not pictured that I do use also, is a Pampered Chef microwave food steamer. However, I assume that everyone has some sort of food steamer. It's the easiest, fastest and best way to cook the foods and retain nutrition levels.

The books have some great ideas for purees, and I adjust them sometimes to fit our needs. Some are very basic and others have a long list of ingredients. Both books, however, do list the recipes by age range (example: 6 months, 6-8 months, 10-12 months, etc.).

When making a batch of food (say, a butternut squash or a few pears), I steam the foods, then use the food processor to create the puree. Some foods (like green beans) require the addition of 1-2 ounces of water to help smooth the texture. I scoop the puree into the freezer trays or cubes (sometimes both, and sometimes additional small storage containers as well). I freeze in the trays/cubes for 24-48 hours. Then I pop them out of the trays, put them in a quart-sized freezer bag (labeled with the date and type of puree), and store the bags in the freezer. I sometimes leave the puree in the cubes because they're portable. But as for the trays . . . they just take up space. Plus, re-packaging the portions to a freezer bag allows me to re-use the tray before I've used up all of the previous batch. Right now, I probably have 8-10 different purees in my freezer. I make two or three batches each weekend, and we're set for the week. They will stay fresh for about two months in the freezer, so I can keep a good variety on hand.

One exception: potatoes (white or sweet) should not go in the food processor. Mash those by hand or with a hand-held electric mixer.

When making a single (or double) serving of a food, I use the small hand blender. This is how I make his smoothies (yogurt, banana and one or two other fruits), and how I blend a single (or double) serving of whatever we're eating for dinner, for him. Say, if we're having green beans with dinner . . . after steaming them, I'll pull out a serving for Carter and puree it so he eats what we eat. Just remember that if you add anything to your foods (salt, butter or spices), in general you should do that after you've removed baby's portion.

I started out with foods that seemed easy--those that are pretty smooth by nature. First I made sweet potatoes, which just required me to bake them and mash them by hand. I gradually moved up to squash types . . . peas were pretty easy also, but the outside "skins" may be bothersome for new eaters . . . and eventually worked my way up to multi-food blends, like blueberry-peach (with rice cereal to thicken) and cheese sauce. Green beans still are difficult. They are so firm by nature, that they don't seem to puree for me. They're just diced really small, even with the addition of water. To get Carter used to the texture, I served them mixed in with smooth sweet potatoes.

Consignment Sales

For any other thrifty mamas (and others) who might be interested in kids' consignment sales, I found some Web sites that keep record of children's consignment sales. The most comprehensive site that I've found (via one of my co-workers) is The Bargain Watcher. It seems to be pretty comprehensive, at least for the Atlanta area.
http://www.thebargainwatcher.com/

For visual interest, here are a few pictures of Carter pulling all the books out of the basket in the living room . . . We've had to replace the "coffee table" books on our ottoman with board books, so he can't rip the pages.

Huggies Diaper Deal

Anyone wanting to stock up on diapers and open to using Huggies, take note. You can find printable coupons for $5 off a Gentle Care product (wipes and diapers up to size 2) and $3 off a Natural Fit product (diapers up to size 6). By printing your coupons and then hitting the "back" button on your browser, the coupons will print twice. By doing that, you can print them twice per computer. I printed mine today and they expire 30 days from now. Combine the coupons with diaper sales and you can stock up for $5-7 per pack!

Here is the coupn link.

Kidsignments, Round 2

As noted in my "Sitting Tall" post, I was out of the house Monday evening. I was, in fact, shopping the pre-sale for the spring Kidsignments event. I went to the fall sale last August, where I picked up some great second-hand toys (most notably, his $20 "farm" exersaucer and his $8 Little Tykes work bench--both are much loved these days). This time, I was able to scrounge together the minimum of 25 sellable items, so I qualified as a seller and was allowed to shop the pre-sale! It was crazy. I felt completely out of my league next to some of these women. I showed up with my beach bag, ready to grab my few items and head home. (Last summer, I took two beach bags and filled them--but also had a longer list at that time.) Well, these Shoppers (yes, they deserve a capital "S") came with wheeled hampers, wheeled trash cans, laundry baskets and even their own shopping carts! I definitely deserve amateur status. Nonetheless, I was able to get first pick (well, first with all the other sellers) of a great umbrella stroller, some big toys and some clothes for the coming seasons. Some of the best deals?

• $5 for a Playskool Busy Ball Popper (great condition, just missing one of the five balls): retails for $25
• $10 for a LeapFrog Learn N Groove activity table (again--looks almost new): retails for $45
• $8 for a canopied umbrella stroller (looks almost new): similar styles retail for $20
• Numerous shirts and pants/shorts for Carter for $1-2, most of which look barely (or not at all) worn

Last summer, I was not a seller and didn't go until the second day of the public sale (third day if you count the pre-sale). They probably had 12-15 exersaucers, a few jumperoos, a couple pack-and-plays . . . but at the pre-sale, they started out with at least 40 jumperoos, probably 60-80 exersaucers, two or three dozen pack-and-plays . . . those items were flying off the floor. So anyone who is really serious about buying their baby gear at this sale, should seriously consider being a seller or a volunteer (volunteers have to help with at least three shifts, but get to shop before the sellers and receive 50% off their purchase--except on items marked as "no reduction" by the seller). I happened to see someone pick up my barely used travel system during the pre-sale! Woo-hoo!