Food – Page 9

How to “make” groceries! 10 Tips for grocery shopping on a budget

Now you may be saying Ricki, how do you “make” groceries? Simply put that’s what the old folks say in the south when referring to going grocery shopping. Last week we talked about meal planning but now its time to take that plan, make a list and get the food in the house that you need.

Since I usually grocery shop on Saturday morning, I do my prepping on Friday so I am prepared and stay on budget. So I’m sharing 10 tips with ya’ll. Here we go:

ASSESS YOUR INVENTORY -Before you go to any store, you need to assess your refrigerator, pantry and freezer first. Look at your meal plan, do you have things already that you can use? What staples are you running low on? WRITE ALL THIS DOWN!
WRITE A QUICK LIST-Next take the list you just jotted down and your meal plan and write out your grocery list. Having a grocery list is necessary to shop on a budget. If you have a list you will not buy unnecessary items and you won’t forget the things you actually need. Now this is a rough draft. Because the next step is to…
SET A BUDGET- UGH! I know right but this is usually where we mess up at. If you don’t set an amount I am telling you now, you WILL OVERSPEND! In order to stay on budget set an amount. I usually like to set a few, let me explain. I have a amount I will spend on groceries like $60 for the week, then I may add an additional $10 for stock up items – we have a store here that will discount great things to very low prices so I use this extra amount to take advantage of a great deal. And then I may have an extra $5-$10 for fun items, like a treat for the kids or to try a new product. So my budget for the week would be $75-$80. Look at your rough draft list and maybe remove some things that may cause you to go over budget like do ya’ll really need steak this week? Is there a veggie or fruit in season that you may like that will be cheaper to replace one on your list? When you buy in season you are getting better quality at a better price. Once you’ve set your budget you can make your final list.
KEEP UP WITH YOUR LIST- I won’t tell you how many times I forgot my list at home which defeats the whole purpose so TAKE A SCREENSHOT of your list and your meal plan or write it in the notes section of your phone. I bet you won’t leave that phone! Seriously, when trying to save money you have to make things easy and convenient or you won’t stick to it!
TIME TO SHOP- But before you head to the store you need to make sure you’ve eaten a full meal. When they say don’t shop on an empty stomach no lies were told. Listen, EVERYTHING looks good when you’re hungry! Don’t play yourself! Also, if you can, grocery shop in the morning before you run the rest of your errands etc. Shopping with a clear mind leads to better decisions and if you can leave the kids at home (unless they’re older kids that can help) DO IT!!! And if you know you have a tendency to spend at the store, take out cash and leave your cards at home. Hunny, you will stick to the budget in order not to be embarrassed in that checkout line. Ask me how I know lol.
SET A TIME LIMIT- The more time you spend in the store the more money will part from your wallet. Why do you think they have all those free samples at stores on Saturdays? The main objective is to keep you in the store longer so you will be more likely to spend. The grocery stores specialize in using psychology to help you part with your money at their establishments. They spend millions of dollars on learning our behaviors. You have to outsmart them and stop letting them win. Set a time period for each store you visit and stick to it. I actually started doing this so my older kids would come help me because they said I took too long but I noticed it actually helped our budget!
DOWNLOAD THE STORE APP AND ANY DIGITAL COUPONS- Now you actually should have checked the store ad when you were making you meal/menu plan however sometimes you may get in the store and find something you really may need. Check to see if the store has a digital coupon. Also you may want to check another store’s app to see if maybe they have the same thing on sale. There also apps that get into cash back. I don’t know too much about them but you can always do a google search. Anyway the technology is available, use it!
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF STORE BRANDS- Honestly the time of being brand loyal is over. Many but not all store brands are made by the same manufacturer. You have to understand there is not a manufacturer for every single product, that’s just not feasible. When you buy a store brand, like butter if you take it out the box you’ll notice it will have the same wrapper as another brand lol. It was made at the same dairy it’s just cheaper because there is no brand label. Now is this true of every store brand, no but it doesn’t hurt to try them out.
USE YOUR CALCULATOR-Again back to that budget thing, if you want to prevent overspending take out your phone and use that calculator function! I usually round up when calculating but it helps to stay on track and you can also use your calculator to determine if buying in a certain quantity is a good deal. Also, every thing that’s on sale isn’t a good deal if you’re not going to use it. Exactly how many time have we thrown away a food item because we couldn’t or didn’t use it prior to expiring. Please remember that when you throw wasted food away you are actually just making a donation to the grocery store. I need all my coins, what about you?
SHOP ONCE A WEEK- Ideally if you shop according to your list for the week you SHOULDN’T need to come back to the store again. I personally don’t like having to go to the grocery store several times a week, that’s my time I can’t get back and my gas! But things happen and sometimes we forget because we are human. If you do need to pick something up quickly try to just bring the cash for that item so you won’t be tempted to spend more.

Those were my 10 tips to have a successful grocery shopping trip on a budget. Let me be real with ya’ll it takes a few times to get this down so please don’t beat yourself up if you mess up. I do all the time lol. But eventually you will find a system or routine that works for you and. your family. Take all the tips and apply them or a few. Depending on where you are in life every tip might not apply. The number one thing is to have a plan and that will set you on the right path! Make sure you follow me on IG (@severalpeoplesmama) because on Saturday I will be headed to the grocery store on my stories so you can see exactly how I shop. What grocery shopping tips can you share? Comment below!

Love Ricki

5 Reasons Why You Need a Meal Plan

So for the past few weeks on my IG account (@severalpeoplesmama) I have been sharing my meal plans, how and why I meal plan and some of my family’s meals. It was only right I make a blog post about it so you (and I lol) could refer back to it. I even attached a meal planner I created to go along with the information I’ll share in this post. So let’s get started on the reasons why you NEED to meal plan and some tips on getting it done.

Why you need to meal plan:

You eliminate stress and set yourself up for success.

We have way too many other things to stress us everyday, don’t make what’s for dinner one of them. By taking a few minutes while watching TV you can create a plan to feed your family and get rid of the most annoying question ever asked in adulthood, “What’s for dinner”. Take the pressure off yourself and plan ahead.

2. You save money. I don’t care if you shop the grocery sales or not, when you are prepared you save your coins. When you make a menu plan it keeps you from buying unnecessary items that may or may not get eaten and prevents you from wasting food. It also keeps you from eating out when you know you have a meal planned and ready to cook.

3. You make better choices. Like it or not we become what we eat. Fast food has become so convenient to get. We have Postmates & Doordash and other delivery services that make where we don’t even have to leave the house to get our fix. However we all know eating those things day in and out will not just cause us to gain weight, it will KILL US (eventually). You are in control of your diet and meal planning is a tool you can use to make better and hopefully healthier meals for your family.

4. You encourage variety. When you take the time to plan your meals (and keep a record) you can really think about what you can prepare for you and your family. It will also keep you from making the same things over and over again. I also believe it’s important to write down meals so you can give your family an overview and make necessary changes.

5. Saves time. Time is the one thing we cannot get back and I personally have other things I could be doing than wasting my time in the kitchen or doing a last minute grocery run because I don’t have my shiggity together. Knowing what you’re going to cook let’s you know what you need to buy and prep ahead of time. Why wouldn’t you want to save yourself time to do some things YOU want to do?

Now that we know why we should meal here are a few tips to get you started.

Make two lists, one of every recipe you know how to make and then make a list of the things you already have in your freezer, fridge, pantry, etc.
Look at your schedule. You have to be available to cook the food you’re planning. If it’s going to be a busy evening then maybe plan for a crockpot meal. If you know you’ll have more time, like for me a Sunday afternoon, then plan a meal that may require more time or try a new recipe.
Grab your grocery sales ads and look at the “loss leaders” These are the items usually on super sale which grocery stores actually lose money on but they get you in the store. Those are the items you want to focus on adding to your menu plan that week, and it it’s a great sale buy at least 2, one for now and one for later.
Now it’s time to plan! Take your lists and use the menu planner I’ve created here to write out your plan for the week. If you need inspiration follow me on IG, click some popular hashtags like #dinnerinspiration or go to Pinterest and pin away! There are so many resources available to get it done!

I hope you enjoyed this post. Use the hashtag #cookyomeals on IG if you share your meal plan/meals/recipes or tag me! If you have questions, I’ll be happy to answer, comment below!

Do you need delicious but easy recipes that don’t use complicated ingredients? I got you – check out my cooking available for purchase here: https://payhip.com/b/WN19

Love, Ricki

Easy Shrimp Fried Rice

Shrimp fried rice is a favorite at my house and easy meal to whip up even on a weeknight. I wanted to share the recipe with y’all and a little tip I recently discovered. This recipe comes together quickly and uses basic ingredients but you can definitely turn it up a notch or two by adding specialty flavorings found at your local Asian market. Let’s cook!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1 package of medium size shrimp, peeled and deveined. I used larger shrimp for this particular recipe because I was serving it as a main course instead of a side dish
1/2 tsp of minced garlic
1/4 cup of onions (I used a shortcut, a bag of frozen onions cause I was too lazy to chop veggies)
2 cups cooked white rice
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 bag of frozen peas and carrots
Soy sauce
1/2 tsb of sesame oil (this is optional but it gives it great flavor and is easy to find. I found mine in the Asian food section of Walmart)Ingredients

Directions

Began by heating the vegetable and sesame oil in a large skillet on medium high heat

Add the beaten eggs and lightly scramble. Then move eggs over to a cooler part of the pan.

Add frozen peas and carrots and sauté til warmed through. I also added the onion and garlic to the frozen veggies.

Add shrimp and cook. I seasoned my shrimp with a light sprinkle of soy and teriyaki sauce, garlic and onion powder and a dash of ground ginger and rice wine vinegar but season however you like just be careful with the soy sauce cause it will cause your dish to be salty and we will be adding some later.

After the shrimp are cooked thru add leftover COLD rice. This is the trick to good fried rice. Fresh or warm rice will just become mushy so this is the perfect recipe to use up those leftovers in the fridge. You can add whatever kind of frozen veggies you like and leftover chicken or make it strictly vegetarian. You can also make it low carb by using riced cauliflower just make sure it’s cold!

Now mix everything together and add soy sauce to taste. I usually only add a few dashes and let the kids add more if it isn’t enough for their taste buds.

Now you’re done and you have a very delicious meal or side dish and it’s easy, quick and budget friendly!

We like to eat ours with homemade egg rolls and this time we also added homemade crab rangoon.

Please let me know if you try this recipe and also what other recipes you’d like to see on the blog!!!

Love Ricki

My Keto Life and 5 Tips to start the Keto Diet

So this is my keto journey!

Let me start this post off by saying I am not a doctor of any kind. I do not have a medical degree and I do not have a PHD (I know that has nothing to do with medicine lol). I am only Dr. Mama to my kids when someone gets sick and that’s it! I encourage you before you start ANY diet especially where you are making a drastic change to your normal eating habits to consult a medical professional. I am only sharing my experience with Keto and some beginning tips.

July 2016: You couldn’t tell me nothing! Keto had me looking and feeling good!

I first heard of the Ketogenic diet when I followed Kendra on Instagram @blackketogirl . She had recently started the Keto diet and she shared lots of information and pictures of her meals, etc. I did more research on good ‘ole Google and YouTube and since I was already familiar and lost weight by lowering my carb intake before I figured it was something I would try. With Keto I could still eat bacon, seafood, meat and veggies and butter and coffee and creamy food and I figured I could make that work for me. With the Keto diet you are basically eating foods low in carbs and high in fat (preferably healthy fats) and moderate protein. Doing this will allow your body to not burn carbs (because you’re hardly eating any) and instead use your own body fat hence causing you to lose weight. This process is referred to as ketosis and once your in it hunny you will drop those pounds and inches! There are also so many benefits to eating a ketogenic diet such as: increased focus and brain functionality, increased energy, decreased inflammation and better sleep. Keto has been know to help lower blood pressure (I am a witness to this!), lower blood sugar, help with heartburn and migraines and even is being used as a form of cancer treatment. Also, women who suffer from PCOS and infertility have even become pregnant from this diet! Now that is not a benefit I want but if you want a baby go Keto! Now of course with everything there are disadvantages. When you begin the Keto diet some people get what’s called the Keto flu. This is where during the first 1-2 weeks you may experience brain fog, nausea, diarrhea, and headaches. I personally have only experienced a bad headache and have been moody and irritable from lack of carbs/sugar. It is also a restrictive diet which can be hard for some people to maintain therefore it may not help in the long run. I began the Keto diet late May/ early June of 2016 and loss over 30 lbs by the end of July. I experienced a major increase in energy and I slept really well at night and lowered my blood pressure. I continued eating pseudo-Keto ( I ate carbs sparingly) as I like to call it up until August of 2017 and I can say until that time I only gained 5-7 pounds. I would encourage you to research the pros and cons of Keto for yourself and see if this is something you would like to do. I would say if you try it be prepared to eat this way for a month to truly see all the benefits.

What can you eat and not eat on Keto:

You can eat: Fats and oils-coconut oils, MCT oil, olive oils, butter, avocado, or avocado oils, lard, egg yolks

Meat- steaks, ground beef, chicken, seafood, fatty fish, Pork, some lunch meats (be careful with this because a lot of lunch meats are high in sugar)

Dairy- heavy whipping cream, sour cream, cream cheese, mayo, greek yogurt, cheeses

Vegetables- above ground vegetables like spinach, lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, cabbage

Fruits (in moderation)- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries

Nuts- pecans, almonds, macadamia, sunflower seeds

Almond and Coconut flours and almond and coconut milk

Beverages- Water (drink plenty! I flavor mine with lemon and a few frozen strawberries), tea, coffee, diet sodas and drinks (sparingly because they can increase sugar cravings) Non-flavored alcohol such as Vodka and Tequila. You can also use sucralose and stevia to sweeten drinks and food.

This is just a small sample of the many things you can eat. Take a look at this article from Rule Me for more detailed list here.

Foods to avoid: Rice, bread, potatoes, sugar filled foods, pastas, high sugar fruits (ex: bananas), oats and corn. Again refer to the article I referenced above for more.

Another important thing to do while on Keto is calculate your macros. Macros are simply what makes up a food and they are broken into 3 categories: fats, carbs and protein. It is important to know how much fat, carbs and protein to eat while on keto to effectively lose weight. Once you have calculated I suggest you plug in those numbers into an app and keep track of what you eat to make sure you stay in those guidelines. You can use this calculator here to calculate your macros.

Since we are talking about my Keto experience I will give you a sample of what I eat in a day:

Breakfast: Coffee – I wouldn’t say it’s bullet proof but here’s what I do: I brew a cup of medium roast and sometimes I use flavored coffee such as French vanilla just make sure you pay attention to the carb count and I add 1 table spoon of coconut oil, 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, sugar free vanilla syrup and sometimes a splash of flavored creamer (again check the carb count).

With my coffee I will eat bacon and eggs in some variation. I will eat just plain bacon and an egg scrambled or fried in butter and the bacon fat with cheese on top. Or I will make an omelet with bacon and spinach and cheese. I also usually eat half an avocado.

If I am tired of bacon and eggs I will make a smoothie. I make one by blending low carb protein powder, unsweetened almond milk (vanilla), a splash of sugar free vanilla syrup, melted coconut oil (if I need to get more fats in) and either ice or frozen berries depending on my carb intake for that day already.

Lunch: Usually a salad with grilled chicken and real ranch dressing. I usually make semi homemade from one of those dry ranch seasoning packets so I can add the mayo and sour cream myself.

Dinner: One of my favorite dinners is stuffed chicken. I have a recipe for this here. I will pair this with a salad or steamed veggies. Normally I work my keto dinners around my family. If I am making something with ground meat I will put mine to the side and make a taco salad or stuff a bell pepper without the rice.

In my opinion Keto is an easy way to eat. As you eat it more your carb and sugar cravings will lessen and your appetite will decrease. A lot of times I have to make a smoothie because I am not hungry but if course you must eat to lose weight.

Along with Keto in the morning I also drink a shot of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother and lemon juice. Do not drink Apple Cider Vinegar alone. It will tear up your esophagus. This also helps with lowering your blood pressure, appetite suppression, and weight loss.

The first go around on this diet I did not exercise besides walking. I plan on exercising more this round in order to tone areas.

The Keto diet was successful for me and I am currently on it and have lost 9 pounds in 2 weeks. As of writing this I am sure I lost more and inches because my clothes are looser and my belly is definitely flatter! Check my IG for updates on my progress.

If you have any more questions about the Keto Diet again I am no doctor but I will be happy to answer or direct you to who can. Below I have listed some Youtubers and IG accounts I follow for Keto inspiration:

Keilaketo (YT and IG)

Dr Eric Berg (YT)

BlackKetoGirl (IG)

KetoConnect (IG)

Yummy Inspirations (YT)

5 TIPS TO START THE KETO DIET

Don’t go out and buy a bunch of things. Because Keto has gained so much popularity as of late there are a lot of expensive fancy products that you DONT need. I would purchase everyday things like bacon, sausage, eggs and chicken and salad components. For fats I would buy unrefined virgin coconut oil (I buy from Aldi for under $5) and heavy whipping cream. In other words buy things you would normally eat but be mindful of the carbs. In case this diet doesn’t work for you you won’t have wasted your money.
Drink plenty of water and take a multivitamin. Because you are eating a restrictive diet you need to replace certain vitamins you are lacking. Also water will help you stay hydrated and help with the sugar and carb cravings.
Add fats to regular meals. It’s imperative to get your fats in with the Keto diet. Add an avocado to breakfast or a salad. Add coconut oil to your smoothie.
Meal prep (this will keep you from eating foods not on the plan) and input your food into a Food Tracker App. I use MyFitnessPal (the free version) and I can say this helped me to stay on track. It was also fun to see my weight go down!
Watch videos and follow other Keto people on social media. You will get recipe ideas and motivation from seeing what others do. I often just look at the #ketodiet or #ketorecipe hashtags on IG.

Before: Easter 2015 After: March 2017 I was successful in keeping most of the weight off until a medical condition in August 2017.

With anything this is a process and even though it has been the quickest way for me to lose weight that may not be the same for everyone. This might not be the diet for you but you won’t know unless you try! Wishing you much success and please let me know if you try it!