Sunday, June 12, 2011

Graduation gifts

It's that time again. One graduation party yesterday and three today - and another few over the next couple weekends.

To avoid having to run to the card store and/or the ATM before each party, I've gotten into the habit of buying gifts in bulk. Since most of the parties are for kids who grew up in our church, this year I'm giving each a copy of The Poverty and Justice Bible. (Full disclosure, I do get an employee discount, but the list price of $20 is what I usually would give for graduation gifts.) I bought a case of 10; if I don't use them all this year, I know there will be occasion over the next year.

Even - or maybe especially - in this era of electronic information, books can be a special gift. Know someone graduating college or even high school and going off on their own? Your favorite basic cookbook. High school student going off to the military? Biography of a hero from his/her service branch. Other thoughts: history book for history major; book by a business leader for business majors or kids going straight to work after school; dictionary for any student.

I've also got enough graduation cards to make it through this weekend, at least. When I was at the Hallmark store buying Mothers Day and May birthday cards, I picked up a variety of the 99-cent Shoebox cards. Yes, I said Hallmark. I am frugal, but that doesn't mean I can't have a few luxuries (which don't cost that much in the grand scheme of things).

So, graduates and graduation party attendees alike, may your dreams soar as high as those caps!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Dinner - Plan ahead, and improvise

Dinner on a work night. Sort of feels like the fourth quarter when you're down by two touchdowns. Can you pull it out?

I've been doing it for 33 years and, like Brett Favre, sometimes I pull it out, sometimes I don't, often it's a spectacular success, and more often than I care to mention, I fall flat on my face.

I survive by planning ahead - to a point - and improvising.

I grew up with a mom who was so organized we knew what we were having every night of the week: meatloaf one day, on others pork chops, liver and onions, fish, chicken, etc. A simple way to organize, and I envy the predictability. I can only predict what we're having one night a week: Friday. My husband picks up take-out after depositing his paycheck.

My menu is driven more by:
  1. What's on sale
  2. Who gets home from work first
  3. Where do we have to get the kids tonight? (And now, that our nest is emptying, who is home for dinner and who will want leftovers after work?)
  4. What can I defrost, cook, and get on the table in an hour?
So how do I plan ahead? Stocking up on staples I know can be used to make a quick meals. And then improvising based on answers to the above.

Last night, for example, my daughter found a package of chicken thighs in the freezer. I defrosted it in the microwave, then - because there were three of us and only four thighs - cut it into small pieces. Put it in the cast-iron skillet with chopped onion and cooked on high until done. Tasted delicious over the rice my daughter had made. Fast, Frugal, and Fit!

More to come....

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Lunch - $2 or less

My office was built in 1995 in a beautiful location south of Seattle. The campus has trees, walking paths, a view of a lake, and occasionally sightings of eagles, herons, ducks, geese, and woodpeckers. The price for that beauty is having nowhere in walking distance for lunch.

Over the years, we've had various vendors in to service a canteen. The current group does a good job, and I don't mind supporting them because it's a ministry teaching job skills. And I love their salads. Problem is, when I put my change in the tip jar, it's $7 for a salad. That works out to $35 a week, which is an expense we can't justify with two weddings coming up.

The solution I've come to is to keep frozen meals on hand. Most weeks, my Safeway store has Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, or its own store brand of healthy meals on sale. These are:

Fast: I just grab one out of the freezer in the morning and cook it for 3-5 minutes at lunchtime.

Frugal: Usually on sale for $2 or less. Wal-Mart often has them for $1.89. Look for coupons. Saves enough you can splurge somewhere else (my favorite is Diet Snapple).

Fit: Some are as few as 5 Weight Watchers Points Plus, but most are 7 or 8. For now, I'm not so concerned about a point or two. As I get closer to goal, I'll write the points on each when I bring them home from the store so I know which to choose in the morning.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Breakfast: Steel-cut oatmeal

My Weight Watchers instructor warns against breakfast ruts, but don't you think it's the one meal that lends itself to routine? I'm a morning person, but still not functioning on all cylinders first thing in the morning for elaborate preparation. Plus who has time?

For several years, my rut was a toasted English muffin, microwaved with an unmeasured slice of Cheddar (or whatever block we had in the fridge) cheese. So any wonder I'm at Weight Watchers now?

Oatmeal is my rut of choice now. Half a cup of regular oatmeal, one cup of water, and a tablespoon or two of raisins (or maybe frozen berries or an apple cut up); microwave for three minutes, and breakfast is ready.

Then my daughter introduced me to steel-cut oatmeal. More filling, more healthy, more interesting to the taste buds. But also more difficult to prepare. It took me a little while to get into a routine.

Fast: There are methods of cooking steel-cut oats in the microwave and crockpot, but my favorite is in the double boiler. I bring 1 1/2 cups of oat and 4-4 1/2 cups of water to boil in the top of a double boiler placed directly on the heat. Meanwhile, bring about an inch of water to boil in a 3-quart saucepan that the boiler fits into. (The amount will vary, according to the capacity of your double boiler. Just use the ratio 3 parts water to 1 part oats.) Cook, stirring frequently, for five minutes. (I use this time to empty or load my dishwasher.) Turn off heat and put over boiling water in the saucepan. Cover and cook for 25 minutes.

You now have enough oats for several servings. At first, I just put the double boiler in the fridge and would serve out of it for several days. But it didn't keep as well, took up valuable refrigerator space, and usually the double boiler hadn't gone through the dishwasher by the time I needed to make the next batch.

So I started freezing it in single serving containers. Small butter tubs are the perfect size. I take one out of the freezer when I get up. By the time I'm done with my morning exercises, it has defrosted enough to easily come out of the tub into a microwave-safe container. Do not microwave in the butter containers. They weren't intended for this use. 2-3 minutes on high should do it. I usually add raisins and a bit of cinnamon when it's done.

Frugal: Finding a regular supply of steel-cut oats has been a challenge. QFC, an upscale supermarket chain in the Northwest, has it, but it can run$5-6 for a can. My Costco had it - once. Haven't seen it since. Fred Meyer, another Northwest grocery chain, also has it, but the best price I've found was at Trader Joe's. Runs about 12 cents a serving.

Fit: 4 Weight Watchers Points Plus per serving, before adding fruit and milk.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Looking for food (and other things) that are fast, frugal, and fit

2011 seems like the perfect storm: two children getting married, one graduating high school, another finishing community college and heading off to university, and the other returning home from deployment to enjoy being a husband and daddy. Lots of good stuff. But in the middle of all this wonderful busyness, how do I keep fit and keep on a budget?

So join me on my quest. If I miss a day or two or three, please forgive. I'm probably trying to book a wedding reception, or booking a car, or crocheting a hat for my darling grandson.