Earthfare Deals & what to do with unwanted candy

I confess I haven't made it to Earthfare in awhile, but since I was in the neighborhood today, I stopped in for a few deals. Before I go, I always check the match-ups that Hannah at Frugally Farming Family does. She's a mother of 7 and still finds it in her budget to go to Earthfare. You go, girl!

She notes the best deals at the top of the list if you want to look quickly. However, my favorite deal wasn't advertised:

• Back to Nature select crackers, including their version of Cheez-its: $2 a box! That's half price for Earthfare and much better than the typical sale at Kroger: $3. I watch this product closely because it's my kids' favorite snack. Once you taste how good these are, you'll never go back to that neon orange excuse for a cracker. Tip: If you don't see them on the shelf near the cheese, check on the end cap, where they put some of their best deals.

I also bought:

• bulk sliced almonds for $5.99 / lb (savings of $2/lb)--great for holiday cooking / topping casseroles.
• Glee Gum, 18 ct: $.75, use B1G1 coupon makes them $.38 each. This is a great stocking stuffer or donation to Christmas charities.
• bag of organic apples: $5.99 (not a great price but this is one of my dirty dozen I only buy organic)
• bag of organic potatoes: $5.99 (again, not a great price but this is one of my dirty dozen I only buy organic)
• I contemplated the Cascadian Farms and Muir Glen deals, but I think I can find them cheaper elsewhere.

Finally, they're having a promotion, Trick or Trade In, through Nov. 5 where you can turn in Halloween candy in exchange for healthier goodies. No coupon necessary. I chose the 1-50 piece option that gets you a goody bag. Inside was a huge apple, $1.50 of coupons for Earthbound Farms good for 8 months, and a coupon for one free itty bitty bites meal (value: $3.99). You can get this to-go and feed it to your kids the next day if it's not lunch or dinner time. Offer valid through mid November.

The Take the Boot Challenge is for natural ant-acids. If you have Rolaids in your medicine cabinet, you could trade those in for a better alternative.

Every Thursday night, kids eat free with at least one adult meal worth $5 or more, 4-8pm.

And if you homeschool or are an educator, you could save 5% with ID.

Go green, save green!

Eco-friendly scotch tape: get it FREE!

When I can score a deal that's a green product and I get it for free, I wear a smile all day. Yes, I'm that nerdy. I just stopped by Staples to get all the extreme deals on the front of the flyer for myself and my church. They still had plenty of everything, and the notebooks rang up $.09, not $.19--even better.

My favorite deal was for Scotch magic eco-friendly tape, made from 75% renewable or recycled materials. The dispenser is made from 100% recycled plastic, the back-card is from 100% renewable materials, and the tape is made from over 53% renewable plant-based materials. I'm not sure how they do that, but that's cool. You can also reuse the dispenser and buy refills separately or recycle it through Terracyle. Since our school has just started collecting for Terracycle, I'm jazzed about this idea, which pays the school $.02 for each item. Love it!

So here's the deal: You pay $3.99 and get $3.99 back in Staples rewards to use on a future purchase. Voila: FREE. Limit 1 per customer. Go green, save green, give green!

The Best Lil' Consignment Sale in Knoxville

You guys know I love consignment sales. They are the ultimate in "going green and saving green." But sometimes it can be overwhelming with the consignment sale options out there to determine which are worth my time.

There's one I'd like you to consider shopping and consigning for in a few weeks.

Host: MOMS Club of Northwest Knoxville

Dates: July 22 (pre-sale for consigners) and July 23 (open to the public)

Where: Erin Presbyterian Church, just off Kingston Pike in the Bearden area.

Accepted items: all seasons of clothing, toys, baby items, maternity, etc.

What you'll earn: 70-80% of your sales (depending on the shifts you work)

How to Consign: Please send an email to momsclubconsignmentsale@yahoo.com for information on registering.

So why this sale? Full Disclosure: It's the one sale for which I consign personally. I've been a member of MOMS Club for 6 years and it's a great support group for moms. This sale is our chief fund-raising tool for the year. All the proceeds that do not go to the consignors are donated directly back to the community through a variety of organizations.

I also like this sale because it's not too big and it's not too small. Every year we get delighted customers saying, "You guys have so much stuff but I didn't have to wait in line to view it or buy it. What a concept!" You are more likely to see a short line during half-price sale in the afternoon, but I've never heard anyone waiting more than 20 minutes at check-out.

I'm sure this year will be another success, but we could use more consignors. So please consider joining us by emailing to the address above. Thanks!

Dilemmas of a Coupon / Green Addict

In preparation of buying and dividing our first local, grass-fed cow amongst several families, I needed to buy a new scale. Nothing fancy, just reliable. When I purchase anything, I consider two costs: the initial one and the long term costs. I would rather pay more upfront if it's going to last longer. But then my couponing excitement sets in, and I'm eager for the best deal. Not even buying a scale is easy for me.

My first thought was buy the least expensive one at Bed Bath and Beyond and use the 20% off coupon. But EVERY scale in that $20-$30 price range got slammed in the reviews for not being reliable or not being able to put a new battery in it.

Not wanting to buy something that will be junk in three years, I turned to Kohl's because I had $30 in Kohl's cash to use. Their cheapest one was $40, but the company boasted "150 years of reliability." I decided on the LED version, hoping it would last the longest.

Of course, I was having internal turmoil because it was my husband's birthday and I could have gotten him two polos for free instead. Scale, shirts, scale, shirts. Ugh!!! I opted for the scale and went on my merry way.

But then two days later, I get a 15% off coupon I could have used AND that scale went on sale for $36--meaning I could have gotten it for less than a buck. Grrrrrr! I don't know Kohl's policy of matching a price within a given time period of your purchase, but I'm certainly not making a trip just for that. If you know, please leave a comment.

Going green and saving green is not always easy.

FREE green products at CVS next week

In celebration of Earth Day next week, CVS is offering two freebies that are great for the environment and your wallet. The deals aren't valid now. They run 4/17-23. Thanks to Southern Savers for the head's up.

The first is my favorite: the green tag! I scan my green tag every visit and have saved $11 with it to date; your receipts keep track. After four visits, you earn $1ECB for doing nothing other than bringing your own shopping bag.

It's a bummer you can only have one; so it's a bit surprising they are offering two free green tags per customer. Though I don't need one, I'll get two and give them to some of my other shopping mavins participating in Couponing for Charity.

The other is a GE Energy Smart lightbulb that's free after ECB and with a coupon from the April All You magazine. We don't need any light bulbs either, but these are great to donate. Not only will they get a free bulb, they'll save on electricity for a long time.

These are both gifts that keep on giving green!

Green Halloween

Though I'm writing all the time online, I admit I get a little giddy when I see my work in print. Something you can hold, flip, and give to someone else at the park. So I was excited to pick up the Knoxmoms October magazine yesterday, which features, among others, my article: "Green Halloween." It has tips for how to go green and save green this holiday.

Go here to view a copy online or find out where you can get this free publication: http://www.knoxmoms.com/magazine. I always get mine at the library.

If you haven't heard of Knoxmoms, where have you been the past three years?! I consider it our town's go-to place for LOCAL information.

FIND THINGS TO DO: The datebook is full of family-friendly activities, and can easily be searched by dates.

SIGN UP FOR THE WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER: I look forward to the weekly E-newsletter on Thursdays that gives exclusive deals, contest news, hot topics, and Ali's (head mom) pick of things to do.

TALK TO OTHER MOMS: Join the parent community and make friends, upload photos and videos, start discussions and more. I've become quite active on the message board. I'm "bluefrog" of course.

SAVE SOME DOUGH: Download coupons, sell old baby stuff and plan your weekly menu with the recipe database. It's all on MomShop.

Thank you, Ali, for all that you do for our community!

Great Earthfare Giveaway

Hannah at Frugally Farming Family has orchestrated an awesome give-away from Earthfare. How she does anything extra with a newborn and six other children (yep, seven kids) is beyond me! Go to her site to find out three ways to win $25 of groceries from Earthfare and a pantry make-over: total value is $40-$45! Cha ching! You have til October 1.

The winner must be local to Knoxville and available to take a tour of of the store with Mike Newman of Earthfare. Personally, I'd love a guided tour. I'm sure I'm missing all kinds of great goods.

And Hannah is also the one who does the monthly match-ups of coupons with Earthfare's sale items. So be sure to enter today! I will be.

Blogging on Knoxmoms

Hi all,

I'm sorry I haven't had much new for you to enjoy lately. I've been tied up in various projects and I've begun blogging regularly for Knoxmoms.com. The Momshare portion has a lot of great subjects on it. Today alone, I've posted:

• about my dog eating chocolate
• the wonderful green product I found on sale that I used to clean up after my dog eating chocolate
• why today was a great day to save money at CVS
• the most important item to bring to the park
• where kids can milk a real cow
• and my "brilliant find"--Glasslock storage containers

If you get a chance, check it out and leave a comment if you're so inspired. I'll be back; I promise!

What's for Lunch?

It's back to school time--back to early rising, back to homework, and back to packing lunches. Whether your child is in high school, grade school, or MDO, the dilemma of what to pack can be an on-going challenge. But once again, I'm here to share ideas for how you can go green and save green for school lunches.

Since my first grader has no interest in school lunches, I'm packing every day. To cut down on trash, I've bought Laptop Lunch boxes (like the traditional Japanese bento box) for all three kids. They're a little pricey ($25 at reusit.com or search online for "discount codes" before buying), but it's a worthwhile investment. Inside, there are two small and two medium size boxes (dishwasher and microwave safe). There's also a tiny box you could use for ketsup or dipping sauces, and flatware included. Most boxes don't have tops, but solid contents will not fall out, even turned upside down. I can attest that the boxes and flatware are great quality and will hold up to everyday use. They also fit into most standard insulated cases.

For a ton of ideas of what to pack in your laptop lunches, it comes with a handy book. Melissa at Frugalissa Finds has some great pictures and ideas too; here's another of her posts about how to actually get your kids to eat these healthy lunches.. If your school allows them the use a microwave, that opens up loads of possibilities. I send cooked pasta, lunch meat rolled up since they don't like sandwiches (aka: turkey or ham roll-ups), slices of cheese, cut-up fruit, Chex mix, popcorn, goldfish, cheezits, Annie's bunny snacks, raisons, mini carrots, and pretzyls. I stay away from anything already prepackaged, including Capri Suns and juice boxes. I send ice water in a Klean Kanteen instead; look for the sport caps for younger children. You can often pick them up for half price on babysteals.com.

The most important detail is follow your program's guidelines on nuts. If peanuts are out but other nuts are allowed, I recommend fresh almond butter at Ingles for sandwiches. Since Devin has a classmate highly allergic to all nuts, I'll be careful of that.

For more ideas, sign up for Earthfare's Healthy Lunch Challenge. You'll get a coupon for a free insulated bag (value: $2.99) through 8/31 or while supplies last. Now through 8/24, you can get one pound of organic grapes (red or white) for FREE with this coupon. Remember grapes are one of the "dirty dozen" that you want to buy organic or at least grown in the USA. For other sale items at Earthfare and printable coupons, go here. And don't forget to check out Iheartearthfare.com.

If you haven't made it to Kroger's mega sale the past two weeks, get there by Saturday for some great deals on lunch items. For fresh produce, there was a $4 off $20 or $1 off $5 coupon in the Kroger home mailer. I also had two store coupons for $.50 off mini carrots. Note: these do NOT double, but with the sale this week, each pack was only $.50. There's also a $.55 off Earthgrains bread; never underestimate the importance of good quality bread! Finally, there was a $1 off Hefty storage bags, which makes one box free this week. The gallon freezer bags are great for making freezer meals to save you time during the busy school year. If you don't get Kroger home mailer coupons, call customer service; they're great!

As for lunch meats, I prefer Hormel Natural Choice meats. They have NO nitrates, NO artificial ingredients, are minimally processed, have NO MSG added, are raised without added hormones, and are gluten free. You can also find coupons in the paper, online, or in blinkies near the meat. This week they're on sale for $2.50 each, and I used 2 $.55/1 and 2 $1/2 to make each pack about $2. The expiration is still a few months out; so I could stock up.

Thanks to creative couponing, you can get Fiber One bars, Nature Valley bars, Nature Valley clusters, Chex Mix, and Gardetto's Snack Mix for FREE this week. They're not as healthy or green in terms of packaging, but they sure are handy. You might also consider donating them to a food pantry. For details on how to get the best deals this week, go to Southern Savers. Coupon Katie and Gabrielle at Couponing in Critical Times also posted their trips to Kroger for guidance. I saved 53% today (a high percentage for me).

What tips do you have for making school lunches more green?

Back to School Clothing: Go Green Save Green

Last night I wrote about ways to go green and save green on school supplies. Tonight I figured I'd share my two cents for how to do the same with clothing.

There are different ways to consider what makes clothing green. There are those made with organic cotton. Some clothes are even made from recycled materials. It's also green to buy at consignment sales or garage sales because it's giving clothes another life. Personally, we do most of our kids "shopping out of a box"--boxes of clothes passed down to us from friends and family. Free is good! Finally, green might just mean purchasing better quality from the start so that the clothes will last longer.

When I say "quality," I don't mean you have to buy boutique or froo-froo. Kids need to feel free to play and get dirty in my opinion. But this is a lesson I've learned the hard way with shoes. When the boys were really young, Wal-mart and Target were my go-to for shoes. That was fine since they out-grew them before they out-wore them. As they got older, I turned to Sketchers bought at Kohl's. They worked fine for about three months, when stitching began to pop and holes started appearing. When I asked my friends Amy and Shannon where they bought shoes, they unanimously said, "Stride Rite. Yes, they're more expensive, but one pair will last all year."

So today I checked the Stride Rite website and saw that everything in the store is buy one, get one half off 'til August 29; no coupon necessary. We hopped in the car. The prices for boys' sneakers ranged from $30 to $55. Each of the boys got identical shoes and I saved $25. Tip: You might wait to shop during the tax free weekend (Friday, August 6 - Sunday, August 8), but last time I went to Stride Rite on a tax free day, there were 25 customers in front of me. No thanks.

Though fine chocolate has nothing to do with clothing your kids, one principal of green shopping is clustering your trips. Since the Godiva store is only two shops away from Stride Rite, I went in for my free piece of chocolate. I signed up for the free rewards club months ago, which lets you pick one FREE piece of chocolate every month (no purchase necessary), but this was my first chance to try it. I picked one of the incredible truffles and each kid got a taste. Heaven!

If you make it to West Town Mall tomorrow (7/31), you might check out The Children's Place sale. With these coupons, you could save up to 30%. Thanks, Coupon Katie.

We then headed over to Kohl's since I had several ways to save:

A. It's the mega 2 day sale.

B. It was during power hours (tomorrow they are from 7am -1pm).

C. I had a coupon for an additional 15% off everything in the store.

D. I had a $10 coupon emailed to me (no minimum required) for shopping in the newly renovated Morrel Road sotre.

E. If I spent $50 (after all these savings), I could earn $10 Kohls cash.

My plan was to get just enough underwear for the boys to pay little out of pocket. "I don't want underwear! I want a watch!" Bobby whined. "You don't need a watch. You need underwear." I was being sensible and frugal! Then we walked past the backpacks. "Look, Mom, Bakugan! It's perfect! Can I get it?! Please!" I rarely give in to my children's requests in the store, but there's a part of me that knows the joy of starting each school year fresh and new. Nothing does that better than new shoes and a new backpack. Though the greener choice is to stick with a backpack til it falls apart, I relent on this one. Devin was elated at the Buzz Lightyear pack with a 3-D image. At least they were half off and I saved an additional 15% and $10 off my total.

Another place to consider for backpacks if you're out tomorrow is OfficeMax. They have a sale (through 7/31) that gives you the full price of up to two backpacks in MaxPerks Bonus Rewards. If you need other office supplies, this is a way to get free backpacks.

I'll close with a suggestion for all those old sneakers hiding in the crevices of your closets. Don't throw them away! Donate them instead to Nike ReUSE a Shoe and they will be recycled into rubber surfaces for playgrounds, basketball courts, and tennis courts. You can drop off up to 10 athletic shoes (any brand) at the Nike Factory Store in Sevierville or host a group shoe drive. I'm hoping to make a trip to the Smokies with the kids before school starts. Thanks to Couponing in Critical Times for the tip.

What ways do you go green and save green on back to school clothes?

Back to School Supplies: Go Green Save Green

I'll admit I was lured in by the money savings. I needed to complete their back to school supply lists and decided to make Target my one stop. Armed with Walmart's circular that had cheaper prices on crayons, glue sticks, and notebooks, I was ready to do battle with customer service if I had to. What a relief to see all the items I would have price matched had already dropped lower than Walmart. Score! What was even better was seeing that several of the products that were great prices were also surprisingly green.

For instance, Crayola markers are only $.77 each for regular and $2 for washable. They are now making the barrels black to use more recycled plastic in them--keeping hundreds of tons of plastic out of landfills each year. Crayola is also using solar panels to provide enough power to make one billion crayons each year, and a new tree is planted for every one used to make their colored pencils (on sale for $.88.). A 24 pack of crayons are non-toxic and only cost $.20 each. Throw in that all Crayola products are made in the USA, and I'm sold.

I was also excited to see a new recycling program by Elmer's. According to this site, you can drop off your used glue bottles and glue sticks at Walmart. Hopefully they'll be repurposed with fresh glue instead of just melted down and recycled. I'm going to ask our school if they'll place a bag in each classroom to collect these and then I'll take them every few months. And if you're looking to save money on glue, now is a great time. A 2 pack of glue sticks and 4 oz. of "school glue" are just $.20 each! Last year I made the mistake of buying just what was on the supply list, only to realize that number multiplied five fold by the end of the year. Buy extra crayons and glue sticks now!

Another cheap item this week is composition notebooks. You can buy a variety of colors, 100 sheets / 200 pages for just $.20 each. I was delighted to see that these are made with recycled paper. Another good deal is a 96 sheet pack of construction paper for just $.88. It's not from recycled paper, but it is made in the USA.

One of my favorite green products is the dry erase board. It's one of the best examples of reducing in the classroom. It gives me warm and fuzzies just thinking of all the paper it saves by having them practice letters and numbers on the boards. I picked up a double sided board (one with lines and one plain) for just $3.14. Bobby's from last year was looking pretty warn but will become Devin's at-home board to practice his letters.

I also picked up two Embark lunch bags with an attached insulated bag for drinks (on sale for $9, a $4 savings). I'll replace the water bottles with our kid-size Klean Kanteens. The lunch bag is a perfect size to fit the laptop lunch boxes I bought a few months ago. This is a great organizational tool to save you money and waste big time throughout the year. People comment on them everywhere I go.

Finally, there are two good snack deals I picked up. With a $1/1 Target coupon and $1/1 manufacturers coupon in last Sunday's paper, you can get a pack of Snyders pretzyls for just $.24. Kashi products are also on sale and there are a variety of Kashi coupons here. Since you must have to go to Super Target in Turkey Creek for Kashi pizzas and frozen foods, I honed in on the granola bars on sale for $2.50 a box. Though I couldn't find the "Go Lean" variety noted on the Target coupon, I was still able to get them for $.66 a box. You can print two Target coupons: buy any two Kashi products, get one free. I had 6 $1/1 manufacturer's Kashi granola bars from peeelies I got off cereal boxes months ago. Since I saved $11 off 6 boxes with these 8 coupons, I only paid $4 total. I did make the mistake of picking up several boxes of the dark mocha almond; doesn't that sound delicious? Guess what? "This tastes gross, Mom! It smells like coffee!" Oops. Who says every back to school purchase has to be for the kids?!

Blueberries Galore

"Ooohhh, here we go into the enchanted garden!" I beckon. "Ooohhh," my kids respond, ducking under branches into a copious canopy of lush fruit. "Look up...and over there...and right here...blueberries are everywhere!" I exclaim with joy. The excitement is infectious and within minutes, my children (ages 6, 3, and 1) are all busy gathering a bounty of blueberries.

We've come to Maxine and Bob Falls Blueberry Farm in Maryville today to stock up on this antioxidant superfood. Since this is one of the dirty dozen (foods you should try to buy organic), my goal is to get as many as I can today. Though this farm is not "certified organic," they are "green" in my book because they do not use chemicals or pesticides and are locally grown. I'd take the freshly picked element over certified organic trucked from across the country any day.

When we first arrive, we are greeted by Bob and Maxine on the patio. To me, it looks more like an extended garden in their yard than a farm. Open to the public for 18 years, the Falls attribute the success of these 30-year-old bushes to using filtered water. "You can't grow blueberries with city water," Bob declares. Duly noted.

Each of us are outfitted with their brilliantly simple blueberry gathering system: milk jugs with the tops cut off attached around the waist with belts strung through the handles. I'm going to make some of these for our own garden. The boys beam with pride in expectation for a grand expedition.

"Where should we go?" I ask. "Oh anywhere," Bob responds. "Just choose a bush and start pickin'. You'll probably be more comfortable under a bush looking up than in the sunshine. It looks like an arbor in there." Thinking of our own blueberry bushes my husband planted last spring that are maybe two feet tall, I have a hard time imagining an arbor of blueberry bushes. Sure enough, many of them are probably seven feet tall and I have to get on my tip toes to reach the upper branches. Already 10:00am and stinkin' hot, I had feared the kids wouldn't last long. However, under the branches, it must be ten degrees cooler. Ahhh.

After a few pictures and video clips, we all get quickly to work. Though I've loved picking strawberries with the kids, a few bonuses spring to mind about blueberries.

A. We aren't out in the blazing sun.

B. We don't have to walk far.

C. All three kids can wander and still be within sight.

D. There is no mud or standing water.

E. I don't have to crawl in the mud.

F. Their attention span is much greater and allows us to stay for nearly two hours.

At the end of our quest, we've gathered six pounds of blueberries, about the equivalent of 1 1/3 gallons. Here's the best part: the cost. Since they only charge $1.25/pound, my total is $7.50 for blueberries that should last us at least a few months. I'm debating about going back for another round before they're out of season (Maxine expects another 3-4 weeks for harvesting), but I'll need to evaluate my freezer space.

So what does one do with 6 pounds of blueberries? Maxine hands us a sheet with recipes for using blueberries in syrup, bundt cakes, jam, pancakes, pies, lemonades, smoothies, even chicken salad. I think we'll eat as many as we can fresh, I might make Gabe's cobbler recipe, I'll trade a bag of berries for homegrown cantaloupe with my friend Libby, and I'll freeze the rest. Maxine recommends NOT to wash the berries before freezing--only just before eating them. I'm going to lay them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and pop them into the freezer; then I'll throw them into quart size freezer bags.

Nearly noon, I ask the boys if they had fun. "Yeah, can we do this again?" Bobby asks. "I'm a good helper." Smile. Honestly, there are days every SAHM questions if she's the best person for this important and sometimes daunting task of raising children 24/7. Our little field trip today not only proved that it can be fun to "go green and save green" but that I'm on the right track of mommyhood.

Thanks to Squeezing a Dollar out of Dime for the tip on this place. Here are the basics of the farm:

Maxine and Bob Falls Blueberry Farm

111 Harmon Rd. Maryville, Tn 37804

(865) 982-3457

Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday 6:30am-8:30pm.

1.25/lb when you pick them yourself and 2.50/lb if you just stop in to purchase them. They also have a few baked goods.

They're located about 10 minutes beyond McGhee Tyson Airport.

Please enjoy my little video below.

Homemade Dog Food

Homemade Dog Food--not a subject I thought I'd ever blog about, much less do myself. Why bother when you can get a plethora of choices at the store? We typically give our 92 pound lab mix a higher grade dog food geared to large breeds trying to shed a few pounds. Helping her lose weight is a bit of a losing battle with Ms. Brooke tossing her left-overs to an attentive and patient Jessie.

Health reasons weren't really the driving force for me exploring how to make my own dog food wet blend--though claims that switching from commercial food can give your pooch another 8 years is compelling! Neither were the safety concerns--though the list of brands recalled in 2007 is astounding; who knows if that could happen again! No, my primary reason was frugality and being good stewards of what we're given. We buy 1/4 of a cow twice a year and that includes some organ meats we wouldn't otherwise eat: liver, heart, even the tongue! Yuck!

Since a lot of dog food consists of these and heaven knows what else they can scavenge from a cow, I figured I might as well use what I have taking up freezer space and make something I know is good for my dog. Important note here: I have no veterinary training and you shouldn't take my advice for what's "best for your dog." Ask your vet.

I started with some basic research on the web and found more recipes than I could sift through. There were those who believed meat should stay raw and those who said it should be cooked. There were those interested only in dog biscuits and then the vegetarian voices. One fact seemed consistent however: you should aim for the dog food to be 25% protein and 75% carbs and vegetables. Now we're getting somewhere.

Some common ingredients suggested were lots of water, ground beef or turkey, liver, hard boiled eggs, brown rice, oats, green beans, carrots, and leafy vegetables (many used frozen veggie blends). I found this site simplified the process and made it seem less complicated. The most important ingredients to know are what NOT to put in dog food: onions, garlic, grapes, raisons, sugary foods or sweeteners, salt, and macadamia nuts among others. Got it!

The biggest tip was not using too much liver, which can cause vitamin A toxicity--which affects muscles and bones. She's already having joint discomfort; so that's a concern. But how mush is too much? Again, consult a vet for your size and breed. Since we're only adding 3-4 tablespoons of this a day to her kibble, we used other meat besides liver, and we went heavy on the carbs and veggies, I think we're good.

The hardest step for me was chopping up the meat to boil. The liver was incredibly slimy, and the tongue was downright intimidating. I'm not usually a squeamish girl, but I confess I delegated this to my hubby while I cooked the rice and blended beans and spinach. Dump

ing it all into one pot to cook like soup was simple and there were no foul smells. Once cool, I dished it into 13 small containers to freeze.

So what did our dog Jessie think? She ate it just like every other food put in front of her. "Eat, lunch, snack, and dinner" are all in her vocabulary (the tail wags) but "picky" is not. We know the meat was a healthier, local alternative, and we save $ because we won't have to buy canned food for a few months. I suppose you could consider this another way to "go green, save green."

Have you made your own dog food? What did you use? Do you think I've lost my mind? ;-)

Klean Kanteen deal on Babysteals 5/27 only!

I just looked at my daily email from Babysteals.com and they are selling Klean Kanteen stainless steel water bottles for HALF OFF today--only while supplies last. To see these really are half-off, I checked where I usually buy them: Reusablebags.com. I usually don't get to the Babysteals deals before they're gone, but I snagged one 18oz and one 12 oz bottle for a great price. Sure the brown color isn't my favorite, but it's good to have a couple of back-ups. We use the small bottles in the boys' lunch boxes for school.

Click here to see the variety of deals still available. At check-out, they will add shipping and handling (mine was more than $7) but I cut that down a bit by choosing standard delivery. I then used the code: WM15 in the coupon code box and that shaved $2.62 off the total. So my total for two was $21.73. Here's your chance to Go Green, Save Green!

Eco Gifts for Teachers & Moms

It's that time of year when we're looking for the perfect gifts for teachers and mothers. Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week at our school followed of course by Mother's Day. So I thought I'd share some gift ideas that are good for them and the planet.

1. Find out the recipient's favorites or guidance for what is expected. My friends Amy and Jen said that specific suggestions were sent home for teacher gifts: Monday is a card and sweets, Wednesday a book for the classroom, and Friday something for special areas. Guidance is good. Since Amy knows her teacher's favorite sweet is peanut butter cups, that's an easy one. She also has a great picture of the teacher that she'll put on a homemade card--personalized and frugal.

2. Know some basic information about them. I'm terrible with this and didn't even know Devin's teacher's last name until a few weeks ago. She's always been Ms. Nancy! I stress the importance of this because of monograms; more further down. I also haven't noticed if either teacher is a coffee drinker or whether they like chocolate or sweets. If you know their preferences, you're more likely to give them something they really like. For an avid coffee drinker, you could get a reusable mug and a bag of fair trade coffee.

3. Consider gifts that either can be made from materials you already have (homemade cards or bookmarks), have had a previous life (a gently used book), or that will be reused again and again (water bottles, shopping bags, or coffee mugs).

4. Pick one location with a variety of stores to find a deal. The last tip is where I decided to turn my shopping sleuthing this week. In one stop I checked out Home Goods, T.J. Maxx, and Ross. Pier 1 Imports is one strip mall over if you need other ideas. Ross had several reusable shopping bags for $3-$4; cute designs but poor quality. For just $6 you can get a good quality canvas bag. T.J. Maxx had nice bags for $13 and up and their store bag for $.99. I also liked their designs and size but you get what you pay for in quality. They had a variety of water bottles and coffee cups for $5-$8. Home Goods had some nice thermal lunch bags for $13 and a variety of water bottles in the $6 range.

5. Make it personal. A few weeks ago at our consignment sale, a shopper had a very colorful bag that was monogrammed. She said she was a teacher and it was her favorite gift. You can find a variety of reusable shopping bags from just about any store. If you scored some for free a few weeks ago, you might consider having them monogrammed. My friend Elizabeth is a SAHM with a monogramming business on the side. She charges $6 for 1 or $5 each for 3 to stitch an initial or name on bags. She says canvas bags are much easier than plastic.

6. You can't go wrong with gift cards and they too can be personal. For Christmas I gave both teachers a gift card to Applebee's and a bag of chocolates. On the note I wrote, "Enjoy dinner and dessert on us. Every mom deserves a night she doesn't have to cook and a dessert she doesn't have to share." For a more sustainable angle, I was thinking of giving each teacher a gift card to Earthfare along with the free reusable bag from their store I just got.

7. Think local and fresh. My other gift that's gone over well in years past has been strawberry freezer jam with homemade scones. I always take the kids strawberry picking at Rutherford's Farms in Maryville. Freezer jam requires less fruit and sugar than traditional jam. When you're picking fruit with kids, that's a major plus. In the gifts, I've also included pictures of the kids picking strawberries with a card. I'll post more about that when I go the next couple of weeks.

8. My Pick: Since I haven't made it strawberry picking yet and I wasn't planning a trip to Earthfare between now and next week, I decided to pick up some reusable water bottles at Home Goods. They are selling monogrammed, BPA-free, stainless steel water bottles with sport caps for just $6. They look nice, they have the personal touch, and they're an environmentally conscious choice. And don't forget these make great choices for the grandparents too.

Please share your ideas below.

Eco Snack Mom--The Results

Today was my day to test out my skills as Eco Snack Mom. It was my small way of proving not all snacks must come in individual wrappers. An hour before game-time there were still sunny skies, and the game was on. So I cut up four oranges into slices, grabbed 10 granola bars, and packed 10 juice boxes. I put them in my new thermal bag from Ingles and cloth bag from Earthfare and piled into the car.

I'll admit the only choice that was really "eco" here were the orange slices, unless you consider one of my favorite environmental principals: Use what you already have. My pantry has plenty of granola bars, and I had just the right number of juice boxes on hand. I had contemplated pouring lemonade into individual cups and then collecting them to recycle, but I was afraid the kids would scatter too quickly. I was also testing the waters here; I didn't want to come across too crazy. Juice boxes really are a terrible environmental choice, but I don't buy them often and they are mighty convenient.

As for costs, I did pretty well on this one. I don't know what the juice cost because I had bought that awhile back on sale and had hidden them from my kids for just this occasion. The granola bars I got for $.24 a box (or $.04 each). I bought a huge bag of oranges at Kroger a few weeks ago for just $4. The amount I sliced worked out to about $1.50. My snacks were economical, environmental and relatively healthy--I was ready to don my Eco Snack Mom cape and fly into action.

Unfortunately on the way to the field, the sky opened up, lightning flared, thunder boomed, and we turned around. Bummer! The granola bars and juice boxes will keep, but we'll be snacking on oranges the next few days. When I do get to be Snack Mom again, I'll let you know how the oranges go over.

What snacks have you taken to sporting events that kids love?

Ink for a Buck

In celebration of Earth Day today, I ask that you do ONE positive thing for the planet. Just one. Doesn't have to be huge. You pick. I decided my one good deed for the day was trying a refillable ink printer cartridge.

Today only (4/22/10) Walgreens is offering printer refills for just $1 (with coupon found in their weekly circular). Refills are normally $12.99 for any size (regular or XL). Since the XL size holds 3 times the amount of ink, that's a good deal. I recently paid about $40 for one XL cartridge at Staples.

Now this is an experiment for me. I've never tried ink refills because I've always heard "they're so messy." Frankly, I'm not sure what's messy about them. I just dropped off my empty cartridge, they refilled it, and I brought it home. I think I just install it as if it were new and there should be no difference. I have yet to test this; I'll let you know otherwise.

If I don't have any problems with the cartridge, I'll definitely try this again. The box the cartridge is returned in has a 50% off coupon on a future refill. To see if your printer's ink qualifies, go here.

So have you decided your one green deed today? Share it with me in comments.

Note: I have no affiliation with Walgreens, and I received no compensation for this post.

Organic Deals for Earth Week-UPDATED

In celebration of Earth Week, I've been scouring the ads and online blogs for the best organic and eco-friendly deals this week. Here's what I found.

Kroger disappointed me big time. Other than marginal deals on Seventh Generation, I didn't see anything to celebrate there.

Ingles is my neighborhood store, but I've been shopping more at Kroger the past few months to save money. I was happy to be one of their patrons today. Through sales and coupons, I spent $31.35 and saved $34.87.

They have excellent prices on Muir Glen products (all organic). You can buy the 15oz cans for $1.25 or the 28oz cans of tomatoes for $1.84. Many of the cans have stickies on them that will save you $1/2. I used 2 $1/1 printables here and will save those for another visit. I also bought 4 jars of MG red sauce for $2.50 each and used 2 $1/2 stickies on those jars.

Cascadian Farms frozen vegetables (all organic) were on sale for $2 each. I picked up 2 16oz bags of peas and used 2 $1/1 printables found here. Organic raisons were $1.50 for 6 boxes; those will be good for lunches. Tip: I save the boxes and fill them with raisons again from a larger box. And Greenworks detergent was on sale for $3.99 (B1G1 but you don't have to buy two). I still had a $3/1 coupon I'd printed months ago, but the paper had a $1.50/1 coupon recently.

Lots of Seventh Generation products were also on sale and you can find $1/1 coupons for lots of their products here. There was a rebate form for 3 products but that seems to have disappeared. Let me know if it's still available.

Finally they're also running a special with Muir Glen and Cascadian Farms: Buy 2 products, get a free Ingles bag (value: $1; limit 1). However, I asked the manager since I was buying 8 qualifying products, would he consider giving me one of their insulated bags instead (value: $2). That I could really use! He agreed and I was thrilled. Now that's good customer service!

So my final costs on organic or eco-friendly products were:

2 28oz cans tomatoes: $1.68

4 jars red sauce: $8

2 bags of peas: $2

6 mini boxes of raisons: $1.50

1 30 load detergent: $.99

1 insulated reusable bag: FREE

Update 4/22 (deals good through 4/27): I just returned from Earthfare, where I spent $39.13 and saved $20.38. I can't say the deals are amazing this week, but I'm glad I went. With this coupon, I got a new cloth bag with snaps (a nice feature) and because I was one of the first 200 customers today, I got another one as well (value: $2). I chose for my bulk item dark chocolate covered almonds (which I will be hiding from the kids--seriously ;-). They are a little bit of heaven on earth that I'll take as my reward for couponing. They are on sale for $6.99/lb (regularly $9.99/lb), and the coupon took another 20% off. Tip: Although this product is already pre-packaged, it qualifies for the discount. My final cost for a container was $4.30.

Though I don't usually buy sausage, I decided to try the Organic Prairie pork links in the freezer section. They were $1 off and I had a $1 coupon from some newsletter. Stonyfield yogurts are on sale for 5/$4 ($.80 each, normally $.86). Apparently you have to buy 5 to get the discount because I only bought 3. Using a $.50/3 printable found here, I saved at least that and I'm not one to squabble over $.18. I also got a free Honest Tea with a coupon I think I picked up at the coupon fair.

I spent most of my money on organic produce:

2lbs strawberries: $3 each (phenomenal price for organic and they looked great!)

3lbs apples: $4.97

5lbs carrots: $4.99

5 Valencia oranges: $5

5lbs red potatoes: $5.99

5lbs russet potatoes: $3.97

Since my total was over $35, I used the $10 off $35 coupon I got at Earthfest. Tip: It's good through May if you want to save it for another trip.

And don't forget to pick up the new Earthfare Spring Savings coupon booklet with coupons worth $85. They had arrived just as I was checking out. Some of my favorite companies with coupons are: the Earthfare line of foods, Seventh Generation, Kashi, Cascadian Farms, Ben & Jerry's, Organic Valley, and Pirate Booty. Tip: Pirate Booty (a yummy snack) is currently on sale and there's a $1 coupon in the book.

I hope you can take advantage of some of these deals and realize once again, you can go green and save green.