Eat from the Pantry Challenge : Menu Week #2

Here is what we ate for the second week of January - the second week of the Eat from the Pantry Challenge. We are eating tons of leftovers and lots of repetitions so we don't waste anything! So far it is going really well though and everyone seems to be enjoying the food! Even the Salsa Pasta which was just a mish-mash of things I had around.

Jan 8
breakfast-cereal
lunch-mac and cheese
dinner- crockpot tortilla soup


Jan 9
b-toast or cereal
l-OUT
d- leftover soup


Jan 10
b-baked oatmeal and smoothies
l- chicken rice soup (thawed from freezer) and salad
d- bbq beans, acorn squash, salad and oven fries

Jan 11
b-cereal
l-leftovers
d-salsa chard pasta and broccoli

Jan 12
b-toast, smoothies
l- leftovers
d-large salads with chickpeas, deviled eggs, broccoli and leftover oven fries

Jan 13
b-crockpot oatmeal
l- ham and cheese croissants (thawed from freezer) or sandwiches
d- spaghetti (thawed from freezer) salad and choc tapioca pudding (found in back of pantry)


Jan 14
b-toast
l- spaghetti
d- Quesadillas with homemade tortillas, sweet potato casserole (from freezer) and roasted cauliflower

Eat From the Pantry Challenge Update Two

Went to the store again today. Here is what I bought:

Grocery ($42.18)
Milk
Chicken Breasts
Yogurt
Produce
Rice
Canned Tomatoes
Kix Cereal
Eggs

Non-Grocery ($39.16)
Lightbulbs
2 boys shirts on clearance
backless booster seat

So for food so far I have spent:
Shopping Trip #1 $4.04
CSA Subscription $39
Shopping Trip #2 $42.18
TOTAL $85.22

As far as non-food items, I need to get back to cleaning things out. My goal for today is to get rid of enough stuff to make up for twice of what I bought!

Eat from the Pantry Challenge : Menu Week #1

Here is what we ate for the first week of January - the first week of the Eat from the Pantry Challenge. So far the only food I have bought is a gallon of milk. The rest I already had either leftover from my last shopping trip in December, my CSA subscription, or from my pantry or freezer.


Jan 1
breakfast-cereal
lunch-chicken rice soup (thawed from freezer)
dinner- spaghetti (sauce thawed from freezer), cauliflower


Jan 2
b-waffles and maple syrup
l-chicken rice soup (thawed from freezer)
d- adults date night and kids leftover spaghetti


Jan 3
b-cereal
l- bean burgers (thawed from freezer) and sweet potatoes
d- leftovers


Jan 4
b-cereal
l-sandwiches
d-bean burgers (thawed from freezer) and broccoli and carrot sticks


Jan 5
b-baked oatmeal, smoothies (I have lots of frozen fruit!)
l- sandwiches
d-pizza (sauce and cheese thawed from freezer) and salad


Jan 6
b-waffles
l- ham and cheese croissants (thawed from freezer)
d- leftover pizza and potato wedges*


Jan 7
b-toast and smoothie (I have lots of frozen fruit!)
l- mac and cheese**
d- bbq chicken (thawed from freezer) and roasted delicata squash and salad (both from CSA)

*EDITED - forgot to make the wedges, just had pizza
**EDITED - did not have this, had some leftover odds and ends instead!

Eat From the Pantry Challenge Update One

So far, so good in the Eat From the Pantry Challenge!

I went to Target today to pick up a few things. Here is what I got:
1 gallon of milk ($4.04)
canvas bins for storage
lightbulbs
socks and undies for 4 year old

Fortunately, I also packed a medium sized box of items to get rid of from my closet that looks about right for twice what I am bringing in. I actually have 3 boxes of items ready to donate but my husband says that I can't count the ones I packed the day before I decided on this challenge. :-( Bummer, since one of them is huge! That's ok - there is plenty more junk to get rid of around here!

Eat From the Pantry Challenge!

A little over a year ago, I participated in a 30-Day No-Spending Challenge. It was awesome. I loved it. I spent so much less money that month and used up a lot of the stockpiles of food I had. I was considering doing a similar thing for January, when I ran across this Eat From the Pantry Challenge!

So after thinking through these two types of challenges, and thinking about what my goals really are, I have decided to sign up for the challenge. My goals will reflect not just trying to decrease the food I have in my freezer and pantry but also decreasing the amount of overall stuff in my house.

My goals:
1. Use as much of my stockpiles as possible - especially from the freezer
2. Keep grocery budget under $200. This includes approx $80 for produce from our CSA.
3. Only go grocery shopping 3-4 times this month.
4. Bring nothing into the house (besides food) without getting rid of something(s) taking up TWICE as much space.
5. Keep count of how many boxes of stuff I donate and GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!

Should be fun!

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

Title: Mr. Popper's Penguins
Author: Richard and Florence Atwater
Ages: 4-8


This is a great chapter book to use as an early read-aloud book. I read this to my oldest when he was about 4 and a half and he loved it. In fact, I think it was the first read aloud chapter book we did, and he was eager each day for the next chapter.

It is a fun little story about a man who longs for adventure and ends up with a group of penguins as pets. That ends up to be quite an adventure for him.

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Title : Charlotte's Web

Author: E.B. White

Ages : 9-12

This one is too old for my kids. I don't remember it that well from my childhood, so I read it recently to see if I thought my sons would enjoy it. I knew it was beyond my oldest child's reading level, but I thought it might make a good read-aloud. (Typically kids can understand and enjoy books that are read to them several grade-levels higher than they can actually read themselves.)

In this case, I felt like the content was a bit too much for my kids (ages 4 and 6). It is pretty deep and also very sad in ways. It is a cute book and I look forward to sharing it with them later.

It Feels Like Snow by Nancy Cote

Title : It Feels Like Snow
Author : Nancy Cote
Ages: 3 - 6 years

This is a fun little story about a lady who can tell it is about to snow and her friends do not believe her. She provides a good example as she helps her friends out when they are not prepared for the weather.

What Shall We Do With The Boo-Hoo Baby? by Cressida Cowell

Title: What Shall We Do With The Boo-Hoo Baby?
Author: Cressida Cowell
Ages: Birth - 3 years

This is a cute little story for little ones. The baby is crying and the fun collection of animal babysitters tries and tries to find a way to quiet him down. Simple, short text and adorable pictures.

Seattle with Kids : Hiking Wallace Falls

This is another fun hike, this one out Hwy 2 in the Cascades. The waterfall is really big and really beautiful. There are several options, a lower, middle and upper viewpoint.

We only went to the lower viewpoint as the boys were not very enthusiastic. I did not think this hike was the hardest we had done but they did not want to go any further. The viewpoint is quite nice and about 3.6 miles roundtrip. It is a beautiful view but if you go further you can get much closer to the falls. But I have heard you have to be careful nearer to the top as it can be a bit precarious for little ones.

At the start of the trail, you walk under humming power lines and wonder what you have gotten into. But in the next section you walk through the woods by a beautiful river and there are lots of scenic spots. It was somewhat steep in places. There is an option to take a longer trail up that is flatter but would add 1 mile to the distance. I might would try that next time.

I'd love to try this again next year and see if we can make it higher up.

Fire Truck Factory by Catherine Anderson

Title: Fire Truck Factory
Author: Catherine Anderson
Ages: 3 years – 6 years

My 3-year has really gotten into wanting to know how things are made. He looks around the room and asks “How make shower curtain?” “How make counters?” How make mirror?” “How make towels?” – until I about lose my mind. Imagine my excitement to discover this book that explains how fire trucks (another of his favorite things) are made. It integrates lots of photographs with labeled parts and walks you through the whole process. There are lots of books about Fire Trucks but this one earns an award from me for having a new twist on that same old topic.

I think any kid who loves fire trucks would enjoy this one to add some variety to their reading.

*this post originally written 4/28/2006

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

Title: The Little House
Author: Virginia Lee Burton
Ages: 2 years and older

I love finding books that my son can enjoy just like children 60 years ago did. And just like I did when I was a little girl. The copy of this book that we are reading is actually the one that belonged to me when I was his age and is complete with my nameplate stuck in the inside front cover. How special it is to show it to my son and tell him how his mommy read this book with his Grandmommy when she was his size. But even without that nostalgia, we have really enjoyed reading this book. Note to those parents who are desperate to read about something besides trains. This book is not about trains but does have some very interesting pages that show trains. Maybe that will be enough to get your train lover hooked on this beautiful classic.

*this post originally written 4/26/2006

Seattle with Kids: Hiking Little Si

There are lots of great hikes around here to do. A very popular one is called Little Si, out in North Bend. Do not get it confused with the Mount Si hike - that one is WAY harder. Little Si is still a pretty difficult hike. The round-trip is a little less than 5 miles with a 1500 ft elevation gain. I would not take beginner hikers on this one. You may want to plan easier hikes to "work up" to this one. The trail is very nicely maintained but there are very steep sections where my kids had to use all-fours. When we went, my kids were 4 and 6 and they made it with lots of rest breaks. I think it took us 3 hours to get up to the top, but significantly shorter on the way down so be sure to allow enough time.

A tip on parking. There are two lots. Go past the first one, as the second one is the one right at the trailhead. If that one is full, head to the overflow lot which you already passed. It is a very popular trail so go early on a weekend. When we arrived at just after 9am, the primary lot was already full.

Learn how to make bread

Title:Bread Bakery

One thing I love about reading is extending what we learn when we read into our daily activities. It brings the book alive and I think is going to really help turn my boys into kids (and adults) who love to read.

After reading this book to my 3-year old, my husband decided that we needed to make bread. I'd better go ahead and confess that we used a trusty bread machine instead of doing the whole thing by hand but it was still lots of fun and very educational. My son was able to help collect the ingredients and measure, and with the help of the instruction manual for the machine, watch each of the steps the machine performed, through the little viewing window on the top of the machine. When my kids get a little older, I'd love to try making it by hand with them.

My son loved it and we all enjoyed the bread so much that we have already made a second loaf. Guess who ran to the bookshelf to find the Bread Bakerybook to read while the bread baked?

*this post originally written 5/8/2006

Billy and Blaze by Clarence William Anderson

Title: Billy and Blaze
Author: Clarence William Anderson
Ages: 4+

I love older books. This one was written in 1936. It is a bit longer than a picture book but not so long that a little one cannot enjoy it. The story is simple and sweet and easy to follow along. There is a whole series of books about Billy and his horse to keep you reading away the summer!

Peekaboo Baby by Margaret Miller

Title: Peekaboo Baby
Author: Margaret Miller
Age: Birth - 2 years

My 10-month old really enjoys reading this book. He can flip the pages himself and loves to look at other babies. This is one from her Look Baby! Books series – and they have fun baby photographs and bright cheerful pages.

*this post originally written 4/27/2006

Seattle with Kids: Discovery Park

Since we live in the Seattle area, I realized it was about time to mention some of the activities we enjoy with the kids nearby.

A few weeks ago, we headed down to Discovery Park. This is a huge park, the biggest in Seattle with a very long and beautiful coastline. It is definitely worth checking out. And I don't want to forget to mention the wonderful lighthouse right on the point. Such a scenic spot with views on Mt Rainier and Mt Baker!

As you enter the park, there is a very helpful visitors center. Most of the parking requires a hike down to the beach but if you are handicapped, have small children, or elderly with you, then you can get a special pass there that lets you head right down to the beach to park.

Besides the scenic coastline, there are quite a few hiking trails though the park to enjoy, so have a great day!

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Title: The Boxcar Children
Author: Gertrude Chandler Warner
Age: 5+

What a fun book this is to read! I read this one out-loud to my 6 year old son. It is a great read-aloud story. Not only did he really enjoy the story and the exciting happy ending but I really enjoyed it as well. My favorite part was reading about all the ways they "made do" with what they had and set up such a nice house for themselves.

We both looked forward to this story each night. I think boys and girls would like this one from the time they are old enough for a chapter book until age 10.

Who is in the Garden?

Title: Who is in the Garden?
Author: Vera Rosenberry

We've been reading a lot of non-fiction lately and really enjoyed this picture book for a change of pace. The illustrations are beautifully done and we had fun finding and counting all kinds of creatures living in the garden. The text is so well written and flows so pleasantly.

I've been reading a lot of easy readers lately so it was nice to read something with a bit more interesting vocabulary. I needed to explain what some of the words meant and sometimes I let my son guess the meaning by looking at the illustrations. I think this is great for learning new vocabulary.

*this post originally written 6/9/2006

Children's Cookbooks

Title:The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Children's Cookbook

I was inspired by this post on the PlayLibrary blog to look at some cookbooks for children since we enjoy having my son cook with us so much. I really like this cookbook I stumbled across. It has tons of pictures and the instructions for the simple recipes are very detailed and clear. And the best part is that the foods sound yummy to eat.

Many others I have looked at either have unappetizing recipes or are full of junk food.

Anyone have suggestions for other good cookbooks for kids?

*this post originally written 6/6/2006