Coconut oil is one of those things that, at least in my opinion, is weird until you try it for yourself. White and almost flaky in its' solid form and clear and oily in its' liquid form and smelling sweet and, well, coconut-y, coconut oil packs a nutritious and practical punch. With websites galore touting its' abilities and uses, there is no reason not to have it in your pantry!
With medicinal, nutritional and cosmetic uses, coconut oil is extremely versatile. Cook with it, slather it on baby's bottom to prevent diaper rash, bake with it, remove your eye makeup with it, put it in your coffee, use it as a sunscreen, even use it to alleviate allergies! Coconut oil is being called a "super food" and it appears to be an apt title.
Coconut oil has what are called Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs). MCTs are a fatty acid that the liver uses for energy. They are also turned into "ketone bodies" which can help alleviate symptoms of, or possibly help prevent, brain disorders. Cultures in which coconut oil has been consumed for thousands of years are said to be healthier and suffer from fewer diseases than the Western world. Whether this is tied directly to coconut oil consumption or if there's a third-party correlation (i.e., less fast food, less tobacco, and the like) I'm not sure, but I think it's safe to say that coconut oil doesn't hurt!
It has been stated that coconut oil can help lower cholesterol. Studies have shown that the high levels of saturated fats in coconut oil, previously thought to be harmful but now are being shown to be helpful, help raise the "good" cholesterol level (HDL) and lower the LDL, or "bad" cholesterol. Having healthy levels of cholesterol can help prevent heart disease.
Omega 6 fatty acids have been shown to help regulate metabolism. Coconut oil is a great source of omega 6! Consuming fat to help burn fat is a strange idea to some. The difference lies in the type of fat you consume. The word "fat" has a bad reputation that it really doesn't deserve. Without fat in our diets, we'd all be dead. Period.
The way I like to consume coconut oil is in my coffee. Put a cup of coffee and 1-2 teaspoons of coconut oil in the blender and voilá! The coconut oil froths up and makes me believe, for a second, that I'm drinking something from Starbucks. So good!
Sources:
http://coconutoil.com
http://authoritynutrition.com/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coconut-oil/
http://wellnessmama.com/5734/101-uses-for-coconut-oil/
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Friday, January 15, 2016
10 Tips For Reducing Your Grocery Bill
Who doesn't love to save money? Seriously! Between household bills, taxes, house/car payments, grocery bills, insurance and fees for everything under the sun, it's getting harder and harder to save money.
My family is certainly no exception to this. With preschool on the horizon for my daughter, it forced us to reevaluate our budget and see where we could cut costs.
This lead me to doing some research on how to minimize grocery costs. Here is a list I compiled from all that I read!
My family is certainly no exception to this. With preschool on the horizon for my daughter, it forced us to reevaluate our budget and see where we could cut costs.
This lead me to doing some research on how to minimize grocery costs. Here is a list I compiled from all that I read!
10 Tips For Reducing Your Monthly Grocery Bill
1. Buy store brands. Most grocery stores offer their own brand. At Fred Meyer it's Kroger. At Safeway it's Safeway Kitchens. At Thriftway it's Western Family. At Target it's Up & Up. And so on. It's no secret that the store brands are usually cheaper. I remember reading somewhere that even chefs will buy store brands - in fact, chefs were more likely to purchase store brands than non-chefs! So unless the brand item is on sale for cheaper than the store brand, nix it. They're usually the same product, or at least close enough that you won't be able to tell the difference.
2. Set a budget. If you set yourself a budget before you enter the store (and come armed with a calculator or your phone to add up as you go) then you are less likely to just toss something extra in your cart without much thought. .
3. Have a list. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Most people have a shopping list. But go the extra mile and meal plan before you make your list. Every Sunday, I sit down and plan out dinners for the week. Then I go check the freezer and pantry and see what I already have and what I need. This keeps me from wandering around the store trying to figure out what I'm going to make for dinner tomorrow and the next day and the next day. Also, it's a good idea to know the general layout of the store you're going to. That will keep you from having to wander around, seeing tempting things, until you find what you're looking for.
4. Frozen is your friend. While there is nothing quite like biting into a fresh apple or inhaling the scent of fresh cut beets, when it comes to steaming veggies for a side dish, your nose won't care if it was fresh or frozen beforehand. Buying frozen veggies to use as side dishes at dinner or to throw in your scramble in the morning can save you money. For one thing, it is usually cheaper to buy a one pound bag of frozen broccoli than to buy a pound of fresh broccoli. Secondly, it is easy to forget fresh produce in the crisper. I can't even tell you how many times I've had to throw away a poor, pathetic, slimy head of lettuce or shriveled up blueberries. Money down the garbage disposal. Frozen produce doesn't go bad for a long time, giving you more chance to use it and get your money's worth out of it.
5. Milk your money. If you can swing it, sometimes it's cheaper to buy your milk from a drugstore instead of a grocery store - up to 23% cheaper! Sometimes, if I know I have to go to the drugstore and the grocery store in one day, I'll buy all my groceries at the grocery store and then just buy the milk when I'm at the drugstore. Milk can cost up to five or six dollars a gallon, depending on the brand, and that can push you over your budget.
6. Shop less often. One thing I noticed was happening to us was that I was finding it necessary to go to the store several times a week. Some times I even went three or four times! Usually it was just for one or two things, but then I'd think of something else we needed and the bill would just get higher and higher. By being more conscious of how quickly we were going through things, I was able to make them last a little longer. Now I only go twice per week - once for a big haul and once for the perishable things we run out of quickly like fruit, veggies and salad mix.
7. Plan it out. Earlier, I mentioned meal planning. Taking time to plan out meals (or at least dinners) can save you so much hassle, time and money at the store. You don't have to wander around and around trying to figure out what to make. But you can plan other things too. Here's an example: I am pretty much the main fruit-eater in my family. My daughter will eat bananas and pears, as will my husband, but when it comes to things like apples and avocados, it's all up to me. I know that I like to have at least 2 pieces of fruit per day, so I buy accordingly, plus a few extra in case anyone else wants some. Yes, I usually end up having to go back to the store once per week to buy more fruit, vegetables and salad mix (what can I say? I like my produce!) but it keeps me from having to go every other day!
8. Pay with cash. To go along with the budgeting tip above (#2), try leaving your debit/credit card at home and bringing only cash with you. If you know you have literally $50 on your person with which to pay, it will definitely make you think twice about tossing extra stuff into your basket. It will also cause you to bargain shop, which leads me to the next one.....
9. Compare. When doing research on this topic, I was elated to discover that I had not been scrutinizing the price labels enough and that there was actually more information on there than I had realized. Most grocery stores actually list the number of cents per ounce on each price tag. So I started checking that too. For example, one box of Cheerios was something like 28 cents per ounce, but the 2-Pack of boxes (same size boxes, too) was like 23 cents per ounce. Those numbers aren't exact but it was something like that. Two boxes was more expensive than one, sure, but less expensive than two separate boxes would have been I know that we will use up those Cheerios, so I was happy to pay a few dollars extra in order to get more for my money. The take-home point here: check the price label!
10. Make your own coffee. This tip isn't about lowering your grocery bill per se, but it involves the grocery store and saving money so I decided to include it. Last April, I bought us a new coffee maker on sale for $49.99. Seemed like a lot, but man do we use that thing! I buy a pound of ground coffee about every week and a half (or two weeks sometimes) for about $9. My husband and I each have about 3 cups of coffee a day (shush, we're tired!). That's about 30 cups of coffee per pound of coffee, or $0.30 per cup. Try finding a price like THAT at a coffee shop! It will add a little bit to your grocery tab but will save you money in the long run - especially if you're a habitual coffee-drinker like me!
Grocery stores are full of bargains. But they are also full of unnecessary, temping items. Planning ahead, staying focused and moving with purpose will help keep you (and your wallet) happy by the time you arrive at the check stand. Happy shopping! :)
5. Milk your money. If you can swing it, sometimes it's cheaper to buy your milk from a drugstore instead of a grocery store - up to 23% cheaper! Sometimes, if I know I have to go to the drugstore and the grocery store in one day, I'll buy all my groceries at the grocery store and then just buy the milk when I'm at the drugstore. Milk can cost up to five or six dollars a gallon, depending on the brand, and that can push you over your budget.
6. Shop less often. One thing I noticed was happening to us was that I was finding it necessary to go to the store several times a week. Some times I even went three or four times! Usually it was just for one or two things, but then I'd think of something else we needed and the bill would just get higher and higher. By being more conscious of how quickly we were going through things, I was able to make them last a little longer. Now I only go twice per week - once for a big haul and once for the perishable things we run out of quickly like fruit, veggies and salad mix.
7. Plan it out. Earlier, I mentioned meal planning. Taking time to plan out meals (or at least dinners) can save you so much hassle, time and money at the store. You don't have to wander around and around trying to figure out what to make. But you can plan other things too. Here's an example: I am pretty much the main fruit-eater in my family. My daughter will eat bananas and pears, as will my husband, but when it comes to things like apples and avocados, it's all up to me. I know that I like to have at least 2 pieces of fruit per day, so I buy accordingly, plus a few extra in case anyone else wants some. Yes, I usually end up having to go back to the store once per week to buy more fruit, vegetables and salad mix (what can I say? I like my produce!) but it keeps me from having to go every other day!
8. Pay with cash. To go along with the budgeting tip above (#2), try leaving your debit/credit card at home and bringing only cash with you. If you know you have literally $50 on your person with which to pay, it will definitely make you think twice about tossing extra stuff into your basket. It will also cause you to bargain shop, which leads me to the next one.....
9. Compare. When doing research on this topic, I was elated to discover that I had not been scrutinizing the price labels enough and that there was actually more information on there than I had realized. Most grocery stores actually list the number of cents per ounce on each price tag. So I started checking that too. For example, one box of Cheerios was something like 28 cents per ounce, but the 2-Pack of boxes (same size boxes, too) was like 23 cents per ounce. Those numbers aren't exact but it was something like that. Two boxes was more expensive than one, sure, but less expensive than two separate boxes would have been I know that we will use up those Cheerios, so I was happy to pay a few dollars extra in order to get more for my money. The take-home point here: check the price label!
10. Make your own coffee. This tip isn't about lowering your grocery bill per se, but it involves the grocery store and saving money so I decided to include it. Last April, I bought us a new coffee maker on sale for $49.99. Seemed like a lot, but man do we use that thing! I buy a pound of ground coffee about every week and a half (or two weeks sometimes) for about $9. My husband and I each have about 3 cups of coffee a day (shush, we're tired!). That's about 30 cups of coffee per pound of coffee, or $0.30 per cup. Try finding a price like THAT at a coffee shop! It will add a little bit to your grocery tab but will save you money in the long run - especially if you're a habitual coffee-drinker like me!
Grocery stores are full of bargains. But they are also full of unnecessary, temping items. Planning ahead, staying focused and moving with purpose will help keep you (and your wallet) happy by the time you arrive at the check stand. Happy shopping! :)
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