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image:shche_ team on unsplash |
If you've been reading along for a while, you know how much I love sharing my daily frugal habits here with you four days a week. Today, I am pulling back the curtain on something brand new—a private twice-per-month newsletter space created just for our community.
I know our inboxes are crowded, so let me give you the honest details upfront:
- The Blog Schedule Isn't Changing: I will still be posting here 4 times a week on our exact same routine. This newsletter is just an extra bonus.
- It is 100% Free: There are no hidden fees or premium paywalls.
- Your Privacy is Safe: I will never sell, leak, or give your email address to anyone. It stays strictly between us.
Think of this newsletter as a twice-per-month chat over coffee where I get to share the real, unedited family moments from my kitchen, recipes I think you'll enjoy, updates from the goings on in my garden, or a little tip I think might save you money. These topics don't always fit into a formal blog post. I think the newsletter will work beautifully and pair with the blog for additional content.
To give you a little taste of what to expect, here is a story from my kitchen this week that is just about to be sent out to our early circle members:
A funny fridge discovery (and a frugal win!)
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| The actual peach kefir and blueberry muffins my daughter baked to save our budget this week! |
Hi friend,
This week, I was deep-cleaning the refrigerator to snap a nice photo for my post on low-frequency grocery shopping. As I was digging through the shelves, I stumbled across a few leftover soft foods my daughter had bought for her recent wisdom teeth extraction recovery.
She hadn't finished them off, so I made a gentle, motherly suggestion that she should probably prioritize eating those specific foods over the next couple of days.
Well, she instantly looked at me and said she could use the leftover peach kefir in her baking this week!
My heart absolutely swelled. A total "yay!" mom moment. She completely gets it! She understands the golden rule of our household: wasted food equals wasted money. It is one of the best feelings in the world to see those frugal habits naturally click with our kids.
A frugal read you might have missed:
While you wait for the next newsletter to drop, here's my favorite blog post from July with some dynamite recipe links and inspirations in the comments' section:
Read this not for my post, but scroll down to the comments. There are some great recipe links and inspirations in the comments' section. So many decadent treats from you all! Check out the recipe link Kris gave. It looks like a yummy dinner! Sara provided a link to a recipe for a treat that would wow my family. Guess which fresh summer veggies Live and Learn says meet her definition of decadence? Oh, and do you do sourdough? Annie has a suggestion for using some of the discard starter. Read what Ruthie feels is decadent! I'll give you a hint, it contains one of my favorite winter "fruits." And Diane reminded us all of the "why" we do so much for our kids when we're in the stage that they're still at home everyday. And last, but not least, you have to read Alice's list. I could make a day's worth of eating from her list alone. A lot of yum in those comments!This week's little frugal challenge:
Before you go grocery shopping this weekend, take five minutes to dig into the very back corner of your fridge. Find one ingredient that is nearing its expiration date and challenge yourself to build a meal or a baked good around it!
If you find something interesting, hit "reply" to this email and tell me what you found—I read and reply to every single message that lands in this private inbox.
Talk soon,
Lili
If you want to join our little private circle to get these honest twice-per-month stories, kitchen wins, and exclusive money-saving tips delivered straight to your inbox, you can sign up right in the sidebar of this page or at the bottom of this post! Just look for the "join the private frugal circle" box, type your email, and click "Join the Circle". And don't forget to confirm your subscription. You'll receive an email within minutes of subscribing (click on the "Confirm your subscription" box). Check your spam folder if you don't see it in your inbox. I hope you join us!
Have a great weekend, friends!
I've never tried kombucha. I probably should sometime. How did the muffins taste?
ReplyDeleteWow, a newsletter! That should be fun!
Hi Kris,
DeleteI've tried kombucha, and it's definitely an acquired taste. Both my son and daughter-in-law really enjoy it.
For the story about my daughter, it was kefir, which is different from kombucha. A quick breakdown of the differences and similarities -- Both are fermented probiotic drinks. Kefir is based on milk or water. Kombucha is based on green or black tea (and also flavored with herbals, fruit juices, and spices). Kefir is creamy and tangy a lot like a liquidy yogurt. Kombucha is fizzy and tart. Kombucha has traces of alcohol and some caffeine. And kefir, if made with milk not water, contains some lactose, much like yogurt. Our local farmer's market has samples of both by local makers.
So the kefir muffins -- they were delicious. We had some of them with dinner last night, and we'll finish them today. A great save of the kefir! My daughter used my mother's blueberry muffin recipe. The kefir was peach-flavored. The peach wasn't pronounced. And the kefir, being a sweetened product, added a small amount of sweetness to a muffin recipe. My daughter substituted the kefir 1:1 for the milk called for, adding a little soy milk to bring the liquid up to 1 cup. I also thought the kefir "softened" the muffin texture a little bit. My daughter used part whole wheat flour in these muffins, and that can make the muffins have a more coarse texture.
I'm really looking forward to the newsletter. It will have a more conversational tone and relate small tips and encouragements. Anyway, I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing in my excitement!
Just today I was looking in the deep recesses of my refrigerator to see what I could eat for lunch. About a month ago, my son gave me a quart jar of pickled hard boiled eggs he had made. They are a bit strong for my liking, so I mixed in some mayo which helped a bit. However, I am still not feeling the love, but I hate to get rid of them. Any suggestions??
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the newsletter idea!
Hi Ruthie,
DeleteWhat an interesting fridge find! I think if I had a large jar of pickled boiled eggs I'd still try using them in egg salad or tuna salad, but reducing the amount of pickled egg I used, and used at least half plain boiled eggs. So, for example, if I normally made a batch of egg salad with 3 boiled eggs, I would use 1 pickled egg and 2 plain boiled eggs. This approach might work in potato salad, if you chopped the pickled egg up fine to mix into the potatoes and mayo. Just use fewer of the pickled eggs and more of the plain ones. I've never had a pickled boiled egg. What do they taste like most? Good luck with this.
Fellow readers -- how would you use pickled boiled eggs?
I love water kefir and kombucha and make both at home. Water kefir grains and my kombucha scoby get fed as regularly as my sourdough starter. Refrigerator finds are always interesting, both the good and the bad. Annie
ReplyDeleteHi Annie,
DeleteMy son wants to try making kombucha. I told him about specific heating pads and wraps that you can use to keep the temperature just right. Do you use any special equipment for making kombucha?
I use a gallon jar, organic tea, organic cane sugar, non-chlorinated water and a piece of muslin and a rubber band to cover the jar. Don’t use cheesecloth, the weave is too loose and can allow dust to get in.
DeleteFermentaholics has supplies and they have frequent sales and free shipping. I purchased a temperature strip that goes on the outside of the gallon jar, pH test strips, and a heater (it’s actually a wide band that wraps around the jar). I believe the heater was $10. I only need to use it in the coldest months. It’s long enough to go around my gallon jar of kombucha and my quart jar of water kefir. You can purchase more expensive heaters and mats that have a temperature control but they are more for yogurt making and other projects that require various temperature ranges. My mat has always kept the kombucha at the perfect temp.
He can purchase a SCOBY but usually if he asks around there are always people giving them away for free. It’s like sourdough starter, always multiplying. I usually give my extra scobies to my chickens.
It’s really a simple process. You’re basically making a gallon of sweet tea, adding the scoby, covering and letting it ferment for a week or so. Then the fun part, flavoring and bottling. Let me know if he has any questions as he goes through the process. Annie
Thank you so much, Annie, for all of this helpful information! I will let you know if I have any questions.
Delete