Day 31- My apple crisp recipe

We went apple picking today and you can't beat a big bag of apples right off the tree for $5!

My Oatmeal Apple Crisp recipe

6 apples, peeled, cored, sliced, chopped
grease bottom of 8x8 baking dish with butter
put chopped apples in the dish
sprinkle 1-2 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon over the apples

In a large bowl mix:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
melt 1/2 stick butter and mix with all ingredients together
spoon over apples and bake for 45 min at 350 F

Enjoy!

(Frugal Friday at Life As Mom)

Day 24- How to exercise for less

Over at Life As Mom there is a feature called Frugal Friday where you can share your money-saving tips.

One thing that may stop you from exercising is the cost.  Yes it may be pricey to join a gym- especially if you have to sign a year-long contract.  If you look for a no-frills kind of a gym rather than a fancy health club, it may be quite a bit cheaper and you may be able to pay month to month.  Also what ever sales pitch they try to sell you on, ask for a better deal- it never hurts to ask!

One very free way to get some exercise is of course to get out and walk.  If you have bad weather there is always the mall- often they open early just for walkers (watch out for those seniors they'll run you over).  If you have stairs in your home or at work you have your very own stair climber- no cost!  You can often find a cheap bicycle or other exercise equipment at a garage sale or on Craig's List.

Another free option is the library.  You can find diet and exercise books and DVD's.  I get just about all my books from the library- I rarely buy books but when I do I get them used from Half.com.  One more free option, if you have cable TV, check if your cable offers free on-demand videos.  Mine offers The Biggest Loser workouts and many others for free.

Here's some free walking resources from the American Heart Association.

How to get a low-cost fully vetted pet

I'm taking a time out from my usual blog posting to put in a plug for the Summit County Humane Society of Greater Akron.  They are running a special right now on adoptable cats at their brand-new facility on Darrow Road (Rt 91) in Twinsburg.  You can adopt a fully vetted cat (neutered, all shots, and microchip) for $10.00 to $19.00 depending on when you show up.  You pay the price according to the time of day- for example at 1:00pm it's $13.00- get it?.  (The regular price for adult cats is $50 and kittens are $75.) You can find their cat listing on Petfinder.com.

If that's not a Frugal Friday tip, I don't know what is! :)

Day 3- Shopping Trip

Today I am planning to go to Whole Foods and Trader Joes.  I say "planning" because it's a bit of a trip and some times the best laid plans- well you know!  Whole Foods has a pretty good web site- you can check their specials and they have printable coupons.  Did you know Trader Joes is owned by the same family in Germany that runs Aldi?  It's actually 2 different branches of the same family- one owns Trader Joes and one owns Aldi.  (I actually don't have very good luck at Aldi but I know a lot of people do.) One thing about Trader Joe's- a lot of their Trader Joe's brand items are actually made by mainstream companies like Frito Lay (Pepsi), etc.- that's why the prices are low.

A bit more about yesterday's post on fast food. There are a couple reasons- I think- not to eat fast food.  First, most of the menu is fried. Food deep fried in oil is just not that good for you.  Second, I think the meat- especially the beef is suspect.  According to Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser,  McDonald's is the largest purchaser of beef in the world.  That means beef producers pretty much produce beef to McDonald's standards- for just about everyone- including schools.  A couple things make me uneasy about this beef.  First the way the animals are fed and raised on "factory-farms". I am opposed to any kind of growth hormone given to cows.  Second the way they are slaughtered and processed.  Because there is a great risk of E. coli 0157:H7 contamination, the beef is treated with ammonia.

A bit of a disclaimer here.  I am no expert on whole food, organic food, or anything else.  I am just posting things I am trying.  I'm not telling you what to do- you have to make your own choices.  I'm not totally on board with the whole "organic" thing.  I want to eat more vegetables, fruits and healthy meats- and way less packaged foods.  I also want to support local farmers when I can.  I have not cleaned out my refrigerator or pantry.  I can't afford to do this right now- so we are eating our way through some packaged stuff now.  But as I shop and replace things- I try to make better choices.

Hope you have a great holiday weekend! If you are looking for some frugal pantry ideas- check out Frugal Friday over at Life As Mom (a terrific blog).