When we’re going frugal with food, simple presentation can make a few cents look like a hundred bucks.  My father-in-law taught me this trick for serving organges.  It’s fast,  looks awesome and is easy to eat too.  Here they are paird with Monday’s Grocery Shrink Plus breakfast:  Toad in the Hole.

To make it, slide your knife between the flesh and the peeling vertically.  Like this:

Then slowly rotate the fruit as you move the knife up and down slightly.  When you are done, you should have a nice flat disc of skin left on the bottom but a perfectly peeled fruit on top.

We just pick them up and eat them by biting out the fruit from the sides.  Grapefruits work great this way too.

My inbox is full of emails that say something like:  “It’s Friday, is everything okay?  Did I miss my menu’s?”

I’m so excited it’s Friday!  And the menu’s are finsihed.  I’m just proofreading everything and they will go out at noon.  If you don’t have them by 2pm or so, then check your spam folder and email me.  (This also means that if you sign up before noon, you’ll still get your first menu and the bonus!)

This has been a huge labor of love for me.  Did you know that I don’t have an assistant? That means when you write me, I read it :).  There’s no one between us.  Sometimes that means I miss an email–so if you don’t hear from me write again.  But that also means I appreciate it when you are gentle with me.  There’s no filter on the emails and as hard as I try to have a tough skin, I really don’t.  A rude comment will have me out of sorts for far too long.

If you happen to find an error in the menu’s I do want to know.  But be kind; be gentle.  I’m someone’s mama too :).  And know I spent hours and hours each day this week to get ready for this one moment.  I’m excited about it, but my excitement is tempered by the knowledge that I’m only human.

I’m working feverishly on finishing the complete menu plan for Grocery Shrink Plus.  It mails out Friday and it is fantastic!    I know there are a few of you who want to join our group of action takers, but also want to make certain it’s good stewardship too.  For you, I’ve attached a sample day’s menu.  You can see what type of recipes I’ll be sharing with you, plus how I’ve set up the action plan for the day.  And if you need special accomodations for dairy free or gluten free–you can see how I handled that too.

March Menu Plan Sample

Will it be healthy?  Will it be tasty?  Will my family eat it?  Is there enough food that my menfolk will be satisfied?  I think so…but you can see for yourself.  Download the free sample (click above) and check it out.

Sign up here: Grocery Shrink Plus

The menu plan this week is awesome…but rest assured they will get better as time goes on.  And the menu is just part of what you are subscribing to.  I’ll also send you a cover letter with frugal tips for the week and talk you through how I save the most money.

I’ll be sharing for you the information I’ve kept off my blog and out of the free newsletter, because I was saving it for the ladies who were willing to invest in themselves to learn it.

And those who subscribe by Midnight Thursday will receive a BONUS!!!!

The bonus is a free Q&A phone chat with me (plus a playback to play over and over at your leisure.) You’ll have a chance to ask anything and have me answer live.  Besides answering your questions I’ll give my own advice on how to cook for picky eaters and blanacing time in the kitchen with the rest of our busy lives.  Can’t wait to visit with you there!  All subscribers will get an email with details about the call and a chance to submit your questions ahead of time.  That way if you can’t make the call you’ll still here your answer on the replay.

Grocery Shrink Plus isn’t for everyone. It’s not for you if you have egg allergies; are a vegetarian; or if you can’t stand the idea of getting help with your menus.

Grocery Shrink Plus is perfect for you if you feel overwhelmed when it comes to menu planning, grocery shopping, or cooking. Or if you are looking for new healthy recipes.  It’s also for you if you feel like you should be spending less on your groceries but can’t figure out how to do it.

I am excited to announce a brand new service!

Grocery Shrink Plus

Have you liked reading my menu ideas for the week in my newsletter, but been frustrated that there are no recipes to go with them?

When you subscribe to Grocery Shrink Plus, you will be emailed an expanded menu including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for the week. The plan includes recipes plus an action plan for each day to help the week’s cooking go smoothly.

The menu’s are based on the pantry method of shopping, so you can save the most money while cooking nutritous meals for your family. I will include a master pantry list for the week which details the items that should be in your pantry, plus a list of items that are perishable or not commonly in a pantry for you to gather in preparaton for the week.
The menu’s are sent out on Friday, March 9th so you can use the weekend to shop for any needed food for the coming week. The first meal on the menu is for Sunday the 11th. Sunday’s meal is designed so much of the prep can be done the night before. Then, your lunch will cook while you are at church :).

The meals include variations for those on gluten free diets, or those who must avoid dairy products. There is not a vegitarian option at this time.
The recipes are pre-calcuated to serve families of 2, 4, 8, and 12 members and often cooking time is shortened by using “planned-overs” as meal starters for another day.
The first Grocery Shrink Plus menu plan is scheduled to come out on Friday and has my mouth watering! I’m excited because this is pushing me to a new level of planning that will bless my family as well. Don’t miss the first issue. Sign up now! At only $5 a month, it’s an affordable way to simplify your life. Just click here.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the survey already. Your suggestions have helped me a ton! It’s not too late to take the survey–you can do that here. Here’s a free printable for you to plan your March menu. Click here to download the pdf.

Will you take a few minutes and answer the 8 questions below? Also if you have any additional comments about Grocery Shrink Plus, you can add them as a comment to the post. Your survey comments are private the website comments are not :).

This is a test to see if I can post from my phone yet. Heather won the Pottery Barn knock-off lamp when the sisters divided their room. We just bought her nightstand tonight on Craigslist. We hope to furnish our new house mostly by buying and selling on craigslist.

Whew!  I had a few days of technical difficulties.  It started when my old computer crashed and the new one didn’t like my blog program.  My techy updated the blog and just like that–I can post again.  Hooray :).

Yesterday I was blessed to be a feature over at Learnvest.  You can read the article here.  You might be surprised to read there that we were guest “stars” on the new TLC reality TV series Extreme Cheapskates.  I didn’t mention it before for several reasons.    The producer kept me out of the loop about when it would air and made me promise not to talk about it until he said it was okay. The first I knew it had aired was when a sweet viewer sent me a note of  “I saw you…” I assumed I missed my chance to let you know so you could watch it.  But they keep playing that episode over and over and over.  In fact it aired again just yesterday, so I’m guessing, if you get TLC, it’s not to late to catch it.

As a disclaimer:  I don’t  have cable and have never seen the episode–Some people have loved it, my extended family was completely embarrassed by it; and one friend said, “Let me put it this way:  You looked pretty, but the show wasn’t.”  So whatever it is, just know that they can take little clips out of context and make the whole thing mean something different.  For example the clip on the show’s webpage shows my 4 year old son folding washcloths. One is all brown and he holds it up and says, “This one looks dirty.”  I said, “It’s fine.”  That washcloth was brown because it had been scorched in the microwave (huh?  long story) so I knew it was perfectly clean and fine to use…but the way they edited the clip it made me feel a little gross about the whole thing.

My biggest disappointment was that they didn’t mention this website at all on the show so most of the viewers will miss out on all the extra ideas and help they could get to save money.  But I have gotten several other media opportunities because of the show that will help to spread the word.