UPDATE ::  Not all baking sodas are created equal. More info at the bottom.

That’s right, I am no longer shampooing my hair.  I am sure you have heard about this since it seems to be all the rage. And I’m not gonna lie, I am LOVING it.

I heard about this almost a year ago. I was intrigued, but never tried it.

THEN

I was with a group of friends back in April and we were talking hair. I was sharing my frustration because my hair had become so dull and lifeless. I had tried several shampoos, yet nothing seemed to make my hair shiny or make it feel like it had more body.

So I again Googled “no more shampoo”.  I then forwarded my info on to my friend and we both began the no shampoo.

For the first week I still had to use product in my hair after I “shampooed” with baking soda. My hair still was dry and fly away hair. By week 2 I didn’t have to use any product in my hair at all. I do have to straighten my hair when I wash it because it has an annoying ugly curl. I tried to let it go, but there is not enough curl in it.

My hair is shiny and it does have more body than before. I am now 5 months in and I will never go back to actual shampoo. There have been a few occasions where I ran out of my baking soda mixture and grabbed shampoo because I had worked out and I was sweaty and gross.  I regretted it each time. My hair instantly felt heavy and limp again.

This is great for traveling because you can just throw baking soda in a baggy and add it to water when you get to your destination.

Why You Should Consider This ::

Shampoos and conditioners are full of chemicals. They are made to strip your hair of product, but they also just strip your hair. Like I said before, I am no longer needing other products, so now there is nothing to strip anything.

It’s cheaper. Even if you can get shampoo for under $1, this is still cheaper. I have products that I purchased for 25¢ and I won’t even be using those.

What’s the harm? That was my thought. I would at least try it and if I liked it I would report in with all of you. Well, I am reporting in, just like hundreds of other bloggers. We all like it. We are all happy with the results and we like our hair even better.

How To “Wash” Your Hair Now ::

1-2 Tbls. of baking soda mixed with 8oz of water. This will be enough to last you for at least a week. Mess around with the amounts. I like mine with a little more baking soda.

For the conditioner use 1-2 tbls. apple cider vinegar also with 8oz of water. Use this just on your hair and not on your roots. It will make your hair greasy if you use it on your roots. The apple cider vinegar works a a detangler, so if you don’t need it for that you can even skip it as I have.

You need to give yourself at least 5-6 weeks to work through the greasy phase. Your hair is being striped daily when you put chemicals on it. So it’s producing extra oil to keep it healthy. Once you stop striping it, it does take awhile for your body to know to stop producing extra oil, but it will.

Not only is it good for your hair, but it’s also great for your budget. I bought a huge bag of baking soda from Costco for around $5.

Anyone else tried it?

Here are other uses for apple cider vinegar if you decide not to use it in your hair. Using it as deodorant or getting rid of cold sores.

UPDATE :: Not all baking sodas are created equal ::

• If you are trying this and its just not working use less baking soda in your mix.
• I have also found that only Arm and Hammer works for me.
• And only the small boxes not the Costco container.
• Trader Joe’s also does NOT work for me.
• Your hair should feel light healthy, not heavy and thick. It will become greasy way too fast if it’s like that.

Want more information? Check out Simple Mom. I like the way she laid it out and even she even includes some extra tips.

My husband and I were out driving around the other day and we passed one of those Payday Loan stores. You know what I’m talking about,  you’ve seen them around town and heard about them on the news years ago.
As we drove by we were surprised to see a huge line inside. Surprised and saddened I should say.

I know for some people they do live paycheck to paycheck. I also know that sometimes there are circumstances outside their control and situations we wouldn’t even know how to handle. No matter what it seems to be, these people eventually make their way down to the nearest Payday Loan stores and apply for a loan just to make it another month.

An alternative to the traditional storefront Payday Loan places is online loans. Getting online loans is pretty simple and easy now days, but because it is very easy, please be very careful when applying for these that you don’t take out more than you need. Because of the easy access, some people tend to take out more than they really need. These loans will need to be paid back in a timely manner, so be responsible with what you apply for.

In the past getting payday loans was rather risky, and with all kinds of hidden costs, it was causing more problems than what it would solve. Now the Payday loans are under more guidelines and are much more secure making it a better option for those that have no other options.

Things to remember if this is the option you have to choose:

• Never get more than you need
• Better yet take out as little as possible
• Ask about any additional costs
• Ask about pre payment penalties
• Pay it back quickly and on time to avoid additional fees
• Cut your spending in the meantime in hopes of not having to take another loan
• Reevaluate your current budget

I am pretty proud of myself. I think this is the 3rd week in a row that I have had my menu plan. We are trying to keep our food budget as low as possible, so this is helping a ton. Weird week ahead. I will be gone for a long weekend, Friday – Monday and the family will all be gone Thursday night. So 3 family dinners this week.

Monday

Hamburgers on the Traeger
Sweet Potatoes Fries with Chipotle Mayonnaise

Tuesday

Baked Turkey Cutlets in Panko
Roasted Cauliflower OR
Cauliflower “Mashed Potatoes”

Wednesday

Pasta Carbonara
This uses cream, as does the cauliflower mash. That should use the whole container. Also considering trying this with spaghetti squash instead of pasta. We’ll see.

Thursday
I’m home alone, but making a huge pot of Chicken Tortilla soup to last through the weekend.

Friday – Monday
I’m gone.
Left over soup
Pizza on the Traeger
Sandwiches

Check out what others are eating this week.

Photo credit

Need some extra cash? No time to get another job? Sounds like it’s time to give up a few things. Some are realistic, some aren’t. Even choosing one or two things could save you $100 a month.

Let’s start with the basics

• Stop getting your coffee at the local coffee shop
• Stop eating lunch out
• Stop buying flowers for your significant other.  Just kidding, keep doing that!!

IN THE HOME

• Unplug things when you aren’t home. Seriously who remembers to do that?
• Replace your old bulbs with the new bulbs. I won’t lie, that’s a tough one too, since the new ones are so expensive.
• Close the curtains in the winter to keep the heat in and close them in the summer to keep the sun out.
• Make home super enjoyable. The more you like to be there the less you will be out spending money.
• Get on Pinterest and find easy home projects to furnish and decorate your home. Just because you have Pottery Barn taste doesn’t mean you have to pay those prices.
• Don’t keep up with the Jone’s. Turns out, they are in debt over their head. Instead buy what you can pay cash for.
• Get rid of your home phone. Do you even use it anymore? We got rid of ours 2 years ago.

ENTERTAINMENT

• Use Living Social, Groupon, or any of your favorite deal sites. You can score some great entertainment deals on food, activities and even trips.
• Buy the Entertainment book which has great movie ticket coupons.
• Enjoy Happy Hour instead of a dinner at a nice restaurant.
• Watch for free concerts around town. These happen a lot during the summer, but even in the winter you can find a few here and there.
• Instead of grabbing a coffee with a friend go for walk. You usually just want to talk anyways.
• Get rid of cable. There is really never anything on anyways.
• Replace cable with Hulu. I think it’s about $100 a year.

CAR

• Do all your trips together. This is another one that comes up often, but my husband can’t think like this. Some people just need to make an conscious effort to get it right.
• Take 15 minutes and see if you really can save on car insurance. After we added a kid, we spent more than 15 minutes and easily saved ourselves $75 a month.
• Consider selling your car for a car with a lower payment. Or better yet look for a car you can pay cash for and get rid of the car payment altogether.
• Ask for discounts even when getting your oil changed. Last time I had the wrong coupon, so I asked them (after the oil change was done) what they could do for me. They took care of me. (keeping up on maintenance will save you more money in the long run.)
• Share a car if you can.  We actually could have kept sharing if my daughter didn’t have 2 jobs. But we did have 3 drivers and 2 cars for almost 3 years. The 3rd car was a car we paid cash for.

HOUSE

• Keep the lights off if you are not in the room. Don’t think this makes a difference? Check your electricity bill between the summer and the fall. The bill goes up in the fall even though you don’t use heat or air.
• It’s hard to do in this economy, but try and refinance. That could easily save you over $100 a month.
• Keep up on maintenance. Fix the small things, instead of waiting for the big problems.
• Do your own yard work.
• Clean your own house.  I know it would be nice to have help, but when times are tough, it’s one that needs cut out.

FOOD

• Do a weekly menu plan for your dinners. It keeps you from eating out and it keeps you from impulse buying at the store. Make that $4.99 Costco chicken into 4 meals.
• Here’s one that I hate to pass on…eat vegetarian once a week. I really do like my meat.
• Inventory you freezer, fridge and pantry. Come up with as many meals as you can with what you have on hand. I like to do this every once and awhile.
• Whenever you stop in for milk always check the markdowns in the meat department. If something is not marked down and it should be, just ask.

CLOTHING

• When you buy articles of clothing make sure they are super versatile.Then you won’t need so many pieces.
• Don’t feel like you need to buy quality clothing. I know, it seems wrong, but if you buy cheaper items you can afford to get new clothes more often. And some of my quality clothes are out of style.
• Don’t shop reused, well unless you want to. Target markdowns are usually better deals.
• Do a clothing swap with friends.

So you have done the basics. But What else could you possibly cut out??

• Look at switching to a cheaper hairdresser. I had to ask myself if it was worth paying $30 to have my layers trimmed. Not ready to switch? Try and make it last an extra week or two.
• Do your boys have short hair? Consider cutting it yourself. I started doing this 5-6 years ago. I paid $40 for good clippers and have kept them in good running condition.
• Plan days to just stay home.
• Ask friends to come over for coffee instead of out.
• Make nice meals at home and serve it with wine, beer or cocktails. It might not be a frugal thing to do, but they are a fraction of the cost to make as opposed to buying them at a restaurant.
• Don’t go to the mall or any store just to look around. Don’t check out Target clearance. When we were really, really poor I would go shop Target clearance. Yes I was saving money, but I was also spending money I didn’t have on things I might not have really needed.
• Write down what you spend. Just seeing where it goes will help you cut back. To save $100 a month just cut out $25 a week.

Over a year ago we really had to cut back on our spending and I put many of these to good use and I managed to save us over $500 a month. It can be done!!

What are you doing to save money?  I mean to seriously attack that monthly bill??

Check out some other money saving tips.
Works for Me

Nearly 2 years ago I bought towels on clearance at Target. Here’ s part of the post here ::

So now my rant for why I am willing to buy cheap towels.  My towels always end up stinking.  Before when I had a top load washer I would add vinegar to take out that sour odor.   Well, I have front load now and you can’t do that.  I am sick of my towels stinking and I have decided that if I can find them cheap enough I need to throw them out when they are that bad.  You also have to remember I have teenagers so they get left wadded and wet.  Now the hard part is going to be throwing away my old towels.  I am so frugal I can barely part with them, but gag when I dry off.  So out they go and NO I won’t donate those nasty things. That’s just mean.

Here I am two years later, and they still look brand new and they are still super soft. I paid just $2.48 for each towel. I made sure to keep them away from my kids. And they don’t smell at all. I do NOT need to throw them out like I thought I might need too. I made sure to hang dry them and I did find a way to add vinegar to my load on occasions.

I guess we don’t need to spend a lot of money on towels or replace them for that matter. Well, actually, I am going to replace some more this year.

In case you don’t know the best times to shop Target, check out the Target Markdown Schedule and plan your trip accordingly.

I am trying to keep up with my menu plans because::

1. It gives me future ideas

2. We all know it saves money

3. You can think through how to buy a special ingredient and use it up before it’s spoils and has to be thrown out. For instance Basil or last week I had Kale with a couple of uses.

Sunday
Breakfast Burritos – never got to these last week
eggs, sausage, hash browns wrapped in flour tortillas

Monday
Lemon Chicken
over pasta or spaghetti squash
roasted veggies or salad

Tuesday
Pork Bulgogi with Rice

Wednesday – I don’t want to cook day
Sausage – like Trader Joe’s Mango Chicken
Saute onions and red pepper -toss in sliced sausage
add can of black beans and corn – saute till warm
Serve over rice

Thursday – Girls night, boys are snowboarding
Roasted Veggies over Quinoa
needs a sauce and I’m taking suggestions

Friday
Pasta Carbonara
Bread
Caesar Salad

Saturday
I’m going to the Roller Derby, so dinner out!!
That’s right the Roller Derby!!!!!

Find out what others are eating this week.

I had a friend ask on Facebook what people were serving for dinner on a regular basis. It’s a good question. You get stuck in a rut and you want to find out what others are doing, because their rut is different than your rut. And before you know it you have 5 new meals.

Here is how I have avoided the rut, well for the most part.

I started menu planning about 1 1/2 years ago. I have my little notebook and I write my meals down in it. I also have a page of meals that were hits. I am always trying new things, and with Pinterest I have recipes for days, and many I have tried and like.

So now what I do is when I go to work on my meal plan for the week, I look over all my meals from the past year or so. It jolts my memory of something I made and everyone liked. Therefore making my list of “hits” even longer.

You will have more than one list if you are like me. The things you serve in the winter are different than the things you serve in the summer. I don’t use my oven in the summer and I don’t have grill to use in the winter. Since I try to cook with seasonal food I like to keep those lists separate.

Over a  year ago I sat the family down and asked them of the things we eat, what would you put on the weekly menu?  From that I not only got my question answered, but it has continued to work for me. I will try a new recipe and they will say “Don’t add this to the weekly list” or “You could add this every other week” and then some times I hit the home run and get the “add this to the weekly list.”

The nice thing is I no longer ask the question if they like it, they just offer up their opinion. It’s a great way to keep building on the weekly meal plans.

Here’s what I’m eating this week.

Monday :: Zuppa Toscana soup with bread and maybe a Caesar salad

Tuesday :: Butternut Squash Gnocchi with salad

Wednesday :: Beef in a Red Wine Sauce,  over mashed potatoes served with roasted carrots

Thursday :: Family all gone, me home alone. Either left overs or out with a friend.

Friday :: I’m out with the girls meaning my family will eat out.

Saturday ::  Breakfast burritos – hashbrowns, eggs, bacon/sausage, little bit of cheese rolled in a flour tortilla.

My Monday soup has kale in it. I will be making some green smoothies this week to use that up. Green smoothies is just a blend of fruits with kale.

My Tuesday meal has sage in it. I will use the extra sage in my lunches when I heat up my Butternut Squash Bisque.

Wednesday will always have left overs. If I wasn’t making the butternut squash gnocchi the day before I would make extra mashed potatoes to go with the Beef in a red wine sauce so I could make gnocchi with the left overs, but Gnocchi once a week is enough.

Just maybe if I plan it right I could have some left overs for the everyone on the Friday I am gone.

My lunches will consist of lunch meat, soup and green smoothies. My son will get a sandwich and fruits and veggies and my daughter will have whatever she makes for herself since she is home for lunch every day. My husband will either have a sandwich here or out to eat.

Here is what others are eating this week.

Oregon Coast and Beer, what’s not to love?

If you are from the area or looking to vacation along the Oregon Coast this is a great deal. For just $199 you can get 2 nights, a large bottle of beer from a local restaurant and breakfast one day at the Pelican pub.

This little town of Pacific City has lots to offer. The Pelican Pub is known for their beer and great food. As a matter of fact they pair their food to their beers. There is also a cute coffee shop that has plenty of seating and really good coffee. Looking for some exercise? Take time to hike the large sand dune nearby. Not everyone can make it to the top.

I am a big advocate for working on your marriage. Getaways like this are great ways to invest and I think worth every penny.

If you are interested grab your Living Social deal today before they are all gone.

I have been on a mission to not only eat brussel sprouts to like them too. So many people rant and rave about them, but when you grew up having them boiled there is no way you can ever imagine them tasting good.

The best way to find a good recipe is to post on Facebook and ask your foodie friends how they prepare them. Take all those suggestions, mix them up and come out with one great recipe of your own.

Here is my most favorite way to eat them and a few variations on that even

Roasted

Cut brussel sprouts in half
drizzle with olive oil, I used garlic olive oil
dice up some sweet onion – couple tablespoons or to taste
Sea salt – don’t use table salt…ever….on anything
Pepper
1 piece of bacon diced or pancetta
1-2 tblsp. Pine Nuts
Balsamic Vinegar – I used 18 year old balsamic

I add everything except the pine nuts and balsamic, toss to coat, then make sure all the cut sides are down. It helps them to caramelize.

Put in them in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. About the time they look done, toss in the pine nuts, a little drizzle of balsamic and cook another 2 minutes.

Other options ::
1. Omit the bacon and pine nuts and finished it off with Parmesan cheese.
2. Once out of the oven drizzle with fresh lemon juice instead of balsamic

Brussel Sprout Pizza

Yep, I heard about it from a friend who had it at a restaurant (we have great restaurants here in Portland) and I knew I had to try it. Or at least figure out how to make it. How hard could it be? Right?

I started with Trader Joes whole wheat pizza dough.

I par baked the pizza dough at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes

Drizzle it with garlic olive oil
Top with the leaves of the sprouts
A little bacon
finely chopped sweet onion
Parmesan cheese

I finished cooking it another 10 minutes or until everything was melted and crispy.

This was delicious. I couldn’t stop eating it. You can see from the picture that I only made half the pizza brussel sprout, the other half was a capresse. I regretted not making more.

Other Pizza Option ::

I did how ever make a little mini pizza with shredded brussel sprouts, garlic olive oil and chevre.  Does anything not taste good with chevre?  This was another great combo and much simpler.

Since I ate so many brussel sprouts today I had to know exactly how good they were for me. I mean good things don’t always taste bad. Sure enough, they are loaded with tons of things, like antioxidants, fiber, vitamin A & K. They are also highly recommended for weight loss programs. Want to know about these little gems…read on.

I got my whole “stick” of brussel sprouts for just $1.99 at Trader Joes. It was enough for 2 meals and pizza.

These are a winter veggie and I intend to keep on eating them. So please share with me how you fix brussel sprouts.

I think I checked out there for a few weeks. Sorry, I have been busy just dealing with life, holidays and life. I don’t have many Christmas parties this year and 2 of them are catered, so I have just haven’t had to bring many food items, but nonetheless I have a few goodies tucked away just in case I need something last minute.

Right now my favorite quick appetizer is Olive Tapenade.  I like this because you can actually be missing some ingredients and still make a great dip.

The ingredients that you need are ::

1 cup Kalamata Olives – I buy these at Costco
1 Garlic clove
1 Tbls Capers
1 Tbsp. Parsely
1 Tbls Fresh Lemon

In a food processor chop all ingredients well. Serve with chevre cheese.

I have made this without any capers and it was fine. Another time I was missing the parsley, again it was fine. There was even a time I was missing the lemon and it was still very good.

My other favorites is the blueberry vanilla chevre cheese from Trader Joes. Just add crackers. Yum!!  All you have to do is show up with that appetizer. Well actually you will have to unwrap it first.