Happy Halloween!

Please excuse the diversion from food for today, but I just have to say: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I love Halloween. Dressing up, going to parties, and eating pumpkin shaped cookies. It is the one time a year where you can be anyone or anything you want. It is so much fun! I hope everyone had a spooktacular Halloween!

Breakfast for Dinner

It's a breakfast for dinner kind of night. Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner? It is delicious and so much fun, as well as a great money saver. Some of my favorite menu items include omelets, breakfast burritos, waffles, hash browns, and french toast. Add a side of fruit to make it a more balanced meal. My favorite way to make french toast in the fall and winter is to use egg nog in place of milk. I also like to add a dash of pumpkin pie spice for a festive flair. So tasty!

Skip the Packaged Goods

One great way to save on cash is to not buy pre-packaged foods. A couple things that will cost less if you make them yourself include bread (which costs about 30 cents to make), cookies, power bars, and granola bars. Alton Brown (who is awesome by the way) has an excellent recipe for granola bars:

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 chopped dried fruit

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x9-inch glass baking dish and set aside.

Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.

Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Source: foodnetwork.com

Make it a Meatless Monday

Meat is expensive. When you shop, oftentimes the most expensive items in your basket will be meat products. So to save a little cash, try skipping the meat at dinner once or twice a week.  It may be hard to get started, but it will become habit if you do it a few weeks in a row.
Here are some tips for your Meatless Mondays:

• Make sure you are getting protein. Some good foods to get protein from (other than meat) include beans, eggs, cheese, and soy.
• Start with familiar meals, such as macaroni and cheese or veggie pizza. Later you can get more creative, like stir-fry with veggies and tofu or lentil soup.
• Eat breakfast for dinner. Everyone I know loves breakfast for dinner, it's fun and can easily be meatless. For example, you could have scrambled eggs with waffles and chocolate milk for dinner.
• Research vegetarian food blogs. Vegetarian food can be scary to some, but there are many recipes out there that taste good and are easy to make. They are also often good for you.
• Remember that not eating meat one or two dinners a week is good for both your body and your budget.