All My Eggs

Living Simply and Frugally

The New Year and Resolutions

Every time a new year rolls around things look fresh and new, and it seems like a great time to make some resolutions, to set some goals!  I’ve spent several days now thinking about the year ahead of me, and what goals I should set for myself.  The more that I thought about it, the more I realized that every day I am already working on things, trying to improve things, that would be my resolutions.  Instead of setting goals I’d like to accomplish for the year, I just need to keep doing what I’m doing now, on a day-to-day basis.

Financially:  I’ve been working consistently to put more money in my savings account.  I’ve also increased my 401K contributions so that I am contributing the maximum amount and have also been paying extra each month toward my vehicle.  It will be paid in full by this summer.  I’m accomplishing this by tracking my spending closely, trying to only purchase things that I need, although an occasional want does creep in there, and getting the best buy (both in quality and price) on anything that I purchase.

By increasing payments on my vehicle by just a small amount at a time, setting up automatic payments from my checking account into my savings account (and both accounts earn interest), and increasing my 401K contributions a small amount every couple of months,  this has made it easier to do.  By doing this I am hoping  to be debt free, and have a comfortable amount of money set aside in my savings and for retirement.  (Next I need to tackle the school loans!!)

I cook from scratch, I only shop sales, I use coupons, and I try to use leftovers!  I also try to not waste things and reuse, reinvent and recycle what I can. Of course there is always room for improvement here!

Personally: I constantly watch my weight (go up and down these days) and try to eat healthy.  The new year won’t be changing this.  But it could give me a little more of a push.  Staying healthy is important to me.  Improving my eating habits and getting exercise makes me feel better, gives me the energy to do the things that I like to do, and will in the long run, improve my quality of life.

I also constantly strive to be a better person.  I try to treat others, the way that I would like to be treated. Every day I try to be a better mother, friend, wife, co-worker.  With God’s help, I know that I’ll get there.

I also try to learn something new every day.  I have found that trying new things and learning to do things for myself has made me more self-sufficient in many ways.

So I guess that my resolution for this new year is to continue doing what I am doing now.  And to strive to improve what I can, and accept the things that I can’t (I know there’s a saying out there like this, hehe).  I am looking forward to a year full of adventures as we put our house up for sale, perhaps move, and maybe changing career paths, (something I am lookin into. Iit all depends upon the house selling!)

I’ll be back sharing more with you about the house, how I am saving, and what I am doing to prepare for the possibility of a career change. And of course there will be more recipes!  I especially love to bake!

I hope that you have had a wonderful beginning to the New Year.  I look forward to hearing from you and I’d like to know your thoughts about what you hope to accomplish throughout the year, what you do to save.

Thanks for stopping by!  Cheryl

January 4, 2010 Posted by inonebasket | Family, Frugality, saving | , , , | 1 Comment

Spinach Dip

I made this recipe up after failing to find one that sounded reasonable healthy.  I like to try to make a recipe as healthy as I can, and still has a lot of flavor.  I love how this turned out!

1 10oz. package of frozen chopped spinach – thawed

4 oz. low fat cream cheese – softened

1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1 8oz. can of sliced water chestnuts, chopped

small amount of  onion chopped very finely

Squeeze all water out of the spinach and add to a bowl.  Add the chopped water chestnuts and onion.

In a separate bowl mix together the mayonnaise, yogurt and cream cheese until well blended.

Add to the spinach mixture and mix until well blended.

Cover and refrigerate.

This goes well with cracker or vegetables.

I hope that you enjoy!

 

December 31, 2009 Posted by inonebasket | Family, Food | , , , | No Comments Yet

Broccoli & Cranberry Salad – Low Fat Version

During the Christmas holidays I decided to make a few dishes that I really enjoy, but have never made myself.  Broccoli & Cranberry salad is one of those.  I have purchased it at the deli, and I absolutely love it.  So I started on an online quest to find the perfect Broccoli & Cranberry salad.  I try to eat fairly healthy, and keep sugar (ha, ha this time of year?) and fats to a minimum.  What I found was that most of the salad recipes out there were loaded with tons of fat and calories.  So I made up my own recipe.  Although there is still a fair amount of fat and calories in this, I think that I have cut them down quite a bit without losing any of the great flavor.  I hope that you enjoy it!

3 cups of fresh broccoli florets (cut into small pieces)

1 cup of chopped green cabbage (chop into small pieces, like for coleslaw)

1 cup of dried cranberries, chopped into small pieces (you can leave them unchopped if you like, your choice)

1/2 cup of chopped pecans (you can also use cashews or walnuts if desired)

2 slices of turkey bacon, cut into small pieces and cooked, then drained from grease

3/4 cup lowfat mayonnaise

2 tbsp. of red wine vinegar

Mix together  the broccoli, cabbage, dried cranberries, nuts and bacon in a large bowl.

Mix the mayonnaise and red wine vinegar in a separate bowl with a wire whisk, until well blended.

Pour the mayonnaise mixture over the vegetables and mix together until the vegetables are completely covered in the dressing mixture.

Place in the refrigerator for several hours, preferable overnight.  This give the salad dressing time to soak in and all of the flavors to blend together.

Enjoy!

December 30, 2009 Posted by inonebasket | Family, Food | , , , , | 1 Comment

Frozen Fruit Salad

I have this wonderful dish that I usually make for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or any holiday that I want to have a special dish, that is fairly healthy for you.  This dish can be varied in some of the fruit that you use. I change just depending upon what I have available to me, usually in the freezer.  The recipe calls for frozen fruit, but you could also use fresh fruit, just be careful when folding it into the mixture.  Especially the berries, which could just come out very mashed!

You will need the following ingredients:

1 8 oz. size Cool Whip – or other non-dairy frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese at room temperature

1 15oz. can of crushed pineapple – drained

3/4 c. granulated sugar

2 med. size bananas – sliced (you can use fresh or frozen)

10 oz. frozen berries – I use raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries (make sure that you cut them into smaller pieces if they’re whole) and even cherries, cut in half.

With a mixer, blend together the sugar and cream cheese until creamy smooth.

Fold the drained crushed pineapple into the sugar and cheese mixture.

Next fold in the sliced bananas and berries. Next, add the non-dairy whipped topping.

When it is well blended, pour the mixture into a bowl (make sure that you trust it in the freezer). Cover your bowl with some plastic wrap, making sure it is sealed well around the edges.

That’s it!  Take it out of the freezer about 1/2 hour before serving, so that you can get a spoon into it.  Store any leftover in the freezer. This is something that you can make ahead of time because it will store well for a couple of weeks.

Enjoy!

December 6, 2009 Posted by inonebasket | Family, Food, Holidays | , , , | 1 Comment