A few months ago I was asked to be part of the Bumble Bee “Bee Squad”.  What does that mean exactly?  The Bee Squad consists of nine bloggers who will share information and tips on good eating, shopping on a budget, value and nutrition for the whole family, and more.  
Although I have been eating tuna since I was a small child, I was excited to try some of the Bumble Bee products.  Bumble Bee has an assortment of inexpensive and nutritious lunch ideas that I want to share with you.

One of my new favorite tunas is the lemon pepper tuna. Bumble Bee now …read more

In order to slash your food bills, you’ll need to gather some background info, set a target, and then make sure you follow shopping rules that will help you achieve that target. Here’s how…

Know your food costs: Track food costs for about a month so you get a fair idea of where your money is going. Divide the costs into necessary foods (bread, milk, eggs) and unnecessary food costs (cookies, soda, dips). You should also keep track of how often you eat out and those costs too.
Set a target: Do you want to cut $50, $100, more? Set a target …read more

Many of you will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner at your house this year. It doesn’t take long to figure out that this feast can break your food budget.  Here are some tips to help you to spend less and hang on to that money for upcoming Christmas expenses.

Prepare the foods yourself.  Don’t go out to the ham store and order a precooked ham or turkey.  I’ve heard of some people paying $30-40 for a precooked ham.  Yikes!
Shop the pre-Thanksgiving sales.  Some stores offer tremendous weekly specials to lure you in.  Look for buy 1 get 1 free specials on vegetables, …read more

Sunday I attended a baby shower and they had some really cute pacifier favors and pink confetti decorating the table.  I thought the pacifier favors were so cute (and inexpensive) that I had to share them with you.  These are made using white peppermint lifesavers, mini jelly beans, melted white chocolate, and ribbon. 

Directions:

Unwrap your peppermint lifesavers and set aside.
Precut your ribbon and set aside. (You can use your craft store coupons to save money on ribbon.)  The ribbon should be about four inches long. 
Melt the chocolate.  Put a little dab of melted chocolate in the center of some of the peppermints.  …read more

There are more than 200 known diseases that are transmitted through food. The CDC reports that in the U.S. alone that “Foodborne diseases have been estimated to cause 6 million to 81 million illnesses and up to 9,000 deaths each year.” Many illnesses caused by food are the result of poor food handling which is likely to happen around the holidays when people are cooking new dishes they’re unfamiliar with and especially because they’re cooking large turkeys.

Not only are foodborne illnesses serious from a medical standpoint, but they take time away from your family, and can create costly medical bills. …read more

Halloween has just passed and while the festivals and trick-or-treating were fun, we don’t really need all of that candy.  Rather than letting it go to waste, here are some tips for using the leftover Halloween candy.

1)  Use it for Christmas.  The candy that doesn’t have Halloween colored wrapper would work well in the kids’ stockings.  No sense in spending money on new candy when you have plenty.  Set some aside for later.
2)  Put out a candy bowl at work.  A little Snickers bar or Reese’s cup helps make the day a little brighter.  Cheer up your co-worker’s day with …read more

We’re all looking to include more vegetables into our meals. Here are some ways to help you save.

1)  Grow your own.  Growing your own can help to drastically cut your food bill.  As an added bonus, you get to control the use of fertilizers and pesticides. 
2)  Can and freeze for the winter months.  Many people plan a large garden so that they will have enough to can and freeze for future months.  These come in handy for soups, casseroles and crock pot meals.
3)  Buy in-season produce.  I am more likely to buy cucumbers, tomatoes, and other produce when they’re at …read more

If you need to amp up your grocery savings in order to save money for the upcoming holiday season, try these tips to save more on all your grocery costs.

Track regular buys: I used to track all my grocery store buys, but that was EXTREME. It took a lot of time, although it did save me money. Instead make a list of the 20 or 30 items you buy most often and just track those. I.e. track bread costs at various markets you frequent so you know when you’re getting the best deal.
Locate bargain rack days: Most stores stock new …read more

Since having kids, I find myself buying quite a bit more bread. The kids enjoy sandwiches, toast, and other sorts of things made with bread. Here are some ways to save on your bread purchases.

1)  Shop at day old bread stores and close out stores. Sometimes you can find great deals at Merita stores, Big Lots, and Dollar Tree has even had some Nature’s Own bread.
2)  Look for coupons.  Just last week I was at Food Lion and found a great coupon.  It was to get a free bag of Sara Lee bagels with the purchase of a loaf of …read more

It’s not summer, but ice cream is still making its way to your freezer I’m guessing. With the holidays coming ice cream is the perfect easy dessert and can be used in all sorts of dessert creations or used as a side to pie. With that in mind, you should know how to get the biggest bang for your ice cream buck.

Go organic!: Dairy is a food category loaded with icky growth hormones and pesticides, and ice cream, being a dairy product is included here. Organic ice cream is more beneficial because it’s made with organic milk. Now all that …read more