Foodie Friday: Seven things to do before going to the supermarket or grocery store

Istiqlal (Independence), 10 Raḥmat (Mercy), 172 BE - Friday, July 3, 2015 about 8:48 am Pacific Daylight Time

1. Coffee: Drink at least one carafe of coffee before leaving the house. Remember, you have to be wide awake while driving to the supermarket or walking to the bus stop.

2. Eat: Eat a substantial breakfast or lunch before leaving the house. You do not want to be hungry when you enter the grocery store because you will purchase more then you intend.

3. List: Make a grocery list and take it with you when you leave the house. Put the list in your purse or packet and do not leave it lying on the kitchen counter or in the refrigerator.

4. Coupons: Check your coupons before you leave the house to make sure you have all of them. If you use e-coupons downloaded to your shoppers card then you need to download them 24 hours before going to the grocery store.

5. Cellphone: Make sure your cellphone battery is fully charged before you leave the house because you will need it in case of an emergency. Traffic being what it is there is no guessing what could happen on the drive to and from the grocery store.

6. Aisles: Take a logical approach when moving through the grocery aisles. Even if this is the only exercise you get during the week, you still need to take a logical approach so that you don't forget to get anything. A logical approach to walking the grocery store aisles means less stress.

Thankful Thursday: On May 8 I am Thankful for

Istijlál (Majesty), 11 Jamál (Beauty), 171 BE - Thursday, May 8, 2014 about 1:07 pm Pacific Daylight Time

On May 8, 2014 I am Thankful...

1. ...that I have $20.00 in Farmer's Market coupons to use before June 30, 2014.

2. ...for the beautiful and pleasant spring weather we are having here in Las Vegas.

3. ...that I receive a spring savings packet from Smith's Food & Drug store yesterday, which contains coupons worth over $11.00 on products I purchase most often.

4. ...for the environment merit badge I received on writing.com for my poem We Need Green Cities, which won second place in the Earth Day writing. contest.

5. ...that someone came to my apartment last night and unstuck the flatware drawer because now I have access to all of my silverware.

6. ...for the pigeons and sparrows I hear cooing and singing everyday.

7. ...that I earned $20.00 from doing on-line surveys. The money was deposited into my checking account yesterday.

8. ...for the sound of the Harley-Davidson I hear almost every morning. When I moved from my house I thought I would never hear that beautiful sound again.

9. ...that the savings package from Smith's Food & Drug store contained a coupon for a free container of 1 dozen large eggs.

10. ...for the step stool that allows me to reach the top shelves of my cabinets.

Foodie Friday: Coupons for the Farmers' Market

Istiqlál (Independence), 15 Bahá (Splendor), 171 BE - Friday, April 4, 2014 about 1:41 pm Pacific Daylight Time

I have $30.00 in Farmers' Market Coupons, a partial list of locally available produce, one location, and dates of upcoming Farmers' Markets.Next week the Market will be on Monday, April 7, and Wednesday, April 8, I am planning to go on one of those dates. The produce that (I know) will be available are asparagus, cherries, greens, lettuce, peas, radishes, rhubarb, strawberries, spinach, and Swiss chard. I know that I want to get rhubarb and either asparagus or Swiss chard, but before I decide on which I have to check the potassium level in those vegetables.

I can determine the potassium level in each of those vegetables by going to foodfacts.com and searching for the ingredients by product name. This is a big help when it comes to following a low potassium diet because once I find out how many milligrams of potassium a vegetable for fruit contains, I know if I can eat it and the amount I can consume at one meal.

This will be my first trip to a farmers' market since my doctor put me on a low potassium diet, so I am looking forward to see what I can find that I can eat. I am looking forward to seeing what else they have and then figuring out how to cook it. I have only two recipe books in  the house (apartment) and I think both of those are microwave cookbooks, which is not going to help since I will be using the electric range.

Coupon Epiphany in Las Vegas

Istiqlál (Independence), 4 Mulk (Dominion), 168 BE – Friday, February 10, 2012 about 5:25 AM Pacific Time

I’m attempting to save money by using coupons. I clip my coupons, place them in an expanding coupon-size file and sort the coupons by month. There is only one problem with this method. I can’t remember the types of coupons that I have in the file. If I can’t remember the coupons I have then how can I use them before the expiration date.

I have to make some changes to this method. In 2011, I listed the coupons I had in a spreadsheet and sorted them by expiration date. This method worked all right, I simply did not keep it up. I’m going back to that method, with some slight changes. I’m setting aside an hour or two on Sunday to sort the coupons and make my grocery list for the week. This way I can decide which coupons I need and use them before the expiration date.