With little hands using our condiment bottles, they can get kinda messy. I usually wipe the tops before putting them away, but now that my kids are old enough to put things away for me, the cleaning part doesn't get done.

It's pretty embarrassing to pull out ketchup or hot sauce for guests and have them find dried condiment all over or around the lid!

Tip: When we're planning a barbeque and will be using condiments, I pull them out and clean the lids before the guests arrive. If it's something we don't use often (like ketchup), the lid may need to be washed (in hot soapy water) for all the dried goop to come off.

Yay! Clean lids! :) Now no one will ever know that our 2-year-old was using that ketchup bottle... ;)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. Healthy alternatives for thickening sauces (Feel Good About Dinner)
2. Dehydrating, canning, freezing comparisons (Whole New Mom)
3. Freezing dessert portions (Western Warmth)
4. Making the most of your CSA share (The Local Cook)
5. Freeze extra marinade (Simply Made Home)
6. Watermelon tips (Ponder Your Path)
7. No stick cookies (The Joyful Wife)
8. Reviving over-microwaved peas (Rie 'n Wheat)
9. Reuse take-out containers (Under the Big Oak Tree)
10. Stale foods (Moms Frugal)
11. Quinoa tips (Wholesome Homemaker)

Thank you all so much for the beautiful comments on my Mother's Day giveaway! Reading them brought tears to my eyes. My mom is a hard working, cheerful, content, and Godly woman. I miss my mom, too! It's been a year since our last trip to Ohio to visit my parents, and even though they came here to visit for 3 days in September, it just wasn't long enough.

One of the comforting things about my mom is that she's always busy doing something either fun or productive (usually productive) and she's always got good food to eat. She's told me that she gets tired of cooking sometimes, but one would never know that by the meals she serves. It's not always something fancy, but it's almost always completely homemade and/or home-grown -- filling and healthy. :) (Use the search box to look for "my mom's recipes" and you'll find a ton on this site!)

My mom also treasures and loves each new life! She had 6 children herself (after 8 years of infertility), and our children are all very loved by her as precious gifts. I'm so blessed by her encouragement and support in this, and in many other areas. :)

Anyway, now to the giveaway winner. According to random.org, the winner of the Mother's Day Gift Package is:

davidpeachey@

Thank you all for your enthusiasm for the giveaway, and thank you to More Than Alive for sponsoring it! The 10% discount code is still good through today, Friday May 11.

Have a great weekend! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

More Than Alive put together a Mother's Day giveaway package for one lucky reader here! I was super excited when they emailed and asked to send me a gift packet and offer a giveaway and discount code this week!

Here is what the package includes:

1 bottle of SuperMom vitamins (I have used these for 5+ years and love them!)
1 bottle of peppermint essential oil
Jar of Laveshmint daily moisturizer
Book: Herbal Antibiotics
1/2 lb. organic raw cacao powder
1 Salt and Pepper Silk Scarf

You know we love our Berkey water filter from More Than Alive, and I drink their herbal teas almost daily. Their dried herbs are fresh and potent and their tea blends are fabulous! I'm not just saying this because they've sent me samples... I used up my samples long ago and bought more herbs and SuperMom vitamins, which I take daily. :)

I love peppermint oil, and it's one of my most-used essential oils. It's my second tactic for battling headaches (right after drinking tons of water from my Contigo water bottle!) and makes Ruth's favorite pink peppermint stick scented homemade play dough! :)

I don't normally use facial moisturizer (or anything on my face aside from water to cleanse) but I tried the Laveshmint that came in my package and it feels lovely! It isn't oily and smells pleasant.

I'm excited about this scarf! My scarves have always been purely functional and not at all cute. (In fact, I think both of my winter scarves are ones I've had for over 15 years!) Here in the Seattle area, we don't usually have super cold, snowy winters -- but lots of chilly rainy days (all year long...) so I think this scarf will be perfect. It's soft and delicate but feels pretty sturdy, too.

Cocoa powder, yum! We use lots of cocoa powder since it's a pretty affordable chocolate fix. ;) What have I done with mine?

Made chocolate protein milk! I used chocolate-flavored sweetened whey protein, milk, instant coffee granules, and a heaping spoonful of cocoa powder. I use my immersion blender (gift from Joshua's mom last year) to blend it smooth. The milk gets nice and creamy and the cocoa powder makes it extra chocolate-y! (Note: Actually I prefer this drink without the coffee.)

Want to win this Mother's Day gift package from More Than Alive?

This giveaway is open Wednesday and Thursday, May 9-10, 2012. One winner will be selected using random.org and announced on Friday, May 11, 2012.

How to enter the giveaway:

Leave a comment on this post, telling me what you most appreciate about your mom, mother-in-law, or mentor! If you aren't logged in, make sure you comment includes a way to contact you if you win. :)

The Discount:

More Than Alive sells quality bulk herbs, bulk foods, and more -- including our favorite household necessity, the Berkey Water Filter. If you've been waiting to order a Berkey water filter, this discount will give you $20+ off your order!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your order from More Than Alive Wednesday - Friday of this week, May 9 - May 11, 2012.

Code: TRMGPG

Full disclosure, as always: When we purchased our Berkey water filter from More Than Alive several years ago, we were so thrilled with it that I signed up as an affiliate with More Than Alive. Purchasing through my links helps support this website! The discount code is valid with or without using my links. :)

I don't review something unless we would spend our own hard-earned money on it, and such is the case with the things we have purchased from More Than Alive. I'm delighted to be able to offer giveaways and discount codes for More Than Alive! :)

Did you know that wooden grilling planks can be re-used? Well, they can! We soak ours for at least 2 hours, leaving them quite saturated.

After grilling fish (usually salmon), I wash the plank in my dish water with a soapy scrub brush. It comes mostly clean -- which is okay because...

...after the board is washed, I wrap the still-wet board in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer. Now I have a pre-soaked grilling plank ready for next time! :)

My favorite grill-planked foods are Cedar Plank Salmon and Alder-Plank Potatoes... yummy!!

Joshua's Weber Q gas grill is still holding strong. This will be our 9th year of using it! A friend gave us an extra tank of propane, which is very handy since we grill a lot.

This past weekend, Joshua and the boys cleaned off the deck and chairs. There were pine needles, maple tree "helicopter seeds", and algae growing. A sturdy scrub brush, soapy water, and a broom had things looking sparkly out there in the sunshine when they finished! I love eating outside. (It keeps the crumbs off my kitchen floor!) :)

By the way, this week I'm departing from my bad habit of blogging only on Tuesdays. ;) Come back tomorrow for a fun Mother's Day giveaway! :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. Pasta cooking tip (Newlyweds Blog)
2. Water tips (Moms Frugal)
3. Prepping garlic tip (Frugal in Florida)
4. Storing asparagus + homemade veggie wash (The Joyful Wife)
5. Vinegar tips (The Local Cook)
6. Opening difficult jars (Feel Good About Dinner)
7. Apple cider vinegar tips (Simply Made Home)
8. Baking soda / washing soda tip (Nature's Nurture)
9. Butterfly cake and decorating/frosting tips (All Done Monkey)
10. Guacamole and avocado tips (Wholesome Homemaker)

I love snacks! But more importantly, I get hungry a lot and need to eat snacks between meals. As a breastfeeding mom, I'm even more hungry than "normal". But I can't let my eating habits go out the window just because I'm extra hungry! I need to have a plan for healthy snacking options.

My tip? Plan ahead and make snacks ahead for easier, healthier snacks! Here are some of my current favorite snack solutions.

Homemade hummus (made in a big batch in my crock pot and then frozen in smaller containers), carrots, and celery for dipping. I try to get carrots and celery ready for several days all at once -- a big bag of celery sticks and a big bag of carrot sticks.

Having the carrots and celery ready-to-eat in the fridge makes it easy to grab one-handed while I'm holding my baby and doing school with the boys. The hummus helps satisfy my hunger more than just carrots and celery. Hummus isn't low-calorie (if you pile it on like I do!) but it's got lots of fiber and protein and good fats (I use olive oil), and it's filling and delicious! :)

Greek yogurt is my newest favorite quick snack, from Costco. (It's $3.50 a quart there.) One cup has 140 calories and 24 grams of protein! It's thick and creamy enough to substitute for sour cream, too. (Normal plain yogurt doesn't work for my taste buds when I've tried subbing it for sour cream...)

I usually pair this greek yogurt with some almonds for a snack, since I actually do want the extra fats in my diet (and the yogurt is nonfat).

I've also used this greek yogurt as a yogurt starter for making my own homemade yogurt. It's not as protein-rich, but easy enough to do (now that I've figured out how!) and I can make a gallon at a time.

Cooked pinto beans make a simple lunch or quick snack. When my beans are finished cooking in my crock pot, I ladle them into containers for snacks or lunches. The ones in this photo are for Joshua's lunches: 200 grams of beans, 14 grams of cheese, and a few splashes of hot sauce. Each container is 340 calories. Having a kitchen scale makes it super easy to measure the right amount quickly.

I also like to drink tea throughout the day! It doesn't satisfy hunger, but it's a yummy way to stay hydrated (I usually drink caffeine-free herbal teas). :)

Fresh fruit is another of our go-to snacks! Bananas, apples, pears -- whatever's on sale and looks good. I don't usually cut the fruit (like apples) ahead of time, but having it washed and in the fridge makes it easier to grab one for a snack!

I also got string cheese at Costco last week. It's a favorite of the kids', so I usually ask them to eat a banana or something else first. Otherwise, they'd beg for seconds! :)

Bonus photo: Sleeping Channah. I can't believe how big and chubby she is already!

And one more: Ruth with "the goats at the park". We've had such a lovely Spring, with some rain AND some sunshine. :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. Tips for healthier cookies (Bobi at Western Warmth)
2. Foraging for frittata ingredients (The Local Cook)
3. Frugal meal tips (Adrienne at Balanced Platter)
4. Grocery trip tips (Tara at SimplyMadeHome)
5. Having company in a small space (Purposely Frugal)

I use whisks a lot when cooking or baking! They're perfect for beating eggs, sauces, batters, or combining dry ingredients. When my other whisks are dirty, I pull out my makeshift whisks:

Tip: Use beaters from a hand mixer as a make-shift whisk. I just hold one beater in my hand and whisk with it. It works great for smaller tasks! :)

By the way, my very first "Kitchen Tip Tuesdays" tip was about using whisks! :)

Our weather has been like this for days on end:

I think we've spent most of the last two days outside! And today, I got the lawn mowed for the first time this year. Yay! I love a freshly cut lawn and sunshine. Today Yehoshua told me, "I wish every day could be like today." That may have had something to do with the new magnifying glass the boys got and were using out in the sun. ;)

Sweet little Channah in her Noah's Ark dress (handmade by a friend). :)

And I think that's enough off-topic photos for now. ;)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. "Two of everything" tip (Bobi at Western Warmth)
2. 10 tips for ice cream making success (The Local Cook)
3. Slicing onions without tears (Anna at The Joyful Wife)
4. Quick and healthy meal tips (Adrienne at Whole New Mom)
5. Tips for setting the table (Heather at Feel Good About Dinner)
6. How to make your vegetables taste amazing (Mindy at The Purposed Heart)
7. Sparkling stainless steel sink tip (Nature's Nurture)
8. Cooking whole chicken in the crock pot tip + 1 more (Purposely Frugal)
9. Tips for getting more veggies (Tara at SimplyMadeHome)

I took this little guy out to the back yard last week. It was a beautiful sunny day, just barely warm enough to go swearshirt-free. Sweatshirt-free is never a guarantee here, even in the middle of summer. We enjoy it whenever it happens, though!

We brought gloves and a grocery bag. What were we after?

Weeds! Actually, stinging nettles. The woodsy area behind our house grew some big tall nettles last year and I kept knocking them over so they wouldn't fall into our yard. I vowed that next year I'd be ready and pick them young so we could try eating them.

I have never been so happy about weeding before! I picked the fresh young green nettles and Moshe held the bag for me. He loved helping!

The nettles were washed (in a strainer with the sprayer) and then put in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Afterwards, their sting was gone and we all eagerly sampled the cooked greens for our first time.

Delicious! I thought the taste was mild and reminded me of green beans. I chopped up the cooked nettles and added them to beef vegetable soup, and no one could even taste them.

I used stems as well as leaves, even though my research indicated the stems were too tough to eat. I imagine the freshest youngest stinging nettles are the most tender and tasty, and ours sure were!

I can't believe I grew up on a farm overrun with nettles and never ate any of them! (We did eat gobs of dandelions though.) I think foraged food is my favorite... just pick and enjoy!

Now, I'm brainstorming how I'm going to get the kids all down the road to the woodsy park and go nettle-hunting. There just aren't enough nettles in my own backyard!

Tip: Cook stinging nettles and use them as you would spinach. Quiche, lasagna, soups, and more are all wonderful made with stinging nettles!

Have you eaten stinging nettles? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts and more tips for gathering or using them! :)

Sweet Channah slept while we all played at the park last weekend. She sleeps best on/by/with me, which is part of my lack of blogging. (I am typing one-handed right now, but the slow pace is frustrating!) :)

We all soaked up the sunshine. Joshua played catch and t-ball with the older boys. There was bike riding, goat-feeding, and plenty of running around.

It's been a whole year since the Eat Well, Spend Less series began! This month, we're writing about the changes in our grocery budgets and eating habits through the past year.

For my family, the past year has been full of twists and turns! Discovering medical conditions of my husband (Joshua) that demanded attention, pregnancy and the birth of our 5th baby, 3 months of having my husband home from work (on medical leave), homeschooling 3 children, and all of the children growing and eating more and doing more as we try to balance frugal and simple and healthy and quick, the 2-year-old just pulled down a stack of puzzles! :)

Last year, my sanity stayed intact and life was frugally simplified by:

1. Having a chest freezer

I still can't believe the difference this has made! We've had our freezer for 14 months now and it has become key in helping our family to eat well on a budget. It has saved trips to the store, allowed us to gather gallons of berries in the summer (without making it all into sugary jam or pie filling!), and afforded the ability to stock up on fish at discount prices.

2. Bi-weekly grocery shopping

I am still a huge Costco fan! All my reasons for loving Costco hold true. I like their produce. I like their baking supplies and spices. I like their frozen veggies and fruits. I like their dairy prices. And I love only going to 1 store, twice a month! It saves time and I know we spend less when we don't shop weekly.

(We do occasionally go to other stores to buy certain items, like bulk foods. And now that Joshua's back to work, we'll be buying bananas at QFC just down the road for the weeks when we're not doing our "regular" grocery shopping.)

See also: Is Costco Frugal?

3. Foraging for food

Okay, so I've only foraged two things so far. But still! It's a start, especially for someone (like me) living in an urban area and not having daytime transportation (and needing to take 4 kids along on walks!).

Last summer we picked 12+ gallons of huge, plump, delicious blackberries and froze them! We've been making blackberry syrup and using them in smoothies. Considering the price of frozen fruit in the store, we're saving a lot by harvesting the berries that grow wild here in western Washington! :)

This Spring I've been gathering nettles. (More about that later this week!)

4. Making easy meals and snacks

Unless we're having guests, I mostly follow my "three things and it's dinner!" rule. I've focused more on simple meat main dishes (grilled or baked fish, chicken, or turkey) with a grain on the side (often brown rice) and a veggie on the side (often frozen veggies from Costco). We've eaten lots of beans for lunches and oatmeal for breakfasts.

Snacks are usually no-cook things like fresh fruit, cheese, veggie sticks with hummus, or nuts (smoked almonds are our favorite). Again -- Costco makes these things more affordable, I have the older boys help prep fruits or veggies (doing several days' worth at a time), and I feel good about the food and snack options I'm serving!

5. Eating at home

This one's essential for spending less and eating well. I don't always feel like cooking dinner, but I combat that by having super easy meal options available (freezer burritos or beef vegetable soup from the freezer have "saved the day" more than a handful of times!). I also happily enlist Joshua's help with meals on the weekends, when he has time to grill chicken or fish. And ultimately, being home a lot (like... all day every day!) allows me to cook more while still keeping life feeling "simple".

Our favorite restaurant copycat recipe are filed here!

Where we're headed now: Weight loss (me)

Last year, I felt like we ate pretty balanced and healthy meals, but I had really fallen off the "weight loss" bandwagon and onto the "weight gain" one long before getting pregnant again. I don't have any good excuses... the summer was cold and cloudy, I felt depressed, I didn't care enough, and I liked food way too much. ;) I pulled out of that cycle (with God's help and blessing!) in time to be pregnant and then spend 8 months eating enough and gaining appropriately. Baby Channah is beautiful and healthy as can be! And I've lost 20 of the 25 pounds I gained in pregnancy.

However, I still have 10 pounds to lose from pregnancy #4, and 10 to lose from #3, and if I got really ambitious (which I may not be), 10 pounds to lose from pregnancies #1 and #2! Yikes. So, I'm definitely going to be watching my food choices and even keeping track of my calories for quite a while if that's going to happen.

I would rather just eat and eat (and gain weight) than to count calories, but I find I must count calories to help me keep a healthy balance, lose weight slowly, make sure I'm eating enough, and "spending" my calories wisely.

I'd like to share more on this topic in another post soon, but until then, I've written about weight loss in the past:

Weighing in: Practicing moderation in eating

Weight loss: Motivation, habits, and counting calories 

Healthy snacks, moderated 

Food Budgeting: Spending my calories wisely

Where we're headed now: Healthy lunches (Joshua)

After 3 months off, I felt a little rusty when it came time to start packing lunches for Joshua again! Fortunately, he keeps his lunch requests simple for me and with some planning, it can all be made ahead and just thrown in the lunchbox in the morning.

Joshua's been eating oatmeal (made with lactose-free milk) in the morning before leaving for work. In his lunch I pack 2 bananas, a protein drink (made with milk and protein powder), and a container of cooked pinto beans with some hot sauce and 1/2 ounce of cheese sprinkled on top. He eats something at each of his breaks, and warms the beans in the microwave for lunch.

He comes home hungry! But my goal is to have dinner on the table when he gets home, so we can eat right away. :)

Check out what the other Eat Well, Spend Less bloggers are sharing about their year:

Jessica at Life As Mom
Katie at GoodLife Eats
Carrie at Denver Bargains
Amy at Keeping the Kingdom First
Aimee at Simple Bites
Katie at Kitchen Stewardship
Shaina at Food for my Family
Mandi at Life...Your Way

I use this tip mostly for bananas, but it's good for any ripening fruit that tends to bruise easily, like pears, peaches, etc.

Place a piece of cardboard, bubble wrap, or foam under the fruit (or bag of fruit) as it ripens, to ease the pressure and prevent bruises.

I normally store bananas on a hard shelf. My current "banana shelf" is a hard plastic mesh -- even more likely to bruise a heavy bunch of bananas. I used some old bubble envelopes to make a nice cushion on the shelf for the bunches of bananas.

I hope no one missed me online last week. We were busy enjoying amazing Spring weather! Inside it's Legos, outside it's the bikes. We're blessed to have a nice quiet driveway/road in front of our house. The kids have been outside so much more since we moved from the apartment to this house. I'm SO GLAD for the space! :)

Sometimes I get tired of the clouds, but when the weather is nice here it is really, really nice. 60's and sunny is perfect in my book! :)

And... I really truly will be blogging at least two more times this week. I'll be posting my Eat Well, Spend Less post for April (!!) and then write about some of the new "food things" we've been doing lately. And next week, well, we'll see. I have ideas but run out of time first sometimes. ;)

Related Kitchen Tips:

Easy way to wash fresh fruit

Fruit basket tips 

How to save an avocado without it turning brown

Keeping apple slices fresh

How to ripen pears quickly easily

Snacking on frozen blueberries

When grapes (start to) go bad

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. Leeks and green onions tip (Donna at Moms Frugal)
2. More affordable fruit desserts (The Local Coook)
3. Coconut oil tips (Heather at Feel Good About Dinner)
4. Healthier desserts tips (The Better Mom)
5. Vinegar tips (Tara at Simply Made Home)
6. Hash browns tips (Sarah at Nature's Nurture)
7. Food prep tip (Frugal in Florida)

Note: I'm sorry about the delay in getting these links posted! Our internet was down all day Tuesday.

When I need to chop some greens, like spinach or kale to put in soup, this helps contain the mess:

Split the bag open and chop on the bag. If I'm chopping a lot of greens, I may do this in two batches.

It looks like a lot less after being chopped! For some reason, chopping on the bag seems to be easier and less messy for me. I did use a cutting board under the bag, to protect the landlord's counters. ;)

And be sure to use a dull knife. I used a big sharp knife and chopped away happily... and it cut into the bag a little! We definitely don't want plastic in our food! Normally my dull kitchen knives don't cut the bag at all.

After I took pictures of my chopped kale (it's awesome in Turkey Sausage Kale Soup or Veggie Bean Soup!), I took a picture of what the *rest* of the kitchen counter looked like. Way too full of my junk and projects I keep thinking I'll have time for. Well, I did get some mending done this week and did some decluttering last week, but I'm ready to be done! Plus, the weather has been too nice to spend my free time cleaning junk out of kitchen cupboards. :P :)

And one more bonus picture today: Eliyahu with a Lego drawer. The drawer slides in and out and can hold small things (like treasure maps). :) For Eliyahu's 6th birthday this year, he got The Lego Ideas Book and both boys have spent hours looking through it, reading it, and using ideas from it to create things from our big box of garage-sale Legos! I am amazed at the things the boys have been building. I look at it and just see a jumble of bricks... :)

I've missed blogging! I did pull my camera out last week for some pictures of dinner, and I have some really good stuff to write about... I may start trying to use the computer again during afternoon quiet time... or get up super early to write... :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

In order to keep the kitchen tips more easily accessible, posts not adhering to these guidelines will be removed. We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. Using and storing avocado (Heather at Feel Good About Dinner)
2. Growing green onions in water (Sarah at Nature's Nurture)
3. Egg substitutes in baking (Tara at Feels Like Home)
4.
5.