This time of year staying hydrated is KEY!  So Fab & Fru has got some awesome deals on drinks for you.  Whether you’re looking for a lactose free alternative to put on your favorite breakfast cereal, or some crystal clear H2O to go with your evening run – Whole Foods is your one stop beverage shop!

$1.00 off any two cartons of Shelf Stable Blue Almond Breeze

75 cents off any one Earth Balance Soy Milk

$1.00 off any one IZZE 4-pack 12-oz Glass

$3.00 off any one Glaceau Smart Water 1 liter case of 12 bottles

50 cents off any one bottle Glaceau Vitamin Water or Vitamin Water Zero

I’ll drink to that!

This week’s article on LunckSkins reusable sandwich bags naturally got me thinking about my kids’ lunches.  Luckily, there are some great coupons out this week for organic and natural lunch items to pack for your wee ones (and yourself)!

From Mambo Sprouts:

$1.00 off any Rudi’s Organic Flatz Bread (Rudi’s is what our family eats – delish)

$1.00 off box off Clif Crunch granola bars

75 cents off Santa Cruz Organics apple sauce product (the apple/apricot is my kids’ favorite)

And from Whole Foods….

$1 off any two Cascadian Farms granola bars or cereals

$1 off any two Kashi granola bars

$1.50 off any two EnviroKidz crispy rice bars

$1.50 0ff any two Nature’s Path granola bars

Happy snacking!

The OMG Omelet Muffin!

There’s nothing better than sharing a delicious Sunday brunch with family or friends.  So, when Brandi’s sister-in-law Megan forwarded us a recipe for “Omelet Muffins” – from the fabulous blog Quirky Cookery – it quickly dawned on us this has to be one of the most Fab & Fru recipes we’ve seen to date!

Here’s the deal: make personal mini omelets in an old muffin tin – you can eat them on the spot, make them in advance, or freeze ‘em for next time…

Not only are Omelet Muffins a very elegant dish to serve, they are also totally frugal.  Like a traditional omelet, you can throw in whatever leftover ingredients you have on hand – a great way to make sure you’re not wasting valuable produce and meats.  The recipe makes 12 muffins, so there’s room to customize each one to please everyone in the family.  And because they freeze perfectly, these bad boys are also an easy hot and homemade breakfast to serve your kids any day of the week!

Omelet Muffin Recipe by Jessi from  Quirky Cookery

• A dozen eggs
• 2 – 4 Tbs. milk, half and half, etc (whatever you have is fine…it just stretches the eggs a bit further)
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups “fillings” (sausage, ham, green onions, peppers, tomatoes, kale….again, use what you have on hand)
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups cheese of choice
• Season to taste

Preheat your oven to 375F.  Grease a regular 12 cup muffin tin muffin pan with butter, spray with nonstick spray, or use liners.

Chop all your fillings and place a bit of each, including the cheese, into the bottom of the cups. Fill them about 2/3-3/4 of the way full. Beat eggs with the milk (you can skip the milk if you prefer not to mix down your eggs), and season to your liking. Pour egg mixture into each cup, level with the pan edge.

Bake 25-30 minutes. Muffins will puff up a little bit and brown around the edges. Cool before removing from muffin tin.

*Jessi’s Ingredient Tip: If you don’t have fresh veggies on hand, use canned diced tomatoes that have spicy onions and peppers already in them. Drain the liquid completely so it doesn’t make your muffins soggy. Adding these gives the muffins a salsa-y kick.

Breakfast Bargains!

Mom was right – breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  But let’s be honest – mornings are also the most rushed and chaotic times of the day.  With great deals on organic and natural breakfast foods, you’ll have one less thing to bicker about during the morning rush…

From Mambo Sprouts: 

$1.00 off any 2 Van’s Natural Foods Products – we LOVE their frozen waffles!

$1.00 off Stonyfield Oikos Greek Yogurt

$1.50 off any 2 Nature’s Path Boxed Cereal or Granola Bars

$1.00 off any 2 Lifeway Lowfat Kefirs (32 oz. bottles)

$1.00 off any McCann’s Irish Oatmeal Product

$1.00 off any Country Choice Organic Product (Oats, anyone?)

$1.00 off any 1 Dorset Cereals Product (great cereals AND great boxes, don’t you think?)

And From Whole Foods: 

$1.50 off any 2 Nature’s Path Organic Eco-Pack Cereal or Waffles (mix or match)

$1.00 off any 2 boxes Kashi Go Lean Cereals (mix or match)

Now have a delicious day! 

Deals on Dairy!

I’ve always heard that dairy is one of the most important products to buy organic, but as we all know, it is usually one of the priciest!  Luckily, there are a bunch of coupons right now for Organic dairy products – to help your health and your wallet out.

Horizon Dairy is offering:

55 cents off a half gallon of Horizon Organic Milk (void in certain states – please check on their site)

Whole Foods is offering coupons for:

$1.00 off any ONE Organic Valley 8 oz. cheese

$1.00 off any TWO 32oz. Lifeway Organic Lowfat Kefirs

$1.00 of any ONE 16 oz. cup or any ONE 4oz. 4 pack of Stoneyfield Organic Oikos Greek Yogurt

Organic Valley is offering the following on their site:

50 cents off a 32 oz. organic yogurt

50 cents off any Organic Valley flavored half and half

If you find any other great Organic dairy coupons out there, be sure to let us know!

Come on, admit it — you love it when your kids leave leftover chicken nuggets so you get to polish them off!  My boys and I are addicted to Applegate Farms Natural Chicken Nuggets and Organic Chicken Strips – and the good news is Applegate is currently offering a coupon for *75 cents off their Natural and Organic Breaded Chicken Products!  You can download up to 2 of them off their wesbite.  Which brings me to my next point ….

New Year’s Eve!  As uncool as it makes us feel, I know many of us will be having an early celebration…with our kids.  But don’t fret – it doesn’t mean you have to make a million different things to please both kids and adults.  I plan on serving up Applegate Organic  Chicken Strips for both kids AND adults as a tasty nibble.  The twist?  In addition to Ranch dip, just whip up a couple “adults only” dips – check out chef Marcus Samuelsson’s “Grown-Up Ketchup“- and make sure they are clearly marked as such if they are spicy!  (Though believe me, plenty of adults will want the Ranch anyway!)  That, plus a Fab & Fru sparkling wine, will make the adults feel like they are out on the town.  Well, almost.

*If you are using a MAC make sure to open the coupon with Safari!

by Stephanie Berenbaum – December 07, 2011

Answers to Your Kitchen Questions

As Fab & Fru as I am, I have a confession: I throw out more food than I would like to admit.  Often it’s simply because I am just not sure about expiration dates and food safety rules.  So, rather than continue to be wasteful, I dug into the book “The Kitchen Answer Book” by Hank Rubin,  in an effort to educate myself about food safety and save myself a lot of money in the process!

Preserve Your Parmigano  

Fresh Parmesan cheese is delicious – and expensive.  To preserve it, make sure you wrap it tightly in plastic wrap – and that you use fresh wrap after each use!  Hank also recommends storing it in the warmest part of your fridge (40 degrees).

Mmmm…Mold

If I see even a hint of mold on cheese, I toss the whole thing out.  Apparently, not necessary!  All you have to do is cut about a half inch off the surface from the affected side, and use the remainder within a week.    A definite money saver!

Ice Cream I.Q.

What’s the best way to keep ice cream from tasting like the freezer?  Fill your half eaten container with plastic wrap each time before replacing the lid.  In addition, avoid repeated softening and refreezing and make sure to keep it in main part of the freezer  -  not the door which is subject to more temperature fluctuations.

Saving Money at Whole Foods & Trader Joe’s

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I am trying to get my shopping done this week!  Which means I have been spending loads of time wandering around Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s in search of deals and discounts on organic and natural products – and thankfully there are quite a few to tell you about!  And remember, the Whole Foods deals are coupons you need to print out from their Whole Deal section (or tear out from the flyer in store), while Trader Joe’s are just the in-store prices, no coupon needed.

The Bird 

If your only concern when buying a bird is cost, then yes, Butterballs (or similar mass produced brands) are widely available for about a dollar a pound.  However, for those of you interested in a more humanely raised, hormone free, natural turkey, it’s going to cost you – but not as much as you might think!

All Natural Savings

We’re very excited about Trader  Joe’s Brined, Fresh All Natural Turkey . -These turkeys are minimally processed with NO artificial ingredients, and they never receive any antibiotics or growth hormones.  They also have been raised on a diet of 100% vegetarian feed.   Their cost?  Only $1.99 per pound!  Remember they are pre-brined too so that’s a big help as well.

And what about Whole Foods?  Their natural offerings (according to the meat dept here at my store in LA) include a fresh Nature’s Rancher Turkey for $1.69 a pound (not pre-brined like TJ).  Sure, these “all natural” options run about twice as much as you’d pay for a Butterball, but they are also HALF of what you’d pay for a fresh, organic turkey.  Prices for these guys at my local Whole Foods start at $3.99 a pound…

So let’s talk Turkey: this year I think I am going to split the difference – instead of buying an organic turkey Iam going to go for the “all natural” “free range” variety.  And instead of feeling like I am paying double (vs Butterball), I am going to look on the bright side and be ecstatic that I am saving 50% (vs. Organic)!

The Sides 

What green bean casserole would be complete without condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup? But. alas, I no longer want the MSG that goes into the Campbell’s condensed soup I grew up on.  Luckily, there are some deals out there on natural and organic alternatives:

Trader Joe’s Condensed Cream Of Portabella Mushroom Soup – 11 ounce box is $1.99 – NOT MADE with MSG, and NO genetically modified ingredients or trans fats!

Or if you are looking for organic – Whole Foods is offering coupons for $1.00 off any one Imagine Soup and also for $1.00 off any TWO Pacific Natural Foods Soups

Tasty Tip: as we mentioned in our recent article, one of the best ways to save money on sides is to keep to pure, basic ingredients.  When you start loading up on fancy extras like nuts and a million different herbs, the cost skyrockets!

Whole Foods is also offering 50 cent off coupon for their Organic Rice Blends .  -We like the Organic Wild Rice mix for Thanksgiving!

And, as we recently wrote, Trader Joe’s new Cranberry Chevre Log is a perfect starter – and perfectly priced at only $3.99 per log! This sweet treat also works great when served with dessert.  Speaking of dessert…

By Megan Segura – November 7, 2011

 Fab & Fru Approved Online Tools & Deals

I love finding a new website or online service that helps me get organized to really save money on the things that interest me.  I’m trying to keep a list, because at this point, I have too many to view in a single day.  Here are some of my most recent finds that I couldn’t wait to share with all my Fab & Fru friends.

Cut Down On Trips to the Store

I just started using Alice.com, and I absolutely love it!  Alice helps manage all of your household essentials online. You tell Alice what products you normally buy, and Alice finds you the best deals and applies any coupons available online directly to your purchase.  Plus, they’ll even alert you when they think you might be running low on an item, like trash bags or laundry detergent.  Membership to the site is 100% free, and they also offer free shipping!  This isn’t going to be your replacement for grocery shopping, but it will certainly help cut down on bulk shopping trips and last minute toilet paper runs for all you forgetful shoppers out there.

Beauty and the Baby

I’ve never been shy about expressing my love for Birchbox, a company that ships beauty product samples each month for a low monthly subscription fee.  And now there’s a version just for moms! Bluum.com sends sample sizes of new care products made for babies and moms. This helps women try out new brands without wasting their money.

For $9 a month, Bluum sends four to five samples of new products for you to try each month. The product samples are carefully selected by Bluum’s team of moms, so you and your baby are more likely to love them.

Organizing Your Bills and Accounts

Manilla.com is a new site that not only allows you to organize all of your bank accounts in one spot (similar to Mint.com), but it also lets you keep track of all of your monthly bills and subscriptions.  This means you only have to visit one site a month to take care of your bills and subscription payments. Manilla also organizes your travel reward programs, so you can easily access any frequent flier miles you’ve racked up. I’m in full support of any company that lowers the number of passwords and sites I have to keep track of, and best of all – it’s free!

Exposing A More Crafty Site

Heartsy.me is a flash sale site that I’ve recently learned about. It’s like combining the powers of Groupon with Etsy. You’re able to discover great crafts from other people and purchase them at an even lower price than you normally would be able to.

Every day, you’ll be introduced to a new talented artist, along with a discount that can be used at their online store. If you love crafts but aren’t particularly good with a glue gun, this site is for you. I’m especially excited about this find, since it comes just in time for holiday shopping!

What new Fab & Fru sites have you recently discovered?

Here are some other articles you might find interesting:

New-Age Ways to Save

The Beauty of Birchbox

What’s the Deal With Cyber Monday?

By Stephanie Berenbaum – October 26, 2011

An Honest Look At One Woman’s Expenses

Our friend Meg confided to us that even though she makes a very good living, she still feels like she can’t save any money! Sound familiar?

So, being the Fab & Fru friends that we are, we asked her a potentially really life-changing question…  That’s right, we asked to see her credit card statement.  More surprising?  After a couple of cocktails, she actually handed it over!

Meg’s Story

Like so many of us, Meg is continually amazed how quickly the paychecks go in and out of her and her husband’s bank account.  And although she is the one paying the monthly bills, she admits she doesn’t keep detailed track of the everyday small (seeming) expenditures.  It’s not like she’s out buying couture!  But, like so many of us, her “normal” shopping – groceries, household supplies, clothes for the kids, the stuff we don’t give a whole lot of thought to -  is adding up, big time!

Keep in mind the intimate details we’re about to share are just that – intimate personal details of ONE person’s financial habits.  You may be shocked at how much she spends, or you may be thinking that you spend WAY more than she does – either way, we give her props for having the courage to share her tale of spending!

Groceries

Meg lives in Los Angeles and is married with two kids.  When we questioned her about the cost of feeding her family of four, she said she honestly didn’t exactly know.  Although Meg likes to shop at Whole Foods (which isn’t cheap), it isn’t like her daughters are exactly eating gourmet meals – and neither are she and her hubby.  How much, she asked, could one family really spend on organic chicken nuggets, yogurt tubes (kids), wine (her) and beer (husband)?

Sticker Shock

After going through her statement last month, we told Meg that her grand total for groceries alone was $1,500- NOT including eating out!  She was shocked.  It wasn’t like she was serving up filet mignon and lobster every night!  She then went through the statement herself, convinced we had made a mistake. Nope, no mistake….. Suddenly Meg was losing her appetite.  Was her family really eating that much food?  Could they cut back?  How much were they wasting?

Eating Out & Ordering In

And of course in addition to groceries there are eating out expenses.  It’s not like Meg goes out to lunch and dinner every day.  She actually feels her family’s restaurant habit is pretty moderate – she and her husband go out to eat once, sometimes twice a week, and then she orders in maybe two times a week.  And yes, there are a few latte runs to her local coffee shop, but nothing too crazy….  So how did it all add up to $700 per month??