Snack time

Today's snack had a theme. Introducing Mr. Dipsy and Mrs. Sunny Doodle. If they had a child, it would be named "Cheese." Hee hee.

Sameach b' Pringles

We all know that I did not grow up keeping kosher, and although there are very few foods that I truly miss eating, I'd say the two at the top of my list are Skittles and Sunchips.

Well! Wasn't I happily surprised when I used a coupon to buy 6 cans of Pringles and discovered multigrain Pringles with cheddar. They taste just like sunchips...only kosher! Hooray!


Now if only I could find kosher Skittles...

So far so good!

The nay-sayers can say nay, but my new life as a couponer is AWESOME! Yes, it takes time. Yes, it takes preparation. But, in just two shopping trips (one to A&P, one to Harmon Beauty Supplies), I have already saved $88.68!

You may say nay. I say, "$88.68 IS A LOT OF MONEY!"

The whole experience was truly invigorating. First of all, we all know I love a good project (remember when I was going to teach myself ballet from the Encyclopedia?). This project is full of math and spreadsheets and binders and organization...basically all of the things I love the best. Second, when I got to A&P yesterday, a woman actually came up to me and asked, "Are you a coupon lady?" I was schepping nachas. Third, as I stood at the register, I got to feel fear and trepidation. What would happen? Would the dollars come off like I had anticipated? Would I accidentally overspend? Fourth, without snorting coke or shooting up heroin, I got to experience a great, natural high when the final total showed up on the screen. SUCCESS!

I did not buy stupid stuff we don't need or want. I bought cereal and salad dressing and ice cream. We all know how much I love ice cream! My children are not sleeping on top of piles of cat food (we have no cat). My clothing is not being put into storage to make space for contact lens solution (we don't wear glasses).

I have yet to leave the store with $900 worth of groceries that cost me $0.01, but I did save $88.68, and that's not too shabby!

A final plus: as I was looking over my receipt last night and cutting new coupons, YS was asking me questions, and I was able to give him a good lesson about saving money and being cost-conscious. It was a teachable moment!

I love my new hobby. :)

Found in a Monsey grocery store

Why Purim Scared Me

This was our first Purim since YS was diagnosed with his peanut allergy. I grew up thinking that Purim was a fun, carefree, silly holiday with a lot of meaning and ritual. I now know that Purim is a scary holiday with hidden dangers around every corner. Prepping for the holiday this year not only involved ordering costumes, making mishloach manot, and arranging plans for the festive meal, but it also required me to have several role-playing sessions with my 3.5 year-old, during which time I pretended to hand him a treat and required him to practice bringing it to me and asking permission before eating it. I must say, I play a very convincing 3 year-old girl; raising my voice thirteen octaves really helps. In any case, even after practicing and lecturing, I still felt like I had to watch YS like a hawk the whole day. Our Purim this year was wonderful and fun, and it involved attending three different parties and receiving a dozen or so gift baskets from friends in our community. While I feel so fortunate to be the recipient of such lovely generosity, it meant I was sorting through food and standing guard over YS all day. Luckily, there were plenty of nut-free treats for him to enjoy, so he didn't protest when I told him he couldn't sample certain foods. The only close call of the day actually involved AM, who has not yet been diagnosed with an allergy (but his genealogy and eczema make me suspect he may eventually receive the same diagnosis as his big brother). He happily enjoyed a hazelnut cookie, after which I stared at him from about two inches away from his face for five minutes until I was convinced he wasn't going to react. Let me tell you: those were a LONG five minutes. B"H the day was free from medical emergencies and therefore a huge success. YS was remarkably well-behaved the whole day, played nicely with kids from several different families, graciously thanked his hosts and hostesses, and cheerfully wore his dinosaur costume all day. AM made me happy by wearing his scarecrow hat long enough for me to snap some cute photographs, and then he ate his way through the day at each house we visited. For a tiny little guy, he can really put it away.

Now that Purim is over, Pesach season has officially begun (at least in my head). I have already filled a few Pampers boxes with food I found on sale two weeks ago, and soon I will outline my to-do lists for the next four weeks. Pretty soon the "I will not let Pesach make me crazy. I will not let Pesach make me crazy. I will not let Pesach make me crazy." mantras will begin. Whatever it takes!

Finally, I am proud/shocked/amazed to announce that I made a home-cooked, well-balanced, relatively healthy and delicious dinner...on a TUESDAY!!!! The planets must be out of line. Brown rice with cheddar and veggies and baked tilapia. Mmmm...

Save the Children

As a Social Worker, I am a mandated reporter of child abuse and neglect. Therefore, you can only imagine the concern I felt when reading this brie label. Are the little farm girls being trafficked from nearby Canadian territories and forced to make brie with love? Is the cheese company in violation of child labor laws? Should I call ACS immediately and report them?

For now, instead I decided to wrap it in some pastry dough, brush it with jam and brown sugar, bake it to a nice melty consistency, and eat it with graham crackers.

Shabbos Shekalim

Since we're having honored guests for Shabbos (Bubbe and Zayde), I decided to step it up a bit when it came to my meal planning. Here's what we've got:

Friday Dinner:

Challah*
40-Garlic Chicken
Steamed Green Beans
Butternut Squash Kugel
Napoleon Cake*

Shabbos Lunch:
Challah*
40-Garlic Chicken
Brown Rice
Cauliflower
Spiced Chickpeas
Rice Krispie Treats

Right now my house is drowning in the smell of garlic. I made three batches of the chicken recipe, so I actually cooked with 120 cloves of garlic! It was burning my nose and eyes when I took it out of the oven. Hopefully it tastes good!

*In the interest of full disclosure, these items were purchased at the local bakery. The rest is homemade. And all of this in the week my local kosher grocery decided to close down!

Did I mention I love food?

I scream, you scream!

I love food. A lot. I think it's safe to say that I spend a good part of my day thinking about food - excitedly mentally preparing for my next meal or snack. As far as food relationships go, though, I'd say I have a fairly healthy one. I try to eat a relatively well-balanced diet, and I'm not obsessed with counting calories or "food rules" or weird cleansing elixirs that come in little glass bottles (eww). I have a lot of favorite foods; here's my top ten list:


1. ICE CREAM!!! It's never too cold or too hot or too early in the day for a huge dish of ice cream. Breyer's makes the best chocolate, Baskin Robbins in my local kosher go-to spot, and Ben & Jerry's is Greyston's biggest costumer. Peanut butter and chocolate, jamocha almond fudge, mint chocolate chip, soft serve vanilla with caramel topping....mmmm....bring it on!

2. FRENCH FRIES. Golden, crispy, fried potato goodness. The local pizza place (more about that in a minute)has the best fries. They look likes the ones to the right. I eat too many, and I love every second of it. I used to think that ketchup ruined fries by covering up the delicious taste, but I have recently decided that it actually enhances the flavor.

3. PIZZA. I once stated that you could melt cheese on a shoe and it would taste delicious. Well, melting cheese on dough shmeared with tomato sauce and baked to bubbly goodness is even better. I remember with sadness those years of lactose intolerance when I missed out on pizza. B"H that passed!

4. EDAMAME: I have recently started incorporating edamame into many of my dishes. Yummy! Healthy!

5. GUMMY CANDY: I love gummy candy. Probably the only reason I don't eat it all day long is that it's so hard to find kosher gummies, outside of strictly kosher markets. When I was pregnant with YS, D went to the store and filled up a huge bag with gummies, and I happily carried it around wherever I went. What a good husband.

6. PAD THAI FROM GAN ASIA: Once of the reasons I sometimes really miss living in Manhattan!

7. INSTANT MASHED POTATOES: You're probably saying "gross!" Why would she specifically love instant mashed potatoes? Aren't real ones better? No. They're not. Instant mashed potatoes are creamy and delicious and easy and quick.

8. POMEGRANATE CHOBANI GREEK YOGURT: See my blog from the other day regarding this amazing food.

9. BRISKET EGG ROLLS FROM ABIGAIL'S: Smoky, crispy, meaty deliciousness. These eggrolls are reason enough to eat at Abigail's, but in reality everything on the menu is unbelievable. I once ordered a mojito and they offered to bring it to me in a flower vase. Really? Thanks, but I don't need that much mojito. Would I like a flower vase filled with brisket egg rolls? Yes please!

10. REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS: Peanut butter + chocolate = heaven. Duh.So there you have it. Some of my favorite foods. There are more, and they do include broccoli and cauliflower and grapefruits, so don't think that my entire diet is filled with gummies and instant mashed potatoes. I'm sure I'll write more about my favorite foods soon. After all, someone has to give a proper shout-out to those yummy pierogies I eat several times a week!