* Solution for Using Less Sugar in Fruit Pies ~ If you add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in a fruit pie, you can cut down on the usual amount of sugar needed and still have the desired sweetness in the finished product. If the recipe calls for one cup of sugar, used just half a cup! This works in fruit crisps as well.
* How to Make an Effective Stinkbug Trap ~ A simple and inexpensive solution to conquering the stinkbug problem! All you need is an empty liter bottle, razor blade, electrical tape, masking tape, and LED light. Thanks to Cindy Hodges in Virginia for this great tip!
Sweet Peach Tea ~ If you haven't tried Celestial Seasonings Peach Tea, you're missing something so delicious, even if you're a not a Southerner! Add a small amount of stevia for sweetening, and you'll have a wonderful refreshing sweet tea without sugar or harmful artificial sweeteners or calories! Peppermint tea is another favorite of mine! Make a whole pitcher and refrigerate.
Sea Salt will not cause your body to retain fluid as regular salt will. Sea salt can be found in many grocery stores right next to regular table salt, in a similar round box with a spout, or it can be found in health food stores. Since salted butter does not contain sea salt, one could purchase unsalted butter (on sale, of course) and add sea salt and olive oil to it, mixing it in a blender for a much healthier and spreadable butter.
Quart Jar with a Pouring Spout ~ Save your empty round salt boxes for this great tip. Using an empty, round salt box, lay a lid from a canning jar on top and trace around the lid. Cut out the circle from the cardboard top of the salt box, including the spout. Put this cardboard lid on the top of the canning jar and screw on a canning ring. Use pint or quart-sized canning jars with spouts for pouring dry substances, such as bulk sea salt, homemade mixes, as well as herbs and spices.
Oatmeal Bought in Bulk for Good Health and a Good Price ~ We purchase 25 or 50 pound bags of old fashioned rolled oats for much less per pound than the boxes on the grocer's shelf. When our one son picked up some for us at a great store near his home before coming for a visit, the cashier seriously asked if he had a horse! We all know whole grains are so much healthier and much less expensive than boxed cereals. My husband eats oatmeal almost every morning and I love to make granola with it as well. I store the bulk rolled oats in oatmeal boxes that were saved from prior purchases.
Granola Snack Bags to Eat on the Run ~ After making a big batch of granola, I like to package a lot of it in Ziplock snack bags with a plastic spoon inside. That makes a great snack while riding in the car, relaxing on the beach, having fun sailing, hiking, or even shopping or running errands.
Popsicle Molds don't need to be ones you buy! Prescription containers or even containers for breast milk (when no longer needed) provide a perfect mold for homemade popsicles. You may want to ask friends and relatives to save some containers for you. Remove the lids, line up on a tray, and add the popsicle recipe (hopefully a healthy mixture). Then for holding up the popsicle sticks (saved from previously bought popsicles), lay waxed paper over the top of filled containers, with a knife make a slit for the sticks in the center of each mold. Insert the sticks and freeze the popsicles for a delicious treat! Although the waxed paper should hold the sticks in place, you might want to set a timer to check them before they completely freeze, in case any of the sticks are not centered and straight.
Potato Salad Trick ~ Elinor Wright in Virginia told me how she thought of a new way to make potato salad quickly, other than that quick potato peeling trick mentioned in the newsletter earlier (check the categories on the blog to locate it). After the potatoes and eggs were cooked and peeled, but still whole, she used a potato masher with square dividers for dicing by pressing it down once through each potato and egg. She said it worked great.
Egg Carton Lunches ~ Wash Styrofoam egg cartons with hot soapy and water. Fill each of the 12 sections with food, such as nuts, raisins, granola, grapes, almond butter (for dipping grapes into), crackers, small cookies, cheese cubes, bites of a cut-up sandwich, etc. A single food may take up more than one section. Place a napkin roll on top with any plastic utensils needed to eat the foods provided and secure with rubber bands. These are great to take on a picnic, a road trip, or just for a fun and different lunch!
Double Batching with a Friend for a Night Off ~ If you have a good friend who is also a close neighbor, you could help each other out by providing a night off from cooking! Sound good to you? You would each cook a double batch of a main dish or meat on a different night each week - one for your family and one to share with her family. Whatever the number in the largest family, each would cook double that amount, possibly even providing leftovers for hubby's lunch the next day. Each would chose one night a week (or every other week) to cook and share with the other, giving you both an almost free evening of cooking. Before you begin, it would be a good idea to get together and make a list of possible dishes to make, so both families are happy with the food choices.
Heart-Shaped Muffins or Cupcakes ~ In this age of cupcake craze, you can make heart-shaped cupcakes and muffins. Line a muffin tin with baking liners. Place a small marble in each muffin tin, between the baking liner and the muffin tin (not inside the baking liner). Pour in cake or muffin batter, filling half to two-thirds full, and bake as directed.
Seashell Magnets ~ Either find or purchase shells. Finding them myself is such fun! Purchase a package of small magnets. Using a small amount of hot glue on each shell, glue them to the magnets. Hold it for a few seconds until secure. These are fun to make and fun to give away.
