Frugal In Florida

For years, and I   do  mean YEARS, I would turn my nose up at egg rolls ... I mean, seriously, it was a fried, greasy 'thing' filled with icky cabbage, carrots and protein. Oh, wait, are there eggs in there? I honestly don't know because I can count on one hand the number of egg rolls I have consciously consumed in my lifetime. Just NOT A FAN of them ... I supposed because I've always had an overly fried, borderline cold egg roll that I've just not been drawn to them. #WHOLE30 #PALEO However, THIS recipe appeals to me in so many ways: 1. It's loaded with veggies which is always a good thing 2. It's grain and dairy free 3. It's a knock off, make it yourself Chinese food 4. It's frugal to make 5. It's damn tasty 6. It's fast and easy AND 7. It fits in with MY Whole30 plan (when I'm on!) Yup. Scored on 7 of 7 points ... I'm in! Here's what you need: 1 bag of tri-color coleslaw (cabbage, carr...

If you are looking for a healthier alternative to Ranch Dressing ... this IS IT! Dairy Free.  Grain Free. Sugar Free. Gluten Free. AND EASY It's also Whole30 approved, just in case you were wondering! This recipe is totally from  Whole Sisters  and I give them FULL credit ... this is just me saying I made it, I loved it and I want to share it with the world!! Give the girls a drive by and check out their site, it's chock-full of good stuff! Here's how I made it egg, room temperature 1 tbs lemon juice, room temperature 1 cup olive oil 2 tbs red wine vinegar 1 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper 3/4 tsp onion powder 3/4 tsp garlic powder 1/2 cup canned coconut milk handful of parsley, leaves pulled off and stems discarded dash of dried dill Grab yourself a tall jar and make sure your  immersion blender  fits in the top ;-) I speak from experience! Place everything in jar, insert your immersion blender and let it rip. Make sure ...

When you got a long day in the office, it's nice to come home to a home that smells like dinner is ready to be served ... Doing the Whole30 will sometimes make you feel like an outcast ... it will be a little difficult to go out for dinner and drinks with friends, and forget the fast food or take out joints! BUT ... this might, just maybe, fill that void! Grab yourself a bag of riced cauliflower from Trader Joe's (or any store now!) and you can almost call it a take out meal! 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces *I  strongly recommend using thighs so you won't have dried out chicken ! 4 cups of stir fry veggies (frozen is fine, just check the ingredients to make sure no funky stuff added to "preserve") 1.5 tsp of ginger 1 tsp of red pepper flakes 1/4  c coconut aminos (most grocery stores are carrying this now!) 5 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tsp sesame oil 1/4 cup of green onions, sliced thin salt and pepper t...

Today, I bring you Mayo. Yes, mayonnaise! I'm a mayo snob, I'll admit it. Do NOT ever put that Miracle stuff anywhere near my plate ... and no, I do not like Kraft either. Only Hellman's ... thank you very much. BUT ... once I made the stuff from scratch (it's really easy, I promise!) I never ever looked at another sale jar of mayo again. Oh. Well. Sort of ... I do buy the jar, I think maybe 2 in the last 12 months? Only because if we are doing something with heavy mayo, I'd be dying in the kitchen to keep up, you know? For the most part though, it's the stuff from scratch. Hubby will even inquire if we have enough for say,  Blackened Chicken Sandwiches  (birthday party, 10 people), or  Blue Cheese Dressing  ... or ... well, a lot of stuff ... he likes it as much as I do, and I hope you do too! The recipe calls for FIVE ingredients, that's all. F I V E! Go grab your jar of mayo from the fridge and look at the ingredient list. I'll wait. ...

It's January and you know what that means ... WHOLE30! And no, it's not like I convinced Hubby to try this with me ... BUT I have convinced him that I really need to be more focused on what I eat and that if he participates, even just a bit, it's a lot easier for me to stay focused ... Yeah. It's kind of working ... until the weekend rolls around and then the beer tops pop, the tequila and wine flows like a river and all those other cheesy little cliches ... (the mountains are blue in this house, just for the record) ... but if I can stay focused Sunday Funday through Thursday then I'm about 75% there, right? It's work in progress, that's all I'm saying ... work in progress ... Right. And, that, my friends, is how we got this dish happening ... 2 pounds of chicken thighs, cut in to bite size pieces (ALDI) 1 large head of broccoli, cut in to bite size pieces (ALDI, I used 4 small heads) 3 tbs sesame oil (forever in the pantry) 2 tb...

*It's another repost but honestly, WORTH the repost! Being January, we can all use help for a successful Whole30! #JANUARYWHOLE30 I'm willing to bet that 50% of you know who Michelle is over at  Nom Nom Paleo , and the other 50% are probably thinking "hmmm....that sounds vaguely familiar" ... am I right?? So yeah, she makes some stuff that I've not ventured into as of yet (bone broth, organs, etc.) but some of her other stuff I have tried and well, yeah, it's pretty tasty ... but I've yet to find something to say Damn Fine, and I know Hubby would certainly back me up on that! So what the heck, let's give this here  Damn Fine Chicken  recipe a shot and see if we have a winner, shall we? It should be noted that this was really supposed to be served up on Thursday night according to the  menu plan , but being a 'single girl' has enabled me to eat popcorn on Monday night, out with the Princess for a quick bite at my favorite pub (was t...

Hey! How many of you are looking to do a Whole30 come January 2018?  Paleo? Just Real Food? Well that's just GREAT because I have something to share with you that will bring a little ray of sunshine to all that new food program! *Just a side note, I'm not sure yet what I'm doing come January but do know I need to get my stuff together and soon! So let's talk about coleslaw for a minute. I avoided the stuff for years and I do mean YEARS. I didn't like the massive amounts of mayo that was in most mixes OR the sugary stuff either. It was just icky in my opinion. The mere thought of that cabbage loaded with mayo would make me gag. Seriously. How nice, huh? Now? I looooooove a good slaw ... but no, not when it's just a mess of mayo and shredded cabbage tossed in a bowl and called Cole Slaw. No thanks. So today, I'm giving you the most simplest, cleanest version of cole slaw you can find ... and please, don't judge my c...

Ahem ... I may have a problem here! The Starbucks Bistro Boxes have consumed my life...every waking moment I think of them, wondering what else I can make to make MY life a little easier and I suppose, cooler ... cuz we all just want to be cool and liked, right? Yeah. Whatever. I think it's more of a fascination that these things are scooped up like crazy. Since the first one I posted here I've been seeing these Boxes EVERYWHERE! No joke. So ... how about a Breakfast Bistro Box?? I don't know why I hadn't ventured to making BREAKFAST a meal prep priority ... those mornings when I'm running late and just grab an apple are gone forever! 8 eggs 8 slices of bacon (for those of you who really like bacon, feel free to cook more) Green beans (because my breakfast is NOT complete without green beans) or other veggie (broccoli runs a close 2nd for me along with riced cauliflower) Red grapes or cuties or whatever "stable" fruit you want *optiona...

I try to eat veggies at all three meals. Generally, breakfast would consist of green beans, eggs and bacon or chicken apple sausage. That started back when I did my first Whole30 ... and it was a habit that just stayed with me. Breakfast Meal Prep *gosh, have I not shared this yet??* Now that it's winter time though, green beans are not really in season and quite honestly, frozen green beans cook up too mushy for my taste. I prefer they have some crunch still. So lately, I've been grabbing frozen veggies from Aldi and Walmart ... $1.09 Aldi   $5.88 each Walmart Walmart also carries a mix of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots for $5.88 ... and these are large bags. Hubby is not a fan of the carrots and I never was either until recently ...  Anyways. Some people think I'm weird because I eat these veggies at breakfast. But I know that is my BEST time to get veggies into my day! And I have a super easy way for you to make these in the morning witho...