Recycle Your Christmas Tree

If you got a real Christmas tree this year, you may be wondering what to do with it when the holidays are over. Check out Earth911 to find out how to recycle Christmas trees in your area.

Your local solid waste department may pick up trees with the yard waste. Some municipalities chip the trees and use the mulch in public spaces. Other communities use whole trees to prevent erosion on shorelines or to create habitats for underwater creatures.

You can also use your tree as a bird feeder in your back yard. There are several articles on eHow about it.

If you live in Hillsborough County, you have these two options:

• Curbside Collection. Remove all tinsel and ornaments. Cut your tree into four-foot sections and place out on your normal yard waste collection service day.
• Self-Delivery. Remove all tinsel and ornaments and deliver your tree to the nearest County Yard Waste Processing Facility. Bring a copy of your property tax bill which lists the Solid Waste Disposal Assessment and some form of identification. Facilities are open from 7:30AM to 5:30PM Monday through Saturday. No artificial trees, please.
  

Earth 911: A Great Recycling Guide

There are a lot of household waste materials that can be recycled. Municiple curbsite pickups typically collect #1 and #2 plastics, glass, and cardboard. But what about all the rest? It can be tricky to figure out which items are recyclable and where to take them.

This website, Earth911.com, has a great national directory that can help you figure out where to recycle all sorts of products in your area - from Christmas trees to electronic equipment to batteries to paint.

I've been trying to find a convenient way to recycle an old printer. I found an article on Earth 911 about Best Buy's recycling program. I'm going to give it a try!

The Berenstain Bears

I've recently discovered how great The Berenstain Bears children's books are for teaching children about all sorts of life lessons. My children love them, and my older son (who is almost four) really seems to absorb the messages.

Amazon is offering a 4-for-3 special and free shipping on many of The Berenstain Bear books (priced around $3.99 each).

I also found a few from the series at Target for $2.99.

My children will be getting several books from the series for Christmas, including the one about "Too Much Junk Food" and "Too Much TV". We've also been reading "Santa Bear", which has a nice message about the pitfalls of materialism at Christmas.

I love to find children's books with positive messages about healthy, green, and frugal living!

Sweetwater: Our Third Share

We picked up our third share of produce from Sweetwater Organic Community Farm today. They told us that we can expect more variety (and perhaps greater volume) in our pick-ups now that the weather is cooler.

Today, our pick-up included: three different types of lettuce (including butterleaf - my favorite), joi choi pac choi, carrots, siberian kale, radicchio, eggplant, yellow squash, tomatoes, mizuna, broccoli, kohlrabi, parsley, scallions, and daikon.

This has been such a great way to learn about new vegetables!

Click HERE for my previous posts about Sweetwater.

Our $25 Christmas Tree from Ergle Farm

We "harvested" our Christmas tree today from Ergle Christmas Tree Farm in Dade City. It's a vibrantly-colored, locally-grown 5-foot Christmas tree, and it only cost $25. Even better, it was a fun family experience! Click HERE to see my earlier post about Ergle Christmas Tree Farm.

We were interviewed by a local television reporter while we were there. He said the story will run in the Tampa area on ABC, CBS, and FOX news at 6PM and 11PM. Let me know if you see us on the news!

Here are some pictures of our experience.


The farm provides saws if you choose to cut your own tree. The smallest tree is 5 feet and cost $25.















This was the tree we chose. There were several variety of trees available. We choose ultimately chose this one because it was fuller and had such a nice vibrant green color.



















If you prefer, you can purchase a pre-cut tree. They have some beautiful, very big trees.



















You can also purchase a potted tree for as little as $30. Unfortunately, the potted trees wouldn't fit in our car, so we went with the cut-it-yourself variety.



















Ergle Farm is a charming little country farm with cute touches like this old car.



















My children thoroughly enjoyed looking at the goats.















The farm has trees at all stages of growth, from these new seedlings to trees that are 15 to 20 feet tall. I was pleased to find out that for every tree harvested, one to three trees are planted in its place.















There were lots of wide-open spaces for my active boys to run, and run, and run. They also enjoyed playing hide-and-seek in the trees.















We certainly did breath deeply. The farm smelled just like Christmas!















The 5-foot tree just barely fit in our tiny (but fuel-efficient) car.

The Christmas Tree Debate: Real or Artifical?

I've debated with friends about which is more eco-friendly - an artificial Christmas tree or a real one. Where do you stand on this issue?

I imagine a potted tree would be ideal. Second to that, I tend to think a real tree would be greener than an artificial one, and here's why:

• According to the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) the vast majority of Christmas trees are grown on farms. For every tree that is harvested, 1 to 3 are planted in its place.
  
• Real Christmas trees are biodegradable. After the holiday, you can compost your tree or click HERE for information about recycling. Christmas trees can be turned into mulch. They can also be used whole for a variety of purposes, including erosion prevention.
• On the other hand, artificial trees are not biodegradable. Even though they may be used for many years, they will eventually end up in a landfill. They are made from toxic materials that could contaminate your living space as well as the earth after it is thrown away.
  

By the way, the National Christmas Tree Association has an interesting article called the 10 Biggest Myths About Christmas Trees.

A Greener Christmas Tree

Consider making your Christmas a little greener this year by getting a potted Christmas tree. When Christmas is over, you can plant it in your yard and enjoy it for years to come.

I discovered a farm near my house that sells potted Christmas trees for around $45. Even if you don't go with a potted variety, Ergle Christmas Tree Farm in Dade City sounds like a fun, frugal, and eco-friendly place to get a Christmas tree.

You can even cut your own Christmas tree! Sounds like a scene from Christmas Vacation. Prices start at $25 for a 5-foot tree. Click HERE for a $2-off coupon. I plan to go with my family this weekend to get our tree and enjoy the petting farm.

A Thanksgiving Bounty from Sweetwater

I am very thankful for the absolutely gorgeous array of fresh vegetables I picked up today from Sweetwater Organic Community Farm. Today's share included: cherry tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, squash, cucumber, beans, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, oak leaf lettuce, magenta lettuce, vulcan lettuce, parsley, and two enormous heads of butter leaf lettuce. The total cost for the share is $27.

My husband and I had a big salad for dinner and everything was so flavorful. So far, I'm very pleased with my experience at Sweetwater.

Click HERE for more information about Sweetwater and community-supported agriculture.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Roll-Out Cookies

Here's a recipe for pumpkin cookies that you can roll-out and cut with cookie cutters. I made these tonight with my husband and children using the pumpkin puree I froze after Halloween.

My children loved making them and eating them. Since they contain pumpkin and minimal sugar, I was happy to let them have their fill!

The recipe came from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted butter 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 tablespoon orange zest 1/2 cup solid pack pumpkin puree 1 egg yolk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 pinch salt

Directions:

1.	In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and orange zest. Stir in the pumpkin. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt; stir into the pumpkin mixture. Chill dough for 30 minutes.
2.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3.	On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes and place onto an unprepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Decorate with frosting or candy.

Coinstar: Get Rid of Change & Earn $10 More

I never used these coin-counting machines in the past because they took such a big percentage of the total amount. However, I was so happy to discover that the Coinstar machines give you 100% of your total if you get store credit at a participating retailer (instead of cash). Participating stores include Lowes, Amazon, and Starbucks.

Even better.... Coinstar will give you an extra $10 if you process $40 in change before December 6.

I took my jar of coins to Coinstar a couple months ago and got a credit at Lowes for more than $200!!!

Click HERE to find a Coinstar machine near you.

Borders: 30% Off + 10% Cash Back

Ebates is offering 10% cash back today at Borders. If you are not familiar with Ebates, click HERE to read my post about this awesome online rewards program.

You can get 30% off one item with this code: BSA6925B
If you'd rather have an in-store coupon, click HERE.

Free shipping on orders more than $25.

Annie's Coupons

Click HERE for coupons for Annie's organic cereal and cracker/cookie products.

My kids love the little bunny cookies. They make a perfect little treat anytime you need a reward for your little one. I used them when I was potty training my son. They are also great for putting in the plastic eggs during Easter.

Thanks Organic Deals and Coupons.

Publix Specials - November 19 to 25

There are lots of good deals on Thanksgiving food at Publix this week. Click HERE to view the Publix weekly ad.

My bill this week was $139.99 and my savings was $86.20. Not too bad considering I got 4 bottles of wine.

• Sweet Potatoes - 37 cents a pound. It's rare to see the price this low! Click HERE to see my November 19 post about sweet potatoes.
  
• Fresh Pineapple - $2.99 each, cored and peeled or whole. This is about as low as it goes. Click HERE to see my blog from earlier today about pineapple. If you were able to print the 75-cent-0ff coupons I told you about on October 25, you can get an even better price of $2.24! Unfortunately, those coupons appear to be gone now.
• Kraft Cracker Barrel Cheese - 2 for $5. $1-off-2 coupon in 11/22 paper.
  
• Bird's Eye Vegetables - 50% Off. Click HERE for coupon. I'll be stocking up on lima beans.
  
• Breyers Ice Cream - BOGO
• Triscuit - BOGO. Click HERE for coupons and rebate information.
  
• Planter Nuts - 2 for $5. Click HERE for a $10 rebate when you buy 10 Nabisco products.
  
• Crisco Pure Canola Oil - BOGO 55-cents-off 11/08 paper
  

Lots of smoothie ingredients on sale this week. Stock up and freeze! Click HERE for stockpiling ideas:

• Fresh Pineapple - $2.99
• Greenwise Organic Spinach - $2.50
• Bolthouse Farms 100% Carrot Juice -
  Advantage Buy for $3

Good deals on wine:

• St Francis Chardonnay Wine - BOGO (regular price $14.99)
• Mondavi Wine - on advantage buy for $8.99. $1.50-off coupon in 11/15 paper.
• FREE wine carrier when you buy three bottles of wine.
  

A few reminders about your next trip to Publix:

• Use your Discover card to get 5% cash back on groceries (through December). Make sure you sign up for the program first. Click HERE for more information.
• You can use two coupons on the BOGO items (one for each item). You can usually print the internet coupons at least two times.
• Get a FREE movie from Blockbuster Express with code: GT11A (exp 1/31/10).
  

Good Deal on Triscuit

Although Triscuits are not organic, they have a number of healthy characteristics. They contain only three ingredients: whole wheat, soybean and/or palm oil, and salt. A serving of 6 crackers contains 3 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, and only 1 gram of saturated fat.

Now is a great time to stock up. Here are some of the great discounts available right now. You can combine these for a really good price.

• Publix - BOGO (regular price is $2.79)
  
• Target - Click HERE for a $1-off Target coupon. The Target coupon is for the family size, which is regularly priced at $3.49. You can use a manufacturer coupon along side the Target coupon.
  
• Walgreens - 5 for $10 with a $3RR, for a final price of 5 for $7. Combine that manufacturer coupons and rebate for a really good price.
  
• Manufacturer coupon in the 11/8 newspaper ($1 off 1)
  
• Manufacturer coupon HERE ($1 off 2)
• Manufacturer coupon HERE ($1 off 2) on the Kraft website (on the "Jingle Tips and Tricks" page, click on "get started" and look for a green "coupon" tab on the upper right side of the page).

• $10 rebate HERE when you buy 10 Nabisco products.
  
• Planter's nuts (on sale at Publix for 2 for $5) also qualify for the rebate offer.
  

Stockpile Smoothie Ingredients and Save

Publix sells pineapple cored and peeled. You could also buy it whole to use for a nice holiday centerpiece before you eat it. If you do this, you can plant the top of the pineapple and grow your own fruit-bearing tree. Click HERE to find out how.

If you use pineapple for smoothies stock up when it's on sale and freeze it. To stockpile pineapple for smoothies, cut it up into small pieces and divide into portions of about one cup. If you don't divide it, it will just freeze into a big clump that you won't be able to use easily. Pineapple is a great ingredient for smoothies, since it's sweet flavor covers over things like spinach and carrots.

Another favorite smoothie ingredient of mine, Bolthouse Farms 100% Carrot Juice, can also be stockpiled. Pour it into an ice cube tray. Then you can add your cubes to your smoothie.

Really, you can freeze most any fresh fruit or vegetable that will go rotten before you can use it. I find that it's easier to cut the fruits and peel the bananas before they are frozen.

Fresh Greenwise Organic Spinach also freezes beautifully. They fall into the smoothie like like green snowflakes.

Using a few frozen ingredients is a nice way to make a smoothie more cold and icy without actually having to use ice (which might make it taste watered down).

Click HERE for my favorite green smoothie recipe.

Coupon for Driscoll's Berries

Click HERE for 50-cents-off coupon for Driscoll's berries. Look for the "Click for E-Coupon" link at the bottom right corner of the Driscoll's homepage. I was able to print the coupon twice.

Thanks Thrifty Mama.

BOGO Wine at Publix

St Francis Chardonnay Wine is BOGO (buy one get one free) at Publix until Wednesday, November 25. I don't think I've ever seen BOGO wine before! I've never had this brand, but I'm willing to give it a try. It would also make a nice hostess gift to have on hand for the holiday season.

Sweet Potatoes: The Wonder Vegetable

Sweet potato is one of the few things I know my picky kids will eat, so I make it a lot. Here are some suggestions for preparing this very nutritious vegetable. When selecting sweet potatoes, I tend to go by the philosophy that the smaller the potato the better the flavor (and the faster the cooking time).

• Baked Sweet Potatoes. Turn the oven to about 375 degrees on and toss them in. It's that simple. I find that they cook faster when I put them in a cast-iron skillet and cover them with foil. When they are soft, you can serve them just like a baked potato.
  
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes. After you bake them (as described above), you can cut them open and scoop out the potato into a bowl. Serve them like mashed potatoes. You can add a little butter, oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, and/or nutmeg to jazz them up. Although it's not necessary, running them through the food processor or mixer makes the potatoes a bit more fluffy and creamy.
• Fun with Straws. Kids love to drink anything from a straw, so why not mashed sweet potatoes? It works surprisingly well if you use those giant straws (only $1 from the local Chinese market).
• Sweet Potato Fries. This requires a little more effort, but it is totally worth it. When prepared this way, the sweet potatoes caramelize and have a slightly crispy texture. This has become a favorite recipe in our family. My kids love it! First, peel the sweet potatoes (2 or 3 potatoes are usually enough). Although the skins are tough, a good quality peeler (like Kitchen Aid) makes it a very easy task. Cut the potatoes into pieces the size of french fries. Put the fries in a bowl and coat them generously with olive or vegetable oil. Then lay them out in a single layer across a baking sheet (a cast iron skillet works best for me). Bake at about 375 degrees until the potatoes are soft on the inside and have a slightly crispy, caramelized outer layer.
  
• Sweet Potato Casserole. I have a wonderful family recipe I will share in an upcoming post. It's a traditional southern recipe we've modified over the years to reduce the fat and sugar.
  

You can also freeze the mashed sweet potatoes in ice cube trays. I've done this with lots of different fruits and vegetables. Because the cubes are small, they defrost quickly. These are some of the ways I've used frozen puree cubes. It's a great way to sneak extra nutrients into to a recipe without dramatically changing the taste.

• smoothies
• pancakes
  
• french toast
  
• vegetable soup
  
• spaghetti sauce

Sweet potatoes are also the perfect baby food. Wholesome Baby Food an excellent resource for making homemade baby food.

My First Produce Share from Sweetwater

I picked up my first share of produce at Sweetwater Organic Community Farm today as part of my community-supported agriculture (CSA) membership. Click HERE for more information about Sweetwater and how to find a CSA near you.

I have a half membership. I paid $400 for 15 pickups (every other week from now until May). That comes out to $27 per pickup. I'd say $27 is a very reasonable price for all the beautiful produce shown above. The fact that it is organic and locally-grown is icing on the cake.

The pick-up process was very simple and pleasant. The farm was easy to find. It is near the intersection of Hillsborough Avenue and Hanley in Tampa, close to the airport. From Hanley, you turn onto Commanche. There are no signs - just a dead end street with a little bridge at the end. Parking is adequate along Cammanche. Cross the pedestrian bridge over Sweetwater Creek, and you enter the world of Sweetwater Farm. It's shady, peaceful, and inviting. Volunteers mill about doing farm chores. CSA members drift in to quietly pick up their shares at the barn.

Luckily, I knew where the barn was since I had been to one of the Sunday Markets. Otherwise, I probably would have felt lost. There was a welcome table with a sign-in sheet. I found my name on the sheet and put a check under today's date. No one approached me, so I asked one of the volunteers to guide me through the process since it was my first time. A very nice man named Roberto explained the very simple process they have for pick-ups.

Here's the drill - there is a table with all the produce in bins. On the chalkboard there is a listing of what is in each bin and how many of each you are suppose to take. The order of the list corresponds to the order of the bins.

There is a Swap Basket at the welcome table where you can trade out things you don't want for things other people have left in the basket. I wasn't so bold to do that this time, but I'm sure I'll be doing it in the future.

I was worried that since I came late in the day, I was going to get the bruised-up leftovers. However, I'm happy to report that the produce was consistently gorgeous! My only complaint is that the harvest seemed a little heavy on the salad greens. However, with some research, I might find other uses for some of the produce besides salads. Before my next pick-up, I'm going to come up with a systematic way to label the produce as I'm putting it in my bags. This should help me with my research and recipe searches.

After I gathered my produce, I chatted with Roberto for a bit. Turns out we both have children that are roughly the same age (that usually makes for an instant bond). Roberto use to live on the farm before he had children. If I were younger and sans family, I think I'd like to be part of their internship program and live on the farm.

Roberto generously offered to show us the chickens. He fed them greens (I never knew chickens ate greens). They don't have enough chickens to sell eggs. However, there is a vendor that sells eggs at the Sunday Market. We took a quick stroll around the growing plants and headed out. It was a very pleasant experience. I really love the easy-going peaceful vibe.

I split my membership with my parents, so I headed to their house to split up the treasure and eat dinner. Since we have so many salad greens, we decided to make a nice dinner salad with pecan-encrusted goat cheese and raspberry dressing. Absolutely delicious!

I'm very pleased so far with my CSA experience. I'm looking forward to finding out what our next harvest will bring!

Kitchen of India Meals $1.60 on Amazon

Get a 6 pack of Kitchens of India ready-to-eat meals on Amazon for only $9.65. That comes out to $1.60 each (regularly $2.90). My husband loves to take these to work for lunch. Plus, they're vegetarian!

Here's how to get this price:

• Click HERE to get to the Kitchens of India Ready to Eat Dinner Variety Pack, 10 ounce boxes (pack of 6)
  
• Look on the right-hand column for the section titled "Subscribe and Save to take off 15%"
• Chose "Subscribe Now". You will actually be subscribing to this service, but you can easily cancel it later by going to "My Accounts/Manage Your Subscribe and Save Subscriptions/Cancel This Subscription". However, this program looks like it might be a good deal for things you order on a regular basis.
  
• At check out, enter code KOI32534 to save an additional 45%.
• Shipping is free with the Subscribe and Save Program!

Thanks Thrifty Mama.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Beans & Rice

We had a the most delicious dinner tonight - roasted tomato soup with garbanzo beans and brown rice. It was a very simple meal made from a handful of ingredients I had on hand. It was flavorful, healthy, mostly organic, and only cost about $7. Most of the ingredients are on sale until tomorrow (November 11).

What kinds of yummy dishes have you made from your sale items?

In case you're interested in recreating this soup, here is the recipe. By the way, I'm no Canary Girl, but I did use my own picture this time. She inspired me.

Ingredients:

• Gourmet House Organic Brown Rice - sale price 99 cents.
• Swanson's Organic Vegetable Broth - sale price $2.50.
• Organic Grape Tomatoes - BOGO.
• Organic Garbanzo Beans (canned).
  
• Ruskin Tomatoes - FREE - a kind gift from my husband's colleague. They were the loveliest, most flavorful tomatoes I've had in a long time.
• Alexia All Natural Bread - BOGO. I had the ciabatta rolls. They were pretty good, but not great. Plus, they were not whole grain.
  

Directions:

• First, make the brown rice according to the instructions (it will take about 45 min).
• Next, cut the tomatoes into wedges and roast them with olive oil at a high temperature until they are slightly charred on the edges (about 30 min). You could also add in some other things like garlic or red peppers. The roasting process adds a wonderfully rich flavor to the soup.
  
• While the tomatoes are roasting, combine the vegetable broth and beans in a pot and bring to a boil. I used garbanzo beans, but just about any bean could work. I think white northern beans would be great.
  
• When the tomatoes are finished roasting, put them in a pot and puree them with a hand mixer. Careful - they're hot!
  
• Combine the rice, beans, broth, and tomatoes and simmer.
  
• Season with olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and garlic powder.
  
• Enjoy with a nice roll.
  

Nutrition S'Mart News

Nutrition S'Mart is having a Customer Appreciation Day with free samples, prizes, and special pricing. If you sign up for the free Nutrition S'Mart email newsletter HERE you may also get a $5-off $35 coupon to use on the that day. I'd be happy to email you the coupon if you like.

• Tampa - Saturday, November 14 - 11AM to 4PM
• Palm Beach Gardens - Saturday, November 14 - 11AM to 4PM
• Pembroke Pines - Saturday, November 21 - 11AM to 4PM

There's a new location opening on November 16 in Wesley Chapel at 1821 Bruce B Downs (813-341-444).

Nutrition S'Mart will be open on Thanksgiving Day from 9AM to 1PM.

30% Discount at Borders

Click HERE for a 30%-off coupon to Borders (expires November 16).

80% Off Code for Restaurant.com

Enter discount code ENTREE at Restaurant.com to get 80% off restaurant gift certificates. That means you pay $2 and you get a $25 gift certificate! Offer expires November 12.

Visit Restaurant.com to see which restaurants are participating in your area. The restrictions vary for each restaurant, so be sure you are okay with them before ordering your gift certificate.

I've used Restaurant.com gift certificates twice now with no problem (Restaurant BT and Giordano's).

Purchase through Ebates to earn cash back rewards. Also, use your Discover to earn 5% cash back on charges at restaurants through December.

Santa Cruz Coupons

Click HERE to get coupons for Santa Cruz organic peanut butter and Santa Cruz Organic Celebration Beverage. Thanks Coupon Geek.

Cashback Opportunities with Discover Card

There are a number of opportunities to earn extra cashback rewards from Discover Card through the holidays:

• Earn 2% cashback November 15 to December 31 when using your Discover Card for clothing, shoe and jewelry purchases made online or in department stores. Click HERE to sign up for the Double Cashback Bonus program. Combine this with Ebates for some big cashback rewards!
  
  
• Get 5% cashback October through December when using your Discover Card for groceries, dining out, and movie tickets and rentals. Click HERE to sign up for this program.

Be sure to sign up for BOTH programs. You will also need to sign up again when a new program is offered in January. I got burned on this before. I thought I just had to sign up once for the rewards program in general. I lost out on a few months worth of rewards because I didn't sign up again when they changed the program.

You can also earn from 5% to 20% cashback by shopping on Shop Discover. Featured retailers include Target, Barnes and Nobel, and Home Depot.

If you don't already have a Discover Card, you can get one now to take advantage of their current sign-on bonus of $100 cashback when you make $599 in purchases. The Invitation Code is DBYF. You can combine this with the other rewards that everyone gets. That adds up to a lot of rewards!

Good Deal on Non-Dairy Ice Cream at Publix

Purely Decadent non-dairy ice cream products are 50% off at Publix until Wednesday, November 11. Combine the sale with THIS COUPON for a great deal.

Purely Decadent has soy and coconut milk varieties. It has fewer calories and less fat than traditional ice cream. It's also made with organic ingredients. The cookie dough flavor is gluten free.

Thanks Thrifty Mama.

Ebates Success: Cheap Paper Cups

I don't do a lot of shopping on the internet. First of all, I hate paying shipping. Furthermore, I rarely feel like I'm getting the kind of deal I could get on a clearance rack at a local retail store. However, I'm starting to see how it can be possible to get good prices for everyday things online.

This week I needed to buy some paper coffee cups. Turns out I was able to get a better deal online than at the local party store. My first step was to go to ebates.com and type "party" into the search engine. It came back with Giant Party Store. There were no discount codes listed, but I would get 5% cash back on my purchase. That's a good start.

I found what I needed at Giant Party Store for a reasonable price, but I wasn't too excited about having to pay shipping. So I went to my search engine on my Swagbucks toolbar and typed in "Giant Party Store coupon codes". I found a code for free shipping. Success!

If you are going to buy anything online, it pays to do a quick internet search for coupon codes. The codes you find may not always work, but it doesn't hurt to give it a try! It's all based on word of mouth.

Of course, it also pays to go through ebates.com. I earned $1.19 on my purchase of $23.70 (for 150 cups). Plus, I didn't have to pay tax, like I would in the store. Combine that with the fact that the cups were slightly cheaper than they were in the local party store, and I made out pretty good. Plus, I didn't have to load my kids up in the car and drive around town to find them!

By the way, I know 150 disposable cups is not the greenest choice, but I recently learned that you can compost paper cups and plates. Although there are other negatives to disposables, at least paper varieties won't be sitting in a landfill for ages if you compost them.

70% Coupon for Restaurant.com

Enter discount code DINE at Restaurant.com to get 70% off restaurant gift certificates. That means you pay $3 and you get a $25 gift certificate! Plus, get a free $10 gift from The Fruit Company with every order. Offer expires November 9.

Visit Restaurant.com to see which restaurants are participating in your area. The restrictions vary for each restaurant, so be sure you are okay with them before ordering your gift certificate.

I've used Restaurant.com gift certificates twice now with no problem (Restaurant BT and Giordano's).

By the way, purchase through Ebates to earn cash back rewards. Also, use your Discover to earn 5% cash back on charges at restaurants through December.

20% Off at Office Depot

Click HERE for a 20% off coupon to Office Depot (expires 12/31/09). Staples has a price-match guarantee, so they should accept the coupon as well.

Thanks to the Rachel Ray Show and Mojo Savings.

Mother Earth News: Free Newsletter & 10% Off Online Store

Mother Earth News is an excellent website packed full of practical information about being healthy, green and frugal. The site offers tons detailed do-it-yourself guides that help you live greener and more self-sufficiently. For example, the site has a detailed article about how to make your own paint. There are also guides to organic gardening. The section on modern homesteading makes me want to pack up and move to the county.

Click HERE to sign up for the free email newsletter.

Mother Earth News also has an online store. Use discount code MMEEM9B4 to get 10% off select items through Sunday, November 8. Items included in the sale are a compost container for your kitchen counter, some beautiful recycled rugs (shown above), and more.

Publix Specials - November 5 to 11

There are a number of good buys at Publix this week, most notably in the Greenwise department. Click HERE to view the Publix weekly ad.

I spent $92.95 and saved $72.41. Love it!

Here are the best deals I see so far.

• Muir Glen Organic Pasta Sauce is BOGO. Click HERE to go to Muir Glen's Facebook Fan Page. There is a link to a $1-off coupon on the left-hand column. Click HERE to register on Muir Glen website and get a coupon. You can print both these coupons twice. Also, Muir Glen products often have peel-off coupons on the package that you can use right away.
• Clorox Greenworks Laundry Detergent is $7.99. Click HERE for a $3-off coupon. I also had a $2-off Publix coupon. I was able to use both for a final price of $2.99.
  
• Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain Bread is BOGO.
• Alexia All Natural Bread is BOGO. They are in the frozen rolls section. I got some ciabata rolls that look really yummy!
  
• Swanson Certified Organic Broth is $2.50. I'm excited about this sale. Organic broth is expensive and it rarely goes on sale.
  
• Kashi Cereal is $2.50. I couldn't find any printable coupons, but there have been an abundance of Kashi coupons the past few months. Hopefully you have some on hand. When I registered on the Kashi website, they sent me a bunch of coupons, including several $3-off coupons. I was able to get two boxes for FREE with a 50 cent overage for each.
  
• Tropicana OJ 2 for $6.
• Barilla Pasta is BOGO, but it does not include the whole wheat variety.
  
• General Mills Cereal is BOGO. Click HERE and HERE for a 55-cent-off coupon.
  
• Tostitos Tortilla Chips is BOGO. I have a coupon for a free True North product with a purchase of two Tostitos tortilla chips. I picked it up at Publix on the shelf.
  
• Orville Redenbacher Popping Corn (not microwave) is BOGO. Click HERE for a $1-off 2 coupon. You have to go through a silly (but funny) game to get to the coupon.
  
• Gourmet House Organic Brown Rice is 99 cents
• Loreal Vive Pro products are BOGO. Click HERE for a $1-off coupon. See Special Offers link at the bottom of the page. You have to register and fill out a survey to get the coupon. You may be able to go directly to the coupon by clicking or HERE. Either way, you can print the coupon twice.
• Organic Grape Tomatoes are BOGO

A few reminders about your next trip to Publix:

• Saturday, November 7 from 10AM to 5PM is Customer Appreciation Day at 3 Pulix stores in Lutz (Apex, Lutz Lake Crossing, and Northgate Square). The first 1,000 customers will receive a free coupon holder.
• Check your mail to see if you received a $5-off coupon in the mail this week from Publix. I've gotten one every week for 3 weeks in a row!
  
• Use your Discover card to get 5% cash back on groceries (through December). Make sure you sign up for the program first. Click HERE for more information.
• You can use two coupons on the BOGO items (one for each item). You can usually print the internet coupons at least two times.

Almonds $1.25 at Walgreens

Blue Diamond Almonds are BOGO (buy one get one free) at Walgreens until Saturday, November 7. Click HERE for a 55-cent-off coupon (you can print it twice). Combine the sale and the coupons to get two 6 ounce cans for $1.25 each (regularly $3.49). That comes out to 21 cents per ounce.

What to Do With the Leftover Pumpkin

This Halloween, we decided to decorate our pumpkins with crayons instead of carving jack-o-lanterns so that we could actually eat the pumpkins. Now that the holiday is over, I have pumpkin puree coming out of my ears. Making pumpkin puree is surprisingly easy! Click HERE for step-by-step guide with pictures.

Once you have the puree, there are a million things you can do with it. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Pumpkin Pie. Duh.
  
• Pumpkin Ooey Gooey Bars. My mother made a healthy version of this classic Paula Dean recipe this weekend using fresh pumpkin and an organic cake mix. Very good!
• Pumpkin Peanut Soup. I made this for dinner tonight. It was very simple and very tasty. It reminded me of satay sauce.
  
• Curried Pumpkin Soup. This recipe is a bit more complicated, but sounds (and looks) amazing! I found this recipe on Canary Girl, a great blog by an American mother of four living in the Canary Islands. She loves to cook and take pictures of her food. Her photographs are gorgeous!
  

If you don't want pumpkin every day for the next month, try freezing it. If you divide the puree into small measured portions, you can easily defrost only what you need for a recipe.

You can also freeze the puree in ice cube trays. I've done this with lots of different fruits and vegetables. Because the cubes are small, they defrost quickly. These are some of the ways I've used frozen puree cubes. It's a great way to sneak extra nutrients into to a recipe without dramatically changing the taste.

• smoothies
• pancakes
  
• french toast
  
• vegetable soup
  
• spaghetti sauce
• pizza sauce

Puree cubes are also great for baby food. Wholesome Baby Food an excellent resource for making homemade baby food.