VickiH
'Mrs TransAm'
Global user
Registered: 09-2004
Location: Texas USA
Posts: 8159
Karma: 31 (+32/-1)
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Have a Cool Glass of Cash!
By Jill Cooper
http://www.LivingOnADime.com/
If I said I would give you $150 extra a month to help you pay off your
credit cards, lose weight and help your family become healthier, would
you accept it? Does it sound too good to be true? The average American
family spends 1/4-1/3 of their monthly grocery bill on things to drink
but can't find any extra money to pay off their credit cards.
Do you buy sodas, coffee, tea, juice and milk, plus all the things
that go into these drinks like creamer, flavorings and sugar? Do you grab a
glass of soda, juice or milk instead of a cold glass of water? You may
even argue that juice and milk are good for your children but
fertilizer (food for you grass) is good for your lawn. We all know that too much fertilizer will kill it and if you don't water it, it will die. I'm beginning to
wonder if most of us are more concerned about making sure our yards are
watered then our children. Of course they need some milk but like everything
else do it in moderation. Here are few tips from LivingOnADime to cut
the costs of the drinks in your home and find some extra money to pay
off your credit cards.
Find out how much milk is needed for your child. The USDA recommends
that children under 5 get three to four servings of dairy per day. That
is 2 cups of milk OR one serving equals one slice of cheese OR 1/2
container of yogurt. Don't forget milk added to cereal.
Juice is just sugar water. Eat the whole fruit instead and give one
glass of juice as a treat for breakfast or snack.
Tips for getting kids to drink water. Limit the number of glasses of milk or juice given a day. After the allotted amount they get nothing else but water. If they are used to drinking it for meals, either give them one glass (1/2 cup) and when
it's gone they drink water or have them drink water first and then milk
after they finish their meal.
~Use small juice glasses. They give the appearance of more.
Don't fill their sippy cups with juice or milk. Give them water instead.
If you put some milk in a cup and they don't drink it all, put it in
the fridge until later.
Limit sodas to a treat once or twice a week.
Don't dilute your juice with extra water. Not only does this not taste
very well but by "stretching" the juice you teach your kids bad eating
habits by giving into their demands for juice instead of giving them
water.
For adults
Keep water in the fridge. After water has set, the chlorine evaporates
and the water tastes better cold.
Add a small amount of lemon juice to your water if you don't like the
taste
~Be careful to shop wisely. Sometimes buying name brand flavored or
specialty coffees on sale costs less than making your own.
~Use powdered milk instead of creamer in coffee or tea or try mixing
your creamer half and half with dry milk.
~After making coffee save the coffee filter and the coffee grounds in
the maker. Add your coffee for the next day on top of the old grounds.
This way you can use each filter 2 or 3 times. Buy a reusable coffee
filter. They last for years.
~If you run out of coffee filters use a paper towel until you can get
to the store to buy more.
~You don't always have to make a full pot of coffee. Just make one or 2
cups at time.
~Save extra coffee in a thermos instead of making a new batch or buy a
smaller coffee maker.
~To make flavored tea add a package of flavored drink mix to each pot
of tea.
~ For leftover soda- Combine 2 cups of flat soda with 1 package of
unflavored or same flavored gelatin to make a rich flavored gelatin.
This is particularly good with root beer, orange and grape sodas.
Creamy Orange Shake (like Orange Julius)
1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup milk 5-6 ice cubes
1/4 cup sugar 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup water (optional)
Combine ingredients in blender until smooth. Can be kept in the
refrigerator 1 day. Serves 4.
Swiss Mocha
1/2 cup instant coffee 2 Tbsp. cocoa
1/2 cup sugar 1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 cup nonfat dry milk
Stir ingredients together. Process in a blender until powdered. Makes
2 cups mix. *Attach this note to the jar if making a jar mix: Use 1/2
cup of hot water and 2 tablespoons of coffee mix for each cup of coffee.
Cafe Vienna
1/2 cup instant coffee 2/3 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup sugar 1 tsp. dried orange peel
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk (optional)
Stir ingredients together. Process in a blender until powdered. Makes
1 1/3 cups mix.
*Attach this note to the jar if making a jar mix:
Use 2 teaspoons to 1 cup of hot water.
Jill Cooper raised two teenagers alone on $500 a month income after
becoming disabled with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. To read more of Jill's
articles and for free tips and recipes visit
http://www.LivingOnADime.com/ .
---  |
|
May/10/05, 11:10
|
|
