1.  Our whole loves popcorn so instead of using butter on it we use a butter spray that has no calories or fat.  Believe it or not it’s yummy.  Melissa loves to use the powdered flavored seasons on hers. 

2.  When baking we never use oil, we just substitute it with applesauce you will save loads of calories and fat too.  In the end your cake or brownies will be really moist. 

3.  Our family uses the magic bullet often to make smoothies.  When making a fruit smoothie you can throw in a carrot, a piece of celery or any other veggie.  In the beginning my children didn’t even realize I was doing this however now my girls just do it to be more healthy when making their own.

4.  All of my children love chicken breast.  So I often will just put some marinate on the chicken and bake.  If you’re looking for more of a breaded chicken strip you can bake too instead of frying.

5.  We always use fat free milk instead of whole milk.  If you choose not to drink fat free milk maybe you could use it just for cooking.  We can’t really tell a difference.  When making chocolate milk we often use hot chocolate mix.  Sometimes the kids use milk sometimes water just depends.  Since we always use fat free milk there is no fat however if they use water it’s lets calories and they still have a milk taste.

6.  When baking our family uses wheat flour instead of white flour.  Sometimes I make a 50/50 mix of white and wheat and use it.  So far no one has complained and it is much healthier. 

7.  Instead of using syrup and butter on pancakes I mix cinnamon in the batter and we call in cinnamon pancakes.  You also can add a banana (smashed up) it makes Banana Pancakes.  It’s actually pretty good.

8.  When baking I don’t use the yolks in an egg.  It’s much healthier if you just use the egg whites.  Sometimes I add an extra egg if I am concerned about not having enough in the mix.

9.  Our family loves herbs and spices.  We always use extra spices and less or no salt.  Sometimes I will even buy fresh herbs.  They are so yummy!

10.  When making different recipes use fat free chicken broth, it will add lots of flavor without the fat and calories.  When making mashed potatoes you can also use chicken broth in the place of water it helps cut down on the butter used too.  It’s really good too.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and WeightWatchers SmartOnes blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Breyers Sundae Scoop-Off Contest

Breyers® is in search of the next great sundae with the Sundae Scoop-Off Contest and you have a chance to win!  

Doesn’t that sound great, our family just loves Breyers Ice Cream!  From now through September 13, 2010, the Sundae Scoop-Off Contest is challenging America to create original, family-friendly ice cream sundae recipes including 10 or fewer ingredients.

~ How to Enter ~

View complete contest requirements and enter the recipes at www.breyers.com <http://www.breyers.com>  for a chance to win $10,000, a trip to Chicago featuring a private cooking lesson with renowned pasty Chef Gale Gand and one year of FREE Breyers® ice cream.

~ How will it be judged ~

The sundae recipe entries will be judged on taste, creativity, use of Breyers® ice cream and presentation.

~ Prizes I can Win ~

1 Grand Prize

• $10,000 Cash
• A family trip to Chicago
• A private lesson with pastry chef Gale Gand
• One Year of Breyers Ice Cream FREE
• The Winning Recipe will be featured on BravoTV.com.  Breyers is the exclusive Ice Cream partner of Top Chef Just Desserts.

~ 9 Super Sundae Prize Packages ~

• One Year of Free Breyers Ice Cream and $500
• Gourmet Sundae Making Supplies

Disclosure: I wrote this post on behalf of Breyers and I may or may not receive product as a result of your post.  As always all opinions and thoughts are honestly made by Coupon Saving Family.

25.00 Restaurant.com Gift Certificates only 4.00

Save 60% off Restaurant.com $25 Gift Certificates!  Just use the code MENU at checkout hurry this offer expires today 9/2/2010!  This is valid on all of the popular products including ~ $25 Gift Certificates, Dinner of the Month Club, and the new $25 Gift Cards.  It’s the beginning of the month so there should be a lot more restaurants offered.

This is such a great deal on dining out!  It also gives you a chance to try new places too at a fraction of the cost.  Be sure to read all the terms of each offer before purchasing.  Also if you don’t see your favorite Restaurant on the list right now be sure to check back it does change.

Did you pick up your September copy of All You magazine yet?  I will have say this is one of the only magazines I always make time to actually read each month.  It not only has lots and lots of money saving coupons however it has lots of interesting articles too.  It’s avaliable at Walmart by the check out or you can subscribe to All You so you don’t miss an issue.  In the September issue of All You there is an amazing savings of $94.50 in coupons in just one issue.  So you can see how All you magazine pays for itself.  If you want to see all the coupons that will be in the September issue of All you Magazine go here.

Free PagePlus Essentials Download Regular 49.99

Sale Price is Free Download – Regular price is 49.99

Amazon is offering a Free Download of PagePlus Essentials.  PagePlus Essentials is great to design and print stunning projects like cards, posters, newsletters and more with its amazing combination of powerful and easy-to-use desktop publishing features. It’s so easy to go from a blank page to a fantastic design just by dragging and dropping whatever you want onto your page – it’s that simple! On-screen ‘How To’ guides can walk you through tasks step-by-step, while the handy Learning Zone contains videos and tutorials as well as access to the community forums and the extensive knowledge base – help is never far away.

If you are interested in the  downloading PagePlus Free I would recommend you do so right away.  Items on Amazon often change prices quickly or sell out. 

Head over to the Butterfinger Facebook Page once you “like” Butterfinger you will be able to print a Buy one get one free coupon good to get a Free Bag Butterfinger Snackerz.

Sale Price is 59.00 – Regular price is 119.95

This item ships free the Super Saver Shipping.

Share your world big and bright with the Kodak EasyShare C182 Digital Camera. It gives you a gorgeous 3-inch display and 12 MP so you can see your life in amazing detail–all at a great price. And with easy-to-use features like Smart Capture, taking extraordinary pictures is as easy as pushing a button. If you like a good value, you’ll love the C182 digital camera.

If you want this item I would recommend that you hurry this offer for the Kodak EasyShare C182 Digital Camera (Blue) will probably go up in price soon.

Congrats to Nina your the lucky winner of the Nature Made SAM-e Complete Giveaway.

Congrats to N your the lucky winner of the Sam’s Club Back to School Giveaway.

Congrats to Kristen your the lucky winner of the Back to School Seventh Generation Giveaway.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaways, stay tuned I will be posting more giveaways soon!

Head over and apply to host an Earth’s Best Organic Playdate Party.   If accepted, you will receive over 90.00 worth of items for your party.  If you’re not lucky enough to be accepted you will still get some great Earth’s Best Coupons.  You will also have a chance at winning 500.00 worth of Earth’s Best Organic Products.

Ideas That Spark: Mom2Mom

Save Time and Money on School Lunches

By Julie Smart for Ideas That Spark

Bringing a home-packed lunch to school is a requirement in my family. Being a mom, I like to know what my children are eating — even if most schools are making an effort to provide more healthy lunch options. When I pack my son’s lunch, I include the foods I know he likes and will eat instead of just hoping he’ll have the right choices at the school cafeteria. Making lunch at home of course saves money, too: You can buy a week’s worth of supplies at the grocery store for half the cost of prepackaged lunch at school.

That said, time is always a big factor at my house. So I had to figure out how I could make and pack lunch in advance and on the cheap. Here are my top three tips to save time and money when I pack my kids’ school lunches:

Buy Bathroom Cups
Bathroom cups have been a lifesaver — you can pack so much in them! Because there are so many per package, I can make big batches of food and store them in the freezer. Another benefit: I don’t worry about my child losing a lid or container. I like to use 3-ounce plastic bathroom cups, cheap Baggies and press-and-seal wrap to prepare all of my kids’ food.

DIY Single-Serve
Instead of spending money on individual servings of prepared food, use your cups to prepare your own foods and pack in advance. I do it all on Sunday night or on my day off, making what I can by hand, filling the cups, covering them with wrap and sticking them in the back of my fridge. My favorite DIY lunch sides and condiments include:

• Jell-O
• Pudding
• Peanut butter
• Applesauce
• Salsa
• Sour cream
• Salad dressing

Prep-and-Store Entrees
My child loves peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, so I make a batch of them and freeze them in Baggies (PB&Js freeze very well!). You can also cut up fruit, veggies, cheese and anything else your kids like to snack on and put small portions in Baggies. Keep them in the fridge for the week, and use as needed.

Packing lunch can be a pain, but if you stick to these time-saving lunch tips, you can just grab and go!

Julie Smart is the mother of five wonderful children and a blogger at couponsavingfamily.com.

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