She's baaaack.

You might remember (if you've followed my blog for awhile) that I was kind of nutty about healthy food and organic products and the like.  Then this thing called pregnancy happened, and suddenly all that stuff just didn't seem important.  Well, not that it wasn't important, more like I just didn't have the energy.  During the first trimester, I was in pure survival mode, barely able to pick myself up off the couch long enough to pour Ben a bowl of cheerios.  There was no way I could do something like make him yogurt or spend hours trying to fit organic food into our budget.  The latter is no easy feat, let me tell you.  Even when I did have the energy to hunt coupons & read deal blogs, I still couldn't really make it work with our budget.  Then I spent the second and third trimester obsessing about names, daydreaming about the nursery and sneaking in naps when I could.  To be brutally honest, I was just flat lazy during my pregnancy.

I did a whole little dorky series here called "Saving money & living better while roughin' it old school."  You can read it here, here and here if you feel so inclined.  I really did actually do that stuff, but I got away from it all.

But I'm BACK!  And I'm bound and determined to actually make this work for our budget.  So I'm making a lot of stuff.  Like:

Homemade poptarts.  Verdict?  Yummy, but next time I'll add much more jelly and cream cheese (thanks to a tip from my friend, Melissa).  Heavenly Homemakers is FILLED with yummy and healthy recipes.  You'll want to have healthier things like rapadura/sucanat, honey, coconut oil, whole wheat flour, etc., on hand to make a lot of her stuff.

Coconut brownies.  Verdict?  OMGINSANELYGOOD.  I did everything the same except I subbed 1/2 cup coconut oil for the butter.  I almost always sub in coconut oil when a baking recipe calls for butter because I feel like it's healthier and I like the taste better.  Her site is another awesome one for recipes.  I've loved almost everything I've made from her blog.

Homemade yogurt.  My mom picked up this yogurt maker back at a garage sale when I was a baby, so there's no telling how old this thing is.  But it still works like a champ, churning out easy & yummy yogurt.  And honestly?  I feel kind of like a rockstar when I put homemade yogurt in Ben's bowl.  You can buy brand new yogurt makers on the cheap but get one at a garage sale for $5 and I bet it'll work just as well.  And then there's always the crockpot option, which I've also done and works great, the consistency is just generally runnier.  But making organic yogurt is so much cheaper this way than the store bought stuff.

Butterscotch bars.  Verdict?  WOWSERS.  You might not want to make these if you have a sweet tooth like me.  I can't stay away from them.  Seriously.  The first time I made them I literally ate half the pan in a day.  I used coconut oil instead of butter for this, too.  A bonus is that these are so easy to make that it takes like three minutes.  Plus, even if you do absolutely pig out on them, at least you can feel good about the fact that there's nothing refined in them.  All whole wheat flour and sucanat!

I have no idea if I'll be able to make this work with our budget this time around, but I'm going to try like crazy!  I stocked up on organic, free-range chicken when it was on sale for $1.69 a lb (!!!!!!) at Whole Foods last week.  I joined a CSA.  I'm back to placing orders with the co-op in my area.  I'm in the process of finding a local (and relatively cheap) source for our eggs and meat.  My next big goal is to get a chest freezer so we can buy a side of beef.  You get the point.  I'm so excited to re-start this journey now that the morning sickness & laziness of pregnancy are far behind me!

Ben enjoying his homemade yogurt and green smoothie (kale, milk, honey, blueberries and mangoes, mmm!)