FREE Bally's Fitness Membership

Was one of your New Year's Resolutions to lose some of those holiday pounds? Or maybe you just want to try something new in your workout routine?

To help you check that off your Resolutions List, Bally's Total Fitness is offering a FREE 7-day trial membership. WOW!



In my area, these are really nice gyms with lots of great classes. They also offer personal trainers to get you into shape and keep you motivated to stay in shape!

Click on the link above to find the center nearest you and get all the information you need to redeem your FREE membership. You really don't have anything, except those extra pounds, to lose!!

Menu Plan Monday

My husband and I were with some friends this weekend and somehow we all decided that we are going to run the Rock 'n Roll half marathon on June 27 of this year! Like I always say, the first step to reaching a goal is to set it. I have run 5K and 10K races before but never anything close to a half marathon. I also haven't run since I was pregnant with my daughter, who was born this summer so it is going to be interesting to see how I can fit training into my busy schedule. So this meal plan is step one to getting back on track with planning healthy meals!

Chicken stir fry

Beef and barley soup

Waffles

Quiche

Meat loaf

I am going to try a new version of the beef and barley soup and if it turns out well you will see it here on Friday for the Grocery Cart Challenge recipe feature.

This week's meal plan and other great meal planning and organizing ideas can be found on orgjunkie.com!

Hope you all have a great week and check back for my Grocery Budget Challenge update!

Fantasy Banana Bread

When life hands you brown bananas, make banana bread! I often ask the produce employees at the grocery store whether they have any "red band" bananas that sell at a reduced per pound price. They can be frozen in zipper bags for later use, just thaw and mash with a fork.

My friend Melissa gave me a version of this recipe. I modified it to include a little more healthy options whole wheat flour and yogurt instead of sour cream. The original had way more sugar than I feel comfortable with and even with the amount in there now, you still get a nice almost carmelized crust on the bread. Perfect and warm for a cold snowy January day or for a delightful winter brunch.

1 1/2 cup Mashed bananas
3/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Butter
1 cup low fat or non-fat yogurt
2 tsp. baking soda
3 cup Flour
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup chopped nuts (optional)

Blend Butter and sugar, add eggs & yogurt, add flour, baking soda & nuts if you want. Lastly, I stir in the mashed bananas.

Fill TWO loaf pans
Bake at 350 for about an hour

The Grocery Cart Challenge hosts a fantastic recipe swap every week. Lots of great recipes and ideas to help with menu planning!

Puree and Freeze 101

It takes some planning and some freezer space but over the past year, I have become a great believer in not letting any of the wonderful organic produce that we get from a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm go to waste. Here is a step-by-easy-step method to steam, puree and freeze those veggies for future use as baby food or just added nutrition to everyday meals.

We got a load of garnet yams over the last 2 deliveries. I've experimented with different yam dishes outside the holiday realm and haven't found anything that the family is wild about. So I just steam and then puree them to use later.

First, cut each yam in half. No peeling necessary!

Place halves in steamer and cook for approximately 35 minutes:

I should have taken a picture of how easy it is to scoop the yams out of the skins. I love it when I don't have to peel something. Scoop it all in to a food processor and blend until smooth:

Then load the puree into ice cube trays. I got these at the Dollar Store and they come with a cover! I only use these trays for food freezing:

Freeze for 1-2 hours or overnight. Remove from freezer and let sit for about 5 minutes. Loosen the cubes and place in to zippered freezer bags for long term storage:

I did a bunch of spinach after the yams and just started feeding my 6-month old the spinach - she is loving it. I am loving not spending money on expensive organic baby food and knowing exactly what my kids are eating. I also love adding a few cubes to spaghetti sauce, mac n cheese or any other casserole. It saves time and adds valuable nutrition to your meals. Here's to a healthy 2009!

Kroger Gift Card for Prescriptions

Fortunately, my husband and I and our children are very healthy and have no ongoing medical issues. None of us take any prescription medication on a regular basis. Howver, on the rare occasion that we do need prescriptions, I stay loyal to one pharmacy - QFC.


Why QFC? They have a pharmacy loyalty card that gives me a gift card to the store for every 5 prescriptions filled there. I filled a prescription there yesterday and since it was my 5th one filled, I got a $10 gift card to the store. The next 5 is a $15 card and 5 after that is a $25 card. I hadn't noticed before but it's actually a Kroger card so it will be good at Fred Meyer too!


I have seen the deals offering gift cards for transferring prescriptions but because of my health insurance, I do have to stick with certain pharmacies so those have not been an option for me.


So for those of you in the Northwest, this would be a great deal even for those who don't get prescriptions on a regular basis. Does anyone know if other stores offer similar rewards for prescriotions?

Frugal Healthcare Management - Part II

Here are more tips on how to do your part to keep healthcare costs down:

3) Review your Explanation of Benefits. Most people don't. Check service dates and service provided. If they don't jive with what happened at your appointment or the dates are wrong, immediately notify your healthcare plan. They can then make necessary adjustments or contact the doctor/provider for additional information. I have caught several mistakes by both provider and insurance plans that would have cost someone money - remember that in the long term, "someone" is YOU.

4) If you do get sick, use services wisely. We've made trips to the emergency room but I think of that option as the absolute last resort. The moment I get a call from daycare that a child is sick, I am on the phone with our pediatrician for a same day appointment. Not only is the emergency room the most expensive form of care, think about the amount of time that it takes to get treatment.

5) Take advantage of Flexible Spending Accounts. Tax benefits and plans differ, but generally your employer deducts a chosen amount from your paycheck and then when you need to, you use those funds to pay for out of pocket health expenses or deductibles. My husbands health care provider offers this option which they tout as another good option for healthy people.

6) Our dental plan provides a certain amount of coverage each year and at the end of the year, our dentist is always sending us reminders to "use up your allotments." He wants us to come in for additional services to "use it up." We don't agree with this attitude and frankly, we get really irritated that he tries to solicit us like this. Now, I know it's his way of trying to generate additional business but this is part of the reasons costs increase: people use services because they are there, not necessarily because they need them.

These are just my opinions on how to cut costs for what is arguably one of the most pressing issues in our society. I'd love to hear your healthcare savings ideas - leave me a comment and let me know your ideas!

Free Sample - Kyolic

Yesterday I posted some frugal healthcare management tips here. I also linked to a post by Crystal at The Thrifty Mama where she offered some of her great natural tips for staying healthy through the winter. One of the tips she suggested was a garlic supplement called Kyolic.

Get a free sample of this supplement by calling 1-800-421-2998 and mentioning the ad from Fred Meyer's free magazine, Naturally Preferred.

Lots of Coupons from Fred Meyer

If you have a Fred Meyer near you, I highly recommend picking up the free Naturally Preferred magazine found in the Natural Foods section of the store. There is usually at least one and sometimes several great natural foods coupons in the magazine.

November's issue has 3 awesome coupons: $1/2 any Amy's Organic product, $1/1 Kashi Oatmeal or Hot Cereal and $1/1 Simply Organic 4 oz. Vanilla Extract. I will be watching to see if any of these go on sale - could be the makings of a great deal!

Frugal Healthcare Management - Part I

By day I am a labor and employment law attorney and part of my job is serving as a Trustee on health and welfare trusts that provide medical/dental insurance to all the participants. In that position I get a very real picture of the costs associated with funding a plan and providing the health services.

Two years ago, our health insurance plan (our firm is also covered through the plan) went through a major overhaul. Foremost was a mindset change - focusing more on staying healthy and preventive measures, even though it meant a temporary cost increase.

Based on this experience*, here are my first 2 tips on how to be a wise healthcare consumer:

1) Stay healthy. I know, I know - easier said than done. Statistics show that the unhealthy participants use the plan more and unfortunately less wisely. Overweight participants have more health incidents than participants who are at their ideal weight. Diabetes, heart disease and a number of other conditions result from being overweight. Getting participants to lose weight by offering things like a pedometer to help reach 10,000 steps per day is a great way to get people motivated. I have been wearing mine diligently and am so much more conscious of being more active even during my workday.

To help people stay healthy, we changed coverage for well-baby checkups, yearly physicals and some prescription medications to 100%. Additionally, the plan offered incentives to participants such as cash for filling out lifestyle surveys, the free pedometer mentioned above, and most recently tobacco cessation. The Quit Smoking campaign offers free nicotine patches, gum and $100 to participants who complete a certain number of personalized treatment sessions. If your plan offers these options, take advantage of them. Even if they are not paid at 100%, the costs are usually reduced from what you would pay in the open market.

If your employer is struggling with the rising costs of covering employees, it may be worthwhile to suggest to your HR department or the person in charge of your healthcare procurement that some of these changes be considered. The worst they can say is no and if some changes are made, it may be able to lower your employer's costs, which they can then hopefully pass on to employees!

I am a big fan of natural health care, using supplements and natural remedies as a compliment to traditional health care. Crystal at The Thrifty Mama had a great post here about keeping your family healthy the natural way.

2) If you are usually healthy, you can save money by choosing a lesser plan with a high deductible. This is often ideal for single employees or those without children. I do not recommend cutting back on catastrophic medical coverage but if you rarely need to go to the doctor, some of these plans will cover preventive services which would help you stay healthy.

What do you do to help your family save money on healthcare? Leave me a comment and check back for more money saving tips!

*This is not legal advice - just my opinion