Frugal & Frozen–Refreshing Homemade Popsicle Recipes for Summer

Homemade popsicles are tasty, inexpensive, and healthy. Here are some new versions to try this summer.

Now that I have a new food processor, I’m interested in making my own popsicles.

Though I’d love to buy a Zoku popsicle maker, I’ll wait until I see one on sale. For now, I’ll use the good old-fashioned cup and stick method, or maybe get some basic molds.

It turns out homemade popsicles are all the rage. I would love to get a Zoku Quick Pop Maker (it makes popsicles in seven minutes!), but I think I will wait until I find one on sale. But you can make these recipes in anything from a Zoku to a paper cup/craft stick! I bought two molds at Bed, Bath & Beyond with a coupon. (The store also carries an Xpress Popsicle Maker for $29.99., but even with a coupon, I’m not willing to spend the money!)

Here are three basic ideas for DIY popsicles:

Juicy Blend:

We bought a bottled organic lemonade (cherry-lemon blend) that tasted just awful, but we salvaged the juice by pouring it into popsicle molds. The lemonade was delicious frozen! So if you have drips and drabs of leftover juice or you bought a somewhat vile-tasting product, try freezing it.

Berry and Yogurt Blends:

Of course it’s a no-brainer–mix low-fat yogurt with berries in a food processor and pour into molds. Whatever doesn’t fit into the molds is a smoothie, anyhow, so drink up. My kids love this kind of blend as a popsicle. If the blend needs some liquid, just drop in a bit of fruit juice or lemon juice to thin it out a bit.

Sugar-free strawberry-lemon popsicle:

(great for diabetics and those on low-glycemic food plans):

(The fruity taste of this popsicle is unbelievable! It costs about .46 cents to make 7-8 pops but I did not get the jello on sale, and I didn’t get the best price for the Crystal Light, either. It still came out nice and frugal.)

• mix 1/2 packet of Crystal-Light lemonade powder with 1 cup cold water.
• whisk till dissolved.
• in another bowl, dissolve one 3-oz package of sugar-free strawberry jello in 1 cup boiling water.
• stir until fully dissolved.
• blend lemonade and jello mixtures.
• pour blended mixture into popsicle molds to freeze.

For more sugar-free pop ideas, visit Sixuntilme.com. Also visit All Recipes for this dessert.

Strawberry jello plus lemonade make the most delicious popsicle mix!

I’ll spare you the experiment I made by whipping together part-skim ricotta cheese and strawberries. Ricotta is great whipped with fruit and a bit of sugar (tiny bit), but frozen, you have to develop somewhat of a taste for it. The ricotta-strawberry pop idea is good for a low-low-low-fat and low-low-low-sugar treat, but don’t count on your kids asking for seconds.

Stick to the lemonade/jello recipes for happy kids!

Related articles

• Refreshing Tropical Pineapple & Coconut Popsicles (veggieeuphoria.com)
• Berry Coconut Popsicles (lostgardenblog.wordpress.com)
• Plum Strawberry Popsicles for a Virtual Vegan Potluck! (theheartyherbivore.wordpress.com)
• Homemade popsicle recipes for the new Zoku Single Pop Maker (coolmompicks.com)
• 12 Pops and Popsicles Perfect for Summer – Food (brit.co)

Frugal Foodie Recipe: Homemade Hummus (Think Memorial Day potluck party platter!)

I’ve been making this recipe since March 2007, when food.com was recipezaar.com.  It’s a family fave for carrots and red pepper dips and great for potluck party platters of veggie and pita chips/pretzels.  Back then, I halved the recipe, and my little 3-cup mini-food processor I received as a wedding present was all I needed to make it.  Well, in a short time, the demand grew for more homemade hummus.

For Christmas 2010, I received a Hamilton Beach 10-cup Food Processor.  Unfortunately, its cheap price tag matches it’s quality and it no longer makes fancy sliced veggies.  However, it still does the job of whirring together all the ingredients for hummus nice and fast.  Its 10-cup capacity enables me to double the recipe easily, which ensures that I have enough for lunchboxes and after school snacks.

For the last 4 years, cooking dried beans has proven to be a real money-saver, especially when buying in bulk.  Like with most cooking, you just need to do a little planning ahead, in this case, soak the beans overnight.  In the last couple of years, I have found that 2 cups of dried garbanzo beans will give you what you need for this recipe, with a little left over to throw into salad.

Since getting a pressure cooker set last fall, cooking dried garbanzo beans, takes no time at all.  You don’t even need to soak them (though I still do, for a couple of hours).  I highly recommend investing in a pressure cooker set!

Enjoy this delicious, healthy protein dip with your favorite crunchy veggie or fruit slices, pretzels, pita chips or tortilla chips!

~Aimee, TFF

Related articles

• Frugal Foodie Kitchen Investments With Your Kohl’s 30%-Off Coupon (twofrugalfairfielders.wordpress.com)

Some people take the time to remove the outer layer off of the chickpeas after cooking. I don’t find that this extra effort changes the taste or texture.

Remember to save half a cup of the cooking water. If using canned garbanzos, include the liquid in the can.

Voila! Hummus for the week! Here are stainless steel containers I use for lunchboxes. Great for dipping sliced carrots, red pepper, and/or whole grain pretzel sticks.

Frugal Foodie Kitchen Investments With Your Kohl’s 30%-Off Coupon

Attention Working Moms and Stay-at-Home Moms!  Busy People Everywhere!  While I say that cooking from scratch is the most frugal and sustainable way to go, I know – Life is Busy!  Your Kohl’s 30% off coupon can help make cooking from scratch easier.

Here are a few helpful kitchen appliances that I bought on sale using my coupon and, in some cases, Kohl’s Cash:

Zojurushi Breadmaker – see my previous post - Put the ingredients in the pan, press a couple of buttons.  Bread can bake over night.

Ninja Master Prep Professional Blender Set – see my previous post - guacamole, fresh salsa or smoothies in a jiffy.

Fagor Duo Combi 5 Piece Pressure Cooker Set –  I got a great two-pot set on sale for $94 (retails for $150 elsewhere) - dried beans (least expensive), rice, and other food cook in a fraction of the time, which saves energy.  (I will soon post the hummus recipe I make with dried chickpeas cooked in the pressure cooker.)

Black and pinto beans make up a regular meal of bean and cheese burritos at our house.

Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer – I got a great deal on this (in a fabulous cobalt blue color!) because it was on sale and eligible for a $30 rebate.  Total cost = $210.  (retails for $3.49 elsewhere).  I earned $40 in Kohl’s Cash for this purchase, which I used for a food grinder attachment.  It was on sale and I was able to use the same 30% off coupon.  Total cost = $14. (retails $55, elsewhere)

Besides using the stand mixer for dessert recipes, I now use it to make hamburger rolls.  Check out this great recipe from another frugal mom:  Homemade Buttermilk Buns (I use 3.5 cups of whole wheat bread flour and 1 cup all purpose flour)

The first time, I followed the recipe and made eight burger buns.  They came out perfect, but were a bit on the jumbo side (kale chips are on the left).

Second time, I made 16 burger rolls. These were just the right size. I freeze whatever rolls I don’t use.

With the food grinder attachment, any cut of beef can be made into ground meat for hamburgers, chili or lasagna.  Marilyn and I are part of a “Beef Share” through a local farm and get a wide variety of cuts for a great price.  (These days, especially with the revelation of pink slime, it pays to know where your beef comes from!)

My best Kohl’s Coupon deal yet!

No pink slime here-

Whatever eggs were left over from the “egg wash” for the tops of the hamburger rolls, I used in my hamburger recipe. Waste not, want not.

Kids’ dinner plates – homemade burgers, buns and oven fries with strawberries for dessert.

I got this huge slow cooker for opening up a checking account at a local bank. Sadly, those days are gone.

I also use a slow cooker.  I got this huge Proctor-Silex Slow Cooker years ago FREE for opening up a checking account at a local bank.  Anyone remember those days?  We use the slow cooker for chili, beef stew and this red lentil stew recipe, which my kids love over basmati rice.  Please feel free to share your favorite slow cooker recipes!

Learning to cook is lifelong.  It starts at any age.  Involving/teaching children to cook provides for frugal fun as well as a lifelong skill (future post!)   Start here - Cook for Good!  Stay tuned for more frugal foodie recipes!

~Aimee, TFF

5 Top Things I Learned About Frugality from Amy Dacyczyn’s Tightwad Gazette

The only things more dog-eared than my coupon envelopes are my Tightwad Gazettes I and II. There are so many pearls of wisdom on every page that each reading experience offers new insights and ideas. Amy Dacyczyn’s (pronounced ‘decision’) ideology has absolutely shaped our family’s life. Long ago when my husband read the Tightwad Gazette’s first book and wanted me to read it, I scoffed at the book–I worked in New York City at the time and my mind was a bit warped as I was exposed to great wealth…I was just not interested in frugality. Somewhere between leaving the working world of New York City and becoming a mom, I learned to love the Tightwad Gazettes.

A few of my favorite books on my bedside table--including both Tightwad Gazettes tagged with stickies! So much for reading fiction!

Lesson 1: How to Avoid Feeling Deprived (page 230-232 Tightwad Gazette 1)

In this passage, Amy discusses how to avoid feeling bad about living frugally. If you view giving up extras as transferring funds from one area of your life to another (brilliant!!!), frugality becomes an important financial strategy rather than a prison term. This goes along with a favorite quote of mine by Amy: “The dieter fails as long as he hates low-calorie food. The would-be athlete will fail as long as he hates exertion. The tightwad wannabe will fail as long as he views frugality as a lifestyle he has to endure, or, was forced into by circumstance.”

Lesson 2: Three Steps to a Frito-Free Child (page 234 Tightwad Gazette II)

I learned that when kids ask why we don’t have “good food” like their friends, they really mean “why don’t we have packaged foods.” This goes hand-in-hand with one of my favorite quotes by Amy: “Frugality without creativity is deprivation.” This simply means that your kids will feel deprived if you don’t at least find an inexpensive, good, interesting, and delicious alternative to the overpriced, bland, and unhealthy food their friends may be eating.

Lesson 3: Create a Dinner Casserole (page 625, Tightwad Gazette Compedium)

Anyone who throws out leftovers is nuts. I learned that from Amy’s post on casseroles. From Amy’s simple instructions, I’ve learned how to cook any tiny amounts of leftovers into quite the tasty casserole that even my kids like most of the time. From this, I also learned how to make white sauce from scratch and use it to make just about anything taste great!

Lesson 4: Wealth, Poverty, and Frugality (page 272, Tightwad Gazette II)

I learned never, ever assume frugal people are poor. Amy discusses why we still think that frugality has to do with being “poor” and that wealth and frugality are mutually exclusive terms in most people’s minds. But as her passage says, income level has nothing to do with whether a person is frugal or not. “Many poor people aren’t frugal and a surprising number of wealthy people are.” This passage goes along with my other favorite books: The Millionaire Next Door and Stop Acting Rich, both by Thomas J. Stanley.

Lesson 5: The Used Clothing Filing System (page 270-271, Tightwad Gazette I)

Thanks to this discussion, I had the best system of hand-me-downs going in my attic for my two kids. This lasted for years until the HMD stream slowed down. I literally built a system of bank boxes in my attic marked with types of clothing, what sizes, what gender, etc. It worked beautifully. I don’t think I would have loved HMDs so much if I hadn’t been this organized thanks to Amy’s tutorial.

There’s just so much more I’ve learned and continue to learn from these books. Let us know your favorite lesson from reading The Tightwad Gazette!

~Marilyn, TFF

Frugal and Quick: Delicious, Easy Homemade Vanilla Pudding Recipe for Pennies (No Eggs!)

My family loves pudding, but the powdered and already-made versions are bland, expensive, and not very healthy. I researched recipes and realized just how easy and economical it is to make. I was looking for an egg-free recipe and ran across this one on All Recipes. I had about a cup of milk left in my fridge before going shopping, so I figured I’d experiment by halving the recipe below. It took all of five minutes to make. What an amazingly delicious recipe! Top with homemade whipped cream (whip some sugar and heavy cream until it forms peaks). You’ve got a frugal, quick, healthier and delicious dessert for pennies!

Here's what the pudding mix looks like when cooking. Looks a bit like white glue! But more delicious than white glue. No lumps because I whisked all ingredients beforehand, poured into pot, then cooked.

Pouring my experimental vanilla pudding into small glasses to be topped later with homemade whipped cream.

Vanilla Pudding Recipe (adapted from All Recipes)

• 2 cups cold milk (I used Trader Joe’s whole organic milk cut with water and I’ll try almond milk another time)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter

Put all ingredients into a bowl, except the butter. This step prevents lumps from forming when cooking. Briskly whisk ingredients in bowl. (Next time I plan to use an electric mixer for this step to eliminate every potential lump.) Then, pour  ingredients into pot on medium high heat, whisk more, then wait for bubbling to start. Don’t boil. Add in butter, whisk. Lower heat, keep whisking (it thickens up quickly). Take off of heat, pour into cups/glasses, chill in fridge. Enjoy!

Enjoy! ~Marilyn, TFF

Related articles

• Homemade Vanilla Pudding Mix (cupcakesandcandles.wordpress.com)
• Banana Pudding (21nogluten.wordpress.com)

Earth Day is Every Day When You Strive for Zero Waste

In light of today’s Fairfield, CT Earth Day Celebration, I have updated this post I wrote.

Hey, Fairfield, Reduce Your Waste for Sustainable, Simple Prosperity 

We are a family of five, including three growing children.  Our ranch style house is 1,100 square feet, with a 600 sq. ft. finished basement that has a full bathroom (thank goodness!).  We have been a one-modest-income family for nearly nine years.  We live debt-free in one of the most expensive counties in the United States.  Little did I realize that it all began with cutting down on waste – literally, garbage.

In 2003, our Smith and Hawken compost bin was a Consumer Reports Best Buy. Today, there are many affordable recycled plastic compost bins from which to choose. Better yet, DIY, do-it-yourself!

The first expense we cut was our garbage service.  (If you are reading this from out of town, you read that correctly.  Garbage service is not covered by city tax.)  At that time, we had two in diapers and a town dump run four times a month.  So for the first couple of years, it was only a savings of about $100 per year.  However, a couple of years later, after our third child was born, we did two things that affected our garbage disposal: established a compost bin and discovered Freecycle.

With a compost bin and worms from the backyard, our vegetable scraps turned to soil.  Composting eventually led to the start of a modest 4’ x 8’ ft. raised bed garden, which in two years lowered our food bill and raised our health quotient.

Cherry tomatoes, bush beans, butternut squash, rosemary, basil, sage, nasturtium, marigold and pumpkin grew in our side garden. Cucumber grew next to our roses in our front garden.

Freecycling decreased our need to purchase items.  I’ve gotten great toys and games, arts and crafts, bread machines, glass bakeware, winter boots and clothing -in great condition- for our family.  Conversely, by offering items Freecycle, I began the long, on-going process of de-cluttering our house.  With composting and Freecycling, our trips to the dump and our spending began to decrease even more.  Bonus: the environment benefited, too.

Other ways we began to cut down on waste and spending:  for the last five years, since my daughter started 1^st grade, we have been using cloth napkins, and much to my husband’s dismay, stopped using paper towels.  Instead, we reuse rags, wash with cold water and hang clothes on outdoor- and/or indoor- laundry lines.  Also, for the last eight years, we have belonged to an organic and natural food co-op. We save a lot by buying “dirty dozen” organic produce and buying at lower, bulk prices: organic grains, flour, sugar, dried herbs, and non-food items, such as detergent.  Buying in bulk not only saves money, but produces less garbage.  Over the years, cooking has become less mysterious and more of a joy.  Cooking from scratch is always cheaper.  See my Frugal Foodie Recipes !

Today, with composting, single-stream recycling (as of last summer – #1 – 7 plastics and paperboard boxes, such as toilet paper rolls and cereal boxes, can now be recycled), cooking from scratch, and just buying less, we go to the town dump once every four to five weeks!

Several months ago, an online news video story about the “Zero Waste Home” caught my eye.  Bea and Scott Johnson and their two growing boys downsized from a 3,000 square foot home to a 1,400 square foot home.  They went from filling two large rolling garbage cans per week to holding four months worth of garbage in two hands.

Their grocery bills have been cut by 25% by shopping locally and carefully planning meals.  Their utility bills have gone down even more.  ”Zero Waste is good for your wallet,” Bea says.  But most of all, they have achieved a well-being of health and happiness they did not enjoy with having more stuff.  This family is a living example of “LESS IS MORE” and “HEALTH IS WEALTH.”

Living in Fairfield, CT, in Fairfield County, one of the most expensive and affluent counties in the United States, is to be surrounded by a majority who believe that success is defined by having the most square footage, the most luxurious cars, and the latest “stuff”.  I challenge you, dear reader, especially Fairfielders, to help turn this definition around:  Let’s teach our children that success is defined by the ability to put people before things, and to refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle.  Less IS more.  Health IS wealth.  Consider joining us on our journey toward simple prosperity.

Our town library is an extremely valuable resource!!!  Utilize and support it in every way you can. (Register for upcoming library workshops led by TFF’s Marilyn Syarto on Budgeting and Couponing.)

The Zero Waste Home video news story I stumbled upon.

Here’s The Zero Waste Home Blog that inspires me.

The “Dirty Dozen” Organic Produce list helps make eating organic fruits and veggies affordable.  Download the app or print the wallet-sized shopping guide here.

Learn to Cook for Good.

One of many resources on cooking and eating on a budget here AND here for budget food ideas.

Our organic and natural food buying club is open to new members.  Send me your email address to learn more.

~Aimee, TFF