Accidentally Homeschooling...and beyond

As a member of the TOS Homeschool crew, this year I am reviewing many homeschooling products that I have received for free. I am not paid to say nice things about the products, but I am obligated to use the product and share my honest opinions with you. In today's review, our whole family had no choice but the opportunity to try this program.

I knew I was going to learn something when I looked at the cover to and couldn't identify a piece of produce on there. See that white thing to the far right? It looks like a garlic, supermodel style. If you know what that is, can you leave me a comment below? Terri G. needs help in this area.

We interrupt this review for a short love story:

I haven't discussed this much here, but my love story could be called "The Wendy's drive through gal is star struck for the wanna be earthy crunchy man, who eats for nutrition, not taste". But since I do all of the cooking, he has remained a wanna-be for years. He has lovingly tried to invite me over to his way of eating, but I resisted. I also found created fellow compatriots. One of Paperboy's first temper tantrums occurred driving around the rotary passing a Wendy's crying for "gicken". The Gman was horrified, not about the temper tantrum, but about the processed chicken that I fed the boys while he was at work. I slowly started changing, but it's taken almost 20 years.

This curriculum is the answer to the Gman's prayers. He has always been interested in eating for nutrition. This book has done what I as a mother could not. It's given me knowledge, I knew my kids should eat their greens and fruits, but not all of the why's behind it. We knew the omega oils were a must for brain function, but now we can say we are eating cantaloupe to improve our immune system.

Nutrition 101 contains basic information and fascinating details about the needs of our bodies. The authors did a wonderful job of making learning fun. I felt it lends itself well to be used as a middle school biology unit. I love the way they break down the 12 body systems units into 6 units. Each chapter highlights a system of the body and the nutrition that it needs.
This curriculum includes:

• food charts
• hands on activities
• scientific information with detailed illustrations
• biblical references
• recipes
• review questions
• fun facts
• helpful charts

You also can also read other crew members reviews here. If my glowing review has not convinced you to purchase this, you may want to hear more about this directly from one of the authors, Sera Johnson.  

If you like to dabble in great nutrition, join me, enter your email address:


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I have a few grocery items that I am fiercely brand loyal to. These are things that, when they go on sale, I always stock up. If they offer a coupon in the paper, I will shamelessly ask my friends if they can give me their extra coupons. I already love and buy the products, but I want to pay the least amount possible for them.

One way to acquire coupons for a specific item is to let the company know how much you love them. If you are on Facebook, sometimes, if you like them, you can get coupons or deals. I'm not, so I go right to the company. I send them an email and even include that I am looking for coupons, samples or free items. See example below, perhaps a slight exaggeration.

Dear Luscious Cookie Company: I am madly in love with your chocolate-covered dreamy peanut butter cookies. In fact, I dream about them every night. Last night, I dreamed I was stuck on  a desert island with a year's supply of your cookies. I didn't even miss civilization and when a cruise ship offered me passage home, I refused. I told the captain, "There is nothing else in life I desire and you can't tempt me to leave these delicious cookies. Thanks, but no thanks, for the ride home."

Forever Yours, Cookie          

p.s. A coupon would be appreciated.

If love letter writing is not your style, you can always give them a call. Check the side of the package, usually they have a toll free number.  Most of time in less than a week after my phone call, my mailbox has a reply with coupons. Before the holidays, I was particularly happy with a product, so I let them know by email and I told them I was going to blog about their cookies. They sent me a coupon for free cookies. Honestly, I've wanted to blog about this company anyways, because they have saved me enormous amounts of aggravation.

How did they do that?

I have a child that is on a special diet. The Feingold diet is simply a way to eliminate additives and preservatives from his diet.  When we are strictly adhering to this diet, everyone is happy. This is pretty easy to do until the holiday season begins. Most convenience food are loaded with preservatives. There are endless gatherings, where food is needed. Foods that Little Guy can eat. Sweets. Let's face it, he won't always grab the cucumbers and carrot sticks at the parties. Like me, he must have chocolate!

And of course, I tend to procrastinate. I am an Olympian Gold Medalist at this sport. You mean I need two dozen cookies in 1/2 hour? Sure no problem.

 This where the immaculate baking company comes in. They make pre-made cookie dough without all of the additives. I can have quick easy delicious homemade cookies whenever the need arises.  They also make some cinnamon rolls in a can.  I can't try them, because, once I know how delicious they are, I won't be the same again. I'm sticking to the cookies. Chocolate chunk, oatmeal raisin, sugar cookie, gingerbread spice, peppermint chocolate and triple chocolate. It's as easy as one, two, three.

One

Two, sorry about the flash.

Three

Send a love letter to one of your favorite companies and it can be as easy as one, two, free!

If you know a company that answers their love letters with coupons, let me know in the comments.

If you experience joy in
 thrift, enter your email address:


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I welcome reader comments with open arms. I also understand if you aren't the commenting or hugging type of person, you can drop me an email at accidentallyhomeschooling@gmail.com.

This means Debra from Footprints in the Butter is the winner of a signed copy of Bottega and a box of Lemon Pepper Panko crispy bread crumbs courtesy of MyBlogSpark. Congratulations! 




I hope Debra enjoys Panko as much as we did. If you didn't win, don't cry in your soggy bread crumbs. Stop by here and get a coupon for $1.00 off any Progresso Panko mix.








I welcome reader comments with open arms. I also understand if you aren't the commenting or hugging type of person, you can drop me an email at accidentallyhomeschooling@gmail.com.

This giveaway is closed, look for more in the future!

Saving money is near and dear to my heart. Do you remember my long-winded post about thrift here? It's one where I ramble on and on about winning contests. I am pleased to host a giveaway of a product that I just tried for free. The cool thing is; someone else is going to get something for free. See thrift in action. I will choose the winner on Monday, November 8th. The chef´s secret is out - panko is in! A longtime secret of Japanese cuisine, panko is now a pantry staple for creating perfect crispiness in any dish. This October, Lemon Pepper will join the ranks of Progresso´s line of panko bread crumbs, which includes Original and Italian flavors.

Whether frying, baking or broiling, this culinary superstar adds a flavorful crunch to create simple, savory recipes. Made from the soft, tender centers of the bread, Progresso Lemon Pepper Panko combines the perfect crunch with effortless flavor to give any dish that extra punch. The large, flaky crumb has a coarser texture than traditional bread crumbs, delivering a lighter, crunchier coating or topping. A chef known for his emphasis on creating delicious dishes with fresh, premium ingredients, Chef Michael Chiarello uses panko as his go-to bread crumb for a crunch that won´t quit. An Emmy-award winning TV chef and cookbook author, Chef Chiarello is the tastemaker behind Bottega Napa Valley Restaurant, NapaStyle and Chiarello Family Vineyards, and appears on The Cooking Channel and Top Chef Masters only on Bravo. Chef Chiarello is helping cooks everywhere use Progresso´s panko to make flavorful, flawless recipes including Crispy Seafood Salad, Mama Chiarello's Stuffed Eggplant and Turkey Scallopini and Squash Ravioli with Cranberry Brown Butter. More thrift...online coupons. Visit the Progresso website for additional recipes, tips for cooking with panko, video and a coupon for $1 off any panko flavor.  My experience with Progresso lemon pepper panko: I sliced fresh cod into 4-inch chunks and dipped them in a beaten egg. Then coated the fish in a bowl of panko crumbs. The egg worked wonders in keeping the moisture in, and coating the fish with panko.  It is delicious, crunchy on the outside without being deep fried. I must warn you. Don't overdo it. My little ones didn't share my zeal for the lemon pepper flavor. It was very peppery. For the boys, I will try the plain panko. It will be like eating a healthy fish stick. You can experience panko, too. My Blogspark has offered a panko gift set for one of my readers. The winner will receive a gift pack including one package of Progresso Lemon Pepper Panko and an autographed copy of chef Chiarello´s new cookbook: Michael Chiarello´s Bottega. I have a copy of this cookbook and the pictures are fabulous. How to enter, each separate comment is worth 1 entry: First of all follow me or let me know how if have been faithfully following me. Tell me what type of dish you would create with Lemon Pepper Panko. Subscribe to my blog with my new little feedburner thingy at the top right hand corner. Tweet about this giveaway while  adding the hashtag #myblogspark Tell me how much you despise soggy breadcrumbs.

I welcome reader comments with open arms. I also understand if you aren't the commenting or hugging type of person, you can drop me an email at accidentallyhomeschooling@gmail.com.

Here comes the song...........Don't you just love a bargain?  

Yes, I found myself in the Christmas Tree Shop scouring the aisles for all things Bento, after a tip from my buddy Christina, who already serves pretty food to her boys.

I was excited to find a plain 2 tier container for a mere $1.29. 

It could hold a sandwich and it had 3 different compartments. 

Tightwad Wisdom Quote # 573...When something costs less
 than the price of a cup of coffee, unless you are at a thrift shop, chances are it is not worth much.

 I ignored my urge to rip open the package and really check it out. 

I bought two.

Bento here I come!

I assembled my tools. Note the wax paper at the top. I showed the Gman my new Bento box. He said "What about the BPA's?" You know the plastic strong chemical off gases that poison our kids? I smelled the box, they were probably there. I'll fix that, I put the box in the dishwasher. The smell faded a little, the box warped some more. I decided to line the box with wax paper. I must protect LittleGuy from the chemicals.

Inside of my warped box was a peanut-butter and ricemello fluff sandwich, two carrots, a homemade  chocolate cookie(Feingold approved), Annie's Cheddar Bunnies, and  English cucumber slices.

This is the Bento before I closed it. I am going to have to work on stuffing them or finding fillers. I did show LittleGuy what it is supposed to look like.  After I had shut it and reopened it, this is what it looked like.

 I had cut the monster's smile from a cucumber slice and used a straw to cut the eyes out. This left me with a small alien face, I tried him on the cookie, not so cute. 

 I tucked him in with the two dinosaurs.

My quick take on Bento. Yes, I will keep working on it. No, it doesn't take too long to pack. I spent about 10 minutes making and taking the pictures. But I may remain a rookie for a while and I am o.k. with that.

 After all, I am accidental homeschooling mom. 

Failures challenge me. 

How about you?

Have you tried something new lately?

I welcome reader comments with open arms. I also understand if you aren't the commenting or hugging type of person, you can drop me an email at accidentallyhomeschooling@gmail.com.

Yesterday, I received one of those comments from a fellow blogger. You know the ones that you want to print, frame and display in your messy kitchen. She appreciated my blog and my style of writing. I had to go peek at her blog and see what kind of person enjoys my long-winded, tangent-filled blogs. I have just learned from an expert blogger, that tangents are a blogger no-no. I should be more precise and to the point. Oh yeah, what was my point?


I did what all new bloggers do. I checked out her profile and visited her blog. I was captivated by her photos. They were of food. Pretty food. Children's food. Food that may not get thrown out. Little animals, that my boys would thoroughly enjoy eating the heads off first and then the arms. Food that won't get wasted. Now this my kind of food. Do you know the average American family throws out 20% of their food? I was told that by my 12 year-old, but I believe it.




You can find more Bentos here. Look for some upcoming blogs about bento. I can see myself now. I know it's 2:00 and you are hungry, but I am just finishing up your cheese shaped like R2D2. Oh, my mind is swirling. How about you, have you ever created one of these cute lunches or bought one?


Have a great weekend and don't forget the point of this blog. Enter this fun give-away and if you win, send it to me.




I welcome reader comments with open arms. I also understand if you aren't the commenting or hugging type of person, you can drop me an email at accidentallyhomeschooling@gmail.com.

After 5 Question Friday a few weeks ago, I realized most people take their coffee way more seriously than I do. But if money were no object, I would seriously drink a mocha coffee Coolatta made with milk and with whipped cream every day of my life. Let's go down memory lane...There was a time when statue man was an employee of Dunkin' Donuts. He was in high school and was perfectly capable of walking the short 5 minute walk home. But that was not what happened. I spent 10 minutes loading 2 toddlers into car seats made for Alcatraz residents. Then I drove the short 1 minute ride to pick him up. Why? No, it wasn't raining. Did this child have a broken leg? No, he was a perfectly healthy baseball player. Was I coddling this little boy? Of course not, this is the kid that didn't like the conditions at home, so he joined the Marine corps. I was coddling myself. Each time I picked him up, he had in his hands a large hazelnut coffee with extra cream just for me. You know, a little coffee with that cream. Oh, I was addicted. This went on for too many afternoons. Despite my daily four mile walks with my neighbor, I wondered why the dryer was shrinking all of my clothes. I also wondered why I couldn't fall asleep at night. I wondered if I could get a job there. Eventually the job ended and I had to go cold turkey off the afternoon java. I survived the withdrawals and haven't forced MattyG to apply there yet. One day, I made the mistake of tasting a Mocha Coffee Coolatta. I was in a quandary. I fell in love with them. But I also had this weird nagging feeling that paying over $3.00 for a coffee was just a poor investment not frugal. I really am a frugal person in most areas. When I indulged, I really felt bad knowing how hard my honey worked all day and he took his coffee in a mug from home. Where was I? I have a recipe to share. An Aggressive Thrift Recipe SSSHHHH I have a secret...I have learned the thrifty skill of making homemade coffee coolattas at a very reasonable price. Yes, I created this myself. It was not taken from another blogger. I found these at my local Bj's Wholesale Club, near the hot chocolate. They come as a 2 pack of 32 oz. for $1.99. I went to my freezer, which at any given moment has about 5 containers of Breyer's Ice Cream. (I am not a sales representative for Breyers, but our love affair has been going on for way too long, please don't tell the Gman.) Most of their ice cream is is made up of only a few ingredients. For example the vanilla has only 5 ingredients. I am not an earthy crunchy, but I am the food Nazi. The less artificial flavoring in a product, the more likely I am to be loyal to it. Some of my family is on the Feingold diet and this ice cream works for us.

Molly’s Money-Saving Digest:
Evaluate, Prioritize, Organize
January 2010


I read this monthly e-magazine by Molly Green in one sitting. I am a magazine lover, I love to handle them, I keep them in my car for stolen moments waiting for children. I am guilty of hoarding them. This is my first experience ever reading a magazine-e book style. After tweaking the page size and inadvertently scrolling to the end 12 times, I got the hang of it. Just the subtitle appealed to me. I love reading about organizing, I only slightly enjoy doing it.

". . . the first lesson to learn in the happy art of making home happy,
is to be content with simple and common things.
The farther you go from the everyday paths of life in search of happiness,
the less likely you are to find it.
A thankful heart makes the best dinner, a pleasant voice is the best music,
a kind look is a more beautiful picture than was ever painted by any masters, old or new.
These are things that all can command.
They can be had for the humblest home without money and without price."1