Just Doing My Best » Just My Best Picks – Reviews

Menu Planning – Just My Best Pick

Heather — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:21:24 +0000

I love cooking on a whim. Sometimes on the weekends, I like to find a new recipe, run to the store for the ingredients and prepare it that day. However this is not feasible most of the time and I must have a dinner plan laid out. Dawn at Menu for the Week says, “The hardest part of dinner is not the cooking. It starts with deciding what to have and figuring out what we need.”

Dawn let me try her menu planning service and I am very impressed! She plans five days worth of dinners and puts them in a printable format for her readers. The dinners are family and budget friendly. One of my favorite aspects of her weekly menus is how crisp and clean they look which makes them easy to read. I love using recipes with photos and her plan includes several each week.

Her recipes, which use easy to find ingredients, have a helpful comment prior to each one. She always tops off the weekly recipe file with a brunch and a dessert recipe – some of which are new to me and sound AMAZING- as well as a shopping list.

Once you are a member of her site, you can access the online cookbook to find “that casserole I made a few weeks ago, but now can’t find the recipe” as well as previous week’s menus.

Dawn offers a free weekly trial at MenufortheWeek.com so you can see what I’m talking about and you can also request a sample menu. The six month membership is $25. Ladies, this might be something to put on your Christmas list for your guy, its a win/win. Your job is made easier and he will love the good food! This service could also be a perfect gift for a new mom who wants to cook but feels a little overwhelmed, as a housewarming gift or for the hard to buy for person at Christmas.

Because of Dawn’s budget and family friendly ideas, recipes and menus, she is one of My Best Picks.

You can visit her at MenufortheWeek.com.

Earning Extra Money for Christmas

Heather — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:15:12 +0000

I consider myself a very skeptical person. I think carefully about what my family is involved in as well as what I promote here on Just Doing My Best. Because of that, I have taken the time to research the following suggestions before promoting them to you. I have personally signed up with the following companies so I can accurately share with you the pros and cons of each. Long story short, the company’s programs mentioned below work, I love them and can recommend them to you.

Now for the fun stuff:

I have earned a nice little Christmas savings in just the past couple months with SwagBucks and Ebates. I have some Amazon Gift Cards ready to use that I earned at Swagbucks and a little balance on a virtual credit card through Ebates.

SwagBucks is a search engine that will reward you with points. The points then convert to merchandise, PayPal cash, gift cards and more. The benefit is you can earn these points simply by searching the web as you normally do. There is no fee associated with Swagbucks; you only need to register. The cons are: the search results can sometimes be limited to larger name websites as opposed to smaller blogs. However, this is not always the case. I usually search first through SwagBucks and then through another search engine if I need even more results. SwagBucks usually gives the search results I need. You will not receive points for every search. The second con is it can take a while to earn points, depending on how much you search or how you use the website. If you are interested in learning all the ropes of their program, you can certainly accumulate many points.

Ebates is a portal that you click through before shopping at your usual big box online stores. When you click through the portal, you are given a tracking number that will provide for cash back on that purchase. I have earned over $50 by clicking through Ebates on online purchases that I was going to make anyway. The pros are its incredibly easy to use, no fees associated, and there is a huge list of stores in their program. The cash back, of course, is the best benefit.

I really cannot find any cons. I have had 2 issues with a Sephora purchase not being credited back to me, but they provided contact info and got back with me on what to send them to receive the proper credit. Also, not a con but important to know- when you sign up, Ebates will place $5 in your account. When you make your first purchase, if its within 90 days of signing up, it will be yours on their next pay out day.

To sign up, click here for Ebates and here for SwagBucks or any of the grey/brown company names listed above.

These two programs have worked beautifully for me and I hope you like them as well! I am currently checking out a few other rewarding programs online and if they work for me, I will be sharing them with you.

This post has been linked to:

Works for Me Wednesday hosted by We Are THAT Family

Frugal Friday by Life as Mom

Smart Food Review and Giveaway

Heather — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:50:56 +0000

Recently, my family had the opportunity to try Frito Lay’s new snack, Smart Food Popcorn Clusters. When I realized we would be sampling the Cranberry Almond, I had my doubts. Cranberries are not on my list of favorite snack foods, but I’m glad I gave it a shot. We all loved them, cranberries and all! One child said they reminded him of Captain Crunch cereal. Not bad, considering the popcorn clusters contain 20% of the day’s recommended calcium and 5 grams of fiber with only 120 calories. The nice amount of fiber would explain why my daughter thinks these are as filling as a sandwich.

We found ourselves reaching for the Smart Food when hunger set in mid-afternoon and the children considered them a “goodie” when the gorgeous snack bag accompanied their lunch. (Yes, I know it’s weird to consider a snack bag gorgeous, but there is something about the colors and little swirlys on the bag that I just love.) I snickered inside when the children asked for this high fiber and calcium laden snack. Of course, they were allowed to have it and I won the “nice mom” award for the day.

To make the most of this snack, health wise and financially, combine coupons and store sales in addition to watching for this product at warehouse stores. I’m not sure if the Smart Food will be in warehouse stores, but when I see them at my Costco, I will be stocking up.

Because Smart Food Popcorn Clusters sneak in fiber and calcium while my children think they are getting a treat, they are my newest addition to Just My Best Picks.

Frito Lay would like to send one of my readers several bags of Smart Food popcorn clusters.

Entering is simple with three different options. You can do any or all three options.

Leave a comment telling me what quick snacks your family enjoys.
Blog about this giveaway and leave me a comment with the link to your post.
Subscribe to my RSS feed and leave a comment letting me know you subscribed.

The giveaway will be open until 11 pm(eastern) July 11, 2009. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and will be notified by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond until a new winner is chosen.

This post has been linked to:

Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom

BlogSweeps

Country Bob’s All-Purpose Sauce – Husband Approved

Heather — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:29:53 +0000

Just in time for grilling season, I would like to introduce you to my husband’s favorite grilling ingredient, aside from the beef, of course. A while back, we tried a bottle of Country Bob’s All-Purpose sauce and he immediately fell in love with it. While he is not a picky eater, it is rare for him to actually comment on a specific food or condiment. The All-Purpose Sauce is a cross between Heinz 57, A-1, and barbecue sauce, a little tangy and a little sweet. Even writing about it, my mouth is watering. Good stuff!

We have used the sauce for grilling and marinades and I recently tried one of the recipes provided by the company. I fixed the Corn Pone Pie and while I’m still not sure what a Pone is, I know the casserole was a big hit with my family. In all honesty though, I think one could use a little less sauce in the casserole and it would still be good. I could not find the recipe on their website now, but the other beef entrees looked very husband friendly.

I want to support this company with a great review because they are a Christian company that is making a fantastic and affordable product. I recently saw it at Walmart for $2.12, though price will vary by region. This is one item that must stay stocked in my pantry; we’ve actually gone through more than a couple bottles. Country Bob’s is generously offering you you to try the All Purpose Sauce on them. They are offering a free bottle with sign up at their website.

Country Bob’s All-Purpose Sauce is husband approved and my latest addition to Just My Best Picks.

(Because this sauce worked for my family and was such a hit, this post is being linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.)

Frugal Family Fun – Family Games

Heather — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:46:00 +0000

Now that my children are in their pre-teen years, games are becoming even more fun to play. I no longer strategically let the children win, but rather fight to win so I can maintain my mom credibility. If you have competitive sons or daughters, you know what I mean.

Games are one of the most frugal activities for the family. We usually have several in our closets that could be dusted off or can sometimes find gently used ones in used bookstores and consignment shops. Even if you buy a new game, games are relatively inexpensive and can be played over and over.

If you are in the market for a new, high quality, low price game, keep reading because two lucky readers will win one from Out of the Box Publications. My children and I played two of their games- My Word and Easy Come Easy Go – over Spring Break. We loved them! In fact, I’m hoping to add a few more of their games to our collection.

Easy Come Easy Go is for intended for ages 8-adult. The concept reminds me of Yahtzee, except easier to play, especially for younger children. The rules were easy to follow and the time needed to play the game was very reasonable. As busy parents, it’s sometimes hard to carve out 1-2 hours for longer games, but this one was only 30 minutes. My daughter thought it was a “fun game and liked the pictures on the prize cards.” She also liked the pace and strategy. My son enjoyed it, though he did not have any glowing compliments.

I was most impressed with the quality of the game. The best part of Easy Come Easy Go, was the cushioned cup for the dice. The shaking and rolling of the dice was not loud and annoying. The prize cards are made of a thick cardboard that would ensure years of play. I was surprised to see this game is less than $10.

The next one we reviewed was My Word. This game is intended for ages 7-adult and also took about 30 minutes to play. The dealer lays down letter cards one at a time and all of the players search for words from the cards that the dealer is laying down. The player who sees a word first, shouts it out and keeps those cards. The player with the most cards, wins. This was our unanimous favorite and I will let my children’s comments on the game give you an idea about our opinion.

“It makes you think.”
“It’s educational and you have to look really fast and pay attention.”
“You have to have quick reflexes and it’s good for spelling.”
“It was really, really cool and fun.”

My Word has easy to follow rules and is suited well to multi-level players. It comes in a compact tin box that makes it perfect for travel. This is the kind of game I would want on a rainy day, if stuck in a hotel room or camper. I noticed that they even have free printable score sheets for this game on their website. This game is also less than $10.

We enjoyed our time playing games together and Out Of the Box Publications would like you to enjoy family game time also.

If you would like to win either, Easy Come Easy Go or My Word, complete any or all of the options below. Each option will gain you a separate entry.

Go to the Out of the Box Publications site and see which game is your favorite. They offer MANY and some of them are great for educators and homeschoolers. Come back here and leave a comment telling me which you liked the best.
Leave a comment telling me how your family enjoys Frugal Family Fun.
Either follow me on the sidebar or subscribe to the RSS feed (top right corner) and leave a comment telling me that you did.
Blog about this giveaway, linking back to Just Doing My Best. Come back here and leave me a comment that you blogged with your URL, so I can visit you too.

Comments will close at 3 pm on Friday, April 10. Two winners will be chosen by a random number generator. Be sure to leave an email so I can contact you or a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck!

Because of the high quality, high educational value, and low prices, games by Out of the Box Publications are the newest addition to Just My Best Picks.

This post is linked to:

Frugal Fridays by Life As Mom.

Freebies 4 Mom

Thanks Lands’ End

Heather — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:03:00 +0000

A few days ago I attended Blissdom ‘09. For those who may not be aware, Blissdom is a blogging conference sponsored by Blissfully Domestic and One2One Network. One of the many perks of attending the conference was the sponsor provided swag.

Lands’ End was overly generous in providing these great canvas totes. When I returned home, even my young daughter noticed the quality. In her words, “it will last forever because it’s so heavy.” Maybe not forever, but I am very impressed with it. Inside, you will find pockets surrounding the perimeter and a metal clip on an attached strap to prevent items like keys from disappearing into the bottom of the bag. There is also an outer pocket for the items you need to keep handy. I love the pink straps, but if pink isn’t you, there are about 15 other colors to choose from.

While I am a huge bargain hunter and this bag is not what would typically be considered a bargain price, it is definitely a good and reasonable price. I acknowledge there are times to spend a little more for quality that will last and this bag fits that description. Check out their website as they seem to have sales quite often and even have an Overstock and Reduced section.

The Lands’ End Canvas Tote is my first pick for the new feature here at Just Doing My Best called Just My Best Picks.