Going gluten-free? Its easier then it looks!

Remember I said this blog is all about how we are changing different parts of our life to become more thrifty and healthier? Well this might be the biggest change we have implemented so far.

We are no longer eating food that contains gluten in it. Thats right people! No gluten! Let me tell you... gluten is in EVERYTHING! Well not everything... almost everything pre-made, including sauces. This might not be a move for your family yet or ever for that matter. But I truly believe it is a great change for my family. We all feel so different!

It was tricky for the first week but is getting easier every week that passes. I glance at the products list of ingredients in the grocery stores (the very few food items now that we purchase that are pre-made).

Here is a list of common ingredients/foods that are other names for Gluten:

wheat spelt kamut triticale semolina(durum wheat) farina  einkorn  bulgar  couscous  graham  modified wheat starch  wheat starch  wheat germ  wheat bran  whole wheat cracked wheat  cake flour matzo flour matzo meal  rye  barley malt flavouring

This change has benefited me the most as I no longer feel bloated after every meal or get diarrhea... TMI? Sorry! My future hubby (sheesh I LOVE saying that!) felt lethargic and full of gas for the first week and now has more energy then ever. 

There are sooo many gluten free options out there too now. We went to our favourite grocery stores to check out our options. There is pasta, breads, cupcakes, (not that we eat much of any of that... but just in case... and sauce mixes all GF!

Ok here are my 2 FAVOURITE Gluten Free recipes that no one would ever know are missing gluten!

Banana Bread from Nature Moms Blog

I use my Vitamix to blend almonds into almond flour. Its our cookies favourite type of banana bread now! Yay!

The second delectable food is Quinoa Brownies! I promise no one would know it has quinoa in it. I made it with our little one and didn't tell my sister, her hubby and my man until after they ate it. None of them believed us until we showed them the mess in the kitchen :) Whoops...

I didn't realize how many meals we make at home already that are gluten free. We have never ate much pasta or bread so that isn't missed much. Our grocery shopping has changed completely from going down every isle to walking around the veggie and fruit section for the longest part of our grocery time then to meats (which we are even eating less of these days).

This has made us eat at home more often and try different foods. It has also lead us to eating more sushi (which I will never complain about!)

We have been doing this for a whole month now and it is a welcomed change as it has decreased our food budget and making both of us feel healthier and not bogged down.

Happy thrifty healthy and as always crunchy living!

Girls leggings from moms stretchy pants

Another DIY thrifty project! Sewing and most importantly Upcycling! I just saved myself $20! Which is not much... but if you keep adding that $20 over and over again it adds up... right? My little cookie is not much of a jeans wearer... When she picks out her clothing the bottom part is always leggings! Did you know even at Walmart little girl leggings are $10! Common! Its the tiniest bit of fabric... how can it be that much? I can buy a meter of fabric for $2!... Wait, thats not a bad idea...

I went to the mall and they have adult leggings in every colour you could imagine on sale! Ahem, Urban Planet, Thank you! They were $2 each! So I purchased... a few...

Not for me of course... well except the black ones... and the brown ones... and the grey ones... but the other colours were for another project...

Project leggings for our little cookie!

She is a size 6-7ish depending on the store, but 7 years old.

I found the tutorial here.

I laid down her own leggings (that fit her) folded one leg into the other onto the newly purchased leggings and cut around them leaving 1/4 inch for sewing. I made 2 sets of little girl leggings from each pair of purchased pants! That means I spent $1 on her leggings. To top it off I unpicked the waistband from the purchased leggings and sewed them right into her new ones! I have also made her leggings out of stretchy pants that don't fit me anymore. Yes, that means FREE

Now when I ask her to get dressed in the morning, the first thing she pulls out is her NEW leggings! She now coordinates her shirts to match them too! Kids love handmade things from their parents! Try it out! You can't go wrong with this project!

Happy sewing and up cycling

How to clean an oven naturally... after a much needed clean!

Thats right, its time to clean the oven. Its getting cold out and no one wants to go outside in the rain. Why not clean your oven? BEFORE it starts on fire... Thats right, I said fire...

My girly friend came over the other night with pizza. It was this giant pizza, with tomatoes spinach and lots of cheese! (I know, not part of my healthy choices)... anyways... I heated up the oven and we started our much needed girly chat at the table in the kitchen.

I looked over at the oven and smoke was coming out of the elements. My thought, "this cannot be good." Seconds later smoke was billowing out of the sides of the door of the oven... "Ok, definitely NOT good!" I opened the oven to see how bad the damage was and flames flew out at me! (I am skipping the ridiculous conversation my friend and I had or the amount of time we let the fire continue) I quickly closed the oven door, grabbed my giant container of baking soda (and I mean GIANT) and emptied it into the oven covering the flames. Surprisingly, it wasn't enough to put the fire out so I grabbed my extra large container of flour, and started scooping handfuls of it throwing it in the oven... Blast! What a MESS!!! Yes, we do have a fire extinguisher... but I was told it makes a real mess... I don't think it can be messier then this...

Baking soda and flour was EVERYWHERE!

The worst part, We didn't even get to put our pizza in the oven to cook... and my goodness were we both sooooooo hungry!!!

 Until I realized I have a mini oven. We sliced up the pizza and put a couple slices in there at a time... The first round. Burnt. Black on the bottom...

 Anyways... back to my oven. I told you this whole using the oven and cooking was new to me and now I realize how dirty it gets when you use it so often. The oven fire was caused from my first homemade turkey! I left it for 3 days dreading the day I will clean it up. Not only because it was a HUGE mess but I was told and researched how bad using an oven cleaner was for your health... Did you know they suggest a mask and opening all windows and doors and the use of a fan while using oven cleaner? Yikes. Oven cleaner is NOT good stuff... Good to know. It is also soooo expensive. At my grocery store it cost $20... much too much for a part-time worker! Especially when I can do the same job using non-toxic chemicals for free! Yay to being Thrifty!

So I looked up what our people of the past used to clean the ovens. Good ol' arm and hammer baking soda, white vinegar and lemon! Best inventions ever! I obviously had to pick some more up as I used my other stuff in the fire...
I first took a rag and wiped up the stuff that created the fire. Turkey grease from Thanksgiving!
Then I dusted the baking soda all over the oven.
Next I grabbed an old spray bottle and poured vinegar in it. I sprayed the vinegar all over the baking soda and let it fuzz and sit for 2 hours. This loosened up the grime I couldn't remove with the rag. 2 hours later I grabbed my scrubby that has no metals and scrubbed the heck outta the oven. It really wasn't that much work! My trusty natural cleaners did most of the work!

 I took a pic of my oven door half cleaned. I just wanted to show you how it just came off with a little elbow grease. Look how dirty this oven is...

I tackled this next... 

Yay a  clean oven door! By the way, did you know your oven door comes off of most models? I didn't until I accidentally almost pulled it off... Good to know.

 This is my cleanish oven! I know there is still grime on it but it looks worse in the picture then in real life. Promise!

And from  now on I am using this tinfoil liner I bought from the dollar store (but I am sure you could lay tinfoil down...

I put the door back on, cut the lemon in half covered them in water and baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 min. The leftover grease comes off with a rag after the oven cools enough for you to wipe.
And your home is left with that scrump citrus smell!

First Sewing Project

This one beautiful morning I woke up and decided I wanted a sewing machine. So what did I do? Researched like I have never researched before! I compared prices to what I thought I could/would use my sewing machine for and hoped I made the right decision. I walked into Walmart where they had an incredible deal on Singer Fashion Mate sewing machine and starter kit. (I need thread, pins, measuring tape and seam ripper after all don't I?)

I walked out of the store pondering all the amazing items I would create thanks to online tutorials, Pinterest and a little girl that needs some hemming done.

I got home so excited to create my first project... Until I realized I didn't buy any fabric... So off to the fabric store I went. Do you people know how giant Fabricland is??? It looks tiny from the outside!!! There are giant piles and sections of fabric that have signs sticking out of them with words like Polyester, Nylon, Silk and Acrylic. I started turning around in circles... What the heck do these mean? What is the difference in the fabrics? What kind do I need to make a bag that holds fabric? Hmmm... It was completly overwhelming until.... I asked someone.

First step in buying fabric? ASK SOMEONE, apparently they know all!
Did you know that there is a little section at the back of most fabric stores that have hundreds of colors and types of fabrics that are on a HUGE SALE?!

I bought 4 different types of fabric. One was 2 meters, the other 3 were a meter each. I paid a whopping  $14 for all the fabric! What a steal!

 So home again I went. I felt unstoppable! Until I started sewing my first project....

It was a bag. I wanted a really big beach bag to hold all my fabric! I sewed it inside out, made the bag outrageously GIANT and the handles much too long. This was the BEST mistake I could have made! What? Best mistake? Ruining a bag? I remembered techniques back from high school. So here are some tips for beginners without a pattern and a great idea in your head.

1. Right sides together
2. Fold the outside seam under twice before sewing or else the fabric might fray
3. Measure both sides if your folding so the bag isn't lopsided... ex. if your measuring a square the fabric might not have been cut exactly straight...
4. Hold the bag up to you to imagine where the handles go. I put mine on sideways...

 Want to see my first Project? I ended up ripping out many seams and re sewing the handles on.

Happy Sewing Friends!