Cookbooks & More plus enter to win a groceries gift card

Congrats to Gabriela Garcia!

She is the winner of the last giveaway for September.

Please call Chris Ward to claim your prize.

Thank you for your comments!

Having a variety of cookbooks in your home is a fun prospect.  However, we don’t always have
a lot of time during the week to search randomly through cookbooks for ideas. 

Putting together your own homemade cookbook, filled with family favorites, can be fun and an
easy way to answer that age old question "what’s for dinner?"

Creating a family cookbook can be as simple as buying a recipe book in which to write, and/or using online tools to gather, organize and publish printed versions of your favorite family recipes.  Whichever way you choose,  the whole family can be involved.  Challenging your children to add to THEIR cookbook will help them become more involved in easy & healthy meal planning, and you will be able to provide meals that your family loves.

Here is a list of online resources to help you get started.

Click here for a list of cookbooks and family meal planning ideas available @ the Weber County Library.

What are your favorite Family Meals?

Post your favorite family recipe in the comments to Be Entered to Win a Groceries Gift Card!

Must be a Weber County Employee to Win

Include your name and department in your comment

Saving Money on your Family Meals PLUS Enter to Win a Grocery Store Gift-Card!

We've learned why family meals are important, steps to meal planning, and tricks to get meals on the table quicker. Let's now learn ways to save on those family meals!

Have you noticed your grocery bill rising lately? Grocery store prices have jumped by 3% in the last year, with even higher spike for staples such as dairy and beef. As a result, even if your purchasing habits haven't changed, your grocery bill is likely going up. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American family spent $4,000 per year on groceries in 2013, or about $330 each month.

There are lots of ways to keep your grocery bill on the lower end. The first is meal planning and shopping your own food supplies which we discussed HERE. Other great ways to keep your grocery bill in check include:

Printable Coupons: It's not necessary to subscribe to a newspaper to access high value coupons. There are several coupons available to print or link to a grocery loyalty card.

• coupons.com
• smartsource.com
• redplum.com
• Smiths Food and Drug
• CVS
• Target Cartwheel

Want to increase the coupon savings? Sign up for a SwagBucks account and earn 10 points for every coupon you print and redeem. Savings on top of savings!

Stockpile Great Deals: If you stock up a little each week on the BEST deals, you will eventually have everything you need in your own "grocery store." Stock piling is not only an economical way to live, but gives you peace of mind and the satisfaction of knowing you are preparing your family for whatever hardships may come your way.

• DealsToMeals.com - Utah Based. Each week's grocery store deals are uploaded and then rated from "Buy Only if Needed" to "Great Deal!" You can create custom lists and then price match at Walmart to save time and money. 2 week FREE trial + $4.95 monthly subscription cost.

CashBack Rebates: The savings don't stop once you've checked out! There are several cash back programs you can access online or through your smart phone. Typically you'll have to hit a certain dollar amount before you can cash out but you're getting cash back for items you're already purchasing!

• Snap by Groupon - Browse through the different offers available and buy items from the Offer List at ANY store - not that some of the offers can be redeemed as many times as you'd like! Each offer's redemption limit is clearly noted on its details page. Then, just upload a photo of your entire receipt using the app or website within 2 days of purchase. When you account reaches $20, you can request payment under the 'My Account' page and select 'Cash out.'
• ibotta - You can unlock offers by completing various tasks, such as learning a fact or watching a short video. Then, search for offers in-store by scanning the barcode of items that are in your shopping cart. After making a purchase, you can submit a rebate by tapping on "redeem" for eligible items purchased. Then scan the product bar code and submit a picture of your receipt.
• Checkout 51 - Browse through the different offers available and buy items from the Offer List at ANY store. Upload a photo of your entire receipt using the app or website (it is recommended that you upload your receipt immediately after purchase since there are only limited quantities of offers available). When your account reaches $20, you can cash out and they'll mail you a check. Note that offers go live on Thursdays at 12AM in each time zone and they expire the following Wednesday at 11:59PM in each time zone. You must submit the receipts while the offers are live.
• SavingStar - View offers on your mobile app on online - there are often 100% cash back "surprise" freebies during the month. Then, use your registered card at checkout as your normally do. For receipt-scan stores, take a picture of your receipt and submit through the SavingStar app or website. Note that discounts are not received at checkout but will be posted in your account within 2-22 days depending on the store. In addition to cashing out your earnings using your bank account or PayPal, you can use your earnings to score Starbucks eGift Cards, AMC Theatres eGift Cards and iTunes Gift Codes.

How Do You Save Money on Family Meals?

Let us know in the comments and Be Entered to Win a Groceries Gift Card!

Must be a Weber County Employee to Win

Include your name and department in your comment

Healthy Fast Food PLUS Enter to Win a Groceries Gift-Card!

Congrats to Monica Dolan in the Assessor's Office!

She is the winner of the groceries gift card!

Is there such a thing as Healthy Fast Food? Yes and No! You can have a week of healthy meals put together quickly if you're willing to put in 1-2 hours of preparation time to make it happen! It just takes some planning in deciding what to cook and then committing to a few hours to make the food.

BREAKFAST. Prepare 2 or 3 big batch breakfast items. Oatmeal, boiled eggs, pancakes, waffles, breakfast sandwiches, quiche, muffins, fresh fruit and veggies. Oatmeal can be pre-cooked and in the fridge for busy mornings. It takes hardly any time to heat a bowl of oatmeal in the microwave. You can also throw some in storage containers or freezer bags and stick some in the freezer for later. Pancakes, waffles, muffins, and breakfast sandwiches can be made ahead of time and frozen individually. To thaw, microwave for 30 seconds (microwave times will vary, add increments of 20 seconds until heated through). 

MAKE A SALAD. Make a big salad and use whatever vegetables you have on hand so there is less food waste. Don't add tomatoes until just before serving because tomatoes can go soft very fast. A salad already prepared in the fridge can be eaten with meals as a side or can be packaged for lunches to take to school or work.

MAKE A SANDWICH. Start with one loaf of french bread, cut lengthwise creating a giant sub sandwich. Using your preferred lunch meat and sliced cheese, top the french bread. Don't add any condiments until you're ready to eat as it will make the bread soggy. Cut the loaf into individual sections. Smash the subs down slightly and tightly wrap in saran wrap removing as much air as possible. This will help the flavors fuse together and keep them fresh for days. Store in the fridge.

MAKE SIDE DISHES AHEAD OF TIME. Cook a large batch of rice to last the whole week. Boil noodles, once done, toss with olive oil and store in the fridge. You can then use different sauces on the noodles. Prep Produce. Pre-cut fruit for easy eating or to throw into a smoothie. Pre-cut vegetables can be added to rice, noodles, omelets, salad, etc. Cook several potatoes for easy baked potatoes throughout the week.

SNACKS. Have individual portions of yogurt, applesauce, and baggies with fruit and veggies ready to go. Stock to-go cheese like Babybels and string cheese. Create your own 100 calorie snacks by repackaging crackers, nuts, dried fruit into snack size Ziploc bags.

How about you?

Do you have certain foods cooked and ready in the fridge to help in making meals fast & easy?

Let us know in the comments and Be Entered to Win a Groceries Gift Card! (giveaway has ended)
Must be a Weber County Employee to Win
Include your name and department in your comment

Planning for Success PLUS Enter to Win a Groceries Gift-Card!

Congratulations to Chloe Kinney from the Library! 

She is the winner of the Groceries Gift Card!

We all know the phrase, "a little planning goes a long way" - and the concept applies to healthy living habits. Busy families are familiar with the day-to-day chaos called "life" and preparing healthy meals, on top of everything else, can feel overwhelming! Planning your meals can help alleviate some of that!

If you've never sat down and planned your meals you may not know how to start. To be successful, start small by planning one week's meals at a time. Once you have that down, try two weeks, three weeks, even a whole month or more! 

The simplest way to begin meal planning is to open the cabinets, fridge, freezer, pantry - wherever it is you store food and see what you have to work with. This quick strategy will help you determine what you have before you begin the planning process. It's also a good way to make sure you use items before they expire and see if you're running low on staples.

Brainstorm with family members different meals you enjoy, to create a list of options to choose from. This will also make grocery shopping easier as you can build a shopping list of ingredients to keep on hand. 

Once you have an idea of what you have stocked and what meals your family enjoys, write it down! You can use your smart phone or an old piece of notebook paper, but write it down. 

All that is left is shopping for ingredients you may need and deciding which day you're going to have Grandma's famous lasagna!

What are your tips for meal planning?

Let us know in the comments and Be Entered to Win a Groceries Gift Card! (giveaway has ended)
Must be a Weber County Employee to Win
Include your name and department in your comment