Holidays | Mindfully Frugal Mom

Earth Day Freebies and Deals – Earth Day 2013

April 18, 2013 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Earth Day is April 22. Here are some ways to “celebrate” the Earth and green living. Thanks to Mission to Save for rounding up these Earth Day freebies and deals.

Earth Day Freebies and Deals 2013

National Park Week – National Park week runs 4/20 – 4/28 and from 4/22- 4/26 the 401 national parks waive all entrance fees. See parks here.

The National Parks PBS Documentary Set + other Nat Geo Documentaries on sale at Amazon.

Amazon – From Eco-friendly house and beauty products to Energy Saving items, Amzon is like a one stop shop to make every day Earth Day.

Anthropologie - Several locations are hosting a children’s potting event on 4/21. Several events held on 4/18 and 4/20 as well. (Thanks The Frugal Mom)

Origins – $10 off $25 Origins.com purchase, plus Free Standard Shipping + a free sample at checkout, in celebration of Earth Day! Offer is valid from 6pm 4/22 – 6am 4/23 (gift sets excluded). Use Offer Code TENOFF at checkout. Please note: This year Origins is NOT sponsoring a Trade-in Event

Michael’s Arts & Crafts – 3 great Kid’s Club craft events, 4/6, 4/13, 4/20. And Upcycle your old t-shirt into trendy accessories on 4/20. More details here.

Pottery Barn Kids: Get a FREE packet of seeds from 4/20 – 4/22, while supplies last in store.

Caribou Coffee – Bring in a reusable cup on 4/22/13 and receive a FREE Coffee. Also, during April, for each new Like they receive on Facebook, Caribou will plant a fruit tree in Central or South America to help restore the earth and provide a source of food trading for the local communities. See details on both offers here.

Starbucks – bring in your own reusable mug, get it filled with coffee or tea for FREE! Call to verify participation.

Pottery Barn Kids: Get a FREE packet of seeds from 4/20 – 4/22, while supplies last in store.

Recyclebank – Earn over 500 points in April with the Eco Time Capsule. Read more about it here.

The Vintage Pearl – 50% of each Vintage Earth Charm necklace sold in April goes to to Blood:Water Mission, founded by music group Jars of Clay, who is working hard to overcome the HIV/AIDS and water crisis in Africa. See more about the necklace here.

Target -Sunday, 4/21, Target will give away 1.5 million reusable bags at stores across the country, as well as coupon books that offer over $40 in savings. 250,000 of the reusable bags, will also contain samples of sustainable products, including method Dish Soap, Annie’s Bunny Grahams, Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent and Burt’s Bees Moisturizing Cream. Target’s Earth Day giveaway encourages guests to take advantage of Target’s $0.05 per reusable bag discount.

Disney Store – On 4/22 receive a FREE Brave or Cars 2 Reusable Bag when you come in and recycle 5 plastic shopping bags. Call store to confirm participation.

Jo-Ann Fabric – During the Simple Sunday event on April 21, customers can create Ball Jar Herb Planters to celebrate Earth Day – a great project for crafters of all ages and skill levels. The Free event will last as long as supplies do, or until 3 p.m. And on Monday, the first 50 customers in the store on 4/22 will recieve a FREE tote bag.

Verde - FREE Verde Energy Audit App for iPad. With over 20,000 people using this tool to be more green, the average person learns how they can save $774.43 in electricity costs, or over 54%. Verde helps you find the best things in your home to update and become more energy efficient. Find out exactly how much money and environmental impact that you can save by upgrading to a new television, refrigerator, air conditioner or lighting.

Happy Earth Day App: An interactive song to sing along with, in celebration of Earth Day.

Living Locurto – Free printable Earth Day Bookmarks. Laminate them and give to your kiddos to pass out at school.

Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores – Call your local store to confirm, but most Lowe’s stores are either giving away free tomato seeds (starting NOW), or Free tree seedlings on April 22.

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The Best “Green” Easter Basket Fillers!

March 25, 2013 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Looking for some fun Easter basket goodies that you can feel good about gifting?

Here are some of my favorite picks:

Happy Easter, Curious George - $8.99

Plan Toys Set of 3 Wooden Mini Trucks - $9.06

PlanToys Plan Activity Impulse and Discovery Chicken Clicker - $5.99

Smithsonian Eco Dome Habitat with Triops - $26.08 — ok, it won’t fit in an Easter basket, but it’s really cool!

Seedling My Blackboard Roll Mat - $18.87

Seedling Design Your Own Super Hero Cape - $25.18

Green Toys Planting Kit (Colors May Vary)- $9.49

Veggie Sidewalk Chalk – $12.00

Looking for some candy?

YumEarth Organics Gummy Bears, 10 snack packs (7oz) - $4.62 – SO good.

You can also get YumEarth Naturals, Sour Jelly Beans which are a good jelly bean alternative.

Need some activities? The Natural Easter Egg Dying Kit ($18.00) is vegan and safe for babies, kids, and everyone!)

Wondering how “naturally” colored eggs turn out? Check out my food-based Easter Egg coloring experiment turned out here.

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Easter Egg Coloring – My Experiment using Natural Dyes

March 22, 2013 By Sarah 2 Comments

Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

To be honest, I’ve never been into the crafty aspect of many holidays. The food? Absolutely. But when it comes to anything remotely artsy, I usually drop the ball. This year, I thought, I’d finally experiment with some natural Easter Egg Dyes. My kids have both been sick for weeks, and they (and I!) needed a little pick me up. So we spent a morning seeing what colors we could make our eggs with what natural ingredients we had on hand.

First, you need some hard-boiled eggs. I like to use my favorite hardboiled egg technique here.

Next, mix up some coloring. We used:

Beet Juice (2 cups) + 2 tbsp vinegar
Curry Powder (1 tsp) + 2 cups water + 2 tsp vinegar
Turmeric (1 1/2 tsp) + 2 cups water + 2 tsp vinegar
Red Onion Skin, boiled in water, + splash vinegar

Natural Egg Dye

It’s really easy to use natural ingredients. We soaked our eggs for about 30 minutes in each mixture then laid them on a towel to dry. The turmeric definitely gave the most vibrant results.

Natural Easter Eggs

Overall, I think our results were good, not great. I wish I had tried blueberries to get a stronger purple or blue color. I’m lucky though, that my kids are young enough that they didn’t mind the lack of variety in colors we created. In fact, my son kept opening the refrigerator door “just to check” on his eggs.

Natural Dyed Easter Egg

What kind of natural dyes do you want to try with your eggs?

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Bunny Tails – Fun Spring Treat

March 13, 2013 By Sarah 2 Comments

Bunny Tails

I am the first one to admit that uber-cute holiday-specific treats aren’t exactly my thing. But now that I have two preschoolers, and they get such a kick out of those cutesy holiday-themed treats, well, I cave in.

If you’re looking for a spring- or Easter – themed dessert or classroom snack, these “bunny tails” fit the bill. This is not a healthy or natural recipe. This is purely a treat, full of refined sugar and other not-so-nice things. But man, they’re yummy!

And they’re no-bake — only about 20 minutes of hands-on time to make a full batch of these.

First, we need to whip up some rice krispies treats. But we’re going to mix it up a little with peanut butter!

1. Combine 1/2 cup light corn syrup and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan. Stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Add 1/2 cup peanut butter and stir until everything is melted and combined. Then add 3 cups Rice Krispies:

Bunny Tails

Mix the Rice Krispies in until they are thoroughly combined with the peanut butter mixture. Scoop out (using a cookie scoop) onto a piece of wax paper and let cool for 5 minutes:

bunny tail 2

Now here’s the trick: When they’re still warm but cool enough to handle, gently shape the rice krispie treats into balls. Put them on a cookie sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. This will make them easy to frost.

When the Rice Krispie balls are frozen, frost with your choice of vanilla frosting and sprinkle with shredded coconut. There you have it – fluffy, sweet, bunny tails.

Bunny Tails – Fun Spring Treat

Ingredients

For the balls:

1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
3 cups Rice Krispies

For Decorating:

Vanilla Frosting, any brand
1 cup shredded coconut

Instructions

Combinelight corn syrup andsugar in a saucepan.
Stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved.
Add peanut butter and stir until everything is melted and combined.
Add Rice Krispies and stir gently until thoroughly combined.
Using a Cookie Scoop, scoop out the rice krispie mixture onto a piece of wax paper.
When cool enough to handle (about 5 minutes), shape into balls, then place in freezer for 30 minutes.
After the balls are frozen, frost carefully with the vanilla frosting and sprinkle with coconut.

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Coconut “Green” Ice Cream – St. Paddy’s Day Treat

March 5, 2013 By Sarah 1 Comment

So mid-March isn’t exactly PRIME ice cream season, but when I was trying to come up with a fun St. Paddy’s Day treat for my kids, I just loved the idea of making ice cream. And if we’re friends on FB, you know that I have had some — issues — with making coconut macaroons. I’ve made at least 3 attempts, all unsuccessful.

Macaroon attempt #3 turned out looking like this:

I decided to take my own advice from this post: Cheap & Green in 2013 #9: How to Save Less-than-perfect Cookies, and used my ruined macaroons to make ice cream.

And what an ice cream it is! Creamy, decadent, bursting with coconut flavor. It’s definitely one of my absolute new favorite desserts. The touch of green food coloring gives it a spring-like feel that works for St. Paddy’s day, too.

Coconut “Green” Ice Cream – St. Paddy’s Day Treat

Ingredients

Coconut Mixture

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup honey (agave works too)
8 drops green liquid food coloring. I like India Tree

Ice Cream:

All of the coconut mixture (ingredients above)
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sugar

Instructions

Make the coconut mixture:

Combine coconut milk and honey in a small saucepan. Mix on medium heat until combined.
In a medium bowl, mix together the coconut and the food coloring.
Add the milk and honey mixture to the coconut mixture and combine. Set aside until cool.

Make the Ice Cream:

In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 cup milk with 3/4 cup sugar until all the sugar is dissolved.
Add the heavy cream, vanilla, and coconut mixture. Stir together until combined.
Add to an Ice Cream Maker.
Top with toasted coconut and serve immediately.

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Easter Morning Favorite: Overnight Baked French Toast

March 4, 2013 By Sarah 3 Comments

Overnight french toast is a standby at our family’s holiday brunches because it is easy to prepare ahead of time, and is completely delicious. This recipe features beautiful summer peaches (it was originally posted in September 2011), but you can substitute any fresh fruit. I have made this recipe with strawberries and blueberries before to rave reviews.

Easter Morning Favorite: Overnight Baked French Toast

Ingredients

1 small loaf challah bread (I prefer homemade, but store-bought is fine too)
4 large eggs
1 cup milk (any kind -- I used almond Milk)
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves

For Topping:

1-2 cups of sliced peaches
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Instructions

In a large, buttered, glass baking dish (8x8 works well), arrange the bread slices so they are covering the entire bottom of the dish.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, 3 tbsp brown sugar, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
Pour the egg mixture over the bread. Arrange the peach slices on top, and sprinkle the additional 1/2 cup of brown sugar over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, until the top is browned and all the egg mixture is cooked. Serve hot and dig in!