Free Meal and Menu Planners

Every week, I sit down and make up a dinner menu for the entire week, then make up my grocery list based on things needed for each recipe. I usually write my menu on one piece of paper and my list on another. At one time, I was trying to save my menus and lists for future use to save myself some time. However, I wound up with so many “menus” in my kitchen drawer that I couldn’t find the ones I was looking for. I thought about trying to make up a computer file with all of them in it, but didn’t want to take the time to sit down and create files every week. So, I stopped trying to save them. But, I believe that I have now found a solution! This website offers free meal and menu planner templates that are available to download. They are in Microsoft Excel format.

Saving Money on Gas

With the price of gas continuing to fluctuate up and down, you never know what to expect when you stop to fill your tank. It seems to me, that the price of gas is often higher during the holidays and over summer months when people do the most traveling. Unfair as it is, we all have to deal with it if we want to get from point A to point B.
I found some articles that offer some great tips for saving money on gas. They are listed below, with a short description for each.

Thrifty Gas Saving Tips (by Ernest Miles): Advice on saving gas while warming up your engine, buying gas, driving, and other things like choosing routes and simple vehicle upkeep. This is a great article with tips for doing simple things you may never think of doing to save gas!

33 Gas Saving Tips (by Fun and Safe Driving): 33 great tips for saving gas! Tips for using the landscape to your advantage, accelerating, planning trips, and more, including myths about gas saving devices.

Top 10 Fuel Saving Tips (Gasbuddy.com): Offers 10 good tips for saving gas, as well as a search option that lets you search for the lowest gas prices in your area.

Herbs are for Drinking! Buying or Making Herbal Tea

Herbal teas can make a good substitute for caffinated black tea or coffee. A lot of herbs may also offer health benefits or have medicinal value. However, the quality and potency of pre-packaged herbal teas may vary. The quality and potency of herbs is highly dependent on the way they are grown and harvested and the length of time from harvest to consumption. The longer herbs sit, the more essential oils they loose, which are what give herbs their potency and flavor. Therefore, some pre-packaged teas that you find at the grocery store may not be delivering the full benefits, as they may have sat for awhile on the store shelf or at the manufacturer. This, however, depends on the company. So, how do you know which teas are the best and will deliver the most benefits? To this question, I can offer a few suggestions:

• Use brands from companies that have a good reputation
• Choose teas that use organically grown herbs
• If you can, use your sense of smell. Fresher herbs have a stronger (and sometimes more pleasant) smell.
• Buy teas from a natural foods store or herb store instead of at a regular grocery store

There are several reasons why I suggest buying from a natural foods store or herb store. The first is that these stores usually purchase higher quality products and know how to properly store them. Secondly, the sales associates at these stores know more about herbs than associates from other stores, and may be able to offer advice on particular products.

Using Dried Bulk Herbs

In addition to pre-packaged teas, natural food and herb stores may also have bulk herbs, which you can use to make your own tea. The bulk herbs from these stores tend to be of good quality as well, as they are normally purchased frequently, stored properly, and kept in their whole form which helps the herbs to retain their quality. Buying herbs in bulk normally costs less as well. For example, a box of pre-packaged chamomile may cost four to five dollars, while an ounce of fresh chamomile flowers would be under two dollars.

Making Your Own Herbal Tea With Fresh or Bulk Herbs

To make your own tea, you can buy bulk dried herbs or grow your own. It’s best to store them in a cool, dark place in an air-tight container. The more light and air that is kept out the better. If you grow your own, you may want to dry some of them. This article from About.com, has some information about drying and storing herbs.

Typically, the parts of the plant that are used for teas are the flowers or the leaves, depending on the herb. You’ll want to use about 1 teaspoon of dried herb, or a tablespoon of fresh herb to a cup of water. You can use a tea ball or mesh tea bag to put the herb in. Most herbs only require steeping in boiling water for a few minutes. Bring the water to a boil, and pour it into a large mug. Then let the tea ball or tea bag sit in the water and steep for about 5 minutes. If you need sweetener, try adding a little honey. Some herbs may require a longer steeping time, or may need to be brought to a boil to bring out the full flavor.

Growing Herbs

If you don’t have the time, energy, or space for an outdoor garden, there are many herbs that can be grown indoors. In addition, herbs that are grown indoors can be used year-round. Some herbs that do well indoors include peppermint, catnip, and lemonbalm, along with many others. For more information about indoor gardening, read my indoor gardening article on Squidoo.

The Natural Herbs Guide offers a list of some of the most common herbs and how to use them, as well as information on medicinal uses for specific conditions.

In addition to local stores, Mountain Rose Herbs offers bulk herbs and teas that are organically grown and shipped fresh, as well as supplies for making your own tea.

***Please note: some herbs do not combine well with prescription medications or are not good for daily use. If you are not at all familiar with the use of herbs, please research the particular herb before using it on a daily or long-term basis. If you are on prescription medications, please speak with your doctor before combining herbs with medication!