By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
serenejournal/flickr
In my post on snagging free and deeply discounted food, I listed a meal swap (or meal sharing) as a way to save money on food. Here’s how to set one up.
The idea behind a meal swap is that each person makes a big batch of what they are cooking and then divides it into smaller servings, packing the food so it is freezer ready. Everyone in the meal swap meets once a week or once a month (whatever is decided upon) and swaps what they have made.
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
Markus Rodder/flickr
Tired of the usual Thanksgiving traditions? Want to put the giving back in Thanksgiving? Try these 10 ideas.
- Volunteer on an organic farm in Italy in exchange for room, board, education and culture. I’m sure there would be a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner on an organic farm. There are farms willing to take volunteers all over the world.
- Help out at a food bank.
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
Swag bags from the Frugal Festival Food!
I had such a good time at the Frugal Festival Food! Between running the food swap, listening to good music, making new friends, hanging out with the FaceMaker face painters and eating amazing food, I also received an Envirosax nylon bag.
When Julia wrote her article about receiving the bags and how cool they were, I must admit I was a bit hoo-hum. Factually, I have an entire closet full of reusable bags. So what was the big deal with this bag? Well, I found out.
Here are my seven reasons why I love my Frugal Festival Food! Envirosax nylon bag:
- I chose the light green color. This is unusual for me since I don’t normally like green, but this color is cool, calming and inviting.
- I love the texture. It’s so soft and subtle.
- It’s super light-weight. I carry this bag in my purse. It is so light that it doesn’t make my already overstuffed satchel even heavier.
- It’s fun to fold. The whole concept of this bag is that you fold it into a small shape that snaps. It comes with picture instructions. It’s fun to make the bag turn into a little ball of fabric.
- It’s fun to unfold. It’s even more fun to unsnap the ball of fabric and shake it out into its full shape.
- The bag is actually fairly large and holds several items. So many of the small bags are just too small to make it worthwhile to use. This bag is big enough to hold a large box of tissues, several tubes of toothpaste, a large bottle of shampoo, a magazine, a bag of pretzels and a pair of socks. That’s a pretty impressive bag.
- The best reason that I love my new bag is because I USE IT! Since I carry the bag in my purse, when I go to pay for my items at the store, I see the bag and pull it out. This is truly the only reusable bag that I consistently reuse.
Thank you, Julia for finding these bags and making them part of the Frugual Festival Food! for all of us.
Win this book today at FrugalFestival.com
WE ARE HAVING A FOOD SWAP AT FRUGAL FESTIVAL FOOD! on June 25 in LA. Wahoo!
Don’t forget to enter your recipe in our contest to win fabulous prizes!
A new site makes saving money on groceries easy and helps you plan your grocery trips.
The winners of yesterday’s contest for “Vegan on the Cheap” have been announced!
Today’s lightening giveaway is for “Gluten-free on a Shoestring.” Don’t miss out!
Bring your homemade jam, bread, herbs, and other goodies to swap! Credit: jeffreyw/Flickr
We are super psyched to announce there will be a food swap at Frugal Festival Food on June 25!!! Make sure to reserve a spot now.
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
UPDATE: There IS going to be a free food swap at Frugal Festival Food! Get your food swap ticket here.
PREVIOUSLY: I went to my first food swap this weekend and I immediately asked myself – Should we have a food swap at Frugal Festival Food! on June 25? I am hopelessly hooked on this new trend, and you will be too. Almost everyone there was a newbie. Even the hostess of the event, Faith Landsman, had only been to two previous food swaps. I don’t want to sound redundant, but REALLY, everyone was going around the room saying the same thing. “This is so much fun!”
What is a food swap?
A food swap is an activity where people bring homemade foods that they have prepared and packaged in such a way that
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
My new double boiler
I make hundreds of chocolate-dipped pretzels and candies each year as presents, saving me many hundreds of dollars. Because I make handmade candies, I can be very generous in my gift giving and participate in food swaps. A new tool has made my gift-giving process significantly quicker (and time is money).
I have always used my microwave to melt chocolate. In fact, melting chocolate was one of the few reasons I owned a microwave. But melting large quantities of chocolates in a microwave is not very efficient and it lessens the flavor of the chocolate. I was on the lookout for a used double boiler because I certainly didn’t want to pay retail.
