Atlanta's Frugal Mom

Although we still have some warm days ahead, the cold autumn weather is peeking around the corner. The other day, I simply couldn’t get my fingers to warm up, so I knew it was the perfect night for soup! So, to the pantry I headed for inspiration, where I found a box of orzo. Lo and behold, the box had a simple recipe for chicken orzo soup. Naturally, I had to take the recipe and tweak it to make it my own. ….and because it forgot to mention garlic in the ingredients. The best part of this chicken orzo soup? Not only did everyone eat it, but they all said they LIKED it! That’s an extremely rare occurrence these days, so I’m claiming this as a victory, which means I’m sharing it with all y’all!

The other day, I took my daughter to the gym with me.  Not for any super-compelling reason, other than convenience and lack of child care. My daughter is five, going on fifteen, and isn’t interested in playing with the “little guys” in the kids zone, where her 2-year-old brother goes.  So, got the green light from my instructor ahead of time to let her come with me to one particular class I take, Les Mills Body Combat . What happened in the 48 hours during and then following that class, and the lessons *I* would learn continue to surprise me, even as I type this out. I prepared her for the class, letting her know that it would be similar to the gym class she got to try out at UFC Perimeter Gym , but with grown ups.  I assured her she was welcome to join in with us, and that it was ok if she didn’t know all the moves.  None of us did, really.  But I also comforted her with the iPad (don’t judge me!), a pad of paper, and her markers.  On the drive over there,...

This post originally appeared as a guest post on another site about two years ago, but that site is no longer around. :/ SO, I’m re-claiming it and adding it to my Picky-Tot Pleasers series.  Lemme know what’cha think!   Call me Popeye.  What can I say?  I love to cook with spinach.  Up until recently, it’s been in just about any dish I made with chicken or ground turkey.  However, I crossed the line the other morning when I (deliberately) baked spinach in to my pancakes.  That’s right, my daughter and I made spinach pancakes.  On purpose.

So I’m really loving my Vitamix these days.  Juicing for breakfast, and sharing with my son.  (Say goodbye to his multivitamin!)  Warm Vitamix Chicken Tortilla soup on a cool evening.  And now, Vitamix Applesauce , with a twist. As you may recall, my goofy kids enjoy applesauce and frozen peas.  I don’t know why, they just do.  I’m not complaining, since they don’t normally volunteer to eat anything green.  So, when I set out to make Vitamix appleasauce, I was determined to fuse other healthy foods in to the mix as well. Here’s what I did: I found a bunch of pre-sliced apples on clearance at Kroger, so that’s what I used.  You can use whatever kind of apples you have on hand, but I recommend you stick with the sweeter, rather than tart apples.  Also, I use all organic ingredients whenever possible. First I made  a batch that was JUST apples, lemon juice, and cinnamon.  I used too much cinnamon, and my daughter was not a fan.  So I made another batch,...

This is a sponsored post with Mums the Word Network and UFC Gym Perimeter . All opinions, however, are completely my own. Today, my daughter Carol and I worked together to kick some butt.  Well, sorta.  We were invited to attend a special session at UFC Gym Perimeter, to try out their new kids program.  She was elated by the experience.  Not only did we get to peruse through the equipment before class began, but she also got to test out a pair of boxing gloves and a super-cool tech-y punching bag. At UFC Gym, boys and girls learn self-defense, self-confidence and discipline while having fun in a safe and entertaining group class format. It’s also a great way for them to burn energy and have fun!  Taught by a staff of rockstar, attentive professionals, UFC Gym Perimeter kids classes help your little one learn self-confidence, coordination, discipline and self-defense.  Plus, it’s fun! The class began with the kids warming up  for 15 minutes, using fun stretching and cardio races to hold...

Vitamix. Chicken. Tortilla. Soup. Recipe.  Well, first, I have to brag.  My husband is -without a doubt- the luckiest sunnuvagun I know.  He was perusing through Goodwill a while ago, and found a variable speed Vitamix blender for just under nine bucks.  Yep.  A true-to-life Vitamix.  For nine bucks!! We immediately put it to use, playing around with different fruit and veggie combos.  And then we stumbled upon this recipe for Tortilla Soup.  The rest -as they say- is history.  I’ve been making -and thoroughly enjoying!- my mom’s chicken tortilla soup recipe for a few years, even though I know it’s more “comfort” than “healthy.” To be honest, when we first made this soup, I was skeptical.  But once it was made, I was hooked!  And my recipe for the baked tortilla strips compliment it nicely, too! “Vitamix Chicken Tortilla Soup” This is based heavily on  The Blender Lady’s  recipe for Tortilla Soup, but I had to tweak to make i...