No more shopping lists with free app

We have eliminated paper shopping lists by using a free app called Our Groceries. You can link the app via entering one email address, so everyone who does the shopping at your house has the up to date grocery list at any time. The best thing is, you can customise the list to be very specific about what you want. There is a paid version of the app but we have been successfully using the free version and love it. No more wasted paper and no more forgetting things as the list is always with us!

Replace nail biting with horsetail herbal capsules

A tried and true way to prevent nail biting is to take horsetail herb capsules. Nail biters seek silicone and this herb supplies it. I am a naughty nail biter from way back (and still do because I am hopeless at taking pills!). However I swear horsetail capsules work and my nails grow like wildfire whenever I remember to take them!

Cheap toddler food at the shops

I've found a really cheap and nutritious way of feeding my toddler when we are out shopping. Most of the shopping centres around us have a food hall and most of them have a roast carvery type place (that sells roast meat, chips, vegetables and so on).

At the carvery, I ask for a bowl of peas, beans and carrots for my baby. Some places have given it to me for free, commenting how nice it is to see children eating vegetables. Other places will charge $0.50c and the most I have ever paid is $1.00 for a 'big' baby sized bowl full. Don't forget to ask if you are buying a roast meal there yourself, because they may throw in a baby sized bowl free.

It's great when I run out of food at the shops, if he eats everything I have taken with us, or if I've taken longer shopping than planned - it's really healthy and cheaper than buying baby food in jars (which my toddler refuses to eat anyway). We have been doing this since he was eating finger foods from around 12 months old. When he was small he used to eat one pea at a time, which provided hours of entertainment too!

There are other vegetables available but we avoid any that have been fried or cooked in oils (like roast potato) and those that have sauces (like cauliflower cheese).

Sometimes we all have to just make do!

At 12 years old, my daughter is already helping our family save money on snacks using her Simple Savings skills! With five children in the house, we do a big shop just once a month and are careful to make our food and treats last until the next shop. Recently we were nearing the end of the month and getting low on food. I arrived home one day to find my daughter baking biscuits. 'They're Doos!' she told me. 'You always said if there was nothing in the cupboard, we had to make do, so I made Doos!'

The name has stuck in our house and now whenever we have 'nothing' in the house for lunch boxes, snacks or afternoon tea, she just makes a batch of 'Doos' using whatever she can find in the pantry to 'make do' with. She is proving to be very inventive with her recipes and is turning out to be a real baker. She'll turn out simple but delicious treats such as honey joys, choc chip biscuits, Anzac biscuits, pikelets and pancakes in no time at all! She really has shown that you can make something from almost anything in the pantry and would be wonderful at the $21 Challenge! Here is the recipe for her latest creation, called 'Sort of Scones!'

1 cup oats
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup sugar
125g butter
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

Mix all ingredients together, then roll into balls and place on a greased baking tray. Bake in a moderate oven (around 180C) for 10 minutes.

I couldn't be prouder of my daughter's efforts to help us save money and keep everyone well fed. Whenever we think our parenting has a lot to be desired, it's moments like this which prove we have to be doing something right - good things do rub off too!