1st week of Dave Ramsey

So yesterday I posted on FB about our new grocery budget of $120/wk.  I got so many comments that I thought I'd put my progress on my blog (that I never use) so that maybe it will help someone else.  Since I'm not a very good writer, I'll try to keep it short and to the point.

I've started taking a Dave Ramsey class called Financial Peace University.  It's a class to learn about getting out of debt and building wealth.  To quote Dave, "If you will live like no one else, later you can LIVE like no one else!"

So in the 1st class we had a homework assignment of coming up with a monthly budget.  Here is a link to The Basic Quickie Budget:  http://www.newpointe.org/uploads/fpu-qbudget.pdf.  We went even further and broke down everything we could think of that we spend money on (including future expenditures like birthdays, Christmas, house repairs, etc.)

Almond Oatmeal Cookies (1P 1C 0.5F) - Makes 24

Ingredients:

-  1/4 c. almond butter 

-  1/2 c. plus 1 tbsp. fructose, powdered 

-  2 egg whites 

-  1/2 tsp. real vanilla extract 

-  1/2 tsp. almond extract (optional) 

-  1 c. plus 2 tbsp. protein powder (I used Whey Protein) 

-  1/2 tsp. baking soda 

-  1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 

-  1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 

-  1/4 tsp. salt 

-  1/2 c. water (optional) 

-  1 1/2 c. oatmeal

Directions:  

In a large mixing bowl, mix with an electric mixer or food processor almond butter and fructose until somewhat smooth.  Mix in the egg whites, vanilla and almond extract (if using).  In a second bowl mix protein powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.  Add the water to the powders (if using) and mix.  Add the powder mixture to the almond butter/fructose bowl, stir well.  Stir in the oatmeal.

Preheat the oven to 350^oF.   Place parchment paper on cookie sheets (this is because the cookies have little fat in them, fat keeps cookies from sticking).  Divide the batter into 24 cookies in several batches, 9 to 12 is good per sheet depending on the cookie sheet size, the cookies can spread.  Bake for 8 minutes, take off sheet and let them cool.

Vanilla Oatmeal & Applesauce (2P 2C 2F)

Ingredients:
-  1/4 c. + 1/16 c. steel cut oats (already prepared - i.e. wet, not dry)
-  1/8 c. unsweetened applesauce or 1/8 of a med. apple)
-  1 scoop Biochem Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
-  1 1/2 tsp. natural peanut butter
-  Cinnamon to taste
-  1 tsp. natural peanut butter (to even out my hunger)

Directions:
Combine cooked oats with protein powder until well mixed.  Top with applesauce and cinnamon.  I like to eat the peanut butter on the side.

** Note:  1 c. dry oatmeal = 2.5 c. cooked

Choc. Blueberry Zucchini Muffins by Sue K (1P 1C 1F)

1 Muffin = 1P 1C 1F

Dry Ingredients:
-  1 c. oat flour
-  5 scoops of chocolate egg white protein powder, the type of protein powder used is critical to the texture and moistness of the muffin (15 blocks)
-  1 tbsp. apple pie spice (or 2 ½ tsp. cinnamon, ¼ tsp allspice, and a little nutmeg)
-  1 tbsp. non-aluminum baking powder
-  2 to 4 tbsp. cocoa powder

Wet Ingredients:
-  2 whole eggs and 4 egg whites
-  2 ½ to 3 tbsp. light olive oil (do not use evoo)
-  1 tbsp. almond extract
-  scant 1/2 c. unsweetened apple sauce
-  ¼ c. plain yogurt

Add-ins:
-  1/3 c. broken walnut pieces
-  ½ c. blueberries
-  1 small to medium sized zucchini grated (grate at last minute to prevent the water from separating out)
 
Optional:
-  ¼ cup organic chocolate chips or 1 small organic low carb content dark chocolate bar broken into pieces (Don’t use regular chocolate chips because it will throw off the C balance).

Instructions:
1.  Pre heat the oven to 350°F. Oil the muffin tin, but don’t use any paper liners.
2.  Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside.
3.  Combine the wet ingredients, whisking them together until smooth.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Stir just until evenly mixed, scraping the bottom of the bowl to incorporate the flour and remove lumps.   Do not over mix, or muffins will be tough.  Gently fold in the walnuts, blueberries, zucchini, and chocolate chips or pieces.
4.  Spoon the batter equally into silicone muffin pans that have been oiled with a little olive oil.  Do not use muffin cup papers.
5.   Bake just until firm to the touch and golden on top and around the edges, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, usually about 15 to 18 minutes.  Take care not to over bake.  If over baked they will be dry and tough.   Cool on a wire rack (run a knife around the edges if needed to remove from the muffin tin). Cover and refrigerate.  Use the muffins within 1 week, or freeze. 

Makes 12 to 16 muffins.

Tuna on a Tomato (3P 1C 3F)

Ingredients:
-  3 oz. canned Albacore tuna in water, drained  (Note: 1 can = 4 oz.)
-  3 tsp. Hellman's light mayonaise
-  1 clove garlic
-  Small handful of finely chopped celery (1 heaping tbsp.)
-  Small handful of finely chopped onion (1 heaping tbsp.)
-  Salt & pepper to taste
-  2 tomatoes

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together (except for tomatoes).  Slice tomatoes in half and put 1/4 of the tuna mixture on top of each.  Top with salt/pepper to taste.

Note:  I added 2/3 of a banana on the side to make up the extra 2C (not shown in picture).  This would make the meal 3P 3C 3F.

Brownie Batter by Sue K (3P 2C 5F)

Ingredients:
-  1/5 frozen banana
-  1 generous block frozen dark cherries (approx 1/3 c. or 12 big cherries)
-  1 huge heaping tbsp. cacao raw powder, about 1/8 c. (not dutched)
-  3 blocks Zone Protein Powder (3 scoops)
-  1/2+ tsp. turmeric (refer to info in The Anti-Inflammation Zone)
-  a very generous amount of cinnamon (lowers insulin response)
-  a scant 1 tsp. alcohol free glycerin based almond flavoring
-  1/8 to 1/4 c. of chocolate soy milk (Unsweetened)
-  1 tbsp. Zone olive oil

Directions: 
Blend with an immersion blender, or process is a small food processor.  

Note:  1 c. of strawberries can be used as a substitute for the cherries.

Brother 1034D Serger - Gathering Foot

OK, since I can't seem to remember anything now-a-days, I need a spot to remember what I've figured out in the hours of trial and error.  Hence I started this blog.  Here goes....

The gathering foot for the Brother 1034D serger was a challenge even though it seemed so simple.  Here is what I have learned to make this easier the next time I need to use this foot:

Steps to gather:

1)  Using scrap material (but same as the material you will be gathering in the end), find the tensions settings that work best for serging the edges of the material.  Just plain old serging of the edge, nothing else.  In this case, I am working with lightweight  material, and I have set my tension to the following:  Left Needle: 4, Right Needle: 3.5, Upper Looper, 4.5, Lower Looper, 4.5.

Photo of the serged edge:

2)  Attach the gathering foot that came with the machine.  

Picture of the gathering foot:

Photo of it attached to the serger:

3)  Set the differential to 2.

4)  Set the stitch length to 4.

5)  Using 2 pieces of scrap material (same length), load them into the gathering foot.  The material to be gathered goes underneath the gathering foot - the material that it will be attached to goes in the slotted middle section of the gathering foot.

Photo of me loading the material that will gather.  I lifted up the presser foot by hand to make it easier.  The material stops just short of the cutting knife.

This is the area to load the second piece of fabric (this piece will not gather).

Photo of both pieces of the fabric loaded into place:

6)  Making sure I put the presser foot down, I hand turned the wheel until the needle touched both fabrics.  I had to keep sliding the upper fabric forward as it didn't like to automatically move at this point.   It took me around 4 turns.

7)  I slowly started gathering using the foot pedal.  With my left hand, I gently pushed the fabric towards the gathering foot, as it liked to walk away to the left (which prevented the attachment of the 2 materials).

Photo showing the top material gathered to the bottom material (not gathered).

This gave me a gather length of around 63% of the original length.  Reducing the differential number to 1 2/3 gave me a gather length of about 74% of the original length.  The formula is as follows:

(1 - ((Original length - ruffled length)/Original length)) X 100

.....or, broken down:

1)  Subtract the ruffled length from the original length (Original length - ruffled length)

2)  Take Answer #1 and divide by the original length (Answer #1/Original length)

3)  Subtract Answer #2 from 1 (1 - Answer #2)

4)  Multiply Answer #3 by 100 (100 X Answer #3)

One would use this information to determine the differential setting to make gathered tiers on a dress or skirt.  For this material, I used tiers starting at 1.5 times the waist measurement, so I needed a differential setting that gave me a ruffle that was about 70% of the original length.  It you were making a tiered skirt that was 2 times the the waist measurement, you would need a differential setting that gave you a ruffle that was about 50% of the original length.

That's it!  Hope that helps!