Happy Love Day

No Bake Oatmeal Protein Bites

At this time of year, I always seem to lack energy. I blame it on the limited hours of daylight along with the cold and wet weather and temperatures in January. Part of my New Years Refresh is also to buy and eat less processed foods, but one of the items I always still seem to buy are granola or energy bars. They are healthy, convenient when on the run and filling. 
In an effort to eat less processed foods, I have decided to make my own. These no bake oatmeal protein bars or bites, are one of my favorite options. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Peanut Butter
5 cups Oatmeal (instant)
1 cup Coconut milk or cream
3 tbsp Honey
3 cups (60gr Protein) Vanilla Protein Powder

1. Mix the Coconut Cream or Milk with the Peanut Butter until smooth.

2. Add the honey and and mix till combined

3. Add Vanilla Protein Powder and mix all ingredients well

4. Slowly add the oatmeal 1 cup at a time until combined.

5. Add any optional ingredients to add some interest. Some of my favourites are chocolate chips, almonds or cashews.

6. Spray and prepare a shallow pan with wax paper (or aluminum foil, if like me you ran out of wax paper)

7. Spread the mixture evenly across the pan and place in fridge overnight, or at least 2 hours.

8. Take the wax paper and bars out of pan and cut into desired sizes. I like bite sized bars.

ENJOY and BON APPETITE

New Years Refresh

As part of my New Year Refresh Organization in January & February I also like to clean out my wallet and purse and along with that I was searching for an alternative to all of those plastic rewards cards that seem to fill up my wallet. 

As a Couponer of course I collect ALL types of rewards cards but the amount of clutter in the wallet was frustrating to say the least. I came across this awesome app called Stocard. Stocard let’s you scan and upload all of your rewards cards with pictures of the front and back of the card, so you should never need another reward card. The App is really easy to use and also shows you offers for the week based on your rewards cards. This is probably one of my favourite apps to use currently.

It was so liberating to cut up all of those cards and create the room in my wallet. I would love to hear your experience with this fantastic StoCardApp. 

Karneval in Kölle

As some of you know, I am originally from Germany. I moved to Canada from Köln (Cologne) with my family when I was 16 years old. Köln is a very unique city in the heart of Germany that celebrates “Karneval” every year. “Karneval” is also referred to as the “fifth season”

Traditionally, the "fifth season" (carnival season) is declared open at 11 minutes past 11 on the 11th of the 11th month November. The Carnival spirit is then temporarily suspended during the Advent and Christmas period, and picks up again in earnest after the 6 January (Biblical Magi) in the New Year. The time of merrymaking in the streets is officially declared open at downtown square Alter Markt on the Thursday before the beginning of Lent. Street carnival, a week-long street festival, also called "the crazy days", takes place between the Fat Thursday (Weiberfastnacht) and ends on Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch). The highlight of the carnival is Rose Monday (Rosenmontag), two days before Ash Wednesday. All through these days, Cologne folks go out masqueraded. The typical greeting during the festival is Kölle Alaaf!, a Kölsch phrase which can be translated as "Cologne above all!"

During this time and the “crazy days” I certainly miss all of the music, merriment, entertainment and food that is usually available during those days. One of them is the “Krapfen” or “Berliner” (depending on what area of Germany you are from). Usually I also host a Karnevals Party, complete with costumes and music and of course Krapfen. If you would like to try this German classic, I have included the recipe for you. “Kölle Alaaf” and “lass et üch schmecke”.

„Karneval Krapfen (Berliner) 

 Prep time: 60 min - waiting:  2h – baking: ~6 min

Ingredients (for about 20 Krapfen)

• 1 package fresh yeast (42 g)

• 100 ml lukewarm milk

• 500 gr flour

• 2 eggs

• 2 egg yolks

• 50 gr sugar

• Pulp of 1 vanille pod

• 50 gr  soft butter

• Fat for frying (1-2 liter)

• To roll: icing sugar or normal sugar

• To fill: jam of your choice (I used raspberry)

1. Dissolve the yeast in the milk. Add 150g flour and knead to a smooth dough. I used a wooden spoon for that. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
2. Beat eggs, egg yolk and sugar until fluffy. Sift the remaining flour into the mixture. Add the yeast starter, vanilla pulp and butter and knead until smooth. Again, cover and let rise for about 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile line two backing sheets with baking paper. Form small balls out of the dough and spread it on the baking trays. Leave some distance. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise again until the volume has doubled.
4. Heat the fat to 170° C. I used a fryer and 2 liter frying oil for that. Add some dough balls at one time and bake covered for 3 minutes. Turn the balls and let again bake for about 3 minutes. Remove from the fat, put on some paper towel and then roll in sugar or sprinkle with icing sugar. Using a thin rod make a hole right through the Krapfen. Fill them with jam using a piping bag.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum Points

Some of you have been asking about how I get Free Products at Shoppers Drug Mart. Here is how:

I always thought that Shoppers had just another useless points program, but boy was I wrong. I love shopping at Shoppers Drug Mart now. Since 2011 I have gotten about $1300 in FREE stuff from Shoppers (Food, Electronics, Beauty & Health Products)

Here is how to do it:

·       Shop on the 20 X the Points Event Days. Use Coupons. (You still get the 20 x the points on the amount paid for by coupons as long as you are above the required minimum purchase (usually $50). Coupons do count as currency and contribute to the total.

·     On the 20 X the Points days, get what you need for the month if they price is right, (SALE prices only) remember everything has a SALES cycle. Usually There is a one 20 x the Points event every month on top of special BONUS POINTS days that you will be notified (via e-mail) about once you are an OPTIMUM member. Sometimes these bonus days are Wednesday or Friday, and those are good days to stock up on dairy items, etc that you might be out of. (of course, you get more points as well J )

·         Buy a SDM Gift Card to pay for your purchases. You get BONUS points. I buy a $50 Gift Card to pay for my purchases (I would spend $50 anyways to get the 20x the points). You get 500 BONUS POINTS just for buying the Gift Card. (sorry no 20x the points on gift card purchases)

·        Usually you get 10 points for every dollar spend (50 x 10 =500 Points x 20 times = 10,000 plus 500 from purchase of GIFT CARD is 10,500 Points, BUT WATCH for special Points items. For Example you might receive personalized Coupons to load onto your Optimum Card, so one jar of Peanut Butter might get you 2000 Bonus Points or something. There is also always Special POINTS DEALS in-store.

 ·         Let’s say you have reached the limit of 95,000 which would equal $170 in FREE PRODUCT!!! There are usually 2 MEGA MEGA REDEMPTION DAYS per year. I save my points for those days. (Usually there has always been one just before Christmas, which is perfect, and one in the Summer) ON those MEGA MEGA REDEMPTION DAYS instead of 95,000 points giving you $170 worth of Product, It gets you $250 WORTH OF FREE PRODUCTS!!!! That’s $80 more just for waiting for a mega redemption event. Occasionally there are regular redemption events where 95,000 points will give you $200 worth of Product which is also not bad.

·         You can do 2 redemptions per day per card. So what that means is if you purchase more than $50 every month at Shoppers, sign up everyone in your household for a card as well and use each card for every $50 spend, that way at the end of the year you might have 4 cards with 95,000 points each and you can transfer these points between cards.

·         ON the last MEGA MEGA Redemption Day using Points AND Coupons as well as Sales I got $600 in FREE PRODUCTS!!!! That included Christmas Gifts and stock up of my pantry and stockpile. 

HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

BE FIERCE & FABULOUS!!

Back to work....

Back to work after a fantastic August long weekend exploring beautiful British Columbia with family. 

My Aunt and Cousin are visiting from Germany, so we wanted to show them some more of beautiful British Columbia. We went camping and started in Kitimat at the Kitimat River. We had hoped from some Coho or at least pink salmon but there was none to be had. We did end up catching 4 really nice Chum's though with pink meat, that should still taste great. 

Next our Adventure took us to Meziadin Lake (one of my favourite lakes in all of BC) and on to Stewart BC and Hyder, Alaska. 

Of course we headed to fish creek where we were able to watch a male adult grizzly catch some salmon. The Grizzly had been named "Jaws" by the Conservation officers on site. It really is amazing to watch these bears in action. 

We truly live in a Beautiful Country and I can't wait to head out on the next camping trip to explore more of Beautiful British Columbia. 

I hope you all had a great long weekend as well. 
HAPPY SHORT WORK WEEK!!!!

love, Daniela

Couponing in Canada

I have received many emails from friends and family wanting to know my couponing and saving secrets. Well I am going to spend a little time talking about  them.

Statistics Canada reports that the average Canadian household spends $241 per person on food each month.

Food, shelter and clothing still account for more than half of spending for the lowest income group in Canada.

The one-fifth of Canadian households with the lowest income spent an average of $22,340. Spending on food, shelter and clothing accounted for 52% of their total spending while personal taxes accounted for 3% of their budget.

Food is a variable cost and we can control how much we spend each month on groceries.

But can you really reduce your food budget without giving up on good nutrition and hygiene?

You can do it !

How... I did this by stockpiling on great sales and deals, using coupons smartly, planning my shops before buying anything and understanding sale cycles. I live in a 1 bedroom Condo and don't have room or space to stockpile like some of the people on show's like "extreme couponing" but i made some room and my savings have skyrocketed since.

**update, I actually now live in a 4 bedroom house and do have a stockpile room, dedicated to my couponing ways. I will share pictures soon**

With the tips I will try to provide,it won’t take a lot of effort for you to become a canadian coupon-er too.

KNOW THE COUPON POLICIES OF YOUR FAVORITE STORES

Many websites will publish deals and coupons but unfortunately, if you don’t know if your store will accept that coupon it will lead to extra frustration.Save on Foods stacks coupons for added savings $$$$$.

START SMALL AND HAVE GOALS

Simple

If your goal is not simple, it will be tough to achieve. Create a plan that you would like to start to save on groceries at first or on your beauty or cosmetic or baby product purchases. Keep it simple at first.

To start you off, register to receive emails from Grocery Alerts -we always publish the latest coupons available to Canadians that you can either order or print off.

Measurable

Have a measurable goal. Example, I want to save $50 per month on my grocery bill each month. This is $600 over a year.

START GETTING COUPONS

sign up on websites that send your coupons to your home.

websaver.ca

gocoupons.ca

save.ca

pandgbrandsaver

Here is a great trick to get a large number of HVCs (high-value coupons):

Request a coupon from your favorite manufacturer. They love to hear from their fans (just like us).  I have received high-value coupons from Chapmans, Dole, Popchips, Kelloggs, Fresh Express, and Micheal Angelo in the past.

Step 1: Find the manufacturer to contact.

Find a manufacturer whose products you use weekly and enjoy.

Step 2: Find the companies customer service mailing address or e-mail address.

Companies try to make it as easy as possible to contact them. Usually, you can find a “Contact Us” page that either has a form that you can submit, an e-mail address, or a mailing address.

Step 3: Join a trade group

Another major tip we have is that once you have accumulated a number of coupons, start to trade your spare or unwanted coupons for others that you are looking for.  Get the coupons you are looking for.

Trading coupons is one of the best ways to save huge on your shopping bills.

Step 4: Get organized
nomatter how you choose to organize your coupons (binder, sorting file, notebook, etc) organization is key to any shopping and couponing trip.

Step 5: Attend local coupon trade sessions and information sessions on how to coupon effectively :)

HAVE FUN AND BE FABULOUS!!