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Simple Turkey Ham and Beans THM E Meal Under 15 Minutes

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 A simple THM E turkey ham and beans skillet meal that is made in under 15 minutes. Perfect for busy work week meals. 

THM E Beans and Turkey Ham Lunch or LIght dinner

Why are E meals hard? They don’t have to be, but you need a good list of easy, “go to” E meals. This ham and beans THM E meal uses lean turkey ham to stay within the fat limit of an E Meal and you can put it together in less than 15 minutes.

Another easy E meal to add to your list is this No Sugar Added Baked Georgia Peach Oatmeal.

We often eat these beansfor an easy lunch or a light dinner. I love it because not only is it quick, it is also cheap.

The turkey ham will last us multiple meals and the beans are usually less than .60 a can. So for less than $2-$3 (depending on how much ham you use), I can feed 2 adults and a child lunch. Now try to tell me Trim Healthy Mama costs too much! I love finding ways to eat healthy and cheap!    

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Ham and Beans THM E Meal

If you are from the South, a big pot of beans with a huge ham hock simmering all day is something you probably grew up watching your mama or grandmama stirring on Sunday. It is simple comfort food.

I took that memory and modified it a little to meet the THM E meal guidelines. Now I can have (turkey) ham and beans in a healthy carb setting without all the added fat.

Since the turkey ham is already cooked, you are really just warming up your ingredients. Quick and easy.

Dice the ham and turn your burner to medium/low. Spray the pan with non-stick spray and add your ham. In a separate pot, add your beans on medium/low to simmer.

Uncooked Turkey Ham

Cook the turkey ham until you get the pieces browned.

Browned Turkey Ham

Transfer the turkey ham into the pot with your beans. Add in the seasoning and cook for about 5 more minutes to allow the flavors to merry together. The seasonings just amp up the flavor of this simple ham and beans THM E Meal.

Ham & Beans THM E Meal Simmering

Serve that easy ham and beans THM E meal up to your family. My 4 year old & 8 month old both eat this with no complaints. Winner Winner ham and beans THM E meal dinner!

Print Recipe
 Turkey Ham and Northern Beans Simple THM E Meal Under 15 Minutes
Course Main Dish
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Dice the turkey ham into the desired bite size pieces. Open can of beans and place them into a pot to simmer on medium/low (do not drain). Spray a second skillet and add diced ham. Brown the turkey ham on medium low. This step isn't necessary but it adds a nice flavor to the dish. Add the browned turkey ham to the beans. Add in seasonings and simmer for 5 minutes or so to meld the flavors.

The only thing that would make this better is a big chunk of crusty cornbread. I may just have to try a Trim Healthy Mama cornbread soon. Did you grow up eating ham and beans?

Turkey Ham And Beans THM E Meal

Easy Way to Save on Cable And Internet Bill

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Find out the easy way to save on cable and internet bill without even making a phone call and put hundreds of dollars back in your pocket!

How I saved $800 On my lunch break without picking up the phone

Easy way to save on cable and internet bill

With a brand new year here, budgets have been on my mind. I have been working on lowering my grocery budget and miscellaneous spending. And I knew there had to be an easy way to save on cable and internet bills as well.

It is kind of embarrassing to admit because I started this blog to share all of the money saving tips that I have learned over the years. However, my personal budget is not in the shape that it should be. I had a couple babies in the last few years and my focus moved from pinching pennies to learning to function on 3 hours sleep. Thankfully, debt is not something that I have taken on but I certainly haven’t been saving or managing my money the way that I know I should.

So while I take on a couple of new budget challenges this year, I wanted to go back to the money saving roots that I have developed as well. Going back to some of the basics in order to get my spending down and my savings up is a priority this year. The best way to start that is to decrease some of your recurring monthly expenses. So I have been working on an easy way to save on cable and internet bill expenses that you can literally work through on your lunch hour (and still have time for a sandwich and some Facebook or Insta scrolling).

(Affiliate links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Easy Way to Save on Cable and Internet Bill

I started my new 2019 budget by checking out my large expenses that recur monthly. Of course cable and internet were up there on the expense list. I lowered my bills by $808.20 annually during my lunch break without ever even picking up the phone! I am not sure about you but I can do a lot of things with $800 that sound a lot better than throwing it at a big cable company.

Here I will show you the breakdown of how and what I did to get this $800 savings. Keep reading to see the easy way to save on cable and internet bill this year.

Save on Cable Bill

My husband and I keep talking about moving to a total streaming service and completely getting rid of cable. We haven’t taken the plunge yet but don’t be surprised if that happens in 2019 to save even more money.

For now, we are sticking with our traditional cable service. However, my bill had gotten completely out of control. We moved into our house a couple of years ago and I think the bill was a combo of a few things.

  • Our initial introductory package had expired
  • My husband had ordered a special NCAA package (because he HAD to have a particular football game)
  • Our specialty movie channel free trial expired and we were now paying for those channels
  • We had a large cable package

I evaluated the items above with my husband and we determined that we were not watching the movie channels at all so they could go. My husband is a big football fan and that is the reason that we got the special sports package. However, since the football season is over, we could at least get rid of the sports package for a few months.

The next thing I did was spend some time comparing the large channel package that we had to the next step down. Thankfully the cable company has a chart that shows what you get or don’t get with each package. We didn’t watch any of the extra channels that we were getting with the bigger package. So essentially we were paying extra money for something we were not using.

Actions to Save Money on the Cable Bill

I was able to downgrade my cable package online without contacting anyone at the cable company. The cable company won’t let you cancel everything using your online account independently. However, I was able to hop onto the “chat” feature and request that the changes be made to my account.

The entire process went very quickly and I was able to save $49.51 monthly or $594.12 annually.

*Update* We switched to streaming a little over a year ago and totally love it! You can read about what to expect when switching to Hulu Live here. 

Save on Internet Bill

For the internet bill, I was not as willing to make adjustments. My husband and I both work from home in our day jobs. So we both rely on a reliable and fast internet connection to keep up with our daily tasks.

Of course in addition to work, we need internet for streaming Netflix & Amazon Prime Videos, we have kids with devices, an Alexa. I will be surprised if our fridge doesn’t want to connect to our WiFi soon. So needless to say, I didn’t want to downgrade, I just wanted to pay less. Was it that simple?

It pretty much was. I hopped on a chat with my internet company and asked for a discount. My comment went something like this, “Hi. I have noticed that my internet bill seems higher than usual. Can you please check for any promotions or savings that you could offer?” The customer service rep came back and told me that they could save me $17.84 per month and keep my service exactly the same. I did have to sign a one year agreement but the cancellation fee is less than the new savings so in the event that I did decide to cancel, I would still come out ahead.

My total savings for the internet bill was $214.08 annually.

Total Cable & Internet Savings

Overall, I was able to save $808.20 annually in less than one hour. This easy way to save on cable and internet bill was done on my lunch break without ever even talking to an actual person on the phone!

Do you have an easy way to save on cable and internet bills other than the things that I mentioned? I would love to hear about it!

How to Save Money on Kid’s Boutique and Brand Name Clothing

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Save money on kid’s boutique and brand name clothing by shopping smart. 

6 ways to save money on kids boutique clothing

They say most great ideas come from a great need. I discovered how to save money on kid’s boutique clothing because I am obsessed with buying cute outfits for my babies.

I love smocked dresses, appliques, monograms, and jon jons but I don’t love the retail price. Through some trial and error, I have found several different sources that allow me to have the precious outfits for my kiddos at a deep discount. 

Don’t get caught buying those sweet boutique items at retail price! Here are the six ways that I save money on kid’s boutique clothing.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

6 Ways to Save Money on Kid’s Boutique Clothing

  1. Facebook BST Groups that Ship – This is probably my favorite way to save on my kid’s clothes. If you don’t know about BST Groups on Facebook, read my post here to get all the details. I consistently snag items at 50-75% off retail prices. The best part is that you purchase by paypal and get it delivered to your door! The risk on this is that it is just regular moms (or dads) selling items and most of the time the group admins are the same. However, I have found after 4 years of BST sales and purchases via this method that most people are honest. If you do run into someone that doesn’t ship your items, Paypal has amazing customer service and customer protection. That is why you always pay through Paypal!
  2. Local Garage Sale Facebook Groups or Apps – Varagesale.com and local Facebook online groups are great places to find boutique clothing for less. I don’t find this as convenient because you typically have to meet at an agreed upon location to pick up but you will find some good deals. Insider tip: I search not just where I live but also in neighboring affluent suburbs. Particularly when I am looking for smocked items or upper end brands, the selection is usually higher in the nicest areas.
  3. Local Thrift Stores or Once Upon a Child– You will need to pack your patience for this one, but I have found Smocked items, Janie & Jack, Hanna Andersson, monogrammed dresses and more for $1-$3.99. There is usually a pretty good selection of the major brand names at thrift stores too (Baby Gap, Rare Editions, Gymboree etc). I like to go during the week over my lunch hour if possible. Our stores are picked over during the weekends and whenever I have found a Treasure it was during the week.
  4. Ebay – I feel like Ebay has lost its luster over the past few years, however, I love the search functions that it offers. I have purchased several lots of boutique clothes at such low prices. Just watch out for the shipping costs, sometimes it looks like a great deal until you see that it is $25 for shipping.
  5. Local Consignment Sales – Be on the look out for when local consignment sales will be open in your area. I often find great deals on gently used boutique items. In my area, at lots of the consignment sales, there will be a boutique or two that will sell new items at a largely discounted rate.
  6. Online Consignment Websites – Sites like Thredup or Swap.com allow you to search large inventories of kid’s gently used clothing.

These six ways are how I consistently save money on kid’s boutique clothing. 

5 THM Leftover Chicken Lunch Ideas

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5 THM Leftover Chicken Lunch Ideas

The hardest part of Trim Healthy Mama for me is coming up with interesting but easy meals. With little ones under foot, I need quick and simple meals a lot of the time. These 5 THM leftover chicken lunch ideas not only meet that criteria but they are also budget friendly! If you need more lunch ideas check out my 6 THM Work Lunch Ideas and a Protein Packed THM S Salad.

5 THM Leftover Chicken Lunch Ideas

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information. 

How Do the Leftover Lunches Help My Budget?

Eating at home (or lunch brought from home) saves money. Now that is not some new phenomenon but it is so true. Since I spend a little more on certain personal choice items when following THM – hello Halo Top! – I like to save in other areas where I can.

I can buy a large package of chicken at Walmart for under $10. The breasts are so thick, I slice them lengthwise and make 2 servings from each. Then I have my husband grill it up with a simple marinade.

We usually eat a portion for dinner that night with veggies and maybe a sweet potato if we want an “E” meal. Then I package the rest up to eat through the week. Having a nice cooked protein ready to go usually solves 90% of my “what am I going to eat” dilemma. It also helps to prevent eating out or worse, falling off plan if I have something ready to use.

5 THM Leftover Chicken Lunch Ideas

My husband was out of town a good bit of this week, so I didn’t cook much. It was a really nice break to have this chicken in the fridge for simple lunches and light, summer dinner meals. Here is what I ate!

Simple Cobb Salad – THM S

Chicken Cobb Salad THM S

I love Cobb salad because you can kind of throw anything on it and call it a Cobb salad. Right? Well I think you can anyway.

Top a bed of baby spinach with your diced leftover chicken, boiled egg, some diced veggies (I used orange bell pepper), a few grape tomatoes and cheese.

Chicken Avocado Mozzarella Bowl – THM S

Chicken Avo Mozzarella bowl THM S Low Carb Keto

I actually ate this for a light dinner but it would be great for lunch. The creamy avocado goes great with the chewy mozzarella.

Reheat and cut your chicken. Cut up the avocado and tomato. Place all items in the bowl and add the fresh mozzarella balls. I drizzled the mozzarella with a little olive oil and balsamic and sprinkled it with pepper.

Chicken Alfredo Pita Pizza – THM S

Chicken Alfredo Pita Pizza THM S

I used to make these before THM so this is a modified version that still tastes yummy and not like diet food!

I place a Joseph’s pita directly on the rack of a 350 degree oven for 3-5 minutes to crisp it up a little. Then spread a thin layer of an Alfredo sauce. You can make your own but I am not a purist and I am a mom to young kids so I need fast. I use Newman’s Own Alfredo and I’m happy with it (read the label and choose for yourself).

Next, spread on a layer of shredded cheese. Then top it with your chopped, leftover chicken. I added sliced onion and fresh mozzarella and fresh basil too! Heat in the oven for about 5-7 more minutes until everything gets all melty and delicious.

Chicken Fajita Quesadilla -THM S

Çhicken Quesadilla THM S

If I was eating at a Mexican restaurant prior to THM, this is probably what you would have caught me eating. I love the taste of a fajita but the slightly crunchy shell of a quesadilla. It melts two of my favorite Mexican things together into one yummy dish.

Here I made my THM version by simply subbing in a Mission low carb tortilla (personal choice item). Inside is just the leftover chicken, cheese and sautéed onions and peppers. I cook that up in my quesadilla maker and have lunch in just a few minutes. Top with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole.

Greek Chicken Mediterranean Bowl – THM E

Greek Chicken Mediterranean BowlGreek Chicken Mediterranean Bowl

You don’t eat no meat?! Y’all don’t you just love “My Big Fat Greek Wedding?” I know it is an older movie but it still makes me LOL every time.For this lunch, I just made an all things Greek bowl using leftovers. Take some leftover brown rice or quinoa (I used a blend) and it with your chopped chicken. Warm in the microwave until it reaches the desired temp. Then top your bowl with kalamata olives, tomatoes, hummus and Tzatziki. I like having an easy way to get an E meal in me that isn’t the same ol’ sandwich. I hope these 5 THM leftover chicken lunch ideas help you to use up your leftovers and save you some money from the takeout line.

A to Z Advent Calendar for Kids

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Advent calendar ideas have been at the top of my Google searches lately. We already have a tradition of a Christmas book countdown but I wanted to add one more countdown activity this year. Then I remembered a mom that I met in my Houston MOPS group that does an A to Z advent calendar for kids every year. It looked like such fun that I wanted to try it as one of our family Christmas activities this year.

A to Z Christmas Advent Countdown Calendar. Simple craft and treat ideas for kids to count down the days to Christmas. Fun & easy for toddlers, preschoolers and elementary kids. DIY activities, learning about Christian meaning and Jesus, and have fun with Santa.

Admittedly, it seemed a little overwhelming at first. 26 days of themed Christmas activities for kids sounded like a lot of glitter and messes and planning. But it also seemed like a great way to connect with the kids, get them excited for the upcoming season and to pass those long Christmas break days away from school.

Since this is our first year to do this A to Z advent calendar for kids activity, I will be adding pictures and updates after we complete each day. I hope you will follow along with us! If you decide to follow along use #AtoZAdventCalendar to show us the fun ya’ll have!

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

A to Z Advent Calendar for Kids

Here are the things that we are planning to do during our 26 days of Christmas from A to Z. We will have easy Christmas crafts for kids to make, sing Christmas songs for kids and make simple Christmas treats that preschoolers can help with.

I am so excited to introduce this to my kids and start a fun and new Christmas tradition.

Christmas Countdown by Letter Ideas

Come hang out with us as we move through the alphabet with Christmas crafts and activities.

A is for Angel Footprints, Advent Calendar, Angel Snack and Angel Worksheets

My 4 year old was pretty confused starting out. I explained the process as best as I could and we just jumped into opening the first bag. Since the contents of her “gift” were not what I am sure she was expecting even more confusion set in but we ended up having lots of fun.

I even dressed her in an angel top that morning. Completely unintentional but I guess I was ready to get this theme going! (I assure you that there will not be a coordinating outfit for each day but that would be so much fun!).

A Bag - Christmas Countdown Advent Calendar For Kids

I love her face in that picture. It looks like she is thinking “what in the world has my mom thought up now?”

Here is a glimpse of what was included in the “A” Bag. Angel worksheet and coloring printables, a baggy with 2 pretzels, a marshmallow and a gummy lifesaver, and a bottle of paint were in the bag. At this point, she thinks I am crazy.

A Bag Contents for Christmas Countdown

Decorate an Angel Snack

We started off with our Angel Snack. It was simple to make with cinnamon toast and she used the decorations included in the bag to make the pretzel wings, marshmallow head and lifesaver gummy halo.

The extra toast after you cut the triangle would make great wings too. Just search your pantry for things that will work. I found the lifesaver gummy in the leftover Halloween candy and the marshmallows were leftover from our Smores obsession a few weeks back.

Christmas Angel Cinnamon Toast Snack - Sunday School After School Treat

Angel Worksheets

After snack, I had some work to do so she moved on to her angel printables that were in the bag. She is really into connect the dots right now so I used a free printable that I found at Surfnetkids. I also printed off a couple of free angel coloring pages. This was a nice quiet time activity.

Connect the Dots Free Angel Printable Work For Christmas Countdown A Day

Angel Footprint Craft

The last thing that we did was an angel hand and footprint craft. We did this one after dinner because I knew it would be a little messy and take a bit more time. The pictures on this are limited because she giggled so much that I honestly just forgot about taking pictures. It tickled, painting your feet is funny, you know typical 4 year old stuff.

It did turn out pretty cute. Our Christmas angel is pink because that is her favorite color and she wouldn’t have it any other way. This was my favorite activity of the day just because it cracked her up so much.

Angel Footprint & Handprint Craft

Total Out of Pocket Cost: $0 – We had everything that I used on hand.

B is for Bow stamp painting, Singing jingle bells with Bells for Noise makers, Baby Jesus fingerprint nativity and Butterfinger Bells

By today, she was a bit more excited about this A to Z Advent Calendar! We started off by opening the bag and finding 2 jingle bells, two gift bows, a small stuffed baby Jesus (from our nativity set) and 2 Butterfinger chocolate bells.

B Day Bag Contents for Countdown

Eating Butterfinger Bells

First the kids ate their chocolate bells for a quick snack. The baby was particularly excited that he got included on this part.

Christmas Butterfinger Bells Baby Chocolate Face

After snack, we got the bells out and sang jingle bells while ringing our bells. I was surprised at how fun they thought this was. After a few rounds (when I was done), I heard them still ringing the bells and the 4 year old singing away. They were going so crazy (maybe from the candy) that it was almost impossible to get a clear picture because they would not sit still!

Bow Stamping a Gift Bag

We used a paper lunch bag to do the bow stamping on and she plans to use this to present a gift to her grandmother. She had fun with this craft but it didn’t last long.

Christmas Bow Painting Activity for Kids

Baby Jesus and the Manger Finger Painting

The last thing that we did was saved for after dinner. We talked about baby Jesus. We talked about why we celebrate Christmas and then started our fingerprint nativity scene. I just drew out a basic manger and let her stamp away.

Baby Jesus in the Manager

She ended up wanting to add Mary and Joseph to the picture so that baby Jesus would not be alone in the manager. Too cute!

Total Out of Pocket Cost: Technically $2.98 for the Butterfinger but they only ate 2 so that bag of candy will be used for some other upcoming things soon!

“C” is for Candy Cane Hunt, Christmas Carols Medley, Christmas tree snack, Candy Cane bath paint and Candy Cane do a dot art (& Coronation Day)

She added the Coronation day to our C day by dressing up like Anna for our “C” day A to Z Advent Calendar Countdown.

Christmas C Bag for Christmas Holiday Advent Calendar Countdown

Christmas Carol Medley

I just kept adding to “C” day and it kept us pretty busy! We started the “C” bag on our way home from school by introducing the Christmas carol medley tradition. I remember riding in the car with my Dad and sister as a kid and him starting a Christmas carol medley. The rules were simple. The song had to be a Christmas song and you could interrupt at anytime with a new song and everyone had to start singing that song.

I remember having so much fun being silly and singing in the car with Dad and my sis. So I explained the rules and we jumped right into a beautiful medley. I love listening to her interpretation of some of the songs (& I refuse to correct her. She will be five in just a few days and I am savoring every moment of “baby” that I have left.)

Christmas Tree Snack

Decorate Your Own Christmas Tree Cinnamon Toast Snack

A quick, DIY Christmas tree snack was next. We went back to the trusty old cinnamon toast and I provided topping for her to decorate with. The baby didn’t get to decorate but he does love to eat our creations.

Decorated Cinnamon Toast Christmas Tree Snack

Candy Cane Hunt

After dinner, the candy cane hunt was on. I hid 12 candy canes around the living room. She ran around the room squealing with delight every time that she found one. This was definitely a winner activity.

Candy Cane Hunt - Cheap and Easy Christmas Fun Activity for Kids

Of course after she found them all, a candy cane dessert was in order.

Candy Cane Snack

Candy Cane Bath Paint

We got a lesson in listening to go with our fun on this little project. She was not listening to my instructions and got her a big handful of shaving cream to eat (she thought it was whipped cream). It was a nice time to discuss how listening and obeying your parents is expected and helpful.

But we quickly got to our candy cane fun. She mixed the ingredients (shaving cream, a couple drops of  red washable paint or food coloring and some optional peppermint extract). She swirled it to get a candy cane effect and took it to the bath to play.

Candy Cane Bath Paint Fun for Kids

I heard “this is so much fun” at least 100 times. The fact that the paint turned the water pink was an added bonus for her.

We also did a quick Do A Dot candy cane printable while I was cooking dinner. It is a simple activity but helps to give me those few minutes to get dinner done.

Total Out of Pocket Cost: $1 for the shaving cream

“D” is for Dear Santa

We kept it ultra simple after having a big day yesterday! We thought about 5 things that she really wants and made a list for Santa.

It was fun and simple. And a bonus, she got to practice writing. 

Dear Santa - Christmas List

“E” is for Elf Crafts and Elf Hats

We used a free elf printable to create our own little elf (because we don’t have enough Elf On The Shelf going on already!).  

Our afternoon snack was “Elf Hats” which are known to others as Bugles. 

“F” is for Fizzing Candy Canes, Friends and Family

This was actually the day of my daughter’s birthday party so it was perfect that it was “F” day because she was surrounded by family and friends. 

And because she was not letting me off that easy, we also made fizzing candy canes. This was so easy and she had fun for 10 minutes or so working on the activity. 

To create the fizzing candy cane project, fill a couple of containers with white vinegar and a drop or two of food coloring. Arrange candy canes on a tray and sprinkle with baking soda. 

The child can use a dropper (we used the syringe that comes with baby Tylenol) or even a  teaspoon to drop the colored vinegar on the tray. They will have fun watching the white baking soda change colors and fizz up.