Monday, January 26, 2009

Angelfood Unwrapped

I keep telling people about Angelfood Ministries but I only just realized I should probably write about my experience with them! It is not a food bank for free food, nor do you have to sit and listen to a religious service to get your food. You go in with a receipt, get your food, and you get out all in about 10 minutes total. Quite a few sites have online ordering which is awesome. The next menu coming up is: Angelfood February Menu

There are no qualifications, minimums, income restrictions, or applications.

Additionally, there is no limit to the number of units or bonus foods an individual can receive.... Angel Food Ministries also participates in the U.S. Food Stamp program, using the Off-Line Food Stamp Voucher system.

Angel Food is available in a quantity that can fit into a medium-sized box at $30 per unit. Each month's menu is different than the previous month and consists of both fresh and frozen items with an average retail value of approximately $60. Comparison shopping has been done across the country in various communities using a wide range of retail grocery stores and has resulted in the same food items costing from between $42 and $78. There are no second-hand items, no damaged or out-dated goods, no dented cans without labels, no day-old breads and no produce that is almost too ripe.

Also offered are specialty boxes such as steaks, chicken and pork. Many participants in this bonus program appreciate the expanded choices.

Everyone has asked me, "What does the food look like? Is it good?" And I understand, because I've done the food bank stuff before and tossed out a lot of the food I got from them. Plus, I'm a skeptic where if it's too good to be true...but their holiday box of food made a delicious Christmas meal & we're a very particular bunch when it comes to holiday food.

So this is what the packaged food looks like still in the boxes, with a few items already put away, like my eggs, tortillas, bags of frozen veggies, etc., & some items from previous orders (see complete list below):

Basically if you shop at a discount grocery like Aldi's or get generics, you won't be shocked by the packaging, and the quality is just as good as any grocery store. That chicken is HUGE, like 7 lbs, seriously. Although, the cooking instructions on a few of those chicken products all say deep fryer. The breaded chicken patties were supposed to be the nuggets, and it freaked me out for a minute when I threw them on my cookie sheet for dinner and they were raw inside!. All in all, I spent $71 in January for:

REGULAR BOX $30.00
  • 1.5 lb. Ribeye Steak (4 x 6 oz.)
  • 4 lb. Leg Quarters
  • 1.5 lb. Beef Patties (4 x 6 oz.)
  • 18 oz. Cheese Filled Manicotti
  • 2 lb. Pork Rib Strips
  • 1 lb. Chicken Breast Fajita Strips
  • 1 lb. Ground Turkey
  • 1 lb. Broccoli
  • 1 lb. Peas
  • 6 ct. Oatmeal Variety Box
  • 2 each-Regular, Maple Brown Sugar and Apple Cinnamon
  • 32 oz. 2% Shelf Stable Milk (Bordens liquid - not powdered)
  • 8 oz. Blueberry Muffin Mix
  • 12 ct. White Corn Tortillas
  • 1 lb. Pinto Beans
  • 7 oz. Chicken Flavored Rice & Vermicelli
  • Dozen Eggs
  • Dessert

    10 lb. Chicken Combo Box $20.00
  • 4.5 lb. (avg.) Whole Perdue Chicken
  • 2 lb. Wings
  • 2 lb. Chicken Nuggets
  • 2 lb. Breaded Chicken Tenders

    Fresh Fruit and Veggie Box $21.00
  • 4 lb. New Crop Idaho Baking Potatoes
  • 3 lb. New Crop North Carolina Sweet Potatoes
  • 2 lb. Western Grown Medium Yellow Onions
  • 4 lb. Tree Ripened Navel Oranges
  • ½ lb. New Crop Georgia Grown Pecan Halves
  • 2 ea. Tree Ripened Florida Red Grapefruit
  • 1 head New Crop Florida Green Cabbage
  • 1 lb. Western Grown Carrots (cello packed)
  • 4 ea. Tree Ripened Florida Tangerines
  • 4 ea. Washington State Bosc Pears
You do want to bring bags/boxes for carrying your stuff. They do give you a 'newsletter' with religious information and stories about Angelfood, but it also has recipes for the items in the boxes you get! I love that. It almost makes up for having to get there at 9:30am...on a Saturday...when it was 7 degrees outside.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Link Love - Fashion Finds & Shopping

Ok, this is blog linking at it's best. LOL

I always lurk on other people's blogs via my Sage RSS feed reader (mozilla addon), so I don't comment often or email other people. Today was different because it was about fashion!

First, I've been reading The Pink Shoe Diaries for years, as in before Noah was born years. She is having a PURSE SALE which is awesome because no Eb@y fees! Woot! I got these two for a steal:

















So I then thought of Fab Finds Under $50 to whom I sent the link to said purse sale. She inspires some of the fashion changes I want to make to my wardrobe. The thing I also like is that she's not a size 2 as in the magazines so I'm able to see how it might look on someone of a similar size/shape!

I was linked to her blog from Fabulous Financials who inspires me to get my money in order and other saving ideas. She was the reason I finally started paying myself first in my ING Direct account. Feel free to email me for referral codes for free $ in your account when you sign up!

Then there's HauteLook, which I just found via a link from one of my survey companies. Note that some of these are sample sales with sizes being limited for certain designers. The children's clothing and accessories are nice if you aren't size 0-12!

About HauteLook
As the "hottest thing to hit the fashion business in years" HauteLook is a club which organizes 24-72 hour online private sales. All goods are direct from the manufacturer and are guaranteed authentic. Premium brands are sold on a first come, first served basis and can be acquired for up to 75% off retail prices. For privileged HauteLook club members, the value is simple:
"access to great brands at unbeatable prices". Membership is free.


If you use the coupon code CUSTSERV10, you get $10 off your order. I got these two adorable City Thread shirts for my son for $27 (normally $38. each!), including shipping:























And last, but absolutely not least, my long term friend and awesome maker of children's clothing: Sew Glamorous. She has an Etsy store link on her site.

And that's it. I'm off to get the child a haircut, return some $40 boots that are cute but don't fit, and buy a belt. Oh, and to the library before returning home! Can you tell this is a rare day off before school starts tomorrow? Hooray!

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