Clean Eating Grocery List

These are things I keep on hand so I always have something available for lunch and dinner.

Holiday Happenings

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With Christmas just six weeks away there are things we begin to do in our home to prepare for the hustle and bustle. There are four areas I address this time a year.

Budget:
As many of you know we are Dave Ramsey people. A few years ago we began the total money makeover, paid off $58,500 in debt in 16 months, became FPU leaders and haven’t stopped preaching it since then. When Christmas times comes around nothing changes in our financial world because we plan! Doug and I have found that the best way for us to save for Christmas is to put money away each month directly out of Doug’s check into a savings account. Now if you haven’t done this all year do not worry. You still have time. Here are a few tips to get you on track.
1. Sit down and make a list of who you need/want to buy for.

2. Sit down and calculate how much you can pull aside from each check from now until Christmas to buy those people gifts.Cash shopping only!

3. Go back to the list and decide how much you can afford to spend on everyone on your list.If you do not have enough for everyone on the list see if there are some items you can make or people you may see after the 25th and you could buy their gift at an after Christmas sale.

4. Now make a list of what you want to buy each person and shop with that list. Do not allow yourself to get caught up in the hype and wonderment of Christmas. It isn’t beautiful when you wake up in January in debt and the Christmas dazzle is gone.

5. Set a plan for next year so that when Christmas comes you are ready!

The Menu and the Decorations:
Y’all know I am about clean eating and entertaining. My favorite thing to do is scour the internet for new exciting recipes I can make RNforWellness approved. Planning the Christmas dinner menu, making the list,and putting my shopping day on the calendar helps to relieve the stress of the unknown for me.
I also take time to get my decorations down, go through them and decide what I will use this year, what might need to be tossed, and is there anything I need to purchase using my Christmas budget. If you are like me by the time Christmas is over the last thing I want to do is put away my decorations so they kinda end up shoved in whatever Christmas tub has room. I know it’s not the best plan but it’s the best this girl can do come January 1.

The Advent:
In our home spending time with the kiddos revisiting what Christmas is all about is one of the most wonderful pieces of the holiday season. We have our traditional advent calendar that we do every year but I also like to bring in a new thing that gets everyone excited about the true meaning of Christmas. My boys look forward to what this thing will be every year. Now with the world of Pinterest this is a whole lot easier. There are so many wonderful ideas that other mom’s have done and now all of those ideas are at our fingertips. We no longer have to always reinvent the wheel.

Prayer:
The only way I know how to truly prepare for the Christmas season and all that is wrapped up in the hustle and bustle is to pray. I learned a few years back that if I don’t spend time with God they true meaning of Christmas and the joy that comes with it gets lost in translation.

My prayer for all of you is that my website might be a place you can come to get recipes and ideas for your holiday season. I hope that I can help to lower your stress.

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