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Money saving adventures I have had this week include:

• Saving money on paying the entrance fee to the Fireworks display by watching it from the hill near our house instead!

• Getting a lot of very cheap organic veggies from the farmers market. I paid about £10 and got 4 kabocha squash, a large bag of broccoli, kale and rainbow chard.

• Made most of my own fancy dress costume for my best friends up coming 80’s themed 30th Birthday party. I had a lot of fun at the weekend getting creative. I can’t wait to show you all at the weekend!
• We went and did some shopping in Tesco at the weekend as I had a Club Card voucher and a voucher for 50p off some soya yoghurt. I was so proud of myself as I picked up several ‘impulse’ purchases but came to my senses and put them back before we got to the till :-)
• Picked up this random funky t-shirt from a charity shop for £1.25

Ok, I didn’t really need this but they were running a little promotion and I won a ticket for 25% off so really felt like I should get something, it is for charity after all and it makes a great ‘lazing round the house’ type top!

Other Big Budgeters joining in so far:

Sarah @ Every Day’s a Picnic

Deise Gal @ Witty Blog Name Pending

Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes see her update and budget busting meals 6

True Penny @ Cool Beans

Danielle @ Love Life Eat Laugh

Alissa @ Not Just Apples – see this weeks update here

Sarah @ Sweet Potato Sarah

Sharon@ Bit of the good stuff

Emma @ Coming up easy

Al @ Al’s Food and Fitness

Eleanor @ Eating like a horse

Maria @ Running Cupcake – she’s been very organised for Christmas!

Ffion@ Chocolate and Raspberries

We don’t have long until the end of the challenge now everyone – those of you who haven’t posted an update why not let us know how you are getting on? 

Italian Quinoa with White Beans (vegan, makes two servings)

This is yet another fairly simple and cheap recipe that tastes so much better than the sum of its parts. I really love recipes like this that don’t have too many ingredients and are quick to prepare but still taste amazing. You could easily make this with whatever grain or bean you fancy and just by changing up the seasoning you could give it a different twist such as hot chilli powder for Mexican, curry powder for Indian, cumin for Moroccan etc.

• 1/2 cup of dry quinoa
• 1 can or 1 cup of cooked white beans – either cannellini or haricot beans
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 courgettes, chopped
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup of tomato passata or 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1/3 cup of olives, sliced
• 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning
• Fresh basil to serve

Begin by cooking the quinoa in 1 cup of water or veg stock until fluffy (about 10 – 15 minutes) while the quinoa is cooking crush the garlic and chop the courgettes. Gentle fry the garlic over a medium heat then add the courgettes and stir fry until slightly tender but still with a bit of crunch. Add the white beans, cooked quinoa, tomatoes, olives and seasoning. Simmer for a further 5 minutes until warmed through and serve with a generous sprinkling of fresh  basil.

I served mine with some nutritional yeast on top and alongside my usual mountain of steamed greens – kale and broccoli. This is also a handy meal to make when your cooking for a veggie / vegan and an omni together as you can just make as directed leaving the beans out, then split the mixture at the end and add the cooked beans in one portion and then add cooked chicken, mince or sausages to the other portion. If you have the grain pre cooked this is also a great one pan dish!

Do you ever buy things on impulse? Have you ever put things back on the shelves before you get to the till?

Please check out my first ever article: Eating Raw Made Easy over on the Viva Pure blog!