Daily Sweet Fix

For today’s Daily Sweet Fix I thought that I would go ahead and share with you guys another Homemade Starbucks Drink recipe that you can make right at home! If you missed yesterday’s recipe for the Coconut Mocha Frappucino, you can go here to get the recipe! I can’t wait to try these!

STARBUCK’S DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP CRÈME FRAPPUCINO

4 tablespoon chocolate syrup

4 tablespoon chocolate chips

4 cups double-strength freshly brewed Espresso {if you don’t want to use espresso, milk may work here}

Chopped or crushed ice

Whipped cream (optional)

Chocolate syrup (for drizzle, optional)

Fill blender half full with chopped or crushed ice. Add all ingredients (except

whipped cream) and blend until thick and still icy. Pour into 4 tall glasses, top with

whipping cream and drizzle chocolate over the whipped cream.

By now you all know how much that I love my coffee! 🙂 I was so excited when my buddy Lori over at Hot Coupon World emailed me an eCookbook filled with Starbucks drinks and goodies that you can make at home!

I thought that I would share them with you throughout the next few weeks here on Daily Sweet Fix! I have not tried any of these yet as I am on vacation right now. I can’t wait to try this one- Mocha Coconut Frappucino! What can be better than coconut, chocolate and coffee all together for one refreshing drink!?

 **MOCHA COCONUT FRAPPUCCINO**

Like a cold Mounds bar in a cup with a caffeine kick thrown in for extra buzz.

Find shredded coconut in the baking aisle and toast 1/2 cup of it (store the leftover

coconut in the fridge). You’ll use most of the toasted coconut in the blender, but

save a little for the garnish when the drinks are done.

1/2 cup shredded coconut

3/4 cup double strength coffee

1 cup low-fat milk

1/3 cup Hershey’s chocolate syrup

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 cups ice

Garnish: whipped cream

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread shredded coconut on a baking sheet and

toast coconut in the oven. Stir the coconut around every 10 minutes or so for even

browning. After 25 to 30 minutes the shredded coconut should be light brown. Cool it

off.

2. Make double-strength coffee by brewing with twice the coffee required by your

coffeemaker. That should be 2 tablespoons of ground coffee per each cup of coffee.

Chill

before using.

3. To make the drinks, combine cold coffee, milk, 1/3 cup of the toasted coconut,

1/3 cup

chocolate syrup, and sugar in a blender. Blend for 15 to 20 seconds to dissolve

sugar.

Add ice and blend until ice is crushed and the drink is smooth. Pour drinks into

two 16-ounce glasses. Garnish each drink with whipped cream, a drizzle of

chocolate,

and a pinch of some of the remaining toasted coconut. Add a straw to each one.

Makes 2 large drinks.

Variation on Mocha Frappuccino:

2 cups ice cold milk, 2 cups vanilla ice cream, 1/3 cup (rounded) General Foods

International Coffees, Suisse Mocha flavor, 1 tbls cold espresso or strong black

coffee (optional, for more coffee flavor) Blend at high speed for about a minute.

Place the blender container in the freezer for about half an hour (this makes it

colder and thicker, but Don’t let it freeze all of the way) Blend the contents again.

Serves 2.

Today’s Daily Sweet Fix is all about the Grocery Coupon Network! If you are reading my blog, then you must love to save money in any way possible like me, right? Well, I recently came across another great coupon site that I wanted to share with you! It is called the Grocery Coupon Netowork! Grocery Coupon Network is actually a community for FREE and  popular coupons, special offers, and deals!

Click on the banner above to join and start saving even more money today!

Today’s Daily Sweet Fix is all bout using Free item coupons!

I love to receive Free item coupons from contacting companies about their products and through Facebook and other promotional offers!

I have a few helpful tips for you on using those FREE item coupons at the store:

First of all, I find that is helpful to use FREE item coupons when I am trying to get my total up to use a $/$$ coupon at a store. For example, yesterday I wanted to use a Publix $10/50 coupon. I used several FREE item coupons {as well as other coupons} to get my total up to $50 so that I could use that $10 coupon! This is very helpful and allows you to get more bang for your buck!

Secondly, I always write down the price of the FREE item on the coupon for the cashier. This not only saves time, but also allows my transaction to go much smoother. Almost every cashier thanks me for this as it saves them from having to go back, find the item, and then write the price of the product on the coupon! 🙂

Lastly, when it comes to FREE item internet coupons, I find that many times it is helpful to stop by the Customer Service Desk at the store you are shopping to ask them if they will accept that coupon. Because of the horrible effects that coupon fraud is having on couponers, many stores are no longer accepting these. It is helpful to ask before using the coupon to avoid any embarrasment or confusion on your part. I hate that coupon fraud is becoming so predominant nowadays. It really hurts those of us that are using coupons the right way and are just trying to save our families some money!

 Do you have a helpful tip on using FREE item coupons? If so, please let me know!

Today’s Daily Sweet Fix is all about utilizing the Farmer’s Markets and Produce Stands in your area. I don’t know about the grocery stores in your area, but around here, the price of produce is just crazy!

A couple of months back I started going to a local Produce Market. From the minute that I walked into the store, I was amazed at how much cheaper the prices were!  For example, green and red bell peppers, which are priced around $2.99 per pound at Publix {YIKES!} were 6 for $1! I also noticed that Vidalia Onions were $1.19 per pound, while at Publix they are around $1.59 per pound!I also found Cherry Tomatoes for just $0.99 per little basket!

Not only do I love the fact that I am saving money by utilizing these resources, but I am also helping out the local farmers! And, as if that were not enough, the produce is so fresh tasting!

What about you? Do you shop at a local Farmer’s Market or Produce stand? Do you find that the prices are better than those of the grocery store? I would love to hear your comments on this!

Today’s Daily Sweet Fix is all about how to entertain the kiddos while you shop! Now, I have to admit that I love to shop alone, but many times I have to take Drew with me. As you well know, it is so easy for children to get bored while shopping, so I have a few creative ideas to keep them entertained {at least for awhile!}

First of all, what child does not like to receive praise and recognition for a job well done? With that in mind, why not give your child a coupon or an item off of your list and have them help you find the product that you are looking for? After awhile this will become like a game to your child! At the same time, you are teaching responsibility and how to save money!

Secondly, have your child help you search for coupons in the store. Drew loves to help Mommy search for new blinkie coupons! {the coupons that are dispensed from a machine} When he sees a new one he gets so excited! In fact, many times I have to say, “Drew, I think that is enough coupons for now-let’s leave some for other people!”

Thirdly, bring coloring books or crayons with you to let the kiddos stay entertained while you are shopping. I know that this may seem a little generic, but in all reality it works! I always have my list ready to go so I don’t have to wander around longer than necessary throughout the store, but I find that having a coloring book and crayons with me seems to entertain Drew long enough to get what I need!

Lastly, Drew has a Leapster Learning System that we will take with us to the store on occasion. I have to say, that has been a life-saver at times! Children tend to get bored very easily and this has the ability to entertain him for just the amount of time that I need to get the items on my list! I also like the Leapster because many of the games are educational and not just another video game.

I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on this topic. What do you do to keep your kiddos entertained while shopping?

Today’s Daily Sweet Fix is for Egg Beaters!

We love to use Egg Beaters in our house. They are so quick and easy! I love to make omelettes with them-so yummy!

GO HERE to contact Egg Beaters to let them know how much you appreciate their products! Don’t forget to ask if they have a mailing list to sign up for!

look at all these goodies!

For today’s Daily Sweet Fix, I thought that it would be fun to share with you the goodies that I have received in my mail just in the last 2 days! It definitely pays to sign up for all the freebies and samples that I post about on a daily basis!

boxed sample of Ritz Crackerfuls with Bacon and Cheddar

boxed sample of Burt’s Bees Toothpaste

boxed sample of Kraft Sandwich Shop Mayo

sample of Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye (looks like a full sized product!)

bottled sample of Genesis Today Sleep and Relaxation

Target home mailer with coupons-this includes a $5/50 purchase coupon that I can use at Publix!

 booklet of BJ’s coupons -can be stacked with manuf. Coupons!

Limited mailer with coupons

 sample of John Frieda Sheer Blonde

$10 Starbucks Gift Card from Swagbucks –not sure what Swagbucks is all about? Go here to read my Swagbucks 101 post and you too can start earning Starbucks gift cards!

Today’s Daily Sweet Fix is all about rain checks! I have had some questions lately from readers regarding this topic, so I thought that I would visit it today!

How many times have you gone to the store, coupons in hand to purchase a certain product, only to find that they are all out of that item? This is when you need to get a rain check!  From my experience, a rain check can prove to be a very valuable piece of paper-almost like cash!

I  find that if there is a product the store is out of at the moment and I was not planning on buying, but would like to try the item down the road, I ask for a rain check! Many times, coupons will become available for that product at a later date, and since I have my handy-dandy rain check, I can now try the product for a fraction of the regular price!

Rain checks are especially valuable at places like CVS. I don’t know about you, but I find that many times CVS is out of their Extra Care Buck items after the start of the first sale day. Did you know that you can get a rain check on those items as well? When the cashier is writing your rain check, they will write a special code (found right near the item in the ad) on it. This enables the cashier to print out your Extra Care Bucks when the item is back in stock and you purchase it. So, having a rain check not only allows one to receive the sale price (after the sale is over), but  it also allows you to receive your Extra Care Bucks as well! Pretty sweet deal on the part of CVS! As a busy mommy, I also love this concept because now I don’t feel that I have to run to CVS on the first day of the sale!

Some rain checks will have a 30 day expiration on them, so make sure to look it over thoroughly. I know that for me, the newer Publix rain checks state this. CVS, on the other hand, has rain checks that never expire! I am not 100% certain about the rain checks at Walgreens, but I think that they expire within 30 days.

So, if you are not getting rain checks while shopping, I would think again! These peices of paper can become like cash in your wallet!

*updated with more contact info*

I have to send out a big thank you to reader Ida, for today’s Daily Sweet Fix! Have you ever wondered what to do with all of those expired coupons that you have lying around the house? Or, maybe there are coupons for products that you just won’t use? I have the solution for you!

Did you know that overseas military families can use expired coupons up to 6 months past the expired date? I don’t know about you, but I would love to be able to send my coupons to someone that can use them!  On top of that, how awesome is it to be able to support our troops, and with coupons! These wonderful men and women do so much for our country, the least we can do is send them our expired coupons!

Coupons for diapers, formula, toiletries, and laundry soap are the most desirable coupons, but anything will be appreciated! So, how about it? Will you join me and send those expired coupons to our troops and their families overseas?

A HUGE thanks to CouponMom.com for this extensive list of addresses of people that we can send our coupons to!

-Vicky Forehand, PSC 37 Box 3867, APO, AE 09459 (United Kingdom)

-Derma J. Close, CMR 437 Box 1517, APO AE 09267-1517

-Kristina Boone, PSC 2 Box 7448 APO, AE 09012

-Incirlik Coupon Program
39 FSS/FSFR
Unit 7505 box 175
APO AE 09824

-Naples Commissary, DeCa/EU/NAP, Pcs 808, Box 44, FPO AE 09618-0044. (Italy)

-Shinnen Commissary, Unit 21692, APO AE 09703-1602. (Netherlands)

 -Mannheim Commissary, Bldg. 200, Unit 29902, APO, AE 09086. (Germany)

 -Donna Presslor (coordinates multiple coupon sources to be mailed to bases)
205 N.  Harrison St.
Russellville, IN  46175  (she coordinates several coupon packages for shipment overseas)

thanks to reader Dina for another contact : http://ocpnet.org/

**If you have any other addresses that you would like to add to the list, please let me know! I am excited about helping our military and their families via coupons!