10 Shekel Movie Tix!

It's Coming!

Israeli Movie Day is almost here - this year it's on Wednesday, September 9th. 

Tickets for Israeli Movies will be just 10 shekels (if you buy online, expect to pay an additional 4 or so shekels in fees), and 57 movie theaters are participating.

Among the participating theater chains are: Cinema City, Yes Planet, Rav-Chen, Lev, Globus Max, and Cinematek. In addition, some independent movie theaters will participate, including: The Tel Aviv Museum, "Kolnoa Kochav" in Ramat HaSharon, "Kolnoa Eilat", Matnas Arad, Beit Gavriel, Hadera High School, The Jerusalem Theater, and more.

150,000 people are expected to take advantage of this deal.

Enjoy your Israeli movies!

Goggles4U ships to Israel for $9.95

Buying glasses online has become a really popular option here in Israel. For many, this offers the only way to buy affordable prescription glasses. I know that once I was quoted a price of 2000 shekels for my glasses, and that scared me off from buying new glasses for at least a year longer than I should have waited!

I know, that sounds crazy. And it probably wasn't my best decision, but I was dealing with multiple issues and my eye doctor actually recommended waiting a little while if I could manage. So I waited as long as I could.

In the end I bought new glasses for about 400 shekels a few months ago here in Israel, which is very good for thin lenses for high prescriptions, with astygmatism correction and anti-reflective coatings...

But I know that I may have gotten a better deal had I shopped online, although I must admit, shopping online for high index lenses with all the requirements I have was actually not so cheap when I checked at some point.

However, there may be another place for me to check next time! I've just discovered another website that ships glasses to Israel - Goggles4U offers $8.99 Glasses w/ Coated Lenses, and international shipping starts at $9.95

So, if you are buying glasses online, be sure to check out Goggles4!

this post contains affiliate links

Dishwasher Detergent Substitute!

I was running low on dishwasher detergent.

Normally, I use Ecover Dishwashing Tablets (I buy them locally when there's a sale, or I order them from iherb when there's a sale), and I'm generally pleased with them. But it works out to something around a shekel per tablet even with a sale.

So I decided that maybe I could cut back the cost.

I experimented a little, and now I use 1/2 a tablet per load, and it really works just as well as a whole tablet. In fact, I think it may work better!

Overall, I was really pleased with this discovery. It allows me to buy less detergent and use up fewer of those little plastic wrapped tablets. (Each one is individually wrapped, which irks me, since Ecover is supposed to be an environmentally friendly company. I'm not sure it makes sense to wrap them like this from an ecological viewpoint, but I digress...)

But now I was running low, as I didn't stock up enough the last time there was a sale. So, it became experiment time again!

I tried all sorts of combinations - baking soda, citric acid, regular dishwashing detergent (only a drop), washing soda, etc. In the end, I have found a formula that works just about as well in my dishwasher as the Ecover half-tablets do!

I'm so happy to report that all I have to do is put a small amount of 2 ingredients in my dishwasher detergent container and we are good to go!

Yes - I just used baking soda and a bit of fruit and vegetable cleaner! The one I last bought has a spray bottle and I just spray two little spurts on top of 2 tablespoons (give or take) of baking soda. Really simple and I don't have to measure carefully! And best of all, it so simple and it WORKED!

Have you ever found a successful hack for a common household cleaner you were out of?
I'd love to hear about it!

Cellphone buying

I've been looking into replacing my phone with something sort of like a smartphone, but I haven't jumped on that bandwagon just yet.

But I thought I would share some of my research with you.

#1. Phone in Israel are way overpriced

#2. Second hand cellphones are risky, they often don't work right, or have little battery life, etc

#3. People have been buying no name phones from Aliexpress and having them shipped here via regular mail, and paying just a fraction of the local price for similar phones!

 


 I don't know if I'll actually buy something right now, but I'd love to hear if any of you decide to order a new phone. Please tell me the best deal you've found!

*this post contains affiliate links

Improvised "Pasta with Cheese Sauce"

A couple of months ago, I noticed an interesting post in one of those groups on Facebook where people post their dinner menus.

Among all the fancy "poached salmon with risotto and wilted baby spinach with fresh mushrooms" and other such gourmet (um, read: unrealistic for a busy family) menus was a GEM. It was a "Cheater's Macaroni and Cheese" recipe, that, get this -- had no cheese in it! 

I was intrigued and filed away the idea. Because, after all, we know that the cheese is the expensive part of a pasta meal, and I was wondering if we could find a way to "frugalize" our pasta meals, but still have milk protein in it.

So this week, I took that recipe and tweaked it to work with my family's preferences.

And here's what I came up with:

Improvised Pasta with "Cheese" Sauce

This makes a really large batch. Enough to feed my family of 6, including a teenage boy and a bottomless pit almost teenage boy AND have leftovers for my hubby to take with him to work for lunch the next day. Feel free to cut it in half.

 What You Need:

large pot
5-6 cups water
2 bags whole wheat pasta
1-1.5 liters milk
1/4 tsp turmeric
salt, pepper, granulated garlic, oregano to taste

First, bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the pasta. It will' look like there's not enough water in there, but that's because there ISN'T. Bring the pot back to a boil and stir the pasta as it cooks in the small amount of water. Eventually the water will all be absorbed, and the pasta won't be fully cooked yet. Turn off the flame. Add milk and seasonings to the pot. Stir well, and turn the flame back on. Bring it to a boil, and continue stirring as the pasta cooks in the milk. It will absorb some of the milk, and some of the milk will thicken as it absorbs the pasta's starches, so it will become somewhat saucy. It won't be super saucy, because if you don't let the pasta absorb enough of the milk, you'll just have pasta in spiced milk. When it appears to be ready, turn off the flame, cover the pot, and let stand for 5 minutes.
Mix once again before serving.

Note: the pictures in this post are from my attempt with whole wheat linguini, but it worked better with whole wheat fusilli.

Second Note: this is not a perfect imitation of macaroni and cheese, but for us it was "good enough". And just as I strive in life not for perfection, but rather for "good enough", that is what I strive for with my kitchen experiments as well. Especially the money-saving ones when money is tight.

I hope this helps someone out there!

Menu Plan for the Week

Sunday
Lunch: Pasta with sauteed veggies, Pita crisps (wedges toasted with olive oil and spices)
Supper: Grilled cheese sandwiches (baking fresh bread), carrots and cucumber sticks, 

Monday:
Lunch: PB&J Sandwiches, cut veggies
Supper: Whatever is left from Shabbat!

Tuesday:
Lunch: Pancakes, apple crisp
Supper: Stuffed Peppers (with roast veggies, burgul, and lentils), Baked Potatoes with cheese

Wednesday:
Lunch: Bagels if I have the energy, otherwise sandwiches, salad
Supper: Pizza, salad, French fries

Thursday:
Lunch: All the leftovers from the week or if there aren't any, ???
Supper: No idea yet.

Subsidized Bread Discovery

Remember I wrote about price controlled foods, and some of you asked about the bread...?

Well, I was at the supermarket today, and they had sliced "lechem achid" on sale for 2.29 (price controlled price is 7.93, this store said the regular price was 7.29). So I looked at it, as the sliced version is packaged, and therefore, discloses ingredients. And I figured if the ingredients were half-decent, I might buy some to keep in my freezer for busy days, especially at this price, which was a lot cheaper than I could bake a 750g bread for at home!

Well... I was dismayed to learn that this subsidized bread (this was made by Angel's bakery) had, as the 3rd ingredient, partially hydrogenated oil!

So the government is subsidizing a food that is SUPER unhealthy.

WHY?

WHY is the Israeli government providing a cheap loaf of bread that is so bad for us? Partially hydrogenated oils are really "the bad guy" in the food world today. I mean, really. If you don't believe me, feel free to research!

I am so disgusted that the bread that the majority of Israelis use on a daily basis contains partially hydrogenated oil. The government is basically subsidizing our way to unhealthy consequences! The same government that provides us with health benefits, is encouraging its citizens to eat food that is truly unhealthy.

We should all be up in arms about this, but I wouldn't even know where to begin. Any ideas?

Amazing Resource

Need a cellphone for your trip to America?

There's a Gmach for that.

Need a car seat for a new baby?

There's a Gmach for that.

Need business advice?

There's a Gmach for that.

Need a wedding gown?

There's a Gmach for that.

I think you figured out where I'm going...

There is a HUGE list of Gmachim available, over at Gmachnet.

Need something? Consider borrowing it from the Gmach! Gmachim pool resources, and really help people save money.


P.S. I have no connection with the Gmachnet people, I just stumbled across their site and LOVED it!

Printable Coupon! (Israel) (Tnuva/Shufersal)

Available right now! Printable coupons for various Tnuva products, to be redeemed at Shufersal. Expiration dates vary, as far as I can tell.

Printable Coupon! (Israel)

Today, Mega put out a coupon for grape juice, for 11.99 for a 750 ml bottle. Their regular price is 12.90 - I know, because I am looking around for a better deal. So this week, you can get one for a bit less. I still think it's not an awesome price, but if that's the best you can find, go for it!
I know we are just now running out of all the grape juice we stocked up on before Rosh Hashana, for 8 or 9NIS/bottle... Trying to match that price again... Wish me luck!

Click here for the coupon!

Expires 3.3.2012

Printable Coupon! (Israel)

Do you buy Natural health products? Altman brand are certified kosher and here's a coupon for you!

Printable Coupon! (Israel)

Shufersal has a coupon out right now for animal crackers/letter cookies

Click here to go to their Facebook page to print it!

Oh, and don't forget to follow my blog so you won't miss out on these updates! I know ya'll love coupons as much as I do...

Shabbat Menu again! (and vegetarian cholent recipe)

MY SHABBAT GUESTS JUST CANCELLED!

So, I guess it's a good thing I forgot to defrost the chicken, now I'll defrost less than I had originally planned...

Here's my plan:


Split pea soup (Fri. nite) with lots of carrots (carrots are cheap right now, have I mentioned that?)

Cholent (for lunch - and now I am being pressured to replicate last week's cholent. Wish me luck! It had lots of onions, potato chunks, black beans, diced garlic, sweet potatoes - although those may get replaced with butternut squash, barley, and water and spices - the most crucial one is the smoked paprika. Cayenne Pepper is pretty important too...)


Chicken in BBQ marinade (easy, and delish!)

Potato Kugel (already done! actually I made 2, so now we'll have extra. They don't freeze so well. maybe I should stick one in the cholent, the way that Helen (my father's cousin, who took on the role of my grandmother in Israel) used to do?)

Rice (already done!)

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash (already done!)


Vegetarian Mock Deli Roll (I'll let you know how to make it after I try it out - if it's good!) - I already defrosted the puff pastry, so I'll make it even though this was an extra because of guests!)

Make your own salad (we have avocado, tomato, carrots, pickles, and purple cabbage, will that work?)

Dessert - Blondies, I think!

Shabbat Shalom!

Printable Coupon! (Israel)

I don't usually post these things, because I would really like to see everyone buy eco-friendly cleaning products. I know, though, that sometimes ideals are thrown out the window in order to deal with economic realities. So if you find yourself only sometimes buying eco-friendly cleaners, and sometimes regular, here's a coupon for dish detergent:

Make sure to print this large enough for a cashier to read the barcode

Printable Coupon! (Israel)

Here's a muller yogurt coupon, but one pack get the second one half price. Good at Shufersal and select other stores (but which ones will honor it is beyond me. They are not listed, sorry). Exp. 31.3.2012
Limit one coupon per purchase. (So don't print out 5 and try to get a whole lot of yogurt. Bring only one at a time to the store.)
Enjoy!



 

Printable Coupon! (Israel)

This week, mega's printable coupon is for an 800 gram package of crinkle cut (zig-zag, as they call them) french fries. With the coupon, pay just 7.99NIS/package
Click here to go to their FB page.



expires 18.2.2012, so act fast!