New International Shipping Option from iHerb?

I was just browsing on iherb, as I often do -- thinking about why I can't buy certain products locally for a decent price... and missing my old shopping habits just a little bit...

Then someone messaged me that she had seen a new shipping option. With tracking!

So I added something to my cart to check it out.

And lo and behold, two separate shipping options came up!

The second option allows slightly larger packages, but can cost as much as $12. It appears to have tracking, but still says (for some reason I do not understand) that it is non-refundable.

I'm not sure whether I'll be making use of this new option, but if any of you out there decide to try it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

P.S. if you've never shopped at iherb before, you can get $5-$10 off your first order using coupon code QEJ101 or any of my links.

SuperPharm Coupons!

Just wanted to remind all of you who shop at SuperPharm that checking and printing out (or downloading to your smartphone) their coupons can really save you some money.

The current coupons are valid thru Feb 12, 2014. In order to use them, you must log in to their app or to their website to print, as each coupon will get a unique barcode.

Among them you'll find:

50 shekels off your 175 shekel cosmetics purchase

Revlon mascara for 49.90

Other make-up coupons

Cologne and perfume coupons

Materna ExtraCare Formula for 49.90

Dr. Fischer Natural Care Body Wash for 8.90

Life mouthwash for 13.90

Life 3-pack hand soap for 12.90

And more...

Happy Savings!

Belated Menu for the Week!

I forgot to post my menu plan for the week, which really means I never got around to planning it.


BIG oops.

So better late than never, I decided to make a plan - so I don't find myself staring at the fridge at 6 pm one day thinking it would be so much easier to order a pizza...

I've checked what we have in the house, and will be using that, which means almost no bread, as I'm almost out of flour (I have enough for one batch of pizza)...

So here goes:

Sunday: lunch - Burgul, red lentil soup (served together for the adventurous, separately for the not), carrots, cucumbers
supper: whatever was left over from Shabbat, vegetable soup

Monday: lunch: muffins from the freezer, vegetable soup mixed with red lentil soup, green beans, carrot sticks, any random items I found in the fridge to use up
supper: Minestrone soup (pasta-less), baked ziti, salad

Tuesday: lunch: Baked potatoes with cheese, Homemade Corn Chips with black bean dip (corn chip recipe coming soon!), cucumbers and peppers
supper: Minestrone Soup, casserole from the freezer, make your own salad

Wednesday: lunch: any leftovers from other meals
supper: split pea soup, homemade pizza (filling soup - maybe I won't have to make so much pizza?), homemade french fries and sweet potato fries (baked, not fried, actually)

Thursday: lunch - split pea soup, rice, roasted vegetables
supper: macaroni and cheese,  roasted vegetables

And I think that will do it! We'll be out all day Friday so we'll have to wing it...

Have a great week!

Shabbat!!

My menu planning was pretty abysmal this week.

I just never made a plan.

We somehow managed to eat most meals and scraped by, but now I have to do better for Shabbat! And hopefully for next week, too...

For Shabbat this week, we are "just us" for Friday night and have a family joining us for lunch. (And it's my birthday, so I'm thinking about a cake...)

So here's the plan:

Friday night:
Whole Wheat Challot (from the freezer, probably)
Split Pea Soup
Roast chicken with burgul
Salad
Something for the vegetarian (??)

Lunch:
Whole Wheat Challot
Black Bean Cholent
Spicy Roast Chicken
Spicy Sweet Potatoes
Apple Crisp
Potato Kugel (I only have enough eggs for one! - does anyone know how to make eggless potato kugel?)
Stir-fried Veggies with toasted Sesame Seeds
Salad

Other things I might to make, cuz I've been told some people are stopping in over Shabbat for my birthday:
Cinnamon Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Corn bread muffins with molasses
Popcorn
anything else I can figure out...

Somehow my plans to cook during the day on Thursday got messed up by a plumbing issue in my kitchen.
Here's to a better night!!

Good news about supermarket gift cards!

Do you ever get gift cards for the supermarket?

You know, the annoying kind that say they are for 100 shekels, and then you go to the store and discover they are only worth 90 shekels, unless you shop at the most expensive stores of that chain (like Shufersal Sheli, or Mega Ba'Ir)? This has really annoyed me, any time I've had the pleasure of receiving a gift card! It was the kind of thing that really, really reduced the pleasure of the gift, sadly.

Well... that will be a thing of the past, it seems! 

Globes reported that the Knesset passed a law that requires all stores to honor gift cards at their face value. No more small print saying it's only worth 90% of the face value!

I only rarely find myself in receipt of gift cards, but I'm sure this is good news for lots of you!

Please let me know if this will make a difference for you!

Don't miss out -- like Frugal and Kosher on Facebook! See you there!

Shabbat!

This week I am actually writing out separate Friday Night and Shabbat Lunch menus. Because I'm overwhelmed. We're having some guests for Shabbat, and more for lunch than Friday night, so this is what happened...  and now I must get cooking and enlist some helpers!!

Friday Night

Whole Wheat Sweet Challot with Flaxseed (I'm out of oat bran)
Split Pea Soup
Roast Chicken
Bulgur with mushrooms and garlic
Apple Crisp
Spicy Sweet Potatoes
Israeli Salad

Lunch

Whole Wheat Sweet Challot with Flaxseed
Chicken Strips of some sort
Black Bean Cholent
Potato Kugel
Apple Crisp
Squash Kugel
Spicy Sweet Potatoes
Israeli Salad
Honey-Cinnamon Oranges


Dessert
Chocolate Chip Cake
Fruit

Also making:
Banana Breakfast muffins
various snacks -- not sure how much those 19 yr old boys will nosh on Friday night -- gotta be prepared!

What are you making?
Do you also get a little paranoid with 19 yr old boys visiting - wondering if you made enough food?

Price Controlled Food Update!

picture from www.tnuva.co.il

Today's big food news is that prices for dairy products will be coming down.

The following dairy products are being added to the list of price controlled foods:

5% white cheese (gevinah levanah) - 250g - 5.23
Sweet Cream, 38% fat -- 250g --6.60

Other dairy products currently on the price controlled list are supposed to go down in price by 1.1%


Hopefully this drop in the bucket will help!

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Meal Planning (for the week)

This week I'm doing very minimal shopping - my freezer is pretty full, and there's no reason not to use up some of what I've stockpiled.

This is NOT a pantry challenge, so I will buy some things besides milk, but I don't plan to do a large amount of shopping...

Sunday: lunch: spaghetti with tomato sauce and cheese, carrots and peppers with chumus for dipping
Supper: Mushroom-barley soup, fresh rolls, tomato, red pepper, and avocado salad

Monday: lunch: corn bread, lentil patties with sweet and sour sauce (from the freezer), southern fried cabbage
Supper: whatever soup I find in the freezer, rice and eggplant casserole (from the freezer), kohlrabi and carrots with chumus

Tuesday: lunch: leftover soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, tomato, red peppers, and kohlrabi
Supper: Red lentil soup, stir-fried vegetables with rice, ??

Wednesday: lunch: whatever is left from the week
supper: homemade pizza, salad, oven-fries

Thursday: lunch: sandwiches, carrots and chumus
supper: Red lentil soup and ???

Menu planning for the week

My menu this week (I need to use up stuff that's in the house -- not only did I go over-budget last week, but my freezer is kind of full too!):

Sunday - lunch: chopped salad (finally got all my kids to eat salad, instead of having to dirty multiple bowls with a make-your-ow-sald! this is HUGE) and whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce and cheese
supper: red lentil and vegetable soup, roast potatoes, and southern fried cabbage (the vegetarian version)

Monday: lunch: red lentil soup (from Sunday night), sandwiches, carrot and red pepper sticks
Supper:  fresh rolls, black bean burgers, tomatoes, pickles, roasted red peppers, rice, sauteed butternut squash

Tuesday: lunch: cornbread, rice and black beans with salsa, tomatoes, and avocado
supper: vegetable soup, pasta with cheese, carrot sticks, tomatoes

Wednesday: lunch: vegetable soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, salad
supper: grilled cheese sandwiches, oven-fries, squash soup, salad

Thursday lunch: squash soup, leftovers from the week
supper: split pea soup, casserole from the freezer, carrot sticks, red peppers, and tomatoes

I'm planning to only buy milk and cheese this week - everything else is already here in the house!

How's your stockpile -- is it too well stocked, like mine?

What are you all eating this week?

Pesticide Residue in Fruits (Israel)

Last year, I posted information about pesticide residue in produce in Israel.

I've been waiting for the updated list, but so far, all I can find is an updated fruit list.
At this point, some of these fruits are out of season, but not all.

So here is the list of the most contaminated fruits this year:

Grapes
Pears
Peaches
Apricots
Nectarines
Plums
Apples
Melons
Mangos
Pomegranates
Persimmons
Lychee
Cherries
Figs
Dates

The cleanest fruits this year are: 

Watermelons
Bananas
Organic Lychee
Sabras

I know this list seems like it's a mile long... 
I'm hoping that the more these pesticide residue rankings get publicized, the closer we'll get to major changes...

If you found this information useful, please share it with your friends! And don't forget to like my Facebook page!