Baby steps have a better chance of leading to success than great leaps, when it comes to your goals.

Whether your goal is losing weight or building your bank account, you’re more likely to stick to your plan and reach those long-term (really big! really exciting!) goals.

• Lose weight 2 or 5 or 10 pounds each month.
• Build savings $25 or $50 or $100 each paycheck.
• Eat more vegetables by adding one or two servings a week.
• Get more sleep by going to bed 15 minutes earlier each week.
• Drink less caffeine by cutting out 1 -2 cups a week.

You’ll meet your big! exciting! long-term goals slowly but surely. And isn’t surely the most important part of meeting your goal?

If you’re around 30 years old, every dollar you spend wastefully today (and don’t invest wisely) could be as much as ten or twenty dollars you wont have for retirement in 30 or 40 years.

Sound investments can grow exponentially in the long term. That $2000 you spent on your recent (and forgettable) trip to Vegas will be about $20,000 to $40,000 you won’t have when you need it in Sun City.

Orange you glad you have an excuse for a facial?

Here’s one you can do quickly and easily at home.

Grate the peel of one small orange (wash it first!) and mix it with 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add a squeeze of juice from the orange. (Squeeze it all and drink the rest!)

Massage the mixture into clean skin. The orange zest is a gentle exfoliant, removing the top layer of dead skin and revealing your natural glow. The olive oil’s antioxidants help protect your skin from free radicals.

You may live on a tight budget, but don’t cut your grocery budget. People who spend more on food – whole food, the way it grows – tend to weigh less because nutrient-rich vegetables, fruit, whole grains and lean proteins cost more than empty-calorie choices.

To save cash and eat well, fill your freezer with healthy bargains. Stock up on lean proteins when they’re on sale, and freeze half for later. Buy fresh fruits and veggies in season and learn to freeze or can them yourself. Buy frozen fruits and veggies when they’re out of season – less expensive with almost the same nutrient value.

If any of the food in your house looks like it could stock a bomb shelter, toss it. It’s only preservatives, disguised as food.

It’s “what do I do with all this zucchini” time. Before your zucchini looks like a baseball bat, pick it! If you think maybe it’s getting close to the right size, but you just want to wait until tomorrow – don’t! Pick it now!

Now if someone offers you some zucchini – go ahead and take it! You’ll be able to prepare it and have some good meals in the freezer, too.

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Ratatouille
Blue * Serves 8

2-1/2 pounds tomatoes (4 large)
8 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
10 fresh basil leaves, torn in half
1 Tablespoon herbes de Provence
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
salt
2 large onions, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
3 assorted bell peppers (green, red, and/or yellow), cut into 1-inch pieces
4 medium zucchini (2 pounds), quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick pieces
black pepper

Cut an X in bottom of each tomato with a sharp paring knife and blanch together in a 4-quart pot of boiling water 1 minute. Transfer tomatoes with a slotted spoon to a cutting board and, when cool enough to handle, peel off skin, beginning from scored end, with paring knife.

Coarsely chop tomatoes and transfer to a 5-quart heavy pot with garlic, parsley, basil, herbes de Provence, and 1/2 Tablespoon oil. Simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally.

Toss eggplant cubes with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large colander and let stand in sink 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook onions, peppers, and zucchini in 1 Tablespoon oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5-6 minutes. Transfer vegetables to the tomato sauce.

Pat eggplant dry with paper towels. Add 1 Tablespoon oil to skillet and cook eggplant over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 7-8 minutes. Add to tomato sauce.

Taste stew for seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over whole-grain pasta or brown rice, or as a stew with whole-grain bread. Top with soy parmesan if desired.

Optional: Saute sliced baby bella mushrooms with onion, pepper and zucchini. Add one 15-ounce can garbanzo beans or cannelini beans, drained, for protein.

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Check out these other recipes, too.

• Zucchini Fritters
• Zucchini-”Cheddar” Herb Muffins

Always make an effort to purchase an item you’re interested in at its sale price. This requires a little time, effort and research.

Right now, school supplies are at their cheapest prices of the year. Stock up for next semester, too!

Check outlet stores for clothing. Shop on their back-to-school discount weekends (best if you’re on the mailing list). They’re expecting you. Go early for the best selection.

Get on your favorite department store’s mailing list (email lists are better – less waste) and cash in on your coupons. Store clerks are happy to tell you when the discount days are coming. Always ask if the item you want to buy will be discounted soon. Sometimes all you have to do is put it on hold for a couple of days to get 20% off.

Side note, because we have to warn you about this: We don’t like the “open an account with us and we’ll give you 15% off today’s purchase” deals. First, once you open a credit card, it never goes off your credit report. If you have a lot of cards (active or inactive or even closed) they still count against your credit score. Second, it’s one more temptation when you’re close to overspending. And finally, it’s one more bill to track and pay. If you must use credit, use one card and be honest with yourself about how much you use it. And pay it off every month. If you can’t pay it off, you can’t afford the purchase. Bottom line – a new card is not a bargain opportunity.

Sometimes you want something that just needs to wait. Then let it wait. The amazing winter coat that costs as much as your rent for the month? Can wait until you can save up for it. It’s not cold yet, and the coat isn’t on sale yet, either.

Take your time. Remember that not every single back-to-school thing needs to be purchased in August. It’s fun to get new school clothes in mid-September and mid-October, too. Space out your purchases to fit your budget, and it will be fun for you, too.

Take-out often means Chinese food that’s over-salted and under-veggied. It may seem like a quick and easy dinner option, but making your own Chinese food is just as quick and easy (and far tastier, and cheaper).

To make this meal especially quick, cook brown rice ahead of time, and freeze it in 1-cup or 2-cup portions. Just let it cool, spoon it into freezer weight bags, and flatten. Freeze flat – then you can stack them in the freezer, or even “file” them in a cardboard shoebox in the freezer. (The cardboard won’t crack in the cold like plastic storage containers can – plus, that shoebox came free with your last pair of really cute shoes!)

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Kung Pao Rice & Veggies
Green * Serves 6

1 Tablespoon peanut oil
1 medium red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and cut in 1-inch pieces
8 baby carrots, halved lengthwise
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
1-1⁄2 cups frozen shelled edamame, thawed
12 small ears canned baby corn
5 cups cooked brown rice (about 1-3/4 cups dry, cooked in water or vegetable broth)

Sauce
3 Tablespoons orange juice
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Make the sauce: In a small bowl, combine all sauce ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

In a wok or large, heavy skillet, heat oil over high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, carrots, garlic and ginger and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add edamame and corn and stir-fry until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.

Stir sauce and pour into vegetables. Stir-fry until thickened, 30 seconds.

Divide rice among 6 shallow, wide bowls. Spoon vegetables over rice and serve hot or at room temperature.

Today we have a couple of recipes to perk up your brown bag lunches. These are kid-friendly (you know your kid best, so adapt the recipes to fit!) ways to get some extra fruits and veggies into them during the day.

Check these blog posts for more ideas!
Brown bag it * basics, leftovers, salads
Brown bag it * sandwiches

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Apple Carrot Salad
Green * Serves 4

1 apple, cored and grated
2 carrots, grated
1/2 cup currants (call them baby raisins if your kid doesn’t think she likes new things – or sub raisins)
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon lemon zest (skip it if you don’t have a real lemon)
1-1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (skip it if your kid doesn’t like the flavor… or try less at first)
1/4 cup walnuts, soaked 6-8 hours, chopped (if you didn’t get them soaked, don’t panic; use them anyway)
1 Tablespoon shredded unsweetened coconut (skip it if your kid doesn’t like coconut)

Combine apple, carrots currants, orange juice, lemon zest, and ginger the night before. Stir in walnuts and coconut in the morning, just before packing lunches.

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Easy Fat-free 3-Bean Salad
Blue * Serves 8

1 pound fresh green beans, cut in 1″ pieces, steamed until tender & cooled
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans
1 15-ounce can kidney beans
1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar (from the Asian foods section of your grocery store)

Combine all ingredients in a sealed plastic container and shake well. Let sit in fridge overnight, gets better with age, up to 10 days in the fridge.

Note: If you make steamed green beans for dinner, just make an extra pound for this recipe. Add the other ingredients after dinner, and you’ll have a great salad ready for brown bag lunches in the morning!

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Three-Ingredient Cookies
Yellow * Makes 18 cookies

1 cup natural peanut butter
3/4 cup Sucanat®
Egg replacer equivalent to 1 egg (or substitute 1 egg)

Mix it up – spoon onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350F for 7-10 minutes.

Optional: Add some Tropical Source chocolate chips.

While you’re out shopping for school supplies, pick up a few things to make packing lunches easier. We’re big fans of reducing waste, so our recommendations are mostly reusable – that means your kids will have to bring them home, so you can wash them out for the next day. Bonus? You get to see what they didn’t eat, and make adjustments to ensure they’re getting enough good, healthy food for their day.

• Lunch bag * We like reusable lunch bags, especially the insulated kind. You can get a “squishy” insulated lunch bag for a reasonable price. An old-fashioned lunchbox can be fun, too, with favorite characters on the side. Or go upscale, and look for a bento-style lunch box. We had a friend who re-used dog food bags for lunch bags (he washed them out, don’t worry) until they kind of fell apart, which took months. Perhaps you have an old purse that would make a great lunch bag?
• Cold pack * Our favorite cold packs are the blue ice blocks, a bit larger than a deck of cards. One of those in an insulated (squishy) lunch bag will keep cold food cold for 4-5 hours. They’re made in other sizes and shapes, too, and they’re all pretty reasonably priced. Of course, a frozen water bottle (be sure to pour off the first inch before freezing!) also works well – and your child can drink the water, too.
• Thermos * Because there are days that we like warm food, we like to have a small, wide-mouth thermos – something that holds about 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) works pretty well.
• Silverware * We reuse plasticware (the heavier stuff goes through the dishwasher just fine), but you may want to look for something more sturdy. Purchase an inexpensive set of silverware at a discount store, or if your kids like adventure, get camping silverware.
• Containers * The inexpensive plastic containers can work really well for brown bag lunches – they can be reused for a long time, and they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. If they don’t come home some day, you’re not out a lot of money. There are some other containers with built in cooling packs that we like, too. We’re not big fans of the plastic bag; there’s so much waste with that method. Think creatively to avoid the waste.
• Napkins * Our favorite napkins are colorful bandanas from the dollar store. We like that they wash well, and they’re easy to replace.

This is the time to get ALL your school supplies for the whole year. Even if you don’t have kids in school!

• This is when all the pens and notebooks and binders are on sale at the cheapest price of the year.
• You can also get crayons and simple watercolors and glue and markers – you never know when you might want some simple craft supplies (keep them together in one drawer or shoebox, and you’ll be prepared for an invasion of small children, too).
• Restock your kitchen junk/utility drawer with tape and scissors.
• You can also pick up a couple of zippered pencil pouches to use for all those crazy cords, chargers and flash drives you probably haul around when you travel.

If you have kids in school, check the store and the school’s website for supply lists. Teachers we know prefer that you stick to the list (no boxes of 1000 crayons when they specified 24, please). They also appreciate an extra pair of scissors or box of crayons or ruler for the kids who really can’t afford all the supplies, or to replace what gets lost, broken or used up during the year.

Photo by Cienpies Design