Planting a Fruit/Nut Orchard and Edible Garden with Food Stamps (SNAP EBT)

My daughters and our homemade raised beds.

A while back we made 2 raised beds for a garden (the third in this picture never got finished) out of used lumber we had lying around. Back then we didn't know how we were going to furnish the soil or plants because we didn't have the means or the money to that we knew of. We just knew we wanted a garden and that we loved the idea of a raised bed garden to tide us over until our greenhouse was built and the aquaponics system was put in.

Then we got on Food Stamps (SNAP EBT) because my husband, Brian, has been out of work because of a disability (an orthostatic intolerance). We, like many other people on food stamps, did not know at first that we could buy food bearing/producing plants and seeds with our food stamps at the stores that accept them. We found out through a friend, that bought a salsa garden for himself with food stamps, that it was possible.

Our fruit orchard is taking shape.

We decided to test the system out and see if we could get larger food bearing/producing plants like trees and large bushes. We came home from Fred Meyer with three gorgeous Earliblue High Bush Blueberry Bushes, their last ones in stock. We also went to both local Walmarts subsequent days afterward and picked up 8 Heritage Red Raspberry plants, 4 thorn-less Sawtooth Blackberry plants, 3 Sweet Cherry trees, 1 Profusion Flowering Crab Apple tree, 2 Granny Smith Apple trees, 1 Honey Crisp Apple tree, and 1 Bartlett Pear tree all with our food stamps! My neighbor also gave us 2 Desert King Fig trees that are going in the ground soon.

Thorn-less Sawtooth Blackberry plants: we planted these in the kids area where the large trampoline is.

Blueberry bushes and raspberries.

We have ran into a few snags when using food stamps, unfortunately though. Some of the plants had been marked down and were in the discounted section. The tags showing the discount didn't ring up the plants as a food producer and so the checkout person had to find the original tag to the plant and then take the discount off manually. We also tried to buy two beautiful Semi-Dwarf Eureka Lemon trees (the common supermarket lemon variety) from Fred Meyer, but even though it is without a shadow of a doubt edible and was even growing fruit on both trees when we showed it to them we couldn't get them because the tag didn't indicate anywhere on it that it was an edible. Instead, it called the tree a "patio plant", indicating ornamental. We are still fighting this one. We also found that at the time we found out about this program it was a bit late in the season and a lot of the Spring stock of plants were picked over and already taken. Very few places that take food stamps also carry food bearing/producing plants. We wish more gardens with nurseries and farms that sell their plants would take EBT. We did find one in the area that wasn't a large chain store, called Pikku Farm in Woodland Washington, but we haven't been able to get a hold of them by phone yet.

The cashier at Fred Meyer cut the tops off large paper sacks and stuck the folded top into the bottom of the sack for transport.

We also picked up some Sage (Common, 2 Pineapple, and Blue), 2 plants of Basil, 6 Brussels Sprout plants, 6 Broccoli plants, 6 Rainbow Swiss Chard plants. These we planted in our raised beds full of aged manure and soil. Our friend gave us some beets from her garden to eat and some she pulled out with the large ones were too small and so we put them back into the ground in our raised beds along with a bunch of scallions that had the roots on them still. We already had a cherry tomato plant in the corner growing.

Raised bed gardens with the blueberries and raspberries in the background.

My daughters with the raised beds and the compost pile in the background.

I love that all this planting and growing our own food will help us never go hungry. We also are teaching our kids where food comes from and how to grow and harvest it. Soon we will have a sustainable orchard and garden all thanks to the SNAP Gardens: Food Stamps Grow Gardens program.

WONKA Peel-a-Pop Frozen Dessert Pops Review #GotItFree #wonkapop

My girls with the WONKA™ PEEL-A-POP™ promotional items we received with the coupons.

We received these products free from BzzAgent to facilitate this review.

We received these items in our BzzKit:

• A coupon for a FREE (up to $4.49) 8-count box of WONKA^™ PEEL-A-POP^™ frozen dessert pops, redeemable at the local Kroger Co. store
• A Wonka-fied whistle to let kids know when they can come running for a peelable pop
• A WONKA^™ branded beach ball and pair of sunglasses for outdoor summer fun
• $1-off coupons to share with other parents who also shop at The Kroger Co. Family of Stores
• A postcard explaining what to do with all the wacky items in my BzzKit

WONKA™ PEEL-A-POP™ frozen dessert pops are a great summer snack! At only 70 calories per pop this whimsical treat won't make you feel guilty. We also liked these because at 13g total carbohydrates per pop these are great for my diabetic son as well! Did you know that the WONKA™ brand made more than just candy?

Your kids will go bananas for these frozen dessert pops because they are both tasty and fun to eat. The WONKA™ PEEL-A-POP™ comes in two yummy varieties: vanilla grape and vanilla banana. What is super about these is that they can be peeled like a banana, but you can also eat the peel! To eat all you have to do is bite into it at the top, peel the outer coating like a banana, and enjoy.

WONKA™ PEEL-A-POP™  vanilla grape flavor, peeled.

The combination of the peel and frozen pop are actually pretty good together. The peel is an interesting gummy gelatinous texture and even though it gets a little slimy on the outside as it warms up, it peels easily. My kids didn't have any problem with it being messy. Although the peel was fun and it added uniqueness to this product some of my kids didn't like the weird texture of it. It also has an inside that tastes very similar to frozen vanilla pudding. We tried the grape flavor and it was rather good in my opinion. My kids certainly enjoyed their experience eating them up.

Monkeying around eating  WONKA™ PEEL-A-POP™.

You can find NEW WONKA™ PEEL-A-POP™ frozen dessert pops in the ice cream aisle at The Kroger Co. Family of Stores. We only found the grape variety at our local Fred Meyer, so we didn't get to try the banana flavor. Others have found both varieties though easily.

Each 8-count box retails for a suggested price of $4.49.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Because I am a member of BzzAgent I received word of a BzzCampaign for the WONKA™ PEEL-A-POP™ products. I received these products free to facilitate my review. All information about the products I received from the media kit, the products and the WONKA™ website. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Kroger Skillet Meals Review #GotItFree

We received coupons for free product to facilitate this review.

There are so many days that we are just super busy and after it's all said and done we only have minutes to make a meal for our family. Enter Kroger Skillet Meals, which are easy to make meals that are ready in just ten minutes! They contain at least two servings per bag and contain 20 grams or more of protein! These are found at all Kroger Family Stores (including Fred Meyer, Baker's, City Market, Dillons, Food4Less, King Soopers, Smith’s, PayLess, etc.) and come in the frozen section of the store. These come in a variety of authentic Italian flavors including NEW Tuscan-Style Penne, Sausage Rigatoni, Penne with Grilled Chicken and many more! They also are available in delicious NEW Asian and Mexican varieties like Shrimp Lo Mein or Chicken Fajitas. You can create a complete meal when you add your favorite sides to go with it, such as Kroger Garlic Bread, and Fresh Selections Salad Kits.

Because I am a member of BzzAgent I received word of the BzzCampaign for the Kroger Skillet Meals. I received a free coupon for one Kroger Skillet Meal, a Kroger Garlic Bread, and a Fresh Selections Salad Kit to facilitate this review. We went to our local Fred Meyer to get this. We got the Tuscan-Style Penne. It was very yummy, but with a family of 6 the pasta meal just wasn't too practical unless you also made something else to go with it. We loved the pasta with garlic sauce, asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, and big chunks of chicken. It was easy to prepare and fast. Just place it in a skillet and simmer together. This meal was very yummy, but it was gone too quick. One bag only really is supposed to make 2 servings. I was wanting more because it was so good.

We also got the garlic bread and salad kit to go with it. The bread and the salad were a good pairing and went well with the meal. The garlic bread is also easy to make, just pop it in the oven bag and all for a bit to warm it up. I love garlic bread, but this was not as garlicky or crunchy as I would have liked. I usually over garlic my dishes because I love garlic. Maybe if I would have taken it out of the bag and let it brown in the oven a bit more it would have been better. You have to admit the convenience of not having to wash another pan is nice though. We picked the Field Greens salad because, from looking, it had the most dark leafy veggies in the mix. This Fresh Selections Salad had romaine lettuce, endive, carrots, and radicchio. As salads go it was just OK, but it did give the plate a lovely garnished look.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received coupons for free product to facilitate my review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.