Costco Frozen Yogurt a No Go...Ikea, Yes!

These days I have been hitting up all a lot of big box stores as part of my household maintenance.  Putting aside the fact that I shouldn't be eating frozen yogurt due to lactose intolerance, I recently succumbed to the temptation of this dessert I love so much.  That's what happens when you don't bring along a salad in the car.  And I gotta say, it reminded me so much that we live in a supersize country.

A few weeks ago I was at Ikea where you can get a frozen yogurt cone for $1.00.  I noted that the portion was pretty small, but it was satisfying and tasty.  Also, I realized that the portion itself was a fair size:  approximately 4 ounces.  Anyone who has done Weight Watchers knows that this is a proper portion size.  According to this website, the Ikea fro yo is 100 calories.  Got to hand it to the Swedes:  keep the portion normal, and it will satisfy.  I didn't feel like a glutton in the least.

Now jump today to Costco:  $1.35 plus tax for a ridiculous size cup of frozen yogurt.  I felt like my mother when I remarked to my sister Reba:  it could serve three people!  C'mon, look at this:

Costco frozen yogurt is a 12 ounce serving!

According to this blog, the portion is nearly 400 calories.  Whoa!  That is nuts.  Clearly not a portion according to Weight Watchers.  It just goes along with the rest of the Costco theme which is supersize everything and get it cheap.  I felt yucky sitting at the indoor umbrella table, watching people eat their huge pieces of pizza and huge sodas and greasy sausage sub sandwiches.  Of course, it is hard to throw away the portion you don't eat, and naturally I ended up eating almost the whole cup.

And for those of you wondering, don't ask about the kosher status.

Mama Tip #4: The Wipeable Plastic Placemat

You might be thinking, "um, Loony?  That is a no-brainer."

But it wasn't to me when I first had children.  It sort of evolved after seeing more and more friends who had these.

Initially I was totally jazzed with the educational placemats.  You can get them at any good independent toy store or brainy toy-type store.  Or online our cousins Ellen and Ken Levinsohn's Learning Express store in Bedford and Scarsdale, NY.

However, at $3.99 each, after about 6 months of getting junky and moldy, it is simply another disposable expense.  But they are indeed educational and even I have learned more about the United States Presidents than I did in Ms. Gibson's A.P. US History class in 11th grade.

Our table with the learning placemat.  It offers a great opportunity to learn!

IKEA has their own version of the plastic placemat, which at $2.99 for 4 is truly the frugal way to go.  It is also a totally cool design.

Our table with the IKEA placemats.  It offers great design and looks so pretty!

I am having a feng-shui moment of confusion.
Do I keep the somewhat junked-up ones, but my children will still learn?
Or,
do I get rid of them and use the more trendy IKEA ones, and my children will just be looking at birds, without a lot of educational enrichment.

For the sake of feng-shui, I am choosing to purge.
Old learning placemats are getting put in the giveaway bag.  Some other child whose parents didn't or couldn't spend the $3.99 per placemat are now going to benefit.

Plus, the IKEA ones take up less space on the table, fulfilling a true minimalist's dream.

My budding scientists or historians will just have to suffer.