Last weekend my family took a camping trip in our home state, Oregon. We stayed on a huge lake, surrounded by coniferous trees, including redwoods. Mt. Hood stood proudly in the background, still topped in snow.

For the most part, it was a fun trip that included activities interesting to both the teenager and the toddler, with an itinerary developed along the lines of my previous post on planning fun camping trips with kids. We took long walks, floated in our raft, did some fishing, and enjoyed evenings around the campfire.

There were a few challenges, though. We weathered a storm (including hail), for one. We struggled with a tent that no one could set up. And we fought that age-old scourge of campers: A battalion of mosquitoes.

Those little pests love mountain lakes. But we were prepared!

We took Buzz Away Extreme Spray, a natural insect repellant. It was important to us to use a product that is DEET-free, herbal, and most importantly, that works.

One thing that makes this product work well is that it comes in a spray bottle - common among the nasty DEET stuff but not so common for natural products. Some herbal products are oils or lotions and more difficult to apply. Being able to spray it on our heads and over our clothes made a big difference in repelling the relentless critters.

We did have to re-apply every couple of hours, but when we did, it worked. I have tried other natural products that seemed fairly useless. This time, I came home with no bites AT ALL. My husband (who used it less frequently) did have bites on his legs.

The only downside is that the smell is fairly strong (think Citronella).

Buzz Away also claims to repel other pests like ticks and fleas. We didn’t run into any of those, but I wouldn’t doubt it. One interesting claim they make is that DEET-based products repel fish as well. Not sure about that although it certainly piques my interest as we did do some fishing on the trip. But the bottom line is that we are not willing to risk the potential harmful effects of DEET for humans.

As I stood by Timothy Lake and watched a swarm of mosquitoes fly around my toddler, I was glad we had our Buzz Away Spray. We might have gotten a couple of bites, but we could have been miserable!

You can pick up Buzz Away! mosquito repellant on Amazon or on the Buzz Away website.

What about you? How do you ward off the critters when you are enjoying the great outdoors?

Food might be one of your family’s bigger expenses each month. Clipping coupons can help, but we've rounded up several other ways you can decrease your food expenses. With a little extra time and some strategizing, you can save a lot of money on food this year!

Try generic brands. If you are skeptical about the quality of generic brands, compare the ingredients. Most of the time, ingredients are identical! And when comparing different brands, be sure to look at the unit price on the tag to avoid doing extra math. If you like to buy organic foods, look for the store’s own line of cheaper organic foods such as 365 at Whole Foods.

Find a good discount store. In the April 2009 Real Simple magazine, Christiane Jory, author of The 99 Cent Only Stores Cookbook, suggests going to the dollar store for groceries! She says a “simple packaging mistake - say, in the color of the label - can mean a $5 can of artichokes sells for 99 cents.” She also says that expensive olive oil, balsamic vinegar and wine are the best bargains.

Incorporate vegetarian meals into your routine once or twice a week to save money on expensive meat. Most meats cost at least $3 per pound, while plant-based proteins like beans and lentils are less than $1 per pound. If you need some really easy and yummy vegetarian recipes, check out www.meatlessmonday.com. Meatless Monday is a national health campaign associated with Johns Hopkins School of Public Health which encourages people to give up meat once a week to cut saturated fat intake and prevent diet-related diseases!

Watch out for impulse buying. If a new food product or food brand catches your attention, ask yourself “Do I want this food because I really want to try it or am I just excited about the new package?” I have been practicing this lately and because I grocery shop for a toddler, I tend to get easily excited about new kids’ stuff. But I often find myself more impressed by the fun packaging than the actual food product. If you tend to be an impulse buyer, make fewer trips to the store altogether to cut back on those purchases.

Volunteer at a local farm this summer with your older kids. Many farms will give you free produce in exchange for your hard work.

Check expiration dates for the freshest and longest lasting foods. And on the flip side, if you find a great deal on pasta, soups or other foods that can stay on your shelves for months, stock up!

Remember that non-food items at the grocery stores are generally more expensive. Buy your batteries and toiletry items somewhere else.

Although it may take a little extra time and effort on your part, you can save a lot of money on food this year. Do you have any tips to share that have worked for your family?

As a kid, I never liked raisins. So it always felt like those big corporate cereal companies were out to get me with their endless supply of raisins and flakes drowned in milk. I dreamed of having big, fat dried strawberries in my bowl of milk and fruit loops. When the [me] & goji package arrived at my doorstep last week, I was giddy like a kid to finally see those big, fat strawberries in my cereal!

“Designed by you, handmade by us” is the motto for this new and innovative cereal company. [Me] & Goji allows the customer to create a unique mixture of cereal online using 30+ organic ingredients, with or without the raisins!

So what is goji, anyway? Goji is a Tibetan superfruit, rich in antioxidants and these berries are just one of the many nutritious choices you can choose to make your own cereal. And naturally, one of my favorite features on the website is the dynamically-updating Nutrition Facts label. As you add or subtract ingredients to your cereal, the nutrition information and the list of ingredients changes as you go.

Following a gluten-free diet? [Me] and Goji makes it so easy for you. Follow the [gluten-free] & goji link on the website, and you will be walked through how to create a tasty, gluten-free cereal.

The company was kind enough to offer me a complimentary capsule of a custom created cereal, so I invented “Annie’s Mix.” I didn’t know what to expect when it arrived in the mail just three days after placing the order, but the package is quite pretty. With a clean, modern look to the capsule, it is also totally eco-friendly - made from a recyclable paper tube you could reuse this container to store any kind of snack, flour or crafts in the future. They are the perfect size for camping trips, day hikes, picnics or even long days at the zoo with several kids. You can throw the capsule in any bag or stroller for easy transportation.

If you are not sure where to start, consider making my Annie’s Tranquil Parent Mix. I was ridiculously pleased with the presentation, overall texture, taste and nutritional content of my creative concoction (healthy hoops, wheat germ, choco goji, cacao nibs, coconut, blueberry, strawberry, cashews). As you can see, my two-year-old daughter thoroughly enjoyed it too!

As for the cost of this yummy treat, the container is always 600 grams (15 servings) and prices start around $5, increasing in price as you add more expensive ingredients. Shipping is $6, and each additional capsule is $1.90, meaning once you've given the cereal a try, buying more capsules can help you save on shipping. With the tight foil seal and plastic cap, the cereal can stay fresh for 3 months before opening. (Our capsule was empty after one week in our house).

Do you like the sound of this cereal concept? If so, check out [Me] & Goji and enter coupon code FREEGOJIS upon checkout for free goji beries in your creation, valid until 3/31. And tell us what you think!