Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Best Meatballs from Kraft Foods

Only four ingredients are needed to make these savory meatballs. Watch the Kraft Kitchens make and bake these favorites, from Kraft foods.


Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How to Shop Carefully With a Tight Budget


How to Shop Carefully With a Tight Budget

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

The high cost of many items nowadays necessitates careful budgeting. If you carefully select your purchases and create a shopping list, you'll be able to get what you need without damaging your wallet too much.

Steps

  1. Buy food first. Check your refrigerator for the staples that need to be replaced. Milk, bread, eggs and cheese are all staples that should be available, and should go first on your shopping list. Expensive fresh fruit can be replaced with canned fruit, and macaroni and pasta are cheap, but not very nutritious. Meat is expensive in the short run, but packs a nutritional wallop that gets you a lot of bang for your buck.
  2. Plan ahead and show discipline. Looking at the bins of cheeses can make you want to buy more than you really need, so write down on the list exactly what type of cheese you want, add it to your cart and then walk to another aisle.
  3. Look at the ends of the meat and seafood section. There are often marked-down items there.
  4. Make friends with the butcher. He or she may point out some great deals, or mark meats down especially for you. Same thing works with the Produce Manager. Being friendly is free, but pays great dividends!
  5. Compare brands and check prices. There is usually a store brand version of most items that is cheaper and of comparable quality to the big name item.
  6. Read circulars before you go into the store to see if what you need is on sale. Comparing circulars from different stores might help you get a better deal.
  7. Clip coupons for items you normally buy and bring them with you.
  8. Buy dry goods and toiletries in larger sizes to save money.
  9. Remember what you went to a store to buy, so you do not have to walk up and down aisles. Zero in on the aisle or store you need to buy the item, enter, buy the item, and then leave. Impulse buying will ruin any budget, and when yours is tight, it will just be worse.
  10. As you buy, write the prices on a pad that you keep with you. It might even be best to use a small adding machine, pocket size, and as you put the products in your shopping cart, calculate what you have spent, remember how much you have set aside to spend, and when you get close, then stop shopping. Remember, you still have to buy shoes...
  11. Know exactly what type of shoes you need. Do not look around at all the different styles. Try on the proper size, and if they fit, then buy it and leave the store. Hanging around, looking at the handbags hanging on the wall might tempt you to buy something you really do not need.
  12. Put all the costs into the little adding machine. If you note that you have gone over the amount you can spend, then return an item that you really do not need at the moment, and put it on another list of 'to buy next time'.

Tips

  • If you are going to use a charge card, only spend the amount of money you can afford to pay when the bill comes in at the end of the month.. Set aside this money, and use it to pay the bill. Do not purchase anything more than you have budgeted.
  • If you are going to pay with cash, then make sure you only spend the amount you have with you. Anything over, return, and again, put it on your 'next time shopping list
  • Don't assume it's cheaper just because it's in a larger size. Look at the shelf labels and compare unit prices. One large store that has 'always low prices' very often has larger sizes marked UP slightly.

Warnings

  • Spending more than you have budgeted for, will cause you not to have money left to pay utility bills, or medical bills. So be careful what you buy. Buy only what you need and only what is on your shopping list.
  • Don't just buy things because they are on sale, unless you truly need them.

Things You'll Need

  • A pad to jot down prices
  • A pocket size adding machine to calculate what you spend.
  • A shopping list

Related wikiHows


Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Shop Carefully With a Tight Budget. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.


How to Be a Great Cook on a Very Low Budget


How to Be a Great Cook on a Very Low Budget

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

If you watch too many cooking shows, and you'll begin to think that you need expensive gadgets and fancy, rare ingredients to be a great cook. But if you love to make food and shop wisely, you can make gourmet meals on a tight budget.

Steps

  1. Save money [1] for a few quality cooking tools by learning to Shop Carefully with a Tight Budget [2].
  2. Learn new cooking techniques, complimentary flavors, etc. by studying the free cooking shows on public television. Your local station probably shows them on Saturdays or Sundays.
  3. Assess your current kitchen tools, and create a list of essential tools to buy when you have enough money. Prioritize based on need. You will want to get knives, cookware, a cutting board, and a few important gadgets.
  4. Set the amount of money that you can afford to spend on a meal in order to meet your purchasing goals.
  5. Make a game of combining your on-sale ingredients to stay at or below budget using your new-found knowledge of complimentary flavors.
  6. Track the grocery ads. Know when sale items are normally featured. Some people keep a price book detailing sale items.
  7. Learn to calculate cost per ounce. Sometimes buying in bulk is not the cheap purchase. Learn to do the math by dividing the amount into the actual cost of the item. For example: Store brand tomatoes are 16 ounces for 60 cents versus the name brand that is 15 ounces for 60 cents. The store brand is cheaper as the size for the store brand can of tomatoes is larger.
  8. Purchase store brand products. Most are of equal quality as their name brand counterparts. If in doubt, buy a can or two of the store brand products and try them out. If the products pass inspection purchase them in quantity when they are on sale.
  9. Buy seasonal produce. Seasonal produce is usually cheaper and of higher quality. Also, this provides built in variety in the diet.
  10. Check the bottom or top shelves. Most grocery stores place the inexpensive, and usually less processed foods, on the shelves that are out of sight. The middle shelves will usually contain the pricier goodies.
  11. Practice your new cooking techniques when preparing your budget friendly meals.
  12. Write down recipes when you discover a good one so that you can make it again.
  13. Strategically practice cooking in areas where you have weak skills in order to improve.
  14. Purchase necessary cooking tools when your budget allows it to make cooking easier and expand your capabilities.
  15. Learn to use leftovers creatively. Sometimes planned overs taste better than their original meal.
  16. Plan vegetarian meals. Eat a meatless meal a couple times a week.

Video


Tips

  • Essential knives: Chef (8 or 10 inch), Paring, and a serrated blade (like a bread knife).
  • Essential Cookware: Skillet (10 or 12 inch), Sauce Pan (2 qt), Stock Pot (4 qt).
  • Essential Gadgets: Cutting board, colander, spatula, large spoon, whisk, measuring cups, measuring spoons, plates, bowls, grater.
  • Essential Cookbooks: The Joy of Cooking, Betty Crocker, Better Homes and Gardens, The Way to Cook, Living on a Dime (or Not Just Beans by the same author), Frugal Family Kitchen Book, More-With-Less cookbook, Miserly Meals: Healthy, Tasty Recipes Under 75¢ per Serving, 15-Minute Cooking or Feed Your Family for $12 a Day or Eat Healthy for $50 a Week.
  • Learn to make your own food mixes. The classic cookbook is Make-A-Mix but there are other cookbooks available using the same idea.
  • Learn freezer cooking. There are several cookbooks available including Frozen Assets and Once-A-Month Cooking.
  • Essential Cooking Techniques: Chopping, slicing, dicing, sautee, boil, fry, blacken, and broil.
  • High quality knives are quite expensive, but if you maintain them you will never buy another set for the rest of your life and they work great. It's worth the money if you can afford the investment.
  • Purchase the best cookware you can afford. Buy cookware by the piece as sets waste money. Most come with pans you will never use.
  • Purchase a small set of knives, if you can find the right set. You can save money, without purchasing a bunch of knives that you don't really need (like a cheese knife).
  • Consider taking a job in a restaurant, as a cook or even a waiter. You will earn extra money, get exposed to flavor combinations, learn cooking techniques, and befriend people who love to cook that can share their knowledge with you. Some restaurants will let employees take home leftovers which may help save money on the food budget.

Warnings

  • It's essential to follow good sanitary practices while cooking. You'll never be a great cook if you repeatedly give yourself or others food poisoning.
  • Trying to gain new skills will require a lot of practice. You will likely fail a lot in the beginning. Stick with it! Make it easy to remember your successes by writing down your good recipes. Learn from your failures, and keep practicing until you get it right.

Related wikiHows


Sources and Citations

  1. http://www.wikihow.com/Save-Money
  2. http://www.wikihow.com/Shop-Carefully-With-a-Tight-Budget

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Be a Great Cook on a Very Low Budget. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.


Friday, October 9, 2009

How to Save Money On Food


How to Save Money on Food

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Trying to stretch every dollar? Here are some simple tips to help save money on food:

Steps


Shopping

  1. Clip coupons. Shop at stores that double the value of a coupon. Some stores will triple coupons. Coupons for FREE products are the best out of any coupon, and one should take time to find these. Coordinate coupons with store ads. Use coupons at stores where the item is already on sale to increase the value of the coupon.
  2. Join a coupon swapping organization. Swap coupons with users in the same geographic area. Exchange for items that you frequently use.
  3. Create a grocery list and stick to it. Don't venture towards the eye-catching advertisements.
  4. Don't buy things just because they're cheap. Buy only what you actually need.
  5. Stick to your budget. This will force you be more creative with your recipes and pay more attention to your nutritional needs.
  6. Compare prices. Most grocery stores post the "price per ounce" along with the cost of a product.
  7. Buy in Bulk. It tends to cost less if you buy larger quantities. Buy durable goods that you'll need in the future, such as kleenex or paper towels. Buy family-size cereal.
  8. Shop for grocery store baked goods early in the day. That is when bakeries mark down their day-old items.
  9. Shop for grocery store meat later in the day. That is when the meat department marks down the items about to go past the "sell by" date. This meat is perfectly safe and can be frozen for later use.
  10. Consider buying private-label or store brands. In many cases, these rival the quality of the well known brands, but at a significantly lower cost.
  11. Avoid processed foods. They may be convenient, but they're usually expensive and less nutritious. Buy cheap, healthy foods that are easy to fix, such as whole grain pasta, legumes and lentils.
  12. Select plant proteins. Include grains, legumes and nuts. Animal products can be very expensive. Meatless Monday is a public health campaign associated with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. It encourages people to give up meat once a week to cut the intake of saturated fat. Check out the site for meatless recipes! [1]
  13. Check deep-discount grocery stores. They purchase overstocks and test market items from manufacturers. Be flexible as they offer a rotating stock and items change daily. You can save up to 40% on brand-name items by adjusting your menu. The west coast's deep discounter is Grocery Outlet (www.groceryoutlets.com).
  14. Join a wholesale club. They usually sell in bulk at cheaper prices than their competitors. Consider applying to BJ's, Costco or Sam's Club. Be sure to account for the cost of membership and transportation -- they may outweigh the benefit in savings. Smart & Final is a smaller, no-membership janitorial and restaurant supply store.
  15. Fringe Benefits If you need a job, look for a job in the restaurant industry. You can frequently bring home food for free or cheap, even when not going home. This is especially helpful if you want to go on a date, and don't want to appear penny-pinching. Family-run businesses are best for this.

Cooking

  1. Learn how to cook. Go to the library and borrow cookbooks and magazines with simple recipes. It's easy to make a nice dish with pasta, rice or beans. Practice makes perfect.
  2. Learn to enjoy cooking from scratch. You will be less likely to eat out. You can carefully craft low cost healthy meals.
  3. Learn to roll yesterday's leftovers into today's meal. Create a new dish.
  4. Learn to make great-tasting dishes at a lower cost. Eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead of roast beef. Eat macaroni and cheese instead of steak.
  5. Manage your refrigerator. Never let food go bad. Eat it or use it as an ingredient in a sauce, casserole or soup. For example, old salsa can be added to a curry and old milk can be turned into a quiche. Of course, don't use anything that has actually gone sour or rancid.
  6. Plan meals based on what you have on hand. Bring out your creative side.
  7. Plan meals based upon what's on sale. Change your recipes accordingly.
  8. Find Cheap Recipes On-line There's lots of good cheap recipes on-line if you look, e.g. http://deliciouscheapmeals.com.

Tips

  • Share a plate of food. Restaurants usually serve enough for two. Don't pay for more than you need. Take food home for an extra meal.
  • Try growing your own fruits and vegetables. Even if it's only tomatoes on a sunny windowsill in your apartment. Dry out the seeds, of whatever you eat, on a paper towel. While shopping, look for planting and growing tips on seed packets in the store.

Related wikiHows


Sources and Citations


Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Save Money on Food. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.