Recession has thought me how to be innovative in the kitchen. What about you?

Yes it has taken its toll on us to. Instead of buying meat ,I always buy beans, for myself. As for hubby he has had to switch from turkey cutlets to ground turkey,chicken and beef once in a while. But nothing has gone to waste since starting this frugal life style. Are fridge gets cleaned out completely before returning to the store now. I do hope once the economy turns around ,I can keep these habits thinking of all the food we use to waste.Things we use to do without problem have to be thought out, and planned or put off. We are hanging on to every penny, we have just in case it would get worse.

The biggest thing I've learned during all of this is how to tell my kids NO!! I've also went and figured up which bills I can pay on to get rid of any balances, I took the high interest/service charge ones and decided to pay them off first, then I'll take the payment I was making on them to add to the next lower bill that I owe on, hopefully get the majority of them paid in full.

My wife is in charge of the cooking and I am at the financing side. lol most of the time now, these days that we all suffers, financially, a lot of things had changed, especially in the kitchen. Yes that is true, with a little money we have left, most of the time, it's veggies that we can serve our family in the table. With veggies and no meat, my wife also do the same as you do. She just add some seasonings to flavor the food. There are a lot of mixed seasoning available in the market now. Ajinomoto, knorr, maggi and others. Without meat, food will still taste good and veggies are more nutritious and good for our health.

Me I learned to eat bread for dinner or other food for snacks as my meal. I learned to save. I can eat simple meal as well. A cup of rice and veggies will do, or fish or fruits. Something hard for us to do if not for recession.

It is hard to become a better cook.I always learn how to cook from books and TV. So I am also trying to live a frugal life.

My meals are usually simpler and healthier nowadays. I don't use a lot of seasonings because thy're quite high in sodium. I try to incorporate more fruits and salads. I've also cut down on meat and instead used fish and squid in our meals.

My life has been in recession for several years lol, and kitchen economies have played a major role in my life. Buying in bulk and cooking and freezing is one of the ways I found to economise: besides, one day of heavy cooking can mean two months of simple reheating thereafter, so it also economises on time. Using all leftovers is another obvious saving, as is using cheaper cuts of meat. Watching the daily specials at the supermarket also helps. We also keep chickens and grow some of our own fruit, vegetables, and herbs, but this is not an option for a lot of people. About 9 months ago my partner and I decided it was time to do something about our weight, and we came up with the idea of basing our diet around soups. Our breakfast consists of our own eggs poached and served on home-cooked bread/toast. Lunches are soup with toast, and most evening meals are the same. We do eat "proper" meals twice a week for variety and necessary protein. This allows the occasional splurge. Last night, for instance: it was my 65th birthday yesterday, so for dinner I cooked (I used to be a chef and my partner is only average in the kitchen, so I do most of the cooking) fillet steak with bearnaise sauce, accompanied by baked potatoes with bacon and shallots, and a tossed salad, followed by hot apple pie with chantilly cream and fresh strawberries. We washed the main down with a $30 bottle of good red. Economies are good and often necessary, but a life without some luxuries ain't worth living. Lash

the recession had taught me many things, and like you i have become a little bit better at the kitchen when it comes to cooking. most of what i cook now are stews or those with soup in them, and few meat in it or the cuts a smaller than it used to be. as we eat rice all the time, those with soups are good. less fried meats too. i also add flavoring like those cubes you mention. we eat out less now compared to before, what we do if we want to eat out is i just cooked more than what i have to when cooking on regular days. i buy bread, cheese, and patties instead of burgers at fastfood. and i learned to make my own breading better, so the fried chicken tastes better too. kids bring packed lunch to school, it cost less than if they buy lunch there.