Cooking on a Budget?

Thanks and with my reviews ion your favour is that : Taking a little time to plan out your meals each week ( before you head for the grocery store ) will help you save time and money ! Plan your weekly meals around the items that are on SALE each week , instead of just deciding what you want to have regardless of whether the food is on sale or not . It's easy to do and you will save a fortune through out the year !!! Our recipes are easy to prepare , easy on the budget and so tasty that children usually give them a thumbs up . I'm not promising that your kids will love every single recipe , but there is hope ! (

First of all, it is a fact that, you can still have a gourmet treat even in low budget; how much you spend on food depends on what you cook and what you use for cooking. If you would like to try out some budget recipes that also taste great, here is one you would want to check out- http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/budget_steak_diane Also, find an vast list of budget recipes here, most of which are truly awesome a treat. http://www.ifood.tv/network/budget_recipes/recipes Take care! :)

OMG! There are tons of things you can do! First off, you need to learn how to use COUPONS! And I know you are thinking...that's too much work, but let me tell ya...The first time you are standing there and your total drops $180, you'll want to slap yourself for not doing it the whole time!!! I designed my own coupon book, but you don't have to do all that. If you are interested, send me a message telling me what stores you normally shop at and I will send you some websites. The websites will tell you what's on sale and what coupons to use and where to get the coupons! It doesn't really get any easier than that! I always save atleast $100 EVERY time I go to the store! I have 10 kids and a garbage disposal as an old man though! So, I do buy a lot. Always stock up on non-perishables when they are on sale!! ALWAYS!! I could go on forever.....

I felt your pain. When all 5 kids lived here it was hard to keep food in the fridge. I loved when school started because of school lunches. But those are a lot like fast foods and don't hold them. I have to admit that we did a lot of homemade pizza and breakfast for supper. Pancakes was the favorit and it's a pretty cheap meal. I bought everything on sale. When I depleated the garden, I would by things by the case if they were on sale. Soups is another great meal. Takes care of any left over meats in the fridge and you add potatoes as a filler. I remember making entire roasters full of chicken, turkey or even chilie. Casseroles is where you do get more savings I think because of using elbow macaroni or even rice.

I started buying the meats that are on clearance. They usually expire in the next couple days, but then I just throw what we don't use in the freezer and use it later. You can get the meats 30-50% off and that helps alot. I also started clipping coupons and stocking up on stuff when it's on sale. I noticed that around the holidays there are a lot of food products on sale, so any time there is a holiday weekend I save up and stock up on non-perishables.

This is something we have been conscious about. Sometimes, if the food is not yet spoiled, we use the left over food and make another menu from it. Sometimes, it helps if you try to look at other alternatives. Instead of putting one kilo of meat, you can add extenders like tofu.

Fish is expensive here but it should always be part of the meal. I search for good food that is good on the budget. I use less meat but more vegtables and pasta. I cook one meal that is complete meaning it has meat and vegtables or soup in one. I cook more than one viand if there is celebrations or fried fish is served. It so happen my kids like omellette and pasta so when they eat past at night we don't serve rice. We have dessert twice a week unless they are given. I have 3 growing kids, 2 more relatives and 2 maids so its also a lot for a budget. Its hard to do some budget but you have to do it and get cooperation from your kids and household people otherwise they will just keep on opening what they see.

We have a small family (just two of us), but this is what we do. Every two weeks, I roast a whole chicken. I purchase the chicken when it is on sale, usually around $1.00/pound. If you are feeding a small army, consider roasting two at a time. It will be more economical for your oven. A large roasting chicken will provide several meals. Cooked chicken meat will keep nicely in the freezer if well stored. I break up the carcass, add some chopped carrots, onions and celery and dump it all in my slow cooker along with some water and let it cook all day. This make a great stock. The other thing I've discovered is stir fry. Stir fries are economical AND nutritious. We buy rice in bulk, and there is a plethoria of recipes out there. There's some prep work involved, but stir fries cook up in under 5 minutes.