Recommended Cooking Accessories when on a Budget

 

Are you looking for ways to save money on food? There are lots of standard tips that will help you stay within your budget when grocery shopping. Here are some top tips and cooking accessories that make it easier for you to stay within your food budget in tough economic times.

Buying in bulk is a great way to save money on purchases that you will use over time, but you need a way to break down your purchases and store them. One of the handiest items to have on hand is a Burger Maker Set that lets you turn 3 pounds of ground beef into 12 hamburger patties and store them in airtight trays in your freezer. You can easily pull out one patty at a time for use, or take out a whole tray. A 6-piece Burger Maker set lets you pick between full size patties or 9 sliders for each tray of burgers.

Speaking of hamburger, you can save even more money by buying whole cuts of meat and grinding your own at home with an Electric Meat Grinder. Take advantage of sales on pot roast and other cuts, and grind them yourself at home for higher quality ground meat at bargain prices.

Why pay a premium for deli-sliced roast beef, turkey, corned beef and other deli meats? Why pay for plastic packaging for name brand sliced meats? Invest in a deli slicer and you can slice your own sandwich meats at home and save up to $5 a pound on ham, turkey and other deli meats.

With salad dressing costing up to $2.50 a bottle, you can save a nice chunk of change by making your own salad dressings at home. For about the price of two bottles of dressing, you can buy a salad dressing carafe and emulsifying mixer that lets you whip up your own dressings in seconds. Pick up a few and you can keep several different salad dressings in your fridge for easy use.

Store dry cereal and snacks in a handy set of snack dispensers, reminiscent of retro gumball machines. You can set the dials to deliver measured portions, which makes it easy for kids to grab a bowl of cereal without spilling (and wasting) half the box on the table. It’s also a handy way to limit the amount of snacks that kids take at once, which is good for their health as well as your pocketbook.

Are you paying a premium price for little plastic tubs of yogurt full of preservatives and additives to make them “appealing”? Save big bucks by making your own yogurt at home. You won’t believe how easy it is to do with a Yolife Yogurt Maker. Just pour milk into a jar, add yogurt starter (which you really only need once) and cover with the domed lid. In less than 12 hours, you’ll have the freshest, best-tasting yogurt you’ve ever eaten at a fraction of the cost of store bought products.

Microwave popcorn is a favorite snack because it’s so easy to make – but a buck a bag can really put a crimp in your budget. You can still pick up a bag of popcorn for less than a dollar, and a Microwave Popcorn Popper makes it just as easy to pop the corn as dropping a bag in the microwave.

How much does it cost you to grab lunch at work each day? Even if you eat off the dollar menu, you can save hundreds of dollars a year by bringing your own lunch to work each day. Investing in a good set of thermal storage containers like the Smart Portion Container Set can make it easy to bring delicious and nutritious lunches to work or to school each day.

Do you end up throwing away fruits and vegetables that have spoiled before you get to use them? Do you have to pass on great bargains because you know you won’t eat them before they go bad? One of the hottest products to come along in years, Green Bags keep your produce fresh for days, even weeks longer. Other fresh storage options to look at include FreshVac Storage Containers and the Produce Keeper which lets you store up to three vegetables or fruits in one container and keep them fresh up to two weeks longer.

Fresh herbs are a delight in your cooking, but buying fresh herbs at the supermarket gets expensive quickly. Growing your own basil, thyme, oregano and other herbs is surprisingly easy. A set of Herb Pots is a wonderful way to add some green to your kitchen and flavor to your meals, all while keeping the green in your wallet.

 

3 Tips for Easy Meal Planning

Where has the family dinner hour gone? There once was a time when we would all come home from a long day and sit down with our family for a nice home-cooked meal. In today’s fast paced world, we need more bonding time with the family. One might say that in today’s day where people pile way too much on the plate of life, that it is impossible to have a family dinner everyday. I disagree. Wouldn’t you like to get back to the way it used to be?

One way to make family dinners easier to prepare is by planning ahead. Often times I find myself going to the grocery store every other day to pick up needed items, and this is how family time gets lost. Spend a little time planning out dinner ideas for the coming week. Pick meals that are quick and easy for your dinners during the week and save the more time consuming recipes for the weekend. Did you know that software has been developed that makes meal planning a breeze? With a click of the mouse you can organize your recipe collection into daily meal plans complete with nutrition facts and shopping lists. With the computer generated shopping list you won’t have to worry about forgetting a needed item when you go grocery shopping.

Another great way to ensure that your family eats together most nights of the week is to share the responsibility of preparing dinner. It can be difficult for one family member to be responsible for cooking everyday. Each member of the family can take turns cooking each night. This is also a good way to add some new flavors to your meals since each member may have a different cooking technique. For those family members who don’t cook often, this can prove to be a great learning experience. Review each family member’s weekly schedule and delegate the meal preparation tasks such as grocery shopping, cooking, and clean up. Working as a team is a great way to build strength as a family.

“Not meatloaf again!” I’m sure everyone has heard the complaints from that same meal being served week after week. Keep your family dinners exciting by trying different variations of your favorite recipes. An even better idea would be to test out some new recipes. Surprise your family with a delicious new dinner tonight and they will be sure to come back to the dinner table tomorrow.

Nothing is more important than your family. It’s worth the effort to make sure that your family eats together daily. Besides the needed nutrition, this time spent together will help open the lines of communication and make your family bond stronger.

I recently discovered an online service that saves time and money while providing you with new dinner ideas daily. Get access to powerful recipe management software, daily meal plans, money saving coupons and more at SendMeRecipes.

Meal Planning Made Tax Season Almost Bearable

Those of you who know me know that I am a tax professional who prepares taxes for individuals and small businesses.  This tax season was one of the longest, toughest tax seasons I’ve had in a long time…

But, this was the first year that I was doing meal planning on a regular basis, and oh my goodness, was it a huge help!

Getting dinner prepared was no big deal this tax season because I already knew what I was going to make and I had everything on hand to do it.  Hubby even helped by getting dinner ready a few times!

I have to say we cheated and ordered out a few times, but even that was planned ahead of time, so it was no big deal.

I knew meal planning was a life saver before, but this tax season has me convinced about the benefits of meal planning all over again.  Whew!