Residential Real EstateSaving In The Kitchen
Once you"ve arrived home from your weekly grocery expedition, you can
continue your campaign of cost savings using a few very easy strategies.
When you"re flipping through a cookbook that calls for pricey items --
expensive cuts of meat, exotic produce or spices, for example -- consider
using alterative ingredients. You might discover a new twist on a recipe
and find yourself a new favorite dish. A top-of-the-line cut of beef could
be replaced with chicken or turkey, or you could even go meatless (use tofu
if you"re a little more open-minded). A risotto created with Chinese snow
pea pods (a very expensive produce item) could be made with mushrooms and
water chestnuts instead -- a cheaper and more flavorful alternative. Corn
flakes, wheat germ or bread crumbs are sometimes cheaper substitutes for
cracker crumbs. Consider making your own salad dressings out of vinegar and
olive oil.
Spices are notorious for being expensive. Consider just how important that
spice is to the dish you"re cooking. If you must have it, purchase it in
bulk. If you can do without it, use a substitute -- whatever you already
have in your cabinet, or a reasonably priced alternative. Some ingredients
are listed merely for presentation and add little flavor. Unless you"re
entertaining or it"s a special occasion, do away with those; they"ll just
add to your bill. Extracts also can be expensive, and chances are good that
you"ll use them only once or twice. Vanilla is often a good substitute.
While the flavor of your baked item might change, it"s going to be a
pleasant change for your palette and your wallet.
Savvy shoppers know that buying bulk costs less. So you"ll want to have
some large containers on hand for storing your bulk staples: flour, sugar,
pasta, cereal, etc. Be realistic, however. Avoid buying any item in bulk if
you don"t think you"ll use it often enough to justify the purchase. But if
you eat pasta at least a couple of times each week, by all means purchase
your pasta from the bulk bins and store it on your countertop. This is
much, much cheaper than buying various imported pastas, colored pastas and
fancy-shaped pastas, which for the most part taste no different than the
less expensive bulk variety.
Divide loaves of bread into usable portions. Place one on your counter or
in your refrigerator, and place the rest in your freezer for use as needed.
This is a particularly good idea if you"re single; few of us single folks
make it through a loaf of bread before it turns stale and ends up in the
garbage. You might consider purchasing a bread machine. These machines have
decreased dramatically in price since their initial inception. Many models
will run you as little as $95. You can either follow a recipe book (most
loaves require little more than a little bread flour, yeast, water and or
egg) or buy bread mixes at your local grocery store (open, empty, and turn
on your machine). If you freeze portions of these loaves -- which you make
up to 1 1/2-pound sizes, depending upon your preferences and the size of
bread machine you purchase -- you"ll get a lot of mileage from them. The
loaves are easy to make and smell wonderful as they bake. If you don"t plan
to freeze them, however, note that because they don"t have preservatives,
these loaves become stale more quickly than most pre-packaged breads you
purchase at the grocery store.
When you"re using the oven, bake multiple items at once to conserve
electricity (and reduce the time during which your kitchen will be heated
to excessive levels during the hot summer months). Use the microwave if
possible. When cooking pasta on the stove, heat the water to a boil, pour
in your pasta, then turn the burner off and cover the pot. Turn on your
timer for approximately 12 minutes. Perfect pasta ... and less electricity.
If you"ve never been in the habit of baking, start now. For starters, it"s
fun. You can spend a couple of rainy Saturday or Sunday afternoons each
month baking cookies, muffins, breads, etc., and freeze them to last
throughout the month. This saves you both money and time. You and your
family have an easy breakfast solution during your harried weekday
mornings, and you save money when you avoid purchasing pre-packaged baked
goodies that often don"t taste half as wonderful as your own creations.
Baking is also fun for children, and it helps them develop basic kitchen
skills they"ll need in the near future. Seize the opportunity to teach them
about kitchen safety, as well.
If you"re baking for a crowd -- muffins or cookies, for example -- stretch
your dollars by bending the rules a bit. Make smaller, bite-sized cookies
from the same amount of dough (enabling you to make more cookies). Bake
smaller muffins or even mini muffins. Purchase some small loaf tins, and
pour the batter into those to make multiple loaves. When you"re cooking
dinner, you can stretch the recipe by adding more vegetables (and a touch
of water to avoid a thick consistency). This works well for soups and
stews. Add rice or pasta to the recipe. Store and freeze extra portions.
This cuts out the guess work when you arrive home at the end of the day and
have to face the decision of what to make for dinner.
Shop farmers" markets if they"re available in your community. You"ll find
fantastic deals on seasonal produce. When you"re in your grocery store,
select produce that"s in season and on special. That will require some
flexibility on your part, as you try new produce items. But it will also
broaden your culinary horizons. If canned versions of your favorite produce
items are less expensive, buy those instead. They"ll save you time as well
as money.
Make sure you store your produce properly (ask the the produce manager
at your local market if you"re not sure). If frozen vegetables and/or
fruits go on sale, buy them (although they"re typically more expensive than
fresh produce). If you notice that your fruit is starting to reach past its
prime, slice it and freeze it. Frozen bananas and strawberries, in
particular, are excellent ingredients for homemade smoothies. Frozen grapes
are a good choice for a cool snack. Other frozen fruit may be used in
baking. You can dice it and empty it into your bowl for mixing, or dump it
into your blender to create a puree, which you can use as a substitute for
vegetable oil in many recipes.
Food bills represent a significant portion of household expenditures,
regardless of the size of your family. These cost-saving measures are easy
to take, and best of all, they require little if any sacrifice. At the same
time, you"re exploring new interpretations of cooking while putting your
own less expensive and perhaps more flavorful spin on your favorite
recipes.
Also See:
Plan a Kitchen to Last a Lifetime
Preventing Kitchen Disasters
Staying in Shape: Creating the Ideal Kitchen Layout
Are You Running a Marathon in Your Own Kitchen?