The 10 golden rules that must be followed for student food budgeting will keep you from overspending, buying junk, and keeping your young one healthy. The number one rule is to buy fresh. There are whole industries that have been developed to convince us that we need things that we actually don’t.

Never is that more true than the marketing to our kids. Buying fresh ingredients instead of purchasing prepackaged goods is the best way to keep your kids healthy and to keep your budget low.

The second rule is to purchase things in bulk. Buying in bulk these days is the best way to gain some substantial savings. When you purchase items in large quantities the price per item is significantly less, saving you money. Rule number three is that juice boxes are a waste of money.

Purchase your child a thermos and save not only the environment but save a lot of money. Refilling a thermos can save you an incredible amount of money each year if you really add it up. Also, you can control better the amount of calories by choosing better liquid choices.

The fourth rule to student food budgeting is to have them bring their lunch to school. It may seem like buying lunches at school is pennies, but when you add it all up, it really can add up to some substantial money. Having them bring their lunch also gives you better control over their nutrition.

The fifth rule is to use refillable containers versus disposable. Instead of using ziploc bags, use containers that can be reused over and again. Not only will you be saving money but you will be going green as well.

The sixth rule is to use a lunch box instead of a paper sack. Again, choosing to reuse is the best way to cut costs on lunches everyday. The seventh rule is to know exactly what your child does and doesn’t eat. You would be shocked to know what they don’t like and waste by throwing out.

Rule number 8, no desert. Those deserts not only add a lot of money to your budget but a lot of calories to their diet.

Rule number 9, don’t purchase bags of chips, buy a bag and divvy up. Those little individual bags can really add up and most of the time there are several bags in the packs that no one likes and gets thrown out.

Finally, the 10th rule is to watch portion size. Your children only have a small amount of time to eat, leading most of whatever is not eaten to be thrown out. They are not going away for a week, just a couple of hours so don’t think that you have to feed them like it’s their last meal everyday.

For my October recipes I have chosen Bangers and mash and Gingerbread. I find both are cheap and very easy to prepare. They are ideal for a small family or large family. My sausages always have to be the thick ones.

I am sorry but there just is no comparison. Pork or beef sausages are fine; if you buy them in bulk they will be cheaper. Potatoes are not too expensive but they are far better than packet mash.

I can not think of anything worse than packet mash potato so please if you are thinking that the best way to go for convenience is packet mash then please think again. I think fresh potatoes are cheaper. My Gingerbread recipe is an old family favouritewhich i hope you like. I hope you enjoy these recipes.

Bangers And Mash:

Ingredients:

16 x Sausages Of Your Choice

1 tblsp Olive Oil

675g /1.5lbs Potatoes

110g/4oz Margarine/Butter

Salt And Ground Pepper

1 tblsp Flour

250ml/9fl oz Stock

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F

2. In a large frying pan heat the oil and add the sausages, cook for 1-2 minutes to allow the skin to brown turn each sausage until it has browned on two or three sides. Place the frying pan in the oven (plastic handles? Transfer to roasting tray) Cook for a further 5-8 minutes.

To test if the sausages are cooked either:

Cut one sausage in half and visually check the flesh is cooked all the way through – still pink? Return to the oven or Insert a thermometer if its above 75oC it will be ready.

3. Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until soft and tender. Drain then mash the potatoes with the margarine, add the salt and pepper to your taste.

4. Remove the sausages from the pan. Add the flour to the fats and juices left in the pan. Stir over a moderate heat for 1 minute add the stock and increase the heat. Stir vigorously to remove any lumps then season with salt and pepper.

5. I also like to add some cheese to my mash with a dash of mustard and sometimes some salad cream!

Gingerbread Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Brown Sugar

1 Cup of Sour Milk

3 Cups of Plain Flour

0.75 Cup of Molasses

0.75 Cup of Melted Shortening

2 Medium Beaten Eggs

1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon of Ginger

1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

0.25 Teaspoon Salt

Method:

1. Firstly in a medium sized bowl combine the eggs, sugar, shortening and molasses. Then sift the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon in another bowl.

2. Add milk to the first mixture and then add the second mixture to the first. Beat the mixture until you have a stiff substance.

3. Now transfer the mixture onto a medium sized oven tin at 375c for 40 minutes or until a fork entered into the middle comes out completely clean.

If you are like the rest of us you are finding yourself tightening your belt as your disposable income is becoming less so. Finding ways to cut costs have become a national past time. One of the easiest ways to cut costs is through lowering your grocery bill each week. Feeding your family for cheap may be much easier than you thought possible.

Finding ways to decrease your grocery bill may seem like an impossible endeavor. As your paycheck stays stagnant, the price of food continues to rise. The best way to lower your grocery cost and feed a family on 50 pounds, is by having a plan and planning ahead of time. The thing that will kill your grocery bill every time are those unplanned for purchases, those impulse buys, that quickly add up without you even knowing it.

There are entire companies that specialize in attracting you into purchasing their food products. They place their items at the checkout, they discount them and make them look “special”, they time their sales around collective consumer trends, it is all planned out, not by us, but by them.

How many times have you purchased an item just because it looked good, it was new, or it was on special. It didn’t matter if you actually needed the item, it just looked too good to pass up. Those impulse purchases will take their toll on your pocketbook every time.

The best way to cut into your grocery purchases is by planning the meals for your family ahead of time and making a list to take with you when you go to purchase the food for the week. Knowing exactly what you need and only what you need, is the perfect way to resist those impulse buys.

By knowing ahead of time what you will need to make all of the meals a week at a time, you will not be tempted by the sale items when shopping. Making the conscious decision to not purchase anything that is not on your list, is the best way to keep yourself from spending money on junk or junk food.

The best way to cut your grocery bill and feed your family on a set budget is by knowing ahead of time what you need when you enter the grocery store. Say “no” to the marketers who make a living getting you to spend yours on things you don’t need.

Since groceries take a big share out of the monthly budget, I have listed here the seven ways to cut down your food bill by at least 25% without using even one coupon.

1. Shop the grocery circulars

Are you aware that everything on the front page is half off? It is important that you stock up some items because you probably won’t see prices as low for two or three months. Get the newspaper and look for the Food section as it contains the circulars.

2. Make a shopping list

Several studies have shown that shoppers are less likely to make impulses buy or purchase of items which are already available on their pantry if they shop from a list. Your shopping list can be as simple as a piece of paper taped on your refrigerator.

3. Keep your loyalty card current

Most of us are using store loyalty cards like Kroger Plus Card to take the advantage of weekly specials. Always make sure that the grocery store you shop have your current mailing and email address on file so you will not miss out those better specials deals exclusively for the card members.

4. Be brand flexible

Honestly speaking, there are many product brands such as Pampers and Pantene which I will stay loyal forever. However, there are many other products such as toilet paper and shave gel which I do not mind straying from if I can get a better deal elsewhere.

5. Befriend the Butcher

Though we are only three in the family, meat is still one of the biggest parts of my weekly food budget, so making friends with the Butcher is important. Find out what particular day and time of the week the must-go priced meat are set out for purchase. These can be an incredible bargain.

6. Shop alone

I love to shop at the grocery store alone because it enables me to hear myself think once a week. As a frugal measure, I shop alone for two reasons. First, I can reduce the temptation to cave in to the voice of my kid asking for cookies and fruit snacks. Second, I become more aware on the prices ringing at the register.

7. Make a weekly food run

Shop only once a week to keep the food bill in check because quick trips to the grocery store every few days add up to you expenses. Make an early shopping during the sale cycle because most heavily discounted items get scooped up quickly and most of the times the shelves are not re-stocked.

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic healthy eating cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

So you have started to plan your Christmas dinner and then you realise how much it is going to cost you for all the things you are going to need and let’s face it there is a lot. And also you do like to impress if all the family are coming around.

 So whilst I have being organising my own Christmas lunch which isn’t for a lot of people I was wondering what could be done to save money but not let on to your friends and family members that you have.

 And in tough times like these you will want to save where you can. So I have given a lot of thought to these tips and done quite a lot of research. So a first tip would be to buy your wine in bulk.

 If you know your family like wine if you buy it in bulk then it will cost less than buying individually. For my second tip you can save on the kind of meat you want to eat. There are more and more people opting for different kinds of meat other than turkey.

 And cuts of pork are generally cheaper and maybe you could substitute Chicken for turkey because after you have plied them with the wine they won’t care what kind of meat they are eating. LOL.

 If you know who’s coming to dinner in advance you can try to buy things early as the prices do tend to go up the closer to Christmas it gets. Another saving tip is to try and make as much stuff yourself as you can.

 To give you one example the little pigs in blankets (sausages wrapped in bacon) in the supermarket are really dear. But you can make your own for a lot less and its good fun as well.

 If you are a quite competent baker then I would try doing my own Christmas cake as this is a great way to save money. If you are really struggling for money you could always ask people to do a certain course of the dinner.

 A few years back we did this, and we had the vegetables to cook and a cheesy vege bake. Someone else did the turkey, another the condiments, someone else the spuds and then someone else did the deserts.

 This worked out great for everyone and if it is well planned and thought out between everyone it really is a cost effective way of having a great time at Christmas for very little cost.

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic healthy eating tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic

In today’s fast and furious world, there is hardly time to stop and chill out, and one of the big time-consuming chores of the day is the evening dinner preparation.  We’ve all been there, you’ve been working all day, or maybe running the kids about, trying to organize this and that; and then it comes to meal time and the last thing you really feel like doing is slaving over the cooker.  Very often everybody wants something different, or if they are in agreement, you don’t have the necessary ingredients to put it together.

 Well, there is now an online e-book that promises to solve all this in the form of ‘Frugal Mom’s Guide To Once A Month Cooking’.  This publication by Candace Anderson, basically highlights the possibility of selecting just one day a month, probably at a weekend, and doing a whole month’s cooking on that particular day.  That undoubtedly would be one very busy day, but it would then release so much more free time over the rest of the month, that it may well be an ingenious idea.

(If you would like to find out more about Frugal Mom’s guide to once a month cooking please click here.)

 The book gives a 5 step plan, to create all manner of meals from various combinations.  Amongst the 70+ recipes are creations such as: Mexican Beef Casserole, Stuffed Burger Pockets, Baked Herb Chicken, Angel Pork Chops, English Muffin Pizzas and Cheesy Double Baked Potatoes.  The book formulates dates and menus, creates shopping lists, maps cooking sessions and provides processes of plastic wrap, freezer bag and baking dish freezing guidelines.

 The recipes are split into 4 different categories: Beef, Chicken, Pork and Potpourri.  Also included in the package are a selection of forms including: Master Plan Work Sheets, Cooking Session Maps – together with samples, Master Ingredient Lists and a Meal Calendar.  As an extra, there is also an additional e-book supplied entitled: Bulk Cooking For The Freezer – Ground Beef.

 The book promises to create an easier way of life and there may well be something in this.  In addition it guarantees 24 hours support to ensure there is always someone to turn to.  There should also be monthly savings involved, which in today’s climate can make a huge difference to family life.

 As an e-book there is immediate delivery as a downloaded product; and so confident is the author of success that there is an offer of a no questions asked, money back guarantee, within 30 days, if not satisfied.  At $12.95, it is not too great an outlay in the first place anyway; although there may be an initial need to purchase a larger freezer!

If you would like to find out more about Frugal Mom’s guide to once a month cooking please click here.

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic healthy eating cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic

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At home I only have a small freezer because I don’t need a large one and have a bigger fridge than freezer. It is important that we do not live off frozen food as it is so bad for you and you don’t get the nutrients that you need.

I appreciate that we are all very busy and we want food in a rush (I too work long hours, but still make sure I have time to cook fresh food in the kitchen with my son). The most important part is to organise your time effectively so that you can cook lovely food without worrying about the time it takes.

When I worked full time in the office I would prepare dinner before work than there was less to do when I was tired and didn’t want to cook.

My Freezer

However even though I cook mainly fresh food (I still can’t resist a nice fish finger buttie) I still need a freezer especially to freeze fresh food that I have made for future cooking. This is also a good idea if you work long hours as you can do extra and then when you have a very long day you just need to heat up your dinner.

Even if I had four kids the size of this freezer would be fine and it makes me feel like I am doing my best to cut down on my food waste.

The kind of things that I have in my freezer include:

Fresh Meat (minced beef, chicken)

Butter Cream

Spare Shortcrust Pasty

Cooked Mincemeat Filling

Spare Biscuit Mixture

Icecream

Frozen Peas

Lollies

The Contents Of My Freezer

If I have made a vegetable bake or a pasta bake at some point during the week I will always cook extra so that I can freeze some for that evening when even the most energetic of us are too tired to cook dinner.You also have the benefit of knowing that the food you are preparing from the freezer that you made, you know exactly what is in it so you can avoid all the unwanted E numbers.

You can have beautiful food without feeling like you have gained weight and have the meals that you normally get in bakeries and restaurants without the inflated price. For example I love a mincemeat pastie and it doesn’t require much meat to make it. So I have a recycled Ice Cream tub full of mixed mincemeat with poatato ready for when I next make some shortcrust pastry. Then it is a five minute job and I can feel proud of my organisation skills.

If you do live out of the freezer through frozen food from the local supermarket this is your time to make a difference to your diet and live in a much healthier way.

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic healthy eating cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic

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As a family we can not resist regular trips to McDonalds especially for one of the burgers as they taste so nice when you want your quick fix of naughty food. Not to mention the fact that the children absolutely love it and my son gets very excited for a nice yummy burger.

When we lived in England before relocating to the Algarve in Portugal we used to have a McDonalds once a month. But since moving to Portugal there isn’t a McDonalds as close by and we have adapted a much more healthier attitude so we have decided to challenge ourselves to some lovely homemade burgers that we can enjoy as a family.

Homemade Cheese Burgers

Plus I decided to experiment with cost as we are all looking for a fantastic Saturday night meal on a budget. So lets crack on and let me guide you through the ultimate night in with your family.

Ingredients

1 Pack of Minced Beef

1/2 Slice of breadcrumbs

1 Medium Onion

Handful of Fresh Basil

1 Teaspoon of Pepper

2 Teaspoons of Plain Flour

1 Small Egg

Other Herbs to Taste

Method:

1. First of all in a medium mixing bowl, add the mince beef and cut it into pieces so that it is easy to mix together. Then on your chopping board chop up your onion and add it to the bowl. Now also chop up your fresh basil and add this along with your mixed herbs and breadcrumbs.

2. In a small bowl add your egg and mix it until smooth and on a space in your worktop add your plain flour so that you can use it for binding.

3. Now go back to your bowl, add any herbs that you prefer (I always use my jar of mixed herbs) and combine it into the size of burgers. Once you combine it place a coating of egg around it and roll it in the plain flour. Then stick each one on a large oven tray and once they are all completed place them in the fridge for four hours. The idea behind this is that they will then be well formed and they are less likely to break when you are cooking them later. I find that it is easiest if you make them first thing in the morning and then you know they are done and it always helps to be a little organised.

Half an hour before you want to eat

Now is the time to head back into the kitchen to make your dinner, I recommend that you do so with your children as it so important for them to learn how to cook and they have a lovely time helping you. First of all you want to get your burgers into the oven to cook. I always make mine in the oven though you can always use the grill. Put the oven on a medium heat and cook your burgers for 25-35 minutes or until they are cooked through.

Homemade Cheeseburgers With A Beautiful Homemade Sauce

In the meantime make yourself some homemade chips, you can spice them up with some Paprika on top if that is your fancy. Or like me with some melted cheese on top.

After you have prepared your chips and they are cooking you can prepare your burger buns, add some nice lettuce, tomatoes, onions and mayonnaise to your buns.

You can also make yourself a side sauce from scratch that will taste just as nice as a McDonalds one. I prefer to do a Spanish Aloli which is mayonnaise with garlic and lime and tastes fantastic.

Then once your burgers are cooked stick them in the buns with a slice of cheese and serve all your food together at the table. If you are looking for a healthier version say if you are on a diet what you would do is:

- Have oven chips instead of fried ones

- Make a diet mayonnaise

I hope you enjoy your burgers and enjoy the saving you have made. It has cost me five euros to make for a family of three. For the same portions and nice food it would have cost me 30 Euros including petrol at my local McDonalds so I am extremely happy with the savings I have made.

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic healthy eating cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic

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Since moving to Portugal I have discovered that there is three things that a Portuguese menu simply can’t live without. It is your bread, chicken and chilled white wine. (obviously I find the wine the most appealing especially after a long day!)

Whenever you visit a Portuguese restaurant the white wine tastes beautiful and it is nicely chilled and served to you at the beginning of the meal. At the same time you will be served with fantastic sliced crusty bread which compliments the wine perfectly and it will come out with some butter, sardine pate and locally produced olives.

Portuguese food can be ideal because the menu is so simple – it is just about enjoying good quality food that you can enjoy as a family. When we lived in England it was very rare that on an evening in a restaurant would you see children enjoying a meal with their parents but in Portugal it is the norm.

My favourite type of chicken is pri pri that features on most Portuguese menus. It is a little spicy but with having the wine along side it you can hardly notice the spices.

There are many restaurants situated in the Portuguese Algarve that have outside restaurants and cook all their chicken on a lovely barbeque. We personally go to our favourite local chicken restaurant once a week and the prices are very reasonable this is why expats struggle to make money because the Portuguese do it so cheap they simply can’t compete with them.

I went out for dinner on Sunday with my wife, our son and my in-laws to our favourite chicken restaurant which is a two minute walk from our front door. We enjoyed a selection of chicken, chips and salad along with a jug of chilled white wine. It was beautiful and between us it worked out at less than eight Euros each.

With quality food like this at such a great price you can understand why so many people eat out so often when the world is having many money worries.

If you want to have a nice meal at home that is great value for money I thoroughly recommend that you try out some bread, chicken and white wine. Then watch as the compliment each other at your dinner table.

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic

If there is one thing that I couldn’t live without in the kitchen it would have to be the slow cooker or crockpot as it is better know to my American readers.

When I first came across them I had the typical bloke attitude:

Why on earth would I waste my money on one of these?

Well the truth is we received our very first slow cooker as a present from a customer that purchased from us in our early door to door selling days. They had simply downgraded the size and give us their family sized slow cooker. At first we placed it in the cupboard and forgot about it until the winter months approached us.

Then we realised that everyone used them and it wasn’t just a craze but a great opportunity to save time as a family yet put together great meals at the same time.

As my wife soon found out it could also double up as a food warmer which is so much cheaper than investing in a hostess trolley. She first used it to keep warm a vegetable bake which is her signature dish (it is basically lovely home cooked vegetables in a cheese sauce with lovely herbs). She had been in a rush so made it at lunchtime then kept it warm ahead of me coming home from work in the evening.

A month or so later we made a stew in our slow cooker and it tasted amazing. You can simply put together a selection of your vegetables and some left over beef, add a little boiling water and leave it alone for the day. Then an hour before serving simply thicken it up with some gravy granules and a few fresh herbs and its all completed.

Through the winter months we will have a stew once or twice a month and we will compliment it with some homemade dumplings. If you have leftover vegetables to use up its a great way to get rid of them in a lovely family meal. It is very cheap to make yet reaps all the rewards. The amount of good food involved is amazing and it’s perfect if you are looking after your figure.

On sunday my wife made me yet another stew with dumplings using some reduced price organic beef that was on offer at the supermarket and it tasted wonderful. I was listening out for her making the usual noise in the kitchen because women are good at that. I noticed that from start to finish including going to check on it she spent 40 minutes in the kitchen. It then made me realise that if you want something cheap for dinner, that is good for you and costs very little then a beef stew with dumplings in the slow cooker is a perfect choice.

The weather is improving now in Portugal so I might not get many more of them in before the heat increases though so I especially enjoyed this one!

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic