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 November recipes I have gone with a fishy theme. You can’t beat a good old fashioned Prawn cocktail. A few prawns with abit of Mary rose Sauce over the top and some brown bread toasted on the side, heaven.

For the main course I have gone for a simple Tuna Pasta bake. I have being making these for years and this recipe has being fine tuned for quickness and tastiness. I also like some crusty bread with my Tuna Bakes and abit of spice.

I like to add abit of spice but nothing that takes away from the tuna, just abit to add some extra flavour, a few chilli flakes go down well and a dash of Tabasco. I hope you enjoy these recipes.

Prawn Cocktail:

Ingredients:

450g Peeled, Cooked Prawns

200 g Salad Cream

3 tbsp Tomato Ketchup

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Few Drops Tabasco

3 Heads Gem Lettuce

Method:

1. Make sure the prawns are drained well of their liquid. Mix the salad cream, ketchup, lemon juice and Tabasco in a bowl. Tip in the prawns and mix well to coat them in the Marie-Rose sauce.

2. Finally shred the lettuce, and arrange as a bed on six small plates or dessert glasses. Divide the prawns in their sauce on the centre of each plate in a kind of pyramid, and then dust with paprika.

3. As long as the prawns were properly thawed and drained before you started mixing them in their famous Marie rose pink sauce, it does not matter if they sit for a good few hours in the fridge before being turned out onto their lettuce-lined dishes.

Tuna Pasta Bake:

Ingredients:

30g Margarine

4 tbs Flour

2 Cups Milk

½ Cup Grated Cheese

Salt And Pepper

1 Can Tuna, Drained.

2 Cups Of Pasta Shells

Method:

1. Make white sauce with margarine, flour, milk, salt & pepper. Add cheese

and tuna. Heat through.

2. Cook pasta until ready or if you are not sure look at the packet when ready take of the heat and refresh under cold water.

3. Then drain, add to the cheese/tuna sauce, mix well and heat through when ready serve.

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.

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

For my May recipes I thought I would go for a toad in the hole and spotted dick recipe. I chose toad in the hole as it is not very widely known outside the UK and I thought this would be a good chance for other countries to give it a try.

For my pudding I don’t really like it but it is very popular on a Sunday round at your grans after a Sunday dinner. These meals are not very light on the tummy but with summer fast approaching this could be the last of the winter favourites.

Toad In The Hole Recipe:

Ingredients:

6 Large Sausages
8 Cherry Tomatoes
2 tbsp Of Sunflower Oil

2 Large Beaten Eggs
110g Of Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Of Salt
300ml Of Milk

Method:

1. Sieve the flour and the salt into a large mixing bowl. Make the batter for the toad in the hole by stirring in the beaten eggs. Then make a smooth past by adding a little amount of the milk. depending on taste use full fat, skimmed or semi skimmed milk.

2. Beat in the remaining milk until the batter mixture looks like un-whipped double cream and small bubbles are formed on the surface.

3. Set aside the batter for between 30 minutes – one hour.

4. Fry or grill the sausages to part cook them and any fat will be drained away here not in your batter later for about ten minutes over a low heat. This will remove any excess fat from the sausages and give them a lighter colour.

5. When ready to make the toad in the hole recipe preheat the oven to 220C or gas mark 7.

6. Add the cooking oil to either four individual round tins or a large roasting tin. Heat in the oven until it gets hot and the oil starts to smoke. Remove from the oven.

7. Quarter each sausage and spread out into the roasting tin.

8. Place the cherry tomatoes or onions if you prefer but anything can be used depends on your tastes between the sausages.

9. Place the roasting tin into the hot oven for five minutes then remove and pour on the toad in the hole batter mixture.

10.Return the roasting tin to the hot oven and cook the toad in the hole for at least 15 minutes. Small individual portions will cook quicker so the large roasting tin may take some time.

11. The batter mixture should have risen and be crispy to indicate that the toad in the hole is cooked and ready to serve and eat.

12. Try not to delay serving the toad in the hole because the Yorkshire pudding will deflate and go soggy.

Spotted Dick Recipe:

Ingredients:

8 oz Self-Raising Flour
4 oz Shredded Suet
8 oz Currants Or Raisins
150ml Cold Water
1 oz Sugar
1 Pinch salt

Method:

1. Mix together the flour, sugar, salt, suet and the currents/raisins. Keep mixing and add a little water at a time until the whole becomes a firm dough.

2. Roll into a long cylindrical shape that is about 8 inches long. Carefully place the rolled pastry into a small pan that is close to 8 inches diameter as possible.

3. Place this smaller pan into a larger one then fill the larger pan with boiling water – but do not fill so that the water spills into the smaller pan. This is to make a steamer to ‘steam’ the pudding.

4. Put on the lid to the larger pan and steam for about 2¼ hours- making sure that the water is topped up in the outer pan with boiling water.

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

For my April recipes I wanted a light starter and a light filling main course. The melon starter is easy to do and the kids will love to help you make the boats. But they will probably eat as they make the boats.

 So the boats may come out more as rafts! For the main course I have gone for Cashew Chicken which is an oriental dish. It is light on the belly but filling and easy to make. I can get Chicken in Portugal for about 4 euros for 3 breasts.

 I hope you try these recipes and let me know what you think about them. If they worked for you or if they didn’t or if you found them too expensive.

Watermelon Recipes:

Ingredients:

4 Thin Slices Of Watermelon
3 Oranges, Peeled & Segmented
2 Kiwi Fruit, Peeled & Sliced
4 Mint Sprigs

Method:

1. Remove the pips from the watermelon slices, cut off the skin & lay each slice on its side on four different plates. Arrange the orange segments overlapping each other to represent a sail.

2. Half the kiwi fruit slices and arrange under the melon to represent the sea. Place a “flag” of mint on top of each “sail”.

Cashew Chicken Recipe:

Ingredients:

3 Chicken Breasts, Boned/Skinned
1/2 lb Chinese Pea Pods
1/2 lb Mushrooms
4 Green Onions
2 Cups Bamboo Shoots, Drained
1 Cup Chicken Broth
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Corn Starch
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
4 tbsp Salad Oil
1 Pack Cashew Nuts

Method:

1. Slice the chicken breasts horizontally into very thin slices and cut into inch squares. Place on a tray. Prepare vegetables, removing ends and strings from pea pods, slicing mushrooms, green part of onions, and the bamboo shoots. Add  to tray.

2. Mix the soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in skillet over moderate heat, add all the nuts, and cook 1 min shaking the pan, toasting the nuts lightly. Remove and reserve. Pour remaining oil in pan, fry chicken quickly, turning often until it looks opaque.

3. Lower heat to low. Add pea pods, mushrooms, and broth. Cover and cook slowly for 2 minutes. Remove cover, add soy sauce mixture, bamboo shoots, and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Simmer uncovered a bit more and add green onions and nuts and serve immediately.

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

Since the middle of Febuary here in Portugal the weather has being brilliant for this time of the year. So I have decided to include a salad in my meals this month. I think this salad will be cheap to make anywhere in the world.

The Bacon Lettuce and Tomato salad is one of my favourites because it is easy to make quick and simple but that doesn’t take away from the way it tastes. My dessert this month is going to be chocolate trifle.

I love this dessert because it is sweet, sticky and very naughty but extremely nice. It is very easy to make and most of the ingredients we have already in the cupboard so it makes it cheaper to make.

BLT Pasta Salad:

Ingredients:

1 (7oz) Rotini Pasta Noodles (Cooked/Drained)
8 Slices Bacon (Cooked Until Crispy/Crumbled)
1 Cup Mayonnaise
¼ Cup Lemon Juice Concentrate
2 tsp Sugar
2 tsp Chicken Flavoured Instant Bouillon
1 Large Tomato (Seeded/Chopped)
¼ Cup Red Onion (Sliced)
4 Cup Iceberg Lettuce (Thinly Sliced)

Method:

1. In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, chicken flavour instant bouillon, and sugar. Mix well until smooth.

2. In a serving bowl add noodles, bacon, tomato, and green onions, Toss with dressing. Stir in lettuce right before serving.

Chocolate Trifle:

Ingredients:

200g Bar Continental Plain Chocolate
2 x 500g Fresh Custard
1 Pack 4 Double Chocolate Muffins
2 x 425g Black Cherries, In Syrup, Drained
6 tbsp Cherry Brandy
284ml Pot Extra Thick Double Cream
1-2 Bars Cadbury’s Flake, Crumbled And Chilled

Method:

1. Break the chocolate into even-sized pieces and place into a heatproof bowl. Rest over a pan of gently simmering water for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat to cool for 5 minutes.

2. Carefully stir the custard into the chocolate, cover and allow to cool completely.
Meanwhile, cut each of the muffins into 4-5 thick slices. Arrange half the muffins in the base of a large glass trifle bowl and cover with half the cherries.

3. Sprinkle with half the cherry brandy then spoon over half the chocolate custard. Repeat the layers. Chill until needed. Just before serving the trifle, remove from the fridge and cover with the double cream. Then sprinkle with the crumbled Flakes.

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

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

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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