Savings In The Kitchen/TITLE> <script language="JavaScript">  </script> </HEAD> <body link="blue" alink="blue" vlink="blue"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="560"> <tr><td width="560"> <img src="newbar1.gif"><a href="http://www.savingsecrets.com/articles.html" onMouseOut="BNB_mouseoff('nav')" onMouseOver="BNB_mouseon('nav');return true"><img src="newbar2a.gif" name="nav" WIDTH="124" HEIGHT="77" VSPACE="0" border="0"></a><br> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"> <img src="bluebar3.gif"><br> <a href="http://www.savingsecrets.com">home </a><img src="sep.gif"> <a href="aboutus.html">about us </a><img src="sep.gif"> <a href="newsletter.html">newsletter</a><img src="sep.gif"> <a href="tips.html">monthly tips</a><img src="sep.gif"> </td></tr></table> <br> <br> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="530"> <tr> <td width="30"> <br></td> <td width="500"> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="4" color="blue"><b>SAVINGS IN THE KITCHEN</b><br></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"><B>* Take advantage of bulk bins.</B> When trying a new pasta, grain, cereal, or dried fruit, use the bulk bins. You can buy just enough to decide whether you like it. If you do not like it, you will not have wasted a full package. Bulk-bin flour, sugar, spices, cereal, and pasta are usually priced lower than the prepackaged variety.<br> <br> <B>* Rearrange your plate.</B> Filling your plate with vegetables, legumes, grains, pasta and fruit, with meat on the side, will help your budget and your health.<br> <br> <B>* Use cheaper substitutes.</B> When faced with a recipe that looks tasty but calls for expensive ingredients, be creative. That beef stir fry looks good. Use the same sauce but substitute garbanzo beans or chicken for the beef strips.<br> <br> <B>* A substitute ingredient need not taste exactly like the ingredient called for.</B> Sure the flavor will change but it could change for the better. Try shredded carrots in lieu of more expensive (if you do not get it free from a gardener) zucchini. Substitute corn for peas, vanilla for many extracts, and bread crumbs for cracker crumbs.<br> <br> <B>* Alter recipes.</B> Try adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup less sugar in your baking and drink mixes; you probably will not notice a difference. Reduce the amount of cheese you add to casseroles and sauces by one fourth. Recipe writers often round off amounts to make ingredients are easy to measure, when usually a smaller amount will do.<br> <br> <B>* Analyze recipes carefully.</B> If an ingredient seems to be included only for color but offers no essential flavor, try eliminating it.<br> <br> <B>* Stretch recipes.</B> When your cookie recipe calls for one rounded teaspoon of dough, try a level teaspoon and remove from the oven sooner. Make a larger number of small muffins with your muffin batter. Dilute concentrated juice a little further. Add extra potatoes, beans, and vegetables to casseroles and soups for additional servings (seasonings may need to be adjusted slightly).<br> <br> <B>* Conserve electricity when baking and cooking.</B> Turn off the burner three minutes before your pasta or rice directions call for. The residual heat will finish the cooking. When baking a chicken or meatloaf, bake potatoes with it for use in the next day's casserole.<br> <br> <B>* Bake.</B> Once a month, take a few hours to bake muffins, breads, and cookies from scratch for the month ahead. You will be less tempted to purchase the expensive prepared baked goods. Most baked goods freeze well.<br> <br> <B>* Make your own salad dressing.</B> You will be pleased with how easy it is and how much money you will save. Easy vinaigrette dressing: Mix 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1-1/2 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper, 1/2 t. dry mustard, and 1 minced garlic clove. Add 1 cup salad oil and stir until blended. Keep refrigerated in a tightly covered container.<br> <br> <B>* When using fresh garlic, save the four inner cloves.</B> Plant them in the ground, or in a planter, about 1/2 inch deep. Dig up when plant is about 1-1/2 feet tall and has begun to dry, in about five months. Soon you will never need to buy garlic again!<br> <br> <B>* Embrace variety.</B> Avoid the rut of eating the same fruits, vegetables, and meat all year long. Enjoy different foods when they are in season and, therefore, cheapest. Eat tangerines in the winter and grapes in the summer. Enjoy summer corn and savor winter squash.<br> <br> <B>* Make sure your food is a nutritional bargain.</B> That $1.50 per gallon of orange flavored drink may be cheap but it is made of water, sugar, and artificial coloring with none of the Vitamin C of orange juice. Orange juice is the better bargain, filled with Vitamin C and folic acid. Just 8 oz. has 150 percent of an adult's daily Vitamin C requirement.<br> <br> <B>* Store food properly to avoid spoilage.</B> Speak with your grocer about the proper way to store fruits and vegetables. Always seal herb jars tightly, as dried herbs lose flavor quickly. Freeze meat if you will not use it within five days.<br> <br> <B>* Compare prices of different versions of the same food.</B> The fresh, frozen, and canned versions can differ greatly.<br> <br> <B>* Waste not.</B> Overripe bananas, pears, apples, and other fruit can find a second life in breads, sauces, and desserts. Place in airtight container and freeze until you have time for baking. When baking, substitute fruit puree for up to half the amount of oil called for in a recipe.<br> <br> <B>* Discover alternative proteins.</B> Legumes are a great buy and very versatile. Try cooked beans and lentils in place of ground beef in casseroles, stews, and soups. Substitute beans for meat in a stir-fry. Experiment with tofu and texturized vegetable protein.<br> <br> <B>* Do not limit your grocery shopping to grocery stores.</B> Health food stores often have good buys on herbs, spices, and grains. Visit the farmer's market for top-quality produce at low prices. Your gas station just might have a bargain on milk. Take advantage of u-pick strawberry fields in July and apple orchards in the fall.<br> <br> <B>* Be an aggressive consumer.</B> If the oranges you bought turned out to be dry, return them. If your yogurt tasted off, take it back. Do not settle for sub-par food. You would take back a defective battery; take back poor-quality food.<br> <br> <B>* Evaluate your eating habits.</B> Junk-food junkies will find that their favorite snacks not only do a number on their heart and waistlines but deplete their food budget quickly. For example an apple costs 30 cents, and a less-filling candy bar costs 50 cents. Cut back on soda and other sugar- and caffeine-based beverages. Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator to encourage your family to drink it.<br> <br> <hr width="100%"> Julie Davis is the author of Eat Better...Spend Less<BR> For more information, visit her home.pacifier.com/~inudog/.<br> <hr width="100%"><br> <br> <br> <br></font> </td> </tr> </table> <br> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="580"> <tr><td width="580"> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"><img src="bluebar2.gif"><br> <a href="http://www.savingsecrets.com">home </a><img src="sep.gif"> <a href="aboutus.html">about us </a><img src="sep.gif"> <a href="newsletter.html">free ezine</a><img src="sep.gif"> <a href="tips.html">monthly tips </a><img src="sep.gif"> <a href="signup.html">signup </a><img src="sep.gif"> <br> <br> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><i>Š1998-2008 SavingSecrets.com - All Rights Reserved.</i></font></td></table> </body>   <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.3dstats.com/cgi-bin/3dstrack.cgi?usr=00000220"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://www.3dstats.com/cgi-bin/connect.cgi?usr=00000220Pauto" border=0 height=0 width=0> </noscript>  </html>