You may be saying right now, “How am I going to stop eating out when I don’t have the time cook?” Learning to Cook is easy and think about what you can do with the money you save!
With gas prices going up on a daily basis and everything becoming more expensive, families have to work to make ends meet. One of the best ways of cutting expenses is to stop eating out. Make going out to dinner a special event by only going out for special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries.
You may be saying right now, “How am I going to stop eating out when I don't have the time cook?” I also thought that I didn't the time to cook, but I learned that cooking has kept up with the times and many recipes today take less than 30 minutes to make and cooking with a crock-pot is as easy as eating out. I also found out you only need to have two skills to cook. One is to read and the other is to know how to use measuring cups and spoons. That's all you need to know and you'll be cooking in no time!
Many writers and people call cooking an “Art” and maybe it is for some but for me it's a necessity especially if I wish to maintain the family budget. Many of my friends and family are amazed at the fact I learned to cook. My exploits pre-mom are legendary in my family. There was the time I set the kitchen on fire because I forgot about the spaghetti boiling on the stove. I was just too busy talking on the phone to notice until the smell started!
The one event that's became a family legend involved the time I lived in an apartment for a whole year thinking I didn't own ice cube trays. The day I moved out, I found them in the oven! Until I had my daughter, takeout and fast food was the way we ate. However, I realized that if I wanted our child to have good eating habits and to be healthy I would have to learn to cook.
It wasn't easy on my husband. During my pregnancy, he would come home dreading dinner. My first batch of chocolate chip cookies nearly broke his tooth! However, after a few weeks I realized that if I followed each recipe EXACTLY as it was written I would be successful. I went from being a Dentist's dream cook to baking my own bread!
Once you get the hang of following the recipe directions your food will always taste great. In addition, finding recipes on the Internet is easy and the variety of meal available will fit into anyone lifestyle. A good cookbook to start your journey into cooking is called Cheap & Easy: A Cookbook for Girls on the Go by Sandra Bark and Vin Ganapathy. This book offers the beginner cook an introduction to cooking by people who understand the charm of takeout food.
Your food budget is your most controllable expense here are some tips to get you started cooking so you can save some money for the more important things in life.
Save money by planning simple meals for breakfast and lunch. Buying ready-made pancakes, waffles, or other breakfast items makes it easy to grab a quick meal on the way out of the house. In our house, I make a batch of muffins on the weekend and freeze them. During the week, we have fresh muffins. They're extremely easy to cook and make a low cost meal. Lunch doesn't have to be fancy, but think of the money you'll save if you brown bag it for a year. I would rather have a brown bag lunch everyday and have that luxury vacation once a year. Brown Bag Success: Making Healthy Lunches Your Kids Won't Trade written by Sandra K. Nissenberg and Barbara N. Pearl is the manual of brown bag lunches. This book not only offer recipes on creating brown bag lunches but it also offers advice on how to pack a lunch properly and even offers a monthly lunch menu plan. This book really helped me in preparing lunches that were a step above the average bologna sandwich.
Visit the websites of Kraft Foods and Pillsbury both these companies offer recipes and meal planners with shopping lists. Kraft foods also offers special meal plans that create five dinners with one bag of groceries. I can attest that the recipes offered at both sites are quick and easy to prepare. An added benefit to visiting both these sites is special coupons they offer.
Save money by planning your meals ahead of time. Having a set grocery list when you go to the grocery store helps stop impulse buying, also, once you know what you're meals for the week you can then search for coupons on the Internet to save on ingredients.
Set aside a part of your kitchen for a dry goods pantry. By having spices and other item regularly used in cooking handy you shorten the time, you have to spend preparing meals.
The bottom line to cooking on a budget is planning. Making quick and easy meals doesn't have to be fancy. The Internet helps make cooking is quick economical and nutritional. Think of what you can do with the money you save by not eating out. Another benefit my family has gotten from eating at home is that we're much healthier and thinner. Cooking is easy and worth the effort when you think of all the benefits.
