Frugal Food Budgeting For January

Frugal Food Budgeting For January - Article 3

25th January 2012

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Saving money on food isn't just about the meal planning and shopping. You can save money by careful cooking too.

Make The Most Of The heat In The Oven. When you cook a main meal in the oven, cok other things at the same time such as a cake or pudding. Use it for the veggies too eg have baked potatoes rather than boiled.
Steam Your Vegetables. If you are boiling potatoes, or pasta, steam the vegetables over the top and save using another hob.
Only Boil As Much Water As You Need. Fill the kettle with only the amount of water you need.
Keep Your Freezer Full. A full freezer is more efficient. Store bread and freezable food, discounted on their sell by date. If you don't have food, fill a plastic milk bottle with water to fill a gap or use ice cooler bags.
Defrost Food In the Fridge Overnight. Defrosting food in the fridge helps to kee your fridge cool and saves using energy from the microwave. So plan ahead and take food for the next day out of the freezer, the day before.
Use Residual Heat. Turn off the hob or the oven a few minutes before the end of cooking time. When boiling an egg, boil for just one minute then turn of the heat. It will cook in the hot water.
Use The Right Size Saucepan. Use th saucepan that fits your hob size. If is smaller, lots of heat is wasted.
Put A Lid On It! Save lots of heat by always putting a lid on tyour saucepan, except whne ots of stirring is required.
Cook One Pot Meals. Cooking casseroles and risottos usually means eveything is one pot. Uses much less enegy than using several pots and pans - less washing up too! Try Cashew Nut Risotto
Cook Twice As Much. Cook double quantities when you cook a meal and freeze the rest in portion sizes. Uses less energy reheating than cooking from scratch, helps to keep your freezer full and you can defrost overnight in the fridge.

For lots of low cost and easy meal ideas see Penny's Recipes. Sign up for the newsletter and get a free Meal Plan - 7 family meals for less than £30

Happy Cooking!

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