How-to

21 of the best Party, BBQs and Potluck Recipes (feed a crowd on a budget!)

0 · Jul 6, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Wooohoooo! Summer’s here!

Whether you just celebrated Canada Day or the 4th of July, there’s no doubt about it – it’s summer!

For us, summer is both relaxing and busy – lots of parties, bbqs, potlucks, large family gatherings and picnics. But SO much fun!

I’m always on the lookout for easy ways to feed a crowd, especially recipes that I can make ahead of time. And it definitely helps if they’re budget-friendly recipes too! If you’re cooking a dish for a big family reunion or birthday party, you want to make sure it’s somewhat inexpensive.

Here are 21 of our favourite potluck recipes – dishes that will be just as welcome at a summer bbq for friends and family as at an office party, graduation party or church gathering.

Summer Potluck Recipes – Appetizers

You can’t go wrong with our Quick & Healthy Mediterranean Dip if you’re looking for a refreshing, healthy start to a gathering – and it only takes 10 minutes to throw together!

(PS – this makes a lovely summer lunch too!)

If you’re looking for a more indulgent option, this Cheesy Bacon Pull Apart Bread is a total crowd pleaser and can be made ahead of time – perfect for a potluck recipe.

Plus, who doesn’t love garlicky bread smothered in melted cheese and bacon?

Plus a few other popular party appetizers from our collection:

Olive tapenade in blue bowl with crackers on side — Quick Olive Tapenade

Puff pastry bites with herby cheese filling and glass of wine — Herb & Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Bites

Pizza Dip with chips on side — Pepperoni Pizza Dip

Summer Potluck Recipes – Main Dishes

If you’re still enjoying lots of asparagus like we are, you can’t go wrong with this Asparagus Bacon Goat Cheese Pizza! So many delicious things in one pizza!

These Easy Greek Meatballs pack a TON of delicious flavour into a tiny package! Easy to make ahead of time, delicious hot or at room temperature, you can eat them on their own or stuffed into a pita with veggies and our Homemade Tzatziki.

If you’re looking for a different kind of pizza to try:

This Homemade BLT Pizza (with white sauce) recipe is a refreshing new spin on everyone's beloved classic BLT. Smoky bacon, fresh tomatoes, crunchy lettuce and a creamy white sauce will make this homemade pizza your new favourite way to enjoy a BLT. — BLT Pizza (with white sauce)

Homemade Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza is a delicious appetizer or meal with friends — Homemade Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza

Homemade Garlic Fingers and Donair Sauce are the best easy recipe for entertainig friends - kids and adults both love them! — Homemade Garlic Fingers and Donair Sauce

Summer Potluck Recipes – Side Dishes

You seriously cannot go wrong with these Easy Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes. Everyone loves them, and they’re the perfect make ahead side dish!

This Fresh and Easy Peach Salsa is fast to throw together but BIG on flavour! It’s delicious with any kind of grilled meat, or even just with tortilla chips!

More great bbq side dishes:

This Easy Mexican Corn is the quickest dish you'll make all summer! Sweet corn, smoky chili powder, zesty lime and creamy butter make it addictively tasty, and frozen corn means you can have it any time of year! Ready in 5 minutes! — Easy Mexican Corn

This Healthy Mexican Salad is super easy to make and is amazing with our Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing! Make it as a dinner salad or a side dish - it's fantastic! — Healthy Mexican Salad

This Healthy Southwest Potato Salad is the perfect summer recipe for barbecue and party season. It's a crowd-pleaser, is easy to whip up and can be made ahead of time. What more could we ask for during these lazy, crazy days of summer? — Healthy Southwest Potato Salad

Perfect Summer Potluck Dessert Recipes

These Fresh Strawberry Shortcake Bars are dreamy and filled with everyone’s favourite summer flavours.

You can make this Easy Strawberry Cake Roll with whatever fresh summer berries you have on-hand.

A few other lovely summer desserts that are perfect for parties and potlucks:

This Easy "Key" Lime Pie is deliciously light and comes together in just a few minutes of active time, using pantry ingredients and some limes! — Easy “Key” Lime Pie

Chocolate Cherry Coconut Cheesecake - tastes like a cherry blossom! — Chocolate Cherry Coconut Cheesecake

Bonus Recipes for Summer Fun:

This Sweet & Smoky Dry Rub Mix is SO good on chicken and pork!

Blueberry Peach Popsicles are perfect for the kids!

That’s just a scattering of recipes to help you plan your summer events! You can find lots more delicious inspiration right here on the site!

If you try any of our recipes, please come back and leave us a star rating and/or comment to let us know what you think!

Happy summer partying!

Five $5 Meals for Spring

0 · Jun 11, 2018 · 2 Comments

Do you wish you could save money on groceries? But do you LOVE delicious food?! Me too! Learn simple tips and easy recipes to help you cut your grocery bill, and still enjoy fantastic food! Check out our site and also our FREE $5 Meals e-book!

Last summer I challenged myself to develop five meals that each cost around $5 to make (that’s $5 total – not per person). What a challenge it was! Groceries are pretty expensive where I live and I had to get creative to make it work!

But I did it!

I followed the summer recipes up with $5 meals for fall and winter, and now, spring!

$5 Meals for Summer
$5 Meals for Fall
$5 Meals for Winter

In a few weeks, all 20 recipes will be collected in our $5 Meals cookbook, which we offer as a free gift to anyone who subscribes to our email list.

In the meantime, all of our current subscribers and any new sign ups will receive the $5 Meals for Spring chapter and access to each previous season’s meals.

$5 Meals For Spring – What’s Included

For the spring $5 Meals I used the same tools and tips that I did for the other seasons – made full use of sales, tried to shop my pantry and made sure I was using mainly seasonal ingredients. These tricks helped me keep costs low.

What if you could cut your grocery budget without giving up delicious food?!

What could you do with the extra money in your wallet?

Plan a wedding? Go on a trip? Save money to buy a house?

This site is all about helping you eat fabulous food without blowing your budget. We hope you enjoy the latest installment in our $5 Meal challenge!

Subscribe to our email list and receive the e-book as a free gift here.

Here’s a little sneak peek from the new spring chapter. Check it out! 🙂

How To Freeze Peppers | Save Money on Groceries

0 · May 18, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Have you ever come across an amazing deal on bell peppers and wondered “Can you freeze peppers”? Well feel free to stock up, because we’re showing you everything you need to know about how to freeze peppers, and save money on groceries!

Summer’s coming, friends!

Soon we’ll be gazing at piles of gorgeous fresh produce at every grocery store, farmer’s market and roadside stand we pass, or, if we’re lucky – in our own backyards.

If you’re anything like us, we eat a TON of fresh produce in the summer. Prices are low, the taste is great and everything is so fresh!

But how can we enjoy the benefits of those great summer prices through the rest of the year?

Easy! Stock up now and preserve for later…. and the easiest way to preserve?

In your freezer!!

A few years ago I was scouring the Atlantic Superstore flyer one summer day when I saw a sale on large quantity summer produce – crates of tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, jalapenos and, what really caught my eye – 1/2 bushels of red bell peppers on sale for around $12!

I love bell peppers and we use a lot of them, but they can be EXPENSIVE where we live, especially if you need to pick them up for a recipe when they’re not on sale.

“Can you freeze peppers,” I wondered to myself? Hmmm…..

I bought a 1/2 bushel and decided to find out!

I didn’t really know how big a half bushel was, but it turns out that it was 20-30 peppers! Considering that 1 bell pepper at regular price (no sale) is probably around $4-5 here, the bulk deal was incredible value!

I took the peppers home and spent an hour prepping them for the freezer. We had frozen peppers to use for almost the entire year, for a fraction of the cost of buying fresh!

Now, I wouldn’t use frozen peppers in a salad, but for cooking they’re perfect and you’d pretty much never know the difference! We used them on pizza, nachos, in spaghetti sauce, chili, soups, and pretty much any other recipe that requires you to cook them anyway.

Because they’re already seeded, it’s super easy to use them too! Just take out the amount you need for your recipe, run them under warm water and then slice, dice or chop however you like!

How to Freeze Peppers – Step-by-Step Instructions

I picked up these peppers on an amazing sale and wanted to freeze them to use later.

Slice the peppers in half and remove the core, larger ribs and seeds. Give them a little wash under clean, cold water.

Let peppers dry on paper towel or drying racks.

Stuff the peppers into a freezer bag (no need to freeze individually first) and throw them in your freezer. I would say you could keep them frozen for a year and not notice any difference in quality.

To use them, just run the pepper halves under warm water and cut with a sharp knife.

Enjoy your cheap summer peppers all winter long! 🙂

Questions/Answers:

Do I have to blanch peppers before I freeze them?

No! Most vegetables need to be blanched before you can freeze them and have them still be good quality when you thaw them. That’s the beauty of freezing peppers – no need to blanch!

Can I freeze jalapeno peppers or other hot peppers?

Yes! We usually grow a few different kinds of hot peppers in our garden and always rinse them, dry them and freeze them whole in freezer bags. Because they’re thinner you can pretty much chop them while they’re still frozen (follow normal hot pepper precautions – like wearing gloves).

Can I freeze whole bell peppers?

Well… I would say probably. I haven’t tried it with bell peppers, but as I said above, we do this all the time with smaller hot peppers and it works great. It might be less convenient to thaw them than it is to thaw pepper halves, though, and they will take up more space in your freezer because they can’t really nestle into each other. If you try it let me know how it goes!

You might also like:

For all the avocado lovers out there who have ever pondered "I wonder if you can freeze avocado..." the answer is yes!!! Learn how to freeze avocado, so it's easy to add this healthy food to your dinners, breakfasts, snacks and smoothies anytime! — Can You Freeze Avocado?

Freeze mushrooms when they're on sale. It's easy and convenient! — How To Freeze Mushrooms

Easy Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

0 · Mar 21, 2018 · Leave a Comment

This Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix is so easy to make you can throw it together in two minutes. Ditch the store-bought seasoning packet full of strange ingredients and enjoy this healthy, clean eating alternative. It’s delicious on ground beef, ground turkey, black beans, chicken and more! Mix up a big jar and it’s perfect for families on the go!

About a year ago I did a lot of research into the difference between taco seasoning and, say, fajita seasoning. For a long time, all I knew about them was that I would buy little individual packets at the grocery store with the name of whatever dish I wanted to make on them and then I would make it. Easy, right?

But eventually I started looking at ingredient lists and wanting to make some changes when possible. I also wanted to save money on groceries. I figured that one small way to accomplish both these goals would be to start making our own seasoning mixes.

I discovered in my research that taco seasoning and fajita seasoning are actually very similar, but taco seasoning relies more heavily on chili powder and fajita seasoning typically has more cumin. Also, if you have access to some less common ingredients like tomato powder, it’s very at home in taco seasoning (although not necessary), and fajita seasoning sometimes has a citrusy twist, like you would get from lime juice, zest, or even, say, dried coriander.

I did a little experimenting and some tweaking and found a taco seasoning mix that I like. I make a big jar of it and store it in a cool, dark cupboard and it keeps really well. Then I sprinkle it on whatever I want!

This is a mild mix, but you could definitely make it more spicy if you want to. I just have small kids and don’t want to overwhelm them.

Easy Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix – Step-by-Step Instructions

Ingredients for Easy Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (optional, but nice, if you like to make a bit of sauce with your mix), 2 teaspoons of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of paprika, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1 teaspoon of oregano, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional but doesn’t make it spicy in such small amounts).

I actually like to mix together bigger batches of this and have it on-hand for when I’m making dinner in a rush.

Store taco seasoning mix in an airtight container (a mason jar works perfectly for this) in a cool, dark place, like a cupboard away from the stove. It should last a really long time.

5 from 1 vote

Easy Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

Prep Time

5 mins

Total Time

5 mins

This Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix is so easy to make you can throw it together in two minutes. Ditch the store-bought seasoning packet full of strange ingredients and enjoy this healthy, clean eating alternative. It's delicious on ground beef, ground turkey, black beans, chicken and more! Mix up a big jar and it's perfect for families on the go!

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 2 batches

Author: Myra

Ingredients

1 tbsp cornstarch (optional, but good if you like to add a little water to whatever you're cooking to make a small sauce)
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, but doesn't make this mix spicy)

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.
Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place until ready to use.
I usually use a tablespoon or two and sprinkle it on whatever I'm cooking (ground beef, black beans, etc). If you want to make a little sauce, add 1/4 cup of water and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Recipe Notes

*I often make larger batches of this and store in in a mason jar in a cool, dark cupboard. I love having it on-hand when I'm in a rush!

Commonly Asked Questions:

Can I make taco seasoning without cumin?

Yes, you could leave the cumin out if you don’t like it. However, it will taste a little different than traditional taco seasoning. Maybe in a way that you like, if you don’t like cumin!

Can I make taco seasoning without chili powder?

Technically, yes, you can make taco seasoning without chili powder, but you might not find it tastes like what you expect. As I said above, chili powder is a large part of most taco seasoning. If you don’t like it, by all means, leave it out. If you simply don’t have any, you can still leave it out but it may or may not taste like taco seasoning. If you try this, please let me know how it is!

You Might Also Like:

Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix - tasty, simple and made with ingredients from your pantry — Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix

This Homemade Fajita Seasoning Mix takes seconds to make, contains no weird ingredients and tastes even better than the store bought version! — Homemade Fajita Seasoning Mix

How to Make Homemade Freezer Pizzas – Easy Freezer Meals!

0 · Mar 9, 2018 · 3 Comments

Homemade freezer pizzas are easy, healthy and budget-friendly. Switch things up to suit your family’s tastes or what your kids will eat, or even which ingredients you have on hand! They make the perfect SUPER fast weeknight dinners, easy lunches or fun snacks. If you’ve ever wanted to make healthy freezer meals or easy meals to freeze and reheat, this post is for you!

Every winter I start work at my seasonal day job as a tax preparer, which takes me away from home for about 60 hours a week. It’s a short but intense period of work, and we always try to make lots of easy freezer meals to have on hand before I start.

What we make varies from year to year, based on what we feel like eating and how much prep time we have, but one thing is constant: pizza.

In my mind, homemade pizza makes pretty much the perfect freezer food. First, everyone loves it, so I don’t have to worry about food going to waste. Pizza is a very easy freezer meal to make because it’s mostly just assembly. There might be a bit of chopping, but it’s the kind of thing you can get your family involved in – put those kids to work! 🙂

Homemade pizza is usually cheap to make, freezes perfectly, and thaws and reheats super well. You can make healthy pizza, or less healthy pizza, or a combination – whatever you want!

Personally, we cut our pizza up and freeze it in individual portions, for the flexibility it gives us. If one of us wants pizza for lunch, we can take out a piece or two. If we want pizza for dinner, we can mix up and take out a few different kinds.

The only problem with pizza is that, no matter how much we make, we always run out!

This year Laurier and I made four large sheet pan pizzas: a vegetarian pizza, a works pizza, a Thai Barbecue Chicken pizza, and a Bacon Cheeseburger pizza.

We sent the kids to their grandparents’ house, cranked up the music, and got cooking. And dancing (you can catch a quick peek here )

We documented some of that day on our Facebook page, including some of our impromptu dance parties 🙂

What you need to know is that it’s super easy to have a freezer pizza cooking day, and we’ll show you how to plan it!

Homemade Freezer Pizza – Easy Freezer Meals in a Day

First, you’ll have to decide what kinds of pizza you want to make. Then, get out all your pizza ingredients so you can see what you’re working with.

Start by cooking the meat, since that process takes time. Here, Laurier is browning ground beef and sauteing chicken pieces.

And popping a sheet pan of bacon into the oven (an easy, hands-off way to cook bacon).

Starting the chopping! Get one (or a few people) to chop veggies while the meats are cooking. You’ll also want to mix/make any sauces and shred cheese.

Once all your toppings are ready to go, mix up your dough. I like to wait to make the dough, because even though it will have to rise, there will still be time and I don’t want it to over-rise.

Once your toppings are ready, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and make sure your racks are centered in your oven.

Mix up your dough. You can do this in four individual bowls if you want, but I hate washing dishes, so I used one big bowl and divided the dough in four to spread into the pans. We have two great dough recipes on our site and you could multiply either one of them by 4. Thin Crust Pizza Dough (No Rise!) and Simple Pizza Dough (thick crust).

Oil your sheet pans with butter, oil or non-stick spray. Then spread out your dough on the pans.

Spread sauces onto the pizzas. On the works pizza we used regular pizza sauce. For the cheeseburger and veggie pizzas we used the creamy garlic sauce from our Cheeseburger Pizza recipe and doubled it (OMG it’s so good) and for the Thai pizza we used a combination of barbecue sauce and sweet chili sauce (as in the recipe).

Sprinkle cheese over sauce. Laurier is a firm believer in cheese under the toppings, and I’m not too picky either way, so that’s what we do. 🙂 On this day we used cheddar cheese for the cheeseburger pizza, but you can use either cheddar or mozzarella. I find around 2 cups of cheese (1/2 a large block) per sheet pan pizza works well.

Add your toppings. You can’t see them in this picture, but we put little sticky notes on the wall above each pan so we’d know which toppings went on which pizza.

Bake pizzas, two at a time, for 14-16 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned underneath (just use a butter knife to pry it up and have a peek). Rotate the pizzas between the racks half way through the baking time so that each has some time on the bottom rack and on the top rack.

The baking time could vary slightly depending on how thick or thin your dough is.

Use tongs to slide the cooked pizzas onto cooling racks (so they don’t get mushy) and let them cool completely. Then cut them into pieces and wrap them individually in either tin foil, parchment paper, stretch wrap, or whatever you like.

Store in large freezer bags and label each bag so you know what’s in it. I’ll put some thawing and reheating suggestions below.

Enjoy! 🙂

Common Questions About Freezer Pizza:

How do I freeze an already cooked pizza?

The most important thing when freezing an already cooked pizza is to let it cool completely before you wrap it up. Then cut it into pieces and wrap each piece well. Store a number of pieces in large freezer bags. These steps will avoid ice crystals forming on the pizza.

How long can you freeze leftover pizza (or freshly made pizza)?

Our pizza honestly doesn’t last long enough to worry about it. I will say, though, that I’ve found a stray piece of pizza in the freezer a year after the fact and it was perfectly fine to eat. So I’d say you could freeze it for up to a year.

How can I freeze pizza dough?

If you just want to freeze your pizza dough, instead of fully made and cooked pizzas, you can do that too. Make your pizza dough, form it into a ball and wrap it in stretch wrap. Then put your dough balls into large freezer bags.

When you want to use the dough, take out a ball and thaw it on the counter for about an hour (maybe less, depending on the dough). Then use it as you normally would. You could also thaw it in the fridge for the day.

How should I reheat freezer pizzas?

You have a few options for reheating freezer pizzas, depending on whether you’re in a rush, and how picky you are.

You can defrost slices in the microwave if you’re in a hurry and warm them in the microwave once they’re thawed. This will result in a softer crust.

You can let the pizza thaw naturally at room temperature (probably within a couple of hours) or in the fridge (8 hours) and then heat it in the microwave or on a pan or tin foil in the oven (for a crispier crust).

If you have any other questions, please let me know in the comment section below! 🙂

How to Stock up on Bacon | Save Money on Groceries

1 · Jan 30, 2018 · 2 Comments

There are so many amazing reasons to stock up on bacon! Bacon in sandwiches, bacon in salads, bacon in soup, bacon on cheeseburgers, bacon with brunch. Do you love bacon? Find out how to save money on groceries and eat more bacon at the same time! 🙂

I don’t know very many people, aside from my vegetarian or vegan friends, who don’t like bacon. Some of those friends even do like bacon – they just don’t eat it for various other reasons.

Make no mistake, bacon is not health food. And it can be expensive.

But damn, it’s delicious.

I use bacon in a lot of our recipes. I find a little bacon goes a long way and adds an enormous amount of flavour to a dish. But how do I stop my love of bacon from blowing our grocery budget? I stock up on bacon when it goes on sale – big sale, if I can find it.

Here’s how.

* Asparagus Bacon Goat Cheese Pizza
* Smoky Bacon Potato Soup
* Bacon, Potato and Egg Sheet Pan Breakfast

HOW TO STOCK UP ON BACON (so you can save money on groceries)

The first thing you need to know is what a regular price, good price, and amazing price on bacon is. Where I live, a regular price for bacon is usually around $6/pound. And even though I’m saying pound, most packages aren’t even a true pound anymore. Instead of 454 grams, 375 grams has quietly become the norm. Did you notice that happening? No reduction in the price, though, to match the reduction in weight.

Sometimes bacon goes on sale for around $4/package, which is an okay sale, and if I’m running very low (or we’re all out – gasp), I’ll buy a package or two to hold us over.

But sometimes, bacon goes on sale for $1.99/package. And when that happens I go a little crazy. I’ll buy lots – sometimes 10+ packages.

Just think, for a minute, about the savings. If you buy 10 packages of bacon for $2 each, they cost you $20. If you buy 10 packages of bacon full price, say $6 each (even if you buy them over time, not all at once, the money spent is the same), they cost you $60.

Same amount of bacon in your belly. But you’re $40 richer.

That, to me, is a no-brainer.

Here’s what you should think about if you want to stock up on bacon:

What is the best before date on the bacon? If it’s months away (and it often is), I like to keep the bacon in my fridge. I store it in a stack in one of our crisper drawers (which I only really use for extra stockpiles of things like bacon and cheese. I also keep carrots there, because I know we always have carrots – that way I don’t have random vegetables rotting down there where I can’t see them). I always try to use older bacon first.
If the date is closer – say next week or the week after, you’ll need to freeze it, or at least some of it. Make sure you have enough space in your freezer, and then if it’s a great sale price, STOCK UP big time! I love doing this!

You can either freeze whole packages of bacon, if you use a lot at once, but I almost ALWAYS use half a package at a time. I find adding a little bacon to a dish goes such a long way, and we almost never just eat strips of bacon as a side dish, unless we’re having a special brunch.

How To Freeze Bacon

Buy some delicious (and hopefully cheap!) bacon. These babies were $2 each. Great price, in my opinion.

If you’ve checked out the best before dates and decided that they’re headed for the freezer, slice the packages in half with a sharp knife. Wrap each side tightly in cling wrap.

Stuff them all into a zip-top freezer bag and freeze! You can thaw them slowly in the fridge, on the counter in under an hour, in a warm oven or frying pan in a few minutes, or in the microwave!

Now go enjoy some bacony goodness 🙂

You might also like:

How to Make the Best Natural Cold Remedy – a DIY

0 · Jan 24, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Looking for the best natural cold remedy around? Do you have a sore throat? Runny nose? Non-stop sneezing? Annoying congestion? Or maybe your kids do. Wondering how to get rid of this cold – FAST? This natural cold remedy (it’s a simple tea!) is the BEST and it only takes a few ingredients you might already have – apple cider vinegar, lemon, ginger and honey.

A few times a year, especially during our busiest periods, when I feel run down, I inevitably come down with a cold. For a while I thought I was covering all my bases to make it bearable – lots of water and citrus, nice soft tissues for my nose, etc. I don’t really like to use over the counter medication for colds. But they are just so annoying. How do you get rid of a cold? What’s the best natural cold remedy?

One day Laurier had a cold and ran into a lovely friend of ours, who is also a nutritionist, Connie. Connie let Laurier in on a little secret – the best natural cold remedy she had come across. Bonus – it only used a few ingredients that we already had in our pantry and fridge.

Laurier came home and told me about it, but for some reason I was skeptical. Why? I don’t know. Maybe it just seemed to good to be true? But he was willing to try it, and he did actually start to feel better.

Next time I had the first tickle of a sore throat (which is how my colds always start), Laurier pestered me to try Connie’s natural cold remedy. Finally, without much optimism, I tried it.

It actually worked.

So before I get into the details of the remedy, I have to offer a little disclaimer. I’m not a doctor, or a health professional, or a nutritionist. I’m just a person who gets colds. Maybe just like you! I find this worked for me, so I asked Connie if I could share her awesome natural cold remedy with you and she said yes.

How Do You Stop a Cold – Fast?

I just want to say – I’ve had the most success with this cold remedy when I use it at the first sign of the cold. Whether that’s just a little tickle in my throat, or just that odd feeling in my sinuses, that’s when you should make this tea. Get rid of the cold before it really gets going!

I often find I get the throat tickle, drink the tea a few times and it goes away. Sometimes it comes back a few days later, so I make the tea again and repeat. This might happen a few times before the cold doesn’t come back. No, the tea isn’t the most delicious tea I drink. But it is a million times better than dealing with an actual cold, which is awesome! AND, I love that making this tea is so much cheaper than buying expensive cold remedies!

Bonus: It’s easy to make!

Don’t miss the step-by-step photo instructions below the recipe!

5 from 1 vote

How to Make the Best Natural Cold Remedy - a DIY

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

Total Time

5 mins

This natural cold remedy (it's a simple tea!) is the BEST and it only takes a few ingredients you might already have - apple cider vinegar, lemon, ginger and honey.

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Natural

Servings: 1 serving

Calories: 77 kcal

Author: Myra

Ingredients

1 knob fresh ginger
1/4 fresh lemon
1 tbsp apple cider
1 tbsp honey

Instructions

Peel ginger (a spoon works great for this!), slice it and bring to a boil in about 1.5 cups water. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, squeeze lemon into a mug. Add apple cider and honey.
After ginger tea is done boiling, add it to the mug. I let the ginger pieces fall in too - they keep steeping as the tea cools.
Drink this up to 3x a day as soon as you feel the first sign of a cold coming on!
Enjoy! 😉

Nutrition Facts

How to Make the Best Natural Cold Remedy - a DIY

Amount Per Serving

Calories 77

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

How to Make the Best Natural Cold Remedy – a DIY – Step-by-Step Instructions

Ingredients to make the Best Natural Cold Remedy – a DIY

Peel a little knob of ginger – a spoon is the easiest way to do this.

Slice it up and add it to a pot with some water – probably around 1.5 cups if you’re going to make it fresh every time. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes.

While the ginger tea is simmering, squeeze 1/4 of a lemon into a mug.

Add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.

Add 1 tablespoon of honey to the mug.

Add ginger water to the mug. I also let the ginger fall in, so that it steeps some more as it cools. Stir well to combine.

Errrr… enjoy! Haha the taste is a little strong, but you get used to it. I drink it 3 times/day if I can until the tickle in my throat disappears. Now I’m trying to get my kids to drink it!

*** I know many of you will ask where I got my gorgeous mug! It’s from Gina Cloud, at White Turtle Pottery. She creates so many gorgeous pieces (and they are very affordable) – right on the tiny island we live on. Check out her work here!

Can You Freeze Avocado? Yes!!! | Save Money on Groceries

0 · Jan 17, 2018 · 2 Comments

For all the avocado lovers out there who have ever pondered “I wonder if you can freeze avocado…” the answer is yes!!! Learn how to freeze avocado, so it’s easy to add this healthy food to your dinners, breakfasts, snacks and smoothies anytime!

Do you love avocados? I seriously love them. I could eat an avocado a day and never get sick of them. But they are so expensive now where I live!

It used to be that you could pick up an avocado for around $1, which seemed reasonable enough to me. But for the past few years they’ve been climbing in price. Now I’m not shocked (although I am always sad) to see avocados with a $2.29 sticker, or even $2.50!!!

Not to mention the fact that sometimes I really want avocado for whatever I’m making, only to find a bunch of rock-hard lumps at the grocery store when I arrive.

Related:
Stock Your Freezer

Once in a while, though, I’ll stumble upon an amazing sale on avocados. A few years ago my local grocery store was selling bags of five (5!!!) for $2.50. I nearly fainted when I saw the ad and actually thought it had to be a mistake, but no! It was true!

Even though such extreme sales don’t come up very often, I will happily pick up a bag of avocadoes for $5. Sometimes we eat them all fresh, but sometimes they get overlooked in the hustle and bustle of life. But the last thing I want is to let them rot.

All of which, naturally, launched me on a quest to discover, can you preserve avocados? Can you freeze avocados for later?

Yes. You can.

Here’s how.

How to Freeze Avocado (it’s really easy)

You’ll need ripe avocados and either lime or lemon. While lemon is good with avocado, I really love lime as a complimentary flavour, so that’s what I use.

Juice your lime, using whatever method you like (did you know that if you microwave it for 15 seconds it will yield more juice?).

Slice your avocado in half and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Get rid of the pit. Use a fork to mash the avocado and 1 tablespoon of lime juice together until it’s well-mixed.

Scoop the avocado-lime mixture into a small zip-top bag. I like to divide it in two so that I can easily pull out a smaller amount (around 1/2 an avocado) any time I want – or use the whole bag for a larger amount. I just use the side of my hand to divide it. Lay flat in the freezer until it’s frozen.

If I’m freezing a bunch of avocados I’ll store them in a large freezer bag so they last longer. But if I’m just doing the odd avocado or two I just leave them in the little sandwich bags. I’ve eaten them after a few months and they’re still perfect!

How to Thaw Frozen Avocado

This frozen avocado is perfect as a side for nachos, spread on a sandwich, wrap, burger or avocado toast, dolloped on your plate with an omelette or breakfast skillet, or eaten on crackers.

You can thaw it in the fridge, on the counter (it shouldn’t take too long – maybe 30 minutes) or even in the microwave on defrost (start with small time increments).

I always add a bit of salt to it (because, yum!). Sometimes I’ll add red chili flakes and a little olive oil, sometimes some garlic, chopped tomato and cilantro. But often just the salt and even a fresh squeeze of lime juice.

Enjoy! 🙂

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Five $5 Meals for Winter

1 · Jan 9, 2018 · Leave a Comment

These $5 Meals are the answer to your wish for groceries on a budget. Easy recipes and simple tips mean that frugal meals can still be amazing! Check out these recipes if you’ve ever wanted to save money on groceries!

Back in the summer I challenged myself to come up with five $5 meals. That’s $5 total, not $5 per serving. I know people are trying to buy their groceries on a budget, feed their families healthy and delicious food, and make easy recipes for busy lives.

The summer version of that challenge went great! I developed five cheap recipes for families (or if you don’t have a family that’s okay too – you’ll just have leftovers) and they were a hit. So I decided to keep going. For the fall we had five more cheap and easy recipes, and now it’s time for the winter edition!

Five $5 Meals for Summer
Five $5 Meals for Fall

Just like before, I made full use of sales and seasonal produce in order to keep prices down. This is what you should be doing too, if you want to spend less money on groceries.

I hope our $5 Meal recipes will help you see that frugal meals don’t have to be boring meals. For the winter edition of our $5 Meals e-book, this is what we’re bringing you:

How much do you spend on food in a month? What if you could spend less, and put that extra money toward something fantastic – like a trip, or a wedding, or a down payment – or even other bills? Saving money on groceries is one of the easiest ways to lighten up your budget. Use these cheap and healthy meals to help you do it!

I hope you love the latest installment of the $5 Meals e-book. Click here to download it!

Stay tuned for the spring chapter in a few months! 🙂

2018 Goals – Save Money on Groceries

0 · Jan 3, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Save money on groceries in 2018, and meet your savings goals! The new year is a great time for resolutions and budgets, so check out our top 5 ways to save money on groceries, and 5 delicious recipes to keep you happy and full!

If you’re like a lot of people, one of your goals for 2018 is to save money. Because who doesn’t want to save more money? That extra money could do so many exciting things – send you on a trip, be the down payment on your new house, help you make a big ticket purchase you’ve been dreaming about.

But pretty much everyone could use some help trimming their grocery budgets. And that’s where we come in!

As our way of saying farewell to 2017, we bring you our 5 best ways to save money on groceries and our 5 most popular recipes (all of which are budget-conscious).

If you have any ideas about what you’d like to see us tackle in 2018, be sure to let us know!

5 Ways to Save Money on Groceries

How to Freeze Cheese and Save Money on Groceries – This was, by far, our most popular how-to post of the year. We heard from so many people who never thought to stock up on cheese. If you’re like us and eat a ton of cheese, just think what a huge money saver that could be!

How to Package Raw Chicken Without Touching It (so you can freeze it individually) – You may wonder how this will help you save money on groceries… but it totally can, because instead of having to thaw out (and find a use for) a whole package of chicken, you can just take out exactly what you need. Lots of our recipes only call for one chicken breast, like our Creamy Chicken Soup with Egg Noodles.

How to Make Honey Cheap(er) and Save Money on Groceries – A lot of you seem to like honey, and a lot of you, like me, wish it was cheaper. Check out this quick tip to help you buy honey without breaking the bank.

One “Superstar Food” for Your Health & Budget – I think we convinced quite a few people to make a product switch with this one. This is one of my favourite tips, and one that we’ve incorporated in a BIG way into our everyday life!

How to Freeze Mushrooms – The Super Easy Way – Tons of people talked to us about this post – turns out people love mushrooms and wish they could stock up when they’re on sale. Now they can! PS – this is also great if you’re a lone mushroom lover in a household – now you can have mushrooms without buying a whole package!

5 Budget Friendly Recipes – To help you save money on groceries

These Easy Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes were, by a landslide, our most popular recipe of the year. And it’s no wonder – you can easily buy a 10lb bag of potatoes for $2.00. Throw in a few delicious add-ins and you have an awesome crowd pleasing dish, for just a few dollars!

Apparently I’m not the only one who hates to choose between caesar salad and pasta! The popularity of this Chicken Caesar Salad PASTA recipe proves it!

Easy Coconut Cream Trifle – doesn’t that sound dreamy? Well, it is. And it’s also pretty darn cheap for such an impressive and delicious recipe! Try it out for your next party or potluck!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you don’t meet many people who don’t love pizza. I guess that explains why this recipe for Simple Pizza Dough (2 ways) was so popular! Because everyone knows that homemade pizza is the best 🙂

This Potato, Bacon and Egg Sheet Pan Breakfast is definitely one of my favourite recipes of 2017 – and it was one of yours too! We make this on a regular basis because it is JUST. SO. GOOD.

Honourable Mention:

I know it’s an extra recipe, but I just have to mention this Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken. It was our most popular recipe for most of the year but got edged out in the fall by holiday recipes. It’s super easy, super cheap and super delicious. What more could we ask for?

There you have it friends! 5 tips and 5 recipes to help you save money on groceries and reach your savings goals in 2018! 🙂

What was your favourite recipe or tip from the past year? Let us know in the comment section below!

Save Money on Groceries with Potatoes

0 · Nov 7, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Potatoes are a great way to save money on groceries. Cheap, versatile, super filling and delicious – they’re everything you could want in a pantry staple. Stock up on them today!

Want to save money on groceries?

Sure, why not?!

I love saving money on groceries. In fact, I love saving money on anything. I find it so satisfying to find a great sale on something awesome, or to score a great deal on something I’ve been wanting.

And something awesome that I’m ALWAYS wanting is fabulous food.

The big passion that drives this blog is an extreme love of food, and a desire to show people that it’s possible to eat amazing food, even if you have to (or want to!) cut your grocery bill.

Whether you just want to have more money left over at the end of the month, you’re saving for a big expense (like a wedding or a trip), or you really just need to find a few extra dollars in your budget, almost all of us could probably find a use for some savings in our lives.

I don’t want this blog to only be a collection of relatively inexpensive recipes. I also hope it will help you think about grocery shopping in a different way, and feeding yourself in a different way.

Once in a while, I’m going to post about a specific ingredient that I think is a FABULOUS food to embrace if you want to save money on groceries. I’ll tell you why, give you some recipes and send you on your way to give them a try.

This time, that ingredient is potatoes.

How Potatoes Can Help you Save Money on Groceries

It’s fall right now, and for the past month or two I have been noticing incredible deals on potatoes in grocery store flyers.

The trick is you don’t really want to buy those individual bulk potatoes where you pay per pound. Instead, have a look for great deals on bags of potatoes.

Lately I’ve seen two 10-pound bags of potatoes for $5. I don’t know about you, but I think twenty pounds of, really, any food for $5 is a pretty great deal!

I’ve seen 15-pound bags on sale for $5, which hey, is still pretty good!

But by far, the most amazing deal I’ve seen this fall was for 50 pounds of potatoes. They were on sale for $6.99.

What?!?!

I could buy more potatoes than I could comfortably carry, enough potatoes to feed us for the entire fall, winter and maybe even spring, for less than one fast food meal?!?! I was blown away by this deal.

You can make a lot of meals with 50 pounds of potatoes, my friend. As long as you have a way to store them.

Storing Potatoes so you can use them to Save Money on Groceries

If you’re planning on buying a gigantic bag of potatoes, you really don’t want to overlook this point. You’ll need to save a good place to store them.

The experts over at The Kitchn say that you want to store them in a dark place that is 45-50 degrees Farenheit (so pretty cool). A lot of people store them in a cool part of their basement. You could even store the bulk of them in the coolest part of your house and just keep a small amount out in a more accessible place.

There’s a lot of debate about storing potatoes in the fridge and honestly, I think if it’s your only option (and you have the fridge space), go for it. We have to work with what we have.

If you’re hoping to stock your pantry so you can eat delicious meals for less, I truly think potatoes are one of the best options available to you!

So you’ve bought 20 or 30 or even 50 pounds of potatoes and managed to find a place to store them. Now what? You need to eat them?!?!

Best Potato Recipes

Personally, I love potatoes. They’re yummy, versatile, super filling and a great source of comfort food during cooler months.

You can turn them into delicious, hearty comfort food, like our Smoky Bacon Potato Soup.

Our Easy Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes make a fantastic, filling side dish. You could even make a whole meal out of them, especially if you throw a little salad on the side!

I’m in love with our Potato, Bacon and Egg Sheet Pan Breakfast, at ANY time of day.

What’s your favourite way to eat potatoes? Let us know in the comment section below! 🙂

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How to Package Raw Chicken Without Touching It (So you can freeze it individually)

0 · Oct 24, 2017 · 1 Comment

Ever wish you could package raw chicken without touching it? Learn the super easy way to do that, so you can freeze your chicken pieces individually and save money on groceries!

When I first moved out on my own and had a kitchen to stock, I had a bit of sticker shock. First, groceries were expensive!!! Second, I didn’t understand yet how to make my groceries work for me so I could save money.

Once I got the hang of watching for sales, I would go to the grocery store, excited to buy boneless skinless chicken breast for say $4/pound. I would buy a big package that had five chicken breasts in it, take it home and put it in my freezer, where it would freeze into a solid mass. Then what? What the heck was I, a single person, going to make with five chicken breasts at once?!

After a little while I realized that this method wasn’t really giving me the cooking options I really wanted, and it definitely wasn’t saving me money. Instead of using a bit of chicken here and there, I was forced to thaw it all at once and make one or two big recipes with it. That, or spend an hour chipping away at a frozen block of chicken with a steak knife. Um, no thanks.

So I started using zip-top baggies to package up my chicken. I would cut open the package, get a little bunch of baggies and use my hands to load one chicken breast into each, while trying not to touch anything else. Then I would try to clean up without spreading raw chicken juice all over the kitchen. This method helped me save money, but it was kind of a chore and I would sometimes procrastinate on getting it done, because I hated getting full of raw chicken.

BUT THEN. One day, I came across this post, by Beth over at Budget Bytes. I’m pretty sure the clouds parted and the angels sang from the heavens when I realized that there was a much better way. A way to package raw chicken quickly and efficiently, without getting full of raw chicken juice in the process! This mess-free tip lets me freeze chicken pieces individually, so I can stock my freezer in a smart way and just pull out a piece or two when I need it!

I’ve linked to this post of Beth’s before, to share her method, but I think there’s a good chance lots of people didn’t click over to check it out. So I’ve decided to recreate the method here so you all can see it. But like I said – it’s her genius invention – not mine!

So simple. So smart.

How to package raw chicken without touching it (So you can freeze it individually)

Gather your supplies – your raw chicken that you want to package, some fold top (not zip-top) small sandwich bags, a large zip-top freezer bag and a knife.
Count up how many pieces of chicken you want to package and take that number of sandwich baggies out of the box, so you don’t have to dig around to get more. Cut open chicken package (without touching the chicken). Turn a sandwich baggie inside out and put it on your hand like a glove.
Use the bagged hand to pick up a piece of chicken. If it’s a large piece like a breast, try to pick it up in the middle. Then use your other hand to pull the baggie around the chicken and off your hand (without touching the chicken). Once the chicken is in the baggie, fold the sandwich top over to contain it.
Then place the bagged chicken into the large zip-top bag. Continue with the rest of the chicken. Label it and freeze. Make sure you wash your hands and counter well, in case some raw chicken juice went astray, but in general, YOU JUST PACKAGED RAW CHICKEN WITHOUT TOUCHING IT. Brilliant!
Then when you want to cook something that uses just one chicken breast (like our delicious Creamy Chicken Soup With Egg Noodles), you can just pull out a single piece of chicken. It thaws much faster than a big block of chicken and helps you save money on groceries, by using just the amount you need!

Do you have any tips that help you save money on groceries or kitchen tricks to make life easier? Let us know in the comment section below!

P.S. – Don’t forget to check out our $5 Meals for Fall e-book! Perfect for anyone who wants to save a little money this fall while still eating delicious food!

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How to Make Homemade Vanilla Extract | Save Money on Groceries

0 · Oct 13, 2017 · 4 Comments

Learn how easy it is to make homemade vanilla extract. Store bought vanilla extract is SO expensive, but you can make your own in just a few minutes and save some money on your grocery bill! It makes a great gift too!

I think it’s safe to say that vanilla extract is a staple ingredient for anyone who likes to bake. It adds a subtle warmth and sweetness that’s hard to come by any other way, and it seems like almost all baking recipes call for it, whether you’re making muffins, cookies, cake or cheesecake.

I used to buy my vanilla extract at Costco, where it was very reasonably priced – I think it was about $7.00 for a big 473mL bottle. A little over a year ago I went back to pick up some more and found that the price had exploded to $25.99 for a bottle! I checked a few other stores and found that tiny bottles were selling for more than $12!

Guys, I was at Costco last weekend and almost fell over in the baking aisle when I saw the same bottle for sale for $38.99.

That. Is. Insane.

How can any regular person afford to pay $40 for a bottle of vanilla?!?!?!?

When I saw the initial price increase last year, I went home and did a bit of research. Seems that there has been a vanilla bean shortage in Madagascar for the past few years and it’s been exacerbated by a few different factors.

The bottom line is, vanilla prices have skyrocketed and it seems unlikely they’ll go back down any time soon.

I do have good news though. For whatever reason, the cost of a few vanilla beans locally has not gone crazy and it is super DUPER easy to make homemade vanilla extract. You know I love to save money on groceries, and this tip is a great one.

Where I live, alcohol is pretty expensive. If you live somewhere like the US it will probably be cheaper, or if you’re travelling through a duty-free airport, or can buy grain alcohol at your local store, or even if you wait for a sale on vodka, those factors would all make your vanilla extract even cheaper.

Costco vanilla:

$38.99/473 mL = $8.24/100mL

Homemade vanilla:

Pint of vodka (374mL) = $15.54

Vanilla beans = $4.54 (on sale at my local Superstore)

Total cost: $5.35/100mL

If you use a quart of vodka (750mL), even if you double the vanilla beans, the price goes down to $4.69/100mL). So you could either team up with a friend or make yourself two lovely jars to stash in your pantry! It only gets better (WAY better) with time! The larger the bottle of vodka is (where I live anyway), the cheaper it becomes over all, so go crazy.

If you start this right now it will be ready for Christmas, and might I say that I think it would make a lovely gift? It tastes and smells delicious and I like that there are no weird additives.

One final thought – and I haven’t actually tried this yet. I suspect that when your bottle is empty you could add fresh vodka to the leftover beans and start the process all over again. Might take a little longer, but still a great idea!

Don’t miss the step-by-step photo instructions below the recipe!

5 from 1 vote

How to Make Homemade Vanilla Extract | Save Money on Groceries

Prep Time

5 mins

Total Time

7 mins

Learn how easy it is to make homemade vanilla extract. Store bought vanilla extract is SO expensive, but you can make your own in just a few minutes, for a few dollars! It makes a great gift too!

Servings: 375 mL

Author: Myra

Ingredients

1 pint vodka (375mL)
3 vanilla beans (This is what came in my tube. Had there only been 2 I would have used 2)

Instructions

Slice open the vanilla beans so that all the paste and seeds inside can mix with the vodka. I also cut mine in half and quarters.
Add vanilla beans and vodka to a mason jar and close it up tightly. Store in a cool, dark place (like a cupboard) for around 2 months and give it a little shake every once in a while.
After it's had time to steep it should be a deep amber colour and a lovely vanilla aroma. If you'd like to pour it into a pretty bottle go ahead.
Use your homemade vanilla extract in baking, pancakes, or give it as gifts!Enjoy! 🙂

Homemade Vanilla Extract – Step-by-Step Instructions

Homemade Vanilla Extract – Ingredients

Slice open the vanilla beans so that all the lovely paste and seeds inside can mix with the vodka. I also cut mine in half and quarters. I used 3 beans but I think you could use fewer – you might just want to let it steep a little longer.

Add vanilla beans and vodka to a mason jar and close it up tightly. Store in a cool, dark place (like a cupboard) for around 2 months and give it a little shake every once in a while.

After it’s had time to steep it should be a deep amber colour and a lovely vanilla aroma. If you’d like to pour it into a pretty bottle go ahead.

Use your homemade vanilla extract in baking, pancakes, or give it as gifts!

Enjoy! 🙂

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Five $5 Meals for Fall

3 · Oct 6, 2017 · Leave a Comment

These five $5 meals for fall are perfect for anyone who wants to save money on groceries! Whip up these cozy, hearty meals and warm up your fall, without spending your whole grocery budget!

This post is a continuation of our $5 Meals series, which we started with Five $5 Meals for Summer. In that post I explain that I’ve challenged myself to come up with five $5 meals for each season. At times it has been tough! I feel like it’s such a good eye opener for me, in terms of how difficult it can be to feed a family. This is especially true if you have a large family, or live somewhere were groceries are really expensive. Fall was a little easier (I think the cheapness of root vegetables at this time of year helped!). Even though it can be a challenge, I really love this experiment!

Like I said in my summer post, there are so many reasons why you might want to save money on groceries. Maybe times are tight and you need to stretch things a little farther. Or maybe you are trying to save money for a down payment on a house, or a wedding, or a trip! Whatever reason, if you can eat delicious food for less, why not go for it!?!

Again, I’ve paid attention to sales, seasonally cheap produce, and sometimes even what I (and you!) can easily grow (like herbs – I’m not recommending you sow your own potatoes or anything – although it’s great if you do!).

Like I said before, this is what you should be doing too. All of the time. This change of habits is really the biggest way you’ll save money on groceries, in the long run.

I hope you enjoy the latest installment of the $5 Meals e-book. Click here to download it!

Stay tuned for the winter chapter in a few months! 🙂

How to Make Honey Cheap(er) | Save Money on Groceries

0 · Sep 19, 2017 · Leave a Comment

There are so many reasons to want to use honey, but it can be expensive! Learn how to make honey cheap(er), save money on groceries and have a pantry full of honey to sweeten up your cooking.

I really love to use honey when I cook (and eat, in general). I feel like it’s a more natural, less processed alternative to sugar and better for us. But honey can be super expensive!

For the longest time I would just grumble and buy expensive honey anyway, but about a year ago I figured out this little trick to make honey a bit cheaper.

Note: This is not going to work out if you buy raw honey or artisanal honey. But it’s a good tip otherwise!

Compare the Cost of Honey

Now I buy honey in these gigantic 3kg containers at Costco. This container costs $16.99 where I live. At a local grocery store I priced honey at 1kg for $10.99. The Costco honey works out to about $5.66/kg, which means that it’s about half price, compared to the smaller bottle of honey I can buy locally.

Do you try to buy local? So do we! Read my thoughts about buying local and still saving money here.

“But wait!!!” you might be thinking. “I’ll never use up that giant container of honey before it turns into a solid mass of honey crystals or goes bad!“

Want to know something interesting about honey? It’s one of a few foods that has been scientifically proven to last… forever. You can read all about it in this Smithsonian article about honey’s shelf life. So you can pretty much will any leftover honey to your great-great grandchildren. Now all you have to worry about is how to stop it from crystallizing into an unusable mass.

Here’s what we do:

Fill 4-5 clean, dry mason jars with honey, screw the lids on tightly (clean up any drips really well) and store them in our pantry.

Then, when your honey starts to look like this:

(There is a pile of crystallized honey in the jar that I can’t easily use).

Take the lid off, pop the jar in the microwave for about 30 seconds, and your honey is liquid again.

Now you can head to Costco and buy enough honey to last a lifetime (or two).

You might enjoy these recipes with your new cheap(er) honey:

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How to Freeze Cheese – an easy way to save money on groceries

0 · Aug 29, 2017 · 4 Comments

This quick and easy tip is for any of you who ever wondered, “Hmmmm… can you freeze cheese?” Yes, you can freeze cheese, and it’s awesome. Here’s how to freeze cheese and save money on groceries.

This post contains affiliate links.

Sometimes you’re lucky enough to stumble upon a sale at the grocery store that’s too good to leave behind. Maybe it’s a huge bin of your favourite product that’s marked down even though it’s nowhere near its best before date. Maybe it’s a flash sale on something you use all the time. Or maybe, if it’s really your lucky day, it’s an amazing deal on cheese.

When this happens to me, I find it hard to contain my excitement.

In our Stock Your Fridge post I talk about how cheese usually lasts a SUPER long time in a cold part of the fridge. (Check the best before date – it’s probably months away.) But what happens if the date is soon – say a few weeks away?

In this case, have a good look at the cheese and make sure there aren’t any moldy spots. Then buy it all, take it home and do a happy dance around your kitchen with it.

Yes, there’s a bit of work involved in processing it, but it’s really not that bad, and the money savings can be considerable.

How to Freeze Cheese (and save money on groceries!)

Last week I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things and unexpectedly came home with this:

It was an amazing deal that was too good to pass up. But it had to be dealt with right away.

I’ve tried freezing whole blocks of cheese before and it was just okay. When you thaw them the cheese tastes fine, but it crumbles when you try to cut or grate it.

I’m lucky enough to own this amazing food processor (I think this should work with any type of food processor though – or you could even shred it by hand if you’re feeling brave).

Freeze the cheese for a few minutes before you start. 20-30 minutes should be fine.
Using the largest shredding disc on your food processor, shred the cheese.
Bag it and freeze it. It shouldn’t stick together when you take it out – you can just grab a handful to use however you want!

That’s it! How easy was that! And think of all that money you’ll be saving if you gobble up cheese at the rate we do! It’s also super convenient to have big bags of pre-shredded cheese on hand. If you’re anything like me, you could get used to that too!

What tricks do you use to save money on groceries? Let me know in the comment section below!

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15 Incredible Recipes Using Lemon Curd That You Need In Your Life

0 · Aug 11, 2017 · 10 Comments

The most delicious ways to use lemon curd, from some of the Internet’s best food and recipe bloggers. Whether you’re looking for dessert, breakfast or just for a treat, these recipes should come with a warning: prepare yourself for some serious lemon cravings.

If you haven’t discovered lemon curd yet, give it a try. You’ll thank me later. It’s luscious, fresh and creamy – the ultimate lemony treat. And when you’ve eaten enough out of the jar with a spoon, try these beautiful recipes using lemon curd, for a fresh spin on your new favourite ingredient.

You can make our Easy Lemon Curd – With Whole Eggs in about 20 minutes, using pantry staples and a few lemons. Why not give it a try? 🙂

I can’t imagine a more quintessential summer dessert than these Strawberry Shortcake & Lemon Curd Parfaits from The Rising Spoon (with options to make them gluten-free and dairy-free). I can’t wait to try them!

These Lemon-Lime Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies from Saving Room For Dessert are so incredibly beautiful! I think the lemon and lime would be such a refreshing combination with the richness of shortbread!

Fellow Canadian blogger Girl Heart Food brings us these gorgeous Lemon Cream Tarts With Berries. They look both refreshing and decadent. I’m such a big fan of lemon curd with summer berries!

This No-Churn Creamy Lemon Curd Ice Cream from Fearless Dining sounds like the ultimate summer treat for the whole family. You don’t need an ice cream maker to make it and it’s gluten-free!

Wow. That’s the first thing I thought when I saw these Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes from Giraffes Can Bake. They’re stunning! And from the sound of the recipe, they’re not only beautiful, they’re delicious!

I’m so excited to try this Easy Lemon Curd Dip from Happy Foods Tube. It’s super easy to make and the perfect treat to bring to a party or enjoy at home.

Friends, I’m such a sucker for pie, and these tiny beauties from Pinch Me, I’m Eating make it even more irresistible! I’ll be making these Mini Lemon Meringue Pies soon.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love crepes. Yummy Mummy Kitchen brings together lightens up lemon curd and pairs these crepes with a lovely blueberry sauce for these Easy Lemon Crepes With Blueberry Sauce. Such a beautiful breakfast treat!

I’ll be making these Gluten Free Lemon Curd Filled Coconut Cupcakes from Fearless Dining for my lovely sister. She loves coconut cream and lemon so I think they’ll be a hit!

My Kitchen Love’s Lazy Girl’s Meyer Lemon Meringue Tart is almost too pretty to eat… but not quite! I love how easy it would be to whip this up!

I definitely have a thing for teeny tiny bite sized sweets. Baker Bettie’s Lemon Curd and Raspberry Tea Biscuits look so yummy and would be such a lovely addition to a baby shower or picnic.

The Pudge Factor’s (Almost) No-Bake Lemon Curd Icebox Cheesecake looks like pure, summery perfection. What a lovely, light dessert to finish dinner on a warm summer’s night.

Would you judge me if I just wanted to eat these Fresh Fruit Tarts for breakfast with a big cup of black coffee? Saving Room For Dessert hit the nail on the head with these beauties.

What a gorgeous classic lemon cake from The Unlikely Baker! Their Lemon Curd Layer Cake With Lemon Buttercream is a lemon-lover’s dream.

What a showstopper! This Breakfast Lemon Fruit and Granola Tart from Yummy Mummy Kitchen is not only gorgeous – it makes a healthy and filling breakfast too! With gluten-free and vegan options.

Wow guys! I’m so inspired by all of these gorgeous lemon curd treats! I can’t wait to give them all a try! If you need me, I’ll be over in my kitchen, working on all these masterpieces.

Whether you make any of these beautiful recipes or not, I hope you see that there are lots of amazing ways to use lemon curd.

Now, I’m off to make a double batch of our Easy Lemon Curd – With Whole Eggs!

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One Simple Ingredient to Help You Become a Better Cook

0 · Aug 4, 2017 · Leave a Comment

The most important ingredient in your kitchen isn’t anything expensive or hard to get your hands on. It’s super simple and absolutely essential to great cooking. If you’re not using salt in your cooking you’re selling yourself short. Learn to use salt in your cooking and become a better cook today.

This post contains affiliate links.

Recently I told you guys all about my love for my favourite food, cheese. But cheese isn’t even close to my favourite cooking ingredient (although it can be pretty great).

My favourite ingredient, by miles and miles, is salt.

Ideally, kosher salt or sea salt, but in a pinch (hehe) even the humble table salt will do.

Salt, my friends, is a miracle worker. A game changer. A paradigm shifter.

It will take your cooking from meh to “Yeah!” If you don’t believe me, try it out.

Why You Should Use Salt In Your Cooking

People tell me all the time that they don’t use salt in their cooking. That they let people salt their own food at the table. And I’m here to tell you something important: **Unless you have a health condition that requires you to watch your sodium intake, if you want to be a great cook, you need to be using salt.**

Salt has been WAY over demonized. If you’re eating a diet that’s relatively low in processed foods, chances are you have room in your diet to add a little flavour-enhancing salt to your cooking.

I married a man who didn’t believe in salt shakers. To this day, when I go to eat at my parents-in-law’s house, they get out the salt shaker especially for me. But Laurier had his own little salt epiphany a couple of years ago.

I have a small business making artisinal hummus that I sell at our local Farmer’s Market. One day I was making a batch of Laurier’s favourite flavour and I forgot the salt. I taste test every batch (I own about 60 teaspoons for this purpose) and as soon as I tasted it I knew the salt was missing. The taste was flat and lifeless. It was totally bleh.

I got out a fresh spoon and took Laurier a sample to try.

“Guess what ingredient I forgot to add?” I asked him.

He guessed a few ingredients but finally guessed salt, probably because I was standing there grinning at him like a mad Cheshire Cat.

“Yes!” I told him. “Now wait here and I’ll bring you a taste with the salt.”

I brought him a taste once I had added the salt and even he, of little faith, could tell that it was infinitely better.

Salt enhances flavours. It brightens taste and makes ingredients pop. It allows your food to shine as its truest self. It is, without a doubt my desert island ingredient. Cooking is never the same without it.

How To Use Salt in Your Cooking

Even if you think you don’t use salt in your cooking, there’s a pretty good chance you use some type of sodium. Ever use soya sauce in a recipe? What about onion soup mix or a can of soup? Ketchup? Fish sauce?

If so, you’re using a hefty dose of sodium.

So enough with the salt bashing over there.

If you’re a dedicated salt non-user, I offer you a challenge:

Make something and use salt. If it’s in the recipe, use the salt it calls for. If you’re doing something more straightforward, like cooking vegetables (using ANY method), add a little salt before you eat them. Better yet, add a little butter, salt and pepper. If you don’t find it tastes better, either you did something wrong, or I don’t believe you 🙂 Get over here and let me cook you some vegetables the way they are meant to be cooked.

The way I like to use salt in cooking is to season a little bit at a time as I go. If I’m making a pot of spaghetti sauce I’ll start by sauteing the onions and garlic in some olive oil and I’ll add a little salt to them. When I add hamburger and break it up, as it starts to fry, I’ll add some salt. Later, when I add veggies and tomatoes and whatever else, guess what else goes in the pot? Salt.

Those of you who don’t use salt are probably gasping in horror right now and imagining the saltiest pot of spaghetti sauce you’ve ever eaten. Nope. Just delicious, flavourful, well-rounded spaghetti sauce. Taste as you go and make sure that every stage tastes its best. Not salty, just perfectly yummy.

Ideally, you don’t want to cook your entire dish and just salt it at the end, because the salt doesn’t get to cook into every level and become incorporated into the taste. I suspect you would find the end result much saltier. If you’re someone who uses salt at the table, why not try using a little throughout the cooking process instead?

Types of Salt to Use In Your Cooking

Kosher Salt:

My absolute favourite type of salt to use is kosher salt. It has great flavour, is super cheap and is available at most large grocery stores (and maybe even some smaller ones). I keep it in a sugar dish so I can grab a large pinch (with clean hands) and season whatever I’m cooking. After cooking with it for a while you’ll start to know, by feel, how much you should be using. Also, I LOVE roasting vegetables with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper and crunching the melty kosher salt in my teeth as I eat, like in this recipe for Simple Oven Roasted Asparagus. You can do this with almost any vegetable, as long as you adjust the cooking time. Most delicious veggies ever.

Table Salt:

I usually use table salt when I’m making or when it’s called for in a recipe I’m following. You’ll read a lot of bad things about table salt from chefs, who say it has a chemically taste or is too fine and hard to use in a predictable way. However, I really think that for anyone new to using salt, and most regular people (myself included, of course), table salt is just fine. Plus it has the added advantage of probably being in every kitchen or pantry in North America already. So you can just skedaddle in there and start experimenting with cooking with salt right away 🙂

Sea Salt:

Sea salt varies a lot, but it usually has a great flavour. It can be fine or coarse and can often be an excellent substitute for either kosher salt or table salt. If the grind is really large you may have to chop it or crush it a little more so you don’t get any really big pieces.

That’s about all I have to say about salt for today! Catch me on another day and I might have more to add! There have been entire books written about salt.

If you’re a dedicated salt-user in your cooking I’d love to hear from you. If not, I really hope you’ll take me up on my challenge to try cooking one or two things using salt. Let me know if you notice a difference! 🙂

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Stock Your First Kitchen – The Complete List of Kitchen Essentials

0 · Jul 28, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Whether you have a teen who’s leaving home for the first time or you’re setting up your own first kitchen, there are certain basics you’ll need to cover. This list of 20 essential kitchen supplies is a perfect checklist to set you on course for delicious home cooking.

This post contains affiliate links.

Wooden spoons: I’m a big fan of using old-fashioned wooden spoons for stirring pretty much anything I’m cooking or baking. This pack of 3 wooden spoons with different length handles is a great price.
Cutting boards: I really like wooden cutting boards and this set from Nopro is good value. I would recommend designating one as a board for raw meat and making sure you wash it super well. I would also make sure I only cut really pungent foods (like onion and garlic) on one board – probably the smallest one, so that you can avoid leaching remnants of those flavours into more delicate food like fruit.
Chef’s knife: If you hope to do any amount of cooking, a chef’s knife is so useful. But it doesn’t have to cost a small fortune! This one from Zyliss is the style I like (the Japanese style blade) and pretty affordable.
Paring Knife: Just as important as a chef’s knife is a paring knife. If you’re on a tight budget, you can totally get away with just one. This one has great reviews at a super affordable price point.
Bread Knife: I think if you can only buy a few knives, these should be the ones. A bread knife is indispensable if you eat bread, whether for cutting slices or cutting sandwiches, wraps or burgers in half.
Knife Sharpener: I grew up in a house with super sharp knives, but as I’ve made my way about the world I’ve run into more than a few dull ones. I believe, with 100% certainty, that a dull knife is WAY more dangerous than a sharp knife. Yes, with a sharp knife you have to be careful not to accidentally swipe yourself or slip and cut yourself, and you have to keep them out of reach of children (but aren’t you doing that with all your knives anyway?!), but here’s the thing: with a sharp knife, you never have to put any force behind your cutting or slicing. The knife just does its job, and there is a lot less chance of slipping while you’re trying to force a dull knife to cut a crunchy carrot. Knife sharpeners like this one are inexpensive and SUPER easy to use. Try it and let me know how you think. I think you’ll be a convert. It just makes cooking SO much easier.
Vegetable Peeler: Whether you’re a meat and potatoes kind of person or a vegetable lover, a good peeler comes in super handy. We have one really similar to this and it still works well even though it’s been in pretty much constant use for the past 10 years. It’s totally worth spending an extra dollar or two for a great one and it’s still only around $5.
Grater: If you’ve read any amount of this blog, you might know that I LOVE my zester/microplane (I use it a lot, for recipes like Easy Pasta Carbonara, “Key” Lime Pie and Easy Mexican Corn). BUT, if I had to choose between a zester and a box grater, I think I would choose the box grater. If you eat any amount of pizza, nachos, or anything else you would want shredded cheese for, or if you shred carrots for coleslaw or potatoes for hashbrowns, the box grater is just more convenient. You can still use it to zest too, you it’s just a little more work. I really can’t imagine doing any of those bigger jobs on a zester/microplane. I’ve had a box grater just like this since I was in university, and while it’s warped, it’s still going strong.
Frying Pan: A good frying pan is a necessity in my mind, even if you never cook anything more complicated than grilled cheese and fried eggs. If you only have one frying pan, nothing beats cast iron. No, it’s not quite as convenient as a non-stick surface (although I’m a little sketched out by non-stick surfaces in general), but it crisps beautifully, heats up enough to make an awesome stir fry, and can go from stove top to oven, which can be handy.
Mixing bowls: At a minimum you should have a big mixing bowl that can double as a salad bowl, but if you plan on doing any amount of cooking, a set of at least three would probably be more convenient. This set of six is a also a good deal if you want more than one.
Pot: If you can only have one pot I would probably choose a medium-sized pot. You can cook pasta in it, you can hard boil eggs in it, you can make a small chili or soup in it. It’s handy to have a bigger pot and a smaller pot too, but if you have to choose one, make it this one.
Cookie Sheet: Whether or not you plan to do any baking (like cookies), at some point you might experiment with roasting vegetables Simple Oven Roasted Asparagus or sheet pan meals like our Potato, Bacon and Egg Sheet Pan Breakfast. And if you haven’t tried these things yet, you definitely should. This set of three (all different sizes) is an incredible value.
Cooling Rack: Not strictly a necessity, but if you plan to make any cookies you’ll need one, and they’re also handy for cooling hot pans or pots.
Utensils: I usually opt for stainless steel for its durability and ease of washing but silicone is a great second choice. This is a super well-equipped set for a pretty good price, and I love that it includes TONGS and a brush. I LOVE tongs.
Potato Masher: For some reason none of the utensil sets I looked at included a potato masher. If you don’t eat potatoes, maybe you could skip this one, but I really do find it quite essential. There are cheaper ones out there but they look flimsy. This one from OXO has a solid construction and would probably last a lifetime.
Measuring Cups and Spoons (dry): Some types of cooking rely more on accurate measurements than others, but when you’re just starting out you’ll probably be following recipes more than just winging it. You probably can’t yet eyeball a half cup or a teaspoon of something. These simple tools take all the guesswork out of it. This set includes both cups and spoons for a good price.
Measuring Cup (wet): I really like glass for a wet measuring cup because I often microwave things in it and I’m not a fan of microwaving plastic.
Hand Mixer: You might only use a hand mixer once in a while, but if you don’t have one you’re going to suffer through some solid arm workouts any time you want to make cookies, whip potatoes or even make pudding. I still remember buying my first hand mixer when I was in university and it’s STILL the one I have now. It wasn’t expensive but really, as long as you don’t completely abuse it, it should do fine for a long time with occasional use. This one is pretty affordable and should do the trick.
Strainer: I love pasta. Do you love pasta? You really can’t effectively drain pasta any other way besides in a strainer (collander). Also great for rinsing berries, fruit or vegetables.
Instant Read Thermometer: I’m not sure if you read this post: The The $10 Kitchen Tool That Revolutionized the Way I Cook but if you haven’t, you should. There are a million reasons I love my instant read thermometer, but most importantly, it takes all the guesswork out of cooking meat, leaving us with delicious, juicy, perfectly cooked meat every time. Priceless.

Any kitchen essentials you’d add to this list? Let me know in the comment section below!

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Five $5 Meals for Summer

0 · Jul 18, 2017 · Leave a Comment

These five $5 meals for summer are perfect for anyone who wishes they could save money on their grocery bill! And you won’t be eating beans on toast! They’re all delicious, filled with fresh summer flavours and filling enough for a satisfying meal.

Hi guys!

Recently I challenged myself to come up with five $5 meals. It was tough! I didn’t want to make so-so meals, I wanted to make fantastic meals! And, as you might know, groceries are pretty expensive where we live. Still, the difficulty of this exercise made me realize how important it was for me to do.

There are so many reasons to want to save money on your grocery bill. For some people it’s a necessity – they have a hard time making ends meet, or have trouble getting ahead. For other people, the excess money they spend on groceries could go toward a goal of some kind – saving money for a down payment, or a trip, to pay down debt or just for a rainy day.

So I came up with 5 fantastic meals you that I could make for around $5 each. You might live somewhere where groceries are cheaper and you may be able to make these meals for even less than me. Or you might live somewhere where groceries are more expensive (and if you do, you have my heartfelt sympathy), but at least the recipes can help you get delicious meals on the table and save money on your grocery bill at the same time.

I made full use of timely sales, seasonal ingredients, and some use of things I can grow and things I could make from scratch, in order to keep my costs down. And ideally, this is what you should be doing too, if you’re able to. Not just for these meals, but for as many meals as you can. Time is a huge constraint, and I get that. It is for me too. It’s not always possible to cook from scratch. But you should definitely keep in mind what’s on sale and what’s in season, and try to let those thoughts guide most of your purchasing. If you do, you’ll start to save money.

We’ve created an actual e-book of these $5 meal recipes, and I hope you’ll download it here.

This isn’t a one-time challenge for me. I thought it was a fantastic exercise and I’m going to work on five $5 meals for fall, winter and spring as well.

Stay tuned! 🙂

How to Freeze Goat Cheese

0 · Jul 7, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Do you love goat cheese but find it too expensive to buy regularly? Or maybe you buy a package, enjoy some and then find the rest in a slimy mess a few weeks later. If this sounds like you, you need to know that you can FREEZE goat cheese!

This post contains affiliate links.

A few years ago my niece was interviewing me for a school project. One of the questions she asked was what my favourite food is. As anyone who loves food knows, that’s a super hard question!

I thought for a few minutes and then gave her my answer. “Cheese,” I said.

She burst out laughing and continued to laugh her head off at me for about half an hour.

“Cheese!” she kept saying. She was expecting me to say pizza, or some pasta dish, or cheesecake or something.

And, while I adore a good Pasta Carbonara or refreshing “Key” Lime Pie, I still stand by my answer! I could do without any one of those things, I suppose, but life without cheese? So sad!

Havarti, old cheddar, gouda, camembert, blue, jarlsberg, mozzarella, halloumi, swiss, brie, gruyere, feta, goat cheese… I could go on and on. I love them all.

But, as you might know, cheese can be a tad expensive.

To counteract that, I do two things:

Watch for amazing flash sales at local grocery stores. Cheese sometimes goes on amazing sale, and when it does, I stock up big time. Whether it’s a sale or a huge markdown because the cheese isn’t selling, I buy a bunch and usually freeze it. I’ve learned over the years what freezes well. You can freeze goat cheese, Havarti and feta and thaw them without any major change to the texture (as well as the incredibly delicious soft cheese Boursin).
Buy cheese at Costco when possible. Not everything at Costco is a great deal, but if you know what a good price for certain items is, you can definitely save money. I often buy goat cheese there, where it comes in large double logs for $8.99 (up from $5.99 not long ago – although Costco sometimes runs sales too!). I take it home and prep it for the freezer like this (nothing better than a well stocked freezer!):

How to Freeze Goat Cheese

You’re going to need a cutting board, a very sharp knife, some saran wrap and a ziplock freezer bag. (You can also use a Food Saver by freezing your portions first so they don’t get squished for the machine, but I find it kind of a lot of work to get out the Food Saver just for a bit of cheese).

I find that about a quarter of the log is a good amount to use for any particular recipe I’m making – whether pasta or pizza. If I want more I can easily take out more pieces. Use a very sharp knife to slice the package into whatever size makes most sense for the way you eat it.

Wrap each piece tightly in saran wrap. As I said, you could use a Food Saver for this step, just make sure you freeze your cheese first on a plate so that it’s firm and isn’t squished by the suction of the Food Saver.

Store them in a freezer ziplock bag and note what it is, the date and approximate amount of cheese in each piece. Squeeze out the extra air and store in the freezer. Take it out a little ahead of when you need it – but goat cheese thaws quickly and can sometimes even be cubed when it’s still quite frozen.

Enjoy goat cheese any time you want! Maybe cheese will become your favourite food too! 😉

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Fresh Herbs: Why They’re Cheaper Than You Think

0 · Jun 23, 2017 · 4 Comments

If you wish you could use more fresh herbs but feel like you can’t afford large quantities of them, read on. With just a couple of quick tips, fresh herbs can be cheaper than you think.

This post contains affiliate links.

Once in a while people ask me how I can afford to use such large quantities of fresh herbs in my cooking. I understand where they’re coming from – a very small package of herbs can cost $3.50 where I live, and there’s no guarantee that all the herbs in that little plastic container will be usable.

Still, I love to cook with fresh herbs. I love the fresh, zesty smell that wafts up them when you wash them and when you chop them. I love the brightness they bring to the food I’m cooking and the vibrant colour they provide as garnish. And, of course, I love the vivid pop of flavour they bring to food.

Yes, they are more expensive than dried herbs. But they can still be affordable. Here’s how:

Find a better deal
As I’ve mentioned before, I live about a half hour drive from a large chain grocery store. While I definitely value our local coop and try to buy local a lot of the time, there are some things that I do buy outside my local area. Often fresh herbs are one of these things.
Instead of a small plastic package of herbs for upwards of $3, at the two large grocery store chains in my province (Superstore and Sobeys), you can score big, bouquet-like bunches of herbs for a few bucks.
Parsley (usually both flat and curly), cilantro, and sometimes dill are available like this, and if you have any amount of cooking to use them for, the value is excellent.
I’ve tried all kinds of ways of keeping my herbs fresh. I own one of these herb savers, which really does work quite well for smallish amounts. I’ve tried wrapping them in damp paper towel, I’ve tried standing them in cups of water.
The method I use now is actually the easiest. I start with the best looking bunch of herbs at the store. I take them home, take any bad or slimy parts off them, put them back in the produce bag from the grocery store, blow a little air into the bag and tie it with a twist tie. Then I store it in my crisper drawer.
Works like a charm.
If I have parsley or dill (but not cilantro, sadly) that I won’t use up before it goes bad, I freeze it. The texture suffers but the taste doesn’t, and you can still use it in dips, sauces, salad dressings, and more!
Grow your own
As is the case with so many things in life, if you can do it yourself, it will be cheaper.
You don’t need a big garden or plot of land to grow a few herbs. I was in my early twenties when I bought my first basil plant at a farmer’s market. I took it home and it lived happily on my window sill for most of a year, while I enjoyed many of its tender leaves in sandwiches, scrambled eggs and pasta.
Since then I’ve been lucky enough to have a garden, (and a father who loves to work in it) and have often had big patches of fresh basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, tarragon, rosemary, thyme, mint and lemongrass (and probably others I’m forgetting) to munch on throughout the summer months and try to preserve in the fall. If you have the space and a tiny bit of time, this is the way to go. A small amount of work will yield a ton of fresh herbs for you to enjoy.
If you have no yard or no time, why not pick up a little herb plant or two for your windowsill? I bought this one last week from our lovely local garden centre (shoutout to Samson & Landry’s Gardening) for a little over $4. It will yield many, many leaves of pungent basil to countless meals in our house over the next little while. You can’t even buy two little plastic packages of basil for that price. As long as you have a sunny windowsill and can give it a little water every few days, why not give it a try?
It might prove to be a delicious experiment! 🙂

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7 Easy Steps to Start Meal Planning and Save Money on Groceries

0 · Jun 9, 2017 · 2 Comments

Meal planning doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming. It can be as easy as a quick 10 minute brainstorm, but can help you save time, help you save money on groceries, and help you eat more delicious food. Maybe it’s time to give meal planning it a try?

Did you make a meal plan this week? No?

Me neither, and I’ve been kicking myself since Monday.

Weeks that I make meal plans for are infinitely more relaxing, less frustrating, and often more delicious. So why is it that, as soon we hit a crazy week, meal planning goes out the window?

While I was pondering this yesterday, I realized that the craziest weeks are the ones we need meal planning the most.

Duh.

Maybe that is total common sense, but it’s actually the first time I ever thought about it like that. I’ve been through two distinct meal planning phases in my life, and I have a feeling I’m about to embark on a third.

Please, humour me.

Me and Meal Planning – The Evolution

Phase 1: “Meal plan? What meal plan? Oh no, I don’t make meal plans! I couldn’t possibly! You see, I cook what the spirit in me wants to cook. I cook what I feel like eating, when I feel like eating it. How could I possibly plan that days ahead of time!?!?!”

And so on and so forth.

I was absolutely adamantly opposed to meal plans and blatantly and intentionally skipped over any mention of them anywhere.

No thank you, sir.

Then I had kids.

That was a bit of a game changer. Suddenly I didn’t have the luxury of spending two hours cooking up a gourmet supper we could eat by candlelight at 9pm. Hell, by 9pm I was lucky to be conscious and was probably debating whether it was okay to go collapse into my bed without flossing my teeth or washing my face, again (I always brush, people. Eww.).

So kids are great; I love my kids more than pretty much anything else on earth, but they do require a bit of a re-calibration of habits. After too many days that got away from me and ended with us feeding the baby scrambled eggs before destroying a pan of nachos on the couch, I realized that I had to start planning ahead. Bringing me to….

Phase 2: I’m pretty sure I was just at my wits’ end and decided to give meal planning a try. I didn’t read anything online, I just took an approach that made logical sense to me (I’ll explain in detail below) and gave it a whirl.

Mid way through week 1, I was a CONVERT. I was officially in love with meal planning and was gushing about it to anyone who would listen (thanks guys, for putting up with me).

Suddenly, I knew what we would be eating for supper ALL WEEK LONG. There was no hemming and hawing. No more renditions of the age old question, “What do you want for supper tonight?” which in our house, was almost always met with… “Hmmm…. I don’t know.” No more deciding at 3pm to make pork chops only to realize that they are frozen in a giant hunk in our freezer and there is no way we’re having pork chops before the following day for breakfast. Nope.

Suddenly, I could look ahead at the next day’s meal on the schedule and see if I needed to take something out of the freezer.

I could start some type of prep early in the day if I had 10 or 15 minutes. Totally enough time to peel some potatoes or carrots and cut them up for later.

If I was home for the day (or energetic the night before) I could make homemade hamburger buns or homemade bread (which meant that we ate a lot less store-bought buns and bread, which was awesome).

And if Laurier was home before me, he could look at the meal plan and see what we were supposed to be having for supper, and could start to do some of the prep.

It was life changing.

So, for the past two years or so, mostly on but sometimes off, I’ve been meal planning, and loving it.

But with yesterday’s revelation, I’m pretty sure I’m entering a new era.

Phase 3: The intentional phase. It has absolutely dawned on me that I need to be making a meal plan every week. Especially when we’re super busy. Maybe because our lives are just so hectic, but weeks without a meal plan end up being a mish mash of random eating and being too tired to plan anything at whatever late hour we try.

So, here’s a little look at how I meal plan. There are a million resources out there teaching you how to meal plan, but they’re all a little different. Here’s what I do, and who knows? Maybe it’ll work for you too!

How to Start Meal Planning

So many meal planning resources go something like this: check your local grocery store flyers and see what’s on sale for the week; plan the week’s meals based on what you can pick up on sale.

I agree to absolutely check for sales, but I hate wasting food (and money!) and hate having a fridge overflowing with half used ingredients that I eventually am forced to chuck in the compost.

So for us, meal planning looks like this:

Clean – Look in the fridge and do a quick clean out of anything too old or yucky to use. Usually this is pretty minimal because I try to keep on top of it, but sometimes I find dishes of unrecognizable stuff shoved behind all the condiments. The bonus here is that it keeps our fridge fairly clean!
Ingredient List – Get a pen and paper and see what’s in the fridge that has to be used up. Anything from half a head of lettuce, to some leftover feta, to an already cooked chicken breast, to half a red onion or part package of bacon. Write it all down in a list. I also include perishables that are in the pantry, like potatoes or sweet potatoes.
Extras – See what we have in the freezer and pantry and if there’s anything I’m wanting to use up soon. Write these down too. Also, for us during gardening season, what’s coming up fresh outside. Sometimes I’m super organized and actually have lists of what we have stocked in our freezer and pantry. Sometimes I just give it a quick eyeball and see what’s around.
Scheduling – Look at our schedule for the week. I check to see if we have meetings, sports or other commitments in the evenings that would force us to have earlier or faster suppers and note which nights those are on.
Weather – I am a weirdo (and hey, maybe you are too!) so if I’m not in a rush I like to check the weather for the week. That way I don’t plan a hearty stew or soup for a hot day or a cool dinner salad for when it’s rainy and damp. When I’m in a rush this step gets nixed.
Meal Plan – I look at my list of ingredients and try to brainstorm meals we can make that will use up, ideally, all the items that would otherwise go bad. Sometimes I will have to pick something up at the grocery store to complete a recipe for the week, but if possible I try to be creative and substitute with something we have already, either in the fridge, freezer or pantry (maybe it’s a staple that we always have on hand). Sometimes if there are a bunch of random ingredients left at the end of the week’s plan, I’ll make a soup, pizza, paninis, pasta, stir-fry, salad or a curry and use them all up at once. These are all great ideas for using up loose ends.
See what we keep stocked in our fridge.
See what we keep stocked in our freezer.
See what we keep stocked in our pantry.
I also keep a little list (either on paper or in my head) of any recipes I’m currently inspired by or want to try and try to work them into the plan where they make sense.
What this all means is that most of our grocery shopping is about stocking up on what’s on sale for our fridge, freezer and pantry, and buying fresh fruit and vegetables based on sales for the week. We try to eat a good variety, and sales often shift with the seasons. So the end result is that if I buy broccoli because it’s on sale and I want us to eat it, when I go check the fridge it’s there and ends up on my list of ingredients to be used that week.
I also try to have foods do double duty. If I cook a chicken on Sunday I might plan to make enchiladas on Tuesday, for example. If I make a shepherd’s pie on Monday I’ll cook extra potatoes to have with fish on Wednesday, that sort of thing. Planning ahead makes life so much easier, especially when you’re busy.
Write it down – Even if your meal plan is as informal as a bullet list, you should write it down. That way anyone else who wants to (or is volun-told to) start meal prep can check it to see what’s planned for supper. Plus, you’ll never get mixed up or have to remember what to thaw when, or what needs to be picked up for which meal.
As an added bonus, I find it is so helpful to help us remember how long leftovers have been in the fridge for. Laurier and I used to have to try to work backwards through the week. (“Let’s see… we had chili on Friday and paninis on Thursday, remember, because you had badminton, and what the heck did we have Wednesday?”) Now we can just check the list and know exactly how long something has been in the fridge (and if it’s been too long to eat it as leftovers).

That’s it! I honestly have to say, aside from the fact that we are more organized and prepared for meal times, I love meal planning because we waste SO much less food. Like a fraction of what we used to waste. And I think that’s great for my conscience, the environment and our budget!

Yay for meal planning! If you managed to read this far, maybe you’ll be a convert too! Meal planners of the world, unite! 🙂

There is really so much that can be said about meal planning. I’ve only scratched the surface. Here are a few great resources if you want to read more:

Any questions? Do you meal plan? Let me know in the comment section below!

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2 Easy Ways to Save Leftover Tomato Paste

0 · May 26, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Are you sick and tired of wasting half a can of tomato paste every time you need some for a recipe? Try these two easy ways of saving what’s left over, and never throw out extra tomato paste again!

How many times have you made a recipe that called for 1 tablespoon of tomato paste? A million times? Me too!

So you get out your can of tomato paste, open it up, use 1 tablespoon…. and then what?

For years I would empty the leftover paste into a small reusable container and stash it in my fridge. A month later I would find it languishing at the back of the shelf, next to a shriveled up core of iceberg lettuce.

I would sigh and scrape it into the garbage.

Over and over again, every. single. time.

Eventually, I got annoyed enough that I started using a few quick ways of saving my leftover tomato paste. Both involve freezing. Both can be done in under 2 minutes.

2 Easy Ways to Save Leftover Tomato Paste

1. The IQF Method for Saving Tomato Paste

Now I’m not sure if this would technically be considered IQF (Individually Quick Frozen), but either way, that’s what I’m calling it.

Using a tablespoon, drop spoonfuls of tomato paste onto a wax paper-lined cookie sheet.

Freeze.

Once they are frozen solid, peel off the tablespoons of paste and store in a freezer bag (in the freezer). Use as needed.

The advantage of this method is that you are freezing an already measured out tablespoon portion. If you’re a really precise cook, or are fairly new to cooking, this would be a good method for you.

You just take a tablespoon of paste out of the freezer bag and add it to your recipe, knowing exactly how much you’re using. There is usually no need to thaw it before using it (if you’re cooking it, it will thaw pretty quickly).

I did this for years, until I read somewhere (I have no idea where) about method #2.

2. The Lazy Baggie Method for Saving Tomato Paste

So I couldn’t think of a better name for this method, but trust me, it’s great.

Get a freezer bag and open it as wide as possible. Using a small spatula, scrape the leftover tomato paste into the bottom of the baggie.

Squish it down so it forms a roll of sorts along the bottom of the bag.

Freeze.

Anytime you need tomato paste for a recipe, get out your bag of paste and break (or cut) a chunk off the end.

This works best for people who are not really precise cooks, because you probably won’t break off exactly 1 tablespoon, or whatever amount your recipe calls for.

It also works well for people who are in a rush. The first method of IQFing only takes a few minutes to do, but the baggie method only takes a few seconds.

An added bonus to saving leftover tomato paste using one of these methods is that you will rarely find yourself without it when a recipe is calling for it. As long as you remember to occasionally buy a can, you should have lots. Plus, leftover tomato paste becomes part of what I consider a well-stocked freezer!

Do you often find yourself garbaging leftover tomato paste? What about other partially-used ingredients? Let me know in the comment section below!

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