We all know the cost of food is on the rise.  I know it costs more to feed me, and I only have to cook for one.  I can’t imagine how food costs have risen for those with large families.  Sadly, it doesn’t appear that prices are done rising either.

Whether you’re working to find an economical way to feed yourself or to feed your family, there are some things you can do that will help you save money in the kitchen while still creating nutritious and delicious meals, snacks and desserts.

Cheese is one thing that can add a lot of flavor to a dish, but it doesn’t keep as well as we might like.  Here’s a tip to make your cheese last longer.  Put the cheese in a ziplock type bag with a teaspoon full of sugar in the bottom.  Leave the cheese in the original wrapper and make sure you close the wrapper tightly after each use.  The cheese will keep up to 10 weeks without any evidence of mold.

If you have kids, or even if you don’t, you probably know that Halloween is right around the corner.  If you carve a pumpkin or two every year, you can make a great snack out of the seeds you usually discard.  Separate the seeds out and rinse them thoroughly.  Spread the seeds on a cookie sheet and coat lightly with cooking spray.   Season with spices, soy sauce or salt.  Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes.  Store in an air tight container and have a handful whenever you want a crispy toasted snack.

If you like juice here’s a way to stretch your frozen concentrate a little further.  If the instructions call for three cans of water, add four.  The frozen juice is so concentrated that the extra water won’t make the juice taste different, but it will help stretch your drink by 25 percent.

Buying things in a bulk is a great way to save, but sometimes you can’t use everything you’ve bought before it goes bad.  If you’ve been buying larger tubs of ice cream or sour cream to save money, try this trick.  Take a piece of plastic wrap and place it snugly over the surface of the ice cream or sour cream.  Make sure there are no pockets of air between the plastic and the surface of the product.  Replace the lid over the plastic wrap.  This will help keep your ice cream or sour cream fresher for longer.

Finally, here’s a tip for those who like nuts as a snack.  Bulk nuts can be an inexpensive and nutritious snack, but they don’t always keep as well as we would like.  The secret to making your almonds or cashews last longer is this:  freeze them.  Frozen nuts will last indefinitely, and you won’t have to worry about them going rancid if you don’t eat any for a while.

If you’re trying to save money in the kitchen, there are several small steps you can take that can pay off with big savings.  We’ve mentioned a few here today.  If any of you have additional suggestions, we’d love to hear about them in the comments section.

Posted: 10|2|08 at 1:02 pm. Filed under: Budget Balanced Meals.
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