grocery shopping - The Fun Times Guide to Food and Cooking

5 Ways To Use One Whole Chicken & Get The Most For Your Money

I'm always looking for ways to stretch my grocery budget. I would never have thought you could do much with one whole chicken from the deli, but the mom seen in the following video proved me wrong! Here are all the ways you can use a single chicken (you know, the whole roasted chicken that you can buy already seasoned and cooked at most grocery stores) to save time and money: Purchase a deli chicken and eat the first meal as chicken with a side dish or two. Use the leftover chicken … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home & Garden, Preparing & Cooking Food Tagged With: chicken, grocery shopping, recipes to try, saving money

15 Frugal Recipes That Taste Great & Save Money

I'm always looking for ways to stretch my grocery bill --because who isn't on a budget these days, right?I enjoy finding new frugal recipes to try. So, I decided the other day that I would see how many budget-friendly recipes I could find online that were incredibly tasty and didn't cost much to make. Here's my list: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home & Garden, Preparing & Cooking Food Tagged With: breakfast foods, grocery shopping, recipes to try, saving money

Nutrition Labels Hide Bad Facts Behind Confusing Numbers

Do you read the nutrition labels when you're shopping at the supermarket? All those percentages and metric weights can be pretty confusing. In many ways, the nutrition labels practically lie to you! For example, what good does it do to list "low fat" or "low sodium" when the serving size is unrealistically small? Who do you know that only eats 6 potato chips in one sitting? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying / Growing Food, Home & Garden Tagged With: food storage, grocery shopping, healthy foods, organic and natural

Reasons To Avoid Food Products From Factory Farms & Try Organic Instead

Do you know where (and how) the eggs you ate for breakfast were produced? Factory farms, otherwise known as CAFO's (concentrated or confined animal feeding operations), are the source of 95% of the eggs consumed in the United States today. Home for these unfortunate chickens is an endless row of small wire cages, with as many as 8 birds housed in a mere 14 square inches of space. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying / Growing Food, Home & Garden Tagged With: beef, chicken, eggs, grocery shopping, organic and natural

Whole Canned Chicken Isn’t As Bad As It Sounds… It’s Great For Homemade Soups!

Are you living in a dorm room with little more than a hot plate to cook with? Tired of Ramen Noodles or Hamburger Helper night after night? Whole chicken in a can will liven up your cuisine and introduce you to a whole new world of flavor. (Don't laugh. This will be really good once you get past what it looks like coming out of the can!) Canned chicken has quite a few advantages over fresh or frozen chicken: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home & Garden, Preparing & Cooking Food Tagged With: chicken, grocery shopping, recipes to try, soups and stews, weird food

Are Color-Coded Bread Tabs The Best Way To Tell If Bread Is Fresh Or Not?

We all want to eat fresh bread. Let's face it, stale bread makes a nasty sandwich. I have (on more than one occasion) either tossed an entire loaf of stale bread or set it aside to use just for toast. If you're like me, then you squeeze bread on the store shelves to determine its freshness, right? Well, come to find out, you don't really have to do that anymore for 3 reasons: #1 Those little twisty ties or plastic clips that hold your bread bag closed are color coded for the day the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying / Growing Food, Home & Garden Tagged With: breads, grocery shopping, saving money

How Well Do You Know Your Cuts Of Beef?

Everybody loves a properly grilled steak hot off the barbeque. However, if you buy cuts of beef thinking that the more expensive the steak the better, then you may be disappointed when it comes time to eat that steak! If money is no object, go for the rib eye, the tenderloin, the Porterhouse/T-bone or the strip; but if you're looking for value for money try a flat boned sirloin for a great beefy flavor, or even cheaper, a top round steak. ~Source … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying / Growing Food, Home & Garden Tagged With: beef, grilling, grocery shopping

Whole Grain vs Whole Wheat – What’s The Difference?

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Filed Under: Buying / Growing Food, Home & Garden Tagged With: breads, flour, grocery shopping, healthy foods

Fun Things To Do With Spoiled Food: 21 Ways To Use Overripe Fruit

When fruits and vegetables come into season, the price generally drops quite a bit. Of course we want to stock up on a good deal, so knowing when certain fruits and vegetables are in season makes it easier to plan ahead. But what happens when you buy more than you’ll use before things start getting soft and showing signs of spoilage? Uses For Overripe Fruit … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home & Garden, Preparing & Cooking Food Tagged With: food storage, freezing foods, fruits, grocery shopping, How-Tos

11 Ways To Get The Most Bang For Your Buck When Shopping At The Local Farmers Market

My first exposure to a Farmer's Market was the Dane County Farmer's Market held every Saturday morning around the courthouse square in Madison, Wisconsin. There, like at most Farmers Markets, you'll find fresh produce, homemade preserves, unbelievable artisan breads, and the aroma of so many different marvelous foods (like fresh-pressed hot apple cider!) -- all supplied by farms around the area. Ever since that first time, I've looked forward to visiting every new Farmer's Market I can find. My … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying / Growing Food, Home & Garden Tagged With: apples, fruits, grocery shopping, saving money, vegetables