Kitchen on a Budget: tips and trick

1. Growing free green onions: you know that bundle of green onions you get from the store? chop off the ends (the white end with roots) leaving about 3/4 -1 inch of green, plant in a small flower pot, and place in a windowsill that gets plenty of light. water every few days when the soil feels dry, and you have green onions regrowing themselves! free green onions people!!

2. Freeze that fruit: if your fruit is looking like it's on your way out, freeze it! You can throw it in a smoothie or bake it in something like muffins or a quickbread (ie: banana bread, chopped strawberries, blueberries, peaches, etc. can be thrown in a basic muffin recipe or pancakes).

3. Buy food in season and freeze it!: this year I bought 30 lbs of strawberries. You heard me: 30 lbs. I love strawberries and so does my hubby, so the best way to have this fruit all year round is to buy it, wash it, chop of the tops and freeze it. BOOM! huge savings! I also bought 15 lbs of blueberries, and small amounts of other fruits. We will use it to make smoothies, pies and jam (among other things). I also froze rhubarb, beans and basil from my parent's garden (the beans you have to blanch, but the basil you only need wash and dry the basil before freezing! way easier than I thought it would be). I'm excited to make spaghetti sauce and throw in my home grown basil!

4. Paper towels are a waste: just buy a stack of microfiber cloths instead, you can use them over and over again. I use them to dust too instead of using swiffer dusters that you have to replace frequently. They are so multi purpose (I've washed mirrors and windows with them too). The only con is that you should wash them separately from other laundry otherwise they will pick up lint from that laundry. I save the used ones in a bin until I have enough for a small load.

5. Use your crock-pot: You use less dishes with a one pot meal. Simple. Plus you save time and energy.

6. Make your own bread: It's cheaper and healthier for you. I was given a Cuisinart bread machine as a Christmas present and it works like a dream. You put your ingredients in and walk away. Any left over bread can be made into croutons or bread crumbs.

7. Food Prep: I know, I know, I push the food prep a lot. But I have found that the more tasty food I have ready to eat  at home, the less likely I am to buy a bag of chips or some other crap on the way home from work or the gym (that's when the carb cravings get scary!!). Specifically, I find chopping up ginger and onion and saving them in small containers to add to an impromptu omelette, stir fry or whatever also helps alot. I make protein pancakes with fruit in them, chop strawberries, have mini carrots and hummus on hand, bake a couple of yams/sweet potatoes, chop veggies in portioned containers, I could go on and on and on. In fact I should do a separate post for it :).