7 Tips on How to Save Big on Grocery Shopping

You can get huge savings by shopping smarter. Below are some basic tactics to cut down on wasteful spending at the supermarket

1. Never shop on an empty stomach. If you're hungry, you'll be too tempted by snacks, treats, and expensive extras.

2. Make a list. Take time to come up with a grocery list, then stick to it.

7 Secrets to Safer Produce

Washing fresh leafy greens and herbs with diluted vinegar before you cook or eat them could save you from food poisoning. Here are 7 more tips to help protect you from contaminated produce.

1. Start while you shop. Only buy fresh or bagged produce if it is refrigerated or tucked into a bed of ice.

2. If you buy pre-cut or already-peeled produce, refrigerate it the moment you get home.

3. Check whether your refrigerator is keeping your food cold enough. Visit your local hardware store and ask about a thermometer for fridge temperatures. Make sure your refrigerator is set to 40 degrees Fahrenheit or less.

4. Moisture is like a party invitation for food-poisoning bacteria, so don't let greens soak in the sink. Also, don't wash produce if you plan to store it in the fridge a few minutes later.

5. Before peeling or eating fruits and veggies, wash them well and then dry them with a clean paper towel.

6. Produce with a rind should be scrubbed with a clean brush before peeling. Otherwise, your peeling knife may transfer outside bacteria to the edible inside of your fruit or veggie.

7. To destroy E. coli, saute or boil leafy greens at 160 degrees Fahrenheit or higher for at least 15 seconds.

Food shopping tips to save more money

Intelligent shopping can save us extra money, time and energy. How well we shop is a test of our skill in judging products and controlling money. Here are some helpful tips I learned in doing the marketing.

1. Create a shopping list

To put the list together, start with your meal plans for the week. From there you can write down the ingredients of each recipe then check if you already have some of those (go over your ref, pantry and freezer). At this stage, keep in mind your family’s low-cost favorites so as not to strain your budget. Also add staples that are running low.

2. Once you’ve made your list, stick to it and stay within your budget. Avoid impulse buying.

3. Buy small or little if you ought to buy new products for the first time, until you decide whether or not it’s satisfactory.

4. When purchasing meat, figure out how many servings you will get per kilo. Half kilo of boneless meat usually serves 4 people. Sometimes their price may seem low, but could actually be expensive if the cut contains large amount of bone and other waste.

5. In buying fruits and vegetables, the largest size is not always the best quality nor the most economical. Buying by weight usually gives you the greatest value.

6. Learn the season

Fruits and vegetables in season, especially if grown in nearby areas are often low in price. They are at their peak in flavor, quality and appearance.

7. Use the store’s saving/discount cards. Always bring these cards, you’ll save a lot in the long run. Don’t hesitate to offer your card if the person paying in front of you doesn’t have a discount card. More than often, they’ll say yes!

8. Buy in bulk – by the dozen, giant sizes, the case. But if the food is perishable, or if you do not have sufficient storage space, buy only what you can reasonably expect to consume within a short time.

9. Look for special prices on purchases of more than one can of the same type of food. Buy such a food if it is one your family enjoys. And remember, no food is a bargain if it goes uneaten.

10. Always bring with you your grocery bag. Some supermarkets offer discounts when you bring your own bag, plus you’ll help save our environment too.

How about you? Share with us some of your shopping tips – those that saves time, money and energy.

Ordering Online

Gone are the days when one needs a landline phone and a ready number of the local's establishment dug from the sheets of Yellow Pages just to order a meal.

Today, with a lot of households having PC's and internet connection, ordering online is made easier, faster and FREE! Forget about calling them and let them call you instead. Doing this saves you much on your phone billing plus ordering online is actually fun and sort of liberating because every info you need is just a click away.

I, for example have been ordering online for years now. Back when ordering online wasn't the "in" thing yet, I would need to have enough load on my cellphone just to call, say Pizza Hut. If I don't have a leaflet with me, I still have to ask for their latest pizza offering, sizes, prices and other inquiries and this eats up a lot of time and cellphone load. Now I simply log on their website and order (It's much faster if one creates his/her own account especially if you intend to order more than once). Minutes later they'll be calling your phone to confirm your order and that's it!

Espaghetti you say?

He brings you to an expensive Italian restaurant. Don't embarrass yourself by mispronouncing your order. I'm pretty sure we all don't want to end up doing what the guy did in this commercial :)

Bolognese: baw-law-nyeh-she
Bruschetta: broo-skeh-tah
Cacciatore: kah-chuch-TOR-ee
Calamari: kal-uh-mahr-ee
Calzone: kahl-zone-neh
Canoli: kah-noh-lee
Capree: ka-pray-she
Congchiglie: kon-keel-yeh
Coniglio: koh-neel-yeh
Farfalle: far-fa-lee
Funghi: foon-gee
Fusilli: foo-sill-ee
Gelato: jeh-lah-toh
Gnocchi: nyeh-ah-kee
Manicotti: man-ah-cot-tee
Mascarpone: mas-car-poh-nay
Mostaccioli: mos-ta-choh-lee
Mozarella: maht-suh-rehl-la
Pane: pah-nay
Parmigiana: pahr-muh-zhan-na
Patate: pah-tah-tay
Pecorino: peh-kuh-ree-noh
Pollo: pohl-loh
Prosciutto: proh-shoo-toh
Radiatore: ra-dee-ah-Tor-ee
Risotto: rih-saw-toh
Tagliatelle: tah-lyuh-tehl-lee
Tiramisu: tih-ruh-mee-soo

Commercial from Greenwich Pizza

6 Beauty Fix You Can Get From Your Cupboard

Running low on cash? Get your beauty fix from products you already have in your cupboard.

Sugar - Add a couple of drops of olive oil to a packet of sugar and gently rub to exfoliate the face and body.

Oatmeal - Exfoliate and whiten the skin with a single serving packet of instant oatmeal mixed with water.

Almond Oil - Sweet almond oil removes makeup and grime and moisturizes extremely dry skin, especially when rubbed directly on trouble spots such as ankles and elbows. Almond paste mixed with hiney or milk also works wonders.

Lemon - A natural acid, lemon juice gently removes dead skin cells and can lighten the darkest spots. Use calamansi as a substitute.

Salt - Rub kitchen salt directly on very tough elbows to exfoliate. Rinse with cool water and don't forget to moisturize!

Milk - Mix a liter of milk with four teaspoons of glycerin and four teaspoons each of powdered borax and baking soda, and you have an instant moisturizer. Refrigerate to get that cool, refreshing sensation. (image source)

9 Things I Learned in the Kitchen

For me anything from the kitchen is a delight, from the food to appliances to frying pans to cutting board. Each humble kitchenware has its pivotal role in making a yummy dish that holds great potential to spell diet doom! Lol! I have always said in this blog that I'm no kitchen expert, but instead a homechef wannabe.

This blog started August 2010. It's only at that time that I try to get myself in the kitchen more often. Since then, I learned a lot of recipes - from cookbooks to food magazines to even youtube videos. So what can a newbie in cooking learn in the kitchen?

Tip of the Day: How to Measure Honey (and other sticky ingredients)

Here's another smart tip I learned from a food magazine. This is a very handy tip for those who often use honey in their dishes and are careful of its measurement.

1. Dip the measuring spoon into very hot water for a couple of seconds. Don't allow the spoon to dry.

2. Pour the honey into the spoon and quickly tilt the spoon to let the honey slide into the bowl or pan.

3. When you need to measure honey and oil, measure oil first so the sticky ingredient just slides off the spoon.

Check out my recipes with honey in it: Baked Spareribs in Honey Sauce , Sweet Honey Chicken Adobo, Sweet Honey Pork Adobo

11 Cooking Secrets From a Spa Chef

This 2011, I pledge to eat healthy and live healthy. I have always been a meatlover ever since, but now that news around me regarding how some relatives and friends suffer because of unhealthy eating habits, my diet needs some mean "makeover".

Ever heard of Spa Cuisine? Here are some tips shared by Spa Chef Cary Neff that we can try to do for a better and healthier 2011. These simple, healthy solutions for everyday meals are part of Oprah's 2011 Feel Good Challenge

1. Shift Your Focus
Make vegetables and complex grains—not meat—the meal's centerpiece.

2. Vote With Your Pocketbook
If those tomatoes or melons that you buy out of habit consistently look good but taste awful, reject them. If other customers do the same, the grocer will have a compelling economic reason to change his wicked ways.

3. Treat Yourself to Better Meat
Buy a little bit of good meat rather than a lot of cheap meat. Naturally raised meat requires less fat-trimming and has more marbling, making it fulfilling even in small amounts.

4. Think Fresh
Whenever possible, buy local, seasonal, and organic. (We love making our own carrot juice, something I never expected I would actually like. You can check out my carrot-pipino juice recipe here)

5. Choose a Healthier Stock Option
Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

6. Get a New Roux
Use potatoes, rice, cornstarch, or barley—not cream, butter, or flour—to thicken soups and sauces. (My mom then would use smashed potatoes when cooking the red sauce for her spaghetti)  

7. Fresh Flavors
Add flavor to a dish with fresh herbs and spices rather than fat. (Basil is my favorite, the most used herb in our kitchen)

8. No! More! Hydrogenated! Oil!
Substitute applesauce or prune puree for oil in cakes.

9. Yolks Be Gone
Use egg whites rather than yolks as much as you can.

10. Small Potatoes
Don't change a thing on your mother's mouthwatering holiday menu—except the portion size.

11. If It Gets Sprayed Out of a Can, Don't Eat It
Instead of whipped cream, try organic yogurt with vanilla beans and maybe some fresh mint. If, on occasion, you feel like treating yourself to whipped cream, by all means do so—but don't go near that ghostly, greasy white stuff that's sold as whipped topping.

Want to get hold of delicious and nutritious recipes? You can try cooking certain dishes inspired by Paleo Diet. Download the cookbook here.

Chef Cary Neff is the Executive Chef at Miraval Life in Balance Resort in Catalina, Arizona and author of Conscious Cuisine. Follow Chef on Twitter at http://twitter.com/chefcaryneff

Kitchen tips to eliminate odors from your fingers

Whether it be onion, garlic or raw fish, these smart tips can leave that strong kitchen odours away.

1. Soak your fingers in a bowl of fresh lemon juice, or warm tea for a few minutes. Rinse with water and soap. If you don't have lemon juice, get help from vinegar or mouthwash.

2. Combine 1 to 2 tablespoons iodized salt with enough water to bring it to a paste like consistency. Rub well and rinse. Smart way for fast hands exfoliation. You can also try rubbing on with sugar just in case you have open cuts in your hands so it won't hurt.

3. Neutralize smells by rubbing your hands against stainless steel (steel soap or a spoon) under running water. This ergonomic and decorative kitchen accessory is fun to use!

4. Make sure to use cold water when you wash your hands; warm water opens up the pores in your hands and traps in the onion smell.

Smart tip to avoid ice cream drippings

SMART TIP: How to avoid ice cream drippings?

We can’t help it! Come on, admit it, it doesn’t just happen on kids. We, sometimes have this sloppy tendency to stain our much loved dress with some mean ice cream drippings. Uhm, chocolate ice cream anyone? :) Bad day right?

So what are we going to do about it? Here’s a great idea I found from a magazine – the solution to our dip-free cones. To keep ice cream from dripping from the bottom of the cone, drop some mini marshmallows before scooping in the cold treat and viola! Genius, right?! It doesn’t just prevent that unwanted drippings, it’s also a yummy welcome surprise at the end of your total ice cream experience!