Eating Right When The Budget Is Tight

When household expenses are under the knife, a few simple changes in the kitchen can help you cook up many beneficial savings and health advantages. Consider these money-saving tips from the Cookware Manufacturers Association:

• Save on lunches. Large-capacity cookware lets cooks prepare soups and stews that provide extra portions for freezing and reheating for next-day meals.

• Pressure cookers and slow cookers save time and money. Each cooks foods economically, requiring less energy. Because they tenderize and heat foods thoroughly, you can use inexpensive or less-prepared cuts of meat.

• Size the portion to the pot. Pots or pans too large for the amount of food cooked use more energy than necessary.

• Consider multiuse pans that pull double duty. An oven-proof skillet, for example, can be used for baked casseroles. This reduces the number of pieces used and later cleaned. Check labeling to prevent going over a pot's or pan's temperature tolerance in oven heat.

• Baking bread at home is easier than many people realize. A few cups of flour, water and yeast combine with heat and turn into golden brown breads. The warm, inviting aromas fill the home. Today's bread makers make the task of kneading even easier.

• Measure out all the dry ingredients for several loaves of bread at one time and store the mixtures in plastic resealable bags. Just add the wet ingredients to the premade packs when it's time to bake.

• Don't stop with bread--The steps in making pies and cookies are surprisingly simple, too. As an added bonus, baking at home from scratch helps you avoid processed ingredients and preservatives.

• Using a lid when boiling water and other liquids takes less time, therefore less energy in heating.

• Inspect kitchen equipment and replace items without lids, with poorly fitting lids, loose handles or a damaged cooking surface.

• When replacing kitchen equipment such as pots, skillets and baking pans, get durable materials. Quality cookware makes cooking more enjoyable, and the products are easier to clean.

• Learn more. Much more information on cooking and cookware can be found in the "Guide to Cookware and Bakeware" offered by the Cookware Manufacturers Association at www.cookware.org.

Keep a selection of pots, pans, skillets and other items of various sizes in your kitchen to meet different needs.

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