Archive for 'Food & Drink'
Beautiful Pizzas Made With Tender Loving Care And Attention
Posted on 19. Jun, 2009 by Mom Mag.
Pizza is one of the most famous foods in the world right now. And a lot of people believe that the best pizza must have the perfect crust. In fact, in a recent poll most people believe that the most important part of the pizza is the crust. So what makes a perfect crust?
A perfect pizza crust must have the exact mixture of texture and flavor. The basic ingredients include water, yeast, flour, shortening, sugar and salt. The role of water is important as it mixes the others together into a perfect mixture. But the key for a guaranteed perfect crust is by choosing the right kind of flour. It certainly makes the simple ingredients so mouthwatering.
The perfect pizza dough should be smooth and stretchy but not too sticky, which results in a mouth-watering crust. If you wish to add desirable flavor, keeping the dough in the refrigerator might help or you can also add corn meal to give it a yellowish color. The dough must be kept fresh wrapped in a plastic bag in the coldest part of the fridge. Freezing the dough will stop the yeast to ferment that could turn the taste into a bit like a beer.
For those who are conscious about their health, a whole-wheat pizza crust which has becoming more popular nowadays, is the best for you. But a healty and nutritious pizza at home is easy as well. You can control what ingredients goes in your pizza and you can also save money in the long run.
So which pizza crust do most people prefer? Statistics say, thin crust is the popular choice. Whatever the style is, the crust is certainly an important part of a good pizza.
Come and see us for the very best Home Delivery Pizza Mallorca
photo credit: scaredy_kat
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How to Save Money While Dining Out
Posted on 29. Apr, 2009 by Mom Mag.
In times past, it was rare to eat meals in restaurants. Eating out was reserved for special occasions, and most of the time, mom cooked at home. Times have certainly changed, and many families eat out almost every night. But it looks like another change is on the horizon, now that frequent dining out is becoming to expensive for most people.
But, what if you don’t want to go back to home cooked meals? After all, you work hard, and if you enjoy eating in restaurants, it’s a pleasure that you might not want to give up. You might need to make some adjustments to be able to keep this simple pleasure in your lifestyle. Some people scan the menu, looking for prices first before choosing a meal. But, there are plenty of other ways to dine out and stick to a budget.
First, go to a restaurant that you can afford. You might have dined at restaurants where the small portions are sold for exorbitant prices. But, you can eat your fill on cafe food that’s big on flavor, where excellent service is provided, and the prices are reasonable. If you enjoy large portions, then try an all you can eat buffet. Plus, you’ll save on tips.
Scout which restaurants offer special deals and discounts. For example, you might get a percentage off your meal during off peak hours. If you’re a senior citizen, you might get a discount on certain days or you can sometimes take advantage of small portions at a reduced price. Call ahead to find out what special deals are offered by restaurants in your area.
If you’ll be dining without children, check out happy hour lounge specials. Sometimes you can get an hors d’oeuvre sampler for the price of a cocktail. If you do have kids, take advantage of free kids meal nights.
If the two of you are having a special night out, try sharing an appetizer and an entree. Some restaurants have too-big portion sizes anyway. Many restaurants are glad to provide an additional plate at no extra charge. Take your leftovers home to make the most of your food budget.
Check out newspapers and ad circulars for restaurant coupons, but make sure you read the fine print. You don’t want to order your meal only to find that there are so many terms and conditions that the ‘coupon’ was really a come on instead of a money saver. The Entertainment Book is usually a great place to find buy-one get-one-free special restaurant offers all year long.
Try making due with less when you dine out. For example, drink water instead of a soda or other pricey beverage. Drinks can add several dollars to the bill for just two people. Make due with an entree, and forego desert.
Add a little zing to your water with a squeeze of lemon, or even a little sugar. After dinner, grab some ice cream at the grocery store for desert at home. You can even save money by eating at fast food joints; just choose healthier items from the menu. Most fast food places offer salads and soups, for example. Try fresh fruit or a low fat yogurt parfait for desert instead of high fat, sugar laden sweets.
Remember to look at your receipt. Some establishments provide rewards or free meals if you take a survey about your restaurant experience. With a bit of creativity, you don’t have to give up dining out. It takes a bit of planning, but you can still have a fun and affordable dining out experience.
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No More Lunches Out with Co-workers
Posted on 22. Apr, 2009 by Mom Mag.
I’m sure you recognize this scene. The office clock ticks closer to noon, as the office personnel decides where to gather for lunch. Depending on where you work, driving time consumes most of the lunch hour, not to mention the money spent on gas.
You’ll be hard pressed to find a lunch deal for less than $10 plus a tip. You gulp your food down, have a couple of laughs with your officemates, and hurry back to the office wishing you could lay down for a nap.
As you approach your desk, you notice some guy stashing away a brown bag. He looks happy, rested, and eager to get back to work. In fact, he even worked a little while eating his lunch. He’s musing about how tasty it was, how much money he was able to save, and the headaches he avoided.
Then you start to wonder: is it worthwhile to make my own lunch and bring it to work every day? Let’s run some numbers to evaluate this. Let’s assume that it will cost you about three bucks a day to prepare your own lunch. This is a conservative estimate; it’s probably far less expensive.
This comes to $15 for your five day work week. Compare this to $10 per day for $50 per week. You’re saving at least $35 every single week, not including time, gas, and tip! That’s at least $1,800 per year in savings. Still interested?
Here are some tips to make your brown bagging a success. First, make your lunch the night before to avoid a morning rush. Keep things simple, but be healthy and show some creativity. A sandwich on whole grain bread is a great choice, but change things up with some nuts, fruit, and yogurt. Try including a little treat to look forward to, like a cookie or your favorite energy bar.
Plan your meals ahead, and buy them in bulk quantities. For example, buy a family size bag of chips and put them in plastic baggies instead of buying lunchbox size mini chips. You’ll pay a lot more for the nominal convenience of smaller servings, and it’s not that tough to just bag them yourself.
Prepare a large meal, and save the leftovers for lunch the following day, or even for a week’s worth of lunches. If you make it at home from fresh ingredients, you know it’s good for you, tasty, and clean. Put your leftovers in individual containers that evening, then just grab your food and head out the door the next morning.
If you’re harried and just don’t have time to make a lunch, a can of prepared soup or chili will do. You can even keep some of these in your desk for days when you forget your lunch. Most offices have some sort of kitchenette with a stove or microwave where you can heat up your lunch.
Don’t forget your beverage. If you are a fan of soda, you can pick up a 12 pack from the grocery store for about $3, which equals a quarter per can. Compare this to those pricey vending machine sodas or coffees. This is a huge savings! Or, drink water and save even more.
If you like, you can even choose to work through some or all of your lunch break. Catch up on email, or other light reading or organizational duties. Your boss might be impressed, and you’ll be ahead of the game if you need to leave the office early. Before long, you might find that your co-workers start asking you for brown bag tips.
There are many advantages to brown bagging your lunch. You’ll eat well, save time and money, and be more focused and productive. Now you just need to decide what to do with all the money you save!
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How to Buy Groceries at the Dollar Store
Posted on 15. Apr, 2009 by Mom Mag.
How to Buy Groceries at the Dollar Store
Just about everyone has heard of the variety stores where most everything costs one dollar, hence the term “dollar store.” This concept is actually not a new one, only in the past, there were “five and dimes” or simply the “dime store.” As you might surmise, most everything in these little stores was priced at five or ten cents. Unfortunately, inflation has gotten the best of us. Back in those days, five cents went much father than a dollar currently does.
Now instead of dime stores, we’ve got dollar stores. This can sometimes be a bit misleading, since most of these stores don’t sell everything for strictly one dollar. Most things are a dollar, but other items sell for multiples of a dollar. Some things you’ll find at the dollar store include household supplies, games, pet food, canned food, clothes hangers, garden accessories, candy, and all kinds of other sundry things.
Most items at the dollar store are priced well below a general grocery or retail outlet, but you should still have a good handle on prices before going in. Some of the products are either generic or private label brands created only for that particular retail chain.
Other items may be bought from other stores with overstock or a going out of business sale. You might also find merchandise that was created specifically for a promotional event and is now out of date or out of season.
But, what if dollar stores sold fresh food item? Too good to be true? Well, it turns out that there are 99 cents only stores where – of course – nothing costs over 99 cents, ever. The chain got its start in 1982 and now has more than 260 stores in four states, including Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas. Total sales for 2006 topped a billion dollars.
The chain claims to be the longest running single price retail chain in the nation, with deep discounts on new, brand name items. You might be pleased to learn that some of their merchandise includes fresh fruits and vegetables, deli items, frozen food, and sometimes even fresh meat.
Deli items consist mainly of cold cuts. The store also carries canned food and other basic grocery staples, alongside health, beauty, and personal hygiene items. Inventory varies, and not all items are brand name.
Some items recently advertised for 99 cents include cantaloupe, one and a half pounds of plums, a dozen eggs, 32 ounces of milk, and five pounds of potatoes. And, even a large watermelon for – you guessed it – 99 cents. Of course, the ad didn’t mention what size those eggs are. And, some snooty wine drinkers are enjoying 99 cent wine too.
Until recently, these types of stores were thought of as low quality stores that were only in poor neighborhoods, with products bought by people who were willing to sacrifice name brands for quality to save a buck. Of course, that mentality has changed now that food and gas prices have spun out of control. Now, everybody’s looking for bargains.
99 cents only stores are usually clean and well kept, with friendly, helpful staff. Shelves are fully stocked and neatly organized, aisles are wide and easy to navigate, and the overall atmosphere of the store is pleasant.
You can even pick up the 99 cents only cookbook: gourmet recipes at discount prices. If you live in one of the four states where the chain has retail stores, its worth the extra gas to trim your food budget. You’ll be amazed when you see what you can get at 99 cents per item.
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Coupon Techniques for Sticking to a Food Budget
Posted on 08. Apr, 2009 by Mom Mag.
Most families these days are on a tight food budget, and are constantly looking for ways to trim money spent on food. One of the most obvious ways to accomplish this is by using coupons. There are tons of coupons in circulation, millions in fact, that could help you slash your food budget from 30% to 50%. You can save even more if you become passionate about couponing.
Even casual coupon clipping can help you save quite a bit of money, but once you start, you’ll soon find that you have become a coupon clipper extraordinaire. In order to do this, you need a bit of patience, and some flexibility. You’ll need to be willing to try new brands according to what’s on sale, but making this simple change can save quite a bit of money.
You’ll also need to be savvy to use coupons to your best advantage. Coupons are designed to get you into to the store to buy the discounted item. But, remember that discounted pricey brands are sometimes more expensive than full price store brands, so shop wisely.
You can find food coupons almost anywhere. The Sunday paper is a good source, as are weekly ad circulars, online coupon sites, public libraries, and coupon swap boxes at the store. Don’t overlook checkout coupons; these are handed to you with your receipt when you check out at most grocery stores. Make sure you keep close tabs on your coupons; you don’t want to let them expire and waste valuable savings.
It’s important to keep your coupons organized so you’ll have them handy when it’s time to shop. Try sorting them by food type in a file card organizer or other easy to find place. Before you head to the store, pull coupons that match items on your shopping list. Don’t forget to use mail in rebate coupons too; these can be easily overlooked.
Sign up for a store loyalty membership, which usually includes coupons and store bonus points that offer rewards like discounts or rebates. If you shop with a credit card, sometimes the store credit card will help you accumulate double points and even free items.
You can save the most money by combining coupons with sale prices. If you’ve got a coupon for an item that you don’t need right away, try waiting to buy until it’s on sale. Keep your eyes open for sale and extra bonus points labels.
Compare advertised specials. You’ll need to decide whether it’s worth the gas money to drive to another store to get a better price on an item; sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. Before you rush off to the other store, find out if your local store honors competitor coupons. Many grocery stores do.
Don’t fall into the two-for-a-dollar marketing ploy unless you really need the items being offered. Limit yourself to only buying what you need. For example, you might get 10 lemons for a dollar, but you’re wasting money in the end if you don’t use them all.
In the past, some shoppers felt that the grocery store frowned upon coupons. Shoppers didn’t want to be embarrassed, or hold up the line for the checker to process the coupons. With so many avid coupon clippers nowadays, these worries are a thing of the past. Computerization has made the process of scanning coupons quick and easy.
You may not want to take the time to use all of these strategies, and it will take a bit of patience, practice, and experimentation to learn which techniques save the most. But, if you need to stretch your food budget, clipping coupons is one of the best ways to do it.
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Matisse & Jack’s – Healthy Snack Mixes
Posted on 03. Dec, 2008 by Mom Mag.
Are you looking for some healthy bake at home snacks for your family? Well, I recently had the oppotunity to review some products last week that were devoured by my kids within hours. [...]
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Senseo Coffee Machine Gift Pack
Posted on 13. Mar, 2008 by Mom Mag.
A single serving coffee maker that is a lot like an espresso machine. It brews 1 to 2 cups of coffee in matter of seconds. The gift pack comes with coffee machine, coffee pods (filters with coffee included), two pod canisters and a thermal coffee mug. For fresh brewed coffee every single time you want a cup of coffee. [...]
