Eating On A Budget

Anjana Saproo

The Credit Crunch Cook Book: Eat Well, Save Cash, Be A Smart Cook, Waste Less;
 Publisher: Hamlyn;
Pages: 256; Price: £ 6.99

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Recession has forced most urban homes to explore cooking as it becomes increasingly difficult to eat out very often. Is healthy and tasty eating on a budget possible, regardless of whether the economy is up or down? According to The Credit Crunch Cookbook – yes. With over 100 easy to make recipes, this book strikes the right note in the prevailing economic situation. The book starts off with a section aptly entitled: ‘Waste Not Want Not’. This section is a must read simply because it can teach us the age old practice of planning , before we shop for ingredients and throw away leftovers - the two basics of kitchen management. New cooks and some of us experienced ones are often uncertain how to cut costs when grocery shopping. This book gives just the right information And that’s not all.

Today, most families, nuclear or joint, are becoming much more conscious about waste. It doesn’t help that most people are also short of time. This is where a good cookbook distinguishes itself from a fancy one. The recipes in this book have been divided into three sections: Budget Basics that covers light meals, main meals and sweet things; Impress For Less, which covers everything from starters to desserts and Dine in which has a touch of Italian, Mexican, Indian, Thai and Chinese.

The recipes are short and sweet. The ingredients used in the book are ones that are mostly already sitting on our kitchen shelves. Some of my personal favourites are:

• Chicken noodle soup
• Chicken and lemon paella
• Spicy Nachos with cheese (a sure fire hit with the kids!)
• Spicy stir-fried cauliflower with almonds
• Spinach Dal
• Fish with sweet potato and spinach mash
• Steak and mushroom pie
• Chocolate risotto

So how do these recipes help the reader save money? In addition to these mouth-watering recipes, the pre and post-cooking tips are practical and doable. The books talks at length of how to reduce food waste by using leftovers from yoghurt, eggs, potato, rice, pasta, cooked vegetables, bread and cheese. There is a good deal of emphasis on planning meals in advance which leads to smart shopping and cuts down on impulse buys. These methods also help reduce grocery costs. A sample menu planner has been thrown in to get you started (pg 126). Meals for children have been given special attention in this book. To avoid blowing money on expensive snacks, economical ways of shopping and cooking for children have been detailed. There is a section on lunchboxes that makes really good sense to follow. These tips and recipes also help harried mothers keep their children “‘filled and fed”.

For couples and newly weds blowing a hole in their pockets over weekend romantic dinners, try out the combination of Tomato and Green Salad (pg 144) as a starter, Spaghetti Carbonara (pg 195) for the main meal and top it off with Chocolate Risotto (pg 174).

If you have a taste for meals fit for a king; then the tips in Fancy Food For Less is for you. There are loads of ways to dress up your meal made from the simplest and cheapest ingredients. Also, the chart on what fruit and vegetable is available in which season is really handy (pg 212). At the end of it, this book is a great practical resource to have at home. The Credit Crunch Cookbook puts the mojo back into cooking!