Sunday, March 8, 2009

Cut Your Food Cost By 25%

Jeff Yeager at The Green Cheapskate blog has tons of really great tips on cutting your food budget:

Shop for groceries no more than once every two weeks. Time and again, studies confirm the obvious: Q.) How to keep yourself from buying too much stuff? A.) Shop less frequently. Grocery shopping is no different, but the key is to shop smart in order to avoid spoilage. Cook two or three meals' worth of each recipe at the beginning of the two-week period, and immediately freeze the extra portions for the second week. Freeze any meat that you won't be eating within the next 48 hours.

Use up fresh fruits and vegetables first, and then supplement them with just-as-healthy frozen as you get into the second week. Check expiration dates on dairy products before you buy them; in most cases you can find products that will remain fresh for two weeks or longer. The idea is to always USE UP what you buy before you shop again.

Think layovers, NOT leftovers. Raise your hand and repeat after me: "I solemnly swear to consume the remaining portions (if any) of meals I failed to previously consume within 24 hours of my failure to consume them." Eat 'em for breakfast, pack 'em for lunch, or host a hors de-yester-jour happy hour with friends.

How to handle restaurants. Establishments are frequently guilty of "over serving" in order to justify higher prices (call me a cynic). So order only from the appetizer menu or split a single ginormous entrée. And remember, doggy bags and leftovers have replaced Gucci bags and makeovers; green -- and cheap -- are the new cool.

Social therapy. I can't see myself ever paying for therapy (although my poooor wife has offered more than once to take up a collection for me). The best therapy for curing wastefulness is not only free, but it even helps others who really need it: Volunteer one day out of the year at a local food kitchen for the needy, and then see how much food you throw away.

The raising, processing, packing, distribution, sale, and waste disposal associated with the food we eat -- or don't eat -- leaves a sasquatch-sized carbon footprint on old Mother Earth. Save your money, save the planet ... just shut your yap and clean your plate.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Super Target Pastries






















Hacking the Big Box Retailers is always a huge pleasure. Today's hack is about Super Target and pastries. But it is also about how wasteful human beings are.

Every day at 8PM, Super Targets across the USA throw away their "old" pastries. No, they won't just give them to you if you ask. Store Policy: throw those nummy little snacks in the dumpster.

Am I suggesting you Dumpster Dive? Absolutely! Freeganism at its best!

Why won't Target just give them to a homeless shelter...or to a friendly Snack Hacker who asks? Because Johnny Law doesn't take kindly to giving people food they can't sell.

It's an insane theory: we shouldn't give something away to someone, because that will keep them from actually buying it. You know it's bullshit, and I know it's bullshit, but this is the Tao of corporate retail.

At any rate, grab these darling pastries up and freeze them. Reheat them in the microwave and eat immediately. The other option is to warm them in the toaster oven...just spritz with a little water and top with melted butter for additional softness.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Microwave Hacking

This is a really short hack since we're slammed with important stuff today.

Second to the broiler, the microwave is (in our humble opinion) the most incorrectly utilized kitchen appliance. All its ever used for is reheating.

That my friends, is BULLSHIT!

Two great microwave hacks worth mentioning:

BreakFAST: our friend and fellow blogger Tim Ferriss shows you how to make a low carb, calorically dense breakfast in three minutes!



STEAM: use the microwave as a steamer! Just place the darn stuff in a plastic bowl with 1/4 cp of water and a pinch of salt. EASY!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Fourth Grade Science Class and French Fries

In fourth grade, we learned that oil is lighter than water. I applied this knowledge to make crappy frozen fries taste like your favorite fast food potatoes.

Frozen bag potatoes are always mushy. Always. That's because the fine people at J.R. Simplot Incorporated (the largest manufacturer of potato food products) think you are too retarded to follow good instructions.

The secret is in the correct application of heat...

Preheat your oven 25 degrees higher than the directions. Stick your baking sheet in there with it.

Once you reach temperature, toss those fries on the hot baking sheet. Set your timer for about three minutes longer than the directions day (for me, this means 450 degrees for ten minutes).

Once your timer goes off, pull those puppies out and salt them to DEATH! Fast food fries have lots of salt...that's the big culinary secret. You'll notice the fries are paste colored and soggy. Don't worry..we're gonna fix that.

Now turn your oven on to BROIL and stick those salty fries on the top rack. Broil them for a minute or so at a time, frequently checking to make sure you don't burn them. Toss them around a bit, too, so they get even crispness.

That's all there is to it!

The trick is getting as much of the water out of the potato as possible. When you bake the potatoes on a room temperature pan, all the water gets everywhere and the potatoes essentially boil in the oven. By throwing them on a HOT pan, you quickly evaporate the water. What's left is the vegetable oil they are coated in when they are flash frozen at the Potato Factory. Broiling gives you the hottest heat possible in the most direct way, so you are deep frying the potatoes without the mess. Also, the only way you can season something that is deep fried is while there is a generous amount of oil on it, so pre-seasoning the fries makes them taste better. The salt also helps dehydrate the potato for more crunch!