Food! Groceries! Help!

Food? Whaddya talkin' about? I don't even have time to study!

Tips on grocery shopping:

When you first move out it might be a good idea to get some help from your parents in the way of food. If your parents dont mind, bring along some frozen food (chili, spaghetti sauce etc.) for your first week and emergencies. If your parents offer to help you or want to give you a "going away" present, ask for a month's supply of groceries. Go shopping with them (they have a car and you probably don't). This ensures that you have a way to get the groceries home and that if you underbudgeted, someone can help you with the difference. Your parents will also be able to advise you on what is a good deal.

Do not go shopping on an empty stomach.

Of course, mega stores such as Supersore and Save on Foods are cheaper, but they are very crowded and may be hard to get to. If your parents are in town, ask them to take you to those types of stores. If it takes too long to get to a mega store, it may not be worth it. You'll probably buy in bulk at those stores, but you can't carry three cases of chocolate bars on the bus very easily.

Time for coupons! If a store close to you sends out regular coupon books, look through them. If you find deals on brands you use or you realise that the coupon is a really good deal (i.e. you are saving thrity cents or more), keep it. Just make sure that you are getting the best deal; if there is another brand that is just as good and it's cheaper than the item with the coupon, think twice.

DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT buy groceries with a credit card (or use it to buy anything else) if you can use your debit card! I do not reccommend credit cards in anyway. I thought that it might be a good idea to get one in case of emergencies, but I know that it would be too tempting to use it when I'm a little short of cash in my bank account. If you use a credit card, you'll have to pay for it in the immediate future.

I have found that it might be advantageous to get your groceries at two different stores. For example, fruit and vegetables seem to be better at IGA, but many other things are better and cheaper at Safeway (and there is a larger selection). Find out what is offered at your local stores and make a plan.

Put your groceries away as soon as you get home (this is pretty obvious).

If you want to use Ziplock bags for food, buy one box and re-use the bags (wash and let dry) whenever possible.

These are some food tips/meal ideas that I have learned over the past year:

For brekfast have: eggs, toast, bread sticks, waffles, cereal. If you have to be at an eight o'colck lab, don't try to cook, just eat something quick.

Bring a lunch to school

For lunches I reccommend heatable soup or pasta (there will probably be a few microwaves at university), leftovers, sandwiches, a drink in a tupperware container or water bottle (juice boxes are too expensive), a cereal bar, and a piece of friut, cookies, etc.

Try not to buy chips and pop on campus; you will pay too much! If you belong to certain faculties, clubs, etc. there may be reduced prices on some food items, but be moderate. If you can, buy a realtively large bag of pretzels from the grocery store and take a small bag of them in your lunch for a treat.

You'll probably want to have a snack after you get home. Same rules as lunch but you will have a little more time to prepare something so don't eat up all your "quick" lunch and brekfastfoods.

Supper is the most time-consuming meal since it will probably be your main meal. You probably won't want to take the time to cook anything compilcated, but don't eat popcorn. I reccommend fish sticks and fish balls, breaded chichen strips/nuggets/burgers, hamburgers, hamburger helper type meals (if cheap), pizza pockets (for a real rush) and mini-pizzas are a nice treat if they're cheap. Once you've decided on your source of protein, make something to compliment it: a salad, french fries, potatoes, pasta, etc.

You will want a quick and relatively inexpenive source of protein. You can buy pre-cooked, cut, and seasoned pieces of chicken that are great for chicken tacos, chicken salads, and rice dishes. You can also buy a large package of chicken brests and cook them up (boned ones are cheaper but you'll have to find the time to bone and skin them). This is why you will want a BIG FREEZER. (BTW, if you don't have a big freezer, make shelves to organize the freezer better.)

If you have a recipie that calls for beef strips, try using hamburger. It won't taste gourmet, but it works.

Don't buy instant rice. Long-grain rice only takes fifteen minutes to cook, its cheaper, and it makes more.

To make a salad dressing and/or chip and vegetable dip, buy small packages of powdered salad dressing. For dip, mix with sour cream. For salad dressing, follow the instructions on the package.

A good way to make sure you don't leave the burners or oven on is to turn the stove light on when you're using the oven/stove. Once you turn the oven or elements off, turn the light off. Thus, you will be able to tell if you left anything on by accident just by looking at the stove. This just may prevent a fire!

Some Recepies: Although I have a lot of cookbooks, I ended up making up a few recipies of my own...

Salad: use your favorite lettuce, rip up into bite-size pieces. Shred some of your favorite cheese on top of lettuce. Add condiments like bacon bits and sunflower seeds (buy these bulk), add any other vegetables you like. Top with your favotire dressing. Ranch and Creamy Caesar tase particulairly good with the cheese (it's the most important ingredient).

Rice dish: Cook long grain rice. While rice is cooking, gather together some vegetables (i.e. broccoli, caluiflower, carrots, mushrooms), and add some cut-up chicken (either pre-cooked from the store or from your own cooked chicken pieces). Cut up meat and vegetables into small pieces. Cook meat and vegetables in a little bit of soya sauce to prevent drying (takes about 15 min). Place vegetables and meat on warm, buttered rice, add more soya sauce to taste.

Another rice or pasta dish: Cook rice or pasta. While cooking, tenderize (smash with a meat mallet) chicken breast. Cook until brown, cut into bite-sized pieces (add some water to keep from burning). Add a can of chicken broth or chicken soup, add some of your favorite vegetables (mushrooms work well), add some water (I don't know how much yet, just enough to keep the soup from getting too dense). Cook until chicken is done (not pink inside), put on buttered pasta/rice.

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