Make that STRETCH!!

So first off I want to apologize for not writing for a week.  It's been a busy week!!!  Anywho, it won't happen again!

So this post I want to talk about different ways on making your food stretch......

• Buy homo milk and add water...... crazy I know, but it works!  Homo milk can be up to $1 more for a 4L jug but if you add water to thin it out, you could get up to 2L more out of your milk.  Especially if you are already buying 1% for your family.  To make sure this will work for your family, buy a 2L homo and add water, tasting as you go, making sure you don't go to watery.  If this will work for your family, DO IT!!  

• Hamburger meat...... I know if we wanted to we would fly through this stuff, and though it may not be extremely expensive, if you have a larger family, it can get pricey if you are making tacos, sheaperds pie, burgers, and spaghetti all in one month.  So this is what you do.... add in some good old beans!  Put half the amount of hamburger in and the other half beans.... kidney beans, blacks beans, white beans, "pork and beans", you name it.  And it even gets cheaper if you buy beans bulk and soak yourself.  We use beans in everything, excluding burgers though I am sure they would work there to.  And beans are so good for you, high in fibre and protein.  

• Be sparing on the cheese..... cheese can be very expensive and pricey, we all know this, so don't use as much.  A little cheese can go a long way.  It's not good for you health wise to be eating a lot of cheese anyways.  Be sparing.  Buy cheese in bulk when its on sale or for us Canadians, if you are going to the states, pick some up down there, it can be way cheaper!!  To add the cheese flavor without using the brick of cheese all the time, try going to the bulk food store and picking up some powdered cheese.  It is cheaper and you don't need much to add a cheesy flavor.  

• Juice..... water it down!  There are many advantages to watering your juice down other then the money side.  It's healthier too, even with all natural fruit juices.  Fruits in general hold a lot of sugar, and even if it's the good kind, it's still sugar.  When making canned juices add in an extra can of water.  Make juice a luxury item and only supply it to your family at breakfast or dinner, not during the day.  This will make it last much longer and decrease the amount of sugar your family is consuming.  This can also decrease the dentist bill!!

• Juice boxes....... get rid of them!!  If you do give your children juice to take to school, save yourself some money and go invest in a litterless juice box (ranging from $2-$5) as seen below.  Fill with juice or water.  If you do fill with juice, water it down to make your juice last.