Budget Buster ~ Family Cookbook

I bought this cookbook for a mere $6.99! Hoping it would curb the grocery bill a bit. It was published in 2009 and seeing how it is 2013 I think trying to feed four or more for ten dollars is a bit of a stretch. By todays prices it should read feed four or more for $20 or less. And even then that may be a stretch. Let's take the Bread and Butter pudding recipe... fairly simple ingredients that you may have all ready however let's play devils advocate. Let's say we didn't have any of the listed ingredients and that we had to go buy them. 

You need six slices of day old bread. In order to have the six slices you need a loaf a bread. A loaf of bread can cost anywhere between $3.49 - $4.99. 

Butter 2 tablespoons, a pound is $4.99. 

Sugar 2 tablespoons, a 1kg bag is roughly about $3.99.

Golden raisins 1 tablespoon, bought bulk $3.00 approx. 

Currants 1 and 1/2 tablespoons, bought bulk $3.00 approx

Milk 1 and 3/4 cups, a 2 litre will cost $3.49.  

Eggs 2, however they are sold in 6 or 12, $3.49 for a dozen (12).

Allspice 1/2 teaspoon, bought bulk for .49 cents.

And the grand total is: $25.94 plus tax! That's $6.49 plus tax per person based on four people. A simple dessert can really add up. It's interesting when you break it all down. 2009 wasn't that long ago so I can see things being a bit cheaper. Not so much so to make this dish half price. Even then it's not at the price this book is claiming. 

I have made a few recipes from this book, including the Bread and Butter Pudding, Pork with Tomato Rice, Vegetable casserole and the Chickpea casserole. All tasty and somewhat economical. Each recipe has a dollar sign value. One $ = bargain, two $$ = budget and three $$$ = economical The bread and butter pudding had one $. The lowest rating. There are three chapters in this cookbook and they are 1) Soups, Snacks and Sides 2) Main Meals and 3) Desserts. Being economical means being focused! 

As you may know sometimes the best way is to buy bulk, make things from scratch and if your are going to dirty a pot you might as well double the recipe... ie: when making chili make a large stock pot full for more than one dinner. Use local and the freshest ingredients when possible. However tin tomatoes do just fine. Dried herbs are great! Rub them to bring out their flavour. Sometimes the inexpensive/expensive brand isn't always the best. The inexpensive may save money however the list of not so great ingredients may be long. The expensive brand may cost more however the ingredient list you may be able to pronounce. That's where you can decide which items are worth it and which ones aren't. Read labels, quantity and size. Is buying two for one really worth it or does the larger size really save you money? Always go for the lowest amount of salt. Compare items and prices. Budgeting can be hard especially at the grocery store if you plan ahead it will keep you more focused and help you save money. - JW