Start from Scratch!

My mother-in-law gave me this tip when my husband and I first got married and moved into our first home. I tried it and it's true, and it's also healthier and earth friendly.

The tip is to cook starting from scratch. For example, if you want corn bread, cakes, etc., don't go buy the "just add milk and eggs" varieties. With those, you're buying their time to assemble the ingredients, and you're paying double.

Whereas, if you buy the ingredients yourself and use your own recipes, you can buy the items on sale and with coupons, and it really doesn't take long to make the recipe. Plus, the "just add" mixes often add preservatives to extend the shelf life, which are horrible for you, and use extra packaging, you can leave that part out and we all win.

I tried this with corn bread and did the math. The money that I was spending on a popular corn bread recipe was equal to the amount of money that I was spending to buy three times the yield in the actual ingredients. (One meals' worth with the mix vs. three meals' worth with my own ingredients.)

By Melissa