Preparing and cooking your own food can save lots of money, and it’s better for your health, too.

Avoiding fast food restaurants will save cash and calories.  Limiting your purchase of prepared, frozen, and packaged meals also cuts a lot in grocery bills, and in sodium (salt), sugar and fat consumption.

Here are some tips and tricks:

— Consult recipe books, this webpage, and cooking shows on TV and the net to learn how to cook, or for more ideas on bettering your culinary abilities.
— Don’t feel you have to cook every meal, or every day.  Cook ahead of time, making extra and freezing or refrigerating for the next meal.
— Use extra food, and leftovers in new recipes.  For example: add last night’s baked beans to tonight’s soup.  Use the extra barbeque chicken for some chicken salad for lunch.  Use the week’s salad to be a base for additions and variations, adding things like leftover pasta, cooked vegetables, and meats from previous meals.
— Don’t taste what you’re cooking (it’s a bad habit), and don’t “pre-eat” snacking while cooking.  That can add-up to double the calories of the meal!  Drink water if you’re ravenous.
— Try not to cook while hungry.

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