Money - 6 Ways to Eat Better for Less

Times are bad and food prices are rising. How can we cook for less? People are moving away from steak and using ground beef. They're moving away from salmon and looking to tilapia, a cheaper fish. Recipes for less-expensive dishes, such as casseroles and chili, have also surged in popularity.



Those cooking trends reflect the fact that food prices are rising faster than a cheese soufflé. But cooking experts say that with the right ingredients and recipes, affordable and tasty meals are just a grocery list away. They offer these six tips:

Plan ahead - Shopping with specific meals in mind for the week ahead makes it easier to buy in bulk and repurpose ingredients, turning Sunday night's roast chicken into Monday night's enchiladas. A lot of folks get in trouble when they don't plan ahead. The day takes longer than expected, and they're ordering out or reaching for ready-made meals, and those are very expensive, The more you can cook from scratch, the further your dollar can stretch.

Do it yourself - Instead of buying a package of grated cheese, buy a chunk and grate it yourself, We pay for the convenience of all these things. Same goes for other ingredients.

Rediscover eggs and beans - Even though the price of eggs has gone up, they're still cheap compared with meat, On the same note, a simple dinner of black beans and rice—plus chopped onion, olive oil, seasonings, and shredded cheese can make dinner for two for under $5.

Go meatless - Cooking vegetarian meals often is a good way to save money. Spaghetti and Indian-style chickpeas recipe are packed with flavour without relying on meat.

Reinvent leftovers - Extra rice can go into a fried rice dish the following night, "That's one of my favorite cheap and good meals, just add celery, bell peppers, shallots.
Certain dishes, such as lasagna, chili, and soups, also are easily made in large quantities that can be frozen or eaten throughout the week.

Use what's in the fridge - Home cooks stuck with extra eggplant or flounder can avoid wasting food by using websites to search for dishes based on the ingredients they have at home. Favourite inexpensive recipe, spaghetti carbonara uses eggs, pasta, garlic, bacon, and other ingredients that are often on hand. "It has lots of flavour, and it's easy to make.

Health - Should we change our diet?

People are dying because of the global food shortages, which has sparked a sudden surge in food prices. World Food Programme officials say 33 countries in Asia and Africa face political instability as the urban poor struggle to feed their families. The world food situation is very serious due to the global food price increase and shortages.

Are we growing too little food to feed the world? World food supplies are further damaged by climate change, a large amount is being diverted to make biofuels to make car greener which is a crime against humanity, grains used to feed animals for the world's passion for meat which is a very inefficient way of producing food. It takes 8kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef, and large tracts of forest have been cleared for grazing land that might have been used to grow crops. Chicken is more efficient to produce, it takes 2kg of feed to produce 1kg of meat. To maximise food production, it is best to be vegetarian.

Soceities in the developing world are getting wealthier are behind the soaring food demands. Food export controls are imposed by Russia, China, India, Vietnam, Argentina and Serbia in response to the crisis and demand are growing not only over energy, but now over food.
In many countries meat is regarded as a relish, with the bulk of the meal coming from carbohydrates such as corn, rice, pasta or potatoes and vegetables and get used to thinking of meat as a treat to save the world's poor from starvation.

Should we be trying to cut out meat to help save the world's poor from starvation?

Some say yes because...
- Producing meat is less efficient than growing grain, it takes 8kg of corn to produce 1kg of beef
- Growing crops to feed animals means there is less land on which to grow crops for humans
- Shortage of grain for human consumption, and global food prices have leapt by 57% in a year

Some say no because....
- It is not realistic to expect people to switch to a vegan diet of vegetables, pulses, fruit and nuts
- Developing countries should not be denied a better diet as they grow wealthier
- An alternative way is to reverse the policy of diverting grain to make biofuels

So, what say you?

Health - Hello...Hello

Mobile phones are more dangerous than smoking. Young people are at particular risk from exposure to radiation.

Expert warns of huge rise in tumours and calls on industry to take immediate steps to reduce radiation. Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to their radiation.

The use of mobile handsets for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer. Cancers take at least a decade to develop. Mobiles can save lives in emergencies, but concludes that "there is a significant and increasing body of evidence for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumours".

It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than smoking, with more than three billion people now use the phones worldwide, three times as many as smokers which smoking alone kills some five million worldwide each year.