Cooking on a Tight Budget is Easy – Learn from the Best!

When I started to do some research on cash-saving ways to cook I stumbled across an amazing resource that I needed to share with you guys: The 99 Cent Chef

As his name suggests, every ingredient that goes into his cooking costs less than $1. His blog is loaded with tasty recipes, great cooking tips, and techniques for finding the freshest and best deals around. He lives in LA, but the tips can be taken to any neighbourhood you want.

Whether you want to be adventurous with a Beet & Tangerine salad, or keep it simple with a breakfast wrap, this guy has you covered. He takes you through the ups (and downs) of canned-food cooking, reviewing what’s out there and letting you know what’s worth your time.

The inventive techniques are a great way to expand your cookbook while going easy on your wallet. In an interview the 99 Cent Chef did with Time Magazine in 2009, he offered the following advice:

“To find the freshest ingredients at discount stores, you do have to be selective in your shopping, I also stay away from overly processed food, and steer my readers to healthy fare… I strive to create easy and cheap dishes presented with scrumptious and sumptuous photography and clever videos.’

The chef gave me a great shot in the arm to focus on keeping my ingredient cost down while trying new items. As he suggests, the more you cook at home, the healthier it’s going to be – and the less expensive!

The biggest reminder this gave me focused on the double benefit of cooking like this. When you’re spending less, you can’t afford the high-priced, high-processed items in the grocery store. Dropping your budget and your bad-calorie-intact is a win/win.

I really recommend checking it out. Have any favourite cheap recipes that your family can’t get enough of? Hit the comments and let the rest of us know!