There’s nothing more frustrating than starting to bake or cook something delicious only to find that a key ingredient is missing. Ugh! But there’s no need to scrub a recipe and sulk in frustration. If you know what you’re doing, you can just substitute it with something else! Here are some easy ingredient substitutions that are bound to be in everyone’s pantry or fridge and are sure to save the day.
Read on to see the complete list, or or by clicking on the image below. (I recommend hanging it up somewhere in your kitchen for easy reference!)
Vegetable oil
Substitute with butter, margarine, coconut oil or apple sauce
Apple Cider Vinegar
Substitute with white vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
Substitute with apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
Tomato Sauce
Substitute by mixing one part Tomato Paste and one part Water. Or substitute with canned tomatoes and adding onions, garlic and some herbs.
Baking Powder (1 tsp)
Substitute with 1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
Bread Crumbs
Substitute with cracker crumbs, crushed cornflakes, ground oatmeal, or even cooked quinoa.
Brown Sugar (1 Cup)
Substitute with 1 cup white sugar and 2 Tbsp molasses.
Butter
Substitute with margarine, oil or shortening
Buttermilk (1 cup)
Substitute with 1 Tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar and enough milk to make 1 cup Or substitute with 1 cup plain yogurt
Corn Syrup
Substitute with honey, maple syrup, or brown rice syrup
Ricotta Cheese
Substitute with cottage cheese or cream cheese.
Fresh herbs (1 Tbsp)
Substitute with 1 tsp dried herbs
Honey (1 Cup)
Substitute with maple syrup, corn syrup or 1 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup liquid (whatever is called for in the recipe)
Lemon Juice
Substitute with white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Mayonnaise
Substitute with sour cream or plain yogurt
Wine
Substitute with beef broth, chicken broth, vegetable broth, apple cider (not vinegar), water, tomato sauce, white grape juice or non-alcoholic wine.
Yeast (1 tsp)
Substitute with 1/2 tsp Baking Soda and 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
Rice
Substitute with Quinoa. (Quinoa also provides twice as much protein and fiber which promote a healthier digestive system.)
Eggs
Substitute with 1 Tbsp ground Flax Seeds or Chia Seeds and 3 Tbsp Water. Mix until gelatinous. Or substitute with silken tofu. Or substitute with apple sauce or mashed banana
Pastry Flour (1 cup)
Substitute with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch combined with enough all-purpose flour to make a cup.
Salt
Often times, substituting salt for herbs and other seasonings like onions, lemon or lime can make a dish taste really flavourful.
Sugar
Substitute with 1 and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar.
I hope you find this easy ingredient substitutions list useful! I’ll leave you with the link to download a free printable PDF copy of the list, in case you missed it earlier in the post! 🙂
I don’t know about you, but all this cooking at home has me constantly looking for shortcuts. While I don’t hate cooking, I don’t like spending hours upon hours in my kitchen. I want easy, fast, flavorful and cheap!
That brings me to rotisserie chickens. Time and time again, grocery store rotisserie chickens have saved my sanity when it comes to dinner time. They are easy, already seasoned, already cooked, and can be used in a lot of different recipes. There are so many ways to use a rotisserie chicken!
On that note, I have rounded up a list of easy and cheap rotisserie dinners! I hope you enjoy!
It seems each of us has prepared for the world's pandemic in different ways. There are many items that average consumers are having difficulty buying, such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer. With the thought that the pandemic may cause a complete quarantine or lockdown of our world, it’s important to know what you should have stockpiled at home. In fact, taking action can actually soothe your fears.
Schools have already shut down and many areas are on restrictions for social gatherings or even dining out. This is simply how our life is right now. It’s been said that if any area is about to go on complete lockdown you’ll have 1-2 day notice so that you can be fully ready. That’s why I wanted to share some tips, as it sounds like you’ll have 1-2 days to get that stockpile prepared.
Tips for Stockpiling
Take inventory
Take look in your cupboards, fridge and freezers to see what you already have on hand. You may actually be surprised at what you already have! It may not be exciting, delicious food, but it will keep you fed! To help you out, I have a Freezer Inventory printable here and a Pantry Inventory printable here.
Stock up your family's Essentials
The first step is to make sure you have the essentials. By this, I mean to stock up on what your family regularly eats. Families have been advised to stockpile at least two weeks’ worth of food. I highly suggest you get food that can be frozen or has a long shelf life to keep the food healthy longer. Prioritize those items you really can’t live without like baby formula or foods for special diets. When this all blows over, you don’t want to find you have spent a fortune stocking up or be stuck with food you don’t like. Focus on buying a few extras of what you normally consume. Make a list to keep yourself on track at the grocery store or when you're placing a grocery order.
Make a Meal Plan
Sit down in the near future and make a list of meals you can create with your essentials. Make sure you account for drinks, breakfasts, lunches, dinners and of course, snacks. With a meal plan in place, your food won't go to waste and you'll spend less money.
Planning a menu is simple. First, print off two copies of this weekly menu planner. This resource will allow you to plan breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. Next, start writing in meals that you know you like, based on foods that you already have and what can last awhile. If you need some meal ideas, here are our family's favourites.
Focus on pantry meals
By this, I mean meals you can create using canned goods like beans, tomatoes and even canned tuna or chicken. Rice and pasta are excellent for pantry meals. Items like cheese and milk can even be frozen. Basically, focus on items with a long shelf life. Some fresh produce like apples, carrots, oranges, and celery have a longer shelf life compared with other counterparts like fresh berries. I also like to purchase some canned and frozen fruit like peaches, mangoes, and pineapple for when we run out of fresh fruit.
These are just a few tips for stockpiling that will ensure you’re prepared to keep your family happy, healthy and fed for an extended amount of time. I’ve seen a lot of people out there panic buying and will have too much stuff after the fact or perhaps are going too deep into the financial hole due to panic. The key is to make sure that you’re able to financially afford your stockpile and be smart about what you spend money on for your stockpile.
Throughout these strange and uncertain world events as of late, I have been collecting links to activities and helpful articles. In my online world, I am always amazed to see amazing humans step out and share their knowledge to try to make these, perhaps uncomfortable, days a bit easier. Life is so much better when we can learn to come together, even in unconventional ways. (Separately, in our own homes. LOL)
In these coming weeks, I would highly encourage you to set yourself up to create positive memories to strengthen your relationships. In times of crisis or upheaval, fear and anxiety really don't serve us well. Take the necessary precautions, find the happy moments, dream together and tell your family and friends how much you love and appreciate them.
With all that said, here is my list of free indoor activities and ideas that you can enjoy as a family or even virtually with others. Make a list of things you want to accomplish as a family or even some projects on your own.
Many churches offer a livestream of their service. Try a local church or perhaps something else from around the world for some encouragement.
I'm also noticing many local stores offering free delivery. Take advantage of this and support your local small businesses!
During this time, food may also be at the forefront of many of our thoughts. Here is another list with helpful articles relating to feeding our families:
Whether you’ve recently purchased a home or you’ve been living in it for years, you want it to be a space that is not only functional for your family, but also reflects your style. But remodeling your home can be a pricey thing to do. Luckily, there are several strategies you can implement to make sure your home remodel fits your budget and delivers the best return on investment.
Chose wisely.
It’s tempting to redo every room, but you’re better off focusing on the essentials. Kitchens and bathrooms can be expensive, but they’re also the best bet to ensure you see a return at the time of sale. (If you are selling.) However, if you have any glaring problems (like water stains on the ceiling) or out-of-place extras (like disco-era wallpaper or a stainless-steel counter top in a cottage-style home), deal with them first.
Keep what works.
You may hate the look of your cabinets, but if they are soundly constructed and meet your spatial needs, give them a cheap facelift with a coat of paint or some new fronts and handles to save hundreds of dollars on custom cabinets.
Go green.
Recycled and reclaimed products (like flooring, cabinets, sinks, and tile) can be purchased for a fraction of the cost, so keep them in use and out of the landfill.
A little hardware goes a long way.
If your house came equipped with copper fittings and the look you crave for your faucets and drawer pulls is brushed nickel, you don’t necessarily have to toss the old ones and start from scratch. For some items, you can try spray-paint made specifically for use on metal. Otherwise, consider a swap. Take your older items (if the condition is good) to a local second hand store like ReStore and see if you can find something you like better. You could always try selling your old hardware to recoup some of the cost of brand new hardware, if you go that route.
Design on a dime.
Any fashion you see in a magazine has a cheap counterpart somewhere in the world, so before you buy a designer brand, look at discount stores and shop around online. You may even find the exact piece you’re wanting for less by checking sites like Craig’s List, eBay or even Facebook Marketplace.
A little common sense can go a long way towards cutting your home remodeling costs, so shop sales, do comparisons, and take time to find the right materials at a better cost. And don’t be afraid to request price-matching or haggle to get the price you want. After all, it is a vendor’s job to get the maximum amount of profit while you are solely responsible for sticking to your bottom line. It is possible to create your dream home for a lot less cash, and capitalize on your resourcefulness when it comes time to sell, if you follow these simple steps for frugal home remodeling.
This post is mainly to get my own butt in gear regarding food waste, but I think many of you could benefit from it as well! Or at least input some valuable tips for those of us that need some help! 🙂
These days it's essential to save money on groceries, so here are five tips to make the most of your food and minimize food waste.
5 Ways to Waste Less in the Kitchen
Use what you buy
A very obvious tip, but I too often find produce or other time sensitive ingredients sitting in my fridge on their very last legs. There are some days at the grocery store when I purchase something because it looks good and is on sale. Yes, a spur of the moment purchase, thinking that I can transform it into some tasty meal or snack during the week. The key here, with these purchases, is that I actually have to use the ingredient! So if I don't have a particular purpose in mind when I buy it, I quite often find it sitting in the fridge rotting away. One way I'd like to help myself with this is to do something with the item right away. Maybe it's a giant bag of carrots that I could cut up into sticks for easy snacking throughout the week!
Learn to use the ingredients you have
An important factor in my success with using these spur of the moment purchases is learning how to use them. Especially if they're a bit more unique. I once used a coupon for a free tub of Greek yogurt with the intention of using it in some muffins. But, never having used, or tasted Greek yogurt before, I was unsure if it would be a good replacement for regular plain yogurt. I asked the wonderful people at our Simply Frugal Facebook page how I'd make out if I used it. They convinced me it would be wonderful and even healthier for us! That day, I learned some great tips about a product that was unfamiliar to me.
If some of your produce is starting to show its age, don't throw it out, simply salvage what you can! This is probably the area I fall the hardest. I have intentions of turning that soft apple into apple sauce, but making it happen is another story. I get lazy 🙁
Here are some suggestions to make the most of older food:
Cut around the bad parts
Turn stale bread into croutons or breadcrumbs
Make apple sauce out of soft apples
Puree tomatoes into sauce or salsa
Brown bananas are the best for smoothies or baking
Old vegetables can be used in soups or stews
One bad potato in the bag? Weed out the rotten produce so you don't contaminate the rest of the lot!
Know what you have
Knowing exactly what you have on hand can save you tons in the grocery budget. Make an effort to regularly go through the contents of your fridge and freezer so that nothing slips by unnoticed. Store things in clear containers so you can see the exact contents at a glance. Label your freezer food well. Learning to store your produce properly will also ensure nothing goes to waste before you have a chance to use it!
Use the freezer
By now you might have noticed that I'm a big fan of using our freezer. Here are my favourite ways to fill it up with extra food:
Freeze any dinner leftovers to make for a super simple meal on a rushed night
Put all the end bits of vegetables in a freezer bag to make broth once the bag is full
Take advantage of local, seasonal fruit and stock up, but freeze the majority of it for a taste of summer all year long. Here's how I freeze peaches if you're interested!
Put any extra wine, broth, tomato paste, lemon/lime juice into ice cube trays to add to meals at a later date.
Freeze extra rice to turn into fried rice
What are your tips to make the most of your groceries and leftover food?
