Eating on a budget

-By Jodi


When I first went to uni and was living away from home I had minimal money and I existed on toast (with no butter as that cost too much) and cheap pasta cooked with a can of diced tomato. Luckily, my new family-to-be took pity on me and fed me copious meals of carb-laden homemade pasta, salads, and richly cooked meats.

Like my in-laws, I think we all know the message about five serves of fruit and veg a day, add some protein, some carbs (low GI preferably), some essential fats and lots of water. We also know that food is a fuel to our body and we are affected by what we eat. But with limited time and finances (like when I was living away from home) it is sometimes hard to make an effort to eat well.

I think that planning is a key. As Karen put it so well in her post, it is helpful to write lists, such as:

* a list of meals for the week,

* a list of grocery items that are needed for those meals (include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in this list). 

It also helps to:

* have a budget that you can stick to (I find that shopping with cash means that the budget can’t be exceeded and it makes me think more about my purchases).

* Have a predetermined shopping day each week to make sure that there is food to cook.

*Buy no-name brands as they save so much money and usually taste good.

* I also find that if I cook double portions and then freeze the extra amounts, it saves time and cooking later (more time for study!)

Because we’re talking about food I have included my favourite basic muffin recipe here which can be varied to make chocolate muffins, fruit muffins, or hide-the-veggies muffins. These can also be cooked in big batches and put in the freezer. Happy cooking!

Basic muffin recipe

1 ¾ cups of self raising flour

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 egg lightly beaten

½ cup of milk

drops of vanilla essence

80 grams of butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Prepare muffin trays by wiping with butter or oil.

2. Sift flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl.

3. Add egg, milk and vanilla essence (I find that adding the vanilla essence to the milk first helps spread the flavour evenly), and lastly butter. Mix well.

4. Spoon mixture into muffin trays, filling them to half the height of muffin space. Bake for 20 mins (approx) until golden brown.

Variations:

At step 4 I sometimes add a couple of dessert spoons of cocoa to make chocolate muffins (choc chips work well here too), or I add berries or sultanas at this point to make fruit muffins. If I have added an extra ingredient then I omit the vanilla essence.


So bake-away and enjoy your semester break :)

   

Masterclass: Simple chicken congee recipe

-By Karen 

Hello dearest readers! Thank you for all the supportive comments and tips in my previous post! It has been a great encouragement hearing from all of you, and I look forward to more comments in my future postings! 

In today's post, I thought I'd share a simple chicken congee recipe with you. I was feeling a little unwell last week, and it brought back memories of how horrible it felt to be sick during my uni days. That feeling was worse when the assignment due dates or exams are just round the corner! Those were also the days when feeling homesick would be exaggerated to a whole new level. So a favourite comfort food that I'll usually cook when I'm sick is congee, which is just rice cooked in heaps of water until it breaks down into a thick or creamy consistency. It is popular in the Asian culture and is usually served during breakfast or even as a late supper meal. It is also commonly served to people who are sick because it improves their appetite and is easy to digest while providing much needed nutrients to the body.

So here's how I prepare my chicken congee in combating those snotty tissues...

Preparation: 10 minutes              Cooking: ~1.5 hour

Ingredients:

Part 1: For chicken broth

Part 1: Making the chicken broth

• 1 pc chicken breast with bone (skin removed, fat trimmed, and washed thoroughly)
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• 4 pc Chinese red dates (optional)
• 6-8 pc peppercorns
• 6-8 cups water (depending on the size of the chicken and pot)

Part 2: For congee

Part 2: Cooking the congee

• 1/2 cup rice soaked in water for about 2 hours (Any rice would do but I prefer using sushi rice because it gives a thicker consistency. Left over rice is also great for this recipe and cooking time might be reduced.)
• Handful (10-15 pcs) goji berries (optional)

Method:
1. To make the chicken broth, combine all ingredients in part 1 over medium to high heat. Bring to a boil and cook the ingredients for about 45mins to an hour (broth would have reduced by about half). 

2. Remove the chicken from the broth and drain the broth. Set the chicken aside to cool and shred finely. You can also reserve the garlic cloves or add fresh ones when cooking the congee. (Got a fear of garlic? Don't worry, the garlic will be all mushed up by the time the congee is cooked and you won't really notice it. Garlic is good for cough and colds and it adds extra flavour to the dish)

3. To make the congee, drain the water from the rice and add the rice to the broth. 

4. If you're adding fresh garlic cloves, then add them with the rice. Otherwise add the chicken (I used about 1/2 of the shredded chicken for my dish and kept the rest to use in other dishes, eg. salad or sandwich), leftover garlic, and goji berries half way through the cooking process.

5. Boil the rice for about 25-30min until it is cooked, and simmer for about 20-30mins or until rice has broken down. Stir occasionally to prevent the rice from burning. 

6. Salt and pepper to taste. 


P.S. Remember to stir the congee occasionally to prevent burning (burnt rice stuck to a pot can be a nightmare to remove)

P.P.S. When cooking the congee, you may add extra hot water if you think the consistency is too thick. The congee will thicken up slightly when cooled. 

P.P.P.S. For an extra "zing" factor, serve the dish with some chopped spring onions. 


There you go! My simple home remedy for a snotty tissue fiesta. Congee fills you up and keeps you full for a longer time. Also when you're sick, your taste buds tend to go into sleepy mode too (that's why most people lose their appetite or feel that things don't taste as good when they're sick), and congee is a great pick-me-up and its easy to digest. 


Now that exams are around the corner, do remember to still keep that balance. Remember to eat AND rest well. Bulk up on Vitamin C to give your immune system an extra boost. Best wishes for the exams!! You're almost reaching the finishing line!! 


Would love to hear your comments and queries about the dish so do remember to drop a line or two in the comments section below. And do let us know if you would like to see more recipes in future postings! 

Feeding the habit

- By Jo

I forgot to feed my family. Yes, that’s right and it wasn’t for one night either, more like half a trimester. I also forgot about the dirty laundry. Yet somehow I had clean clothes. The cat litter was clean and the dishes done. It was then that it occurred to me that I had officially been consumed by university life.

Textbooks, computer, paper, pen (vintage fountain pen thank you), something to eat and drink (double espresso stat), and of course the all-important Internet connection for Facebook and Twitter, I mean DSO, and that’s all I believed was needed at the start.

But there was one last resource I had forgotten. To be frank, I’m not sure how as it is seriously hard to miss a fifteen year old with a personality twice her size and a husband over six feet tall, but I did and I still do.

When I’m hunched over my books and I fail to notice them because I’m on a deadline and my only activity is to wear a track in the carpet from my desk to the kitchen to refill my mug, I forget. In fact, I forget to feed them, among other forms of neglect. I only realised this recently when I cooked dinner and they both looked at me like I’d done something newsworthy. Obviously exams had just finished and I fell back into an old routine. They had a new routine. They cooked and cleaned. They made food for me occasionally. Somehow I hadn’t noticed I was living off caffeine, chocolate and toast. But they did.

The moment of epiphany came at a graduation ceremony when the vice chancellor asked the graduates to stand and look for their family and friends and to give them applause for all their support. Family and friends, classmates and internet buddies have all helped me get this far - whether it be bouncing an idea about on Twitter with strangers, or with fellow students on Facebook, or having my daughter play the accused so I can practice cross examination skills or my husband fielding telephone calls when I’m studying, it’s a resource that needs recognition (and probably feeding, must put that in the diary – feed family!) It’s a resource I remember from secondary school – my dad cooking meals every night through VCE (all vegetarian, despite his carnivorous tastes). Come to think of it, this is probably why I forget to cook when I’m studying – default setting. Now sounds like a good time for me to make a resolution, I know New Year’s is past, but I’m never one to conform to the pack, so I’ll make mine now – I shall remember to value the support of my family and friends for the huge contribution they’re making to my academic success, and yes I’ll try and feed them...do you think take out counts?

A healthy diet, and a healthy bank account

-By Karen

Hello!

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Lunar New Year! May the Dragon Year shower you and your loved ones with blessings of luck and good health, and challenges that will only strengthen you. I would like to wish all Trimester 3 students the best of luck in the upcoming exams, and a smooth transition for students commencing in Trimester 1, 2012.

I’m sure everyone agrees that studying at university isn’t exactly a bed of roses. Most of us would be living away from home (Yay for independence!), and that means doing everything on our own... Including feeding our tummies… Do you survive on take-away meals? Do you suffer from ‘mageirocophobia’ also known as the fear of cooking?

I do agree that cooking can be a task at times and takeaways offer a quick and easy solution to satisfying one’s hunger. But in my opinion, nothing beats the taste of meals prepared and cooked at home. Not to mention, the extra health benefits that come with preparing your own meals. Cooking isn’t all that difficult and you don’t have to be a MasterChef to be able to create something healthy and delicious.

Now I’m not suggesting that I’m an expert in the kitchen. In fact, I only learned how to cook after coming to Australia! Over the past four years, I guess I’ve learned a thing or two about grocery shopping and preparing my meals at home which I will share with you in this post and I hope you’ll find them useful too.

1.       Plan your meals

This gives you an idea of what to get and what not to get the next time you visit the grocer. I do try to eat at home at least 4-5 days during the week. This does not mean I will have to cook on all the days but it helps me work out how much of groceries I’ll need to get. Check what you have left in the fridge and pantry that needs to be used up soon.

2.       Make a list

Believe me, this works! I used to overspend on my groceries and a lot of them would often end up in the bins, so my housemate taught me to “categorize/ organize my groceries” and I’ve never looked back since! Basically you make a list of items you’re after under appropriate categories, for eg. Veggies, butcher, Asian grocer, etc. This way, you wouldn’t lose track and you’ll only spend on items you need.

3.       Set a budget

Set a weekly budget for your groceries and stick to it! Shop for the items on your list first before all else. Visit your local farmer’s market for the freshest produce and they often cost less too.

4.       Never shop on an empty stomach

This might sound silly and funny but this tip prevents you from “over” shopping. It helps you to keep focused on your grocery list. I thought this was a strange thing to do but to a certain extent, I do agree with it.

These are some pointers I live by from week to week, and they have been merciful to my bank account as well as my waistline. Eating healthy shouldn’t feel like a task/ challenge and not all healthy things are expensive. Make use of Google to search for easy and budget friendly recipes. There are loads of foodie blogs out there and a lot of these ingredients are basic items you’ll find in your pantry.  Bring out the MasterChef in you and have fun in the kitchen!