How much do you spend on food?

Most people I know complain that they spend far too much money on food. They may be talking about what they spend at the grocery store - although that may also include non-food items such as toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Or they may be thinking about the amount they spend on lunches or dinners eating out, or on vending machines.

A recent report shows that Americans actually spend $189/week on food, but the USDA says we can do even better by using some of their tips. Want to shave $20/week off your food bill? That adds up to over $1000 per year; count me in!

To start saving money today, check out these helpful resources:

The USDA National Agricultural Library maintains the Recipe Finder database at http://recipefinder.nal.usda.gov/. This website allows searching for recipes by cost, menu item (soup, side dish, main dish, etc.), audience (older adults, parents of young children, Hispanic, etc), cooking equipment needed, and cooking/preparation time.

I searched for recipes that cost less than $2/serving, and the site came back with over 400 options. Then I narrowed the search to main dish items for families with teens, and the site gave me 9 options. Very cool!

I'm always looking both for ways to save money as well as new recipes for my family. This website makes searching for both simple!

Looking for new recipes?

If you're like me, I'm always on the look out for new recipes. If you're searching for recipes designed for people with diabetes - and they're great-tasting, even if you don't have diabetes - check out the Diabetes Care and Education website for their recipe of the month at http://www.dce.org/recipe/month.htm

Previous months' recipes are archived at http://www.dce.org/recipe/archived.htm

Green apple appetizer, healthy bulgur salad, pork tenderloin scaloppini, peppermint mousse, or this month's recipe: butternut squash souffle, are easy to prepare, tasty, and contain all the nutrition info you crave.

Red cabbage

It's been years since I've eaten red cabbage.

Yesterday I cooked a German dinner with Caro, an exchange student from Frankfurt, and her American host family. Caro and our German exchange student for two weeks in October, Lena, became good friends, and we cooked a meal together at my house when Lena was here. We decided to try another culinary adventure, but this time at Caro's.

Rotkohl, or red cabbage, was on the menu. I remember eating a lot of cabbage during my time in Germany, but I've never cooked it before. Once we found a sharp knife, the rest was easy! We braised the sliced cabbage with diced onion and apple, and added cider vinegar, a bay leaf, allspice, salt, pepper, and a bit of sugar for seasoning. I loved it, and it brought back great memories of Germany.

If you're tired of eating Italian, Thai, or Chinese food; or just want to try out some German cooking, check out http://www.allrecipes.com/ which has hundreds of authentic German recipes. Or invite a German exchange student over for a cooking lesson.