Homemade orange tea

I've recently started to make my own teas, rather than buy dehydrated, over-processed bags from the shop. Fruit and herbs teas are made from the same ingredients as juices or soups. The major difference is that the pieces have been finely diced, dehydrated and had, in some cases, preservatives mixed in. The real irony is the same ingredients in the tea bag often get chucked out in the food waste bin.  For example, if you want orange tea all you need is orange rind.  Stick into in a small pan with water a sugar to taste and a few minutes later you have orange tea. Great part of a healthy diet as the rind has plenty of various vitamins and minerals that usually end up tossed.

Other suggestions for old rind

Candied - Boil to soften then roll in raw sugar

Addition to stir fries and salads.

Selling my soapy soaps!

Made in Brighton from olive oil and other natural ingredients.  All soaps I make are derived from natural sources and therefore contain no chemical nasties.  They are biodegradable, so your wash water becomes more earth friendly.  Olive oil is also good for all skin types but is particularly suitable for those suffering from eczema, sensitive or dry skin because instead of irritating damaged skin it soothes and moisturizes.  Each bar has its own qualities as well.



Milk soap is known for making skin smoother.

Orange juice soap acts as a natural astringent and therefore as toning qualities.

Peppermint is ever refreshing.

Chamomile leaves skin feeling clean.

I have loads of soap to off load. I started making them as a hobby.  It was a dangerous hobby because I still have a mountain of soaps.   Links to ebay listings below if anyone's interested.

Milk soap
Peppermint soap
Orange Soap 
Chamomile Soap

Budgeting tips: Reduced items.

On Wednesday I blogged about saving money by shopping around.  This is just one way of saving on your necessities bills.  Today I would like to introduce another way of saving on your grocery bill: buying reduced items.


Supermarkets such as Tesco's, Sainsburys and the Co-operative often reduce stock simply because they have a new shipment coming in or because there are slight cosmetic marks on the product/product packaging.  They also reduce items because they are about to go past the the use-by/display-until date.  This means that quite often reduced items are of high quality.  This is often t he case with items nearing the use-by date.


Use-by and Display-until dates are often inaccurate.  Food and product safety legislation and control tends to veer towards the side of caution.  Most foods will be safe for consumption after the use-by date if they have been correctly packaged and stored.  Generally speaking, it is usually easy to tell when a food product has gone bad and this can happen before the use-by date in rare cases.  This is why it is is always necessary to have common sense when it comes to food.  Buying items when they are reduced can save you so much off your food bill that it is worth chancing the rare this that might go off quicker then you would like.


This week I have been food shopping three times.  Between the three trips I have saved £30+ Pounds on items that had been reduced to clear; £17 pound of that tonight.  There is the argument that I am spending money I otherwise wouldn't of food just because it is reduced.  However I have found this not to be that case - A lot of what I have bought is stuff that I would like to get but normally don't because the original price is to expensive.  So, in essence, I am saving money on food I would like to begin with.

Cooking from scratch saves you money

Food prices are constantly increasing.  More often we are being forced to shop around for cheaper prices because it save us maybe a few pennies.  This doesn't seem like much of an achievement, but we all know that over time those pennies can add up to pounds saved off the weekly food bill.  However, even more can be saved by cooking at home, because at some point we all rely on prepared food; whether it is Gluten-free bread bread or an instant meal.

Let's take bread as an example.  The average gluten-free loaf costs £2-£4. Of course, this is dependant on your local region and where they source their ingredients from.  In general, companies always boost the price so that they make a profit.  Flour, by UK standards is £3 pounds per kilo - this can be used to make 4-5 loafs.  Eggs - £1.50 per dozen (6 loaves) or Egg Replacer at £3.00 (Equivalent of 50 eggs).  A pinch of salt coast all of a penny and soy milk is £1.2 a litre (Almost 2 loaves) and yeast is £2.50 a box (20 loaves).  Adding this all up using the price for egg replacer - £0.75+£0.06+£0.01+0.60+0.13 =£1.55 per loaf. This is only a rough amount, depending on how much you use this amount would be more or less.  But £1.55 to make it at home of £2-£4 pounds to buy in store.  Which do you prefer?

The best part is this doesn't just apply to baking, it applies to cooking in general.  Pasta dishes, lasagne, sauces, pies ect.  All these are items that are cheaper to make at home.  Cooking from scratch can effectively halve your food bill.

The benefits of cereal

I went off cereal for a very long time.  This is partly because my dairy allergy was not fully picked up on until I was well into my 20's.  Having cereal with cow's milk when you're allergic to it is just a recipe for a bad tummy.  Needless to say, that for quite a while the thought of eating a bowl of cereal was enough to make me feel ill.  However, I have recently started eating it again and realised there were benefits. :)

1) It's cheap.  No-Brainer there.  A 500g box of Gluten-free cornflakes will last me 7-10 days.

2)  It's simple.  There's no possible way it can upset your stomach unless you are actually allergic to one of the ingredients.

3)  Cereals are mostly starchy carbohydrates rather then sugar.  This is an important point in that quite often nutritionist will tell you how sugary cereals can be.  Coco pops, for example, has 35g of sugar per 100g.  On the offset, this sounds like a lot.  What people don't realised that this sugar content is halved when milk is added; slowing down the overall absorption of the sugar and giving your body time to burn it off before converting it to fat.

4)  Most cereals are fortified.  Those of us with dairy allergies can really struggle to meet our daily calcium requirements.  Most cereals now contain 57% of the Recommended Daily intake of calcium.  Making it just that bit easier to get enough calcium.  Fortified cereals also contain Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, B2, Folic Acid, B12, and Iron.

Shaving the electricity bill

Those costs just keep rising.  It is getting harder then ever to prevent the money from leaving our pockets. I've complied a list of ways in which to save on your electricity bills.  Some require money, so require none.  Hopefully there will be a suggestion here everyone can use.  Of course, if anyone has suggestions to add, feel free to leave a comment.

1)  If it's not at use, the object goes off at the wall.  Most important tip there can be - as this automatically cuts down on consumption.

2)  Question whether you need to run the item or not. eg. tumble dryer - Clothes will dry just as well on a clothes line or an airier.  Vacuums - do you need to vacuum?  On hard floors sweeping is just as effective.  We have so many electrical appliances at our disposal, quite often we forget that there are other ways of getting things done.

3)  See what other companies are offering to sell kilowatt hours at.  Do your research, the quickest way to a lower bill is to switch to a cheaper Company.  A note of warning however, make sure you do your research on the companies reputation as well.  The last thing you need is to end up in a  contract with a cowboy company.

4) See what alternatives you can get hold off.  Solar power generators are quite easy to get a hold of and will run quite a lot of you electrical appliances if it is placed in sufficient sunlight.

*  If you own your own property it is well worth seeing what alternatives you can have installed on your land.   Solar power is good by wind turbines can be better.

5)  Make sure your property is well insulated and that windows are thickly glazed.  These will cut down on the cost of heating/air conditioning.

6)  Heating or cooling your property/room.  Have your heater set to the lowest temperature you can stand and rug up.  Conversely, set your air conditioning unit to 25 degrees and find other ways of keeping cool.

7) Moderate the temperature of your bathes/showers and use less water.  The less water used and the lower the temperature you desire the water to reach, the less electricity is used heating the water.

8) Upgrade any electrical appliances to newer appliance with good energy use ratings.  The older alliances and electrical are the less energy efficient that are likely to be.  Items made in the last decade have had to pass much stricter codes then their predecessors.  Again this an area in which you will want to do your research.  Just because it's new does not mean it is the better option.

9) Upgrade all your light bulb to more energy saving versions.

Chocolate chunk Bikkies/Cookies; Gluten-free and Dairy Free.

A simple recipe for simply sweet bikkies.  I want one now.

Ingredients:

Gluten free Flour 1 1/2 cups.
1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
1/2 cups sugar (preferable brown)
1/2 cup margarine.
1/2 a block of dark chocolate (Green and Blacks or another variety that doesn't include milk in the recipe)

Directions:
Pre-heat the over to 180 degrees Celsius.  Break the chocolate block into small chunks.  Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and mix in the sugar and baking soda.  Slightly melt the margarine and mix into the flour.  Ensure the mix is cool before adding the chocolate chunks.  After you have mixed in the chocolate, spoon the mixture onto a greased baking tray ensuring that the dough is spread evenly apart.  Place the tray into the oven and remove when the cookies are golden brown.  It is particularly important to allow gluten-free biscuits to cool before you consume them as the biscuits cool down the harden significantly.

Pizza: Home-made and Gluten Free.

Pizza is such an easy and cheap meal to make at home, even for those of us who have intolerances.   It really  makes me wonder why domino's does so well.  Of course, I say the same about Macca's.

Please note, this can be used to make wheat based pizza of course.  The main difference, apart from flour, is that you need to knead the dough a little before you roll it out.

Ingredients:

Pizza Base:

Gluten-Free flour (Duh, really); 1 and 1/2 cups.
Water (up to three cups)
2 Tablespoons oil (olive oil adds the best flavour - but any will do)
A pinch or two of salt.
Half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.

Toppings:

Tomato puree
Cheese; Lactofree cheese; or soy cheese (depends on diet requirements clearly)
Anything you wish to put on top :)  However, do ensure any meat is cooked before placing it on the pizza.

Preparation directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.  Sift the Flour into a bowl. Add the salt and Bicarbonate of Soda.  Mix in the oil.  Begin to add the water, however this need to be done in small amounts because of the nature of gluten-free flour.  Essentially add some water and then stir.  Keep using this process until all the flours comes together as a ball.  Next Sprinkle some flour on a clean bench.  This is to prevent the ball of dough sticking to the bench.  Place the ball on the bench surface and gently spread it out too your desired shape. It is important to remember with gluten free flour that the dough must be slightly sticky and that it is not necessary to knead it like you would ordinary pizza dough.  Once you have spread the dough into the desired shape place it on a lightly greased oven pan.  Cook for 20mins or until the bread is par-cooked (cooked but not brown).

Remove the Pizza base from the oven and allow to cool slightly.  Once it is cool enough to handle, spread the tomato puree on the bread base.  Sprinkle cheese or equivalent on the base.  Even disperse your choice of toppings on this cheese and then top with a second sprinkling of cheese.  Place the pizza back into the oven until the cheese /Soya cheese turns brown.  Slice up and enjoy your creation :).

Spiced Honey Chicken: Cheap, easy and Gluten-free

This recipe for Spiced Honey chicken is not only absolutely yummy, it is also easy to make and completely gluten-free.  Funnily enough, it is also very cheap for those of us on a budget.  It makes an excellent addition to salads or as part of a roast dinner.

Ingredients:

Chicken Pieces (legs, wings; whatever you have).
Honey.
Thyme.
Mixed Spice (or any spices you have handy)
Corn Flour.
Salt.

Preparation:

Preheat the over to 180 degrees Celsius.   Slice or cut the chicken into the desired size and shape.  Gently heat the honey so that it runs smoothly and place in a plastic container.  In a second plastic container mix the cornflour with the spices, thyme and salt.  Dip the chicken in the honey, ensuring the chicken surface is completely smothered.  When the chicken is covered, roll the piece in the flour-spice mix.  The flour-spice mix will soak into the honey - this perfectly fine.  After this place the chicken onto a baking tray.  When all the chicken has been prepared, place the tray in the oven until the chicken is cooked through.