Food Creations

Living on a tight budget can present different challenges...

Eating, for example.

I love food, and tend to get a bit ravenous when there's not much to be had.

The best money saving tip, which a few people have told me, is to eat the way the locals do.

They don't have a lot of money either.

My new friends are rice and beans.

This is a typical Belizean meal.

In a small pot with a bit of oil, I'll heat up some re-fried beans,

adding a bit of water, salt and pepper, and some BBQ sauce.

This is actually very tasty.

I'm doing my best to stay Gluten-Free,

and so far I've succeeded (despite temptation)!

I finally got around to buying some corn flour.

Since then, I've been able to make pancakes

and attempted making tortilla's.
Afterwards, I learned the secret ingredient that makes all the difference:
Lard.
They turn out much better!

I gathered some recipes specifically for corn flour.
I've tried a few,

and am looking forward to trying the others out!

Here's some pictures and recipe links of my creations so far  ^_^

My awesome room mate made this, actually.
Re-fried beans, rice, very tasty chicken, and excellent corn tortillas.

Tortilla FAIL! I followed a recipe, but all it called for was flour, salt and water.
I've since learned the key ingredient: Lard! 

This is a really simple, easy recipe: Garlic Chicken.
The baking dish I used must have had a defect, though, because it cracked in two :/

A easy and inexpensive lunch: Tuna spread on tortillas,
with BBQ sauce for extra flavour.

Some friends very kindly gave me their stash of  TruRoots Gluten-Free Penne Pasta,
which they weren't using. Score!

The pasta turned out great,
and I attempted to make a "garlic bread" tortilla.
It would have been fine, but I burned the garlic...

Gluten-Free Corn Flour Pancakes.
Really easy, and very good!
That's mango on the side.

How To Save At STARBUCKS

"It costs HOW MUCH?!"

We may not say it out loud, but we all think it at one point or another.

High prices hit some harder than others, but no matter what tax bracket you're in, we all want to save.

There are still some tricks and tips out there that can help you do just that!

STARBUCKS - 

It's a weakness for many, myself included. Unfortunately, it's also a drain on the wallet. 

If you tend to order regular drip coffee with cream/milk, here's a money saving tip for you:

Less Is More!

Order one size smaller than you normally would, but ask for it in the larger cup size. 

"In a Tall cup, I would like a Short Pike, please."

(Side Note: For those of you that don't know, there is a size smaller than Tall!

It's called a Short.

It's not really featured, so not a lot of customers know about it.)

This automatically gives you "room". After you add your cream/milk, depending on how much you take, you're basically back to the same size as a Tall, but for the price of a Short!

 This also prevents the barista from pouring some of your paid-for coffee down the drain to give you "room".

That's my money going down the drain!

You could do this with any two sizes:

"In a Grande cup, I would like a Tall True North, please."

Have you picked up any money saving tips and tricks for STARBUCKS? Share them in the comments!