Saving Money - Stretching The Food Budget - MAKE YOUR OWN RECIPE BOOK

In the previous articles on saving money on foods, I covered how to save money at the grocery store and how to add fruits and vegetables to your diet in an enjoyable way. See the bottom of this article for links to these posts.

Now it is time to gather the recipes that you have collected and put them into your very own recipe book. Here are the basics from

1. Make a paper copy of the recipe(s) that you have collected from on line, friends, relatives, etc. and make notes on your copy of how you cooked this recipe and your evaluation of what you thought of the recipe. Make sure you make a note of where the recipe came from so that you can reference back to it at any time.
   
2. Put the paper copy of the recipe into a sheet protector. This will keep your recipes clean from spills and smears. You can still easily remove the paper to add notes and then put it back in the protector when finished. For Example: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/498811/Office-Depot-Brand-Top-Loading-Sheet/
3. After you have put the recipe in a sheet protector, put it in a three ring binder. I have picked a miscellaneous binder ring size as an example. Choose which size ring will best fit your personal needs. For example: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/729525/Wilson-Jones-Standard-Round-Ring-View/
   
4. If you want to divide the recipes into sections like vegetables, meats, breads, you can use stick on divider tabs. For example: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/315473/Avery-Self-Adhesive-Index-Tabs-With/
5. Attach the self adhesive index tab to a sheet protector in which you put a title page for the section. For example: "Vegetables" for the title, and then maybe a list of recipes in that section.
   
6. Now you have started your own personal recipe book. The above examples are to help you understand what I am referring to and by no means is a recommendation. I choose a notebook that has a way to insert a title on the spine and front and back. I choose the ring size according to how big I want the book to be. If you just have a plain notebook that does not allow title inserts into the spine and front and back cover, you can mark the binder on the outside with a permanent marker. Another alternative is to sew a book cover to slip over the notebook. I call my book "Personal Recipes Collection."
   

This is an adventure that is a little work, but the results are wonderful. Before you know it, you will have your own personal recipe collection for a small amount of money and your food choices will have multiplied greatly. Oh, and for an added bonus, you have begun to build a more healthy diet for you and your loved ones.

Links to previous posts on this subject are:

1. Money - Stretching The Food Budget - ENJOYING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: http://asklaurie.blogspot.com/2009/07/money-stretching-food-budget-enjoying.html
2. Money - Stretching The Food Budget - THE BASICS: http://asklaurie.blogspot.com/2009/07/money-stretching-food-budget.html