Continued from Part 1
Pasta. There are many different pasta choices and all have great uses. Manicotti can be stuffed with tomato sauce and cheeses. Macaroni can be used to make a creamy salad and also is great combined with cheese or spaghetti sauce. It can be used for noodle pudding as well for dessert. Spiral pasta is used in many different pasta salads. Spaghetti can be used in a casserole topped with cheese or in the traditional way with tomato sauce and meat. It can also be used as noodles in chinese dishes.
Spices. There are other ways to season food besides salt and pepper. In fact, many spices taste better than salt, and are better for you if you are worried about high blood pressure and stroke or heart disease. Even diehard salt-a-holics won’t miss the salt in foods if other seasonings are used. Cayenne pepper, chili powder, oregano, and garlic powder are all useful tools in your flavor arsenal to give foods a fresh new taste.
Nutmeg, cinnamon, and the secret pumpkin pie spice mace can be used in many desserts. Spices are also a great way of helping you lose weight—a tasty meal is more satisfying than a bland and dull one.
Beans. Beans can top your salad (edamame), make an awesome dip (black beans), and go well with grilled foods (baked beans). They are terrific in chili, using kidney beans, pink beans, pintos, whatever you like. White kidney beans are terrifically versatile, hot, or cold in salad. They provide a good source of protein with very little fat. Beans are good in soups, stews, and over rice for a simple yet filling meal.
Garbanzo beans, also known as chick peas, are great as a dip, or in soup with pasta, or in Indian food, as are kidney beans. They are brilliant in Mediterranean food, as are white kidney beans and pink beans.
Best of all, beans are not only healthy, but they can be very cheap. You can buy them dried, in very large quantities, very inexpensively. Just make sure you follow the package instructions on how to cook them before they go into your recipes. If you are pressed for time, the canned kind are excellent these days.
Do you have these staples in your kitchen? You can probably think of several more that will enhance your pantry and save money. Start with these and grow your own list of basic kitchen staples that are versatile and economical, to get the most out of your grocery budget.
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