Today’s giveaway: Money-saving recipes

If you’re searching for tasty, money-saving recipes, you’re in luck. Gooseberry Patch sent us their “Money-Saving Recipes“ cookbook. To win one of two copies we are giving away, see below.

Authors Vickie and JoAnn started Gooseberry Patch after many conversations over their backyard fence. Back in 1984, they were neighbors raising small children. They discovered their shared interest in cooking and began work on cookbooks. “Money-Saving Recipes” is a compilation of their favorite frugal recipes. They write:

If you are looking for some delicious, budget-friendly recipes for family meals, you’ve come to the right place!

The 127-page cookbook is tiny, but packed with delicious recipes for breads, desserts, main entrees, soups and salads, and sandwiches. The small size of the book is convenient as it’s not flimsy and you can cart it around the kitchen easily.

Each recipe comes with an introduction that includes thrifty tips. One of my favorite things is that most of the recipes are one-pot meals. I love cooking, but not doing dishes. This makes clean up a breeze. How does Pizza Mac and Cheese sound for a hectic weeknight when you have to pull dinner together fast? Or Tomato-Beef Stew for a homey weekend?

If you’d like to win a copy of “Money-Saving Recipes” leave a comment letting us know who does the dishes in your home. Winners will be revealed tomorrow, June 21. You can also win one of 8 copies we are giving away as door prizes at Frugal Festival Food! on June 25 in LA or purchase the book on Amazon for $7.95.

Reader winners: Wildly Affordable Organic

Below you’ll find the names of the two lucky winners of Linda Watson‘s “Wildly Affordable Organic.”

In my review, I described how Watson set out to prove she and her husband could eat healthy on a tight budget. In the 235-page book, she shows you can do it too. Watons shares tips and tricks she’s learned, seasonal menus, shopping lists, and recipes to ease into a greener lifestyle. If you’d like to learn how to shop for organic food while on a budget, this book is for you.

I asked you to share what steps you’ve taken to save the planet while staying on a budget and this is what the winners are doing.

katswan is gardening.

I make my own compost and grow rogue veggies….I just dump my fruit and veggie trimmings into a hole I’ve dug in the backyard, the worms come racing to it and before you know it I have a beautiful spot to plant a seedling! Although, I usually have wild plants sprouting up from this source….spaghetti squash, butternut squash, onions, potatoes, avocado trees, leeks, beets, carrots, tomatoes, peach tree and chestnut trees just to name a few!

Sue W. is trying to buy more organic foods.

I always compare the prices between organic and non-organic grown fruits and veggies at the store. I’m really surprised when the organic is only a few cents more. It makes me feel really good about my purchase!

Winners, I hope this book helps you enjoy organic foods and their benefits while not breaking the bank. Send me an email with a shipping address so I can send you your copy of “Wildly Affordable Organic.”

If you didn’t win, buy it on Amazon for $11.20 or win one of 8 copies that will be given away as door prizes at the Festival in LA on June 25. Don’t forget to check out today’s giveaway of “Money-saving recipes” for another chance to win!

Today’s giveaway: Wildly Affordable Organic

Think you can’t eat organic on a budget? Author Linda Watson shows you how in “Wildly Affordable Organic.” Not only will you be eating on $5 a day or less but you’ll be helping the planet too.  To win one of two copies we are giving away, see below.

Watson is no stranger to eating on a budget. She and her husband took the “Food Stamp Challenge,” eating on the average national food-stamp allowance of a dollar a meal. Watson writes:

If you’ve wanted to eat like it matters but felt you couldn’t afford it, “Wildly Affordable Organic” is for you. It’s easy to think that “organic” or “sustainable” are code words for “too expensive.” More people than ever want to eat organic food, and the cost of energy is shooting up like genetically modified corn, but eating green doesn’t have to mean eating up all your money.

In the 235-page book, Watson eases you into a greener lifestyle with the Wildly Affordable Organic plans. She shares tips and tricks she learned from taking the challenge herself including seasonal menus, shopping list, and recipes.

What I like the most about Watson’s method is that she believes in taking it one recipe at a time so you don’t become overwhelmed. And most importantly you will not be deprived. How does red bean chili casserole with corn bread topping for din-din sound?

If your mouth is watering and you’d like to win a copy of “Wildly Affordable Organic” leave a comment sharing what steps you’ve taken to save the planet while staying on a budget. Winners will be revealed Monday, June 20. You can also win one of 8 copies we are giving away as door prizes at Frugal Festival Food! on June 25 in LA or purchase the book on Amazon for $11.20.

Today’s Giveaway: Gluten-free on a Shoestring

You don’t have to rely on packaged gluten-free foods to enjoy gluten-free meals. That’s the premise behind Nicole Hunn’s “Gluten-free on a Shoestring” cookbook. To win one of two copies we are giving away, see below.

Hunn is the blogger behind the Gluten-free on a Shoestring blog, who changed her family’s eating habits when she discovered her second child had celiac disease and was unable to absorb gluten.

Whether you’re new to eating gluten-free and fear that the creative foodie part of your life is gone forever, or you’ve been gluten-free for a while and have resigned yourself to lowered expectations and expensive, store-bought gluten-free foods that leave you cold, help is on the way. Everything’s going to be just fine.

You’ll find 125 gluten-free recipes for dinners, desserts, comfort foods, and much more. In the middle of the book, there are mouthwatering photos of meals. I got my eye on the spinach pie. Another recipe I’d like to try is for Focaccia bread.

Hunn has a tip box on almost every recipe showing how much money you are saving. A gluten-free loaf of bread would cost me $16.47 to buy or $3.77 to make. That’s a $12.70 savings!

There are so many bread recipes in here that, gluten-free or not, you’ll still enjoy this cookbook if you’re a bread lover like I am.

To win a copy of “Gluten-free on a Shoestring,” leave a comment sharing why you’d like to win this book. Winners will be revealed tomorrow, June 17. You can also win one of 8 copies we are giving away as door prizes at Frugal Festival Food! on June 25 in LA.

Today’s giveaway: Vegan on the Cheap

One way to save money on your grocery bill is to cut the amount of meat you consume. “Vegan on the Cheap,” written by Robin Robertson, will help you do just that with tasty meatless recipes. For a chance to win this book, see below.

Robertson said she wrote “Vegan on the Cheap” to help individuals save money and time. She writes:

These days, most of us are on an ever-tightening budget. With skyrocketing food prices, even buying the basics has our grocery bills reaching new highs. A steady stream of newspaper and magazine articles and other media reports suggest many ways to save money on food, and interestingly, “eating more vegetarian meals” is one of the primary suggestions.

In her 258-page cookbook, Robertson shares 150 mouth-watering recipes that cost less than $2 per serving. There are chapters on soups and stews, slow-cooker recipes, skillet recipes, desserts and much more. Each recipe includes a cost comparison chart. A 16-ounce jar of salsa costs $2.89 to buy but if you make it, you can save $1.42.

The tabbouleh-stuffed peppers recipe was to die for and it only cost me $2 per serving to make. The cheapamole was also delicious and it cost $0.55 per serving. The secret to making the guacamole inexpensive — peas!

To win one of two copies of Robertson’s cookbook, comment letting us know what your favorite vegetarian meal is. The winner will be announced tomorrow! If you can’t wait, “Vegan on the Cheap” is $10.34 on Amazon.

You can also win one of 8 copies we are giving away as door prizes at Frugal Festival Food! on June 25 in LA. Come early and have your pick of all the door prizes!

Today’s giveaway: Poor Girl Gourmet

Eating gourmet at home is now easier than ever. Amy McCoy’s “Poor Girl Gourmet” cookbook will help you eat in style while on a budget. To win one of five copies we are giving away, see below.

While employed, McCoy used to spend $160 to $200 a week on food for two people. She shopped at Whole Foods, bought fancy cheese, and didn’t wait for sales. McCoy’s mother had taught her how to stretch her dollars when she was a little girl and there were many mouths to feed, but she hadn’t implemented the lessons. This all changed when the economy tanked. She writes:

Thus, it was a short jump from luxury-food girl to this new food-shopping paradigm. I already had the tools for cooking good food on a budget, I simply hadn’t employed them—nor had it been required of me—until my television work evaporated.

The 222-page cookbook is easy to read and understand. If you enjoy Italian food as much as I do, this book is for you. The cookbook includes McCoy’s spin on many traditional recipes, which she also writes about on her blog by the same name. She introduces each recipe with money-saving tips and a back-story to how it came about.

One of my favorite recipes is for Ribollita, a soup that utilizes leftovers. It has all my favorites: tomato, bread and cheese. Peasant food never tasted so good!

McCoy also included techniques necessary to perfect your cooking. Don’t know how to roast garlic? She shows you how. At the end of the book, McCoy shares her menu suggestion on how to pair the recipes while staying on a $15 per meal budget.

To win a copy of “Poor Girl Gourmet,” leave a comment sharing how your mother has influenced your cooking and money-saving skills. You can also win one of 20 copies we are giving away as door prizes at Frugal Festival Food! on June 25 in LA. Come early and have your pick of all the door prizes! Winners will be revealed June 15.