15 tips to $tretch your food dollar

Folks used to cooking for a crowd know how to squeeze every penny out of a tight food budget. Here are a few ways they do it:

_ Plan ahead: By planning menus in advance, you can turn leftovers into a real meal.

_ Do your own prep: whether it's washing lettuce or cutting apples or carrots, you save by doing the work yourself.

_ Fresh is best: Prepared foods cost more and come with hidden fat and calories.

_ Buy in bulk to get the best price.

_ Think breakfast for dinner; eggs are still a bargain.

_ Use alternative protein sources like dried beans, lentils and whole grains.

_ Make do with less meat.

_ Buy tougher cuts like pork shoulder and chuck and plan on slow cooking, marinating and tenderizing.

_ Make vegetables the center of one or more meals a week.

_ Cook extra and freeze meals for later.

_ Use seasonal ingredients: Strawberries in the winter are always going to cost more.

_ Make soup: It's a nutritious and cheap way to use leftovers and feed a crowd.

_ Be flexible: If flounder is pricey, tilapia will do just fine.

_ Add spice and aromatics like garlic, lemon zest and onions to make food taste better.

_ Waste not: Use it all, from bits of meat and bones (stock, hash, omelets) to soft bananas (smoothies, quick bread) and stale bread (crumbs).

- Beth D'Addono