http://theshoppingnazi.com Fri, 18 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://theshoppingnazi.com/usda-terms-and-their-meaning/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/usda-terms-and-their-meaning/#comments Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:00:08 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=7406 The meaning of words give us a clean expectation as to what we are purchasing. Without clear definitions we are set up for disappointment. That is why it is good to periodically review the definitions of words used to describe what is inside the packages of meat. I can tell you I am going to give you a hamburger. That does not tell you if it is going to be a hamburger sandwich or just a hand full of raw meat. I can tell you I am going to give you a cooked hamburger in a sandwich. That does not tell you if is going to be a thin hamburger patty or and one pound of hamburger in the the sandwich. I can tell you I am going to give you a hamburger sandwich with a whole pound of hamburger meat inside. Still I have not told you what the quality of that hamburger. It could be pure beef or pink slime. Since I live in the United States, I am going to pull my definitions from the United States Department of Agriculture. Today, we are going to look at buying meat, and the labeling concerning it. Here’s the basic USDA definitions you should see on every package [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/usda-terms-and-their-meaning/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/tools-for-the-kitchen/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/tools-for-the-kitchen/#comments Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:00:32 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=7426 What was I thinking? This week I have been doing a week of basic tools. The basic home tools turned out okay. The basic car tools was not so bad. Tools for our tech was easy. Tools for the kitchen should be a book. There are so many tools used in the kitchen! What was I thinking? Here goes! A rule of thumb for purchasing anything is comparing quality with the price. Then you factor in how often you will be using the item. There are certain pans we use everyday, then there are items we may use once a month. If you remember a while back, I wrote a post about a The Grocery Shopping List. In that post I wrote how important it was to input from the entire family as to what they like to eat. Just as important is having input from the entire family is how they like certain things fixed. Our daughter likes pulled pork. We have found it is easier for the cook it in the slow cooker. The taste along with ease of cooking has made it a family favorite. The reason we do this is because some like their pulled pork [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/tools-for-the-kitchen/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/a-night-out/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/a-night-out/#comments Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:00:24 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=5112 In my younger years, I thought to have a good time on a Friday or Saturday night, I had to spend $100 to $200. I soon learned that other people were having fun at my expense. Then I went through a period of my life where I tried not to spend any money when I went out. It did not matter if it was with my family or friends. I abruptly saw a large number of my supposed friends spending time with other people who were willing to spend money on them. Today, I can have a good time for a whole lot less, and not be considered cheep. Like so many other families across the United States and around the world, it is a constant struggle to find ways for the whole family to have fun. It is easy to break the budget and spend over $100 have dinner and a movie. Taking the approach of going out like grocery shopping can save a lot of money. Free Tickets – I am sure you all have see FREE sample coupons. Either through Coupons.com or some other online website. You can find general admission tickets to most local sporting events and [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/a-night-out/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/shopping-for-dinner/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/shopping-for-dinner/#comments Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:00:36 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=4887 One of the hardest meals to shop for and fix is dinner. Everyone comes home after a long day at work. They are all tired and no one really wants to fix dinner. The quick and easy solution is to stop by McDonald’s, Wendy’s or Taco Bell on the way home. If someone in the family is more ambitious then there is pizza out of the freezer. Just like in our house everyone has a struggle with fixing dinner. There are time where we have to force ourselves not to opt to the quick and easy solution. We make a conscious decision to plan ahead so when we get home and are to tired to  fix dinner, it is there waiting for us. Thanks to people like Rachael Ray and others we recipes that we can cook in 30 minutes. Then there is for the more fore thinking type of individuals will prepare a meal in a crock pot. For many of us it takes a lot motivation to fix a healthy dinner. For many people money is a greater motivating factor. So let us take a look at the cost of various dinners. For sake of simplicity the following [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/shopping-for-dinner/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/restaurant-star-ratings/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/restaurant-star-ratings/#comments Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:08:52 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=3393 A few weeks back I wrote about the star rating system for hotels. Today, I want to look at the star rating system of restaurants. The reason why I am writing about the rating system for restaurant’s is I want to know and I want you to know what to expect when you walk into a restaurant. Are you getting your monies worth in terms of food and service? A quick search at Google.com revealed the Mobil Star Rating system. It is recommended because to get a rating form Mobil the restaurant has to pass a rigorous inspection and service evaluation. This includes cuisine, service, décor, and presentation. The Mobil rating system was started in 1958. The ratings were given by anonymous, paid staff members. A star ratings were to be from one to five stars, with no half-stars or zero stars. These star were to be based on objective criteria. A four or five-star rating was a considerable honor, with only a very few getting the top rating. Today it is managed by the same people who manages Forbes Magazine. I found a detailed explanation of  the Mobil Star rating system at ForbesTravelGuide.com. Below is where I summarized those star rating the criteria. Let it [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/restaurant-star-ratings/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/friday-night-eats/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/friday-night-eats/#comments Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:00:42 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=3366 It is Friday. The week has been long and rough. Everyone is waiting for the work week to end. Tomorrow morning is when we can all sleep in past 5:30 am. No one has any energy to spend much of any time in the kitchen, but everyone is going be hungry come dinner time. While everyone was getting ready for the day’s activities, I ask if there were any requests for dinner. As usual each family member spoke up with own favorite comfort food. Chinese, hamburgers, pizza, and Mexican food. What was interesting enough they were all items were not fixed at home. It is known in the restaurant business that Friday evening is very popular for families going to eat. The average family will spend $10 to $20 per person, or even more. The similar meal at home will cost $10 to $20, for the whole meal. Saving money requires self discipline, commitment, work, planning, and a bit of creativity. There is no difference for when it comes to Friday night and all the family wants is some comfort food. The first impulse is to head to the family favorite restaurant. The second response would be to take-out or take-n-bake. The last least [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/friday-night-eats/feed/ 1 http://theshoppingnazi.com/slow-cook-your-way-into-savings/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/slow-cook-your-way-into-savings/#comments Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:00:50 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=2439 The leading reason for people spending more money than they should on food is lack of energy. The family cook comes home in a tired from a long day at work. It is easier to make a quick run to Burger King or KFC, just because no one wants to cook dinner. There are a few ways to save money and still get a quick and easy meal. The first is using what has come to be know as the cock pot aka the slow cooker. Yes it does take a little fore thought, but you can definitely save $2 to $5 or maybe even more person, as opposed to having Chinese food delivered. The available recipes a limitless. About.com has a list of Southern Cockpot recipes that will get the family excited about dinner. Then there is Family Crock Pot Recipes and Crock Pot.com for hundreds of other quick and easy idea. Slow Cookers rated in sizes by quarts. The smallest being 1.5 quart capacity. Then they go up in 2, 4, and 7 quart sizes, thus allowing you to cook almost any size of meal. You can get a Hamilton Beach programmable slow cooker for over a $100. [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/slow-cook-your-way-into-savings/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/christmas-dinner-2009/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/christmas-dinner-2009/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:00:46 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=1669 Last month we went out to have the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The cost for the meal person was within a few cents. Besides we did not have all that prep time, and clean up afterwards. We just walked into the restaurant, order, ate and left.  This Christmas we are going to do something different. Each family member is picking a course in the dinner to fix. This way no one individual will get stuck with fixing the whole meal. Each family member is responsible for staying withing budget, and cleaning up their mess, afterwards. The main dish has a budget of $7 per person, while the side dishes and desert is $3 per person. This makes the meal costing $10 each. Leftovers will be count for future meals. Not Christmas dinner. My contribution to the Christmas dinner is going to be a ham. I pulled up out of my data base the cost of hams. Fortunately, I had just update it a few days ago. Wal Mart had a generic processed ham that was in a 5lbs loaf. It was selling for $5.98. A sliced of ham was 1.68 per lb or $2 to $3 range in price. Then the basic [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/christmas-dinner-2009/feed/ 1 http://theshoppingnazi.com/dinner-can-be-good-fun-and-under-5/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/dinner-can-be-good-fun-and-under-5/#comments Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:58:09 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=1023 We in modern society have gotten in the bad habit of having a too little to eat or no breakfast. Lunch is something quick and easy. The dinner (or supper as some people like to call it) is this large sit down meal before we go off to bed. I want you to note this is totally opposite to way our body expends energy over the course of the day. Morning is usually both feet hitting the floor. Getting ready for work. The average commute time, in the United States, is 25 minutes. Add on to that, studies have shown that the bulk of  the work, by employees is done during first 4 hours, of the work day. After lunch the energy levels drops off. The commute home is nothing more than a rush to get home and rest from the day’s stresses. Then comes the big meal. Activities after dinner usually consists of watching television, reading, or some other local energy unwinding activity. We don’t need a 1,200 calorie meal a couple of hours before we go to bed. Can I suggest an alternative. Healthy and saving you money. {+} Pre-made frozen meals have gotten better over the years. The [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/dinner-can-be-good-fun-and-under-5/feed/ 0