3 Cheap and Cheerful ways to cope with what's left of the cold.

With February coming to a close, many of us in the northern hemisphere are looking forward to longer daylight hours and warmer temperatures. While many regions are already experiencing milder weather conditions, winter isn't necessarily over yet. Damp and chilly conditions can persist until well in to April, but here are three ways to cope with the what's left of the cold that don't involve adjusting your thermostat.

1. The Hot Water Bottle
These retro bed-warmers are due for a comeback having already experienced a return to popularity in Japan a couple of years ago. Hot water bottles are easy to use, and an economical way to warm up your sheets. The upfront cost of the items themselves is pretty low (easily under $20 USD), and once you've heated the water no electricity or other power source is required. Hot bottles are a great, often cheaper alternative to an electric blanket, and are less likely to cause a fire. Scaldings are not common, but they can happen so it's important to take care and follow safety instructions. Most hot water bottles come with safety instructions, but safety basics can also be found here.

2. Long Underwear/Long Johns
Long Johns, or thermal underwear still have a reputation as being bulky, woolly, and unattractive, which need not be the case. There is a huge variety of lightweight thermal fabrics these days, from space-age synthetics to cotton blends, to fine but durable woven and knitted silks. The popular brand Cuddl Duds can be found easily, directly through their online store, through third party merchants, and occasionally at outlet stores like Marshalls or TK Maxx. Lightweight thermal undergarments are a great option for those who spend a lot of time working outside as they add a great deal of warmth, without adding a great deal of bulk or hindering your range of motion. A pair of silk long johns feels feather light when worn, and they make elegant, but simple pajamas. While silk thermals don't usually come cheap, you can pick some up now for reduced prices. This scoopneck top from Land's End has been marked down to 24.99, from 49.50.


3. Slaving over a hot stove.
Cooking a nice, hot meal on a cold, wet evening serves two purposes. First, your culinary efforts produce something warm and tasty to heat your innards, and second there's nothing like standing in the dry heat of the oven as it slow roasts some butternut squash or bakes a delicious homemade lasagna. Cooking a hot and hearty meal has other benefits as well; after all the wisdom across budget-living blogs everywhere still contends that cooking at home is always less expensive than eating out. Additionally, cooking a big dinner creates more opportunities to try new recipes and build up your skill-set in the kitchen. There is a huge wealth of culinary inspiration on the web, and a great place for tips on how to make gourmet meals on a tight grocery budget is this and many other articles at lifehacker.

Stay toasty!

Shopping Your Pantry: Tex-Mex Potato Fry

Budget life-style articles always like to suggest that you "shop your pantry" to save money and waste less food. This is not neccessarily as difficult or as easy as it sounds, it largely depends on what you have in your pantry in the first place. The advice of "shopping your pantry" is pretty useless if you haven't got certain staples on hand. While this may seem obvious to anyone who's tried out this particular kernel of wisdom, what may be less obvious is what is helpful to keep in the larder. Personal tastes vary of course, so therefore should personal food stocks but this video from Working Class Foodies is a great place to start.



I would really recommend the entire series, especially for those just learning to cook. In addition to demonstrating many dishes and recipes, the series also teaches many techniques, which really helps to improve and develop one’s culinary skills more quickly. All of the material is so approachable, and in addition to showcasing items like Vegan Snacks for the Super Bowl, Working Class Foodies also offers simple, straightforward tutorials for old favourites like Roast Chicken, Irish Soda Bread, and Latkes.

Cooking with what’s already in your cupboard is easier when you also have some versatile herbs and spices at home as well. Though many spices may seem expensive at first, it’s important to remember that they often go a long way. Some basic herbs and spices that compliment many dishes can be found inexpensively; some downright cheaply if you know where to look. To start, try looking in Dollar (or Pound) stores, the international food aisles at your supermarket and grocers that specialize in a particular kind of international or ethnic food. It’s not necessary to try to fill up your spice rack immediately; start with some essentials and then build off your stores to suit your tastes.
Ten useful basics are: salt, pepper, basil*, rosemary*, thyme*, oregano*, chili powder, ground ginger, cinnamon (whole or ground), and bay leaf.

Local stocks may vary, but it appears as though the American national chain Dollar Tree offers many of these basics for USD $1 or less per item. Discount outlets like Marshalls, TJ Maxx, TK Maxx, and Winners sometimes have more expensive, specialty seasonings for sale in their homewares sections.

(*Though fresh herbs are often more aromatic, it isn’t always practical to keep them in your pantry at all times depending on the season, your geographic location, etc. Some argue that fresh herbs are always superior to dried, but it’s often just a matter of convenience)

This week, since I started the week with some actual food in both the fridge and the larder, shopping my pantry was easy and resulted in something pretty tasty. From some potatoes, red onion, garlic, cumin, ancho powder, dried chives and lime juice, came a Tex-Mex potato-fry.




Served up with some fresh cream and chopped cilantro:



Everything that went into it, was already in my kitchen. In addition to avoiding another trip to the grocer's, I also managed to use up some ingredients likely to spoil in the next few days. This may be the first time I have ever successfully "shopped my pantry".