It is a fairly common concept that eating healthily can be expensive, but that need not necessarily be the case. We are a family of four (2 adults and 2 children aged 4 and 11 years who eat almost as much as us adults!) and as I do most of the cooking at home I would say that our eating habits have more or less been fairly healthy.

Quite recently though, we have had to make some changes because my husband had to undergo surgery for removal of the gall bladder due to it being diseased from gallstones. Almost overnight we started eating more vegetables, fruit and fish, substituted white carbohydrates in favor of the whole grain variety and cut back chips, candies, cookies and chocolate – all of which we only buy on occasion.

Breakfast is typically a brown cereal like weetabix or branflakes, or whole grain toast, followed by a piece of fruit or a low fat yogurt. Lunch is a bowl of homemade soup and a whole grain sandwich of cheese and ham or tuna mayonnaise. Dinner is usually meat/fish or chicken served with whole wheat pasta/brown rice, noodles or bulgur wheat, and plenty of fresh or frozen vegetables. Snacks are usually foods like crackers and low fat cream cheese, fruit or yogurt.

We have always eaten on a budget. We don’t eat organic and buy a lot of the stores own brand label (and these are usually as good as their “superior” named brands). We honestly only spend maybe an extra 20 dollars on our weekly grocery bill since the big change. Foods like extra virgin olive oil, which are normally fairly expensive, we buy in bulk when on sale. Most meals are cooked from scratch; this way they are healthier for sure because I know what’s gone into them. Making your own soup could not be easier – we buy a 10 pound bag of potatoes, 1 large green cabbage and 2 pounds of carrots for the soup, using vegetable or chicken stock cubes (for flavor if you need it). On the whole this is healthier than any store bought soup and soup is filling, economical and nutritious. Whole grain carbs are high in fiber and despite what most people may think, are actually only a little more expensive than white.

It is surprising that by ditching the unhealthy foods that just rot our teeth and are not good for us and substituting them with much healthier foods, we are still able to eat healthily on a budget.

John is a publisher of many articles on a wide variety of subjects. At Christmas, his wife asked him to buy the family a new air mattress for when the kids come home to visit. He quickly researched which is the best air mattress for both his needs. You can learn about the differences between the memory foam air bed and the aero bed air mattress . So if you need to purchase an air bed, visit queen size air bed for his experience. Copyright 2010.

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If you do a lot of cooking at home, you definitely need a cooking thermometer. Some of the most basic cooking methods (grilling, roasting and baking) require a specific range of temperature to be maintained during the cooking process. Using the wrong temperature not only will affect the taste, texture and appearance of your food, it might also encourage the presence of food-borne microorganisms.

Learn about the different types of cooking thermometers to see which one is right for your kitchen:

There are essentially three major types of cooking thermometers based on function. These are:

Candy thermometers

Candy thermometers are designed for use with confectionery. They are generally used to determine the temperature of candy syrup. For people who make candies or pastries, this type of thermometer helps determine important ranges in temperature for candymaking. This type of thermometer, for example, will indicate whether your candy syrup has reached the soft ball or hard ball stage.

These instruments are also important for measuring the percentage of sugar found in candy syrup, a critical function for producing candies such as caramels and sugar lollipops. Candy thermometers are also important for the successful tempering of chocolate.

Cooking thermometers

Cooking thermometers are all-purpose instruments used to determine the temperature of prepared food.

Meat thermometers

Meat thermometers are used primarily for determining the temperature of meat. This is an important function, particularly because raw meat such as poultry and pork might carry food-borne pathogens that are harmful for human consumption unless exposed to ideal temperatures during cooking.

Types of cooking thermometers according to design

There are several ways a cooking thermometer takes the temperature of the food. These include:

Oven-safe cooking thermometers

If you need a cooking thermometer that gives continuous reading of the temperature of the food while it’s being cooked or if you simply get a kick out of watching the dial turn, this is the type of cooking thermometer you should buy. Stick it into the thickest portion of the food, place the food in an oven or grill and allow it to cook, checking out the temperature from time to time.

Digital cooking thermometers

If you prefer a cooking thermometer that gives you a reading in an instant, buy a digital thermometer. In most cases, these are designed as probes – you stick the device into the meat or food so it can take the internal temperature. Digital cooking thermometers are designed to take the temperature of the food after it’s done and should not be left in the food while it’s being cooked.

Thermocouple

This is the perfect type of cooking thermometer to use if you want an instant reading and only want to take food temperature when the food is nearly done. It’s also capable of producing a fast read (2 to 5 seconds) and can take accurate temperatures of food regardless of thickness. This type also tends to be rather expensive.

Wireless cooking thermometers

The wireless cooking thermometer consists of two parts: one is the probe which you stick into the meat or food that you put in the oven or grill and the other is the wireless control. The probe takes the temperature of the food while the control shows you how high or low the temperature is. Once the food or meat has reached the ideal temperature inside the oven, the control will alert you.

Disposable cooking thermometers

This type of cooking thermometer is perfect for one-time use. They’re relatively cheaper and are the best choice for people who don’t feel the need to invest in a good cooking thermometer. They can provide the temperature of the food very quickly. Once you’re done with one, you can simply throw it away.

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