2 Kitchen Staples That Pull Double Duty

I'm pretty frugal in all areas of my life, one being in the kitchen. When my ex lost his job in the mid 2000's and insurance was going to cost us about $800 a month, he started to insist we could no longer eat organically. I was like "Oh no. I will find a way to make this work." And I did.

There was such a huge difference in how my body felt when eating mostly organic foods. And although I dine out on occasion, I just didn't want the choice of what I prepared at home taken away from me. Long story short, along with adjusting our budget at the time so that I could continue to buy and prepare organic and healthy meals, when I had to make budget cuts again after my divorce, I managed to get my weekly food budget down to $25 to $35 per week, totaling only $100 to $140 per month.

One thing that has been really helpful in cutting back on my budget is purchasing kitchen staples that pull double duty. One kitchen staple that pulls double duty is my sea salt. I would buy scented salts for my weekly baths from the bath and body departments, however decided that I would receive the same benefits from using the sea salt I purchased at the grocery store for my food. And I always have 1 to 3 essential oils on hand to add to my massage oil for self massages and I use those oils to add to my bath salts for a relaxing and therapeutic bath soak.

My absolute favorite double duty kitchen staple however is Olive Oil. I absolutely love the taste of olive oil and it makes everything smell so good when you cook with it. It makes the kitchen smell like you're really cooking up something and like you know what you're doing, LOL.

I don't fry much but when I want fried potatoes for breakfast I use olive oil. I add it to pasta along with garlic, basil, tomatoes and sometimes chicken for a yummy pomodoro. I usually cook my salmon in just water, but sometimes I like a little crust and crunch so I'll add a little Olive Oil to the pan for some crunchy yumminess. Oh my gosh, let's see what else. I'll add it to my broccoli, spinach, tomatoes with a touch of salt and pepper. I drizzle it over toasted french bread with the same ingredients I use for my pomodoro to make a nice brushcetta. I use it to cook my popcorn, adding a little on top of the popcorn instead of butter when it's done. I'm sure there are some ways I'm forgetting, but the double duty of this wonderful and healthier oil is that it crosses over into my bath rituals which saves me money.

Once a week I'll take an essential oil bath and add a cap full of Olive Oil to my bath to help condition and soften my skin. Once or twice a week I'll also give myself a self massage using olive oil mixed with my favorite essential oils, usually sweet orange and/or lavender to help me get the best sleep. And during winter months or whenever something is going around I'll add a mint oil like Eucalyptus or Peppermint and sometimes Tea Tree which is anti everything, to about 1/4 cup of olive oil for a rub down staple that helps to keep colds away. The use of olive oil saves me about $12 a month as the moisturizer that I like to use is about that amount.

Another great use of Olive Oil is that I use it for a monthly or twice per month hair conditioning treatment. After I shampoo my hair, I'll massage my scalp with Olive Oil and comb it through and let it stand for about 30 minutes while I clean or run errands after which I'll rinse it out and then use conditioner. The olive oil treatments I would buy cost about $3 for one packet and I would typically get 1 to 2 uses out of one pack. I would do the olive oil treatment twice a month so that's $3 saved. I know $3 isn't a lot, but when I add it to the $12 I save on the paraben free body moisturizer, we're talking a savings of $15 a month and that's a savings of about $180 a year. Again, I know it's not a HUGE savings, but when a ticket to Miami may only cost $130, hey, well, that's a plane ticket to Miami.

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