Giveaway: “Budget Bytes,” a wonderful cookbook.

351095I’ve often said that food is the budget category with the most wiggle room. After all, you usually can’t bargain down your car payment or your rent. Groceries, on the other hand, can be finagled.

That’s how Beth Moncel came to start a blog and later write a book. Her student loans were “eating her alive,” she said, so she had to cut spending. When a car repair knocked her budget sprawling, Moncel decided to spend no more than $6 per day for food in order to pay the freight.

Having earned a bachelor’s degree in nutritional science, she already knew how to make food healthy. Now she just had to make it affordable.

To keep herself on track she created a blog, BudgetBytes.com. Soon she developed quite the fan base, because plenty of us would love to eat well but also cheaply.

Now she’s also got a book, “Budget Bytes: Over 100 Easy, Delicious Recipes to Slash Your Grocery Bill in Half.” Reading it makes me hungry, filled as it is with ideas like Huevos Rancheros Bowls (served over grits instead of wrapped in corn tortillas), Spinach & Artichoke Pasta, Curried Potato & Pea Soup, Chicken Tamale Pie, Teriyaki Salmon With Sriracha Mayo, Cumin-Lime Sweet Potato Sticks, Firecracker Cauliflower, White Beans With Spinach & Bacon, Savory Coconut Rice, and Southwest Veggie & Rice Casserole.

And oh, damn her, the desserts. Chocolate cake microwaved in a mug. Monkey Bread. Apple Pie Bites. Peach Bubble Cake. Chai Spiced Almonds. Did I really need to know how to make Strawberry-Cream Cheese Quesadillas, which are swell, super-fast  stand-ins for expensive cheesecake? (Technically, no, but I’m sure glad I learned. They’re really good!)

If you want to cook interesting yet surprisingly simple foods, this is the book for you. Or maybe it’s the perfect gift for a new graduate who’s just getting his or her own place — as Moncel noted, student loans are a bear.

To enter:

If you do any (or all!) of these things, please leave separate, additional comments to get credit for each entry.

The deadline to enter is 7 p.m. PDT Tuesday, April 22. If I don’t hear back from the winners by 10 p.m. PDT Wednesday, April 23, I’ll pick a new winner. So if you enter, be sure to check your e-mail.

Whether you win or not, be sure to check out her site. That is, unless recipes like S’mores Macarons don’t interest you.

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106 thoughts on “Giveaway: “Budget Bytes,” a wonderful cookbook.”

  1. Sounds delicious and would also make a great gift for a new grad! I’m hoping the $6/day is for a family…as I currently spend about $3.33/day, so I’m hoping I can afford her delicious-sounding recipes. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  2. Looking at retirment in the next two years and this would be such a help for me to stay within my budget and eat well. I have to go check out her website. Thanks, Donna!

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  3. I’m going to be a struggling mom of 5 trying to pay back student loans! lol I started college in January, and I’m dreading when the payments start 🙁

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  4. i am finishing up culinary school this semester, so i am definitely into anything tasty but not costly. i need this to stay frugal yet delicious because i love good food but hate overpaying for groceries. looks like a great book. best wishes to everyone reading this…happy spring.

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  5. I checked out her book from the library last month and loved it. I’d sure like to have my own copy. 😉 Thanks for the opportunity. I am a vegetarian and usually have to skip vast sections of cookbooks but hers had a lot of vegetarian recipes because they are cheap!

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  6. DYING to win this! I meant to include it in my last Amazon order but forgot and now have to earn another $30 on Swagbucks first.

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  7. Thanks for letting us know about her blog! I’m a student (do I even need to say I have a really limited food budget?) and look forward to being able to expand my cooking repertoire! Random number generator, pick me! (Or I will zap you with even more exclamation points – zap! zap! zap!)

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  8. Love Budget Bytes.
    I’ve tried several recipes and haven’t found one that I didn’t like. Plus the pictures are great and the instructions easy to follow – I recommend it to everyone.
    I would LOVE to win the cookbook!

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    • It’s a good primer for those who’ve never cooked. The recipes can be made even cheaper if you do things like soak your own beans vs. opening a can, but…one thing at a time! The fact that she gives the easy enchilada sauce recipe will save some folks a ton of money. I had no idea it was that simple to make.

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  9. Looks good! I started a personal project of buying $10 worth of food for the food bank each week this year. Makes the grocery budget a bit tighter. So I’m always looking for tips.

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  10. I have a son starting graduate school soon and he could benefit from some easy healthful recipes. He will need to keep a tighter budget.

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  11. I’m a cookbook addict, and this would add nicely to my collection. I also like to learn more on budgeting, frugalness, etc.

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  12. I am always looking for cheaper yet still healthy meals. I am on a mission to pay off student loans as well. I’m afraid to take on any additional monthly payments (like a mortgage) until they are paid off. But I am soooo ready to own my own place!

    Reply

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