With the alarming increase in the prices of many basic foodstuffs, and with every sector in Egypt affected in one way or another by the recent economic ups and downs, many Egyptian housewives are resorting to ingenious methods to make sure that they can put food on the table for their families, something that has a particular importance during the holy month of Ramadan. Hanan Fathi, the owner of a shop and the mother of two children, set out the basic laws of home economics. “Two kilogrammes of potatoes, two kilogrammes of onions, a bottle of oil, a packet of butter, two kilogrammes of meat and two chickens are the monthly must buys, basic food stuffs that the household must have whatever its financial condition,” she said. Housewives could buy more of these items if they had the money to do so at the end of the month, but such items were necessities. However, there were also ways of making food go further, she said. Meat is expensive, for example, and it can be stretched by buying mince and then using this for a variety of recipe ideas rather than buying a single joint. “Housewives should also avoid pre-packaged food, and there should be a day or two a week when leftovers are eaten, particularly for families who can't afford to cook food from scratch every day,” she said. In Ramadan, housewives should begin planning their menus from before the beginning of the month, cooking and storing food items as needed, she said. In particular, all housewives should learn to stock up on vegetables, meat, rice, spaghetti, and sugar before the beginning of Ramadan. Among tips to make family budgets go further, Fathi recommended buying tomatoes when they are cheap, turning them into tomato paste and then freezing them for use later when prices become more expensive. Housewives should become used to cooking large amounts of particular dishes and storing meals in the freezer. Bread can also be bought in advance and stored in the freezer, she said, as it could be difficult to find the time to queue for bread during Ramadan. Grandmother Aliaa Abdel-Wahed said that any good housewife needed to keep a close eye on the basic needs of her household. She should always check her shelves before going shopping to make sure that she only buys things she needs, and she should always buy what she knows she will use and nothing more. Abdel-Wahed also recommended that penny-conscious housewives should try making their own jam, pickles, and desserts, as these can save considerable amounts of money, especially during Ramadan. Responsible mothers should buy lots of fruit, which is cheaper and healthier than ready-made desserts, she added. In addition, some housewives might think about capitalising upon their talent for handicrafts or other domestic skills. “A housewife who is good at a certain craft should take advantage of this to increase her income. For example, if she is good at embroidery she could make her own table cloths or spend her spare time making embroidered items to sell,” Abdel-Wahed said. Clothes should be ironed at home rather than sent to the cleaners. Mobiles should be used only in emergencies and fans should be used instead of air conditioners. A responsible housewife should help her children study instead of resorting to private lessons, she added. Eman Taha, an engineer and the mother of three, said that home economics reach equilibrium when a housewife understands the basic needs of her household. “Always write down what you need on a shopping list. Go shopping in hypermarkets, especially the wholesale ones, and never take your children with you as they will nag you into buying things you don't need and that you may end up throwing away at the end of the month. This doesn't mean depriving the children. It simply means knowing what the amount of money you have to spend each month is. Buy what you need, not what you want to try out. If you really want to try something, buy a small amount so that it does not go to waste,” she said. Taha said that housewives should never go shopping during fasting hours in Ramadan, as this could encourage them to buy things they do not really need. “Always go shopping once a week and buy only what you plan to cook,” she said. Aida Hanafi, a grandmother, said that people should follow the nutritional codes of the poor as they often lead healthier lives than the rich and middle classes. “Middle-class families eat a lot of meat and poultry, while poor families eat meat once a week and eat vegetables and legumes like fava beans and lentils instead. These are valuable sources of vegetable protein and are healthier than animal protein,” she said. To save money and lead a healthy life, people should try to do the same. In addition, poorer families make desserts at home and use artificial gee, while the middle classes buy desserts from confectioners, which is very expensive. Housewives should emulate poorer families by making their own sweets at home, as this is much cheaper, Hanafi said. She also recommended taking advantage of offers in supermarkets or hypermarkets, as these could save families a lot of money, with discounts on meat, fish, rice, spaghetti, tea and coffee. “You can save around LE50 or more if you buy things worth a total of LE300 to LE400,” she added. Wholesale markets are also key. “Every month, one member of the family could go to wholesale markets and buy quantities of vegetables, fruit and meat and distribute these among the other members of the family. This could save up to 75 per cent on the local grocery shop prices,” she added. After the increases in the prices of nuts and dried fruits, especially during the holy month of Ramadan last year and also this year, housewives should go back to the traditional method of making sweets by blending carrot with orange juice instead of using qamareddin (apricot juice), she said. They should also use peanuts to stuff sweets instead of the more expensive pistachios, almonds and hazel nuts. They should use ajwa (pressed dates) instead of dried apricots and raisins, Hanafi said. Mokhtar Al-Sherif, an economist, said that the current increase in prices could make people take significant economising measures. “Storing pre-cooked food is not always practical, as its nutritional benefits decrease when frozen, so it could be better to store part-cooked vegetables after boiling them in the freezer as this will save time and money in Ramadan, when prices can sometimes double.” “Using other types of juice like orange and carrot is practical, but housewives should also consider natural drinks like hibiscus or date juice. As for storing long-life food stuffs like rice and sugar, this is a good idea, but it is better to buy for four-week periods. Anything more than this can bring storage problems,” he said. How to save money during Ramadan: • Buy food from wholesale markets, especially sugar and oil and other things used on a daily basis. • Never switch on more than one lamp in any room. • Adjust air conditioners to 25 degrees to save power and try to have only one air conditioner at home. • Don't use strong lights when the TV or computer is on. • Try not to keep opening and closing the refrigerator. • Cut back on using the washing machine and oven. • If you have to cook every day, try to use part-cooked or pre-prepared food to save energy • Iron clothes at home if you have a lot of ironing to do. • The whole family should use one car if family members are going to the same destination. • The whole family should eat at the same time, as this can save on washing up. • Think about cutting back on designer clothing and perfumes. • Use ordinary phones for private conversations and avoid more expensive mobile calls. • Read up on healthy foods like fruit and vegetables and eat more of them, especially in Ramadan. • Try to avoid imported foods like qamareddin and use them only if you have to. • Eating too much meat is unhealthy, so meat should not always be the family's main course.
