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For many, the silly season means overindulgence and shopping till we drop. But we eventually cry in January. Do not despair. There are ways to enjoy the holidays without breaking the bank. Food guru Siba Mtongana and financial expert Maya Fisher-French share some sound advice on how to celebrate wisely.
Don’t overcook
“Preparing a gourmet Christmas meal is not about having a stack of food on the table that ends up going to waste; it’s about having a balanced menu that will leave your guests wanting more,” says the celebrity chef.
Mtongana, who has a food show and will be launching her cookbook Welcome to My Table tomorrow, says we often make too many mistakes when preparing special menus.
Here are her tips to avoid doing so:
. We often cook way too much food, and foods that are in the same food groups, making the menu unbalanced. For instance, if you have rice salad or savoury rice, there is no need for biryani, pasta, roast potatoes or potato salad, as these are in the same food group.
. We all love meat, but too much of it is bad for your health. Limit your meat intake to two options: one red meat such as a lamb roast, and a white meat option such as chicken, gammon or fish.
. Most of us have loads of leftovers the day after Christmas and they can often last for a few days. But if not used or eaten, the food goes to waste. Try to revamp leftover gammon, for instance, by slicing it and creating gourmet sandwiches, or shredding it to fill a wrap. Add leftover salad to the wrap and enjoy a picnic lunch with friends and family.
. If you must have starch, one is enough, but two starches are allowed as it’s Christmas! Savoury rice and roast potatoes are okay, but then leave out pasta salad and other starchy foods. Instead, have a variety of vegetable options such as greens, butternut and salads.
Shop wisely
There is something interesting about money and the festive season, says Fisher-French.
“People tend to spend like there is no tomorrow during the festive season. They spend all their money on things they don’t need, only to find that in January they are in debt or have to create debts to survive until the next payday, which is often 40 days later.”
Fisher-French has six tips for surviving the silly season:
. Don’t take your credit cards or store cards when you go shopping. Credit and store cards are like easy money – you don’t feel as if you are spending money when using them because you are buying now and paying later.
. Leave the kids at home when you go shopping, unless there is nobody to look after them. Kids can be a distraction because they ask for things and you may end up spending money you don’t have.
. Instead of carrying your bank card, withdraw money beforehand and leave the card at home. This will ensure that you are not tempted to go beyond your budget and buy things you were not planning to buy.
. Eat before you leave the house – that way, you will not feel the need to spend money on lunch or even dinner.
. Whether you are getting a bonus or not, allocate money for Christmas spending. Try to pay all your bills before doing this and the remainder will guide you on what you can spend for the festive season.
. If you received a bonus, don’t splash it all at once. Take some of the money and put it into a savings account, because you have your salary, which usually covers all of your bills.
Christmas big spenders
The Nzama family from Nagina, western Durban, are big Christmas spenders. Their average budget for Christmas Day alone is R3 000. It sounds outrageous, but when Wendy Nzama explains where all the money goes, it’s understandable.
The bulk of the Nzamas’ Christmas budget is spent on food. The family believes in cooking up a storm for Christmas. “Over the years we have not cooked the standard rice, curry and salads, but have opted for African cuisine – chicken feet, butternut, samp, beans, sweet potatoes, intestines, oxtail and steamed bread,” Nzama explains.
But this year, the family is doing something different: they are going gourmet. For the main course, it’s a choice between leg of lamb, corned beef, ox tongue or Hong Kong chicken with rice, roasted veggies and baby potatoes.
For dessert, the Nzamas will be having brownies topped with hot custard and stewed fruit or ice cream.
Nzama (33) says Christmas is a big deal for her family because everybody comes together at her grandmother’s house in Nagina.
“My mother, father, aunts, uncles and all our kids celebrate Christmas at my gran’s place. All in all, we are looking at 13 family members, including children – and that’s not counting the neighbours,” she says.
Although more than half of the Christmas budget goes into food, some of it is spent on gifts for the family’s six children. Gifts are a big deal for them and they even use a stokvel to save for them. “We encourage each child to save at least R40 from their allowance every month. By December they have about R500 each in the kitty,” says Nzama.
She estimates that with the gifts and all the extras needed for Christmas, their total budget is about R6 000. She admits that this may be excessive, but “Christmas is special to us because it means a family day and it’s something that happens once a year”.
Mtongana and Fisher-French’s recommendations are still worth considering, says Nzama.
“The tips make sense and they are doable. In these economic times, every cent counts.
“We will consider cutting down on having different kinds of red meat and maybe just have leg of lamb and chicken, so that people have a choice. We will certainly try to withdraw money and carry cash on the day we do our Christmas grocery shopping to avoid buying things that were not on the list.”
How do you make the most of your leftovers and keep tabs on your spending over the festive season?
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WIN! WIN! WIN!
City Press is giving one lucky reader the chance to win Siba’s new cookbook, titled Welcome to My Table. To enter this competition, SMS your full name with the keyword SIBA to 34217. Each SMS costs R1.50. Competition closes on Wednesday at 5pm
