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under5dollars · 10 years
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Are u a good digital media writer?
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Hey our foodhunters!
So...we’ve been blogging for quite some time already and we’ve been receiving questions from you! Now , one question which particularly intrigued us  was: ‘what makes someone a good digital media writer’. This got us thinking. What do you need to have to be a good writer? Are we good writers? Are you a good writer?
We gave it some thought and have compiled a list of qualities that we felt good writers should have. Now we aren’t claiming to be brilliant writers because let’s face it, we’re not. What we have compiled in this post though are 5 basic posts to make you a good writer be it for a blog, facebook or twitter. Read on to determine if you are a good writer!   
Be committed
In anything that a person do, one has to be committed and the same principle applies to being a good digital media writer. When you are committed, you will have endless passion to the things you are doing. Also sometimes being committed would help you develop a better flow for the stories that you write as you would improve on your writings overtime,this would act as an advantage for you in becoming better digital media writer!
Have a sense of personality in your posts
When you write a post be it a blog post, a facebook post, a tweet or any other type of post, have a personality. What are we talking about? Well every writer, has their own personality. Under5dollars is run by a group of us so there are 5 different writer. If you take a look at out different posts you realise they tend to have different writing styles or “personalities”. In fact, the different points in this post is written by different members, i think after reading the whole post you will get a sense of what im talking about. If you are writing for a blog or website, figure out what the personality of the blog is first. Be it fiesty, calm, energetic, or hungry, inject that bit of personality into your posts and i promise it makes a world of difference.
[At the end of this post, can you figure which point is written by which member? If you’re an avid foodhunter i’m sure you recognize our different writing styles by now!]
Have an unique angle in whatever piece of news that you write
Creating an angle is the first thing every writers should do even before they start writing the article. By creating the angles, it will help writers keep their ideas in focus so their writing will not go out of point and hence avoiding confusion reaction from the readers. Creating an angle that is unique will help differentiate your article from your competitors especially if the topic discuss is similar. Hence drawing curiosity from your readers.  
So how do you tell if an angle is unique? If the story angle for the article have a fresh new perspective and something that hasn't been written from other writers, that will be your unique angle. Creating unique angles will not only gain reader's curiosity but also drive traffic towards your blog as readers felt that those interesting articles should be spread to their friends on social media.
Be sensitive towards people
The internet can be largely anonymous. However , this doesn't give anyone the right to hide their identity behind the computer and abuse others whether through mocking, stereotyping,calling names etc .Teenage suicides are a sad consequence of such cyber bullying. Many people use harsh words , vent their temper, frustrations on the digital world. What goes out in the digital world stays. Hence being insensitive to people can result in lowering of reputation if the action is made in haste. People in the digital world must maintain a mutual respect for each other.
Be honest and should not intentionally steal ideas or content from others.
There are times when you might need inspiration in order to start writing. This is perfectly normal and every writer experiences it. However it is not right to intentionally steal content from other sources. if you come across an idea that you really really like, you can add your own ideas to it and  make it unique to you. Then, it makes more sense for you to feature it on your blog because now, it is your idea. Now, no one can accuse you of stealing their ideas. simply ripping off ideas from other sources and pasting it on your site is equivalent to lying to our audience. The reason why people visit your blog is because they want to read original content written by you. Not to read content from other sites merely posted on your site. Think about it, would you like it if your favourite writer merely copies and pastes content from other sites to their site?
Now that you have read about the 5 basic points to keep in mind when writing for the web, how did you score? Are you a good writer? Well whether you scored well or not regardless we hope that this post has helped you in your growth as a web writer. That’s it for this post, check in again next time, this is Under5Dollars signing off.
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under5dollars · 10 years
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Are you hungry? Let’s eat Under5dollars!
PRESS RELEASE
By Team Under 5 dollars.
For immediate release:13 February 2013
Why Under5dollars?
Welcome all you food junkies! Oh wait, you’re not a food junkie? Well that doesn’t matter. Welcome to the first unique Singapore-based budget food blog, dedicated to find, create and spread news relating to cheap food findings. We sniff out any delicious dishes priced under 5 dollars to Singaporeans. Shopping spree? Splurge too much and now you’re low on cash? Join the club. There are plenty of Singaporeans that are on a tight budget so we blog on how to survive on low-budget. We have plenty of great tips and hidden gems to share so we created this  blog to spread our knowledge around.
Who are we?
We are a group of crazy foodies from Republic Polytechnic that finds joy in sharing things which makes lives a lot easier. Being a food enthusiast, we are passionate and dedicated in bringing freshest news twice weekly. The choice of content we created, are unknown and juiciest tips we could find.  What sets up apart? We are the only blog in Singapore which has a specified food budget (under five dollars) and we dedicate our blog to posting all food posts, recipes and tips which sticks closely to the budget specified. We are also supported greatly by our two partners; “ Budget pantry” and “On The Right Track” who inspires and motivates us.
So what’s on our market?  
We have the freshest posts that are churned out weekly, you’ll never get a rotten or out of date post here on this blog. Delicious food reviews? Check. Island-wide coverage? Check. You’ll always be able to find a good place to eat on a budget no matter where you go with a little help from our blog.
You want mouthwatering recipes because you want to stay in and cook? We have it! From desserts like cornflake cookies and apple pies to a plate of steaming hot nasi goreng for dinner, you name it, we have it. And whatever we don’t have, viewers can send in their requests and we will get right on that!
Here is a sneak peak of our most read posts
Recipe Post: ZEST UP THIS HOLIDAY WITH SOME CITRUS!
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Tips and Tricks Post : STUDY? NO, LET’S BAKE!
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Video Post: Homemade Apple Pie
A few quotes from our partners:
On the right track
“ Under5Dollars is a brilliant initiative to provide students on a tight budget with ideas on how they can spend their money wisely on cheap and good food. Perfect for a foodie like myself. Well done and all the best for this competition!”
So what can you do for our fresh produce?
Well spread the news! If you’re an editor or work for any publishing firm, bring up this blog and spread our message! Even if you’re not in the journalistic industry, you can help spread our news by sharing it on facebook, twitter or email it to your friends!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/under5dollars
Twitter:     https://twitter.com/Under5dollar
Email:       [email protected]
  Signing off, 
Under5DollarsTeam
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under5dollars · 10 years
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NASI GORENG – ENVELOPED
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Where : Bukit Timah, Cheong Chin Nam Road.
What? : Nasi Pattaya.
Rating: 4.7/5 (die die must try!)
Price: $4.80
Well food hunters, do not be deceived by the fact that the dish looks like an omelette dish.  Hiding in disguise is the rice inside the omelette and for those who do not know the name of this dish, please let me introduce to you the Nasi Pattaya!
 There are many versions of Nasi Pattaya all around Singapore, but this comes to me as my personal favourite. This dish is basically a mix of seafood fried rice wrapped around with a layer of egg. You could get this dish at the very well-known food stall: Al- Azhar which is located at Bukit Timah Road. This dish is served with a sauce called ‘chincalok’: a shrimp sauce
My advice, DO NOT add the sauce if you do not like having strong raw flavours. This dish stands strong as a dish alone. Costing just under 5 dollars, this dish is an awesome dish worth every penny left in your pocket.
Stay tuned for the next pose food hunters! Till then Ubaidullah Aka Superman!
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under5dollars · 10 years
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Another side to a cookie
Hello again foodhunters! It’s shay and I’m back to show you the other side of the cookie….dundundunnnn. Okay it’s really just a different variant of the traditional chocolate chip cookie but hey! If you’re looking for a recipe that gives more oomph to cookies then this is definitely what you've been looking for. So let’s begin!
The ingredients:
-      Flour (1 ½ cups)
-      1 stick of softened butter
-      1 large egg
-      ½ cup of chocolate chip (add more if you like)
-      Oatmeal (optional)
-      1 cup of sugar (add more or less to your preferences)
-      1 bowl of smashed cornflakes
  The recipe:
Step 1
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Mix in a large bowl all the dry ingredients like flour, sugar, chocolate chips. This is where I mixed in oatmeal to make the cookies chewier but you can skip the oatmeal if that’s not your preference.
  Step 2
Mix in the egg and softened butter to the mixture till it’s thick and gooey. (Tip: it’s easier to mix if the butter is chopped into small cubes) At this point you can gage and decide to add in more flour if you prefer dry cookies or more butter if you prefer soft cookies. (Also if you want you can add chocolate to this mixture for a chocolately cookie.)
  Step 3
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Scoop little spoonful of the dough and drop it into your bowl of crushed cornflakes to properly coat them. Make sure the dough is fully covered by cornflakes.  Repeat this step till you run out of dough.
  Step 4
Put your little balls of cornflake dough on a greased baking tray before putting them into the oven at 120 degrees Celsius for roughly 10 to 11 mintues. Make sure to keep an eye on them because they can burn if it’s in the oven for even one minute too long.
Step 5
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Take the cookies out of the oven once they are done and leave them to cool for roughly 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Once the cookies have cooled down sufficiently you can pack them away to store or dish them up to serve!
  These cookies are well liked by every one of all ages so it’s sure to be a hit. Or add some pink food colouring and use a different cereal to create a valentine’s version if you’d like. There are so many ways you can play around with this recipe so go try it and enjoy! This is shay signing off!
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under5dollars · 10 years
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‘Gosh, I can’t stand the heat!’
Hello foodies! It’s finally TGIS! (Thank god its Saturday).
Have you been feeling the unbearable heat returning? Recently Singapore was so cold and of course I am sure we enjoyed that ‘snowing’ period. With the global warming getting worse and creating chaos (I heard Indonesia and Philippines were snowing!) Singaporeans are advised to drink lots of water and put on sun protection on their skin.
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Not a ‘plain-water’ kind of person? No worries. Here are 3 tips for you~ where you can ditch the plain-water. Rather substitute it in your diets!
Tip #1: Go Juicing and squeezing!
Eat fruits and vegetables that are high in water content. Instead of grabbing a cold soda,(which we are all always tempted to) a healthier way to replenish the water lost through sweating is fruits and vegetables like apples, tomatoes, oranges, pears, pineapple and my personal favourite – the watermelon. I love eating watermelon whenever I’m thirsty because it has lots of water and I can eat it in chunks! It’s also a great source of snacks because by eating it in chunks it can easily fill my hungry tummy. Hehe . Sounds like a diet tip?
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Tip #2: Scoop the soup! Try soups and broth!
Soups and broth are helpful in bringing down your body temperature. This is why mothers always prepare soups whenever we have a fever! One such good soup that reduces the body heat is winter melon soup.
Soups and broth are helpful in bringing down your body temperature. This is why mothers always prepare soups whenever we have a fever! One such good soup that reduces the body heat is winter melon soup.
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Tip #3: Make Chrysanthemum Tea your favourite tea! Substitute your tea-tarik with organic/detoxifying/natural teas.
Most people would not know this but there are many health benefits from Chrysanthemum tea. One such benefit is its ability to cool down the body temperature. Other benefits include liver detoxification, calm down the nerves and many more. To know more benefits behind this tea, read it here.
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Well folks, this is my top three tips that I hope feel like icing on your head.
Till next time ,
DJ Sitz.
Happy weekends all!
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under5dollars · 10 years
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CNY SPECIAL POST: Fold, fold, fold to prosperity
Greetings foodhunters!
What: Rice Paper Spring Rolls
How much: Approximately $ 4/5 (depend on what ingredients you choose to put in) 
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How have your Chinese New Year celebrations been? I’m sure there must be numerous good foods you get to enjoy eh?
So lately, on Monday, when at school I heard a lot of people complaining how they feel like they have eaten too much during this festive occasion. We become full of guilt after putting on pounds after eating our hearts out during festive seasons. That’s when I got the idea to share this healthy and light snack recipe that will not suffocate your stomach any further.
 This recipe can be pretty cheap if you have a lot of leftover meats and vegetables at your fridge. Rice paper spring rolls are by far one of my favourite snack dish because I like the contrast in texture from the soft rice paper skin to the crunchy vegetables and meats.
  Ingredients:
4/5 pieces of rice papers
500       Gram of cooked and diced prawn
2     tbsps soy sauce 
1     carrot (large, peeled and grated)
1 cucumber (large, peeled and grated)
1/3 cup chopped cilantro        
 1 cup leaf lettuce (shredded)
  Method:
  First, prepare the rice paper skin.
1)    Prepare a warm water (not too hot for your hands)
2)    Dip the rice paper into the bowl to gently to soften it.
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3)    Carefully making sure all part of the rice paper is soft.
4)    With caution and gentle hands, place the soften rice paper to a flat surface. Making sure it’s even without any air pockets.
5)    Arrange the prawns, lettuce, cilantro, carrots and cucumber in an arranged manner at the centre of the whole rice paper shown in the picture below.
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6)    Lightly spread the soy sauce on top of the arranged mixture.
7)    Next, is the folding process.
8)    Fold two end corners towards the centre.
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9)    Do the same for the bottom flap. Fold it towards the centre.
10) With the 3 flap folded, roll the rectangle-shaped towards the top flap as shown in the picture here.
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11) To make sure the top flap stick, just dab your fingers to a little bit of water and dab it gently to a spot before sticking it together. The water act as a sticking agent, holding the sheet it place.
  12) So this is it! The finished product! Now just sit back and taste the fruit of your labour. Dip the spring roll into any type of sauces you prefer for added boost of flavour!
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  Pictures credited to:
www.eat8020.com
thaifood.about.com/
  Till next time, with lots of love,
Siti 
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under5dollars · 10 years
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CNY SPECIAL POST: MAGGIE-MEE - THE EVOLUTION OF TRADITIONAL NOODLES.
WHAT: Curry- flavoured Maggie mee (instant noodles)
HOW MUCH:  Less than $3 if food items aren’t available at home.
Yo foodhunters! I would like to start of my post by wishing all my Chinese mates/readers/friends a very Happy Chinese New Year!!
For all those whom are of Chinese ethnicity, noodles are something which you guys are very familiar with, since it is a staple and traditional food. Thus, for this CNY edition I would like to share a recipe related to noodles, Maggie mee. Maggie-Mee also known as instant noodles has evolved into a convenience food, compared to the times when our ancestors used to take time and skill to knead dough into noodles.
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Most of us would have surely tried Maggie-Mee at least once in our lifetime. The best thing about these instant noodles is that they are cheap and can be cooked in a few sweeping minutes.
Today, I chose to share with all of you my recipe because I feel many of us do not really know how to get the optimal flavour out of these instant noodles.
For this recipe, you would need:
1 pkt Maggie Mee noodle
1 egg
2 hotdogs
Method:
Boil the hotdog and leave it aside after it’s cooked.
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     2. Next, add exactly one and half cups of water to a cooking pan and let the water to come to a boil.    
     3. Secondly, add the Maggie mee powder followed by the noodles. 
     4. After 30 seconds or so, break the egg and add in with the noodles. The trick here is to boil the noodles in high flames for the first two minutes and then bring the flame down to the smallest for the next one minute. This is where; the flavour would be brought out! However be sure not to be haste and make sure the noodles are cooked properly.
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                                                                                                5.  Lastly cut the hotdogs into small pieces and serve it together in a bowl with the noodles.
     6. Walaaaaa…..  There you have the all-time Singaporean instant noodles all ready to be served in ten minutes!
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Till next time,
Signing off,
Ubaidullah A.K.A Superman
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under5dollars · 10 years
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CNY Special Post: Zest up this holiday with some citrus!
What : Fresh orange-coconut ambrosia
How much: Approximately $4 , if ingredients cannot be found at home.
Hi peeps. I am Mufidah, back this festive season with a zesty citrus dessert recipe for all of you. Firstly, I would like to wish all our readers a HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS. 
It is already the third day of the Chinese new year and your fridge must be booming with lot of mighty oranges! We are always left wondering what to do with all the extra oranges we receive.
I have got a recipe here which can be whipped up in less than 15 minutes using your lucky mandarin oranges. I hope this dessert will bring more good luck to you! 
This cold dessert is called fresh orange coconut ambrosia.
Never heard of 'Ambrosia' ? 
Ambrosia simple means ' traditional salad' widely believed to be an American dish originated in the 19th century. Most ambrosia recipes contain fresh or sweetened fruits and may include whipped cream,sour cream,yogurt or pudding. Sounds like such a yummy sweet treat isn't  it? 
Ingredients:
2 large mandarin oranges
3 tables of confectionery sugar ( $2 for a packet at NTUC fairprice)
1 oz or about 1/2 cup grated fresh coconut or flaked coconut ($2 at provision shops)
2 table spoons orange juice ( you can just use remaining oranges and squeeze out some juice).
How to do: 
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1. Peel oranges , being careful to remove all outer white membrane. 
2. cut oranges crosswise into thin slices,about 1/8 inch thick.
3. Layer a third of slices in a serving bowl. 
4. Sprinkle with 1.5 tablespoons of the confectioner's suagr , then with 1/4 cup coconut and 1 table orange juice.  
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5. Repeat layer on more time.
6. Refrigerate 1 hour. 
7.Make 3 servings of Ambrosia. 
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You may add a whipped cream topping to make the dessert look even more poppy and pretty!
Stay tuned for more Chinese-new-year-special posts from our under5dollars team!
Remember to share with us your Chinese new year dish recipes and hit like if you fancy this post. 
Till next time,
Mufidah.  
**photo courtesy: http://www.lanascooking.com/ **
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under5dollars · 10 years
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Tips to save some pennies!
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Good evening fellow food hunters!
I hope you have been enjoying our surprising tips and tricks on our previous posts that you can follow to help you save some money. Today, I’m going to reveal more secrets of money saving tips!
Buying ingredients can be very expensive, whether at supermarkets or normal neighborhood minimarts.
Here are my top ten tips:
#1: Make a list!
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  Make a list every time you have to go groceries shopping. By making a list, you can check up on the things you still have inside the fridge. This way you will only have to buy those ingredients that are necessary.
#2: Cook dishes that can be stored and last for a few days.
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   Have you seen Rachel Ray’s week in a day cooking show ?
She demonstrates how to cook large portion of food that can last for a week! Phew imagine how much time and money that saves! This is because by cooking large portion of meal, you can divide that meal you cook into a few days! But of course…you have to be careful to store the food properly so that it doesn’t get spoiled within the week.
#3: Branded doesn’t mean good
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Customers always have the assumption that if it’s a good brand and expensive that means it is produced with a higher quality. Wrong! Sometime, the price is a lot higher because you are helping the brand to gain some profit. Try tasting a normal branded cheese and a high quality cheese and ask yourself the difference. Chances are you won’t be able to tell because both of them are produced the same way.  Advertising tries to fool us into believing it. So do not fall prey to it.
#4: Don’t shop with a hungry tummy
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Don’t ever do this! Seriously. When you are hungry you tend to buy a lot of food most of which you actually do not need.
  #5: Look out for brand promotions
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I got this tip from my mum. Some brands on major supermarkets will have value discounts. At times you can buy them at cheaper price as compared to their original pricing. So, open your eyes to the discounts!
#6: Different kind of expiration dates
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  How many of you know the difference between ‘Use By’ and ‘Best Before’? Well, let me ask you a question. How many of you will throw away your food upon seeing this words on the expired date? If you are one of them, like most of us, you have actually wasted quite a few numbers of foods!
Best before date: Still safe to consume after the date
Best before does not refer to the how long will the food last and if its still safe to consume. Best before only refers the manufacturer's view of when they're at optimum quality. It just an indication that the food is not in its best taste and quality any longer.
The use-by date: Throw it! use by dates means the food is safe to consume only before the date stated. Anything longer is danger!
  #7: Buy in bulk
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  My dad loves to buy things in bulk. This is where I adopt the habit. Basic necessities like rice, pasta, canned foods and condiments are a lot cheaper when buy in bulk rather than small cans or packaging individually.
#8: Choose the right kind of meat
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  Instead of buying pre-cut meat prepared by the butcher, I will recommend you to buy more-affordable untrimmed pieces, and prep them yourself. Pre-cut meats are a lot expensive rather than the untrimmed ones. I know it’s very tiring but hey, it’s like a good hand exercise right? 
#9 : Use loyalty or membership cards.
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  Supermarkets have come up with this ‘privileged’ trick to keep their loyal customers. So, if you haven’t had one of these cards yet, get one! You can save a few dollars upon paying for your groceries.
  #10 : Shop alone
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  When you bring a friend, parents, spouse or kids along with you to grocery shopping,  chances are that they will add on additional items into your shopping list, making you spend a lot more than what you intended to. By shopping alone, you get to focus on buying only the items that are necessary and you get to stick to your budget plan for that day.
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So my fellow foodhunters, these are the tips I have for you guise. Make sure to use these tips  to help you save money while groceries shopping and pass this around to your love ones. They will thank you for that! 
  Till next time,
DJ Sitz 
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under5dollars · 10 years
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Tips: Fruity Galore
Everyone likes to buy fruits, they're healthy and delicious but fruits can be taxing on the wallet. I mean seriously there’s so many variety and you end up spending so much on them. And then they don’t last long before their spoilt and wastes your money. Soooo….what can you do? Well here are 5 tips on how to save your fruits and inevitably your money!
Tip #1 Freeze It
Freezing fruits will save you from tossing out all those delicious bits by slowing it from going bad. For soft fruits like blueberries or grapes, simply remove the stems and toss them in a freezer. Bananas just need to be peeled and off into the freezer. Drizzle lemon juice on apples and pears to prevent them from going brown in the fridge.
Tip #2 Frozen treats
Craving some ice cream? No problem, just toss the frozen fruit into a blender with a tablespoon of honey and a few scoops of yogurt! Blend it up for about 45 seconds and it’s ready to serve.
Tip #3 Smoothie Mornings
A great way to get that energy boost in the morning is a cup of smoothie! Guess what? It’s not that hard either! Just toss your favourite combination of fruits, and a handful of oats (it makes it creamy), and a splash of milk into the blender and ta da! Instant smoothie! (P.s. Bananas and strawberries are really good together)
  Tip #4 Pack it in ziplocks
Making those fruit smoothies in Tip #2 might take some time so to whip it up real quick before dashing off to school, pack it beforehand! Pack your favourite combinations of fruits into different ziplock bags and toss them in the freezer. In the morning, just grab a bag, empty it into the blender and you will have an instant smoothie in a minute. Viola!
Tip #5 Everyone loves a nice fruit salad
If you just feel like having a quick refreshing snack, chop up those left over fruits and mix them in a bowl. Presto! Instant fruit salad!
  Alright! Now armed with these 5 new tips I hope you have a healthy yummy snack and not waste all those expensive fruits! This is shay signing off!
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under5dollars · 10 years
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Choux pastry anyone?
Hey foodhunters! So recently we had an interview with Ruqoiyah, a girl not much older than most of us, but at only age 20 has a successful online bakery and a physical bakery in the near future. Well she shared with us a recipe for Choux Pastry that will only cost you under 5 dollars! So warm up those ovens, put on your apron and let’s get baking!
What you need:
200ml Water
100g Butter
130g Pastry flour
A pinch of salt
4 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla essence
  How to do it:
So you put the butter and the water in the saucepan and let it boil first. And then after once it’s boiled you add the flour. Once you add the flour in, it will become a paste known as choux paste.
So once this choux paste is made, you have to cool the dough to about 45 degrees celcius. Because when you add the eggs if it is too hot the eggs will cook. The eggs cook at 65 degrees so you are supposed to let the paste cool at 45 degrees. So you can actually put the paste in a stand mixer and just allow it to wait.
Then after that it will evaporate all the heat and that you can add the eggs one at a time. Lastly add vanilla essence. This is known as the choux pastry and you can pipe it into the trays. Like you can pipe it into a cream puff, éclair, anything you’d like. Then you just spray water and bake it at 200 degrees celsius for roughly 15–20 mins.
  Well that’s it for the recipe and I hope you had fun! Check out our interview with her or other recipes we posted. And don’t forget to check back with us in a few days because some Chinese New Year posts will be up soon!
Well this is U5D signing off!
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under5dollars · 10 years
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Study? No, let's bake!
Hey foodhunters! So everyone here probably has passion or interest in food one way or another, and today we have an interview with Ruqoiyah Bte Abdul Haleem, a girl that took her passion for food one step further than most of us.
Ruqoiyah started baking at age 16 and started taking professional baking courses to improve her skills a year later. She started her studies in a polytechnic at age 18 like many others but decided to drop out after a week to pursue her interest. Now at only 20, her passion for baking has led her to owning her own online bakery and a physical store in the near future.
We talk to the young baker in an interview:
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U: Can you like introduce yourself and what do you do for a living
R: Oh ok, my name is Ruqoiyah and I bake cakes for a living.
U: How long have you been baking?
R: 2 years.
U: 2 years, but you were in Republic Polytechnic before right?
R: Yea I was in RP before and then I decided to quit because I didn’t like the way the teaching was and another thing was because I had a passion in baking so I thought that even if I were to continue in RP, I may not have the interest in like doing what I was doing there.
U: Okay so you decided to quit and pursue your passion of baking?
R: Yes
U: I heard that you have gone for various professional baking courses? Could you give us an example?
R: Yea... I have taken a diploma in this particular private school which is known as BITC which is Baking Industry Training Centre.
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U: Okay so how long is that course?
R: It’s a year and a half course which is a part time course because I couldn’t get into the full time one. So I took the part time one. So I actually baked and sell the product at the same time learned.
U: Have you finished the course or are you still going through the course?
R: I just finished the course and I will be receiving my certificate soon.
U: How often like do you bake? Do you have customers on a daily basis?
R: It’s more like when my customers order place their orders then I bake. But almost every week I bake. Most of the time it’s during the weekends because that’s when most people have their parties and events.  They always need their products for the weekends so I always spend baking on the weekend.
U: Okay so okay now basically our blog is about baking/cooking things under 5 dollars so do you think it is possible to make a pastry or any dessert that is under 5 dollars which you have learned over your course or anything?
R: Uh under 5 dollars which means you are supposed to learn… like a recipe?
U: Yup do you have any recipes you can share which is under 5 dollars? Like a pastry?
R: Yea it is a pastry. There are others also, I mean pastries which falls under 5 dollars.
U: Like? Do you have an example to give?
R: Errr this thing is known as choux paste and you turn it into cream puffs, éclairs and anything else. This is the basic recipe which can be made into anything you want.
U: So this is a basic recipe that can be baked under 5 dollars?
R: Yea.
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U: Okay so what are your future plans? Are you planning to open any shops or bakeries?
R: Yea.  I actually plan to open up a bakery. I haven’t sat down and thought about it yet but I am in the process of doing one by one because if you’re going to open a bakery you need a few… you need a good menu, you need people, you need workmanship. So you need manpower and everything. I have to settle everything one by one then think about opening a bakery.
U: Alright, thank you for the interview!
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Well that’s it for this post! Check out the recipe Ruqoiyah shared with us on how to bake Choux paste at under 5 dollars or our other recipes. If you would like to find out more about her you can check out her facebook.
 Don’t forget to check back with us in a couple of days because with Chinese New Year just round the corner the team here at Under5Dollar has something special for you!
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under5dollars · 10 years
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The best Singapore buffets you can find under 30 bucks. Now you can eat all you want without murdering your wallet. Best value buffets including Xiao Long Baos!
Hey foodhunters! With Chinese New Year (CNY) approaching in a week everyone will soon have more money to spend and not be so broke anymore! (Well... for awhile till you spend the money) 
So here's a link to an article I found online about the 10 cheapest but best buffets in Singapore under $30! I know i know, it's waaaay above our usual $5 but with those ang baos cashing in, I figured I would share this with you in case you want a price friendly but delicious buffet place to check out after this CNY! So enjoy and maybe comment below on what you plan to spend your CNY money on! Happy Chinese New Year in advance!
This is Shay signing off~
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under5dollars · 10 years
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Salt & pepper prawns
Recipe: Salt & pepper prawns
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Hey FoodHunters! Today, I have a very simple and less time consuming recipe to share with you guys. Hope you guys try it at home and like it 
Ingredients:
De-shelled prawns
Rice Wine
Corn Starch
Diced Garlic
Red Chilli
Cut spring onions
Sea Salt
Pepper
  Procedure:
Clean the prawns and remove its shells.
Soak prawns in rice wine for 2 min.
Add corn starch to prawns and mix well.
Shallow fry the prawns and take them off the skillet once they turn pink.
Add garlic and chilli and shallow fry them.
Add fried prawns to the mixture.
Mix well and add salt.
Add pepper to the prawns.
Garnish with Spring Onions.
  That’s it! Enjoy your meal guys!
Till next time,
Angel xx.
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under5dollars · 10 years
Video
Ingredients: 
1 yellow Onion 
3 clove garlic 
1 can of tomato puree 
Pinch of salt 
1 packet of chicken hotdog (optional- alternatives can be any kind of proteins ) 
1 jug of water 
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1. Chop onion and garlic. 
2. Blend it (optional)
I prefer to blend it because I dont like to eat chunks of onions and garlic. 
3. Heat oil in frying pan.  
4. Add the onion and garlic mixture to the hot oil in the frying pan stir often until aromatic
5. Add in the tomato puree into the frying pan. 
6. Add in water depending on how thick you like the sauce to be. 
7. Add in a pinch of salt 
8. Add in the hotdogs, into the sauce 
9. Stir the mixture and wait till boiled 
For the spaghetti: 
1) Boil water in a pot
2) Add in the spaghetti into the pot only when the water is boiling 
3) Cook for about 8-10 mins. 
4) When cooked, drain the spaghetti from the pot of water. 
Serve the spagetti on a plate with the sauce on top. 
Bon Appétit!
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I wanted to create a dish that is so simple that those who do not know how to cook will be able to follow these instruction. It is very simple to cook and takes only about 15-20 mins. I hope this recipe is simple enough for you. What's more is that the ingredients are easy to find and doesn't cost much. Perfect for those of you that is on a tight budget! Enjoy! 
Yours truly, 
DJ Sitz 
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under5dollars · 10 years
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Money > Food?
Hey Foodhunters!
We are back with a special post today! So now that you have been following our blog for a while (I hope you have been), you probably have benefited quite a bit. But we still wanted to find out, exactly how have we or will we help you save more money. So to do that we did a little survey with 30 students and here are our results!
How much do students save in a week really?
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According to the results, a majority save $10 or more, Fantastic! Not only that 53% but the other 46% that saves less than $5 as well, don’t you want to find out how to save more? That’s what we do in our posts really, we show you the best ways to save while still eating the best! Like Jamie Oliver said, it's totally possible to "Eat like a king, no matter what the budget".
Alright so how do you save money?
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According to the majority at 48% , they look for the cheapest food possible, great! But the majority at 60% said that the cheapest food isn’t the most appetising, so save your tastebuds and go check out our food posts then. The 30% that brings food from home, do you cook? Even if you don’t try checking out our recipes that are guaranteed idiotproof. And lastly our 22%, please don’t starve yourself just because of lack of cash! Check out our tips on surviving with small budgets and making it last, your tummy will thank you, i promise.
So after learning all these information, we the team of Under5Dollars know more now on what you want. More posts on delicious food under 5 dollars? Yes! More posts on simple recipes for our cooking audience to take out? Yes yes! And we will also put up more tips! Check out our Twitter as starting tomorrow, we will be posting a tip every day either for cooking, eating, or anything else that will help you out! Exciting isn’t it? Share with us your tips too if you’d like, either by dropping us a message here, or tweet to us at @Under5Dollar with the hashtag, #U5DailyTip
We can’t wait to hear from you so comment below, send us a message or tweet us anything you want us to find, or post about!
Signing off this is the Under5Dollars Team!
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under5dollars · 10 years
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Prata Craving?
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Hello hello again foodhunters! Its shay and I'm back with a personal favourite to share. Okay so today I'm going to tell you one of my go to places for good prata!  What's so good about this place? Located at Hougang Avenue 5 block 327, this prata store wont be missed with it's giant flashing neon signboard. But it's not just eye catching because this store has a wide variety of prata from the classic kosong prata (plain prata) to my absolute favourite cheese mushroom prata. 
So does it taste good? Yes yes yes! The prata was crispy but still had enough moisture that didn't make it feel like flour in your mouth. Also if you ordered a mushroom cheese prata like me the cheesey flavour hidden in the folds of the prata definitely is a welcome changed from the normal plain prata flavour. The mushrooms in it were juicy and gave the right contrast of wet vs. dry prata.  The pratas are also served with your choice of sufar or curry.  The curry here is wonderful in the aspect that its spicy but still tolerable for someone that doesn't take spice well like me. What's the verdict? Overall I'd say this is well worth your money at only $3.20 for a mushroom prata or $0.80 for a plain one. Its delicious and cost so little, this is one to keep in that bookmark folder foodhunters!  Well that's all from me today so this is shay signing off till next time.
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