How Would a Vacuum Food Sealer Be a Benefit for You?

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Vacuum Food Sealers are devices that every modern homemaker should have in their kitchen. They are available in either battery-operated hand-held models or nice looking units that plug-in and sit on the countertop. In short, they remove air (oxygen) from plastic bags of food and seal them shut. Easy to use, just divide the food into the bags that come with the unit, insert the neck of the bag into the sealer, push the lid closed to lock and push a button to operate. The air is removed by vacuum and when the proper pressure is obtained, the heat sealer is activated to seal the bag closed.

These bags of food can then be stored in the freezer for up to three years before using. The Vacuum Food Sealers are lightweight, sleek designed quality apparatuses that are easy to store or take up limited space on the counter. Quite a bit of time and money is saved when food can be purchased in bulk quantities, and either separated into prepared portion sizes and stored in large quantities that won’t spoil.

The modern homemaker can save money with Vacuum Food Sealers by shopping less often and buying food in economical bulk prices. By shopping less, the economic advantages start to multiply into other areas like saving money on automobile costs. You are driving less, buying less gasoline, causing less wear and tear on the car and keeping the mileage figure on the car lower.

The average family throws away 25% of purchased food monthly, from not preparing leftovers and/or fresh foods properly. By storing leftovers in bags sealed with Vacuum Food Sealers reduces food waste to zero. Frozen foods packaged in sealer bags that are devoid of oxygen will avoid freezer burn and will not lose their taste or nutritional value.

Vacuum Sealer accessories include containers to seal fruits and vegetables in to keep them fresh longer without crushing the contents. The containers can also be used to marinate meals by opening the pores of the meat to let the marinade penetrate deeper into the meat for a better flavor. The containers can also be used for storing dry food items such as tea, flour, cereal, noodles, chips, crackers and rice.

The home Food Saver Sealers are perfect for families that grow their own fruits and vegetables. They are not restricted to eating these quality healthy foods just during the growing season, but can package them with Food Saver Sealers and store them in the freezer cheaply to enjoy all year-long. What a delight for the family to have garden grown tomatoes and corn on the cob in December!

The concept of vacuum sealing for food has been used in commercial packaging for years to maintain the quality of the food products and now is available for all conscientious homemakers. These same devices can be used for storing non-food items as well. Sealing items to keep them dry for camping or boating trips is a big plus. Because all the air is removed from the bags when sealing the amount of space that items take up is an added benefit for packing.

Restaurant Dining Room Service Improvement – Staff Scheduling Tips Part 2

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Proper staff scheduling is extremely crucial for providing excellent restaurant dining room service. There are 2 basic concepts that can improve restaurant service immensely. In every way, a balance must be achieved by matching labor needs to the forecasted business.

The first concept is the “on call waiter” who can be scheduled for any shift necessary. The “on call waiter” function is to call the restaurant about 1/2 – 1 hr. before the work shift commences food service to see if he/she is needed to come in and work that particular shift.

The “on call” function is useful in many ways in the case of outdoor dining where business literally depends on the weather. If the weather is right for outdoor seating, the “on call waiter” will be asked to come in to work. If it’s raining, then the “on call waiter” will not be asked to report to work — though the phone call to the restaurant should still be made. Basically, if the staff is sufficient for that particular restaurant shift, then the “on call waiter” will not be needed.

Another useful function for the “on call waiter” is when there is an extremely important event scheduled. In this case, there can be absolutely no staff shortages for that event. Simply by communicating properly and timely over the telephone, the dining room will be covered completely saving the service staff time and the restaurant wasted payroll.

This system is flexible, and should be used with common sense, not haphazardly. Depending on the situation, there can even be more than one “on call waiter” for a shift. By the same token, you may not even use an “on call waiter” for many of the slower work shifts. Every restaurant must figure out what system works best for them, and make the adjustment.

The second restaurant service staff scheduling concept is the “maintenance runner” which works best when there is more than one food runner working per shift. Once again, this concept will prove how proper staff scheduling is directly tied to improving dining room service.

In a small restaurant, there may be only one food runner needed for the shift delivering food from the kitchen areas to the dining room areas. The runner is responsible for keeping those dining room areas and floor areas clean, since it is usually part of the sidework.

If this sidework doesn’t get done, it is obvious where the blame lies. (Technically it’s everyone’s job to keep the restaurant clean, but it ultimately should be the food runner’s job to keep the service/ kitchen areas, waiter food prep areas, and floor areas clean.)

Now, on the other hand, a large restaurant that uses 3 runners per shift is definitely transporting a higher volume of food from the kitchen areas to the dining areas. Therefore, things will get a bit messier because of the added food traffic. To compound the problem, with more than one runner, things will get confusing as to whose responsibility it is to keep the above restaurant areas clean.

The solution to this headache lies within the restaurant service staff scheduling. Simply place “maintenance runner” on a pre-designated schedule spot, and rotate fairly. For easy labeling on the schedule, a simple MR abbreviation next to the name or shift— and it’s good to go for each needed shift. The “maintenance runner” will ultimately be responsible for the sweep up and wipe-up jobs-especially before and after each shift. Cleanliness, especially floors, will also lessen the risk of bodily injury such as slippage from an unclean floor.

These simple dining room service scheduling concepts will help ensure that the restaurant is properly staffed and maintained with regards to safety and sanitary guidelines.

Ways to Save Money With Children – 11 Money Saving Tips

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Families, in particular our children, are a major source of spending. Firstly don’t worry, this is natural and normal! If you don’t want this then the only alternative is the work house – quite popular a few centuries ago (we are joking of course). To help you out, we have provided a list of ways to save money on children. Enjoy!

Tip 1:Know that kids cost money!: .While this is mostly tongue in cheek, if you like your money be prepared when you have kids that your wallet will take a major hit, especially if both of you are currently working. Carefully consider how you are going to cope on one income, with more dependents. You need a budget in place well before the kids come along, and for well into the future as they just keep costing. But don’t get me wrong, we love the little darlings.

Tip 2: Don’t buy your children’s clothes in season: Buy clothes when there are on sale, e.g. after Christmas or summer sales etc. If you see a sale item on special you don’t have to pay for it out right, you can put it on lay-by. Just make sure you budget for this in the weeks to come.

Tip 3: Wash the car with the kids: Kids love water, sponges and bubbles. Why not put this to good use and let them have fun washing your car! OK you’ll have to do it properly after they do it, but it doesn’t matter, they helped in their own way.

Tip 4: Make your own food for kids parties. Buying McDonalds or Pizza for 20 kids is expensive! Why not make your own mini pizzas (pita bread is perfect) or chicken drumsticks. The kids will love the food and you will save a lot of money (roughly around $2 per child).

Tip 5: Buy children’s clothes on eBay or at opportunity shops: eBay is an inexpensive way to buy children’s clothes. Kids grow out of clothes so quickly it is really not worth buying all of their clothes brand new.

Tip 6: Consider hand me downs: With kids growing so quickly hand me downs make a lot of sense. Discuss with your friends or family if anyone has any hand me down clothes that are your kid’s size. Return the favour with clothes that no longer fit your children. Sacks should be used as last resort.

Tip 7: Rotate the toys: Kids generally have more toys than they need. Put some of the toys away in the cupboard, and then every two to three weeks rotate them. Your children will enjoy playing with them more, and you will enjoy less clutter in the house. Most kids only play with the boxes anyway. Go down to the local supermarket and grab a few, and your kids will think you’re Father Christmas!

Tip 8: Buy toys from garage sales: If you are looking for toys for pennies in the dollar, then shop at garage sales. Just make sure that the toys are safe for your children to use. Don’t buy that slug gun for little Johnnie, no matter how much he cries!

Tip 9: Immunisations: The majority of local governments in the Western world offer children’s immunisations for free. Consider using these rather than paying for a Doctor for your immunisations.

Tip 10: Make your own arts and crafts at home: With recycled materials you can easily make your own arts and crafts at home. It is educational for the kids and also very cheap. Search the Internet for art and craft ideas.

Tip 11: Save money for the school holidays: Every week put aside 10 dollars or so, and save it up for the holidays. It won’t be a great deal of money (eg $120), but it will be enough to do a few fun activities with the kids. Important thing is that you get into the discipline of budgeting.

So there you have it! 11 tips to help you save money with your children. As a last note, it is OK to splash out occasionally. Children aren’t young forever, so within reason you might as well enjoy it as much as you can…that doesn’t mean buying a new Ferrari for them though!