DESIGN PROCESS. BRIEF 1. Group: cooking.

We had a lot of discussions on what topic to choose. Finally we're hopping to go with: 'How to prepare a meal without wasting time and money?' Because this topic is relevant to a wider audience. Eating is part of our human nature. We all eat, just the habits how we do that are different. We are thinking to choose students as our audience for this project. Basically because we are students.  And we all need to amke discussions: healthy or cheap? cooking or take-away? saving money and eating s**t or eating proper food?


I'm doing some research on how to save money on food. I found few useful links.

Top 10 ways to save money on food:

1. Buy local produce
2. Use compounds
3. Cook from scratch
4. Buy store brands
5. Buy in bulk
6. Make a core menu
7. Keep leftovers
8. Shop online
9. Shop using recipes
10. Make a list

Link: http://listverse.com/2008/09/12/top-10-ways-to-save-money-on-food/

If You order food You might save money as well, because supermarkets make us spend more money when we're in them.

A supermarket's job is to make us spend

Supermarkets are cathedrals of consumerism; they're almost perfectly honed marketing environments, benefiting from millions of pounds of research into how to encourage and seduce us into buying and spending more than we need.

It's one reason that if you want to teach an eight-year-old about money, the best place to start is a supermarket. Ask them what they can smell: it'll usually be bread or a bakery, as the scent makes us hungry and likely to buy more food, so the supermarket profits.

This means as consumers we must learn counter-moves. Obviously eating before shopping helps, but this is just one trick. Supermarkets' other tactics include the following:

• Sweets and magazines placed by the till
  
  These are impulse buys, so putting them near the till gives stores one last attempt to grab our cash.
• Store layouts make us walk the whole distance
  
  Regularly bought items tend to be spread around the store, so we need to pass many other tempting goodies to complete our shopping.
• Eye level products are the profitable ones
  
  The most profitable stock is placed at eye level (or children’s eye level if it's targeted at them), yet profitable goods tend not to be the best deals. The age old adage ‘look high and low for something’ really does apply.
• Sales type signage for non-sales items
  
  Seedless grapes and other attractive treats are usually near the store entrance, often below cost price, to entice us in. Similar signs and displays are used elsewhere to promote deals, even when they're not on sale. Bright colours and the words 'discount' and 'sale' make us feel good, yet the reduction may be pennies and cheaper equivalents hidden elsewhere.
  
  Also see When promos go wrong, our gallery of nonsensical offers from supermarkets. Users sent us their best spots, eg, 'Air freshener 75p each or 2 for £5!' and in best Tony Hart fashion we compiled a gallery.

Don't let them steer your trolley

The beauty of supermarket design is that it's all aimed at making us impulse spend. Almost all the techniques in this guide are designed to put you back in charge. For those on a strict budget, it's important to get in the right mindset.

Link of a Talk given by Jamie Oliver on how important cooking food is for children. The whole idea of sharing recipes and the preparing food at home is really important as well. And if we think about how not to waste time so cooking in a group and sharing your meal becomes a part of time saving. When You do stuff together with your roommates, family or friends it becomes part of socialising and it becomes fun, so to think You're not wasting time anymore on cooking because it becomes a part of something more important. 

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/lang/en//id/765

It can also be a way to get to know other cultures and their dishes.

http://www.fetaarepa.com/cocinar-es-compartir-beans/