Ingredients Every Home Cook Needs in the Pantry – The Ten Most Important

Ingredients Every Home Cook Needs in the Pantry – The Ten Most Important

If you don’t like to cook, you probably don’t like to go grocery shopping. One of the ways to make your grocery shopping trips shorter is to stock your pantry with staples. These non-perishable items have a long shelf life and are the base of a meal. Keep a running list of these items and replace them as they get low. If you buy them when they’re on sale, you’ll also save money. If you keep your pantry stocked with the following items, you’ll only have to go to the store for the fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy products you’ll need for the week.

Apple cider vinegar is perfect to cook with and to use in salad dressings. It’s not as sharp as white vinegar and not as strong-tasting as red wine vinegar; it gives acidity without an overwhelming taste. You can use it in any recipe that calls for vinegar.

Make a habit of using chicken broth in place of water when you cook rice, stews or vegetable dishes. For a few extra pennies, you’ll take your food from bland to delicious. You can also use chicken broth for beef and pork recipes. There’s no need to stock both types. Buy the chicken broth that has no salt added or that is low salt.

Buy Grey Poupon Dijon mustard made with white wine. Don’t buy a store brand; the taste difference is that significant. Dijon mustard is essential in making salad dressings and for imparting flavor to sauces and stews.

For cooking, extra virgin olive oil is the best fat to use. It has no trans fats, it’s not a saturated fat, you can heat it to high temperatures and it won’t burn, and it tastes great. A good quality olive oil can be expensive, but it’s worth it. Buy small quantities of a few different brands and taste them right out of the bottle. Buy the one that tastes the best to you. Extra virgin olive oil is perfect for salad dressings too.

The best mayonnaise to use changes its name depending on which part of the country you live in. East of the Rockies it’s called Hellmann’sA�; west of the Rockies it’s called Best FoodsA�. Mayonnaise is essential as a base for sauces and dressings. Don’t buy Miracle Whip. It’s made with sugar and tastes too sweet.

If you always have pasta in your pantry, you can always throw together a fast meal. Buy whatever brand, shape, and length of pasta your family prefers. For an easy meal cut any vegetable into small pieces. Heat olive oil and add the vegetable and salt. Cook the pasta and add the cooked pasta to the cooked vegetable. This one dish meal is simple, easy, surprisingly delicious and good for you. With pasta in your pantry, you can always fix a quick meal.

Salt makes other flavors pop. Herbs and spices become more intense when you add a bit of salt. When you add salt to vegetables they cook quicker. No kitchen, or cook, should be without it.

Buy both diced and crushed canned tomatoes. Diced tomatoes have larger tomato pieces and crushed tomatoes have thicker juice. Find a brand of canned tomatoes that you like and stick with it for consistent results. Canned tomatoes have a richer flavor than fresh tomatoes.

Even if you don’t bake, you’ll need white flour to thicken sauces.

Enriched long grain white rice makes an easy side dish. Just add butter and salt to the cooked rice. Always have it in your pantry. Brown rice is better for you, but it takes longer to cook.…

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Some Important Information Regarding Shopping Malls

Some Important Information Regarding Shopping Malls

This concept has been around since Ancient Roman times. Basically, it is nothing more than a collection of shopping centers that are in the same building. Back in Roman times, these were simply outdoor business venues. Their design has greatly improved and drastically changed over the years. The development of strip malls took place in the nineteen twenties. They started out as large box like designs, but now enjoy huge and sleek designs. They are designed to catch the attention of shoppers from a distance and up close. There are many impressive designs throughout the world that host millions of shoppers every year.

Some of the Most Popular Malls in the World

There are many popular malls located throughout the world. The most visited mall in the world is the Mall of America. It is located in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Mall of American has five hundred twenty stores. There are fifty different restaurants to choose from. This mall even offers an indoor amusement park and other exciting entertainment options. The King of Prussia Mall is another top shopping mall. It is located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. It has four hundred shops to choose from.

Extravagant Malls Located in the United States

Saw Grass Mills is a unique mall that has both indoor and outdoor shopping venues. It is located in Sunrise, Florida. Both high end fashion items and bargain deals can all be found under one roof. The Galleria in Houston, Texas is another popular mall that experiences frequent visitors. This mall contains atriums made of glass and an ice skating rink. The Grove is a Los Angeles shopping avenue that contains stores like Sprinkles Cupcakes, Madewell, and Johnny Was.

Chic Malls throughout the Country

Tyson’s Corner is a fabulous mall located in Virginia. The children’s play area in the mall is sponsored by National Geographic. The area is nothing short of exquisite. The South Coast Plaza is located in Costa Mesa, California. It contains roughly two hundred eighty boutiques for shoppers to take advantage of. It even has thirty restaurants. It is located in Orange County. Short Hills Mall is located in Short Hills, New Jersey. This one contains a wide selection of stores. This store is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Manhattan.

The History of Malls

There are malls located in France and in the United Kingdom that have been present for centuries and are still in operation today. The need for the shopping mall is expected to increase in coming years. One of the first malls in the United States opened in Minnesota in 1916. Presently, the largest mall in operation all across the world is located in China. The second largest mall is also located in China and the third largest mall in the world is located in the Philippines.…

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Shopping Carts That Help Your Customers in a Bad Economy

Shopping Carts That Help Your Customers in a Bad Economy

Allowing your shopping cart to offer a payment plan can mean providing the much needed relief that some of your customers or clients need. This could mean the difference between getting a sale and not getting a sale from those not able to afford right now what you have to offer. A high-end cart takes care of recurring billing for you every month until the balance is paid, without you having to lift a finger or worrying about staying on top of it.

Every month a notice goes out a week ahead of the time a customer’s credit card is due to be charged as a reminder. On the designated date the cart automatically processes payment. This prevents you from having to hope payments are made on time. The shopping cart automatically charges their account and keeps you in control.

You also control how you set up your terms for a payment plan. For example, you offer your customer or client the choice of paying $600 in full, or 2 payments of $325 each, or 3 payments of $225. Now rather than a $600 decision your customer or client is only making a $225 decision. And when a person wants or needs a product or service and can’t afford the full price incurring an extra $75 charge can be worth it. It also, clearly, means more money in your pocket.

Offering a payment plan can make good business sense, but trying to extend terms without having it automated in some way can quickly become regrettable. It makes far more sense to utilize this function integrated into a sophisticated shopping cart.…

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What Demographics Are Shopping Online for Clothes?

What Demographics Are Shopping Online for Clothes?

The boom of online shopping has erupted in the past few years and and is only going to increase in the future. E-commerce is becoming a vital tool for businesses to attract shoppers in store and also to the actual purchasing of products online. Online shopping isn’t just restricted to the young population but to the broader demographic. Everyone from students to parents and grandparents are purchasing online.

In a survey in 2000, 22% of Americans said they had purchased online and by 2007 this figure had increased to 49%. This goes to show the rapid improvement and popularity of online sales.

In terms of percentage of users of the internet, the following are figures if the demographic that use the internet for online shopping. 38% of 12-17 years olds have used the internet as a tool of purchasing, 71% of 18-32 year olds have purchased online, 80% of 33-44 year olds have purchased online, 68% of 46-54 year olds practice online shopping, 72% of 55-63 year olds shop online, 56% of 64-72 year olds purchase products online and 47% of over 73 year olds use the internet for online shopping.

When these statistics are examined it goes to show a whopping percentage of internet users shop online. This may only be a segment of the worlds population but these figures just go to show the wave of people beginning to shop online.

And would you blame them? No, is the quick answer. If you were to, lets say search online to purchase a suit for a business man online you would find thousands and thousands of products online of the same suit and massive variations on it. You could be searching for days on the different types of products out there that would would like to wear. There are so many sites that can give you advice and tips on what to purchase, what not to purchase and what accessories to enhance your look. You can find videos online that advice you on what to wear for certain events and this allows for the peace of mind of shoppers in knowing that they have selected the right product for themselves.

With the improvement in online security and privacy in recent years due to court proceedings and legislation, shoppers can go online with a sense of security and purchase whatever they like knowing their private details are as safe as they would be in your local retail shop in town.…

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Promoting Colorful Holiday Shopping

Promoting Colorful Holiday Shopping

Here’s the new retail riddle: What is Black, Green, Brown and Cyber all over?

Color coded holiday shopping days.

Everyone knows Black Friday, the beginning of the traditional holiday shopping season. Cyber Monday is the Monday immediately following Black Friday and was created in 2005 by the National Retail Federation to increase online sales. Supposedly we would eat our turkey on Thursday, go shopping Friday and then shop online Monday while at work or relaxing at home.

Green and Brown Monday are probably less familiar. Green Monday refers to the first Monday in December, typically the busiest online shopping day of the year. Brown Monday is the following week and refers to when retailers start dramatic markdowns to push holiday merchandise out the doors.

The titles are colorful but how accurate are they?

Black Friday has become an event in itself and its start time keeps getting earlier and earlier. But surprisingly it usually is not the busiest shopping day in terms of customer traffic and retail sales. The Saturday before Christmas, known as The Saturday before Christmas, typically ranks first while Black Friday is usually the fifth to tenth busiest day.

Online sales do increase on Cyber Monday but the biggest online shopping day is actually December 14th-the shipping deadline to receive gifts by the 25th-which also happens to be Brown Monday this year.

Now that you are either frustrated or confused, here’s the relevance from a marketing standpoint:

The National Retail Federation identified a creative selling opportunity via online sales the Monday after Thanksgiving. They wisely defined their target market as potential shoppers who could shop online from work or at home that day. They developed a simple, yet memorable message (Shop Online on Cyber Monday!) and utilized a coordinated mix of PR, advertising, promotional discounts, online marketing and word of mouth to effectively communicate that message again and again.

Now Cyber Monday is part of our vernacular and online sales have continued to grow that day each year. While it might not be the biggest online shopping day just yet, Cyber Monday could very well reach that goal in the future.

Then what?…

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The Growing Trend Of Buying Pet Meds Online

The Growing Trend Of Buying Pet Meds Online

Today, the growing trend in online shopping has allowed consumers to buy meds online for their pets as well. However the consumers are often warned by the FDA about purchasing prescription meds online. Fortunately you can still buy pet meds online in a safe manner. Making an online purchase has become a growing trend and pet meds are no different as you can find almost every possible medication and care products for your little family pet. When buying pet meds online you can ensure to get the same quality products from a renowned manufacturer as you would from the vet’s office. So, you can rest assured as you will get the right medication for your pet as long as you order the right dosage depending on your pet.

Why Purchase Pet Meds Online

There are several benefits to support the growing trend on buying pet meds online. Most of the pet owners consider their pets as a little family member and so you might not want to take your little family member to a room full of sick pets. The waiting rooms at the vet’s office are usually filled with nervous and sick animals. The environment can often cause your pet unnecessary anxiety and stress. Therefore you can just stay in the comforts of your home with your pet and order the necessary pet meds online.

There are some pet owners who lead a busy life and it often becomes troublesome to make repeated trips to the vet’s office just to fill the prescriptions. Luckily, ordering online can eliminate this hassle and you might even save money and time. Purchasing pet meds online is convenient as it can be done from your home, you can avail low cost deals on pet meds, some online dealers offer automatic refills and even save money on medicines that you purchase frequently. You just need to ensure the online pet medicine providers are authorized and reliable providers.

Find Out Best Dealer:

There are a number of online pet med dealers and so it is necessary you deal with a trustworthy dealer to get the best and reliable medication for you pet. Try and perform a brief research online so that you can find the best deal and high quality medication for you pets. When you shop online you can ensure to avail fast services and affordable prices too. You should look for the Internet Pharmacy Practice Site seal which is the best method to find out whether the online dealers are reliable and trustworthy. You can even research some online pet pharmacies recommended by your veterinarians. Buying your pet meds online is an effective way to care your loving pet and a perfect way to become a responsible pet owner. Just ensure that you double check everything including the online pharmacies, their drugs, delivery methods and the prices to get the best deal.…

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Top 10 Online Sales Tips For Your Business

Top 10 Online Sales Tips For Your Business

Though there are many details you could optimize on your business website in order to make sales as high as possible there are ten things you cannot ignore. These are things I have found over the years that help tremendously.

Top 10 Things to Help Your Online Business Sales:

1. Multiple Payment Options – sure, you probably only pay using one payment method -always the same thing. Once you figure out what you like to use to pay online you are likely to always use the same option. Others are just like you, but they might not use the same payment method as you. The three payment methods I always offer are: PayPal; Google Checkout; W. Union or a bank check. This way you hit just about everyone.

2. Optimize Checkout Process – minimize the number of pages a customer must winde their way through in order to buy something on your site. Make the process ultra-clear to customers so they never feel lost. For guidance look at or other major online shopping site.

3. Shopping Cart – if customers can purchase more than one item at a time, do not make them buy one at a time. PayPal and Google Checkout both have very easy shopping cart options you can integrate with your website. Use them.

4. 30-Day Money Back Guarantee – use this, or a variation in the number of days you offer a refund, to get customers to buy that would not buy otherwise. Being able to get a refund makes ordering your product or service 100% safe. Believe it or not, it even makes sense to offer a refund in the case of people that buy ebooks or other digital product that can not logically be returned. Refund processing for ebooks of any worth are very low and you will sell more to have a refund policy in place for these types of products also. Be sure to cover in detail how customers can file for a refund.

5. Bonuses – throw in some bonus items to help close the deal. Everyone loves to get more than they are buying for free.

6. Call to Action – place regular “calls to action” on the page you want customers to buy something. A call to action is a statement like, “Buy Here -” or “Click here now to order.” Make it very obvious what a buyer needs to do to order.

7. Easy to Find Contact Information – use a contact page with multiple ways to reach you for any questions a buyer has. Some prefer phone, some email, some chat. Offer as many ways as possible to reach someone to help before they purchase your products.

8. Fast Response to Email – I noticed that when I respond quickly to questions I get from potential customers that they nearly always buy. The comfort of knowing there is a human behind the website builds trust that closes the deal.

9. Offer a Free Sample – in the case of ebooks or some training program, and many other products and services you can offer a free sample to help the buyer decide if it is something they would enjoy buying. This works exceptionally well when you have a good product and use a high quality sample.

10. Show Real Testimonials – showcase others that have purchased the same product, and how well it worked for them. Collect as many as you can – these are like pure gold for helping your sales.

Of course there are many other ways to help your business sell more online. Use these ten suggestions and you will have a solid base to build on.…

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