Most people think that to enjoy a scrumptious meal, you have to spend an arm and a leg. With a little know-how, you can easily stretch that peso and have a feast.

Beef is often perceived as being expensive. Truth is, some cuts cost no more than other types of meat, and you get the same nutritional value regardless of the cut you buy.

By choosing the right cuts and using them in the proper recipes, your family can enjoy all the delicious and nutritious benefits to beef just as often as you like without going over your budget!

The best way to judge the quality of any cut of beef is to simply look at it. It must have a bright red color, a fine grain which is smooth to the touch, and fat should be firm and white. Cuts known as liempo, kostillas, punta de petso, and kamto are suitable for dishes like nilaga, sinigang, tinola and batsoy. Cheaper cuts like batuk, ketnsi, tapadera and pata are tougher and need long, slow cooking process, but are just perfect for putsero, kare-kare, mechado or pastel. The internal organs like goto, librilya, bituka, and tripilya are the cheapest of all. They are rich in nutritional value and, when cooked well, are just as delicious as the other cuts of meat. Even the bones are full of flavor and are used for making soup stock and bulalo.

By itself, beef is a mouth-watering dish when served as steak or roast. It's an ideal companion to many vegetable dishes (broccoli, asparagus, ampalaya, mushrooms and so on). And, it also adds a distinctive body to soups, stews and sauces. With tomato sauce, beef truly comes alive in so many ways. From spaghetti to morcon, from beef stew to mechado, you'll find that you'll enjoy beef better, no matter what cut you use!