APART from his busy work schedule and volunteering, Takape Kamunaga also enjoys the thrill of travelling and photography.
“I’ve been to five countries; South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Samoa. My goal in life is to run my own cafe business and travel to as many countries as I can,” he said.
He shares a flat in Domain, Suva with five of his friends.
Shopping is done every fortnight and for Mr Kamunaga, RB Patel, New World IGA, Shop and Save and MHCC are ideal supermarkets to shop in because of the affordable prices on food items.
“We spend $250 every fortnight, we split it by six. Every fortnight our individual food budget is around $50 and it varies every week,” he said.
One of Mr Kamunaga’s flatmate is an accountant by profession and he calculates their shopping expenses. Then two people take turns to do shop.
When it is his turn to shop, he likes to compare prices in supermarkets before shopping at the one that offers more specials of the week.
Their shopping list includes rice, sugar, flour, garlic, onions, potatoes, salt, milk, cereal, fruits, noodles, tin meat and tuna, tissue roll, tea, coffee, peanut butter, chicken, root crops, green-leafy vegetables and toiletries.
In the bid to live a healthy lifestyle, Mr Kamunaga and his friends do not buy junk food and fizzy drinks. There is also no consumption of alcohol. They all exercise by going to the gym or attending zumba sessions together at YMCA. The zumba sessions come as a challenge because of their demanding careers, but they try to at least attend one session when they can during the week.
Mr Kamunaga shared two simple shopping tips he has learnt over the years: Compare the prices of food items between supermarkets before shopping, and refrain from buying unnecessary items.
Takape shared his recipe of his favourite dish with Times Shopper.
Chicken in Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
* Chicken
* Potato
* Garlic
* Onion
* Spices
* 1 can tomato sauce
* 1 tablespoon cornflour
* Capsicum
* Mixed vegetables
* Fresh chillies
* Coriander leaves
Method
* Marinate chicken with garlic
* Fry the onion and spices
* Add the chicken
* Add potatoes with a little bit of water once chicken is half-cook
* Once chicken is cooked, add cornflour to thicken the soup.
* Add the tomato sauce
* Add mixed vegetables and capsicum
* Turn off stove then add coriander leaves on top. Serve hot!
