I hate throwing away food! Maybe it's because I'm a frugal foodie, or maybe it's because I remember my mother saying “there are starving children in Africa.” Whatever the reason, I still hate throwing away food.
Stop wasting food with these organizational and produce storage tips. You'll learn how to turn fresh herbs into dried, how to prolong the ripening process of bananas and more. I can't promise that you'll never throw anything away again, but you will save money by minimizing waste.
Organizational Tips to Keep You from Throwing Away Food
Plan Meals and Make a Grocery List – Simply planning meals and making a grocery list will help eliminate waste because you'll be buying exactly what you need. Don't forget to check expiration dates when you're buying food!
Learn to Love Leftovers – Why do people hate leftovers? My theory is if you liked it the first time, you'll like it the next time. Think of leftovers as a way to take a night off from cooking!
Freeze, freeze, freeze – If you hate wasting food, your freezer is your best friend. If you don't want your leftovers right away, freeze them and bring them out again in a few weeks. I often double a recipe, so I can freeze half for another time!
Clean Out and Skip Grocery Shopping – Periodically take a week off of grocery shopping and plan meals using up foods in your freezer, refrigerator and pantry before those expiration dates hit!
Tips for Specific Foods…yes, the ones that go bad quickly!
Guacamole – Store leftover guacamole with the pit and cover with plastic wrap that's been sprayed with pam. Air causes guacamole to turn brown, so “smash” the plastic wrap on top of the guacamole!
Bananas – Try wrapping the crown of your bananas with plastic wrap to slow down the ripening process.
Fresh Herbs – When you first purchase fresh herbs, treat them like fresh flowers to extend their life. Put a small amount of water in the bottom of a cup, add the herbs and cover loosely with the produce bag. When your herbs are almost past their prime, turn them into dried herbs with the help of your microwave. How to make dried herbs: remove and wash the leaves, pat dry, place in a single layer on a microwavable plate, microwave on high in 30-second increments until the herbs are brittle (about 2 minutes depending on the type of herb and your microwave), cool, crumble and store in an airtight container.
Food Storage Gadgets
I can't say that I've tried any of these, but they do sound like miracle workers that a are likely worth the money if you're throwing lots of food in the trash.
Ethylene Gas Absorbers
The latest craze produce storage…ethylene gas absorbers. Put them in your refrigerator produce drawer to prolong the storage life of fruits and vegetable. Pays for itself dozens of times over in the the first year alone with the average household saving up to $600 per year!
Please leave a comment to share your favorite ways to stop wasting food.
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Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane, FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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In full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links to help support The Budget Diet girl! My advice will always be unbiased and free, but free won’t pay the bills! Thanks!
