A study from the University of Arizona found that the average household discards $590 worth of uneaten groceries a year.
I was sickened when I read that because I know I am wasting at least that much. But what can you do if you don’t have the time (or the inclination) to shop for groceries on a daily basis?
I’ve written about my Food Saver before which, although it might seem to be a bit spendy initially, the cost savings on food that doesn’t go to waste makes it worth it in the long run.
But I’ve never really used the Food Saver for fresh fruits and vegetables. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the cost of the bags and I’m too cheap to buy them for short-term storage. Instead, I tend to buy frozen vegetables a lot so I can keep them longer.
What do you use to extend the life of your fruits and vegetables? A Rubbermaid Produce Saver? The FreshVac Food Storage Container? Green Bags? Or the related Green Box? Something else?
Please share your tips for keeping your food fresh longer. I’m tired of pulling slimy mushrooms and soggy lettuce from my refrigerator.
Thanks, Cam!
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13 comments:
My secret in the past has been EATING all the food as quickly as possible.
In the end there's no great victory there.
If all else fails look for images of Abraham Lincoln and/or Mary in the decay. There's big money in moldy icons.
Hi from the SITStahood. I try to buy only what I will use immediately. It doesn't always work, but I've been doing really good about it lately.
I have tried so many different things without too much to show for it. I found that the best I could do is visit the local farmers market twice a week and hope for the best. Even doing that I still end up with unused food!
I have been tempted to try green bags. I am afraid they really won't work though and would be a waste of money.
I am wasting money anyway throwing veggies and fruit away, how ironic.
I have never trie my food saver on produce either.
I do like a product called Lock & Lock. Everyone I turn on to it loves it too. You can only get it on QVC shopping network. Anyway that's where I get mine.
I am outing myself I love QVC much to Papa's displeasure, but they haven't heard from me since Christmas because like everyone else I am pinching pennies.
Tell me if you hear of any great ideas.
I have used and like the green bags. They are re-useable too. We have a policy in our house that nothing gets wasted, ALL scraps go to our chickens except meat and our dog gets those. I keep a bag of coffee grounds and washed out egg shells for my garden too. I compost the chicken pen when I clean it out so there is no waste there either. We actually need to downsize our trash can because it keeps going out with it 1/2 full.
The chickens give us food from our food scraps (and layer food) and compost to grow more food from which we get scraps. Nice circle.
I believe this! And I'm with you, made me sick. Sometimes I purchase certain veggies thinking I'll implement them in my meal, and then never do. AUGH! I have to throw them out.
I'm going to have to be a little more careful about this.
Sandra
A couple of interesting tidbits I came across today:
Do not store tomatoes and cucumbers in the same drawer of the refrigerator. Tomatoes give out gases that cause cucumbers to rot faster.
Do not store apples along with the rest of the fruits and vegetables.
Apples give out certain gases that cause fruits and vegetables to rot.
I never knew either of those things. My tomatoes and cucumbers are always together.
It's funny that you post this because I'm so tough with Sam and Rich when it comes to wasting. I swear I must drive them nuts because I'm always checking their plates and saying "Can't you just take a few more bites and eat that?" If they don't, I feed it to the birds or our pet rabbit.
I try to use everything in some way. Soup is a great way to do that. You can mix just about anything in it or puree it so the picky ppl don't complain! Great post Jean!
Wow - lot's a good advice in the comments. I'm glad I came! Anyway, thanks for stopping by my blog and welcoming me to SITS!
Thanks for the tomatoes & cucumber tidbit - I never knew! I don't have any great secrets for keeping food fresher, longer. I have started to buy perishables in smaller quantities, usually enough to last 3 days. I find that we eat them all up that way instead of tossing them out (I hate throwing food out!)
I bought the green bags from QVC. They didn't work for me, or if they did, it was too subtle to notice (not at all like the description).
Two ways - stir-fry and smoothies. Whip either of these up with produce that's about to expire and most of the time it will come out great!
I try to just buy what we can eat before it rots. However, things do come up....like MOM getting sick...and that throws all sorts of chaos into my plans and I wind up with rotten food. :( It's really sad to have to throw food away. I guess the best thing to do is to survey your inventory often and plan meals accordingly. :)
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