Since there
are just the two of us, not counting our cats, it has often been the case that
food we have stored in the refrigerator has gone over before we had the chance
to use it.
Supermarkets
often pack foods in quantities too large for two people to consume. Anything that is sold by the pound you
should be able to downsize. Grapes are
offered in large bags and most people feel they must buy the whole bag; we take
a produce bag and select only enough grapes from the large store bag that we
feel we will consume in a couple of days.
I have no problem opening a store sealed package and selecting what we
need, and it seems the stores have no problem with this.
Some things
like broccoli, cauliflower and celery can’t practically be separated, but you
can extend the refrigerator life by slicing off a thin layer of the stalk and
covering the newly exposed area with a wet paper towel before returning it to
the frig.
I have found
I can extend the life of mixed greens, which are usually wet when I buy them,
by placing a dry paper towel at the bottom of a storage container – putting in
the greens – and placing a dry paper towel on top before sealing the container.
I replace the towels if they are damp
each time I use the greens.
The vacuum
food saver we purchased last year has allowed us to buy meats in larger
quantities without worrying about freezer burn. We also use the vacuum sealer to store
blueberries, strawberries and any fruit that can be frozen before
packaging. We even buy frozen fruits
and store them in portion size bags for fruit desserts and smoothies.
Can anyone
add to these ideas?
the Ol’Buzzard
It is a battle, but living closer to town than we used to helps as does having a freezer. I really hate wasting food, too.
ReplyDeleteCan't add to it, but here's a practice that is bugging the heck out of me. Grocery stores are offering a whole lot of "buy 2 for" a reduced price, but only if you buy two. We aren't going to use up two packs of salad greens in the short amount of time they stay fresh. I had to buy 5 cans of diced tomatoes to get the sale price. Thankfully I have a pantry. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteSalad greens are the thing we have the biggest problem with. Seems like they always self-compost before we've had a chance to use them all. They're the one thing that can't be saved for future use by freezing -- although I suppose a person could try it and then just toss them into a soup or stew when they thawed out. If spinach and kale are good in soups, why not lettuce?
ReplyDeleteIt isn't just the annoyances of buying stuff in small enough amounts to be manageable for only two people. Recipes can be annoying, too. Soup recipes that serve 8 people, cookie recipes that yield 4 dozen, . . . of course, the upside is that there's almost always something in the freezer we can pull out for a quick meal or snack.
You can freeze the grapes by taking them from their stems and washing them. Dry them with a paper towel and then place them in a container with a lid or vac seal them and throw them into the freezer. When eaten they taste like frozen candy and they can also keep your wine cool if you put a couple of frozen grapes in you wine glass.
ReplyDeletewrapping celery in alum foil will let it stay fresh for a really long time..and you would be surprised what you can freeze..grapes, cantaloupes, pitted cherries, peaches, strawberries and bananas..blanch cauliflower and broccoli and freeze it..same with squash and most veggies.
ReplyDelete