Grocery Waster: Lengthen the Shelf Life of your Fare

Most home chefs love cooking with the freshest ingredients, yet even during our best cooking weeks we end up tossing unused groceries into the trash. For those of you who hate throwing away money and wasting quality ingredients, use these ideas on how to lengthen the shelf life of the most frequently trashed groceries.

Educate yourself on the shelf life of the items you eat most

Knowing how long your purchases will last before you head to the store is a great way to ensure your unused groceries don’t end up in the trash. This Ziploc list breaks down the product shelf life for the items that don’t have expiration date labels stamped on them. Eat what perishes fastest first or hold yourself back from overbuying so your product doesn’t spoil before you have the chance to enjoy it.

Invest in an Herb Saver

The recipes only call for a few tablespoons of fresh herbs, but the grocery stores sell them in bulk. Most of us use our herbs for one recipe (two if we are lucky) to inevitably throw the wilted greens into the trash. Instead of boycotting fresh herbs try to preserve the life of your leafy greens.

• Grow an herb garden: You have the liberty to only take what you need with no worries about wasting.
• Buy an herb keeper: Try this herb keeper from Crate&Barrel ($19.95) or make your own by using a drinking glass and filling it with an inch of water then covering the cup and herbs with a plastic bag.
• Freeze herbs in an ice tray: Sounds crazy, but for recipes that don’t call for herbs as a garnish it works. Freezing the herbs impacts the texture, but the flavor remains intact so when cooking soups or sauces you can still have the fresh herb flavor you desire. Learn how to freeze your herbs in an ice cube tray here.
• I have also hooked up with a neighbor and split my herbs which usually works out perfectly!

Leave your Fruits and Veggies Intact

Rotten bananas can be used for banana bread, but what about everything else?

• Avoid bagged vegetables and pre-cut fruits as they tend to spoil more quickly than when purchasing whole produce.
• Only cut up the produce when it is time to eat or cook with it because when fruits and veggies are chopped they become more susceptible to microorganisms that can make the product rot faster.
• Another rule of thumb is to only rinse your produce before cooking or eating because the moisture can also accelerate spoilage.
• If you have a tendency to forget about your fruits and veggies try pulling small amounts from the crisper so they are visible and more likely to be used before they perish.
• I also have found it helpful to buy a couple items ready-to-eat and purchase some that aren’t ripe. This way I have time to enjoy the ones that are ready and let the other ones ripen in the meantime.

Freeze your Proteins to Fit your Needs

There was a sale at your grocery store for meat and you couldn’t resist buying the extra-large family pack to save on the overall cost. Make the most out of the money you saved by using your freezer as a backup meat department. Meat generally only lasts in the refrigerator for 4 days after purchase, but when stored in the freezer meat can last for months.

• Make it a habit to leave out what you need and separate the rest into freezer bags to pull out at a later time.
• At my house it is just my husband and I so I pack most items in twos so that I only thaw what we will actually be eating. The meat will maintain most of its nutritive properties, taste, texture and smell and you won’t have to worry about running out to the store to buy protein when you have a fresh stash in your home.

Mold-less Bread Please!

Even if I strive to eat sandwiches everyday I can never make it through an entire loaf of bread.

• It’s an extra step, but rather than throw your entire loaf onto the counter separate your bread, bagels, tortillas, hamburger or hot dog buns and freeze or refrigerate the other half. If you don’t plan on eating your bread purchase within a few days this is the sure way to avoid mold. To unthaw, simply leave the bread on the counter overnight and it will be as good as new.
• At some gourmet grocery stores you can ask to purchase half loafs of fresh bread and some of the more common brands like Healthy Life are offering this on grocery store shelves.

Ta-ta Rotten Milk

Nothing is worse than craving a bowl of cereal and when you go to pour the milk into the bowl it comes out in clumps.

• Try to get the most out of your milk purchases by buying the smaller sized gallons and then commit to purchasing milk more frequently.
• Be sure to store your milk on an interior shelf rather than the door as keeping milk cool is critical to maximizing shelf life and the door temperature tends to fluctuate when opened frequently.
• Also, opt for skim or non-fat varieties as these types tend to last a few days longer since bacteria develops more slowly.

Do you have any tricks to saving your most frequently purchased groceries? Share your secrets! 

Photo courtesy of Suat Eman via FreeDigitalPhotos.net