We're all affected by the raising costs of groceries in one way or another. Reducing our food waste isn't just about protecting the environment (which you can learn more about its effects on the earth here if you're curious) - it's also a way we can save money and make the most of what we have.
What's the secret to getting the most out of your groceries, you may ask?
I believe the secret is ORGANIZATION & proper STORAGE.
Organization can look different for all of us depending on what works for us individually. Maybe you enjoy buying all the organization containers and having fancy labels or maybe your style is a little less obvious to others. That's A-OKAY. The secret isn't a specific style - but there are still some strategies we all can incorporate if we want to get the most out of our groceries.
Let's split it into 3 categories: Dry Ingredients/Pantry Items, Produce, and Leftovers.
Best Practices for Dry Ingredients & Pantry Items
I have 3 main tips when it comes to storing your pantry items and dry ingredients in the most efficient way:
Make sure your containers are all air tight! This helps them stay better longer, as it keeps out any moisture and bacteria or potentially pests (icky, I know).
Organize what you have in a way that it's easy to see what you have & practice FIFO (first in first out)! If you know what inventory you already have, you won't buy too many duplicates of things. One tip I've seen if you have a larger food storage is to put the oldest food in the front so you use it up faster (that way things don't get lost and expired). FIFO also applies to if you are decanting food, AKA moving it into a new container. For example, if you're refilling the flour in your flour container, take the old out first and put it back on top.
Another tip for if you're decanting and getting rid of the original packaging is to WRITE DOWN THE EXPIRATION DATES. I have been using an expo marker on the bottom or back of containers, but you can also print a label or write on a piece of tape! This isn't something I did when I first started moving my food into jars, but I'm being a lot more diligent now so that way we don't accidentally eat anything expired!
Keep Your Produce Fresh for Longer
I used to feel like our produce always went bad before we could finish it. While I haven't gotten that down to zero, it happens a LOT less frequently. I wish I had realized that its actually pretty easy to avoid produce constantly going bad when I first moved out, besides just buying less produce.
The first thing you should do is properly store all your produce. I found a guide that tells you whether food should be stored in the fridge, on the counter, covered, in water, etc. in order to keep it good as long as possible. Check out this invaluable guide here. Seriously, it's life changing.
Sometimes our produce still goes bad, because, well, that's just the circle of life. However, ANOTHER life changing thing that I think I'll preach until the end of time is that you can freeze a lot of produce to use for later! Currently in our freezer, we have:
an assortment of frozen fruit/berries for smoothies
bananas (plain for recipes/smoothies and some covered in peanut butter for snacks)
coconut milk (frozen in an ice cub tray and then moved to a tupperwear)
diced onion
spinach
minced garlic
frozen grapes that I made into a sorbet (I've also done this with cantaloupe!)
shallots
avocado !! (works really well for guacamole)
This is just what we have, but there so many other things you can freeze! If your curious, a simple Google search can let you know what other types of produce can be frozen. Another good indicator of if you can freeze something is just think if you can buy it frozen - the answer to if you can freeze it yourself is probably yes :)
And remember, its great to freeze these things, but make sure you still use them up, other wise that just defeats the point of saving them!
Get the Most Out of Your Leftovers
Ah, leftovers. I wasn't the biggest fan of leftover day when I was a kid, but honestly now that I'm older, it's grown on me.
Here are some tips to make the most out of your leftovers:
Write down the date you made it/purchased it (if from a restaurant). I just found out as I was writing this blog that leftovers are actually only good for 3-4 days, so make sure you eat them before that time is up or freeze them (if applicable to the dish)!
Store your leftovers well! Don't let them get all crusty in the fridge and keep them covered :)
Have leftovers for lunch or designate a 'leftover' day of the week to make sure everything gets eaten. If you're not feeling your leftovers anymore but they're still good, you can also remake them into something new! Some things I've done are use rice to make rice pudding or use mashed potatoes to make a loaded mashed potato bake. Pinterest has ideas for pretty much everything!
There are lots of different ways you can get the most out of your groceries, but staying organized and in the know about what you have can have a big impact - helping you save money and save the planet.
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