Let’s face it, no one really likes spending hours upon hours grocery shopping each year. Between working out your food budget, cooking meals and shopping, it may seem as if food is the only thing on your mind! There’s a few ways you can avoid spending as much time and money at the grocery store though, which will help you enjoy the whole food process a little more. With a few food preservation tips you should have the ability to stock up on several weeks’ worth of food without having to worry about it going bad! These tips will not only keep you out of the store for longer, but will ensure your food budget as a chance to grow before you have to return to the dreaded shopping experience. So, grab your eco-friendly shopping bags and enjoy adding time and money back to your life!
1. Organize the Refrigerator
A lot of family’s have problems with groceries simply because of the way they store their food. This can lead to money straight down the drain, but thankfully there’s a pretty easy solution for the problem. Every week you should take a few minutes to organize your refrigerator. Knowing what you have inside of the cold box is pretty crucial to keeping your food fresh and edible. It will also keep you from having to keep making trips to the store for items you probably already have. When it comes to your food shelves, try to keep foods that aren’t going to store for long in a place that everyone can see them. For instance, rather than tossing all your fruits and vegetables in a drawer, place them on a shelf where everyone can see the options they have. Fruit and vegetables that are stored in a drawer should be rotated often as this will ensure older produce will be eaten sooner than the items you’ve just purchased. After all, just one bad fruits can destroy a whole batch! Milk and meats should also be placed on a shelf, rather than in a drawer or on the side door. This will help you know what meats you have to cook and will also ensure the milk stays at a consistent temperature which will keep it fresher longer. With your items organized and ready to go you shouldn’t have a problem knowing what needs to be purchased and what you have in stock already.
2. Paper Towel Technique
If you’ve ever bought a bag of salad only to find that that it’s bad the very next day then you may want to try out the paper towel technique as soon as you open up your next bag. Leafy greens are hard to keep fresh, even when you’re entirely devoted to the task. This can be a major problem if you plan on stocking up on these items. There is one way to help keep them as fresh as possible though. When you open your bag of greens slip in a dry paper towel. This will pull the moisture out of the bag which works to keep things fresh for longer. You may even want to consider moving your greens to an air tight storage container to help cut down on even more rot. Make sure you replace the paper towel often though as this will help ensure you can enjoy fresh greens for so much longer.
3. Recycle
There’s a pretty good chance you go through a lot of plastic bags, paper bags, plastic wrap and other recyclables on a daily basis. You don’t have to let these items go to waste though! Instead, use them to help your food stay fresher for longer. When you separate your produce to place on the counter or in the refrigerator try to put the different produce in plastic bags. This will help add more protection in case one of the other items begins to rot before the others. This will also make it easier to keep an eye on your produce as you won’t have to sort through drawers to decide what needs to be thrown out. If you like to buy mushrooms then remove them from the plastic and place them in a paper grocery bag or paper lunch bag. This helps keep them tasting delicious for much longer. Asparagus also benefits greatly from plastic bags. Simply place them upright like a bouquet of flowers and place a plastic bag over the top of them. If you love dicing items like onions, herbs or peppers then place your leftovers in a plastic bottle and place them in the freezer. Finally, use some plastic wrap to place around the stem of a bunch of bananas, it’ll keep them edible for longer.
4. Pre-Plan Meals
Planning ahead can be one of the easiest ways to save money and time. If you’re looking to get out of grocery shopping for a while then make a list of meals you’d like to have and bulk shop for them. When you get home cut up the produce and separate the meat per meal then add each of the preplanned meals into a ziplock or food saver bag with the necessary spices. Once you’ve got everything ready to go then slap on a label and pop it in the freezer. With each of the meal plans perfectly portioned out and ready to go you can easily throw it in the crockpot or oven for an easy way to have dinner ready with little effort. The best thing is, you don’t have to shop for one specific meal at a time, which means you can use all of the items you buy rather than having bits and pieces of the recipe left over for waste! If you shop with frugality in mind you may even be able to get a month’s worth of food together in one shopping trip!
5. Know How to Store It
Produce doesn’t come with an instruction manual, so it’s often hard to know just how to store things! There’s lot of ways you can keep your food longer though! For instance, you should never store potatoes and onions together as this will cause the potatoes to sprout and the onions to rot. Instead, store potatoes with apples as this keeps both items fresher for longer and store onions individually in panty hose. If you love fresh tomatoes then don’t just leave them sitting on the counter or taking up room in the refrigerator. Instead, place them stem down in a cardboard box or paper bag. This ensures they keep their freshness so you can enjoy them for much longer. Some of your items belong on the counter, such as melons and avocados, while other items need to be kept cool in the refrigerator, like carrots, corn and jalapenos. Of course, if you’re a fan of ginger then you may want to put it straight in the freezer to keep it usable. Other items, such as broccoli, celery and lettuce can be wrapped in tin foil and placed in the refrigerator for a fresher taste. If you buy a lot of root vegetables then place them in a box or pot of sand to keep them fresh. Also, if you find yourself slicing items like tomatoes or lemons and saving the rest for later then you may want to look into food savers which clip onto the sliced produce to preserve it for longer!
6. Mason Jars
When it comes to produce, nothing will make it last longer than the amazing mason jar. If you have an abundance of certain foods then look up some recipes and store them in the mason jars. For instance, if you find a great deal on tomatoes then you may want to try making your own salsa, marina or even V8 which can help stretch your groceries even further. You may also want to consider making jams, or preserved fruit to last you when the foods are out of season. Mason jars are also great for making fruit infused waters or teas. You can stretch your dairy products even further by adding them to coffee in a mason jar and storing it for a quick breakfast. You may also want to make overnight oatmeal or other easy to heat dishes which can be stored for longer in these jars.
7. Vinegar Wash
In many areas you may find your produce is bad after only a few days. This can be terrible especially if a lot of your budget goes towards these healthy items. One way to help fix this problem is to clean the produce when you bring it home from the store. Simply add vinegar to some water in the sink or a big bowl and let the product soak in it. This will not only clean the items, but also helps preserve them because it removes the chemicals that linger from farms, storage or sorting facilities as well as the grocery store. Some people even claim their produce lasted weeks longer than it normally would have using this method!
8. Preserve Dairy
Dairy products are often the fastest items to go, which is unfortunate since they tend to also be some of the more expensive items. There’s a few ways to make these items last a bit longer though. For starters, make sure to store and dairy item inside the refrigerator rather than on the door. This will keep cooling even which helps the product last longer. If you have trouble using dairy up before it goes bad then sprinkle a touch of salt into your milk or cream. This helps keep it fresh a bit longer. Also, if you slice cheese often then take a little butter and smear it on the cut end. This will prevent it from hardening so your cheese stays tasty.
9. Bulk Buys
If you hate shopping then buying in bulk is one of the best and cheapest ways to get things done. Make a list of the items the family uses a lot of and shop for them at your favorite bulk store. With an abundance of the items in the home you can easily store them to ensure you won’t have to go and buy them again. Produce is one of the easiest items when it comes to bulk buys. Simply pick up the item, chop it up and place it in the freezer once you’ve placed it in a sealed bag or container. This will ensure you always have the items you need when it comes to a special recipe. You may also take to making your favorite snack foods in bulk thanks to large bags of sugar, flower and other baking supplies. Simply freeze what’s unused and you’re good to go for some time!
10. Clean
One of the fastest ways to destroy your groceries is to put them into a dirty refrigerator or onto a dirty surface. It is important to take the time and clean out your refrigerator and other storage areas before you bring in new foods. Often we just forget or keep putting it off, but as germs and bacteria begin to build up you may find your food goes bad faster and faster. Simply wiping down the refrigerator and cabinets can add life to your foods. You may also want to consider adding baking soda to the refrigerator to help remove odors that destroy the quality of your food!
Preserving your foods is a great way to go into the New Year with a bit more money and a lot more time. With these ten simple tips you may find you worry less about shopping and your meals and snacks taste a whole lot better. Not to mention, there’ll be less waste which is great for the environment! So, enjoy feeding your family without stressing over the shopping process or spending too much at the grocery store.
