Skip to main content

Keeping Food From Spoiling

Not too long ago, I'd buy a 5 to 10 pound bag of potatoes and other produce items every time I went grocery shopping, and by the end of the two weeks between grocery trips, more than half of the package would be spoiled.

I hate wasting food, but I also didn't want to have to drive to the store every few days to buy more produce. Is it really cost effective to buy fewer produce items at a higher price several times as opposed to buying them in bulk and losing half the package? I don't know.

I have tried "green" bags, which are supposed to keep veggies from spoiling so quickly. Either I didn't use them right or they don't work because I didn't notice any difference in how quickly my produce spoiled.

These days, though, I try to schedule a cutting session during which I peel and shred as many veggies as I can, chop them up and freeze them for use as needed. This works great for onions, carrots and bell peppers but not so well for potatoes, which turn brown once they're peeled, no matter how quickly you put them in the freezer.

To remedy this problem, I've started cooking potatoes ahead. I turn them into boiled potatoes for stew or baked fries for side dishes for other foods. Reheating the boiled ones works great; reheating baked fries doesn't go nearly as smooth but they really don't turn out bad. I just microwave them for about three minutes. They're softer than when I serve them fresh, but not bad.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tackling the Electricity Bill

I got our latest electricity bill this past week. It went up. Again. I don't understand why. It's been a mild winter, so we haven't used the heater as much as last year. Plus, I've made a few small changes that I had hoped would add up to even a slight savings: I've cut down on the time the TV has been on. I haven't been perfect about it, though, because I still turn it on to watch something, decide to work on something else at the same time, then after an hour or so, I realize I'm not watching the TV at all. Wasted electricity. I've unplugged my alarm clock. When we first brought our daughter home, her pediatrician recommended we feed her every two hours for the first week or so. After the first night of pushing an awkward combination of buttons and waiting for the alarm time to advance every couple of hours, I realized it was tons easier to just punch the time into my cellphone alarm. I kept the bedside clock until about two weeks ago. I also unpl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Home Improvements

I've taken a week off in September to finish some home improvement projects that have been in progress for far too long. My challenge between now and then will be to both set aside and earn enough to buy the supplies without having to charge anything. Our biggest expense will be paint. We've got to paint our living room ceiling, living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and one bathroom to have our home "finished." Hopefully we'll be able to get that far with it, but my fear is we'll need longer than a week to complete it all because several walls need to be repaired in places first. I've got a freelance project in progress right now that will give us the bulk of what we'll need, but I don't think it will cover everything. Plus, I have to make sure I don't spend any of it between now and then on "wants."
Post a Comment
Read more

Walmart Cards

On Thursday last week, I made a hasty trip through Walmart to pick up items I can't buy at Aldi when I noticed a sign that said using a Walmart card at the Murphy Oil gas stations could net a 15 cents a gallon savings. Because I was breezing through the store on my way to drop my daughter off at daycare before I had to head to work, I just made a mental note to do a little more looking into it later. Well, I finally had the chance. The 15 cents a gallon saving lasts through Christmas Eve, and it's good only on a Walmart prepaid debit card or credit card. If the 15 cents a gallon were permanent, I'd consider getting the prepaid debit card. Because it's only temporary though, I've decided to try loading up Walmart gift cards instead, which gives a 10 cents a gallon savings at Murphy stations through Dec. 24. Hopefully, I'll make the time to fit it into my schedule because my car doesn't get the greatest gas mileage, and 10 cents a gallon could come in ha...
Post a Comment
Read more