Posted By janice on March 7, 2009

Everyone is trying to stretch their dollars these days. One area I need to improve myself is to stop wasting food. As a single girl, I find myself throwing out food all the time. ABC News recently had a spot on Good Morning America and ABC News radio about how to cut down on food waste.

Here are the highlights from ABC News and the BeCentsable.net website:

• Keep eggs in the carton and not in the door. The door is the warmest part of refrigerator and should be used for condiment storage.

• Pour milk in cardboard cartons into a large Mason jar or glass pitcher. Glass containers will keep the milk better longer.

• Put bread into a re-sealable bag and put it in your bread box instead of the refrigerator.

• Put flour and grains into re-sealable bags and put them into the refrigerator or freezer. This will save them from going rancid.

• Potatoes, garlic and onions don’t need to be refrigerated unless they have been cooked or sliced.

• Bananas, pears, and avocados need to ripen on the counter. You can peel a banana, put it into a bag and freeze it.

• In the refrigerator, keep fruits and vegetables separated – apparently one of my biggest mistakes. Apples give off an ethylene gas that causes veggies to turn bad faster.

• Store vegetables in the Debbie Meyer Green Bags to keep them longer. The bags are reusable so you only need to buy one set.

• If something gets close to the expiration date, do something with it. Steam vegetables and freeze them. Cook fish and meat and freeze. Make vegetable stock out of wilted vegetables.

Many people are using more coupons. To learn more how to use coupons more effectively, check out BeCentsable.net. The website was started by a couple of moms who wanted to save money on groceries, and now they’re teaching people across the country how to use coupons.

Categories: Saving Money
Tags: food storage ideas, grocery shopping tips, money saving tips