How to Make Your Foods Last Longer
The cost of groceries goes up every year and not every paycheck keeps up with it. Many families find that, along with the initial cost, they're spending money on food that goes to waste. If this happens in your kitchen, you have to buy the food all over again -- losing money in the process. Stretch your food to get the most out of it while making sure you don't throw excess food away. You'll only spend what you actually need on food and may save hundreds of dollars a year.
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Instructions
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Write down a menu and grocery list before you go shopping every week. If you know exactly what you will be eating each day, you know what to buy. Only buy what's on the list and avoid impulse purchases.
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Measure ingredients when you cook. Instead of pouring pasta into a pot of water until it looks like enough, use a measuring cup to cook only the required servings for one meal. You may find yourself getting one or two more meals out of every box.
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Portion out every food you can as soon as you come home from the grocery store. Break down snacks into individual bags and only allow family members to eat one snack bag at a time. Package meats in serving-sized or meal-sized containers and freeze them individually.
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Purchase fresh fruits and vegetables twice a week. If your produce goes bad you'll be wasting the money you spent to buy it. Buy less each trip but make more frequent trips. Instead of buying bags of vegetables buy one pepper, four potatoes and one cucumber if that's all you'll eat in the next three days.
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Cook what you'll eat at one particular meal at a time and no more. Many people cook extra, adding planned leftovers into each meal or thinking that family members may want to eat seconds. Unless you're cooking a larger cut of meat with the express purpose of using it for two or more meals, cooking extra will waste money and prevent your food budget from stretching.
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Keep food properly stored, both dry goods and cold items. Check the temperature in your refrigerator and freezer frequently to make sure they are at the correct temperature. Keep all dry goods in airtight containers. Seal foods in the appropriate packages before you store them. Train your family members to not leave packages of food out on the counter.
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Tips & Warnings
Be sure to keep track of expiration dates. For refrigerated foods, write the date you purchased or opened the item with a marker on the outer packaging.
