If you're like me, you're always trying to maximize the produce and food that you bought at the farmer's market or grocery store.
fruits & vegetables
1. Reusable produce bags, reusable produce bags, reusable produce bags!!!! reusable produce bags like these make your produce last, in my experience, at least twice as long. at least.
2. Make a DIY produce cleaner. mix 1 part white vinegar with 3 parts water, soak your fruits and vegetables in it -- the ones where you would eat the skin -- for a minute or two, and then rinse off. vinegar not only prevents mold buildup and rotting, but also helps get rid of pesticides on conventionally grown produce and fruit, and kills bacteria that could be clinging on your vegetables.
3. Put your stemmy herbs like cilantro and parsley in a jar with water and cover with a plastic bag in the fridge
4. wrap your woody herbs like thyme and mint in a damp paper towel and put in a plastic bag in the fridge
5. Keep potatoes, onions, and tomatoes in a cool, dry place, but not in the fridge.
6. Pour a little bit of olive oil on top of pesto or guacamole before storing it; that layer of fat on top will keep it greener, longer.
7. Wrap your lettuce in a dry paper towel and store in the crisper (in a reusable produce bag!)
8. Do the same for mushrooms!
9. If you bought lemons (or any citrus!), didn't use them and they're about to turn, turn them into preserved lemons by cutting them into quarters, adding salt, and storing in a jar
10. If you bought apples and they're about to go, turn them into applesauce by roasting them. or, sprinkle a little salt on top (yes, really) and the flavors will be brought out a little more.
11. Wrap banana bunches' ends in plastic wrap and keep separate from the rest of your fruit. bananas emit a lot of ethylene gas. the gas will not only cause them to ripen and spoil quicker but also, ruin any other fresh produce around bananas.
12. Peel, slice and freeze bananas that are super brown to save for smoothies or
Most importantly:
13. if you notice one piece of produce going rancid, throw it out immediately and check the produce adjacent to it - the ethylene may have caused other produce to riped more quickly.
protein
14. If you made soup/broth/stew and want to freeze it, pour into a gallon freezer bag and freeze it laying down so the liquid is distributed evenly and it freezes flat. then, when it's frozen solid, you can store the frozen soups/broths/stews on their side like books.
15. If you bought meat and it's been 4 days and you haven't used it, throw it in the freezer
carbs
16. Put sliced loaves of bread into the freezer and toast a slice when you want one; your bread will last nearly forever
17. freeze fresh pasta if you don't think you'll use it in 1-2 days
pantry
18. Store oil and vinegar out of direct sunlight (in the cupboard) so they don't go rancid
19. If you live in a place with a lot of humidity, putting rice in your salt shakers will prevent clumping
20. Spices do actually expire, so a way to mitigate this is to shop from the bulk bin and only buy what you need for that recipe of a spice. and then, do an audit of your spice rack once a year - anything that doesn't still smell pungently like it should, or is past its printed expiration date, needs to go!
21. Same with baking soda and baking powder - use within 6 months!