Food expiration is the stuff of nightmares! Very little beats the disappointment that follows the discovery that a food item is labeled, "expired." In this article, we have outlined five tips that culminate in better management of meals, food costs, and, most importantly, food wastage caused by expiration.
Food wastage is fast becoming a global problem, and one of its major causative factors is food expiration. Thus, the increasing need to raise awareness about its implications and help guide how to limit such loss.
Here are five simple tips that will significantly help you avoid food wastage due to expiration.
Appropriate meal planning will be of great benefit in your quest to avoid food expiration. It will only take a few minutes of your time and can be as simple as including particular meal items to having elaborate recipes set for the week.
Ultimately, this intentional planning makes you aware of precisely what you need for every meal and will help you tamp down on urges to buy plenty of food items when grocery shopping.
This may be the best of all the tips on this list. As mentioned above, carefully make plans for the food items you need and just how much would suffice for your meals, then shop for precisely those.
This may increase the frequency of your visits to the grocery store, but it would be a trip well worth it because you'll be lowering the risk of the food items getting expired.
Never cook more than what you need. Calculate the precise quantity required for each portion to prevent making leftovers that may, ultimately, be thrown out.
It is a common misconception that produce is best bought in large volumes. This may seem like the cheaper option, but unless you are providing for a huge family or occasion, a fraction of the produce will surely go to waste.
So yes, it's better to buy just one item rather than let a large bunch rot!
Finally, never forget that your freezer is your best bet at keeping your food items fresh and safe for consumption for longer. If you have to buy large quantities of a food item to cut back on costs, make sure that it can be frozen first!
There you have five simple tips that will never stop being of help when it comes to food wastage and avoiding food expiration. Food expiration may not be totally avoidable, but incorporating the tips above into your everyday lifestyle will extensively limit the nagging guilt of discarding food.