How much food do you guys here throw away every week? I would estimate at least $30-$50 worth each week…maybe even more… I have a bad habit of going for my weekly shopping and unfortunately have way too many impulse buys… things I end up forgetting I even bought… and another major problem for me is buying things in bulk…especially fruit… i easily buy 15 peaches when just 5 would suffice… only cuz they look so sweet and tempting at the moment… or because there’s a good price on the produce and whatnot… but lately I find myself throwing away lots and lots of messed up food at the end of the week when I clean out my fridge and go to buy more stuff.
I dunno why it spoils so quickly, and it really makes me feel so guilty wasting all that money. I mean teh supermarket has the fruit out for days at a time and it doesnt go bad, but for some strange reason it sits in my fridge even 2 days, and bam! its starting to get brown spots and go soft… why??
I know there’s certain fruits and vegetablse that shouldnt be stored together cuz they emit gases which cause them to soften faster… such as bananas … but is there any other produce that needs to be kept separate?
And dont even get me started on wasted food… leftovers that no one wants to eat the next day cuz its no longer “fresh”
Riya i was doing that too until i realised the two of us dont need 15 pieces of 5 different kinds of fruit. so now i only buy what we will use in a week or so. We get made fun of by our parents but it works for us when we buy 2 peaches, 2 apples and one cucumber. I still sometimes have to throw out food but hopefully that will get better with time too meaning either we will eat it all or not buy in the first place. I wish they sold half cucumbers!
very little... we cook one day... then cook the next... then the 3rd day we will have leftovers... and so on and so forth...
as for fruits ... guess its good they sell in units.. like.. by 10 bananas for 20 kr.. etc.. so u dont buy in bulk... i found it very very very odd though.. when i first moved here.. buying by count of each item .. hehe.. cuz in arabia.. we buy in bulk.. like entire boxes and cartons of fruits :D but hten.. phik tha bhi bohat hai... no way u can have an entire paiti of anar dude!!
Adjust the temp of the fridge. It might be too high or too low.Fruits should not go bad in 2 days in the fridge , they do not go bad in 2 days even if they are out in the open. In that case you will be better off to keep them out of the fridge. Our fruit last about a week outside the fridge and in the fridge longer than 2 weeks.
My collegue tried out green bags (TV ad) which keeps the fruits and veggies last for long periods of time. I have not used it myself yet, but I will definitely buy them soon.
She had the strawberries in green bag sitting on the kitchen counter for couple of days and they were still fresh when she brought them to work. Without a green bag no way they will last a day on the kitchen counter.
mirch is right , fruit or veggie we bought never get rotten or spoiled in a week, aslo try not to buy too soft & ripe fruit in bulk .........go for fruits slight yellow/ green/ lighter in color which would be ripe in another 2-3 or 4 days , that works too.
we prefer not to buy fresh produce in bulk except for onions , tomatoes & green peppers, as for fruit we buy just 2 or hardly 3 types for a week ( except ofcoarse in ramzan when u need variety of fruit for making chaat) , however we often stuff up our pantry with packaged or canned food items which do last longer
we always have left over salan and rotis. we used to fee bird on top of our roof, than we had some bird insects/pest coming to our house thing and got pest control done and now we dont do.
but its hard as dont know how much one is going to eat so do throw alot out.
any of u ppl find it a challenge to grocery shop for a family (or just u as the couple)? like before whneever i did groceries i bought “fun” food and stuff, now i’m trying my best to stick to a budget and et only what we need nad not waste… the other day i just bought a cake mix for NO REASON
oh Sara i remember those impulse buying days...after I got married and started doing grocery shopping like a family,both me and my husband used to buy so much junk stuff...just for no reason or ummm like lets try it...and then used to throw it away for some reason...
this phase lasted a few months and now its hardly that i get anything that i don't need which i will have to throw out later on...:)
Get some good airtight containers to store food in refrigerator so your leftovers dont get spoiled. Try to cook less food. Using measuring cups/scales help a lot if you want to figure out exactly how much food you consume daily.
Herbs like Cilantro and Mint leaves go bad very quickly if stored in plastic bags...wrap them in newspaper, they'll last longer.
You dont need 15 peaches unless you eat fruits morning, noon and evening. I'm sure it will be boring to eat 1 type of fruits everyday so buy 1-2 of each fruits. You can always go out and buy more!!
Like others mentioned, never ever go grocery shopping on an empty stomach and always make a grocery list. :)
sabriya, i make a list of things for the week that ill be making and what ill need.. ur in BK so u know how there's like a bodega/deli/convenience store AND a korean veggie/fruit market AND a small supermarket on like every other block, so it's really easy to a few basic items every week or so..
chipsy, ira.. ok so like hubby gave me money for the month for groceries and househld stuff, well after careful budgeting i realized we can save like 1/3 of that, and when i told him he said "why dont u save more" :o my spending habits are that whatever i have i spend,w hether it's a little or alot... of course he was joking though :@:
