I didn't have any "new" food waste this week (which I'm arbitrarily defining as anything purchased or prepared in the last 3 weeks). I did, however, find a couple things lurking waaay in the back of the fridge that should have been in last week's roundup:-a couple more hunks of dead lemon (what *is* it with me and the lemons?? Definitely going to have to work on that!)
-a few fossilized strawberries
-most of a bottle of cheap champagne. We received this as a gift at Christmas. Since we're not champagne drinkers and I couldn't think of anyone else who would want it, I was a bit stumped as to what to do with it. I ended up making us Mimosas for Easter breakfast, then the rest of the bottle sat in the fridge until now.
This week's food waste prevention tip is about keeping your food pest-free. We had a pantry moth invasion about a year and a half ago and (uuuugh!) talk about having to waste a serious amount of food! Those little buggers will get into almost everything. One thing I now do to prevent little critters growing in food is to store *all* my bulk food items in the freezer for at least 24 hrs when I bring it home. This includes all my bulk flours and rice, and anything I buy out of bulk food bins. I do this with bags of pasta as well (I tend to buy a LOT when they go on sale for the lowest price, so sometimes they'll be sitting on the shelf for a while before they get used up). Since I've started this practice, I've had no problems with anything going "buggy" on me.
If this is your first visit to the blog this week, you might want to check out Why I Went $40 Over My Grocery Budget This Month and A Day in the Life of Our Frugal Family. And be sure to stop by tomorrow for my weekly Yard Sale Report. You can see what I've found so far this year here, here, and here. I'd love to hear about your own yard sale finds, so be sure to leave a comment and tell me all about it!
I have a yard sale shopping experience to share. I've been meaning to write a post about it. I got an antique sewing box (all wood, storage in the top and a drawer), yogurt maker (well, we saw how this worked...), mortar and pestal, wooden salt and pepper shakers and a wooden train (about 3 feet long) for $16. I was pretty excited about that!!! Thanks for visiting my blog and for your comments!
ReplyDeleteCool finds, Beth! I've been keeping an eye out for a mortar and pestle myself :) The sewing box sounds really neat.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone who hasn't already heard me say it, I do NOT recommend buying a yogurt maker (new or used) as I've heard so much about people getting inconsistent results with them. There are several different yogurt incubation methods that will get you better results. I'll be posting a tutorial of the method I'm currently using in the near future.
Sometimes I think I have had a no waste week and then discover something lurking in the back of the fridge.
ReplyDeleteI also freeze items from the bulk food bins and have found it to be very effective.
in the future try that champagne as a cooking wine or in place of vinegar in any recipe!
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