Waste Not, Want Not

I went through my freezer today and I am happy to say that most everything is being eaten through thus less waste. This has not always been the case. Did you see that Oprah episode where the mom was throwing out food every week to replace it with fresh groceries? The amount of food she threw out was amazing. Might as well put your money in the trash.

I think often even I get caught up in the freshness of a product and the sell by dates. I usually rely on the smell test but thought there has to be a better measure. And there is.

Here is a quick list and general rule of thumb for when to toss those mystery packages in the freezer:

• Ground meats: 3–4 months in the freezer
• Hot dogs: 1–2 months in the freezer
• Eggs: 3–5 weeks in the refrigerator
• Dry onions: 2 months in the refrigerator
• Opened lunch meats: 3–5 days in the refrigerator
• Flour: lasts longest in the freezer
• Dried peas and beans: up to 1 year

Keep this in mind too, some local food pantries will take canned food donations up to 2 years past their expiration dates.

With all this in mind, I encourage grocery store shopping early in the morning or late in the evening to get the best deals on discounted meats, breads and clearance bin goods. Stack this on top of your regular coupon finds and now you are saving!

Read more about sell by dates here.
“Besides, as University of Minnesota food scientist Ted Labuza explained to me, expiration dates address quality—optimum freshness—rather than safety and are extremely conservative.”