By: Ana Margarita Olar| Foodfindsasia.com
You opened your fridge and see wilted vegetables and five containers of leftover foods. Is there any way to avoid it?
Throwing leftovers may reflect that you have to re-think your grocery list and food budget too. Here are the three clever ways to lessen food leftovers:
Make over your leftovers
Breakfast doesn’t have to be pancakes, oatmeal, and omelet time. If you have leftovers from dinner, you can re-heat the food and serve it for breakfast. If your time allows, you can also cook it again as a new meal.
For example, if you had fried fish for dinner, you can heat it again or cook another meal from fried fish. You can make a sweet and sour fish for breakfast.
Don’t store the food too long in your fridge. If you notice foods that need to be eaten, serve and eat it. Always check leftover foods before serving it again. If the food smell and look spoiled; you really need to throw it.
Use clean hands and observe proper food handling
Food handling is critical to the shelf life of the food you prepare. You can spare yourself from throwing food leftovers simply by washing your hands when handling the food.
It is important to wash the meat or fish thoroughly before cooking or storing it in the fridge. Make sure that the kitchen utensils like knife and chopping boards are properly washed before using.
Another thing to consider is the temperature of the room where you will store the food. As a rule, store it in a cool dry place with proper covering if you still plan to eat it. You can also choose to place it on the refrigerator to avoid rapid bacterial growth that can cause it to spoil fast.
Organize your fridge
Remember FIFO? Yes, it is the first in, first out rule. You can also apply it at home to make sure that your food stocks will not get expired or get spoiled.
You should also organize your fridge. Green leafy vegetables wilted easily if not wrapped properly. You can store it by using plastic wraps. Avoid buying over-ripe fruits if you plan to stock them for 3 days. For raw foods, do not buy in bulk and make sure to only store them for 3 days (as much as possible).
Always keep your fridge clean and defrost regularly to avoid large ice deposits.
Stop wasting too much money by throwing leftovers. Be conscious when buying foods. Take only what your family can consume to avoid throwing leftovers.
