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I can't afford to throw good food away. There is no reason to either. Whole Foods Market is shockingly overpriced, IMO. I went in there and just LOOKING at their items reduced my checking account balance by $100
They didn't earn their nickname "Whole Paycheck" for nothing!
Berries are very good for freezing as long as you have a blender or a masticating or twin gear juicer. (Smoothies, sorbet, etc...). Also you could make jam or jelly and can it. This is what I'm saying... there's very little you HAVE to throw away if you're creative and able to spend time re purposing ingredients. (I'm not trying to pick on you, but I am often surprised and pleased with how I can re-use items without sacrificing quality)
I throw whole frozen berries into plain Greek yogurt for lunch all the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Woof
Most of you have said this, but the reason I didn't put down a third option for "mixture" or "else" is because everyone would vote that way (except for me, I'm frugal to the point of it being a bit dangerous). The idea here is to go with one team or the other, not both.
Another example would be meat. Will you buy meat with a mark-down sticker on it? I've gotten burned a few times on that - green smelly spots on the hidden side, or funky hamburger.
Would you toss meat that was bought fresh but languished in the fridge a few days unnoticed, that only has a very slightly off odor?
As for day-old bread and half an onion, yes I've actually known people to toss them. Mostly either young people new to cooking after moving out from their parents home, or wealthy people, sometimes food faddists, or sometimes religious fanatics who want the supposedly greater "life force" of very fresh foods.
Yes, absolutely I'd toss off meat that had an off odor. Gross. "If in doubt, throw it out." It's not worth saving a few dollars to take the chance on puking later.
I buy a big bag of onions and keep it in the bottom drawer of my fridge. I always use a whole onion, no matter what I'm making. There is never "half an onion" left. When it's just me in the house, I buy a loaf of bread and usually end up throwing about 1/2 of it after 10 days or so -- whenever it turns fuzzy. I've tried keeping it in the freezer, but out of sight, out of mind. I have had a loaf in there since summer. Looks pretty dried out.
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PeachSalsa
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Yes, absolutely I'd toss off meat that had an off odor. Gross. "If in doubt, throw it out." It's not worth saving a few dollars to take the chance on puking later......
If it doesn't smell fresh but doesn't smell bad either, I'll cook it more thoroughly than usual, well-done, usually in some kind of stew. That will kill any bacteria.
Living alone, it's sometimes difficult to use up every last bit of everything before it "goes off".
Bread: who throws away bread the next day? Even with a small-family loaf, it takes me a long time to use up the whole thing. So I can use it for toast, French toast, croutons, bread crumbs, or poultry stuffing. Right now, I have a bag in the freezer into which I put those slices that I won't/can't use up before mildew sets in. Combined with that half an onion, the limp celery rib, a dash of poultry seasoning, and you have a nice side dish to go with your supper.
I often buy that meat with the $$-off sticker since the sell-by date is usually the date of purchase. I cook or freeze it when I get home from the store.
Much of what we throw away is still good to eat, even if it has lost some of the nutritional value. Many spices came into use to cover up the "off taste" of stale foods. While I don't advocate eating obviously rotten items we are a wasteful nation as a whole. And I'm as guilty as the next guy when it comes to wasting comestibles. I'm resolved to get better at using it up.
I voted fresh....but it depends on the veg or fruit. Sometimes its ok to buy frozen veggies (like peas and green beans) and I do buy canned beans of various types.
An interesting take is "in season or not-in-season". For me I buy at any time (like today I got a tomato. Not in-season), but if fresh/in season I will focus on that item (like asparagus in the spring from farmers markets).
For example, if you only need a half onion for a recipe, would you throw away
the other half, or put it in the refrigerator for later?
I do NOT do that! No...I use everything. Never, ever throw food away and plan my shopping and cooking so that is the case, too...unless there is a situation where you just have to (like parsley going bad).
Never, ever throw food away and plan my shopping and cooking so that is the case, too...unless there is a situation where you just have to (like parsley going bad).
"unless there is a situation" ≠ "Never, ever"
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