Buying fresh food instead of making frozen meals is key to living a healthy lifestyle. When we were kids, we probably all had a taste for ready-made macaroni and cheese, frozen pizza and other similar meals (though maybe some of us still do). The issue is we can never tell the real contents of these foods as they are food products rather than whole foods themselves. Buying fresh fruits and vegetables is one thing, but it can be difficult to keep everything fresh—and we may run out of time to cook it in.
Fortunately, we have 12 food hacks to keep your food fresher for longer than ever before.
1. Keep your green onions fresh in a glass of water.
Green onions are absolutely delicious in many dishes. Unfortunately, they often get buried under other heavy vegetables, we forget about them and they wilt and go bad. Instead of doing that, fill up a glass of water and plop your green onions in there to keep them fresher for much, much longer.
2. Put your fresh herbs in a glass jar.
Air is what makes your herbs dry out and spoil. To avoid that, get little glass jars to put your herbs in so that they stay fragrant and delicious.
3. Do the same thing with your honey!
In the same way, honey can stay good for years if it is stored properly. Basically, that means avoiding containers with metal, enamel or zinc because they will cause your honey to oxidize.
4. Keep your cottage cheese and sour cream upside down in the fridge.
As dairy products, sour cream and cottage cheese are particularly susceptible to growing bacteria that can make them go bad. To help them keep from going bad, flip them over to create an air vacuum in the container that germs can’t grow in!
5. Keep apples in the fridge.
Although it’s fine to keep your apples in the pantry or on the counter, they can stay fresh for even longer if you keep them in the fridge. Still, one added point to this is that they shouldn’t touch each other for this to be particularly effective.
6. Pour your leftover sauce into freezer bags.
If you make a dish with a little more sauce than you expected, store the remains of it in a freezer bag and throw it in your freezer. As an added bonus, you can pull it out later, dice it and reheat it that way for quick use.
7. You can even freeze eggs that are on the verge of going bad.
Not many people know this, but eggs can be frozen in an ice tray almost indefinitely as well. For an added bonus, sprinkle in just a little salt or sugar as well to help them keep their texture when you take them out again.
8. Freeze a whole gallon of milk.
If you bought milk right before you were planning on leaving town, no worries—just throw it in the freezer. Still, be sure to dump a little of the milk out before freezing as it will expand when it gets cold.
9. Wrap your lettuce leaves in paper towel to help them stay fresh for longer.
Lettuce is another of the leafy greens that seems to go bad rather quickly. To solve that problem, wrap some paper towels around your lettuce to help absorb extra moisture and keep them fresh.
10. Store your carrots in sand for added freshness.
Carrots typically come in a big plastic bag and sit in the bottom of the fridge accumulating moisture (at least, that’s what mine are doing). To fix that, consider storing them in some sand to absorb that extra moisture and slow down the rotting process.
11. Store your mushrooms in a brown paper bag.
Mushrooms like a naturally dark, moist environments. Still, letting your mushrooms get too wet will make them go bad quickly. To fix that, store them in a paper bag to absorb some of the excess water.
12. Brush your avocados with olive oil.
The typical solution to keeping avocados fresh once they’re cut open is to leave the pit in or put some lemon juice on them. Unfortunately, neither of these methods are all that effective. Instead, use a thin layer of olive oil on top to keep the air from getting in completely.
Do you have any food tips of your own? Let us know in the comments below.
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