Cost-Saving Tips – By The 10 Minute Meal Guy
With inflation rising and food prices increasing we felt it was a good time to offer some tips on how to get the most out of your shopping trip and save you money by not throwing away as much food.
For many singles, and even couples, buying certain types of food can lead to a lot of waste because they go bad quickly. While the tips below may be known to some folks, others may not be as savvy around the kitchen and just might not know some of these tricks.
For bread, bagels, tortillas or just about anything that goes stale or gets moldy fast:
If you are going to eat these products in the 10 days to 2 weeks then putting them in a freezer size ziplock bag usually does the trick and will keep them fresh for at least 2 weeks, sometimes longer!
If you buy more and want these products to last more than a month, ziplock them and toss them in the freezer and they will be fresh when you take them out and thaw them! Just don’t leave them too long, if they get freezer burn (visible ice crystals) then they won’t be good when thawed.
Also, in a toaster over, most bread can go from frozen to toasted without too much trouble so there is usually no need to thaw it out first, just toast it a little longer than usual and you will be all set!
If you are looking to make your fruit last longer, you can use ziplock bags but we recommend uniform air-tight containers, which tend to stack a lot better than bags. Frozen fruit can be good for around 2 to 3 months which can really help when you find fruit on sale and want to stock up!
You can also precook items like soups, hamburgers, pasta, rice, and other staples and then freeze them for later! This not only can save you money since you can buy in bulk sometimes and while you might spend the weekend cooking it all it will allow you to grab your own frozen meals later in the week that just need to be heated, saving you time when you need it most!
For more tips and 10-minute meals, check back each month!
Mary writes:
I prepare food for myself all the time. I am not a fan of grocery shopping (I hate it) but I learned to go with a prepared list and get it over with. I do not order out and have Uber bring it.
When I cook, I prepare meals for the freezer. Soups, stews, spaghetti sauce, and more.
My meal preparations take about 30 minutes. Fish or chicken in the Air Fryer for about 15-20min and a fresh salad. A frozen soup meal I can take out the day before. Enjoying a nice, delicious homemade soup in the winter works for me.
I do not consider myself a great cook, but certain meals I prepare, come out great. So, I only cook when I really feel like it, which is not daily. Cooking a piece of meat or fish, preparing a salad, and heating up soup, I do not consider cooking. I Hope, this gave you an inside John. Good luck, and I will be following your articles.
