Love Food - Hate Waste!

How to store food is truly a science. Supermarkets spends billions a year to improve food storage. They know every head of lettuce that wilts before they were able to pass it on to you means money washed down the drain.
It is really frustrating to go through lengthy planning, careful choosing only to have to toss that unrecognizable heap of mush into the bin. I know I absolutely hate it.
It is estimated that the average American family throws away nearly $500 worth of produce a year.

What can we do to prevent you from having to throw out one more piece of fruit, vegetable or any other food item. Let’s look at storage and educate ourselves.


A couple of points to consider:

1. If you routinely throw out lots of food - you may be buying too much. Slow down at the store and try to make a plan before you shop. Guesstimating costs an awful lot of money.

2. In your plan-making, leave gaps. I don’t know about you, but I know that if my plans are not flexible they won’t work for me. A big part of cooking well and on a budget is all about using leftovers and there has to be space for these in your menu for the week. So leave some meals - lunches and dinners blank and that is where your leftover meals will fit.

3. Also make a point of positioning dishes that use produce items that spoil quickly at the beginning of the week. Example: it does not really matter whether you make a potato salad on Tuesday or on Saturday - if you do your shopping on a Sunday - but if you are planning on a spinach salad I would not want to wait all the way until 6 days later to eat raw spinach that is now clearly past its prime.

4. If in doubt how to store an item imagine where and how it was located in your local supermarket when you bought it. Onions will never be refrigerated and neither will be potatoes - how about green peppers, lettuce or broccoli? Close your eyes imagine - the answer for the above items was one: no refrigeration, two: yes three: yes - and that is how it should be!


5. The refrigerator is your biggest helper when it comes to food storage - but it has to be clean - and you have to see what is in it! If your fridge is so full that you have no chance of seeing everything you also have no chance of using all that food. A refrigerator should be cleaned once a week - yeah not a typo - every week before you go shopping you have to know what is still in there from last weeks shopping! So, everything has to come out - things that have to be used immediately go in a crockpot or soup pot and while you clean out the fridge - wiping everything down - takes about 15 minutes really - you can already put together your meal for when you get back from your shopping trip - convenient and cheap!

6. One spoilt apple will spoil the barrel! So true and not only for apples. There are people in the supermarkets constantly picking over the produce trying to pick out the rotten apples and such. Another reason to clean out your fridge once a week - germs spread and infect other food. Spoilage needs to be nipped in the bud.

7. Store bulk grains in airtight glass containers - old spaghetti sauce containers work great. Grain moths can be a rather persistent problem - store a small dried habanero pepper in the glass jars, but don’t forget to remove it before cooking otherwise you will have a spicy surprise!

8. Raw nuts - which are by far the best nuts your money can buy - should ideally be stored in the refrigerator. Make sure they do not become humid - you use container with a tight seal and buy only as much as you can use up in a month. Do not waste your money on broken nuts - they will almost always be all rancid and severely lacking in nutrients. Also nut flours are easily made in a blender - it literally takes seconds to grind up nuts.

9. Dried fruit can be kept in the fridge and stays fresh longer that way - zip-lock bags work great.




If we divide our fruits and vegetables in sections:

+ Always refrigerate

+ Never refrigerate

+ you could refrigerate - especially once fully ripened

+ ripens nicely on the countertop - in a brown bag

+ eat asap - won’t last no matter what you do

Let’s start with fruits:

Always refrigerate: 


Apples - put in a bag - paper with a plastic bag inside, always choose apples that smell good and have no bruises - check on them often since one apple does indeed spoil all the others

Cherries - refrigerate immediately - and use asap - you only have a couple of days to enjoy them at peak flavor - and cherry season is horribly short!

Coconut - both fresh Thai and brown - should be refrigerated where they will last a couple of weeks - a bit less for the fresh ones


Grapes - should be refrigerated in plastic - but should be dry - wash them only immediately before eating.
 They can last for a week in your fridge


Never refrigerate:

Bananas - they will turn dark brown instantly - just arrange in a fruit bowl and buy at various stages of ripeness to have a constant supply - don’t throw out overripe bananas but freeze them for smoothies

Mango - never - it will kill the flavor

You could refrigerate: 



Citrus - if you are trying to make it last more than a week - otherwise it would be fine on your countertop


Kiwi - if you are trying to hold on to them for up to a month - otherwise they will be good on your countertop


Melon - if they are whole, refrigeration is optional - especially if they could use a little ripening - keep them on the countertop until they develop a bit of aroma (water melon excepted which will not have any scent) - then you can refrigerate, cut melon of course has to always be refrigerated and should be eaten asap

ripens nicely on the countertop - in a brown bag: 



Apricots - can be bought hard - will ripen on countertop - if bought ripe enjoy immediately or keep in fridge for couple of days - tops

Nectarines - can be bought hard and ripened at home - in a day or two - when fully ripe you can refrigerate them and they will last another day or two


Papaya - if you bought it green - leave on your counter until they have color and aroma then you can transfer them to the fridge where they will keep another couple of days, but should be used asap


Peach - same as with papaya - will ripen well on the counter in a brown paper bag - once you have the characteristic aroma you want to eat them asap - but you can refrigerate for another day or two


Pear - another one for the countertop - if you want to slow down the ripening process- refrigerate 


Pineapple - looks beautiful on your counter and that is where it belongs - until you get the wonderful aroma which could take a week or longer - then cut it up and store it in the fridge in a closed plastic container - it will pick up other aromas and will last only a few days

Plums - will ripen in a brown paper bag - once ripe they will keep in the fridge for a few days


Pomegranates can be kept at room temperature for a week or longer, but can also be refrigerated where they will last several months

eat asap - won’t last no matter what you do: 


Berries: I know you can refrigerate the hardy blueberries or blackberries for a couple of days - but buy local, go crazy when in season and eat right away and stay away from all not local berries the rest of the year and go for frozen if you have a craving. Out of season berries - are simple tasteless and never worth the money. Never wash fresh berries until absolutely ready to eat and berries will never ripen after they are picked!



Vegetables:

Always refrigerate:

Artichokes - up to one week - choose firm globes, stay away from opened leaves

Asparagus - couple of days tops - look for tight and dry tips and a bright, fresh green color throughout

Beans - string or snap - in a plastic bag, do not wash until you are ready to use them - if they are slightly wilted you may be able to revive them in a bowl with ice cold water

Beets - buy with tops only - cook with a bit of stem and cut only after cooking, to not lose the nutrients into the cooking water - use the greens like salad greens


Broccoli - stores well right in the plastic bag it came from the store - make sure there is a little moisture - like from the misting that happens in the store - keeps well for at least a week


Brussels Sprouts - keep well in the fridge for at least a week


Cabbage - will keep for many weeks in your fridge - when you don’t want to use the entire head of cabbage at once - it is worth to simple peel off the outer leaves and leave the rest of the head intact - the rest will keep for another meal that way 


Carrots - will keep in the plastic bag you bought them - if you bought ones with the top on - twist it off - it will draw the sweetness out of the carrots - and use carrots with green tops sooner - you can revive limp carrots in an ice bath


Cauliflower - store in the plastic bag it came in keeps well for a week and beyond - watch for black spots and use immediately if they appear


Celery - refrigerate - will keep crisp for at least a week


Celery root - will keep for many weeks in your fridge - in a plastic bag to keep in moisture


Cucumber - refrigerate only for a couple of days 


Eggplant - will store in plastic bags for several days 


Ginger - will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge


Leeks - will last a week or more - store dry in a plastic bag


Mesclun greens - will store well if refrigerated - however if you purchased them loose by the pound - transfer them out of the loose plastic bag into a plastic container - tupperware works - otherwise splurge on a mesclun mix in a hardshell plastic container and keep that for repeated use since it was designed by the growers to keep loose leaf lettuce, it does a fine job in keeping your greens fresh - always keep them dry and pick out any wilting leaves immediately


Whole lettuce heads - should be kept in a plastic bag and should be slightly moist - it will keep three to five days at peak freshness

Mushrooms - never store them in a plastic bag - paper bags only and add a slightly damp sheet of paper towel - use asap they really don’t last


Peppers - should last up to a week - dry in a plastic bag - wash right before use


Spinach - store in fridge right away - do not wash until ready to use, but even if stored perfectly you will only get a couple of days - so use it soon


Sprouts - parish quickly - store in refrigerator and use within a couple of days


Summer Squash - store in unsealed plastic bag


Swiss Chard - store in open plastic bag in the fridge - will keep for a week


Never refrigerate!: 


Garlic - moisture is an absolute killer - keep it in a dark, cool place on your countertop - and don’t waste your money on the pre-chopped stuff


Winter Squash - unless it has been cut - store in a dry dark place and winter squash will keep for a couple of months


Tomatoes - never ever refrigerate! - even if ripe - it just kills the flavor - make gazpacho and salsa if you have too many ripe ones


You could refrigerate: 



Corn - but only for a short time and you should really eat it asap

Onions - some people recommend refrigeration others condemn it, I guess it depends on how good your storage is outside the fridge - you want a cool, dark, dry place away from potatoes and apples


Potatoes - other than the very thin skinned new potatoes - potatoes usually do not need to be refrigerated they should be kept in a cold, dark, dry place

And - that's all folks!

Why I hate sales and coupons:

Yep, you have read correctly - the resident vegetarian on the cheap is anti sales and anti coupons! Now let me tell you why:
I have written before about the importance of an eating plan for the whole week before you go out shopping. There is simply no way to make intelligent shopping decisions when you don’t really know what you will have to cook the rest of the week. The more you plan, the better your shopping experience will be. Events such as soccer practice, attending a dinner potluck, having to work late one night - all have to be factored in since they have a huge impact on what you will be able to cook or eat that week. If you also consider other influences such as, what is in season or how fast some produce will spoil - you realize why it is a good idea to sit down at home and devote 10 minutes to actually write down what everybody in your family will have for breakfast, lunch and dinner that week.
And here it often comes - “But how will I know what is on sale at any given week - if I am supposed to plan my week at home?”
Well, quite honestly the more you make your own buying decisions, the better off you are. Sales are nothing more than gimmicks. Supermarkets are not our friends - quite often you almost feel like they are the enemy. A sale is not a friendly offer to pass along the discount the big chain supermarket was negotiating on our behalf - you wish!
A sale or a coupon is a marketing tool. Nothing more. It is supposed to get you to come to the store and separate you from your money.
I know there are people out there who are the coupon queens and kings but what they don’t realize is that they are still being told what to buy, when, where and how much.
I never use coupons and furthermore most of the foods I buy are never on sale or featured in coupons. You will rarely find a sale in the bulk bins, and store brands not only rarely are featured in coupons, but are almost never more expensive than the brand name item, coupon and all. The coupon madness has finally also arrived in the health food stores, since many of the smaller mom-and-pop manufacturers have been gobbled up by the multinational mega corporations that also own the big chain supermarkets: Stonyfield Farms is owned by Danone, Kashi by Kellogs, Boca Burgers by Kraft Foods.
So, where does that leave us when we are trying to feed our families as intelligently and efficiently as possible?
My rule is this: if something that I had on my shopping list is on sale hurrah! If one item is an easy substitute - cheddar over mozarella or cauliflower over broccoli - fine, but if a sale would prompt me to buy something that I would not usually buy, or have never bought before, I simply pass.
 This way I am still making my own buying decisions and take comfort in the fact that I don’t fall prey to the mass manipulation that is the coupon game. Any thoughts?

Forever Lemon!

I am very careful when I endorse any product. First of all because most items that would be worthy of endorsement come without marketing or hype - broccoli, onions, quinoa etc. But once in a while I find something that makes a difference especially in my budget and then it’s time to share.
I am big fan of citrus - if you missed my enthusiastic endorsement - read it here. To keep lemons and limes fresh is not as easy as one would think. First of all, I find that regular lemons at 3 for two dollars - this week at the local supermarket - are really a rip off and second these lemons rarely make it past two weeks in the refrigerator - so really not a good deal. On the other hand a squirt of lemon makes so many things more tasty. For instance if you are trying to cut back on your salt intake, nothing works better than a squirt of lemon in your stir-fry or salad dressing to wake up the flavors. And here is the other problem - whereas uncut lemons last at least a couple of weeks - a cut lemon is do or die. If you don’t use all the juice - the lemon will not last more than a day or two in the fridge.

When I came across the little yellow and green bottles in my health food store’s produce section I actually was a bit turned off by the fact that they managed to come up with yet another plastic product - but since actually having had a chance to use them I have to admit that I am hooked. These little marvels are extremely convenient - the juice is from organic lemons - usually way out of my budget range - and they last forever. On the container the advertised expiration date is 6 months - and I am pretty sure they could go even longer. There are no preservatives other than citric acid and you do have to keep them in the refrigerator - always a good sign - if something has the ability to spoil it means it is not quite dead.
For about 2$ you buy yourself two months worth of lemons - even if you use as much as I do. Like I said: I am hooked!

The Bulk Food Section - Your Place of Worship!

Since I truly believe that understanding how to shop in the bulk section is a key to being able to save money and feed yourself and your family well at the same time, I thought it might be a good idea to take a closer look.
The reasons to shop in bulk are several:

- unparalleled bargains - you will find the cheapest and most nutrient dense foods there
- No - packaging means no waste and no dyes used to print unnecessary cartons - less polluted waters
- No advertising ever - when is the last time you saw a catchy commercial advertising black beans - never? - bingo! There is no advertising for bulk food items - that means less cost to you, because we, as the consumers on top of everything else pay for our own brainwashing!

So - this is bargain central - if you shop the right way. How could you possibly go wrong? Well, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

Let’s look at the different items featured. You can easily tell the quality of your local health food store by the size of their bulk food section. Believe me, in this instance - size matters! Some stores try to work around having people help themselves, by prepackaging everything for them - for instance Whole Foods operates this way. I personally feel nothing beats the control you have measuring your own quantities and checking on the freshness. Also you can bring your own containers to fill -just pre-weigh your containers and then you don’t have to waste another plastic bag or tub.

Let’s break it down - the different sections will contain:

Nuts - plain and sugar, chocolate or yogurt-covered
Trail Mixes - conglomerates of nuts dried fruits and sometimes candy
Dried Fruits- all kinds sulfured and unsulfured, sweetened and unsweetened
Flours
Granolas
Candy
Pretzels
Tea & Coffee
Seeds - sunflower, pumpkin roasted or not
Grains - form the familiar - oats to the exotic - amaranth and quinoa
Beans and Lentils
Pasta
Rice

I don’t know about you, but I have no problem separating the food from the junk, but of course it is tricky.

Let’s go one item at a time:

NUTS:


BUY: Nuts - especially the unroasted ones - see if you can afford organic - but do buy the nonorganic ones if you can’t
DON'T BUY: Yogurt covered, tamari or cinnamon roasted ones - a waste of money and so highly processed that their nutritional benefits become insignificant - because of excessive sugar or salt
also note: broken nuts seem to be a bargain, but are actually more likely to be rancid - to check, see what color the broken edges of the nuts are: yellow=rancid, white=fresh, but eat them soon

TRAIL MIXES:

DON’T BUY: They are a "no buy" - because they are usually full of cheap fillers - and if you look around - you can create your own mix with fresh ingredients of your choosing - also did you really think I would let you get away with sneaking M&M’s into your diet?

DRIED FRUITS:

BUY: Unsulphured raisins, apricots, mangos. Everything dried and unsweetened is fine. Especially nutritious dried apricots, figs and prunes.

FLOURS:

BUY: All Whole grain Flours, there will be some interesting choices such as soy flour or rice flour - but all are good buys.

GRANOLAS:

BUY: They should all be good buys, some may be a bit sugary, but they are still light years ahead of the crap they sell as cereals. Make it fun for the kids and organize a granola tasting - they may discover favorites

CANDY AND COOKIES:

DON'T BUY: Chocolate covered raisins, blueberries,cranberries, ginger etc
Yogurt covered raisins, sundrops (fake M&M’s), Chinese ginger candies - you get the idea. Unfortunately there are many candy choices in the bulk food section. Are they a bargain? Well, since I believe you generally should try not to waste your money on sugary stuff - I would have to say - NO. However, if you can’t live without the occasional indulgence and you are the master of self control - I guess you could say that some of these candies are better than others. Be careful that your kids don't overindulge and, who are we kidding here, don’t overindulge yourself! Enough said!


PRETZELS:

BUY: Pretzels and Sesame Sticks are salty little treats and as long as you don’t overdo it they should be fine to add a little crunch in lunch boxes or as a snack. I think they are definitely better than goldfish or cheetos. at least they are whole grain and do not have artificial colors or flavors.

TEA & COFFEE:

BUY: You can find some bargains here. TEA: When buying tea keep in mind that whole leaf tea is the premium kind and what goes in tea bags is the dust that falls off the table, when the premium tea gets processed. What makes it premium - is the flavor, and the fact that premium tea gives you several infusions - meaning you flush the same leaves again and again and you get pot after pot, just without caffeine. With premium green teas you may be able to get anywhere between three and five infusions from the same leaves. So in that sense lose leaf tea can be a bargain.
COFFEE: You will find fair trade, swiss water decaf and other premium varities here. My experience has been, that coffees in the health food store are usually of the highest quality and quite competitive in price.

SEEDS:



BUY: One of the greatest health bargains period. They are cheap, easily carried around and full of vitamins, minerals, monounsaturated fats. essential fatty acids and phytonutrients.
They are best eaten raw and should ideally be refrigerated. If you find a health food store that keeps their nuts and seeds in the refrigerator, you know you are in good hands. Otherwise, make sure there is a high turnover - so the nuts and seeds are not exposed to light and room temperatures for long.
Roasted and salted seeds and nuts often go rancid a lot faster than whole, raw ones. The healthy oils can quickly get damaged in the roasting process, becoming more harmful than helpful.

Super seeds: Sunflower seeds (raw and unroasted), flaxseeds ( a big inexpensive way to keep colon cancer at bay),sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds

DONT BUY: roasted, sugar coated seeds

GRAINS:



BUY: oats, rye, quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat(wheat berries), buckwheat, amaranth. bulgur wheat, cous-cous, barley, millet.
There are virtually no bad buys when it comes to grains. Store them airtight and away from light and have fun experimenting.
As long as we stick to “Whole Grains” we should be fine - remember a whole grain is just that - there have to be individual intact whole grains in there. Unfortunately food can be sold as “whole grain” even if 99% of it is actually not whole at all - always go for 100% whole grain or whole wheat. Also be careful “Unbleached flour” on a bread label means absolutely nothing - it just means the refined flour just wasn’t bleached on top of it!

BEANS AND LENTILS:

BINGO - you just hit the jackpot - there is no single food a frugal vegetarian should embrace more than beans and lentils. Just look at the cuisine of some of the poorest countries in the world - India - has wonderful dals - lentil stews - Central American countries embrace their bean dishes. Every single bean you will come across in the bulk food section is a jewel. They are a bit fickle to prepare - I know some of us get gassy - we will get to that in the weeks to come - there are inexpensive and easy ways to avert the gas - but once you crack the code - you will be able to feed yourself well and inexpensively.

BUY: Lentils, brown red or green, kidney, pinto, black, garbanzo, adzuki beans.

PASTA:

BUY: You may be able to get whole wheat pasta in bulk which is almost always a good deal - stay clear of the non-whole wheat variety and also avoid the pasta with vegetable dye - just because the past is green and contains a negligible amount of spinach juice does not make it healthy

RICE:



BUY: Whole brown rice -short grain, medium grain or long grain, that is up to you - do not buy any white rice - it is a waste of money (you were robbed of 90% of the nutritional value of that rice), try to buy organic, it is not that much more expensive.

So to wrap things up:

When in the bulk food section of your health food store

BUY:

+ Unprocessed, unroasted nuts

+ Unsulpured dried fruits

+ Whole grain flours

+ Granolas

+ Pretzels and Sesame sticks

+ Tea & Coffee

+ Unroasted Seeds

+ all grains

+ all beans or lentils

+ whole wheat pasta

+ brown rice

The 10 Commandments of the Frugal Vegetarian!

1.Buy in Bulk:

The basis for your everyday meals shall be found in the bulk section of your health food store. If your store does not have one – switch stores! You’ll be amazed – alternately buy online. If you have the inclination and the space to store, 25 pound bags of your staples you can save an extra bundle.This is one online source Bobsredmill.com but there are many others.


2. Organic or not organic - that is the question.

You shall shop organic only what you must and can. It’s easy to get caught up in the organic black hole – financially speaking – but if you avoid – the dirty dozen as they are often called – you’ll lower your pesticide exposure by about 90% – that’s already pretty good. Check out this handy Wallet Guide.

3. The four Seasons:

What’s in season – when produce is out of season prices can quadruple – why go there – who needs asparagus in November?

4. You are the Boss!

You shall enjoy the freedom of changing recipes at will – Rachel Ray, Emeril or the Naked Chef can all go jump in a lake – you are in charge – and you can make changes! I know this sounds obvious but a lot of people fret over one ingredient and spend way too much money on one miniscule speck of an ingredient that barely registers on the palate – instead of seeing the big picture. This somewhat excludes spices because…

5. Learn your Spices

You shall learn your spices, spice-mixes and how to use salt. The reason why restaurant meals are so “wow” sometimes is that professional chefs (who are by the way constantly on a budget) – really know seasoning. I would recommend organic spices because they are usually inexpensive anyway – wrong place to save – and they are not irradiated. A little spice goes a long way – and salt has had a bad wrap – it is vital to survival and as long as we cook fresh and add salt ourselves there is almost no way to really go overboard. The “bad” salt is the one hidden in canned and over processed food that needs all the salt it can hide in order to taste like anything at all.

6. Come on go ahead and give it a try!

You shall give store brands a fair try out – that goes hand in hand with buying in bulk – since store brands are just that – the big chain supermarket bought something in bulk sometimes from the very manufacturer of the name brand – and markets it to the customer directly. Not particularly everybody’s first choice - but let’s get real here! For the frugal vegetarian products of note are – store brand soy milk, store brand tofu and some store brand cereals. Give it a try, you might like it. Also you will reinforce the impression of the big chain that there is a market for healthier foods, encouraging them to do more. A special mention to Whole Foods who although they don’t have a bulk section – shame – their own brand 365º features a lot of organic products that are quite good.

7. Point in Case

Look for case discounts – often 10-20% – if you know you’ll need 10 packages of soy milk every week to feed your family’s ferocious appetite for milk – buy by the case – also eliminates schlepping every week. Sometimes you have to outright ask for the case discount – stores don’t always promote this service.

8.Set your inner Farmer free!

You shall try to join a local CSA or Food Co-op – Lots of like-minded people – local produce in abundance – work exchange – need I say more. Go to localharvest.org. to search for a local CSA.

9. Substitutions will be extra!

You shall be wary of too many meat or cheese replacement products – they are usually quite pricey and zap up your budget quickly. Nutritionally, many of these products are suspicious and over-processed.

10. Snacks anyone?

You shall watch out for snacks that may be zapping up your $$$. All these meal replacement bars some of which run up to $4 or more seem very little food for a lot of money. Think about it – $4 buys you almost 3 pounds of rice – that could be your rice budget for the whole week! Three meals based on rice for a family of four --> about 3 pounds!