These 48 easy tricks will help your food stay fresh and last way longer, helping you to eat healthy on a tight budget.
Eating Healthy on a Budget
A great way to eat healthy on a budget is to reduce the amount of food you need to buy. You can achieve this by using simple tricks that make the food you have stay fresh and last longer. This prevents food from being wasted and last minute trips to the grocery store to buy more. It may sound simple, but it really is an effective way to save money.
If you are looking for more tips on how to eat healthy on a budget I have written a whole series of posts about it. I recommend starting with my overview post on 5 Steps for Eating Healthy on a Budget, then going through each of the five in depth posts I have written for each step:
- Choosing Budget-Friendly, Nutrient-Dense Foods
- Planning a Menu on a Budget
- Finding Good Deals on Healthy Foods
- Making Food Last Longer (this post)
- Easy Ways to Use Leftovers
48 Ways to Keep Food Fresh and Lasting Longer
The great news about each of these ways to make fast last longer is they take very little effort on your part! I recommend starting with a few that seem the most reasonable to you, then trying more when you feel ready.
Keeping Produce Fresh Longer
How many times have you stocked your fridge full of fruits and vegetables only to have them go bad before you can eat them? This can be so frustrating! The tips below will keep your produce fresh and lasting much longer. This means money saved and more nutrients for your body.
Vegetables
- Place potatoes in a breathable container then store them in a cool dark location to prolong their life and prevent mold.
- Store onions in a pair of clean pantyhose with a knot tied between each one to allow for air circulation. Hang the tied up onions in a cool dark place away from potatoes (onions speed up the ripening process of potatoes).
- Put leftover cut onions in an airtight container in the fridge away from apples, pears, celery and butter (they absorb their flavor). Or chop leftover cut onions then place them in a freezer safe container in the freezer.
- Keep mushrooms in a paper bag (not plastic) with a paper towel inside with them to prevent them from turning slimy.
- Put a paper towel on top of leafy greens to absorb moisture then store them in the fridge.
- Wrap broccoli, lettuce, and celery in tin foil before you store them in the fridge to keep them fresh and crisp longer.
- Keep tomatoes at room temperature with their stem side down and away from sunlight to slow down their ripening speed.
- Remove the leafy tops of root vegetables to keep them crisp and slow down their ripening speed.
- Store cut carrots (baby carrots) in a container with a little bit of water to keep them crunchy and to prevent dryness. Replace the water every few days.
- Put asparagus in a glass jar with a little water at the bottom then store them in the fridge to keep them crisp and fresh longer. Replace the water every day or two.
Herbs
- Store ginger roots in your freezer to keep them fresh for a few months. When you’re ready to use some, cut off the amount you need then place the remainder back in the freezer.
- Clip off the ends of fresh herbs, place them in a glass jar filled with a little of water, then store them in your fridge to keep them fresh longer. Replace the water every day or two.
- Freeze fresh cut herbs in an ice cube tray with a little olive oil. When you are ready to use them, simply pop a frozen cube into your recipe while you are cooking it.
Fruits
- Leave the pit in a sliced avocado or place the pit in guacamole to reduce browning. Sprinkle them with lime or lemon juice to further prevent browning.
- Wrap the top stems of bananas with plastic wrap and hang them above other fruits to slow down their ripening speed.
- Keep an ethylene gas absorber in your fridge to absorb the ethylene gas fruits and vegetables release, thus slowing down their ripening speed.
- Put breathable fridge liners in your produce drawers to keep air circulating and to prevent mold growth.
- Store fruits and vegetables in the crisper drawer of a fridge to prolong their life.
- Soak your berries and grapes in a bowl filled with cool water and a 1/2 cup vinegar for 20 minutes. After the soak, drain them, rinse them, then store them in a glass jar to prolong their freshness.
- Do not wash your produce until right before you use it (except for the vinegar wash for berries and grapes). Washing them can speed up their ripening process.
- Preserve produce items that you cannot use before they go bad by canning them or freezing them.
- Remove spoiled fruits and vegetables from your fridge to prevent them from speeding up the ripening process of the other produce items they are close to.
Preventing Milks, Cheeses and Eggs From Going Bad
- Keep your fridge temperature set below 40℉ (the most ideal temperature is between 35-38℉). This keeps milk and other foods from going bad quickly.
- Store milk and eggs on the middle shelves of your fridge where the temperature is most stable to prolong their life.
- Freeze extra cream in an ice cube tray. Take one out to use as needed.
- Wrap cheeses in a layer of parchment or wax paper followed by a layer of loosely wrapped tin foil to prevent mold and dryness.
- Hard boil your eggs when they are getting older to add another week to their life.
- Store peeled hard boiled eggs in an air-tight container.
Helping Condiments, Toppings and Spreads to Stay Fresh Longer
- Store unopened condiments away from direct sunlight to prevent their breakdown.
- Store open condiments in the fridge to keep them fresh longer.
- Pour pure maple syrup into a clean oil dispenser jar to reduce its flow and prevent waste from over pouring. Store the bottle in the fridge to keep the syrup from going bad.
- Store extra pure maple syrup in the freezer to extend its life.
- Store honey in a dark location at room temperature to prevent crystallization.
- Place a jar of crystallized honey on a bowl filled with warm water, then stir it until it returns to normal consistency. (note: crystallized honey is still safe to eat).
- Place a layer of plastic wrap directly on top of sour cream or yogurt once they have been opened to reduce the risk of mold from growing.
- Put opened cream cheese in an airtight container to prevent drying.
Ensuring Meats and Sea Food Don’t Go Bad
- Put uncooked meat and sea food on the bottom shelf of your fridge to prevent them from contaminating other foods.
- Freeze any uncooked meats and seafoods that you cannot use within a few days of purchasing them to prevent them from going bad.
- Use vacuum seal bags to make frozen meats and seafood last even longer.
Making Your Leftovers Last Longer
- Put leftovers in the fridge as soon as possible after eating to prevent them from spoiling.
- Store leftovers in clear containers then place them in a location of your fridge where you can easily see and not forget about them.
- Freeze any leftovers that you will not eat within a three to five day time period after making them to keep them fresh longer.
Keeping Nuts and Seeds Fresh Longer
- Store all nuts in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a year.
- Buy seeds in their whole form then store them in the freezer. Grind up a small amount to keep in your fridge for current uses.
Storing Breads and Dry Goods To Make them Last Longer
- Wrap bread in a dish towel or paper bag then store it in a dry place.
- Place any bread you will not use up quickly in the freezer.
- Store flours, noodles, dry beans, rice and other grains in air-tight containers to prevent pantry moths, weevils or other bugs from getting into them.
- Buy wheat berries instead of flour for food storage, then store them in an airtight container in your pantry for up to 30 years! Grind only the amount you need for current uses into flour.
A Word of Caution
This may go without saying, but if any of your food items look or smell bad just throw them out. It is not worth the costs savings to make yourself sick!
Good luck on your journey to make food last longer and eat healthy within your budget! If you have any other ideas on how to make food last longer I’d lover to hear them!
