Stop wasting money on spoiled fruit and vegetables.

The purpose of this blog is to educate those who want to
learn all about the benefits of using food to help alleviate
and prevent illnesses and diseases.

And if you do plan on using “food as medicine”
you must make sure you eat and store the food so
it doesn’t go to waste.

Americans are notorious for spending money on food,
letting it go to waste and then going out and buying
more food. If this is you and you want to put an end to
it, look below for ways to keep food from going to
waste and throwing away thousands of dollars a year.

1) Wait, Don’t Throw That Out!
Using The Scraps-
Are you aware that the tops of beets, carrots and
broccoli stems are nutritional powerhouses?
Well, use them in stocks, stir-fries and soups for
added flavor and prevention against a host of diseases.
Look for our post (in the future) on how beet and carrot
tops and orange and lemon peels can really bolster your
health.

2) Save Those Leftovers-
If you or the kids didn’t touch the peas or broccoli,
save them and use them in tomorrow’s
omelet or quiche. Or gather up some vegetables
and save them for a few days and place them
in a blender, (with a little liquid) blend until
smooth and add them to a sauce for a
veggie-infused tomato sauce or soup.

3) Too Ripe-
If you have peaches or banana that are covered in brown
spots-hold onto them. That’s right, according to researchers,
the riper some fruit and vegetables get, the more benefits
you’ll get from them (health-wise).
In fact, a woman appearing on the popular T.V. show
“Inside Edition” (living into your 80’s and 90’s) said
“she only eats her fruits and vegetables after they get
a few brown spots on them.”
So, are you willing to do this?
Just save those ripe bananas, pears or peppers and place them
in a plastic bag and store them in the freezer and use them
to make jams, smoothies or sauces.
Important tip: If you’re a diabetic or struggling with weight,
you may want to avoid fruits that are extremely high in sugar,
(overripe fruits).


4) Washing Your Produce-
If you wash produce the day you buy it and not the day
you use it, make sure you dry it as well.
Fruits and vegetables that are damp only encourages
bacteria to grow, resulting in more money down the drain.

5) Store Foods Properly-
A lot of food is tossed out because it’s not being stored properly.
Foods like bananas, potatoes and apples (hard-skinned produce)
give off ethylene gas, which causes more fragile foods like
onions, strawberries and kale to ripen faster.
That means potatoes stored with onions, or bananas
placed next to tomatoes, will end up rotting faster.
To prevent this, just put some distance between
them in your refrigerator or on top of the refrigerator.
And 2 more great tips:
* Line the drawers with paper towels before storing
fruits and vegetables to absorb water and prevent
bacteria from growing and purchase some mesh bags,
(which allows air to circulate) to store fruits and
vegetables.

6) Tomatoes and Potatoes-
People tend to buy a lot of tomatoes and potatoes and
if you’re one who buys these foods in bulk, then you
may want to store to them to make them last.
To store potatoes:
Keep them in their own bag or use the paper bag
from the grocery store and add some spearmint
essential oil or peppermint oil. Chemicals in these
2 oils stop potatoes from sprouting and prevents
them from getting soft, (rotting).
To store tomatoes:
Just place them on your counter tops, upside down.
Storing them this way prevents moisture from draining
out and oxygen from getting in, inhibiting mold growth.
And if you need them to ripen up quickly, place them
on the windowsill (in the direct sunlight) right side up.

7) Expiration Dates-
A lot of people are confused about expiration dates on
cartons of milk or a box of cereal. We foolishly toss
out food because we think the “sell by” or “best before “
date means we might get sick if we eat it after that date.
This isn’t true- Those dates only indicate when food is
at its peak quality-not when it’s safest to eat.
And due to all of the confusion- food vendors now say
these two easy to understand phrases will be used
and they are “use by” which means it could be unsafe
if you eat it past that date, and “best if used by”
to show peak quality.

That’s it- a post to help make your “real
medicine” (food) last longer, which not only
means a healthier life, but a fatter wallet.

Sources:
* Shem Brooks Vinton, Author
* Marisa Moore, R.D.N.
* JoAnne Berkenkamp, SaveTheFood.com.