Food Tips
Read these 18 Food Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Thrifty tips and hundreds of other topics.
Potato Discoloration
Prevent discoloration of peeled potatoes by adding a few drops of vinegar to water. They will keep fresh for days in fridge.
Fresh Fruit Year Round
Freeze fresh fruit when it is in season for use later in the year. You can keep berries from freezing together in one large mass by placing them on a cookie sheet in the freezer and waiting until after they are frozen to put them in a plastic bag or container.
Celery Survival
Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator, and it will keep for weeks.
Freezing Food for Later
To save money, buy a large amount of store brand cheese (shredded or block) and freeze it in individual small freezer bags in 2 or 4 cup amounts. Cheese and butter are two dairy products whose properties won't change as a result of freezing.
Fleischmann's Yeast's Bread Brigade America Program
http://www.breadworld.com/bba/ - "Welcome to Bread Brigade America! Fleischmann's Yeast created this program for folks who like to bake regularly, and also those who don't bake regularly, but would like to start. If you plan to bake about six times or even as few as six loaves during the coming year, join Bread Brigade America now. Membership is free and limited to residents of the U.S.A. As a member, you'll get special recipes, Fleischmann's Yeast coupons and other benefits."
Bagged Cereal
The general rule of thumb is that bagged cereal is usually cheaper than the boxed cereal. So, if you can live without the box, buy the bagged cereal. If you need the box, save boxes, and pour the bagged cereal into the cereal boxes.
Bread Freshness
Bread becomes stale more quickly in the refrigerator. Store it at room temperature or in the freezer. Please be advised that if you keep it in the freezer, it may become freezer-burnt if you leave it in there too long.
How to Buy the Freshest Bread
Bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different colored twist tie or tab.
They are: Monday - Blue, Tuesday - Green, Thursday - Red, Friday - White and Saturday - Yellow.
What to Do When Meat is on Sale
When meat is on sale, and you have room in your freezer, buy a lot of the meat and then freeze it. If you have a huge freezer and plan on doing this, it would be wise to put the date on the meat package so that you know when it was bought. Try to eat the oldest stuff first.
Cookie Crumbs
Cookie crumbs in the bottom of the bag or box make great sprinkles for ice cream treats.
Buying Bacon
Buy bacon ends in economy sizes, then divide and freeze. Cook the bacon, then combine with scrambled eggs - much cheaper than perfectly sliced bacon.
Leave the Bones In
When shopping for meats, it's normally cheaper to get the meat with the bone still in it, versus the boneless version. If you plan on freezing the meat, it might be easier to take the bone out of the meat prior to freezing it. That will also take up less room in the freezer.
What You Bake in Matters
The type of pan or sheet that you use for baking effects the amount of time that you need to bake the item. The same goes for the size of the pan or sheet. Try to remember this and adjust your timer accordingly.
Generic Cereal
Generic ceral can save you tons of money on your grocery bill. 99% of the time it will always be cheaper than the name-brand ceral. The only exception might be a great sale and coupon/refund combination. You won't have coupons to use on the generic cereal, but you'll still save.
Coffee or Tea?
Beat high coffee prices by drinking tea - and save about half. Also note that most teas are healthier than coffee as well.
Lemon Juice
To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing.
Save Time and Money
When you bake, you can save time and money by either baking a big batch of one thing, or small batches of other things. Try to make sure that everything needs to go into the oven at the same temperature, and bake as many things in the oven at one time as you can. If you can't fit everything in, don't worry because if you put it right in after the other batch is done you still save time and money waiting for the oven to reheat.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Linda Handiak |
