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Healthy eating is a popular choice. Balanced meals packed with strong vitamin content are one of the best ways to support physical and mental well-being. But the food we bring home often goes out of date before we get around to eating it, which is no good for our budgets or our morals. So, to stop this from happening here are five ways to make your healthy food last longer.
Meal Plan
The first and most important piece of advice is to plan your meals. Plan breakfast, lunch, and the evening meal and all snacks and drinks too. This is the most effective method for ensuring a diet contains essential vitamins, is balanced, and varies in taste and content.
Shop for Healthy Food Weekly
Take this meal plan to the store, and use it as a shopping list. Some base ingredients like spices and flavorings you might already have in the kitchen cupboards. Other fresh ingredients will need to be purchased week by week. Though it may mean more trips to the store, it is a safer solution for not letting things go out of date or get wasted.
Check Expiration Dates
When a food item is on offer, it’s more likely to end up in your cart. However, these products are usually about to hit their expiry date. Both food and drink products have a written guidance date for when they are no longer consumable clearly displayed on their packaging. But what about the products that are not consumed straight away? Drinks in particular can be difficult to gauge, especially health-focused beverages with a number of ingredients. Take this popular tea-based drink for an example; the question of how long does kombucha last after opening can only be answered correctly through researching a little further and getting the information directly from the supplier. Though this may seem like a lot of effort, it is worth it for top-quality health products that improve your physical well-being.
Use Your Freezer Space Too
Getting the quantity correct when cooking a meal feels impossible. If the portion size is not right, or you’re not as hungry as you first suspected, don’t waste those leftovers! Wrap things up in freezer bags, or other suitable containers and store them in the fridge, or even the freezer to be eaten at a later date. Things last longer when they are put in the freezer, just make sure meat products such as chicken are defrosted properly before being cooked.
Get the Temperature Right for Healthy Food
Some products are meant for the fridge, and others are supposed to be stored in a dry cupboard. Yet, so much food is wasted by storing it incorrectly. If you are unsure, a quick internet search or a skim of the packaging usually provides the answer. Save yourself from making a costly mistake, and check before you put things away.
Conclusion
There is nothing more frustrating than seeing money go to waste, and uneaten healthy food is one of the main culprits here. Save your wallet some stress and follow the handy tips above to try to avoid any more meals being thrown away unnecessarily.
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