Waste Not, Want Not

I went through my freezer today and I am happy to say that most everything is being eaten through thus less waste. This has not always been the case. Did you see that Oprah episode where the mom was throwing out food every week to replace it with fresh groceries?

The amount of food she threw out was amazing.  Might as well put the money in the trash.  Even I get caught up in the freshness of a product and the sell by dates. I usually rely on the smell test but figured there has to be a better measure.

And there is.

Here is a quick list and general rule of thumb for when to toss those mystery packages:

• Ground meats 3 to 4 months in freezer
• Hot dogs 1 to 2 months in freezer
• Eggs 3 to 5 weeks in refrigerator
• Dry onions 2 months in refrigerator
• Opened lunch meats 3 to 5 days in refrigerator
• Flour lasts longest in freezer
• Dried peas and beans up to 1 year

Keep this in mind, too:  Some local food pantries will take canned food donations up to two years past their expiration dates.

With all this in mind, I encourage grocery store shopping early in the morning or late in the evening to get the best deals on discounted meats, breads and clearance bin goods. Stack this on top of your regular coupon finds and now you are saving!