Since the loss of my wife I have lived alone for 4 years+. Born 1947 so a child of the 50s and brought up in a rural area. This was post war so thrift, a good store cupboard and real cooking was the norm. I was cooking from the age of 8. Nowadays I make maximum use of end of date bargains and bulk offers because the reduced price per item is often excellent value. Split items down to single portions and make maximum use of the Freezer. Also make good use of the slow cooker some of which can be split and frozen as individual meals. Waste is an extreme rarity in my kitchen. Now we come to the vexed question of use by dates. Most you can exceed by a margin of a few days if kept in the fridge. I grew up in the sniff it and see era. A good example is milk which is fine long after its use by date. It was automatic from my childhood to automatically sniff the milk before using it. Fresh meat, if well cooked, will destroy any pathogens anyway. Some foods you need to be wary of such as cold chicken although I often eat this 4 or 5 days over its use by date with no problems. same with pork pies and beef even longer. Tinned goods will last years after their best before date. If the can isn't bulging (blown) it is edible. I have eaten tinned foods 10+ years past their best before date and they have been fine. So far still alive and healthy at age 77.
I have tins years out of date. They are always good. I hate food waste. There were never dates on foods years ago. Use your nose and common sense people.
Karen, seriously think about a vacuum pack machine. They start at £15. A real investment. That chicken when vac packed would last 6 weeks in fridge and over a year in freezer.
vacuum sealer machine is a valuable addition that doesn't cost a lot but can be a real saver. I freeze bulk meats in meal size servings that can be thawed and cooked when needed. I also use it to freeze cooked meals in serving size portions (curries, stews etc). One of the best things is that vacuum sealed food resists any freezer burn. All the best.
Hello Karen. I wash carrots then wrap them in a tea towel and they keep well in the salad drawer of the fridge. Also I grate them and fill ziplock bags which I then freeze for winter soup ingredients x
If you get out on your bikes and weather is fine, give the viewers a view of Queens Viewpoint...they would love it, best seen when the day is sunny though really shows off the blue waters. Or the Hermitage one of my absolute favourites...have fun!
I create meals with whatever needs using first before it perishes. If I have too much veg that I can't use in time I blanch it and put it in the freezer. I also don't overbuy on things that I don't think I can use in time. As a last result I will batch cook if there's a lot of something that can make a meal, like a veg casserole etc I can add to in defrosted portions. I never waste anything.
You can prep and preserve fresh carrots by cutting them up, place them in a mason jar, fill it with water, place an airtight lid on and put it in the fridge. Last for at least a week. Change the water every few days. They stay crisp and are ready for roasting at a moments notice.
I used to be a paistry chef and all my recipes are for the same 20 /30 people..can't b botherd halfing and quartering the recipes. So invariably I make far more than needed...solution? Family.i ring them up and shout "fetch"..meaning I've cooked because I'm bored and want it out the house...now bought extra freezer to store it in...sticky toffee pudding and toffee sauce x 40 portions anyone?😂
I go through this once or twice a week, because I also plan out leftover lunches, so if I have taken out of freezer enough for 2 lunches and we have leftovers then I have to figure that out- do I eat it or do I freeze it. It all depends on what will keep. I don't like waste so yesterday, I had about 3 tablespoon of bacon. mushroom rice leftover from dinner. I also had made up 3 containers of beans and rice, cooling in the fridge- one for lunches this week and 2 for the freezer. I added a tablespoon of the leftover rice in each container, instead of throwing it out.
Without a freezer, I'd be sunk. With it, I can stock up on bargains and also cook ahead for days I may not feel like cooking. It certainly is a balancing act!
It's very early Friday morning here I like to watch you while I wake myself up I try to have cooked food in freezer for busy days Got to plan ahead what you're going to do with your food that's for sure. I hate waste
When I get a whole chicken I either cut it into portions raw to bag up and freeze,or I cook it then portion up once it cools off. A leg quarter ,or breast in each bag,bits and pieces in another for an omelette or salad,bones in the bone bag.
When I buy ground beef for burgers, I immediately portion it into 300 grams and wrap them well, then they go into freezer bags and into the freezer. (I buy a few pounds at a time because it is cheaper,) I keep one portion out and add bread crumbs, an egg, finely chopped onion, seasonings and mix that well. Out of that, I get two burgers, a larger one for the husband and a palm-sized one for me, and while they are frying, I take the leftover and make it into smaller balls and fry it at the same time to save electricity. The meatballs will go into either a pasta sauce or lentil soup the next day.
Recently, Morrisons supermarket, advertised that they were doing several veggies in big 'tubs' so that you can pick up what you need rather than a bagfull. I investigated and found this to be true. A limited range, but useful if you are on your own. However i only go past Morrisons about once a week, and then i have to make slight diverson so i havent made as much use of it as i would like.
Surely this is simply an argument for not buying TGTG bags just because you can? Why buy one when you’ve already got food planned? You’re spending money you don’t need to spend, so you’re not really “saving”, especially given that you have no idea what you’re going to get. Having said that, it’s only sensible to freeze what you’re not going to immediately use. I would have cooked the burgers but broken up into mince, and then frozen them in two portions. The cooked chicken the same - shred / sliced it up and frozen in two or more portions, rather than just as is. The cooked meat could have been frozen separated into sandwich portions instead of just one single lump, so you don’t “have to” eat it whether you fancy it or not. And as someone has already suggested, a vacuum sealer would be great - you could have sealed that cooked meat and it would have been fine in the fridge, let alone in the freezer. And cabbage lasts for weeks if stored properly so I’d always get the bigger one.
Exactly!! Why are you buying food you don’t need? That bag could’ve gone to someone who really needed it! It’s only a bargain if you need it…that’s £3 that could’ve been saved.
This is a constant dilemma for me. I do wish stores would offer smaller packages of meat at the same price as the large family value packs. Sometimes things disappear in the freezer until they are too far gone to use.
It is definitely a balancing act. I purchased the fresh veggies I needed, and then my mom bought too much for herself before her vacation and insisted I take them. So now I've made sure to blanch the green peas, pea pods and carrots so they don't go bad
Since the loss of my wife I have lived alone for 4 years+. Born 1947 so a child of the 50s and brought up in a rural area. This was post war so thrift, a good store cupboard and real cooking was the norm. I was cooking from the age of 8.
Nowadays I make maximum use of end of date bargains and bulk offers because the reduced price per item is often excellent value. Split items down to single portions and make maximum use of the Freezer. Also make good use of the slow cooker some of which can be split and frozen as individual meals. Waste is an extreme rarity in my kitchen.
Now we come to the vexed question of use by dates. Most you can exceed by a margin of a few days if kept in the fridge. I grew up in the sniff it and see era. A good example is milk which is fine long after its use by date. It was automatic from my childhood to automatically sniff the milk before using it. Fresh meat, if well cooked, will destroy any pathogens anyway.
Some foods you need to be wary of such as cold chicken although I often eat this 4 or 5 days over its use by date with no problems. same with pork pies and beef even longer.
Tinned goods will last years after their best before date. If the can isn't bulging (blown) it is edible. I have eaten tinned foods 10+ years past their best before date and they have been fine.
So far still alive and healthy at age 77.
I have tins years out of date. They are always good. I hate food waste. There were never dates on foods years ago. Use your nose and common sense people.
A brilliant and succinct explanation for those that don't know. Thank you, at 66 I, too, operate like this
Karen, seriously think about a vacuum pack machine. They start at £15. A real investment. That chicken when vac packed would last 6 weeks in fridge and over a year in freezer.
I go ahead and cook it, then freeze it. Example, I cook chicken thighs. Some go in the fridge to eat and the rest goes into the freezer.
vacuum sealer machine is a valuable addition that doesn't cost a lot but can be a real saver. I freeze bulk meats in meal size servings that can be thawed and cooked when needed. I also use it to freeze cooked meals in serving size portions (curries, stews etc). One of the best things is that vacuum sealed food resists any freezer burn.
All the best.
Hello Karen.
I wash carrots then wrap them in a tea towel and they keep well in the salad drawer of the fridge. Also I grate them and fill ziplock bags which I then freeze for winter soup ingredients x
No, you're not the only one! and when food comes in family-sized packets....
If you get out on your bikes and weather is fine, give the viewers a view of Queens Viewpoint...they would love it, best seen when the day is sunny though really shows off the blue waters. Or the Hermitage one of my absolute favourites...have fun!
I create meals with whatever needs using first before it perishes. If I have too much veg that I can't use in time I blanch it and put it in the freezer. I also don't overbuy on things that I don't think I can use in time. As a last result I will batch cook if there's a lot of something that can make a meal, like a veg casserole etc I can add to in defrosted portions. I never waste anything.
You can prep and preserve fresh carrots by cutting them up, place them in a mason jar, fill it with water, place an airtight lid on and put it in the fridge. Last for at least a week. Change the water every few days. They stay crisp and are ready for roasting at a moments notice.
We don’t use many raw carrots so I freeze them whole for soups, curry.
I second a vacuum sealer
Excellent machine to have
When I get a rotisserie chicken now, I make stock out of the bones and it gives me enough to make two sides (rice and quinoa).
Yep, I do it every week Karen. We used to run a cafe so I habitually over buy and over cook for 30 or 40....lol
I used to be a paistry chef and all my recipes are for the same 20 /30 people..can't b botherd halfing and quartering the recipes. So invariably I make far more than needed...solution? Family.i ring them up and shout "fetch"..meaning I've cooked because I'm bored and want it out the house...now bought extra freezer to store it in...sticky toffee pudding and toffee sauce x 40 portions anyone?😂
@@suzy64 hahaaa, wish I lived close by 😄
I go through this once or twice a week, because I also plan out leftover lunches, so if I have taken out of freezer enough for 2 lunches and we have leftovers then I have to figure that out- do I eat it or do I freeze it. It all depends on what will keep. I don't like waste so yesterday, I had about 3 tablespoon of bacon. mushroom rice leftover from dinner. I also had made up 3 containers of beans and rice, cooling in the fridge- one for lunches this week and 2 for the freezer. I added a tablespoon of the leftover rice in each container, instead of throwing it out.
Without a freezer, I'd be sunk. With it, I can stock up on bargains and also cook ahead for days I may not feel like cooking. It certainly is a balancing act!
Fried cabbage with onions and bacon is very delicious if you get a big head of cabbage
It's very early Friday morning here
I like to watch you while I wake myself up
I try to have cooked food in freezer for busy days
Got to plan ahead what you're going to do with your food that's for sure. I hate waste
When I get a whole chicken I either cut it into portions raw to bag up and freeze,or I cook it then portion up once it cools off. A leg quarter ,or breast in each bag,bits and pieces in another for an omelette or salad,bones in the bone bag.
When I buy ground beef for burgers, I immediately portion it into 300 grams and wrap them well, then they go into freezer bags and into the freezer. (I buy a few pounds at a time because it is cheaper,) I keep one portion out and add bread crumbs, an egg, finely chopped onion, seasonings and mix that well. Out of that, I get two burgers, a larger one for the husband and a palm-sized one for me, and while they are frying, I take the leftover and make it into smaller balls and fry it at the same time to save electricity. The meatballs will go into either a pasta sauce or lentil soup the next day.
You are definitely not the only one I am right there with you.
Recently, Morrisons supermarket, advertised that they were doing several veggies in big 'tubs' so that you can pick up what you need rather than a bagfull. I investigated and found this to be true. A limited range, but useful if you are on your own. However i only go past Morrisons about once a week, and then i have to make slight diverson so i havent made as much use of it as i would like.
Fresh food goes off too quickly. I try to only buy what I know I'll eat, but of course this fails repeatedly. What can you do.
Surely this is simply an argument for not buying TGTG bags just because you can? Why buy one when you’ve already got food planned? You’re spending money you don’t need to spend, so you’re not really “saving”, especially given that you have no idea what you’re going to get. Having said that, it’s only sensible to freeze what you’re not going to immediately use. I would have cooked the burgers but broken up into mince, and then frozen them in two portions. The cooked chicken the same - shred / sliced it up and frozen in two or more portions, rather than just as is. The cooked meat could have been frozen separated into sandwich portions instead of just one single lump, so you don’t “have to” eat it whether you fancy it or not. And as someone has already suggested, a vacuum sealer would be great - you could have sealed that cooked meat and it would have been fine in the fridge, let alone in the freezer. And cabbage lasts for weeks if stored properly so I’d always get the bigger one.
Exactly!! Why are you buying food you don’t need? That bag could’ve gone to someone who really needed it! It’s only a bargain if you need it…that’s £3 that could’ve been saved.
Why buy so much food and then not know what to do with it?
This is a constant dilemma for me. I do wish stores would offer smaller packages of meat at the same price as the large family value packs. Sometimes things disappear in the freezer until they are too far gone to use.
Well, yes, but don’t buy food you don’t need because it’s cheap!
I do this frequently
❤
We like picked carrots
Do U mean pickled carrots? 😊
Food Saver vacuum sealer saves hundreds of $
No, no waste here! Even the smallest amount can be cooked into eggs!
Hi Karen how do you cook your roasted carrots please
Yes, please. Mine always turn out charred in the air fryer.
Jon in rural BC, Canada
It is definitely a balancing act. I purchased the fresh veggies I needed, and then my mom bought too much for herself before her vacation and insisted I take them. So now I've made sure to blanch the green peas, pea pods and carrots so they don't go bad
Is Patrick your husband? Xx
looking forward to your other ideas Karen.
We have it bad here in the US,,, you have it way worse,,,sorry