Ways Of Making Food Last Longer

[nailit]

if youve got food thats fast approaching its sell bye date how can you make it last that bit longer before consuming?
I know all food groups are different...some you can freeze others you cant etc so just wanted some advice on different foods and how to make them last a bit.

For example, would hard boiling eggs give them a longer shelf life?
I recently cleaned out my fridge and had to throw some food away, carrots that had gone a bit limp, cucumber thats seen better days etc.

I hate wasting food and being on a budget cant really afford to. Its always cheaper to buy in bulk but cant always use up (in time) bulk buys.

Thanks.

[AlwaysConfused]

I take to pickling things - eggs are one of them. Sometimes I hard boil eggs and make an egg salad for lunch at work. If I buy marked down goods at the supermarket, I ensure I have a plan in mind of what I can do with it before the food wastes, or that I can freeze it.

I hate waste. If I do too much veg (usually on a sunday), I'll have bubble and squeak the next day.

[Eve]

You could plan in advance, cook in bulk and freeze for future use. Freezing generally may help if it's possible to do that.

Avoid buying anything in bulk that you won't use before its sell by date.

Try to target longer life foods to buy an store and buy fresh only what you need at the time.

[Eve]

Find recipes which you can use up a variety of, say left over veg in like casseroles or soups.

[Eve]

Shop at supermarkets where you can pick how much you want of things, fruit, veg and any meat and fish off counters. Especially if cooking for one.

[nailit]

Thanks for replies so far.
I usually tend to buy frozen veg so only use what I need and any excess is used the following day anyway. If fresh veg is used i tend to cook it all at once and reheat leftovers, the carrots mentioned in original OP were a one off.
So does hard boiling (or pickling) eggs give them a longer shelf life?

//Shop at supermarkets where you can pick how much you want of things, fruit, veg and any meat and fish off counters. Especially if cooking for one.//
Reminds me of the old joke...
At the checkout I put through my frozen meals for one, my single banana, a single pint of milk and my half of loaf. The pretty checkout girl said "you're single arn't you?". "yes" I replied, "Did my shopping give it away?"
"No" she replied, " your bloody ugly"

[fiction-factory]

Things like vegatables can be made it into a soup and frozen

[Elina]

Hi nailit, what other kinds of food were you wasting? I freeze pads of butter .. also family blocks of hard cheddar (cut in to eatable portions) also you can freeze pre sliced or processed of the same .. with the pre sliced & family blocks, wrap each portion/ slice in baking paper then either box it or bag it .. processed slices of course are already wrapped & separated. Bread of course.

[Elina]

Bacon. ... large pack, halve it & freeze.

[Elina]

Also cake nailit, these fruit slabs you can buy or similar, slice up & freeze it. Individual tarts such as Kiplings freeze well.