What gets thrown away from your refrigerator the most?

Moldy fruits, rotten vegetables, maybe some leftovers?

DETROIT – The USDA says more than 1.3 billion tons of food is thrown away every year in America.

There are simple tricks of the trade to help you not only save food, but money too.

Gail Posner, a registered dietitian at Healthy Ways Nutrition Counseling says, avoiding food waste all started with the planning.

Bring a list when grocery shopping, to avoid impulse buying more than you’ll eat.

When you get home, you’ll want to eat the more perishable foods first.

So start with things like berries and melons and then move onto the more stable foods like apples and pears.

Put those perishable fruits and vegetables right in front of your refrigerator, so you’re tempted to grab it when you open the door.

It’s important to note; don’t wash your produce right when you get home from the market. Wait until you’re ready to eat it. Washing it and letting it sit, will make mold grow faster.

You can also bag up your vegetables in several lunch-sized plastic bags. Then you can grab them and put them in yours and your kids' lunchboxes.

When it comes to boxes and cans, expiration dates are usually small and on the bottom.

Take a permanent marker and write the expiration dates large, on the front. That way you’re more aware of the dates as they approach.

In many cases, the freezer can come in handy.

If you overbuy fruits, cut them up and place them in freezer bags.

Then you can grab them for snacking or to make a smoothie.

Try making a meal in a Mason jar!

If you overbuy things like chicken or spaghetti squash, don’t cook it all and force yourself to eat that same meal every day.

Prepare a meal with it.

Place it in a jar with a sticker that says the date you made it.

Then you have a meal you can just warm up, rather than cooking something new.

Storing your food properly is important.

Find a list you like, print it, and put it right on your refrigerator to make sure you’re getting the most out of your food.

Here are a few we found:

Gail also provided some recipes to use your frozen fruit with, enjoy!

Yogurt Watermelon Smoothie

  • 2 cups frozen watermelon chunks
  • 6-8 oz. nonfat vanilla yogurt, light or regular (or Greek for higher protein)

Cut watermelon into chunks and freeze in ziplock bags. When ready to prepare drink, thaw watermelon 30 minutes ahead of time or heat for 30 seconds in microwave oven. Combine watermelon with yogurt and blend in a powerful magic bullet style blender or use an immersion blender.

2 servings per recipe

Per serving: approx. 100 calories -- using light yogurt, or light Greek yogurt with 80-100 calories

Frozen Banana Almond Smoothie

  • 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
  • 1 small banana, frozen
  • Optional: 1 cup chopped ice

Blend Almond Breeze with a small frozen banana. Add chopped ice if desired and blend again.

Per serving: approx. 120 calories


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