Food prices just keep going up, and many Americans are looking for ways to trim back this expense. In the store, you can make a lot of smart moves, including couponing and buying cost-effective brands.
But there's also a lot you can do at home to make sure you're getting the most out of every last bit of food you buy, which also means you can buy less in the long run.
1. Keep greens fresh for longer
How often have you bought salad greens or spinach leaves only to have them wilt in your vegetable drawer? One TikToker showed the internet how to stop the waste.
Just store the greens in an airtight container — but before you seal it up, add a Swedish dishcloth on top. The cloth absorbs excess moisture that would otherwise make your greens slimy.
2. Turn celery scraps into more celery
The next time you're ready to use some celery, slice off the base of the bunch and put it in a dish of water.
In about a week, it will have roots and be ready to be transferred into a pot of soil. In a few months, the celery plant will have regrown and be ready to harvest — and then you can reuse the base.
3. Season with onion skins
Did you know that onion skins are edible and onion-flavored? When you peel an onion, toss the skins into the freezer instead of throwing them away.
When you have a few cups saved up, rinse the skins by soaking them in water for half an hour, drain them, and pat them dry. Then, put them in the oven on the lowest setting for three hours to dehydrate them completely.
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Once they're dry, pulverize them in a food processor and store them in a salvaged spice jar or Parmesan container. Use them to season food and skip chopping onions for a while.
4. Make your own broth
A lot of the pieces we trim or throw away are edible, just not appetizing in their current forms. But do you know what makes them appealing? Turning them into soup.
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Bought more than I could eat 🛒 Keep your vegetable ends, bones, meat scraps, water from canned veggies, and other remnants you would normally discard and save them in a bag in the freezer. When you have enough, cook them in a pot of water and salt, then strain out the solid pieces to get delicious stock.
5. Make your own flavored mayo
If you use jarred products such as artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic, you're left with a good amount of flavored oil when the product runs out. Don't throw it away.
Blend it with salt, an acid such as lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, and another ingredient (pasteurized eggs for traditional mayonnaise or plant-based milk for a vegan alternative) to make it creamy. If you do it just right, the mixture will thicken into a fancy mayo.
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