What food items usually go to waste/go off in your house...?

[faithfulbird]

By the end of the week/bin day/before ur next shopping trip?

All bought on by some lettuce that's turned a bit pink and soggy which we bought last Thursday.

Also worth remembering that it lasts for a couple of weeks at least after the use by date and you don't need to eat it within a few days of opening no matter what what the pot says. If any mould grows, just bin that bit and carry on using the rest of the pot.

As I've got older I bother less with dates except with fish/seafood. I like the really big tubs of yogurt so that you can still scoop out the fresh yogurt without disrupting the native wildlife around the edge

Carrots and tomatoes. I keep meaning to make carrot soup and tomato gin soup but get distracted.

Bananas and bags of salad are literally the only thing I throw out.
Everything else gets eaten by one of us.

I put going soggy spinach in a smoothie with banana, apple, lemon, pear and coconut water - tastes surprisingly good, filling, and good for you.

I never throw anything out, with the rare exception of a piece of bread forgotten about at the bottom of the bread bin covered in green mould.

Bananas and creme fraiche/sour cream.
We eat our greens/broccoli every day (which I'm glad of. It sort of balances out the amount of crap we consume).

I learned, years ago, to just buy the tried and true and our weekly food waste isn't too bad at all (though there's always room for improvement).
But bananas: They're either scoffed in a day or totally neglected until they walk to the bin themselves, escorted by fruit flies. So I tend to buy them maybe once or twice a month now. And I'm just too lazy to bake bread with them these days.

Bread lettuce and bananas

fruit, salad, cheese.
This is because DH likes to buy lots of these things because he thinks the kids should eat more fruit and salad.
And he likes cheese.
He himself, eats no fruit or salad and barely any cheese.

@faithfulbird

Can relate to the bread/bananas either disappearing or rotting away. Same with baps. Eggs either get finished mid week or lay there for weeks.

Carrots are the worse. They go black regardless. Any advice? I can only give my toddler carrot sticks the first 2 days....

Are you making sure you are taking them out the plastic bags they come in?

It makes them sweaty which makes them mouldy which turns them black and makes them go off really fast.

The enemy of veg is the plastic it comes in!

Ohh @Ginkypig I didn't know that. I just follow the instructions which is normally something like if you keep it in its wrapping and in the fridge it will store for longer. Thanks I'll try taking the plastic off.

What do people do with out of date eggs?

I bought a small dehydrator at the start of lockdown and any spare
fruit or veggie bits go in there, then I powder them in my blender. We mainly use them in stews, soups, and flatbreads.

I find lettuce goes limp if kept out of its packaging but for most veg the plastic sweat just starts to rot it!

Carrots and parsnips etc can also be kept similarly to how you keep potatoes though, in a dark cool place so I keep them in a dark cupboard If my fridge is full.
If you think about it people who grow their own and farmers etc don't need massive piles of plastic to keep what they've grown in.

You can get veg bags or use kitchen roll in the fridge but if you don't have it you don't need it.

Eggs. I leave them in their box on the side out of diresct sunlight.
I pretty much ignore the date (although I'm not talking using months old eggs obviously) I do the water test if they are a bit old and if they pass il use them but i break them into a bowl and not into the pan or into the rest of the ingredients in case they smell!

Very little. I hate food and money waste and strive to use absolutely every last bit of everything. We use all leftovers and plan carefully to avoid throwing things out. If lettuce is past its best I add it to a soup or make braised lettuce and peas. Bananas are used for banana cake where the browner and softer they are, the better. If I have any random bits of veg that need using I’ll make a minestrone to use them up.

I don’t pay any attention to ‘best before’ and take ‘use by’ with a very big pinch of salt - I know the rules of food safety and can make educated decisions.

We plan our meals to use whatever needs using.

It’s quite easy and achievable for us though as it’s just the two of us so no one else’s tastes to cater to.

I’m trying to think of the last thing I threw out...I think it was a lime that had got lost at the back of the veg drawer.

👋👋 to Graphista i hope you’re well!

Eggs keep for weeks and weeks past the date.