To Keep or to Toss---groceries

I read Prevention magazine.  Recently I was going through an article on saving at the supermarket and found it interesting to share.   You know how we are always being told to read the labels, to note the sell-by date, the expiration date, etc. so we can keep our families healthy.  I thought this bit of info might be worth sharing.


If stored properly, that means 40 degrees or below these items are still good.  Milk for a week past the sell-by date.  Eggs 3-4 weeks past the sell-by date.  Hard cheese (once opened) is good 2-4 months past the sell-by date.  Yogurt, 10-14 days past the sell-by date. Lunch meat 3-5 days past sell-by date.

For milk hit the dairy aisle right before checking out to minimize the amount of time milk is left unrefrigerated, and store it on a shelf pushed far back, where the air is coldest.  Store eggs in the original container on a refrigerator shelf rather than on th door, where eggs are vulnerable to temperature fluctuations.  Wrap cheese in moisture-proof plastic or foil; if the outside of hard cheese has visible mold, trim off the mold and a 1/2 inch area of cheese below it.  Yogurt is best stored at around 39 degrees F., a good temp for your fridge.  Don't be deterred by separation---simply stir and enjoy.  Store lunch meat in the meat compartment---it is specially designed to keep cool air in.

When I think of the groceries I have tossed, and of course, the money out of my food budget that accompanies it.  One thing I have discovered on my own is that if we can keep things air tight they certainly last longer, whether it is cookies or celery, the rule applies.  There, my tip for the day.  A good one for Thanksgiving when we have leftovers in abundance.

Just Thinking Overtime

           My brain gets a workout now and then, this is the results of one of those times.  It has been a long time since I blogged on this site,  I know I need to do some "fixing" so I will be more happy with it.  Suggestions are welcome.  I write all the time, just don't share,  so why blog?

           Sometimes I think being a human is very hard.  We have thinking powers and so are faced with decisions.  We are responsible for ourselves, we are responsible to others.  We have obligations to fulfill, we make promises, bargains….much involved with other humans. 

            Other living things on this earth are dependent on us.  Consider  the pets we enjoy---eat, sleep, roll over, play, entertain, show affection, maybe guard.  On a farm animals may help with work, or produce a desired product for the humans, but still they are cared for totally by us.  Plants are cared for by us or nature, wild and tame animals the same.  Humans----have it harder.

            We are connected to other humans.  We are happy, sad, we get hurt feelings, we argue, we take revenge.  We have to work to provide for our livelihood one way or another.  Sometimes we hate the work we have to do.

            Short of being a hermit, there is no other way.  It is part of the plan, our journey may be over cobblestones and full of potholes.  Most journeys are.  That seems to be the times we grow the most, at least when we look back on the potholes we have navigated.

            In the long run, life is good.  We just have to remind ourselves of that every so often.