I have spoken a little bit about food waste before. Among the strategies to curb food waste (and money in the rash) are having a leftover or clean out the fridge night, using leftovers in savory muffins and keeping a container to make freezer soup. Now here is one more strategy: Using ice cub trays.
We now have our water hooked up to our refrigerator and have automatic ice. I won’t get rid of the ice cube trays, though. They come in handy for saving leftover food, especially when you need small amounts of something.
A good example for using ice cube trays to save food is when you have canned milk, such as evaporated milk. There are times when just a small amount is needed, leaving most of the can left to spoil. Maybe you use some of the milk in mashed potatoes, or pumpkin pie or coleslaw. Pour the rest of the can into the ice cube tray and freeze it. Then pop out the cubes and store them in a freezer bag. You can take out as many cubes as you need.
Do you have just a little bit of leftover peas? Mash the peas and then freeze them in the ice cub tray the same way. Then you can defrost them later for instant baby food. Try this method with all sorts of food that you baby is able to eat. Not only will you save the leftovers, but you’ll save on baby food, too.
Broth is another great candidate for the ice cube tray method, as is any clear liquid, such as apple juice.
One of the food that I keep finding myself freezing with this method is diced onion. Many times a recipe will call for half an onion. I simply dice up the rest and freeze it in the ice cube tray.
What food do you think you can save?
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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