5 Tips on How to Prevent Good Food from Spoiling
The American fast food lifestyle has indeed changed the health condition of its people. Regular consumption of fast foods, TV dinners and pre-packaged meals has resulted in health problems such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol level on a grand scale.
The unnatural foods that make up the basic diet of many Americans contain excessive amounts of sugar, fats and preservatives. Because of this, people are deprived of important nutritional elements like fiber, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
According to the American Dietetic Association, Americans should eat between 25-30 grams of fiber daily. This translates to a diet that includes large amounts of raw fruits and vegetables. Nutrition experts say that such a diet will help people avoid nutritional deficiencies.
Shifting from instant foods to real food requires knowing how to keep unprocessed food from spoiling. Below are a few tips to help you.
1. Don’t just dump fresh vegetables in the crisper. To keep them from rotting, chop them up and store them in small containers. Doing it this way is also economical because chopped, ready-to-eat vegetables are much more expensive than unprepared ones.
2. Store your food properly. High temperatures can cause foods to spoil easily. Put fresh produce in the crisper so they don’t wilt. Remember that air, heat and moisture are the main causes of spoilage. When the refrigerator is full, it uses less energy to keep cold so use up the space! In addition, avoid opening the refrigerator door frequently because whenever this happens, cool air is released and heat gets in.
3. Use ice on meats and fresh produce. If it will still take some time before you can put the fresh produce or deli items you have purchased in your refrigerator after shopping, ask for a bag of ice to keep them from spoiling during travel. Also, when you go food shopping, get the temperature-sensitive items last and make sure to store them in the fridge as soon as you can.
4. Shop more frequently. To make sure your raw food items do not have to be stored for a long time, go grocery shopping often. Remember that such foods have a very short shelf-life so it is better not to keep them in the refrigerator for a long time. If you buy in smaller quantities, there will be less wastage.
5. Do not store organic foods for long. Although they are certainly more nutritious than the regular kind, organic produce do not keep fresh for a long time because they have not been sprayed with pest control chemicals thus fungus build-up can be a problem. Also, since they do not contain preservatives, they rot more easily.
Charles Volcolatte is a health and weight loss researcher for http://www.skinnyasap.com/. He writes and researches actively on Weight Loss Reviews and shares his knowledge at http://www.skinnyasap.com/ where he works as a staff writer.
