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Anyone with a fruit garden knows how important it is to preserve fruits in the right way to avoid wastage. For example, suppose you have lots of tomatoes in your garden, and you get more fruits every year than you could consume; what would you do with the excess fruits? Sell them or store them? Well, the options are endless. Continue reading this article to learn valuable tips about increasing the shelf life of fruits and vegetables.
Freeze The Fruits: The first method in the list is the most common one. Of course, freezing an item increases its shelf life; fruits and vegetables are no exception. But what is interesting is how one should freeze the veggies and fruits. You can easily dump different fruits in the fridge and call it a day. But things don’t usually work that way. Some fruits stay better inside the freezer, while some are kept outside, in-room temperature.
- It is important to separate different fruits before storing them. For example, you should never keep apples and bananas together as bananas ripen other fruits faster than usual. Therefore, if the goal is to keep the fruits fresh for longer, separate them before storing them in the fridge.
- Vacuum sealing the fruits will drastically increase their shelf life. When fruits are packed in vacuum seal bags, they do not come in contact with the outside air.
Dehydrate Fruits And Veggies: Not everyone knows it, but dehydration is a great way to ensure the longevity of fruits. When you dehydrate fruits and vegetables, you retain all the essential vitamins and fiber that regular fruits offer, but you reduce the chance of food wastage. Dehydrate fruits are a great option if you want to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables in your meal prep.
Make Sauce: One can only eat so many tomatoes without wasting them. You’ll be surprised to learn how many tomatoes a small garden can produce. Therefore, making an authentic Italian tomato sauce seems to be the perfect answer in such a situation. Who doesn’t like ketchup with their fries? But getting store-bought ketchup might not be the best option for your kids. Therefore, a health-conscious person may like to use the excess fruits to make the sauce at home. Once you are done making the sauce, store them in various sizes of glass jars and seal them properly to avoid wastage. If you make large batches of homemade sauce, you can even gift them to your friends and family.
Better-Quality Produce: Many people don’t know what they are supposed to look for when it comes to the freshness of fruits and veggies. But if you buy them on a regular basis, you have a fair idea of what constitutes freshness. Be sure to purchase fresh products so that they last more naturally, without having to go that extra mild for food preservation. Instead of buying fruits from the supermarket, you can purchase them from local independent grocers and fruit sellers who would always provide better quality than the supermarket.
Staying close to home
Consider having the party in your home or garden. This is going to make things easier because you don’t have to stress a lot when organizing activities and hauling food and supplies around. You are going to save yourself a lot of stress by doing this.
If you have a small living space that is not able to accommodate friends and family, ask one of your friends or relatives to let you host the party there. Make sure you let them know that you are going to set up and clean up after you are done.
You can use the local park if the weather permits. It is less expensive because you don’t have to spend much. Decorations are not going to cost you that much.
Don’t feel guilty about the guest list
It is normal to feel like you have to invite friends and family or anyone who invited you to their party recently.
Keep in mind the more the guests, the more expensive and hectic the party is going to be. You should set a limit on the number of guests you can have. Don’t invite more people at the last minute. If it is a children’s party, only invite those who are going to enjoy a party full of children.
Creating a no-fuss invitation
There is a good chance you don’t want to spend hours making handmade invitations. Technology has made everything easier. You can easily invite people via social media or email – it makes it easier for them to save the date too.
Choose a theme for the party, then find out whether you can find inspiration from popular kids’ movies or books. You can also decide to settle on a traditional theme.
Going for classic games
Young children don’t mind the game provided they can enjoy it. Classics like Simon says, musical chairs, and pin the tail on the donkey have always been in style. Another option is creating a carnival atmosphere with a sack race and skittles. Add some fun with a giant 3 foot light up sword.
Treasure hunts are still a big hit, but make sure you keep it simple. You can make a simple treasure chest by decorating a shoebox using construction paper and shiny gift wrap. Fill it with part favorites, then hide it under a blanket or in a sandbox, then give the children a map they can use to hunt the treasure. The treasure could be buried gold and they can be pirates.
Hiring undiscovered talent
You should network if you tend to shy away from the limelight and looking for an entertainer for your kid’s party. Do you know someone who is good at face painting or who juggles? There are times when a dad or uncle has put on a clown suit and entertained the kids.
Sticking to simple foods
Food is always at the center of any party, but that doesn’t have to mean going all in. juice, cake, and some snacks are all you need to keep the kids happy.
Being creative about plates
There is a good chance you are going to have many parties in the future, why not get the plates in bulk. Instead of spending a lot on expensive themed supplies, just get paper plates, plastic cutlery, and cups in different colors. You can save yourself a lot by doing this.
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