NORFOLK, Va. — Instead of constantly searching for ways to save money at the grocery store, what if you could extend the life of the food you already bought? I looked into this money-saving strategy and found some game-changing advice.
I met with Registered Dietitian with Sentara Health, Shaye Arluk in her Virginia Beach kitchen to learn her secrets for keeping food fresh longer.
"There's four main things that cause our food to spoil and it's not just that it's bad quality, it's oxygen, moisture, ethylene gas, and temperature," Arluk said.
Watch related: Healthy Dude podcast examines the best diets for long-term health
"When we can get control of those things, we can actually increase the life of our food by 30% to 50%," she said.
The key starts with proper storage techniques that can extend your food's lifespan.
"If we store our herbs correctly, we can make them last almost two weeks longer. If we wrap the top of our bananas to stop the ethylene gas production, we can keep them from going brown for an extra five days," Arluk said.
"Avocados, once we let them ripen, if we then put them in a submerged cup of water in our fridge, they'll last 10 more days. And if you store your grains and beans and things like that in airtight containers, they can last three to five years," she said.
If you can make food last longer, you can buy less frequently. How you organize your refrigerator also matters significantly.
"We don't realize that every time we open and close that refrigerator, that brings in light and heat. And so, what's getting hit the most? The doors and the front of the refrigerator," Arluk said.
"Our dairy products, all of our milks, even our like soy milks, nut milks, yogurts, fruit, leafy greens, our herbs, all need to be actually towards the back of the refrigerator," she said.
Watch related Healthy Dude podcast episode: How to make New Year's resolutions you can actually keep
Freezing food is an excellent option for extending shelf life. Just make sure you remove oxygen and avoid plastic containers when possible.
"We always stock our fridge and freezer with frozen fruits and vegetables because they don't go bad. I mean, they last six months to one year and they have a higher nutrient density," Arluk said.
These small changes can make a big difference in both your diet and budget.
"I just want them to know that food, healthy eating does not need to be expensive. If you know how to buy the food, store the food, handle the food, you can eat healthy," Arluk said.
Arluk is a cancer survivor who focuses extensively on how food fuels the body. She holds talks in-person on the third Tuesday of each month from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Sentara Brock Cancer Center in Norfolk, and virtual sessions from 6 to 7 p.m.
"This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."
