More Money Saving Hints

These great tips came from the LK 150 group

MILK:
One tip I have is when you see milk on sale buy extra and freeze. Most people don't realize you can freeze milk. I found out cause I tried and now do it all the time, the extra bonus is I always have milk on hand for my 4 kids!
Karen P

Just make sure it's all the way thawed before you use any of it. The water thaws at a different rate than the milk fat and it really throws the flavor off if you don't let it completely thaw before using. I do this all the time too,and it's a great way to take advantage of the 2 for 1 sales on milk :)
Clarisse >^..^

I buy large quantity of milk also and there are only 2 of us, so what I do is transfer the milk to the large ziplock freezer bags. They lay flat in the freezer, and thaw quickly when you need it. Take less room than a 1 gallon bottle.
Jeannette

BANANAS
I like to make banana bread and cakes so therefore, when I buy bananas I usually buy a big bunch. When the bananas start to turn or after you have eaten all that you want------Peel the banana and put 1 or 2 or 3 (your choice) in a zip lock bag and smash right in the bag and put in the freezer. Then you have bananas when you want to bake without having to bake the minute they start to turn. Plus they are never wasted or thrown away.
Joan in Longwood, Fl.

Did you know that you don't have to peel the bananas or put them in an air-tight container if you are going to use them within a couple of months? Just toss them in the freezer as-is, and peel them when you take them out. Saves the cost of a plastic bag, plus they are fairly mushy when they thaw anyway. However, in banana bread or muffins or pancakes, you'd never know they'd been frozen. It is rather disconcerting to the unsuspecting spouse when one opens the freezer and a frozen banana pops out, though.
Valeria Truitt

I freeze bananas too, I prefer them already peeled because they're cold and harder to peel frozen. I use them for banana smoothies. Add them to a glass of milk, sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon and sugar (or sugar substitute) into the glass and blend. (I have one of those little hand held blenders that fit perfectly in a glass or cup).
Roz

I throw mine in the freezer to use in bread or smoothies or what not. I either let them thaw for about ten minutes or pop them in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds. Snip of the end and sqeeze out what was a solid banana. It's already mush.
Celine

VEGGIES
Another thing that we do, ever since we became empty nesters, we noticed a lot of food was spoiling, especially vegetables like carrots, celery, onions, bellpeppers etc. So while they are still salvageable, I chop them up (I'm lazy so it's usually a quick spin in the processor) and put them in a gallon freezer bag, adding to it as I go, and before you know it, I have all the chopped up veggies for a very nice vegetable soup stock. They do lose some crispness,especially since they are on the limp/beginning to wrinkle side of fresh to begin with, but because they are simmered a long time in the stock pot, it doesn'tmatter and nothing is being wasted anymore. I reuse my waste yarn over and over, you can imagine how difficult it must be for me throw away food LOL!! I've also broken off frozen chunks to saute for scrambled eggs or fried potatoes too.
Clarisse

I freeze my chopped up fresh veggies when I go away but never thought about freezing them when they start to get soft. I did buy the Debbie Meyers green bags and keep my salad veggies in them. They really do work great and I don't have near as many fresh veggies go bad since I started using them but of course they won't last forever in those bags.
Roz

Keep the hints coming, Love them all. To keep them off our knit list, send your comments to rozporter@wildblue.net or send a comment to this blog.