WHEN DO YOU TOSS FOOD?

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Permalink Reply by JGS on March 17, 2009 at 2:35pm

I toss the bread if it has any evidence of mold or is too crispy! The meatloaf and chicken go in the garbage the next day. Pizza, well that doesn't last long in my house--usually just a day and vege's have to really look bad for me to throw them out!

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Permalink Reply by Julie on March 17, 2009 at 3:46pm

I toss the bread if it's moldy. Yuck. If it smells strange or is expired, it's out.
Meatloaf - don't eat red meat but I'd say after 1 day
Chicken/pasta - if I don't eat the next day, it's out
Pizza - 2 days
Vegetables - Cooked, 2 days - uncooked - if it starts looking wrinkly or weird, it's out!

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Permalink Reply by shelley baldwin on March 17, 2009 at 4:07pm

bread, about a good week or if it starts to grow something,
any cooked meat 3-4 days but always smell check, it sounds weird but your nose knows(lol)
pizza 2-3 day max

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Permalink Reply by Bec Thomas on March 17, 2009 at 4:52pm

I thrown leftovers out of my fridge if they have actually made it to the 5 day mark, although most stuff does't last that long in my fridge. We have nights where I don't cook and everyone gets to clean out the left overs. Bread I throw out if it gets moldy, I've never seen pizza last 24 hours, uncooked veggies stay until they go bad if they are actually manage to sit in the fridge that long. Many uncooked veggies can last a long periods of time. I just don't have alot of stuff that stays in the fridge past it's prime without getting used. It might have to do with how I groc shop and I know what is and isn't going to be eaten.

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Permalink Reply by RP Mom on March 17, 2009 at 5:58pm

Bread - once it has mold (even the tiniest bit) or is dried out it goes!
- Meatloaf (cooked) - and any other cooked meat about 2 days
- Chicken (cooked) - same as the meatloaf, after 2 days it is gone
- Pasta (cooked) - does not last very long in my house but by the next day. It gets soggy.
- Pizza - never lasts LOL but I would say day 2!!
- Vegetables (cooked & uncooked) -- cooked I give one day. They really dont taste great reheated in my opinion. Uncook, as soon as they get wilty looking, have mold on them/just look-feel different

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Permalink Reply by Michelle on March 17, 2009 at 7:02pm

As far as leftovers go, my friend, Catrina, has a strict 3 reheat rule...it's in the trash after reheating for a 3rd time. Or, maybe it's the 2nd time. I don't know. We're not as strict about that in our house. I mean, just a week ago we ate corned beef and cabbage for nearly 5 days straight in as many variations as we could come up with. Needless to say, I ate rice and potstickers today for St. Patty's Day, but I digress...

Bread gets tossed as soon as it looks like penicillin is growing all over it. I currently have two loaves of bread on the counter right now just because I'm funny like that. I also don't like it when the bread has gotten crusty. Sliced sammich bread that costs $2 shouldn't be crusty. French bread for my pasta should be crusty.

Cooked foods...meats, chicken, pasta, etc...I hate to say it, but it will sit in our fridge until we throw it out. We are a family of leftover eaters so we rarely have anything that lasts longer than 3 days (except for that friggin' corned beef). I try to eat up the meats/chicken within a day or two of it being cooked. Pastas tend to get slimy after sitting a while or rock hard (yes, I've dealt with both).

Pizza doesn't stand a chance in our house. It's reheated the next morning for breakfast and sometimes eaten again for lunch and/or dinner.

Veggies...unless I have a ton of leftover veggies, they get tossed right after we eat them because keeping around a few spoonfuls of canned peas is icky. Fresh veggies that aren't cooked are in the fridge until I remember them. I'm really bad about mushrooms because they seem to go bad fast. I have some celery in my fridge that's been there for about a month & a half...if it's limp (ha ha ha), I just cut it and set it in a glass of water and, viola, it's stiff again! :-)

Oh, oh...MILK. The hubs is anal about this. It gets tossed either on the date or shortly thereafter. Thank goodness we buy organic milk so the shelf life is longer than most and an extra special thank goodness that our kids drink a ton of it so that we're never throwing out any milk cuz that shits expensive!

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Permalink Reply by Karissa on March 17, 2009 at 9:12pm

Bread - when it is stale or moldy (not often)
Any cooked food - mostly I will toss it on the 5th day, but few things make it past the next day because we take leftovers to work for lunch...

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Permalink Reply by Lolli on March 18, 2009 at 8:42am

Classic! I have a very sensitive nose, so I can't eat anything if it has the tiniest hint of rotten smell to it. I also hate eating cheese that has had mold on it....you know, the whole "cut the mold off the cheese and it's ok".....Yuck!

Bread--I'm ok as long as it's not dried out of has evidence of mold
Other foods--somewhere less than a week. I don't have a hard and fast rule except that once it hits about 6 days, no "smell/look check" will convince me to eat it. Honestly, most things last around 2-3 days for me.

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Permalink Reply by Rayna on March 18, 2009 at 10:49am

I have a two day rule. Anything that is a leftover better be used up or it is gone in two days. Pizza is only one day. After that it is nasty! Veggies uncooked I'll keep them until they are soggy or fuzzy. If they are cooked then the two day rule applies. Again with the pasta I think that a two day rule is in order. Meats like chicken or others are in the two day category. I am careful when it comes to leftovers. My husband would eat anything old or otherwise.

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Permalink Reply by Brandi Best on March 18, 2009 at 12:37pm

I am really bad about leftovers. I try really hard to not have left-overs, and I know that is crazy because it would help with a meal one night. But I clean out my fridge completely once a week. Bread, I keep bread until it is moldy or really hard. Cooked meatloaf...3 or 4 days. Cooked chicken...2-3 days. Pasta...a week. Pizza...a couple of days. Veggies...cooked-3 or 4 days, uncooked-until they are bad (wrinkly, slimey looking, you know bad! LOL)

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Permalink Reply by Spirit on March 18, 2009 at 2:41pm

2 days is my max. my hubby is the same as your's, he will scrape of the mildew and say it's fresh!!!! This use to cause weekly arguments. But what I do now, because he is the cook, and he will combine 2 week old stuff and say "Dinners Ready!!!!" I will clean out the frig evertime I see something in there over 2 days. This now drives him crazy because when he goes to try and re-cook old food, he will say "honey, didn't we still have some meat loaf???" And if I am in the mood to argue, I will say I threw it out. If I don't want to argue, I just say "I don't know honey!!!"

~Spirit

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Permalink Reply by Its me..Marie on March 20, 2009 at 7:43pm

Hmmmm, I throw bread out the day after it expires, even if it still looks good.. Meatloaf & Chicken is ok for 1 week if you freeze it. I like to put them in serving sizes into freezer ziplock bags and then the freezer, that way, when my teen gets home from school, I get it out and make tacos or sandwiches out of leftovers. I make sandwiches out of everything! Even spaghetti! lol. I don't know about Pizza bc it never lasts more than a day in my house with 3 boys (that includes my husband). I keep veggies in the veggie drawer of my fridge for 2 weeks. I put them in ziplock bags with a papertowel (thanks Rachel Ray) and the papertowel picks up the moisture so they last longer.

So when does everyone clean out their fridge? I clean mine out once a week on the eve of trash pick-up day. lol! I've learn it stays clean for the most part that way.

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