This post is sponsored by the FoodSaver® Brand.
Winter is coming. Let me say that again, “WINTER IS COMING!” Many of us dread the upcoming season as it means lessened hours of daylight, more layers to keep us warm and lots and lots and lots of snow.
Another thing that adequately describes our winter is a lack of freshness. And what I’m specifically referring to is our food. Because of where we live, our country does not produce fruits and vegetables during the winter months and therefore, we rely almost solely on our produce being imported from warmer climates. Typically, those climates are also experiencing “winter” and so while they are still producing food, it’s not to the same amount nor quality as in summer months. And because of the lesser supply, prices usually sky rocket for fresh produce.
But we still have to eat and most of us, still want to eat healthy. So during those winter months, it’s SO important that the food you DO buy, stays fresh as long as possible.
But beyond just produce freshness, there’s also a sense of busyness with our daily routines. Although we are covered in a blanket of snow, our lives don’t seem to miss a beat and we continue on with a various activities that can often have our family out every other night of the week. So along with preserving the fresh factor in your foods, it’s important to meal plan and think ahead. On days where you find yourself with more time, it’s important, often critical, that you prepare some meals in order for your family to eat during the week or month ahead.
Well I’m excited to tell you that the FoodSaver® Brand is here to help with all of those needs. Seriously. You’re going to wonder where this item has been all of your life as you watch how little food waste you will have and continued freshness with your foods.
For us, we LOVE chilli or just about anything you can throw into a slow cooker during the winter. And while it’s often easy enough to toss ingredients together in the morning and let them simmer all day, I still often find myself too busy to even do that. So having a few meals tucked away in the freezer makes for the easiest kind of meal planning, on any given day of the week.
What I love about the FoodSaver Brand is how easy freezing full meals can be. Recently, I decided to make ahead one of our favourite meals: Fajita Slow Cooker Chilli. I tossed together the ingredients and placed them into a casserole dish. Then what I did was par-froze it. What does that mean, you might ask? Well, I placed it in the freezer for a couple of hours, which was just long for the liquids to become solid. Then I removed it from the casserole dish, placed it into a FoodSaver bag and sealed it and placed it back into the freezer. A couple of weeks later, when I was really pressed for time, I remembered that meal in the freezer: I took it out and placed it into the slow cooker and dinner was essentially done!
What’s amazing about these bags is the ability to think WAY ahead and not worry about whether or not it’s loosing it’s freshness in the freezer. Because trust me, once you see how compact it becomes once the air is removed, you will know that freshness is almost guaranteed.
What’s even better is that once you’ve eaten the meal and have leftovers, you can store them in one of the new FoodSaver Fresh Containers. These containers are perfect for both pantry and refrigerator items and just like the bags, will keep the air out and freshness locked in. Made with BPA-free Tritan, these containers are safe for microwave, dishwasher and the freezer. Perfect to keep those leftovers going strong, a few days after they were prepared.
It’s also the perfect time to really put something like a $4 avocado to the test and see just how much life you can get from it, once it’s been cut into.
Our family LOVES avocadoes but they are so expensive during the winter, so when we do purchase them, I don’t want them to turn black and spoil in the fridge. But that’s almost exactly what happens if we don’t eat it all in one sitting.
But not with the FoodSaver bags! Because they have the pulse seal function, which is perfect for more delicate items such a soft produce, the seal won’t turn your avocado into guacamole. Rather, it will keep it tightly sealed with the air out and freshness locked in. The proof is in the picture after one week in the bag!
I’ve absolutely loved testing out my new FoodSaver appliance and have seen an improvement on our food waste in such a short amount of time. The amount of freshness that is locked in has actually blown my mind: we had grapes recently and placed them in the Fresh Containers and I couldn’t believe the crunch on the grape a FULL WEEK later! Mind blown!
So if you haven’t had a chance to check out a FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System in store yet, it’s not too late to put it on your Christmas or birthday wish list! The cost of the machine will fully pay for itself within a few months as you stop wasting food! And you will quickly wonder where this amazing machine has been your entire life!
Love & Blessings,
