Twp days ago I took the plunge and did a full purge of expired items. This was not only to get rid of the old, but also to make room for a new beginning.
Some of the items I tossed really surprised me and even grieved me. Spices like basil and oregano, seasonings, and oils seem like they should last a long time. Since we don’t consume a great quantity of anything, really, we simply can’t utilize significant quantities of any ingredients. To me, these kinds of ingredients shouldn’t even have an expiration – they’re just dried herbs, but I am looking for better days with a new paradigm. It’s a new thought process – if it doesn’t have a shelf life similar to that of natural and whole foods, it’s probably not good for you.
Cleaning out the fridge is always a big deal. Growing up it was always an incredible task: take out all of the food (and all that used to be food), clean up the remaining mess, and try to fit everything back in. Despite trying to keep a fairly organized fridge, it’s surprising how quickly something can be forgotten in the depths of its nether-regions. After the purge and a good cleaning, though, I find it clutter-free and clean. In fact, the best way to keep a fridge organized and prevent food spoilage and waste is to greatly cut back the amount of stuff in the fridge (and the cabinets). I’m always forgetting the right way to store food, so I found a real simple blog post to instruct me. Now we have a pleasant-looking refrigerator where everything is visible and in-reach. Most of us in America have mega-church fridges, where food can come and go without being noticed. Sometimes it even sticks around for a long time before anyone even realizes its there. Sometimes it’s even a long time before someone realizes how much it’s spoiling everything else in there. A healthy fridge, on the other hand, is more like a small church, where something rotten sticks out like a sore thumb.
The FDA has been a surprisingly good resource for understanding health and safety issues concerning food. Their website stands out among government websites for usefulness and relevance. In the past couple of days I have found their article on food storage basics and their article on the dangers of drinking raw milk beneficial and informative. With the kitchen cleaned out, and the help of these and other articles on food science, we are able to start fresh without food. This is our new adventure in evidence-based eating. It’s not that we’re ignoring our common sense, though, because it usually stands in agreement with the science. So now, with a clean kitchen and having disposed of all the old things holding us back, we are embarking on our voyage and I am hoping to experience a second wave of newness and vivacity as a result.