Fresh Food

Happy Monday and Happy June! Today is the start of the AB challenge and for those of you joining in on the fun; I cannot wait for you to get started!  This is going to be a great kick off to what’s coming next month! J

Over the weekend, I did some deeeeeeep cleaning. When I say deep, I mean nooks and crannies that have probably never been cleaned by my (bless his heart) husband. I tackled the fridge and freezer, removing every single item, checking dates, checking freshness, and reorganizing what went back in and what went in the trash. The “sell by” dates and “expiration dates” are great guides to use when considering tossing an item or just by looking at it. For example, dairy is an easy to look at or smell and decipher if it should be kept or if you happen to see furry friends growing, you know to chuck it!

In a previous post (food prep) I mentioned the length of time I keep my prepared food for but I created this chart to take some of the guess work out of expiration/ freshness dates of the most popular foods.

FOOD ITEM	PREPARED?	HOW LONG?
POULTRY	RAW (UNOPENED) COOKED PRECOOKED (OPENED)	1-2 DAYS 3-4 DAYS 3-4 DAYS
BEEF, PORK	RAW (UNOPENED) COOKED PRECOOKED (OPENED)	1-2 DAYS 3-5 DAYS 3-5 DAYS
GROUND MEAT, POULTRY	RAW (UNOPENED) COOKED	1-2 DAYS 3-4 DAYS
EGGS	RAW (IN SHELL) HARD BOILED	3-5 WEEKS 5-7 DAYS
CANNED MEAT/FISH	UNOPENED (IN PANTRY) OPENED	2-5 YEARS 3-4 DAYS
BREAD	FROZEN FRESH (IN PANTRY) FRESH (IN FRIDGE)	3 MONTHS 3-5 DAYS 7-10 DAYS
FRUITS	FROZEN FRESH	2-3 MONTHS DEPENDS ON THE FRUIT
VEGGIES	FROZEN FRESH	2-3 MONTHS DEPENDS ON THE VEGGIES
DAIRY	FRESH	STICK TO ‘USE BY’ DATES

Some of you may remember being a kid and putting bananas on your peanut butter sandwich. Maybe be you (or your mom) drizzled some honey over the top to make a delicious good sandwich that would leave a giant sticky mess! The other day I really wanted something sweet, something gooey, and something that wasn’t going to ruin my diet. So I created a yummy treat with simple ingredients that satisfied my sweet tooth!

Ingredients

1 medium banana, sliced

1 tsp cinnamon

1-2 tsp honey/agave

1 TBSP PB2 (powdered peanut butter)

Instructions

Heat a non-stick pan on low-medium heat

and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Mix

the tablespoon of PB2 and set aside. Place

sliced bananas in pan and cook 2-3 minutes

per side until caramelized. Place on plate, sprinkle

with cinnamon. Divide peanut butter evenly on banana

slices and drizzle with honey.