Skip to content

Top Navigation

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Recipes
  • Cooking 101
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
SUBSCRIBE
Pin FB

Explore Cooking Light

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 31-Day Healthy Meal Plan

      Our 31-day calendar of meals and tips shows you how to cook more and love it with fun, family-friendly meals that come together quickly and deliciously. Read More
    • Dinner Tonight: Quick and Healthy Menus in 45 Minutes (or Less)

      Hundreds of delicious recipes, paired with simple sides, that can be on your table in 45 minutes or less. Read More
    • Our Favorite Healthy Air Fryer Recipes

      Who ever said that chicken wings, doughnuts, and pizza couldn't be healthy? Read More
  • Recipes

    Recipes

    See All Recipes
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Drinks
    • Recipe Makeovers
    • Quick & Healthy
    • Diabetic
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Cooking Light Live
  • Cooking 101

    Cooking 101

    See All Cooking 101
    • Essential Ingredients
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Meet the Chef
    • Cooking Resources
    • Budget Friendly
    • Smart Choices
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living

    Healthy Living

    See All Healthy Living
    • Weight-Loss
    • Health
    • Fitness
    • Home
    • Travel
    • Nutrition 101
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Health News
  3. Anatomy of a Healthy Fridge

Anatomy of a Healthy Fridge

December 01, 2015
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
A few tricks will have you eating healthier, help your perishable last longer, and keep everything well organized and in its rightful place.
Start Slideshow

1 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Create a Healthier Fridge

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

Properly stocking your fridge is one of the first—and best—ways to make a healthier life change. The foods you have on hand help you decide what meals you'll be cooking. Once you have them, make sure you're storing them properly so you get the most out of your grocery budget buck. Prepare for healthy-eating success with these tips and strategies.

1 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Store Your Meat Safely

Credit: Photo: Randy Mayor

Keep fresh meat, poultry, and fish on the bottom shelf and in plastic containers so any juices that might escape won't contaminate other food.

Time-Saving Tip: Thaw Meats Faster

2 of 8

3 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Put Fruit Front and Center

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

Make healthy snacking easier by keeping a bowl of ready-to-eat fruit front and center.

See More: Healthy Office Snacks

3 of 8

Advertisement

4 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Shake Up Your Dressing

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

Clear out your salad dressing shelf and make a bottle of your own: 2 parts oil, one part vinegar. It’s infinitely customizable, and keeps for months as long as you mix in perishable seasonings—fresh herbs, garlic, shallot, ginger—in a separate bowl just before dressing your salad.

See More: Why Homemade Salad Dressing Is Best

4 of 8

5 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Store Leftovers for Easy Recognition

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

Prevent the inevitable "What is it?" and "Is it still good?" leftovers mysteries: Stick a label on the container and mark with a Sharpie what the food is, plus the date it was made.

See More: Our Best Freezer-Friendly Meals

5 of 8

6 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Wrap Cheese Tightly

Credit: Photo: Oxmoor House

Cheese is a live culture and needs to breathe. Don’t suffocate it in sealed plastic bags or plastic wrap. Instead, wrap it tightly in waxed paper, sealed with tape. If you’re concerned it will dry out, place the paper-wrapped cheese inside an unsealed plastic bag, which allows ammonia and other off-flavors to escape. 

See More: Top 10 Cheese Tips

6 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Use the Crisper Drawer

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

The crisper is meant to maintain adequate humidity so produce won't prematurely dehydrate and wilt. Some drawers let you adjust humidity.

See More: Practical Tips on Making Your Kitchen Waste-Free

7 of 8

8 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Ditch the Egg Shelf

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

The indented egg shelf is not the best place for your eggs. The door is one of the warmest parts of the fridge, suitable for the least perishable items (vinegar-based condiments and concentrated pastes). Keep eggs in a middle shelf toward the rear. 

See More: How to Tell if Your Egg Is Old

8 of 8

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 8 Create a Healthier Fridge
    2 of 8 Store Your Meat Safely
    3 of 8 Put Fruit Front and Center
    4 of 8 Shake Up Your Dressing
    5 of 8 Store Leftovers for Easy Recognition
    6 of 8 Wrap Cheese Tightly
    7 of 8 Use the Crisper Drawer
    8 of 8 Ditch the Egg Shelf

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Cooking Light

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    MeredithCooking Light is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Cooking Light may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Cooking Light. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.cookinglight.com

    View image

    Anatomy of a Healthy Fridge
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.