Excavation: Freezer

By Winnie Yu for Completely You



The other day, I opened my freezer door. Out toppled a bag of frozen meat, dated two years ago. The package landed near my toes, which would have hurt had it hit my foot. It was a clear sign that I needed to explore the tundra regions of my home. In other words, it was time for a freezer excavation.

Once I began digging, I found all sorts of goodies. Plastic bags full of mystery meats. Small containers of ice cream from a long-ago birthday party. A stray Popsicle here and there. There was even an open box of ice-encrusted pierogies, and a small package of breakfast sausages coated in crystals. By the time I was done, I had a bag of garbage filled with frozen foods -- and a lot more space in my freezer.

The one thing I kept -- and actually used -- were the tiny bags of bread crusts. Somehow, it just seemed wasteful to toss them out without a second glance, especially since we invest in some pretty pricey bread for daily peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So I dug up a recipe and made cinnamon sugar bread crusts. They were delicious, especially when fresh out of the oven.

A freezer excavation is a rare event at my house. I simply don’t clean my freezer the way I clean other parts of my house. I assume that the chilly temperatures will kill any unhealthy microorganisms, and I figure the space is finite, so I’ll eventually find what I need.

But really, freezers need some attention too. They need a good purging now and again, just like every other place in my house -- be it my office, the basement or the garage (check out this helpful guide to doing it right). While the freezer may not get the same cleaning that my bathroom or kitchen gets, it certainly deserves some of my time and attention.

And now I know I can enjoy some more cinnamon sugar bread crusts when I’m done.


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Photo: @iStockphoto.com/Shershel

Winnie Yu is Completely You’s mom blogger. She has two daughters (Samantha, 14, and Annie, 12) and is the author of seven books, including New Mother’s Guide to Breastfeeding and What to Eat for What Ails You. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Woman’s Day, AARP Bulletin, Prevention and WebMD.com.

Know When It’s Time to Quit

By Winnie Yu for Completely You



Doing dishes at 9 p.m. Folding laundry at 10 p.m. Cleaning the bathroom at midnight. If you’re a time-strapped mom, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You don’t stop doing chores until you collapse in bed.

Truth is, it probably takes every hour of the day to get the job done, and so you do just that. But think about it: If you had a desk job, wouldn’t you just set things aside until tomorrow? Wouldn’t you want some time to wind down and relax? Wouldn’t you have a quitting time?

Like any job on the planet, being a mom requires a quitting time. That’s the moment in your day when you say, “Enough is enough. I’m done. This task can wait until tomorrow.” Unless your dishes are piled so high they might topple overnight, and unless the dust bunnies in your living room are coming to life, most chores can be put aside until the next day.

For years, I didn’t have a quitting time. Being a writer only made it worse. I worked on weekends. I worked at night. I got up early and wrote in the wee hours of dawn. (Confession: I still do that sometimes -- but only when I have too many deadlines.)

Over the years, I slowly learned that having a quitting time made me a better person -- and a better mom. The endless to-do list was never going to go away. I could dust and vacuum and write and organize until I turned blue, and there’d still be something left to do.

I finally learned to quit at a given time. For me, that means I usually stop working around 5 p.m. and I wrap up my household chores by 8 p.m. Then I can spend the rest of the night playing games with my family, watching TV or catching up on my reading.

Having a quitting time gives me the time to relax and unwind that all moms need. It lets me chill out before bed and savor time with my kids. Most important, perhaps, it gives me the stamina to do it all again the next day.

Do you give yourself a quitting time?



Winnie Yu is Completely You’s mom blogger. She has two daughters (Samantha, 14, and Annie, 12) and is the author of seven books, including New Mother’s Guide to Breastfeeding and What to Eat for What Ails You. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Woman’s Day, AARP Bulletin, Prevention and WebMD.com.

Just Say No to Climbing Food Prices

By Winnie Yu for Completely You



The other day, I picked up a bag of dried mangoes -- a new-to-me snack that I’ve recently grown to love -- and realized that most of the bag was filled with air. In essence, I was paying $4.29 for a few mango slices and plenty of air. That’s when I said “No more” and put the bag back on the shelf.

These days, we’re all experiencing leaps in food costs. And if you’re like me, you’re probably feeling powerless. But the truth is that consumers do have a voice. We can say no.

It was last year when it dawned on me just how rapidly food prices are climbing. I found a box of stale graham crackers in my pantry that was only about a year old and priced at $1.98. When I went to the store to pick up a fresh box, the price had gone up to $2.49. OK, so it’s only a 51-cent price hike. But consider the percentage increase in cost: 26 percent!

I don’t know about you guys, but my income hasn’t seen that kind of a hike since the year I swapped my babysitting gigs for a “real job” working at a clothing shop in my local mall. Having to pay that much more for food seems outrageous.

Sure, there are some necessities that I will buy no matter how much they go up, though I may certainly buy less of them. But I’m also learning to say no to certain foods that are simply too much money. For instance, I no longer buy cereal that isn’t a generic store brand, on sale or accompanied by a coupon. I rarely buy dried cranberries, and multigrain pasta is no longer an option.

Saying no to high-priced foods is the only power we have as consumers. Because food manufacturers will continue to demand we pay more … until we say “No more!”
How do you feel about climbing food prices?

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Winnie Yu is Completely You’s mom blogger. She has two daughters (Samantha, 14, and Annie, 12) and is the author of seven books, including New Mother’s Guide to Breastfeeding and What to Eat for What Ails You. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Woman’s Day, AARP Bulletin, Prevention and WebMD.com.

Are Canned Foods Good for You?

By Winnie Yu for Completely You



When I was in college, canned ravioli was a weekly staple. And as a child, I loved SpaghettiOs and Manwich sandwiches. I may not eat those foods so much anymore (though I admit to eating an occasional spoonful of SpaghettiOs), but as a mom, I’ve been turning more and more to canned foods to help me prepare my meals.

It turns out that canned foods may be a good idea: A recent study by the decidedly biased Canned Food Alliance found that canned foods are often just as nutritious as the fresh and frozen varieties, and that they are often less expensive and require less time to prepare. That’s good news for us time-crunched moms, who are always looking for ways to stretch a dollar, find a minute and still feed our families the healthy foods they need.

Canned spinach, for instance, costs 85 percent less than the fresh or frozen variety; canned tomatoes, 60 percent less. Meanwhile, pinto beans from a can cost $1 less than dried pinto beans. They also take just six minutes to heat, compared to the dried variety, which require more than two hours to soak and cook. In fact, when you factor in the time it takes to prepare any fresh veggie -- cleaning, cutting and soaking -- you double your savings. After all, as any mom knows, time is money.

Come to think of the recipes I make these days, canned foods are a definite staple in my kitchen. I make a taco soup that calls for canned corn, beans and stewed tomatoes. I toss crushed pineapple from a can into pina colada smoothies and use canned pumpkin to make pumpkin pies. And I always keep a few cans of broth on hand to season stir-fries or make a quick soup.

I’m thrilled to know that something as simple as opening a can qualifies as preparing dinner. Just the other night, I made a can of beets for dinner! And guess what? They tasted just as good as the fresh ones.

Next time you’re in a hurry, check out the canned food aisle in your supermarket. You just might find dinner, dessert and even snacks to satisfy the hunger in between. Do you use canned foods to help you make dinner?