Confession:  I am the one whose lower torso and legs are the only parts of their body you can see when you walk by the dairy case.  My upper body is leaning over the milk containers in the front of the dairy case to reach the ones in the back with the later expiration date!

I believe in eat fresh & eat local.  So I try to make sure that whatever ingredients I buy are the freshest.

I’ll let you in on a little secret about markets and freshness dates – most markets try to get you to buy the products that are due to expire soon.

Therefore, they put the older products within arm’s reach on the shelves.  And they try to camouflage the freshness dates, so that you are in the dark about what’s fresher than what.

Here’s a little tip about how to figure out which package of bread is the freshest of the bunch!

The plastic tags that hold the cellophane bag closed.  Next time you go shopping, note the different color tags on each of your favorite loaf of bread.  The colors signify the freshness date.  Take a close look at each of them…

“Use by” or “Expires” is clearly marked with a date.  Now check the other bags of bread in the section.  See how they’re all different?

Now you know!