Here’s When You Should Throw Out Those Leftovers

Turkey day is behind us and you're sick of leftovers. If you're anything like me, you've already chucked any of the leftover food items and can't even think about them until next year.

If you didn't freeze your left over food as soon as the meal was over, you missed your window. To get the most out of the food, you need to make sure you're pre-planning before you even put the food on the table.

The best idea for saving the leftovers is to save them in individual servings in the freezer. That way you can grab out one container, warm up the contents and not have to worry about ruining the rest.

If you jump into action and freeze right away, you can get up to three months out of the leftovers. If you're too slow getting them in the freezer, you really only have a couple days to use them.

To find out the best timing for most items, I turned to the Food Network to get a rundown on the best timing for the food items.

The day after your big meal,

Make sure your leftover dinner rolls are in an air tight bag or even put in the freezer. The bread will dry out very quickly if left out.

3 to 4 days after

Vegetable that have been cooked should be eaten or added to other new food dishes.

Since some potatoes don't freeze well, mashing them and freezing them is an option. The non mashed potatoes need to be eaten by this time or they could go bad. Frozen mashed potatoes can be used up to 2 months

Gravy should be used or frozen by this time.

4 to 5 days after

Leftover pie, if there is such a thing, should be eaten. They can be frozen, but likely won't be the same.

Any casseroles that are left over, should be eaten or put into sealed containers and frozen.

5 Days to 1 Week

If you haven't already frozen the turkey, you should finish up what's left and throw out the rest.

2 weeks after

Cranberry sauce may have the longest 'non frozen' shelf life after the big meal. If there is alcohol in your sauce, it could be ok for a bit longer. Still time to freeze and will be good for up to 2 months.