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7 CRAZY Helpful FoodSaver Tips That Will Change Your Life!

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I have wanted a FoodSaver® System for the longest time! They looked so cool, and I was amazed by all the various available applications. The sky is the limit with these awesome machines. But when I opened my box and set it up, I was a little overwhelmed.

Let’s start with all the magic in your Foodsaver machine box! I have listed below all the items included in my FoodSaver 4840 2-in-1 Automatic Vacuum Sealing System. Each system will vary a little bit in what it can do and what will be included. So please double-check your model number, just in case.

I promise it is not as intimidating to use as I first thought! It is super user-friendly and is a great way to help preserve and lengthen the shelf life of your groceries! Once you get how to use the seal function and vacuum-sealed bags, you’ll be able to take your food storage to new levels! These Foodsaver Tips will have you sealing like a pro in no time!

A Photo of FoodSaver Vacuum System sealing frozen bananas. Blog post contains Foodsaver tips!
I am so excited to share with you my BEST Foodsaver Tips!

How To Use Your Food Saver?

  1. Begin with a FoodSaver Bag
  2. Place item(s) in the vacuum bag, allowing at least 4 inches of space between bag contents and the top of the bag. Extra space is required to allow the bag to seal tightly around the contents.
  3. OPTIONAL: If you wish to customize the vacuum sealing process, you may select different settings from the menu.
  4. Your new FoodSaver® System Automatically Vacuums and Seals. To Vacuum: DO NOT PRESS THE SEAL BUTTON. Using two hands, slowly insert the open end of the bag, and curl it down into Vacuum Channel.
  5. Continue to hold the bag until the vacuum pump starts. You may now release the bag. The Vacuum Progress lights will illuminate.
  6. Please Note: To prevent crushing delicate items, you may press Seal Button at any time to begin the automatic sealing process.
  7. When the red Seal Indicator Light 6 turns off, remove the bag. Refrigerate or freeze if needed.

Wait at least 20 seconds between seals to allow the appliance to cool properly.

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If you are like me and buy a lot of produce and real fresh food in larger quantities, the FoodSaver® System is a fantastic way to help your fresh food last longer! This is a great way to save money and eliminate food waste, protecting your bulk purchases! Can I get an amen?! So exciting!

You might even get a little FoodSaver® System happy and start sealing EVERYTHING! Only a few foods cannot benefit from The FoodSaver® System’s awesomeness! Not only will you save your favorite fruits and veggies from wasting away, but you’ll also save yourself from wasting Ziploc bags. (another money saver)

And since the little foodsaver vacuum sealer takes all the excess air out of the contents of the bag and makes slim packages, you’ll save a ton of freezer space. It is miraculous how much so.

But I narrowed down the top 7 FoodSaver Tips for Newbies to help you get the most out of your new system. 

  1. The seal button is the last button you want to push! When my hubs and I were trying to figure out the machine, we kept being tempted to push the “seal” button – in theory; you would think that’s the button you would want to use. Resist the urge, and don’t do it! The machine is intuitive and will automatically start working once it senses the bag in the slot and will release automatically without any need to push buttons! Easy to use and not as hard as we were trying to make it.
  2. Make sure you leave enough space to seal – 4 inches is good – it says this in the instructions, and they mean it!
  3. You can reseal chip bags! For reals, it is so cool—no more stale chips. I love buying bean chips, but I don’t eat them very often, so frequently, they get stale before I can make it through a bag. This little feature is ahh-mazing!
  4. Seal lettuce and other leafy greens! How often do you buy the six-pack of romaine lettuce at the box stores just for them to go limp before you even get to them? Seal those, and you’ll have fresh lettuce for weeks! This was one made me do a happy dance.
  5. Freeze bananas that are going bad for banana ice cream! Banana ice cream is a favorite at our house, and this is a fast and easy way to freeze bananas for ice cream or to throw in a smoothie – no more freezer burn bananas.
  6. FoodSaver® System is also great for managing portions and food prepping for the week. I measure out my almonds, carrots, and other grab-and-go snacks and seal them as individual servings for me to have on hand! I can do a bunch at once, so I’m all set for the win.
  7. We eat a lot of avocados in our home, and our FoodSaver® System is proving to be a lifesaver for extending the life of our half-used avocados.

It’s also good to know what you can seal and what you cannot. Here is a list of “No-nos” and “Yeses.”

Foods That Cannot Be Sealed in Vacuum Sealer Bags:

  • Raw Mushrooms: Due to their natural ripening process, fresh mushrooms may decay faster if vacuum sealed. Cooked mushrooms will vacuum-seal perfectly, though!
  • Fresh Bananas: vacuum sealing fresh bananas can quicken their ripening time. But it is perfectly safe and easy to vacuum-seal bananas once peeled and frozen. (place bananas on a cookie sheet to freeze before sealing)
  • Raw Garlic & Onion: These food products produce a natural gas that may result in a loss in the vacuum, which can leave them vulnerable to becoming spoiled.
  • Soft Cheeses: It is perfectly safe to vacuum-seal hard cheeses, but soft cheeses, such as blue cheese, brie, camembert, ricotta, and other soft and unpasteurized cheeses, can produce mold faster in a vacuum than in regular air.
  • Freshly Cooked Vegetables: Hot steam from cooking or steaming vegetables may cause a loss in a vacuum. So it is crucial first to let your hot vegetables come to room temperature after the cooking process before vacuum-sealing.
  • Whole Apples –Apples will need first to be sliced before vacuum sealing. It is also recommended to lightly coat the apple slices with lemon juice as this will help to prevent any discoloration.
  • Cruciferae or Brassicaceae Vegetables: Like raw onions and garlic, raw vegetables in the Cruciferae and Brassicaceae families emit gasses that shouldn’t be vacuum sealed. These vegetables include cabbage, broccoli, kale, radishes, bok choy, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and arugula. To safely vacuum seal them, you must blanch them and let them cool thoroughly. While many vacuum sealers have a “moist” setting, drying these vegetables before placing them in the bag is a must for the best seal possible.
Foods That Can Be Sealed in Vacuum Sealer Bags:

Pretty much everything else! You can use it to seal dry goods such as grains, oats, rice, coffee beans, snack foods, and pasta. You can seal random things like cookie dough, leftover cake, and wet foods like leftover soup. And, of course, all the fruits and veggies you want. Lots of green beans from your garden? Instead of going through all the work of canning, why not grab your food saver vacuum sealer, insert bag, and seal it? It is pretty much that easy.

Graph of how long you can save food once it has been sealed.
One of my favorite Foodsaver tips is knowing how long food can be saved after it has been sealed!

So if you are on the fence or have considered purchasing a FoodSaver® Vacuum Sealing System, I highly recommend it! It is easy to use. This little gem of a system will pay for itself by not wasting food and upping your food preservation game! It’s just a smart thing to own, especially if you are in the business of eating healthy and buying lots of fresh foods. 

I hope these FoodSaver Tips will have you using your system like a pro in no time!

Loved these Foodsaver Tips? Here are so more of my favorite meal prep tips!

Check These Out. 

Happy Food Prepping!

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19 Comments

  1. Deborah R. Holliman says:

    The right is very good tips, I tried and highly successful

    1. Animaltalker says:

      My husband packages up a pound of ground Turkey or boneless skinless chicken breast and when I need to use them I put them in a pot of water to cook most of the day then I take it out and my meat is cooked for my casseroles I shred the chicken and the Turkey it’s so much easier for me bc I only have use of 1 hand due to a disease.

  2. Dallace Grady says:

    I don’t ever use a whole onion. I make my bag a little longer, clip off the end use what I Need and reseal for later. No onion odors in the fridge. I use mine all the time.

  3. did the food saver come with thewide mouth sealer!

    1. I think that is an attachment you can buy separately.

  4. I now know what I want my hubby to get me for Christmas this year!

  5. GiGi Eats says:

    Ohh! This thing is so cool! Too bad I already got married or else I would have put it on the registry! LOL! That being said… Er, um. I never really EVER have left overs – LOL!

  6. Dan Beasley says:

    Excellent guide! I am all about the foodsaver and vacuum sealing meals for my freezer. What I do is on Sunday prepare dinners for the whole week for my family, then vacuum seal them to preserve freshness. Factoring in everything, I save a ton of money compared to cooking every night.

  7. I drive an eighteen wheeler and home once a week. When I am home I make a few meals and potion out on single servings, label. date & freeze. When I head out I take the packets with me. No more fast food for this gal!

    1. That’s awesome and so inspiring! Get it Girl!!

  8. This was SOOO helpful! I’m definitely going to try this! We try not to waste any food here. I definitely want one of these for my birthday this year! Going to tell my hubby. Lol.

  9. I loved all these tips, I have been doing some research and when I came by this I was so happy; this was such a helpful post! Thank you!

  10. Wow – looks like a wonderful product!

  11. #6 is very wasteful and ecologically irresponsible.

  12. These tips are great! The tip on using this to help freeze bananas is genius! I always seem to have overripe bananas and not enough time to make banana bread. Now they can easily be stored for when I have time to use them!

  13. 5 stars
    I just got a FoodSaver so these tips were so helpful, thank you so much.

  14. 5 stars
    Great tips!! I learned so much and loved reading through them all!

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