Keeping fruits and veggies fresh.

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psychicmedium26
psychicmedium26 Posts: 48
in Health and Weight Loss
What are your tips on keeping salad leftovers, or fresh veggies and fruit.... fresh for more than a few days?

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  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I keep stuff in the fridge and airtight. They usually last a week.
  • brittaney0625
    brittaney0625 Posts: 268 Member
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    I think you can freeze them..
    but really I just go shopping once a week to buy the fresh stuff.. so a few days to a week is all mine ever lasts.
  • psychicmedium26
    psychicmedium26 Posts: 48
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    We live in the country so I do get to the store once a week. I just find within days my romaine is wilty or the wetter veggies will sog up the others. If I used the bagged variety they seem to go a bit quickly too.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    We live in the country so I do get to the store once a week. I just find within days my romaine is wilty or the wetter veggies will sog up the others. If I used the bagged variety they seem to go a bit quickly too.

    Maybe try freezing some of them. I don't know about the romaine. I never buy any lettuce.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
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    Rinse them well and soak in a 5% vinegar solution for 5-10 minutes.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    With salad stuff usually lasts longer if you don't cut it all up until you use it. Buy lettuce in heads and not bags and don't cut it off until you are ready to use it. Carrots and onions last a good long time. Bananas don't really last more than a week unless you like the brown but I have had apples around for a few weeks and they have been fine still. Avacados can last a good long while if you keep them refrigerated but they get icky pretty fast when you cut them open. Tomatos actually stay better if you keep them on the counter and not the fridge. Canned veggies are pretty cheap and I am a big fan of freezing things, especially stuff that you can cook easy like kale, Brussell sprouts, green beans, carrots, broccoli, cauli. Peppers can freeze if you are going to cook them but they get mushy and weird so don't put them in a salad or something.

    That's all the tricks I can think of, good luck!
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
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    With salad stuff usually lasts longer if you don't cut it all up until you use it. Buy lettuce in heads and not bags and don't cut it off until you are ready to use it. Carrots and onions last a good long time. Bananas don't really last more than a week unless you like the brown but I have had apples around for a few weeks and they have been fine still. Avacados can last a good long while if you keep them refrigerated but they get icky pretty fast when you cut them open. Tomatos actually stay better if you keep them on the counter and not the fridge. Canned veggies are pretty cheap and I am a big fan of freezing things, especially stuff that you can cook easy like kale, Brussell sprouts, green beans, carrots, broccoli, cauli. Peppers can freeze if you are going to cook them but they get mushy and weird so don't put them in a salad or something.

    That's all the tricks I can think of, good luck!

    Wrap the stems of the bananas in suran wrap to help them keep longer.

    Also, keep bananas away from the other fruit.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    I freeze just about everything that I want to last. Salad, cooked veggies, raw fruits, whatever.

    It's also how I discovered my love for frozen granny smith apples and grapes, which I now prefer much more frozen. Also frozen bananas, which are a world apart from room temperature ones.
  • MelissaAnn1983
    MelissaAnn1983 Posts: 149 Member
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    Don't rinse the lettuce off the bat. Get your portion and rinse as you need it.
  • 2014NewBodyNewMe
    2014NewBodyNewMe Posts: 57 Member
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    For bananas but them in the fridge the skin will turn brown ,but the fruit will be good. I had bananas in the fridge for 2 week and they were still good.
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
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    I eat them faster.
  • Jade0529
    Jade0529 Posts: 213 Member
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    Check the temperature of your fridge. It may not be cold enough. I believe it is 36-40F for the fridge and 0F for the freezer.

    no matter how we stored produce in our old fridge the temp was off so food always spoiled fast. Also don't wash anything ahead of time or hull strawberries

    Keep apples away from other fruit unless you want it to ripen faster. Apples release Ethylene gas which will ripen fruits faster

    Lettuce can be wrapped in a damp paper towel or tea towel
    Celery - cut off the bottom and store it in a container of fresh water. Change the water every day or so
    Keep grapes in the bag they come in
    I also keep potatoes and onions in the veggie bin in the fridge. They just last longer
    ginger can be frozen whole and grated when needed
    I hang garlic or use a garlic keeper
  • venus_blue
    venus_blue Posts: 103 Member
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    We get organic fruits and veggies delivered and I would get so frustrated any time I had to throw any out because they aren't cheap! I bought some Debbie Meyer Green Bags. They work wonders and produce stays fresh for much, much longer. I think they were four bucks for a box of ten, and you can pick them up at most stores or online. They pay for themselves with the food you don't throw out. Don't store fruits and veggies with each other, and keep onions away from other veggies, especially potatoes because onions give off gases that make other produce ripen and spoil faster. .


    If you'd rather not invest in the green bags, here is a good reference for storing veggies.

    http://www.thekitchn.com/a-guide-to-storing-fruits-vegetables-tip-roundup-176308
  • psychicmedium26
    psychicmedium26 Posts: 48
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    Thank you all so much for your advice! I was starting to get frustrated. We eat our produce fast enough but sometimes Id like to have Salad on Thursday even if I shopped the previous Saturday :)
  • grimmyteves
    grimmyteves Posts: 3
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    I would buy the clamshell containers of lettuce and would be lucky if they lasted 2-3 days. I then bought an organic clamshell of lettuces and it lasted a whole week. So for my lettuce I try to buy the organic ones. I shop every two weeks and have to work most of my recipes to use up the fresh produce first and then I work into the frozen produce. Hope this is a little help.

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