fruits and veggies perishable

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keziak1
keziak1 Posts: 204 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
As a family we eat a LOT of produce but still some of it goes bad and then I feel guilty. Do you buy in small amounts several times a week to avoid this? I will go out of my way to restock oranges because I eat one a day.
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  • rivka_m
    rivka_m Posts: 1,007 Member
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    I buy less perishable produce (ie apples, winter squash) or buy frozen. You can go to the store several times a week as well but that might be a fair amount of time out of your week.

    I try not to buy greens or other really perishable produce unless I have plans to cook it that day. Once in the produce drawer it's out of sight, out of mind and doesn't get eaten.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    I hit the store two or three times a week. The whole thing, including pulling into the lot, parking, walking to the store and back out to the car...takes ten minutes, so it isn't a hassle for me.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    I buy vast amounts of produce weekly. We go through 5 or 6 bunches of bananas, a couple bags of apples, a few pounds of grapes, 3 or 4 bags of spinach broccoli, avocado, etc etc. The only time recently I can remember tossing produce is when we all had the flu. No one felt like eating. I shop once a week, but sometimes I have to go back for more. Family of 5 vegans. We are fruity people. <3
  • dfargher
    dfargher Posts: 37 Member
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    Does your produce go bad in a week? Mine usually lasts at least that long, so we just go shopping once a week. You could try eating all the fresh stuff at the start of the week and rely on frozen and "shelf-stable" produce (like apples, potatoes, squash, onions, etc.) for the last couple days.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
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    I live really close to a decent small supermarket, so I visit it several times a week. I count on the short walks back and forth to top off my active minutes many days LOL.

    I eat a ton of produce, but on the whole I only buy what I'm going to eat in the next 3 days.
  • sjaplo
    sjaplo Posts: 974 Member
    edited December 2014
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    In countries such as France and Italy there are markets daily and people buy that day's food on the way home.

    My waife and I still do the North American thing of a big grocery shop every week - but we're always picking stuff up during the week.

    No solution to the problem - just sharing.... :)
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    I usually do one big shop on the weekend and a filler one during the week - I always need more avocados and basil.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
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    Salad, bananas, and avocados (sometimes tomatoes) are probably the most perishable things I buy. I usually eat 1 banana a day, so only buy 3 at a time, and will restock mid-week if necessary. I only buy 1 avocado at a time, and only if we plan on eating it with one of our dinners. I'll eat salad everyday at work, so it will be gone before the week is up or before it goes bad. Other veggies and fruit seem to last a week or longer, so no problem there. You just have to think about what you will actually use daily and not over-buy.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    My supermarket opens at 7:00, which is right around when I'm finished at the gym. It's pretty easy for me to swing by and pick up some produce a few days a week that way.
  • sherambler
    sherambler Posts: 303 Member
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    I shop once a week because I find when I shop in little trips I end up spending more overall. Because I shop once a week I have to find some workarounds to keep from wasting so much.

    Do you feel guilty about wasting the food or about spending the money on produce not getting eaten? If its the wasting, then you could always look into composting, they even have small smell proof bins you can keep under your counter. As far as the spending money on food not being used, I worried about this all the time. I think you're always likely to waste something, as horrible as that sounds, but there's a lot you can do to use up those last bits of the veggie drawer or use up produce before it turns. When I can, I'll freeze bananas for bread or bake something with whatever is going to go bad and freeze it. Soup is also a great way to use up any leftover produce. I also started buying more frozen veggies. You can freeze your own leftover fruits and veggies too.
  • keziak1
    keziak1 Posts: 204 Member
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    Right now I mostly feel guilty because I let a bag of chopped cabbage in the crisper go bad because I was not eating as many salads ( eating other veg). I've also lost kiwi out of forgetting they are mostly ripe when bought. I also like containers of fresh salsa from the store but that goes bad real fast. So I guess it's mostly planning issues.
  • Eire228
    Eire228 Posts: 238 Member
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    I have similar problems. I shop for 1, and it's hard to buy things like lettuce in portions for one person for the week. The portions I can buy are always too much, so some of it gets wasted. I don't like it, but what's a single gal to do?

    I'm incredibly fortunate, though, to have a roommate with farmers for parents. In the summer and fall, they bring us bags of produce that don't get sold at the farmer's markets. So when it goes to waste, I feel bad that food was wasted, but at least I didn't spend money on it. :) If only it could be the same in the winter!
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
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    I've had luck with buying packaged romaine lettuce (Foxy or store brand). Usually there are three small heads of lettuce in a zip lock bag. It's more expensive than the loose-leaf lettuce, but it lasts much longer. I also buy bagged salad, just put a small portion in a bowl, and then restore it in a zip lock. I find the little grape tomatoes also keep longer than the large, slicing tomatoes. I stopped buying cucumbers, though, because they rot before I use them up.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    rosebette wrote: »
    I stopped buying cucumbers, though, because they rot before I use them up.
    I have discovered that cucumbers stay fresh for many days if I don't wrap the cut end but let it breathe. The edge may get a bit dry if it's left for more that two days, but that can be sliced off and the rest is nice and crisp and juicy.

  • BlueButterfly94
    BlueButterfly94 Posts: 303 Member
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    Usually I'm the only one eating the produce, unless it comes to the tomatoes. We buy tomatoes and bananas regularly- I eat two bananas a day most of the time. I do feel bad when the produce goes to waste, but it can't be helped. Sometimes I'm just not around to eat the veggies. :( (Very little does end up going to waste though.)
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    I go a couple of times a week so it stays fresh. If fruit sits in there too long, I chop, then toss it in the freezer.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I used to throw many bananas away every week. But now I store them in the fridge and they keep for ages. The peel goes a yucky Brown colour, but the inside stays perfect.
  • keziak1
    keziak1 Posts: 204 Member
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    Another issue of course is the season. Off-season a lot of fruit is not right and some of it spoils. We get used to peaches at the farmer's market for example but buying them in the grocery store off-season is largely pointless. That's too bad when it comes to berries, they are so good and good for you.

    I need to remind myself to eat more salad so the bagged kind don't go bad on me.
  • lagrangefp
    lagrangefp Posts: 3
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    When berries are in season I buy LOTS of them on sale and freeze them. This works great for strawberries (I slice them up first), raspberries, and blackberries. I recently learned a secret to keeping bananas fresh. But a stalk. When you get home break off each individual banana and wrap just the stem in saran wrap. I then refrigerate them and they last as long as 2 weeks. As the other poster said the skins turn brown but the inside stays perfect. I used to get a week out of refrigerated bananas but am thrilled to get 2 weeks with the addition of saran wrap. I love bananas. I freeze lots of other fruits and veggies but have not found an answer for fresh spinach. It wilts quickly no matter what I do.
  • ASG_21
    ASG_21 Posts: 82 Member
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    lagrangefp wrote: »
    When berries are in season I buy LOTS of them on sale and freeze them. This works great for strawberries (I slice them up first), raspberries, and blackberries. I recently learned a secret to keeping bananas fresh. But a stalk. When you get home break off each individual banana and wrap just the stem in saran wrap. I then refrigerate them and they last as long as 2 weeks. As the other poster said the skins turn brown but the inside stays perfect. I used to get a week out of refrigerated bananas but am thrilled to get 2 weeks with the addition of saran wrap. I love bananas. I freeze lots of other fruits and veggies but have not found an answer for fresh spinach. It wilts quickly no matter what I do.

    I had the same issue with spinach, but I solved it! I use a Tupperware container. As soon as I get home, I take the spinach out of the produce bag and separate the leaves from the stalks. I then STUFF a Tupperware container to capacity, cover, and refrigerate. Stuffing it keeps condensation from collecting on the lid, keeping it from getting soggy or wilty. I've gotten a week out of my spinach this way :)

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