Tips for fruits and veggies going bad too quickly?

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Chibinesekwe
Chibinesekwe Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Do you all just shop daily? I buy fruits/veggies and then they end up going bad before I get the chance to eat them all.

Are there fruits/veggies that I could buy and freeze or something?
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Replies

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited January 2018
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    I buy lettuces every few days, but most of my other produce generally lasts for a couple of weeks (not that it needs to as it's usually eaten before that - don't buy too much!) . It comes from a good greengrocer, not the supermarket.

    If stuff is starting to go bad, it usually ends up in a frittata or in freezer bags to use in cooked dishes. Or cooked in to something.

    Pre planning meals and eating similar meals helps with shopping and minimising waste.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    I buy steam-in-bag veggies from the freezer section. The quality is great and the variety of unsauced choices has expanded in the past couple of years.
  • dangsy
    dangsy Posts: 1 Member
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    I'll wash my veggies immediately when I get back home, dry them, and wrap them in paper towels before placing them back into the bag and in the fridge. I find that the paper towel can absorb some moisture keeping the rot at bay for a bit longer.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I usually shop for fresh foods twice weekly and aim to buy just what I can eat up before next shopping trip. (This is where "planning" comes in.) I only cut up large items like melons and pineapples, and sturdy things like carrots, beforehand. I slice and freeze bananas, unless it's just one and I intend to eat it the same day or the next day.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Frozen or canned. I cannot keep fresh fruits and vegetables like kale, broccoli, squash, bananas, and strawberries.
    I found that Wal-Mart has bags of various frozen vegetables for $0.88 each. One of those, heated in the microwave, does a great job of giving me all the vegetables I want in one meal.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    i dont eat frozen or canned veg (aside from canned tomatoes for dishes). i shop once a week. most of my stuff will last a good week and a half if not longer. sometimes something goes bad quicker, but not generally. lettuce and spinach are the only thing i really have to watch and its almost always good for a solid week.
  • Thr33N1N3
    Thr33N1N3 Posts: 39 Member
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    I have peppers, broccoli and onions in my freezer. Everything else I buy on my way home everyday. That's the only way I have as little waste as possible. There are a lot of tricks for storing veggies and fruits posted on the internet.
  • laur357
    laur357 Posts: 896 Member
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    Different vegetables and fruits require different storage methods. Buying a selection of ripe and unripe fruits - like bananas, avocado, mango, plums, etc. - and letting them ripen at different times can help. Bagged produce (often chemically treated to extend life), I can usually find with the expiration date beyond a week.

    Berries are definitely a good option frozen - treating them in a vinegar/water solution can extend their life by a day or two to discourage mold in the refrigerator. Otherwise, they'll go bad in a day or two.

    Veggies in the cabbage family and peppers have a long shelf-life in a cold refrigerator.

    https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/more-shopping-storing/how-to-store-vegetables
    https://www.thekitchn.com/the-kitchns-guide-to-storing-fruits-and-vegetables-tip-roundup-176308
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
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    Chibinesekwe wrote: »
    Do you all just shop daily? I buy fruits/veggies and then they end up going bad before I get the chance to eat them all.

    Are there fruits/veggies that I could buy and freeze or something?

    Are you shopping for one, or do other people share the same meals in your house?

    You'll need to put some things in the fridge or freezer, as well as being aware just how much you can use in a certain time.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    We plan our meals for the week on the weekend and only buy what is necessary for those meals...for the most part, the veggies and fruit we buy have a decent shelf life provided they are stored properly. We buy lots of peppers and cruciferous vegetables and root vegetables that keep well. Things like mushrooms we will make sure we use earlier in the week and if they start going, we'll put them in a big soup or stew...same for things like spinach and other greens that turn more quickly.
  • vegan4lyfe2012
    vegan4lyfe2012 Posts: 1,157 Member
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    I like to buy my produce on a Sunday, then most of the veggies get chopped or sliced up and put into freezer bags. I do this with onions, carrots and bell peppers mostly. I especially got tired of throwing out my peppers. It's just my daughter and me, so we don't go through them too fast, but sometimes they go on sale and I want to take advantage of that. I have one bag of diced peppers and a separate one of sliced.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    edited January 2018
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    None of my produce goes bad that quickly to where I can’t buy food on a weekly basis... avocados are just kinda funny and I have to make sure to plan my meal within a certain time frame. The only produce that comes to mind that I have to make sure to eat within a couple days after bringing them home is green beans. They seem to go bad really fast for me. I plan out my meals on sundays for that week.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    Get them straight out of the plastic just in to the vegetable draw.

    Line the draw with a brown paper bag.
  • Princesstri
    Princesstri Posts: 18 Member
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    Same thing was happening to me. My daughter bout me a Good Grips Greensaber storage container and it’s working great. You have to buy new filters for it every couple of months but they aren’t expensive. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00TO8X0BA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1515787368&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=good+grips+greensaver&dpPl=1&dpID=41qqh9BnZlL&ref=plSrch
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,741 Member
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    For fresh ones that are suitable, consider roasting them and refrigerating to extend the keeping time a bit. You can reheat, or use cold in salad/sandwich.

    Another option for "going soon" but still OK sturdy ones is to prepare them (wash, skin if needed), blanch them (short dip in boiling water), then put them in the freezer to use (fairly soon, i.e. few weeks) in soup, stew, or casserole. Metal colander or strainer dipped in a big pan of boiling water is an easy way to blanch. Leafy things like kale or spinach, just wash, dry (mostly), freeze.

    Cabbage: Make refrigerator sauerkraut. You can salt-ferment some other veggies, too. It's easy.

    Another option is refrigerator-pickling in seasoned vinegar dressing. Sturdy veggies (like most root veg) may need to be lightly cooked first to be the best texture.

    Any of the above, you want to do before they're too far gone, so be anticipatory. (For me, the spoilage often happens because of unexpected dining out, so I can quickly preserve on the day I'd planned to eat them.)

    For me, the greens I buy from local growers at the farmers market last several times longer than store-bought, and I can get them even here here in Michigan/US in the dead of cold winter - grown in hoop houses or greenhouse, mostly, and cut on market day. Cost a bit more, but keep much better, so less waste.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    I do most of my shopping on the weekends, but if I'm not planning to use produce until later in the week, I'll plan to go back to the store mid-week. Mostly, I plan meals so that fresh things are cooked early in the week, and later in the week we eat leftovers or stuff from the freezer.

    Be realistic about how much produce you'll eat. A lot of people who are starting to change their diets will have good intentions to eat lots of produce, buy plenty of it, and then wind up not eating it.

    There's also nothing wrong with buying bagged frozen produce from the store.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    Rubbermaid Freshworks containers work well. We have 2 large gardens so in the summer and fall it is a constant battle to eat or preserve everything before it goes bad and these are a huge help.

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CKM4G3W/ref=asc_df_B01CKM4G3W5334104/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B01CKM4G3W&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167127663572&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14906616891575237747&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009138&hvtargid=pla-304559470940
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
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    Buy a refrigerator thermometer and make sure it's staying below 40F. My produce keeps for a week or longer once I got the temperature right. Keeping veggies in sealed bags keeps them from drying out and going floppy. If you don't shop often buy more frozen produce. You could also try growing your own.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
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    Fresh is best, but...

    I like frozen string beans and peas. Not so much any other frozen veg.

    One way to keep something like broccoli for up to a week is simply to steam it and put it right in a sealed container in the fridge. This kills the bacteria, making it last. Heat back up in the microwave.

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