Have you ever bought a fresh veggie or fruit, only to find it 5 days later in a moldy mess at the back of your fridge?
It happens to ALL of us – because the grocery store plastic bag in a dark produce drawer is where produce goes to DIE.
But it doesn’t have to happen to you again! In this hack, I’ll give you:
- The safest ways to clean produce to eliminate bacteria and germs
- The smartest ways to store each type of produce to keep it fresh and yummy all week
- Time-saving tricks (like when to chop, when to leave whole) to make it effortless to eat veggies all week!
New scenario: Open fridge, see chopped and clean veggies. Open container, throw them into a salad or stir-fry pan or roasting dish. Add a little olive or sesame oil and spices for 5-7 minutes.
Sha-ZAM! Done! {slow clap}.
Here’s how.
***(BTW, I know that some of you aren’t eating veggies because you also don’t like the way they taste- in which case, I can help you there! Read at the bottom for a few of my favorite dips and sauces, and over time I’ll also send out some of my favorite hacks for cooking delicious veggies that will win over any picky eater (I know, because they work on my husband, who before we married, only ate “vegetables that are orange”). Yes that’s a thing.
OK, So Are You ready To Become VEGGIE PREPPERS!??!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it
The next time you go grocery shopping, choose two veggies and two fruits (you can choose more, but don’t go overboard the first time). When you get home, prep them fully that day (or before the crazy week starts). The key is that whatever produce you buy, as soon as you can over the weekend (or whenever you have time), you take EVERYTHING out of the grimy plastic bags from the grocery store. All those do is encourage mushiness and going bad.
It is true that washing before storing can facilitate deterioration – but in my mind, washing and prepping before storing actually increases the chances you’ll also EAT IT
The Un-crossable, undeniable, inviolable rule
MUST MUST dry everything well. If you just wash it and store it with moisture, that will encourage decay more rapidly, and sabotage all your hard work!
Veggies
Lettuce (Hearts of romaine)
I find it tedious to have to wash and dry lettuce whenever I want to eat it – so I like to have it clean already.
- Trim the bottom off and trim the top ½ inch of greens
- Remove any brown/torn outer leaves (in fact, remove/cut away any area that is torn, as that harbors bacteria)
- Rinse very well under running cold water
- Shake out any excess water
- Turn upside down to drain in the dish rack (ideally on a paper towel)
- Leave to dry (go do another veggie) for 5 minutes or so
- Wrap each heart in a paper towel, and place inside a plastic zipper bag
Peppers (green, yellow, red, orange)
*NOTE: peppers can pick up pesticides more than other veggies, so these are often a good place to go organic.
- Remove any stickers and wash each pepper very well under cold water
- Dry each pepper with a paper towel
- Cut into each pepper, removing the stem and seeds
- Rinse to pull out any extra little seeds, and place in drying rack for 2-3 minutes
- Chop into LARGE pieces (smaller pieces tend to get mushy faster)
- Place a single folded sheet of paper towel in the container, and peppers on top of it.
Avocado
Any avocado lover knows that it goes brown in less than a day once it’s been cut – unless you use this trick!
- Take cut avocado and LEAVE THE SEED in it (if you’ve already removed the seed, you can still store it with the remaining avocado).
- Place into a small plastic zip bag or a small glass container.
- Add a few squirts of lemon juice (I use the kind you buy in the bottle from the store – who has time to squeeze that many lemons?).
Carrots
- Rinse well and cut off ends
- Peel
- Cut into large carrot sticks/quarters
- Store in a container in the fridge. You can easily pull out and toss in a pan to roast, give to the family for raw carrot sticks, or chop into smaller pieces for a salad
Asparagus
- Rinse well
- Break off the ends by hand (asparagus will naturally break just above the thick fibrous area, making this a great activity for little ones)
- Wrap in a paper towel and store in a plastic zip bag or container. If you want to look snazzy, you can also store them standing upright in a jar with about ½ inch of water.
Celery
- Trim off ½ inch from both ends (the end where they’re all joined, and also the other end with the tops)
- Wash very well, and cut out/discard any areas that are torn (since those are bacteria breeding grounds)
- Allow to dry about 5 minutes, then wrap in a paper towel and put in a zipper bag. (don’t cut them into smaller pieces, or they’ll dry out).
Fruit
Melon (Watermelon, Honeydew, Cantaloupe)
*You’ve probably heard recently of people getting food poisoning from melon – particularly cantaloupe that was pre-cut by the store. To avoid that, it’s crucial to wash the rind of the melon very carefully!
- Remove any stickers and wash the melon under cold water. Don’t set it in the bottom of your sink (you wash off dirty dishes there! The sink is not a clean place!), but hold it in one hand, or over a plate that you set in your sink.
- Especially for melons with a textured rind (such as cantaloupe), your hands alone can’t get off all the bacteria, so use a produce brush to clean.
- Dry very well – this step further removes any bacteria lurking in the moisture.
- Slice into large chunks and store
- Be extra careful (especially if you’re pregnant)
Strawberries
*Strawberries tend to have higher concentration of pesticides, making them another fruit that I’ll try to find organic.
- Trim off the stem area (leaving only the part of the strawberry that you’d eat)
- Soak berries in water and rinse, to get rid of any large chunks of dirt.
- Pull out and toss any that look moldy, mushy, or have tears/cuts in the skin (these would make all the others go bad asap)
- Soak in a diluted vinegar bath of 1-part white vinegar, 3 parts water, and use your hands to jostle everything gently.
- Put on top of a paper towel in a salad spinner, and spin to dry.
- Place on top of a paper towel in a glass storage container and refrigerate
Blueberries, Blackberries, or Raspberries
- Soak berries in water and rinse, to get rid of any large chunks of dirt.
- Pull out and toss any that look moldy, mushy, or have tears/cuts in the skin
- Soak in a diluted vinegar bath of 1-part white vinegar, 3 parts water, and use your hands to jostle everything gently.
- Put on top of a paper towel in a salad spinner, and spin to dry.
- Place on top of a paper towel in a glass storage container and refrigerate
Grapes
- Give a cold water rinse, using your hands to gently jostle them so that any dirt comes off
- Do a vinegar bath of 1 part vinegar, 3 parts water, and then rinse WELL.
- Drain and repeat soak
- Just like you did for strawberries, place them on a paper towel in a salad spinner to dry them
- Place on top of a paper towel in a glass storage container and refrigerate
Delish Sauces & Dips
MY SUPER-LAZY, NO-PREP SALAD DRESSING:
There is no measuring (just add what you want of each, to taste), and you don’t have to make it ahead of time.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Thick balsamic vinegar like this one
- Lime juice (a splash)
- Sea salt
My At-Home Balsamic Vinaigrette
Store-bought dressings tend to be high in sugar, sodium, and preservatives – and it’s just really easy to make your own.
- ½ cup really good balsamic vinegar (like this one)
- 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic (you think I take the time to mince garlic? Nah. I buy the jars of pre-minced garlic at the store.)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (I also like Dijonnaisse)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- Optional: 1-2 tsp lemon juice to taste
- Optional: 1 teaspoon of dried basil, oregano, parsley
My favorite Dips:
- Hummus – great for dipping raw or roasted veggies (not to mention, as a sandwich spread or to add a dollop to your salad)
- Salsa – A favorite for dipping in my house
- Edamame Hummus
- Olive Tapenade
Food Storage
Storage Safety Tips
- Try to store in glass or stainless steel containers.
- Even the BPA-free ones may be as harmful as BPA plastics
- Make sure that you don’t put plastic lids in the dishwasher, as chemicals may leach or plastic might melt.