A great way to avoid food (+ money) waste is to make the produce we bring home last longer. It doesn't take long for carrots to look like this, though a flabby carrot is still edible...to a point. When I take a little time to prepare my produce for storage after my weekly shop, I can be sure it will last the week. Meal prep goes faster too.
A few ways to make produce last longer:
A few ways to make produce last longer:
- broccoli :: wash, cut + put into a jar without letting it dry off first, refrigerate
- carrots :: wash, cut into the shapes you'd like to use + cover with water, refrigerate
- scallions :: wash, cut them up + refrigerate, shake every day
- spinach :: wash, lay on a towel + roll the towel with spinach (like a jelly roll) to dry it a bit, put spinach into a covered container (no towel) in the fridge :: pick it over every couple days + toss by hand to "fluff"
- herbs :: store them in the fridge like a bouquet of flowers, upright in a cup with a little water in it
- potatoes :: they go into a bin in the bottom of a cabinet
- bananas :: brown bananas can go straight into the freezer with their peels on to be used for banana bread or smoothies, but I find it easiest to peel them when they have spots, break them into a few pieces, put them into a jar + freeze :: when I want to use them it is easy enough to break out as many as I'd like
- apples, lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit :: we keep in them in the fridge (apples separated from other produce, because they accelerate ripening...which can be used to advantage when desired)
- mangos :: I put them in the fridge until the night before I want to use them, when I put them on the counter
- berries + other fruit :: wash + freeze to use in smoothies, muffins or pancakes
My goal is to eat fruit fresh, but I'd rather freeze it than let it go bad.
Love,
Jane
