Make Your Produce Last Longer
By Sara Butler
It's getting to be the time of the year when fresh and fabulous produce will be right at your fingertips. Almost everyone gets so excited about the bounty that spring brings that they go out and buy all the fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables they can but soon find that they're spoiled before they can get to it. If this sounds like a problem you've encountered before, then you need to keep a few of these tips in mind to help your product last longer.
Salad Greens and Herbs
Who doesn't love to have a bunch of fresh salad greens and herbs on hand to cook with? There's nothing that screams spring more than that! But keeping them fresh and crisp is another issue. To store your salad greens and herbs correctly, place them in tightly sealed bags with just a little bit of air. This will keep them as fresh as possible until you can get to them.
Bananas
How many times do you buy bananas that ripen way to fast? To keep this from happening and keep them at just the right ripeness, place the bananas on the counter until they reach the level of ripeness you want, then put them in the refrigerator. This will give you a couple of days more to enjoy them just how you like them.
Celery
There's nothing worse than floppy celery. To keep your celery crisp and ready to munch on, wrap it in aluminum foil before putting it in the refrigerator. This will help to keep your celery perfectly crisp until you're ready to enjoy it by eating it raw, adding it to a stir-fry, or putting it in your favorite soup or stew.
Broccoli and Carrots
If you want to keep your broccoli and carrots so fresh that even the Easter bunny would want to steal them, then you have to store them a certain way. The best way to keep them fresh is by making sure they're dry and then placing them in separate bags in your refrigerator's crisper drawer.
Pineapples
Everyone has that moment where they see fresh pineapple on sale and decide just to go for it. But how do you keep it fresh until you're ready to slice it up? Easy! Cut off the leafy top of the pineapple, then place it in a bowl upside down in your refrigerator. Now you're halfway to a pineapple upside-down cake.
These simple tips can help your fresh produce go further, so give them a try.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Queen Creek, Ariz.