What's In Your Crisper Drawer?
By Sara Butler
Your refrigerator's crisper drawer may be a bit of a mystery to you. Perhaps it's where you like to store your adult beverages or the things you simply can't fit anywhere else. If you're not sure how to use your crisper drawer, you're certainly not alone, but it's time to remedy that. Here is what your crisper drawer is for and how you can use it to your advantage to eat healthily.
How It Works
You may notice that the crisper drawers in your refrigerator allow you to adjust their humidity. Often, there's a low humidity setting and a high humidity setting. This is an option to help you keep your fresh fruits and vegetables fresh.
What Goes in the Crisper?
A low humidity or high humidity environment will help to keep your food, well, crisp -- depending on what it is. Things that tend to rot quickly in the regular part of the refrigerator belong in the low humidity crisper drawer. This includes things that give off ethylene gas, such as pears and apples.
Here's a handy list of some of the things you should keep in the low humidity drawer:
- Avocados
- Cantaloupes
- Kiwi
- Melons
- Apples
- Ripe bananas
- Mangoes
- Pears
- Papayas
- Stone fruits
Things that wilt belong in high humidity, such as leafy greens. This works by helping to hold the water vapor in, allowing the moisture to keep the greens fresh and crisp.
Some of the things that belong in the high humidity drawer include:
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Eggplant
- Green beans
- Herbs
- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Okra
- Peas
- Peppers
- Summer squash
One important caveat is to remember to keep things that give off the gas, such as apples, away from other fruits that are sensitive to it, such as strawberries. That gas will only cause other things to ripen faster and go bad quick.
One More Tip
The humidity drawers will work best if they're kept at least two-thirds full. That's a good reason to keep fresh fruits and vegetables on hand!
Properly storing your fruits and vegetables is how you can help to stretch them so you can eat healthily but not waste money on foods that will simply go bad before you get around to eating them. Invest some time and energy learning more about your crisper drawer and use it as a tool for your improved health and wellness.
If you have questions about how to eat healthy, talk the chiropractors at The Joint Chiropractic. They can help you figure out a healthy eating plan that will work for you!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Mission Viejo, Calif.