Foods to Keep Out of the Refrigerator
By Sara Butler
Are you ready to take a long, hard look at your diet and make some healthy changes? This time of the year you're not alone. Going to the store and buying the best products you can is only one part of the healthy eating puzzle, you also have to know how to store them in order to make them last -- and to stretch your dollars. There are many foods that people tend to stick in the refrigerator that actually need no refrigeration at all. In fact, refrigerating some foods can cause them to spoil faster. Here are a few foods that definitely don't belong in your refrigerator.
Potatoes
If you think you need to avoid potatoes in order to avoid natural sugars, you might be right -- if you're storing them in the refrigerator. The cold causes the natural starch in the potatoes to turn into sugar, which then causes spikes in your blood sugar once you eat them. It also makes the potatoes not quite as tasty as they can be, so do yourself a favor and keep them on the counter.
Peanut Butter
Natural peanut butter that you grind yourself in the natural food section of the store does need to be refrigerated, but that's the only type that does. The regular peanut butter you buy off the store shelves doesn't need this special treatment. If you do store it in the fridge, then you risk hardening it and making it difficult to spread. Leave it in the cupboard!
Tomatoes
If you're storing your tomatoes in the produce drawer of the refrigerator, then you're making a big mistake. Storing them in the cold causes them to lose nutrients, altering their chemical composition to make them lose flavor too. Keep your tomatoes on the counter. If you want them to ripen a bit more, then store them on their stems upside down on your windowsill -- that should do the trick!
Garlic
Garlic bulbs may begin to sprout if stored in the cold, so keep it out of the refrigerator and you can stretch one bulb of garlic out for a couple of months. If you've bought the pre-chopped garlic in a jar, then that should be refrigerated after opening.
Get the most mileage out of the healthy foods you buy by understanding how to store them right!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in St. Louis, Mo.
