Which vegetables need to go in the refrigerator? Which can survive without? Can I store fruits and veggies together? These questions are sure to come up this summer.
With the abundant options of produce we have this season, it becomes hard to remember the correct way to store veggies. Here are five tips to refresh your memory.
1. Keep it trim. Before storing veggies, it is important to remove any rubber bands and trim of the leafy ends. Make sure to leave roughly one inch to keep them from withering.
2. Leave some room. The closer vegetables are to each other, the quicker they will go bad. So keep them packed loosely in the fridge and far enough away from each other. Remove them from plastic bags to allow airflow.
3. Staying fresh. Keep ripe fruits and vegetables in the fridge to prevent deterioration. If produce is bought before its ripe, you can place them in a brown bag together to trap the ripening agent ethylene gas to hasten ripening. This works well for avocados, papayas, and mangos. If ripe, store fruits and vegetables separately to prevent the vegetables from spoiling prematurely due to excess exposure to ethylene gas. Apples and tomatoes are stored best at room temperature. As far as carrots go, there are certain ways to make sure they remain as fresh as possible. Cutting off the greens is important. Store them separately to keep from draining nutrients into the roots.
4. Use the towel method. Cut some greens into small pieces and wash them. Spread the greens out on a clean towel to ensure they air dry for a few hours. When you need to put the greens away, roll up the towel and wrap rubber bands around the edges so they don’t come loose. Store at the bottom of the fridge, or wherever there is room. Anytime you want more greens, just take the rolled-up towel and unravel for a healthy and tasty snack.
5. Understand the importance of water. Soft herbs, mushrooms, and berries should be washed with water immediately before you prepare them to eat. Leafy greens like kale and lettuce can be soaked in water ahead of time.
Follow these five guidelines and you’ll be sure to have the freshest veggies stored and ready to eat whenever you like.
Below is a recipe if you’re feeling spontaneous and want to use those veggies you have stored. With only 25 minutes of cooking time, this healthy meal will leave you satisfied. This white veggie spinach omelet has 42.9 grams of protein and incorporates healthy fats.
White Veggie Spinach Omelet
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup Egg Whites, liquid
- 1/2 cup Cooked Spinach, canned
- 1/2 cup Raw Peppers, Green
- 1/2 tsp Fleishmanns Original Soft Spread
- 1/2 tsp Oil, canola
- 1/2 cup Cooked Tomatoes, diced
- 1 tbsp Paremesan Cheese
- 1 tsp Cumin
Preparation:
1. Heat butter and canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add spinach, green peppers and diced tomatoes and let simmer.
2. Add cumin and liquid egg whites to mixture and cover. Cook until egg whites are done.
3. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Per serving provides: 3/4 Leanest, 3 Green, 1 Healthy Fat, and 2 Condiments.
Why canned spinach? When I want to add spinach to an omelet I buy just enough fresh from the salad bar at the grocery? Also instead of just plain tomatoes, I also get a little pico de gallo from the salad bar. I heat the pico de gallo and spinach in a small omelet pan sprayed with Pam, remove, pour egg beaters in the pan, and once set, put the veggies and a sprinkle of low-fat grated mexican cheese (less than a Tblsp) on half, fold the other half over, and enjoy.