We’ve all experienced it.
You open your fridge and your produce that looked so vibrant and fresh a few days ago, looks wilted and blah. It’s not so appetizing.
Here are a few tips to keep your celery crisp, your spinach from getting slimy, your herbs from wilting and your lettuce from getting the blahs!
drooping celery
crisp celery
When it comes to celery, the trick is water. Trim the bottom of the celery and put it in water. It will perk right up. You can keep it outside of the fridge for about a day, after that cover it with a plastic bag and put it in the fridge.
Water also works with kale or collard greens or pretty much any greens that have thick stems, including lettuce. For these type of greens I put them in the salad spinner filled with cool water and let them soak for about an hour. They revive very nicely.
But let’s say you are committed to not having your greens wilt at all. You don’t want to have to put them in water, you want to take preventative measures to create a no-wilting policy in your fridge. Then…
Paper towel is the key!
For spinach, lay your spinach on paper towel before putting it in the fridge (or lay a piece of paper towel on top). The paper towel is there to absorb excess moisture (that’s what makes things slimy).
Fresh Herbs wrapped in paper towel and then put in a plastic bag keep nicely for up to a week.
Lettuce wrapped in paper towel also stays fresher longer.
The secret to managing your produce problems is managing the moisture. Put a piece of paper towel in the bottom of your fridge drawers to absorb any excess moisture.
And…keep eating your greens!
Share your favorite produce tips in the comments!
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Nina Manolson, MA, CHC, certified Health Coach and Psychology of Eating Coach believes that every women deserves to feel good in their own body. She helps women create a healthy and positive relationship with their food and body so they can love their body and life! She’s the founder of NinaManolson.com and NourishedWomanNation.com
She helps busy women look and feel their best, and helps them feed their kids well in a world that doesn’t.
She’s the author of “Feed Your Kids Well In A World That Doesn’t: an everyday guide to make healthy food happen in your home and beyond”. She’s also the recipient of the prestigious Health Leadership Award from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
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Nina,
wonderful newsletter and great, great pics!
I found that the green produce bag keeps my greens fresh for quite a long time, not sure how but it sure does! I usually wash the produce, dry it and make sure there is no air left when I close those green bags.
Otherwise, I always pay attention to open to remove the elastic off the parsley, asparagus, coriander etc, if I put them in the fridge without washing them first. That prevents them from getting slimy.
Thanks Ildiko – for your kind words and your expertise!
Great classes and the tips are fabulous! I didn’t know those.
My tip is this:
For herbs like parsley, cilantro and others, I put water in a jar and stand them up like that in my fridge, like a bouquet of flowers. This also works for asparagus – they all keep much longer this way!
Thanks Marie!
Nina,
Thanks for the simple tip and visual on spinach – this is what I’m looking for. If I were to store spinach as above in a pyrex, would I put the airtight lid on too? And can you use a dish towel instead of a paper towel? Thanks for your thoughts.