Produce Prep

The Problem With Fresh Produce

How many times have you discovered your produce gone bad in your refrigerator because it wasn’t used promptly? If your life is anything like mine, I am sure it has happened to you a bunch of times. Yes, there have been more times than I care to remember when something that I bought with a perfectly good intention of eating it “soon” doesn’t materialize soon enough and then it’s too late.

But I keep buying fresh produce. Why? While these days there are many ways to get your dose of vitamins and essential nutrients, I still like to make sure we get a steady intake of our fruits and vegetables.

The Solution

So, how can I (and you) avoid this cycle of unintentional waste?

I believe one of the biggest obstacles to consuming these healthy goods in a timely manner is the amount of prep time it takes. Come on. It is so much easier to grab a cookie than take the time to reach inside the produce drawer to take out a fruit, wash it and eat.

But what if we did as much of the prep ahead of time? Would that help?

Yes. Yes. Yes. At least, it certainly helps me.

And in this post, let me walk you through what this prep entails and how I do it.

1. Do a weekly grocery run to buy the produce

This one is probably a no brainer. I am sure every household has some sort of a shopping schedule to buy the essentials. For me, I prefer to keep our shopping trips to a minimum and as a general rule the only items I go to store for on a weekly basis is the produce. (More on my shopping habits in a future post).

2. Promptly wash them

One of the best things you can do for your weekly sanity and for your produce is to wash and store them as soon as you can. I will have to share details of my washing techniques in a future post.

But there are some gotchas.

• After they are washed, be sure to thoroughly dry them before storing. Otherwise, they will rot faster.
• When washing leafy greens like lettuce or spinach, be sure to wrap them in paper towel or cloth before storing
• Some items like raspberries and mushrooms should be washed only just before consuming

3. Prepare as much of it as I can

Even though having pre-cleaned produce is a great step in the right direction to help you eat more healthy during the week, sometimes extra prep can be exponentially helpful.

Here are 3 main ways I prep my produce:

a. Prep and Refrigerate

So, for veggies you plan to use within the next 1-3 days, go ahead and chop/cut them and store in air tight containers for future use. After all, who wants to spend a whole 15 minutes chopping up brussel sprouts on a busy weekday evening when it can all be prepped and ready to go when you had that extra 15 minutes during the weekend?

b. Prep and Freeze

And there are some veggies that can be prepared and frozen for later use for whenever you need them. My favorite example is bell pepper. I buy a lot when they are on sale. Then after washing them, I dry, cut and slice them before storing them in freezer bags and store them in the freezer. This way, when I want to make some stir fry or fajitas, I can put them straight from freezer and pop them into my pan. Celery, carrots, tomatoes also freeze well after being cut to required size.

c. Semi-Cook and Store

I usually do this with product that tends to take up a lot of space in our refrigerator and so I find it easier to cook them and them store. A good example is the huge bag of spinach I sometimes get. Talk about a space killer!!! I cook it all with some extra ingredients, purée it and store them in the freezer in containers. So they’re ready to be taken out and used in one of my favorite curry dishes…will share the recipe for that later.

So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead, make a plan to buy your produce on a day when you will have time to prep them the same day and reap the benefits of your hard work later.