How to keep your Romaine green.
Words: Marly Pierre-Louis • Jun 11th, 2008 • Category: RANDOMNESS.Let’s face it, busy and broke are buzzwords that’ve decided to show up and refused to leave. Times are hard and eating out is increasingly becoming a luxury of the past. We all try to do the right thing and buy fresh fruits and veggies to cook at home. But with our schedules as jammed as they are, often times we run out of time and energy. We mean well, but often times, by the time we get to the veggies, they’ve morphed into some a stinkier, browner and moldier version of it’s former self. Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. But, with the rising cost of food, who can afford to waste? Here are some tips on keeping food fresh!
- Buy locally grown produce- Buying locally grown produce will not only support your local economy and farmers, it willalso save you money. With the huge cost of fuel transporting produce across continents is not practical and will be reflected in the price of the food. Buying local eliminates that cost and allows you to get fresher fruits and veg that will in turn last longer when properly stored. Also, by buying local you are saving the environment from all of that extra pollution that would have incurred during transport.
Keep us fresh! - Start a garden- Even with limited space or poor soil you can make a great container garden.rowing your own produce allows you to eat it when you feel like it, you can cut lettuce off as you need it for tonight’s salad and it will continue to grow.
- Buy less more often- We are all busy people but making time for an extra grocery trip during the week can mean the difference between wasting 1/3 of what you buy and making good use of it. Try making a menu for the week and plot out what you need on your grocery list.
- Store your produce properly and strategically- Only store certain fruit and veg together, some is better suited to the fridge while others are best left on the counter, some in a cool dry pantry while herbs and asparagus are best stored like fresh cut flowers, just snip the ends and put them in some water in a glass.
Marly Pierre-Louis is a passionate promoter for social justice and equality worldwide. Weaned in Brooklyn, raised in Boston and now residing in Philadelphia, it’s no wonder Marly considers herself a vagabond. The funky fresh budget socialite spends most of her days beating the streets of Illadel. A passion for words, beats and laughter is why she joined the collective.
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Love this article. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Those are good tips Marl. I have those “As Seen on TV” green bags and they are magical!! There was not a brown spot to be found on my romaine three and a half weeks later. I even stored spinach in them which tends to deteriote quickly, but not so with the green bag. You get like 20 of them in one package (med. and large bags), they are resuable, and costs around $15.
Jenny, why you got romaine after 3 weeks?!?!? Eat it!
Any city dwellers out there who’ve started gardens? I wanna try it.
hey jenny, where can i get those bags. My romaine got brown after 1 week, i wuz tight i wasted that money.
RJ, You can order them on the ‘As Seen On TV” website or one of their stores. Marly-you know my appetite is fickle-it was a miracle that I even bough the stuff in the first place! lol
Great Article. I will try those green bags. And don’t forget to soak that romaine (and the rest of your fruits and veggies)in some veggie wash from Trader Joe’s. You can also make your own from water, vinegar, and grapefruit seed extract.