In my attempt to be a good mom and feed my kids plenty of fruits and veggies, I buy plenty of broccoli, red peppers, carrots, asparagus, apples, oranges, berries, grapes, etc. at the grocery store.
The problem - I'm embarrassed to say - is a lot of it ends up in the trash. I'm not alone. An Associated Press story reports "the average U.S. household throws out nearly a quarter of the fruits and vegetables it buys. For a family of four, that adds up to about $500 each year, according to a study by the University of Arizona." Read the rest of the story.
Apparently part of the problem, according to the story, is people don't know how long they can safely keep fruits and vegetables. I really think it's because we buy with optimism that we'll eat healthy.
When it comes down to eating a snack, too many of us are tempted by the junk food we also buy. Or we're lazy about prepping our produce for easy eating. Instead, we leave it to get soft and then toss it, feeling guilty and telling ourselves we need to have it sliced and ready to go for next time. I confess doing that.
BTW, one thing the story suggests to make our produce last longer: carefully inspect for fruit and veggies gone bad in the bunch. That's because one bad apple can spoil the bunch.
Share your strategies for making sure your fruits and veggies stay fresh and that you actually eat them.
Arizona Moms Editor Yvette Armendariz shares stories about raising her kids and tips for busy parents in her Time-starved (goddess) Mom blog. She and her husband are raising two children, ages 8 and 11.
I have tried tho green bags
I have tried tho green bags from the "as seen on tv store" and they really do work. My family eats salad pretty much every day with dinner and it will last for up to 5 days. i buy the red leaf and chop/spin it myslef. I am not a big fan of bagged salad after finding a large beetle in a bag. The other thing I do is when I buy bananas in a bunch I take them home and seperate them from the bunch. They rot faster when they are on the bunch. You can put the ones you won't eat right away in the fridge and leave a few out to eat the next day. I am lucky because both my girls are big fruit/vegetable eaters. So we don't throw out a lot of produce. Everyone has a limit though so our house does not buy a lot of brocolli. : )
Bananas are popular in our
Bananas are popular in our house but spoil so fast, have you ever tried a banana tree? I've wondered if those work.
Susan is mom to Alexander, Isabel, David and stepmom to Eric. Make sure your email address is current, we'll be giving out great prizes DAILY in September after our site makeover! Don't miss out!
Banana trees really do work.
Banana trees really do work. I think they look kinda cool, too.
I freeze a lot of our
I freeze a lot of our veggies or buy them frozen from the start. I prefer to get them fresh, so when prices are good on fresh broccoli, I'll buy a bunch, trim it down and freeze what I know we won't eat right away. You can also freeze bell peppers if you are planning to eat them cooked. Or, roast them and freeze them for sandwiches, pizzas or sauces later on. Here are some other veggies that are good to store in the freezer:
Spinach (cook first)
Carrots (cook and puree - you can mix into sauces or into fruit smoothies)
Sweet potatoes (cook and puree, same as carrots)
Corn (if you have leftover cooked corn on the cob, cut if off the cob, otherwise husk and freeze)
Whole beans
Freeze as airtight as possible and use within a few weeks for best results.
Susan is mom to Alexander, Isabel, David and stepmom to Eric. Make sure your email address is current, we'll be giving out great prizes DAILY in September after our site makeover! Don't miss out!
Thanks for the tips!
Thanks for the tips!
Arizona Moms Editor Yvette Armendariz shares stories about raising her kids and tips for busy parents in her Time-starved (goddess) Mom blog. She and her husband are raising two children, ages 8 and 11.
We go thru our fruits and
We go thru our fruits and veggies pretty quickly. For the veggies, I normally buy what I'll need for the weeks menu - since I make almost everything from scratch ('cause I'm cheap!), and the fresh veggies make it taste soo much better. I don't just say "oh, broccoli!" and buy several pounds. If I see a good buy, I'll plan a meal around it and only buy what I need. Last week, I bought bell peppers, zuchinni, mushrooms, tomoatoes. I made peppers and onions to go with italian sausage sandwiches, I put the zuchinni and tomatoes in a pasta dish, and I made beef stroganoff with the mushrooms. Fruit doesn't last too long at my house.. my kids usually eat it up. If banannas start to go black, I keep a ziploc in the freezer and just mash them up and keep them for bannana bread.
But I have to admit, I was making lunches last night and I found a peach in the back of my drawer that was fuzzier than it was supposed to be!