I need tips. See, I like to eat veggies throughout the week, but do not like to take the time in the morning or at night to prepare for the next day. So over the weekend, I do my prep work for the week. I'll wash some celery, which I can then just grab in the morning along with some peanut butter in a tiny little container for a great snack. Or like on Sunday I had a bag of romaine and a bag of spinach. I washed them, I spun them in my salad spinner and I divided them up into a couple of containers for a lovely mixed greens medley. I let them sit with the lids off for awhile to let any extra moisture evaporate AND I folded a paper towel and put it on top inside the container to soak up excess humidity.
I had a salad Monday and Tuesday, but by this morning the majority of the romaine was brown and I was picking out several spinach leaves that had turned that slimy dark green that rotten spinach does.
So what do I do? I have tried buying the greens and then prepping them the day I'm going to eat them, but more often than not I won't have the time in the morning to wash and dry and pack and I'll end up leaving the bags in the veggie drawer until they take on a life of their own. Is there anything I'm missing in my prep work, or will I just have to accept that salad greens only make it a couple of days?
On a side note, I'm very excited that my prior navel-gazing post brought some delurkers out of the woodwork. I admit to lurking on a bunch of blogs, maybe commenting once in a blue moon. It's fun to see who all is out there reading.
3 comments:
I have been a reader for awhile, so glad you are sticking with it!
The best thing I have found for greens is to wash and dry them very well with the salad spinner, and then to just store them in the spinner in the fridge. I put a paper towel at the bottom of the bowl, after spinning and just grab handfuls of greens as needed. I find this keeps them fresh for about a week.
I have the same problem with spinach. The paper towels were the best solution that I've found so far. Have you considered the extremely lazy option of just bringing the entire bag to work and then washing it there? It would at least saving you the trouble of at home prep. Of course that would not work if you are pressed for time at lunch.
The paper towel method works for us. We have a large Rubbermaid rectangular container that we can put two or three prepared hearts of romaine (that is, the leafy bits trimmed off the sometimes bitter stems and all chopped up into salad size pieces). Then we line the bottom of the container with a generous double-layer of paper towels and place the washed and mostly dried lettuce in and cover with another towel. Snap on the lid and into the bottom of the 'fridge. I've had romaine prepared on Saturday still fresh on the following Friday (although we usually eat pretty much all of it before then). With other veggies - even cut and prepared items like green pepper or onion - I find placing them in a ziplock bag along with a paper towel will really extend their shelf life. I've pulled half a green pepper out for use that was in storage for two weeks.
Anyway, that's my two yen's worth. Keep eating right!
T-K
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