Hi Everyone! If you’re a longtime follower on Instagram, I share this tip often, but I wanted a dedicated post for this tip on the blog to help serve you and all your produce storing needs!

 

How To Store Greens

A lot of greens, whether that be kale, arugula, spinach, spring mix lettuce, come in plastic bags at the grocery store. If you want to make your greens last longer and not get gunky, how you store it matters. For the greens that already come packaged in a plastic container, half of the process is already done for you! All you need to do is add the key ingredient: the paper towel. (If you don’t want to use paper towel, you can use a dish cloth. Just make sure it’s clean and absorbs well!)

First, I am going to share how to prolong the life of your greens that already come in the plastic container from the store like the one pictured below. 

 

GREENS ALREADY IN A PLASTIC CONTAINER

 

STEP 1:

Open the container and place a paper towel on top of the greens. The paper towel soaks up a lot of the excess moisture from the greens and keeps it from getting gooey. 

 

STEP 2:

Secure the lid or top of the plastic container over the paper towel. 

 

STEP 3:

This next part is KEY: store the container in the fridge upside down. By doing this, the greens come in direct contact with the paper towel which will absorb all of the moisture that typically allows fresh produce to rot. 

Leave the greens in the fridge for up to a week, sometimes longer.

 

GREENS THAT COME IN A PLASTIC BAG

 

STEP 1:

Once you get home from the store, transfer the greens into a tupperware container so they have some air to breathe. I use these Rubbermaid Brilliance containers. For lettuce I use the 9.6 Cup container. 

 

STEP 2:

From here, place a paper towel on top of the greens, then top it with the tupperware lid. The paper towel soaks up a lot of the excess moisture from the greens and keeps it from getting gooey. 

 

STEP 3:

This next part is KEY: store the container in the fridge upside down. By doing this, the greens come in direct contact with the paper towel which will absorb all of the moisture that typically allows fresh produce to rot. This also leaves room at the top of the container for the greens to breathe. You don’t want to overstuff the tupperware with greens, otherwise this process won’t work as well.

Leave the greens in the fridge for up to a week, sometimes longer.

 

USING THE GREENS:

When you need some, flip the container over, take the lid off, take out the paper towel, grab your greens, put the paper towel back, put the lid back, store it upside down again! As you grab greens throughout the week, if you notice the paper towel is damp or gunky, replace it with a new one!

 

 

How To Store Berries

Why is it that the most expensive fruit tend to go bad the fastest?? Before we started storing berries this way, it felt like we couldn’t eat our berries fast enough to get our money’s worth. We would open the fridge to find half the container moldy or gooey and therefore inedible. This hack however, preserves their shelf life sometimes for up to a week. Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, this applies to the whole berry gambet!

Similar to greens, it’s key to transfer the berries to a container with a paper towel to absorb any excess moisture and store upside down in the fridge. I do this as soon as we get home from the grocery store and begin putting all of the items away. 

 

 

STEP 1:

Wash the berries with a strainer

STEP 2:

Transfer the washed berries to a tupperware container. For berries, I use the 3.2 Cup container part of this Rubbermaid Brilliance set. 

STEP 3:

Top the berries with a paper towel, place the lid on top of the paper towel.

 

STEP 4:

Store the container UPSIDE DOWN in the fridge so all excess moisture is absorbed by the paper towel and not your berries!

 

 

That’s it guys! This really is a simple tip that makes such a difference in the life of your produce and will save you MONEY! Work smarter not harder 😉