How to keep your fruits fresh and make your food last longer

Wash Your Produce

I know it can be easy to skip this step, especially when you’re buying pre-washed salads or organic, but all sorts of residue can still be left on the surface. I usually like to give a quick soak to my fruits and veggies in a 1:4 vinegar-to-water solution. I like using Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar. After I’m done soaking for a minute, I’ll place the produce in a colander and run it under some cool water to strain off the left over vinegar and it’s ready to eat. My food has never tasted more crisper, just try it!

If you want to do this in batches and store in the fridge for future use you can do that as well. Just dump onto a dish towel to wipe off the excess water and dry off before storing in a sealed container. You would think the vinegar would somehow ‘spoil’ or make the food go bad faster, but I’ve found my fruits, especially the strawberries which can go bad quickly have lasted longer by using this method.

Freeze your Food

This is kind of a no brainer. But if you’re buying organic, which can go bad faster since it’s not loaded with preservatives try freezing your fruits and veggies. It’s especially great if you’re making smoothies or juices say in autumn when blueberries are out of season. You can go to your freezer and pull out those berries you froze from over the summer!

This tip also goes for pasta sauces. Did you know that pasta sauce has a shelf life of only 1 week after you’ve opened it, regardless of the expiration date? If you cook for yourself or just one other person a lot of times you’ll find you have some leftover sauce and it’s easy to leave it in the fridge and forget about it until the next time you decide to use it again. Pasta sauce can safely be left in the freezer for up to 3 months .

Video:

 http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500165_162-3136152.html

Nuts like almonds are great to put in the fridge. I like putting my homemade almond flour in the fridge so it doesn’t go rancid and stays fresh for months!

Dehydrate your Food

This is a method that not too many people know about but if you’ve ever had dried fruit or turkey jerky then you’ve eaten dehydrated food. Dehydrating food is great if you live in colder climates and you want to cure fruits for example and have them on the go or put in your morning oatmeal or cereal. Excalibur has a great line of food dehydrators, but it can be pricey, but I know raw foodies swear by it. You can find cheaper food dehydrators though at garage sales, thrift stores, or ebay. And if you’re really in the DIY mood, you can make your own by using the good ole’ sun and building a solar box.

Happy healthy eating, and as always…