Good Fruits and Veggies That Keep for Awhile?

When I buy fruit, I buy it with a specific time frame in mind:

Fruit we'll eat that same day or the next few: berries, bananas, peach/nectarines

Fruit we'll eat in about 3-5 days: pears, melons, pineapple

Fruit we'll eat after all other fruit is gone: apples, oranges...then time to shop for more fruit.

I agree with many of the others: I always have apples, cuties, and organes. I also buy pears, grapes, and melon. These easily last 7-10 days. Mango does fairly well too. I have one in my frig from last Friday that's in great shape.

I've also found that if I buy a big tub of organic spinage, it will last at least 7 days. I usually eat one of those every 7 days, but I'm sure it will last longer.

I find that apples, oranges and grapefruit last a long time in the fridge. Root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, turnips, rutabaga and beets can be stored for months in the right conditions.

When I buy my fresh produce I try to plan my meals so that the more perishable produce is eaten early in the week and the hardier produce is eaten later in the week.

You can also freeze some of your fresh produce for later use. I freeze batches of green beans from the garden to last all winter. When I find my bananas starting to go brown I peel them an freeze them so I always have bananas handy for baking and smoothies. I also freeze strawberries I pick in the summer to last all winter to use for smoothies and desserts.

Apples - they're all picked in the fall anyway and kept in cold storage. Citrus does pretty well, and so does pineapple. We cut up cantaloupe and honeydew melons into chunks and refrigerate in a container - the only time things get a little mushy is when we leave a cut half melon in with the seeds, and even then it's only the soft center around the seeds that is the problem. I don't think watermelon keeps very long. Berries keep about 4-5 days if you don't wash them first. Again, commercial berries were all picked at least a week and kept in cold storage exposed to gas to prevent rotting. I find that things from the farm stand don't last that long, and I'm kind of glad about that! I'd rather have fresh and stop more often.

I'm not sure it's practical to only go to the store every 2 weeks. Can you do your major shopping trip every 2 weeks and do a quick pick-up to restock fruit?

Frozen fruit is just as nutritious because it's frozen close to the harvest - so if you can buy that for a lot of things, you'll save money. Frozen fruit is indistinguishable from fresh in oatmeal, smoothies, parfaits, etc. My son loves to make smoothies with frozen berries, mango, melon and so on, and he throws in the fresh berries that are getting a little soft. He even throws in the green tops of the fresh strawberries he ate the day before. He also puts in frozen kale and frozen spinach.

Same goes for frozen vegetables - we eat a lot of frozen spinach and broccoli in quiches and frittatas, use frozen corn and peas in enchiladas and rice salads, frozen butternut squash in a pureed dish with garlic and onions, etc. You can use frozen green peppers & onions in tomato puree to make your own spaghetti sauce or chili - that gives you the fiber from the vegetables that you don't get in jar sauces. Canned beans are inexpensive, and dried beans are 1/3 the cost of those, so if you plan enough to soak beans overnight, you can get a lot of protein and fiber in your meals without using fresh produce.

Root vegetables keep decently - potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, carrots, etc. Keep them in a cool dark place. Celery keeps best if you slice off the bottom and put the stalks in cold water.

Oranges, pineapple and apples seem to stay the freshest for longer periods. My kids LOVE all kinds of berries, and they love smoothies, which is great because berries freeze well. I buy larger quantities when they're in season and on sale and freeze them in bulk. Peaches freeze well too, and are good in smoothies and pies.
Fresh veges I tend to buy what's in season. Potatoes, onions, peppers all hold up well for a while. So do broccoli, carrots and cauliflower. Things like peas, corn and green beans I usually buy frozen.
I don't buy anything canned, except tomatoes.
Remember to store your produce the same way they do it in the store!

apples and citrus do well in the fridge. bananas last longer if you pull them apart. peaches and berries don't keep as well, but as soon as they move slightly past 'perfect' i freeze them, as we live on smoothies here.
someone here gave the great advice to wash your berries lightly in white vinegar and water when you get them home before putting them in the fridge. one is not supposed to rinse berries as it makes them go over more quickly, but the vinegar kills any fungus and i find it extends their life a little.
khairete
S.

I keep apples and citrus fruits in a fruit bowl. I only buy bananas, peaches, berries etc a little at a time because they go bad at my house.

When your fruit starts to go bad, slice it up and put it in a pitcher with water and have infused water. I do that a lot and I love infused water. I add a sprig of fresh mint and it is a refreshing drink with vitamins! I drink lemon water all the time.

We love to grill corn on the cob in the husks and it is hard to find it in the winter. Last summer I did an experiment with the corn in the husk. I stocked up when it was 3/$1 etc and then I froze it. We tried it this past winter and it was great. I soak it in water at least an hour before putting it on the grill and tending to it. It is yummy!

I love the Washington cherries so when they were on sale last year, I bought some and froze them initially on a cookie sheet so they were not clumped together. Then while working in the freezer, I put them in freezer bags. They were great!

I am at the store almost daily so I pick up fresh when I am there. I do keep a few potatoes and onions handy because they do not spoil as quickly. I buy bulk garlic. I will peel one garlic head and keep the cloves in the fridge a couple of weeks. I use a lot of garlic. I like the broccoli that comes in the bags near the salad display. I've found that it stays fresher than the bulk broccoli.

A lot of it is trial and error. I have never been able to go to the grocery once every one to two weeks. I drive by daily, our market is very fresh with Texas produce, etc so I am there daily.

Apples
Oranges
Carrots
Buttternut squash
A head of cabbage will keep for a long while too if you have room for it in the fridge.

I buy a bag of Cuties, apples, oranges and bananas (pull apart) and keep those in a big bowl in the middle of my island. They will last about 2 weeks. Except the bananas, but I found a super easy recipe for banana bread that only uses 4 ingredients so now I think everyone will let them go bad on purpose. lol Good luck.

Um, sorry, had to ask, how do you diplomatically buy fruit?

The freezer can be your friend--frozen fruit and veggies are great; the only thing which would be a problem in terms of the texture is eating them raw, such as in a salad. I freeze bananas when they start getting too soft/brown (peel and put in a plastic bag) and use 1/2 of one in a smoothie.

Cabbage, carrots, celery, apples, oranges keep well in the fridge. Even kale or spinach can keep pretty well. I actually find that tomatoes keep pretty well too, as long as they are not already spotting when I buy them. You can ripen them and mangoes or bananas or avocados in a paper bag if they aren't ripe enough. Onions and garlic and potatoes keep well in the cabinet.

I buy fresh produce in bulk at Costco and freeze most of it.

I have found that apples and oranges last the longest. Bananas don't sit around long enough in my house to go bad (so I don't buy too many).

Why not invest in a food dehydrator or start canning.

I keep dried fruits in the house since they last a lot longer and are lighter to carry in my bag to the park, etc. I got a dehydrator for Christmas, but I haven't used it yet (I haven't had the time).

apples oranges keep well.. grapes medium.. strawberries blueberries raspberries don't last long.. bananas good today .. brown and yucky tomorwo..