Taste vs. Waste
I LOVE salad! Love, love, love it! I seriously eat salad almost every single day, often twice! I make a mean protein packed salad for lunch and we often enjoy a salad beside our dinner in the evening... and this may even creep you out, but I've even been known to eat leftover salad for breakfast the next morning... have I ever mentioned that I LOVE salad?
BUT... I hate icky, slimy lettuce. You see, I prefer nutrient dense lettuce, Romain, spinach and spring mix are my top favorites! Romain, my go to of choice, keeps (in its full head form) for 7-10 days (uncut) in the fridge! Spinach and spring mix, however, are not very happy (or long lived) fridge dwellers, yet they are so delicious!
To keep finicky lettuce leaves happy (and in your mouth rather than in the trash... or worse yet, never purchased from the store!), take a couple of minutes when you return from the grocery store, to prep your lettuce for a longer shelf life.
1. Take your lettuce out of the plastic bag. This bag "helps" your lettuce to hold too much moisture, creating the perfect breeding ground for lettuce slime to thrive.
2. Using a "large enough" bowl, line the bottom with a paper towel and then layer your lettuce leaves. Alternate lettuce leaves and paper towels (maybe 3 paper towels per bag of lettuce). The paper towels will wick the moisture from the lettuce leaves, allowing you a longer period of time to enjoy eating your lettuce!
3. If you find any 'dud' leaves while you are filling your bowl and layering your paper towels, toss them aside. These icky leaves have already met their demise- no paper towel could ever bring them back from beyond their shrively sad state!
4. Place your lettuce into the fridge, and now you are armed (and dangerous?) and ready to prepare a yummy salad!
PS: Here is a peek at my lunch today: spinach leaves, feta (surprise, surprise!!!), strawberry slices, cashews and bacon crumbles. And I topped it off with my favorite homemade salad dressing! See, so simple, healthy and delicious! YOU can do this too!
8 comments:
I love salad too, but nuts, and fruit gross me out in salad.
Great tip!
That's OK, I don't like onions, green peppers or mushrooms... I guess I'm not a grown up yet either!
I love salad too and everything on them as well. I know it is a more expensive, but i like to buy the organic spinach in the box(can't remember if there is a cheaper non organic). I find that it keeps a lot longer and if you flip it ever couple days(flip the container upside down)it reduces and distributes the moisture and it keeps it from going bad so quick.
Yes, I, too, have found the organic spinach in the box lasts a *lot* longer than the spinach in a bag. I buy mine from Costco ($4?) and it lasts a *long* time. Katy
I could eat salad everyday, the more fixins thrown in the better. Thanks for the tips in helping them last longer in the fridge. I too love the fancier types of lettuces in the spring mix, which my hubby claims are weeds.
Since you're gardening this year,lettuce is fairly easy to grow. We get so much that at times I don't know what to do with all of it.
I agree that I hate it when you get slimy lettuce leaves. But if you haven't heard of these you should look into them. Tupperware has containers called fridge smart containers. They keep your fruits and veggies good for up to 3 weeks. I recently pulled a head of romaine out of one of these containers in perfect crisp condition. Definately worth the money cuz they save so much waste.
Thanks for the tips don't know why I did not think of this. I hate to toss salad (LOVE IT)
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