Works-For-Me: Keeping Fruits and Veggies Fresh

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Shannon of Rocks In My Dryer, our gracious hostess, has deemed the theme for this week’s Works-For-Me-Wednesday “The Kitchen Edition.” She wants us to share any tip we might have pertaining to the room of the house in which I feel like I spend half of my day . Do we have a clever way to store recipes? An organized way to plan meals? A shortcut on prepping food? Without further ado, here is my contribution.

In our house we love eating fresh fruits and vegetables, but I am also lazy because I don’t like to run to the store every other day to buy fresh produce. Not only does doing this take up too much time and energy and create the arena for more potential battles to be fought with two year olds, but it also ends up costing more money. It’s part of the Law of Saving Money. If you can decrease the amount of times you have to frequent a store, you will find there is more money left in your budget. Therefore I tend to buy a lot of fresh produce in bulk at Costco. The trick, though, is using it before it turns into a slimy, mushy environment for unwanted microorganisms.

This is where Tupperware Fridgesmart’s enter the picture. These containers work by controlling the air supply of refrigerated fruits and vegetables. On the front of the container you will find two air vents which you keep open or closed depending upon the breathing desire of the occupants – don’t worry, it tells you how to properly ventilate everything. The bottom of the bins also have ridges on them so the produce doesn’t sit in any water that might collect there. You can put whole fruit and veggies in these or diced up produce.

I was a little skeptical when I first heard of this product, but I have definitely been pleased with the result. For example, I can buy a bucketload of grapes at Costco and stick them in my Fridgesmart and voila, I have crisp grapes for over two weeks. (Just last month I didn’t put them in the special blue container because I was using all 5 of mine, and they started going mushy and moldy within 3-5 days.) And one added plus for all of us organizing junkies, these containers create a nice clean atmosphere in the fridge since everything is stacked in an extremely orderly fashion.

The only problem one might have with the Fridgesmarts is they are a bit pricey, but I look at it as an investment. I got mine about 3 years ago when I attended a Tupperware party. They were on special so I figured I would try them out. They have now easily paid for themselves in two different ways. The money I have saved buying in bulk and the money saved by not throwing away produce. I normally don’t push products on people, but I definitely have found these containers working for me.

For more great kitchen tips, please visit Shannon of Rocks In My Dryer. And speaking of visiting, don’t forget to put on your fancy jammies and do some party hopping to visit the over 800 participants of the sensational Ultimate Blog Party hosted by Susan and Janice of 5 Minutes for Mom. This shindig is HUGE!!

One more bloggy sidenote. Michelle of Scribbit has brilliantly crafted a custom search engine for mombloggers. Make sure you check out this amazing tool!

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Filed under Cooking, Organization, Tips, WFMW