JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As prices stay high, the last thing we want to do is waste good money on fruits and veggies that will end up rotten before you can eat them.
So to help you save, we found out from registered dietitians ways to help extend the shelf life of what you buy.
Because every food purchase appears to come at a higher price, some people may skip fruits and vegetables because they go bad so easily. One option to make sure you can use what you pay for: buy frozen.
“I’ve actually recommended to a lot of my patients to start thinking about getting things in frozen. And I think there’s a little bit of shame, might be the best word, about like, ‘Oh, I really want to have a beautiful cup of berries. Frozen can’t be as good as fresh, right?’ You know, it really depends on the season. Frozen foods are frozen at peak ripeness, so you get that same nutrient density,” Cleveland Clinic Registered Dietician Kristin Kirkpatrick said.
Kirkpatrick said another benefit to buying frozen fruits and veggies is they can stay in your freezer for months at a time.
if you still prefer fresh though, it’s important to consider the types of fruits and vegetables you’re picking.
For example, bananas, berries, and asparagus are known to rot quickly, while apples, oranges, and sweet potatoes have a longer shelf life.
How you store them matters, too. As Kirkpatrick explains, bananas should not be in the same bowl as other fruits because they emit a gas that can make everything ripen faster.
“The other thing that leads to fruits and vegetables going bad is going to be moisture. So, we think about this when we’re thinking about things like berries for example. You get some strawberries and all of a sudden, you’ve got this one that’s starting to mold, it’s starting to get fuzzy, that’s created by moisture. So, when we have that batch of berries that has mold or fuzziness, really unless it’s just half the batch, if it’s just one or two, just remove those, or remove any of the ones that have even slight amounts because that will still emit spores. The rest of them are going to be perfectly fine,” she said.
Kirkpatrick says you may also want to skip putting your fruits and vegetables in those bottom drawers of your fridge where they’re easy to forget.
Instead, keep them up high and in clear containers for you to see at all times.