Produce Time Saver

We all know we need to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables but what keeps us from doing that as often as we should? TIME! It just takes too much time to wash, peel, de-seed, cut and clean up; it is just not as convenient as, say, a bag of cookies or chips.
Therefore, we need to make fruit and veggie eating as convenient as cookie and chip eating! How do we do that you ask? We simply change the way we put away the produce when we get home from the store. Instead of throwing it right in the fridge, take a few more minutes to do a mass washing, peeling and cutting of the produce.

Here are some examples:

Apples- wash and cut, then put them in individual bags or plastic containers. If the brown color bothers you, sprinkle with lemon juice, ascorbic acid or 'Fruit Fresh' before closing container.
Celery- wash and cut, then put in a bag or container filled with water.
Carrots- wash, peel and cut into desired shape (coin, matchstick, diced, etc) then put in a bag or container filled with water.
Broccoli or Cauliflower- wash and cut then place in a bag or container with a damp paper towel.
Bell Pepper- wash, de-seed, cut into slices for snacking or dice for cooking and salads.
Tomato or Onion- wash, then slice or dice. Or better yet, buy cherry tomatoes for snacking and salads.
Strawberries- wash, stem, then slice or dice (use within 3 days of cutting)
Lemon or Lime- wash, then slice for a convenient way to add to beverages or make lemon/lime-ade. These freeze well for future use and then they can double as ice cubes.

This list could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. This method will help us enjoy more nutritious snacks and make cooking with produce much easier.
I do not recommend doing this with Avocados, Peaches, Plums or Nectarines.

As a bonus time saver, pre-sort groups of veggies for snacks and salad kits. Place in a few bags or containters a mix of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and celery or red, yellow, orange or green bell pepper and tomoatoes. Change it up so you don't get bored and simply grab a bag to munch on, take to work, on the road or to make a quick salad. You can even pour a small amount of your favorite dip into several containers to grab along w/ your goodie bag.

You will literally save hours each week using this method, not to mention the huge benefit of eating healthier! This is also much more cost effective than buying the pre-packaged individual servings of produce found in the grocery store and you get more of a variety.

If you have any questions about this or any other post, please don't hesitate to send me a message.