It’s been terribly sunny here in Connecticut of late. Quite lovely. Makes eating fresh salads much easier in my book. Talking of salads, while I was mooching around Trader Joe’s the other day, swooping up armfuls of baby spinach and bagfuls of shaved Brussels Sprouts, not to mention the cavalcade of cucumbers and torrent of tomatoes, I got to thinking about how we store all those non-starchy veggies we get to eat every day. Unless we’re dabbling with carnivore, in which case you can file this post away for any veggie-laden days in your future. I wondered if some of you are struggling with space in your ‘fridges when you might not need to. Not only do some fruits and veggies fare better out of the ‘fridge rather than in it, there are others that fare better in the ‘fridge when some other types are kept out of it. Storing your fruit and veggies correctly has the benefits of freeing up space in your overflowing ‘fridge as well as helping to keep them at their prime longer. Good news all round. So here’s a few tips for keeping your veggies fresher longer.
So I thought it might be helpful to jot down a list of where to keep what for optimal storage. I have included things that are NOT the lowest carb fruits and veggies in the forest because depending on where you are in your journey and how your body responds to things you might be consuming some of them – or you might be living with people not eating low carb or keto and you still need to know how to make their carbier fruits and veggies last longer for them.
I’ve marked the higher carb items with a ++ to remind you that there are lower carb choices. I’ve bolded and italicised the low carb ones so you don’t get confused if you are new to low carb and keto.
Tips For Keeping Your Veggies Fresher Longer: Refrigerate
- Apples++
- Asparagus
- Berries
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Carrots++
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Cherries++
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Grapes++
- Green beans
- Green (spring) onions
- Leafy greens – spinach, lettuces, kale, chicory, endive
- Leeks
- Mushrooms (in a brown paper bag)
- Squash
- Zucchini
Tips For Keeping Your Veggies Fresher Longer: Do NOT refrigerate
- Avocados
- Apricots+
- Bananas+
- Citrus fruits – lemon and lime
- Garlic
- Kiwi
- Melons++
- Onions++
- Pears++
- Peaches++
- Pineapple++
- Potatoes++
- Tomatoes
Another simple way of remembering what to keep where is to think about the produce department at your grocery store. They tend to keep everything in the right place because they want the produce to carry on being it’s best for as long as possible. I realize some of these may not seem natural, but give it a go. I think you’ll be surprised.
So whip those tomatoes, onions, and avocados out of the ‘fridge, free up some space and keep everything fresher for longer. Score.
Need fresh, nutritious and delicious ideas on what to do with those veggies?
- The Keto Soup Bowl Cookbook – crammed with delicious recipes!
- The Keto Sides and Salads Cookbook – amazing sides and salads recipes using an array of fabulous, fresh veggies!
- Recipes
Michelle Ricci-KochThank you so much Carrie Brown. Extremely helpful and I have enjoyed several of your recipes! Thank you :))
DeniseHold the phone… Did you just say pineapple is SANE??? I gave up pineapple, one of my favorite fruits in the world!! Does this mean I can have it back??? It goes so well with strawberries!!! (Although we buy them already out of the wrapper, so to speak, so they do have to be refrigerated at that point…)
carrieDenise – pineapple is not the SANEst fruit in the world but it’s not the inSANEst either. It has the same carbs as strawberries, but slightly more sugar. I wouldn’t eat a lot of it, but I wouldn’t avoid it entirely if you love it. Hope that helps!
Drew ThompsonHi Carrie:
You know how small the fridges are here in the UK so by necessity I have to keep most of my vegetables outside of the fridge. So we may have small fridges but we also have Lakeland – with great ideas.
I bought two items from Lakeland that I love:
Lakeland Stayfresh Longer Vegetable Bags
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/1092/Lakeland-Stayfresh-Longer-Vegetable-Bags-20-x-23cm-x-20
and
Lakeland Vegetable Preserving Bag
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/15837/Lakeland-Vegetable-Preserving-Bag
Carrots – I find that carrots in the fridge get soft and bendy. If I make sure the carrots are totally dry and then put them into the Stayfresh bag and then into the Preserving bag they can last still crunchy for over a week. When they come out of the bag they are a little bit slimy on the outside but you just peel that off anyway and the inside is still crunchy.
Courgettes – Same storage as carrots and they last for two weeks, but no slime.
Cauliflower – Same storage as carrots, remove the greens, dry it out and then in the bag for over a week.
carrieGreat ideas as always, Drew! I do miss Lakeland!!!
SteveJust a couple of thoughts on the points made by Drew. You may remember that long long ago in a distant galaxy far far away 😉 I worked in both supermarkets and a wholesale Fruit & Veg merchant.
Potatoes: NEVER refrigerate and keep in extremely dark, dry conditions to make tham last longest (inhibits the root growth)
Carrots: Also best kept in dry conditions, dark is good too but not as important as with spuds
Supermarkets (now, not when I left school) in the UK (and probably elsewhere) DO refrigerate or “chill” carrots and potatoes before display which is bad news. If you can’t afford, or simply can’t find fresh farm grown veggies then always when you get them home, bring to room temperature and dry THOROUGHLY before putting away. In the right conditions potatoes can last for months. It probably helped that they used to come with the soil still on them 🙂
“chilling” by supermarkets keeps potatoes & carrots looking good in the short term, but causes the rot you find sometimes because of the damp.
It’s the only way to get the best mash 😉
Steve
carrieAnd heaven knows, Steve, you are the Mash Master! xx
AmandaI’m a little confused- I’m reading the calorie myth book right now and peaches/apricots are on the list of sane fruits?? I’ve seen several posts here that mention peaches in particular as not SANE? Could you please clarify? Is there a way to get maybe a graphic/chart that plots these things out on a “very sane to not really sane” level since some are saneish and others are more black & white?
How To Stock a Low Carb Kitchen » Carrie Brown | Life in the Sane Lane[…] Veggies – read where to store your veggies […]
Jossie NeilI keep my avocadoes in the fridge after they’ve ripened on the counter. I don’t waste as many that way, as they stay perfect long enough for me to eat 6 or 7 fruits over a week’s time. They overripen so quickly outside of the refrigerator.