Saturday, March 27, 2021

Pre-preping Vegetables

I find it so helpful to prep vegatables as soon as I bring them home from the market (ideally). If I can't prep them right away, I usually make it a priority for the next day. The reason is, if the vegetables are ready to eat, I am more likely to do so instead of letting them go to waste because I'm too tired to prep them. It also keeps me from looking for packages of junk foods. 
I know it can sound like a lot of work and the vegetables will just go to waste anyway if they are cut up right? Well, it depends, I have found a few ways to prep common vegetables that even extends their fridge-life! I want to share these tips, because we all know we need to eat more vegetables right, but I feel like we have forgotten how to add them to our diets.
I like to have fresh vegetable tray items ready to go in the fridge, and it's so much cheaper and fresher if we DIY these items. If you store them with the following methods, the vegetables store longer, can be eaten right away or chopped faster for recipes. 
For Celery:
Before washing, chop both ends off and remove the heart so that only the edible part remains.
Soak the spears for about 5 minutes. If the dirt does not wash off at this point go ahead and scrub off the remaining dirt.
These size spears fit nicely into a pint and a half mason jar and I can always fill two jars with one bunch of celery. 
Pour one cup of filtered water into each jar and fill with bottom of the stalks at the bottom. These will last up to 3 weeks this way!
For Carrots:
Scrub dirt from carrots stalks. Cut off both ends of carrots and cut each in half width-wise and then length-wise until each half carrot has been quartered.
Pour half a cup of water into 1-2 pint size jars. Place carrot sticks into wide-mouth pint jars standing on end. Carrot sticks will last for two weeks in my refrigerator stored this way!
For Green Onions (or Spring Onions):
Remove any limp, brown or slimy layer.
Wash onions.
Cut off any wimpy green ends and the roots.
Slice part of the white end and part of the green until a length of onion remains that will fit in a pintand a half jar.
Pour half a cup of filtered water into jar and add the length of green onions.
These will last two weeks in my fridge.
Place the presliced green onions in a half pint jar and use within the week!
For Radishes:
Remove rubber band and soak the whole radishes for ten minutes, stirring with your hand to remove dirt.
Pull off the green leaves at the radish leaving a bit of green stem. 
Store radishes in a glass container with a paper towel in the bottom and a loose lid. They will last up to 2 weeks in my fridge this way.
Dry radish leaves and eat quickly in a sandwich or wrap for lunch or sautee with butter for a green side at dinner!
Radish leaves have a delightful green and peppery flavor that go great with beans, chicken or turkey and other vegetables. Try it with meatloaf!

For Lettuces:
Chop unwashed lettuce about an inch in length and then soak it in filtered water for ten minutes. (If lettuce becomes wilted in the fridge, this method will also crisp it up again.) Stir the lettuce in the water with a hand now and then to make sure any dirt will wash off. I use a salad spinner and a towel afterwards to dry the chopped leaves and place in a glass container with a paper towel in the bottom and a plastic lid on top. This method for storing lettuce keeps the lettuce fresh and ready to eat for up to a month! I have used half gallon jars with the same success.
Another way to ensure you eat your salad greens, is to prepare a good dressing right away. Then, if you have nothing else, you can always have lettuce and dressing as a side for meals.
I also like to quarter and slice a red onion and store in a pint jar for one to two weeks. This makes it so much easier to thow together a salad, sandwich or cook a soup. Just grab a few carrots and celery to chop, you can easily add them with the sliced onions to soups, stir-fries or roasts.
Doesn't that look beautiful? Fresh vegetables ready to eat, no chopping or washing left to do! Now store them in your fridge where you can see them and eat them up! Wishing you good health and easy cooking!

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