Ever had lettuce wilt up on you or your basil go dry?? Yeah me too. Storing veggies can be such a hassle sometimes. For most people, going to the market or grocery store everyday isn’t possible and it would be nice if they could just stock up on veggies for at least a week or two. I would love to not have my fresh basil dry up for no reason. I mean is it too much to ask my spring onions to stay crunchy and remain green. Is it??. Unless you have a garden or farm, you have to find a way to store vegetables to maintain maximum freshness. And though I’m no expert, these methods have worked for me. The longest I have been able to store fresh herbs was 3 weeks before the went yellow on me. We sure did have a good run though. Now let’s get into it.

Herb: Fresh Parsely/Cilantro (with stems)

Life Span in Fridge: 2 to 3 weeks

How: Gently dab the leaves with a paper towel until completely dry. Place parsley into a narrow or small cup and fill cup with just enough water so it reaches the stems. Place a zip loch bag or trash bag over the cup. If you used a ziplock bag just seal it and if you used a trash bag, just tie it. Place in the refrigerator. Change the water every 4 days or so. Make sure the water doesn’t freeze.

Herb: Fresh mint (with stems)

Life Span in Fridge: 1 1/2 to 2 weeks

How: Place mint in a narrow or small cup and fill cup with just enough water so it reaches the stems. Place a ziplock bag or trash bag over the cup. If you used a ziplock bag just seal it and if you used a trash bag, just tie it. Place in the refrigerator. Change the water every 4 days or so. Make sure the water doesn’t freeze.

Vegetable: Lettuce

Life Span in Fridge: 2 to 3 weeks

How: Dab lettuce with paper or kitchen towel until completely dry. Be careful not to bruise it. Line paper towels at the bottom of a zip lock bag and place lettuce head down into it. Seal bag. Don’t over pack the bag, rather just place enough to be able to close it. Store in the 3rd or 4th compartment of the fridge.

Vegetable: Cabbage

Life Span in Fridge : a month plus

How: Pat cabbage dry with a paper towel. Make sure it’s completely dry. Wrap tightly with a cling wrap. Place in the 3rd or fresh compartment of the fridge.

Vegetable: Spring onions

Life Span in Fridge: 2 weeks after which it wouldn’t be very crunchy.

How: Pat dry and wrap from root to leaf tightly with a cling film. Place in the moist fresh zone of fridge.

Vegetable: Bell pepper

Life Span in Frige: 2 weeks

How: Pat dry with a paper towel. Place a paper towel at the bottom of the ziplock bag and then place bell peppers in the bag. Make sure bag is big enough that you aren’t squishing them. Seal bag and place in the moist fresh section, my moist fresh zone is the bottom compartment of my fridge.

Vegetable: Carrot

Life Span in Frige: 1 month

How: Dry carrots completely then place in a bowl with a lid or a zip bag. Store in the fridge.

Vegetable: Tomatoes

Life Span in Frige: 3 weeks to 1 month

How: Remove all the bruised tomatoes and place in the freezer. You don not want to store bruised tomatoes with the unbruised ones. Pat the tomatoes dry. Place a paper towel at the bottom of a zip line bag and place the veggies in there. Place in the moist fresh zone of the fridge. Be careful not to place any heavy vegetable on it. Check tomatoes once every 5 days or so to remove any bruised ones. You can also just blend or chop the bruised ones and place in the freezer.

Vegetable: Pepper

Life Span in Frige: 3 weeks to a month.

How: Remove all the bruised peppers. Rinse and dry completely with a napkin. Place paper towels at the bottom of a zip bag then place the pepper in the bag. Place in the r refrigerator.