Sometimes we go a little loco in the produce section and get a huge burst of inspiration. If you found yourself with may be too many goodies and not enough time here are some tips on how to increase the “life” of your produce.

These are also great ways in general to just keep your fruits and vegetables clean and ready to go! This way healthy options are even easier to eat on the go or in a rush. Please feel free to leave a comment with some tips you’ve picked up with your experiences. I know we all have a few tricks up our sleeves! 😀

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5 Simple Tips That Will Increase Your Produces Life 

1. Fill your sink with cold water, add one cup of vinegar and wash your fruits and vegetables in this mix. Fruits like apples and citrus goodies that have wax to protect them will create wax floating on the top of the water. Berries seem to benefit from this wash with preventing them from molding as fast as normal, they can actually last WEEKS in the fridge this way. I would only recommend doing this with greens the day of or the day before eating them since they are a little more delicate. This is an excellent wash for root vegetables since they have a rough skin yet can get moldy spots from getting wet and being oh so sweet and delicious. They are ideal for bacteria to feast on their sweetness!

2. Keep your produce in green bags or mesh bags, keep each item separate! Keeping too many items in one bag can create moisture, bacteria, mold, and decrease the life span of your foods.

3. Store citrus fruits in your fridge. I’ve gone over this in the past but I can’t stress this pearl of wisdom enough. Citrus fruits will last longer, and I don’t have scientific proof that I paid a lab to test but for me at my home when I keep my citrus goodies in the fridge they end up having more juice than citrus kept on the counter.

4. Keep your fridge clean! I like to wash my fridge about once a week when I end up having it almost completely empty. This will prevent any smells, molds, bugs or anything pesky growing.

5. Store herbs and asparagus in a mason jar with water and wrap the top with a green bag. This has helped keep my herbs looking and tasting delicious for weeks! You could also add your favorite high quality oil in an ice cube tray with chopped up herbs and spices. I think this tip might help people the most during the summer time when most gardeners have too much parsley or basil around. Fresh herbs can even be frozen in an air tight plastic bag. Store as much as you can in glass and or air tight containers 🙂

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I’ve been hearing that eating healthy is “time consuming” yet fruits and vegetables are fast food! It’s easy to wash a cucumber and just eat it, or peel a grapefruit and eat it. Here are a few tips that have helped me over the years with my loco on the go schedule and still keeping up with my juicy living plant based lifestyle.

4 Tips On How To Make Healthy Options Quicker To Eat

1. Have one day a week where you create dressings, dips, nut butters, alternative milks, and or dehydrated treats like kale chips. This honestly won’t take long, may be an hour to two hours depending on how many people live in your home. If this is completed on a Sunday for example, for the rest of the week you will see all these homemade healthy beautiful creations YOU made with love and care. Get your family involved, have friends come over and split the cost, work and etc. Please make this fun! Blast some music, dance, let your kitchen be your playground.

2. I like to have watermelon, papaya, pineapple, some sort of fruit that is a little more “work” to cut and prepare all chopped up in a container. When these fruits aren’t in season or may be I just didn’t pick out a good one I like to drizzle lime juice over the chopped fruit, I especially love chopped cilantro and lime juice over papaya. It reminds me of a salsa or salad. Even my friends who do not like papaya enjoy it this way!

3. If you enjoy smoothies or juices do a day where you wash, chop, and bag up your produce. Have freezer bags with smoothie ingredients for the week, containers or plastic bags with what you would like to juice tomorrow (I wouldn’t go further with juicing ingredients because of natural oxidation).

4. Have containers in your home that make it easier to bring a juice, fruit salad, home made dish, dip, etc. on the road. This will set you up for success with any diets, lifestyle changes, not being tempted with office treats, or junk foods at gas stations. I have a lot of mason jars to store my sprouted almonds, juices, chopped fruits and salads.

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I hope these tips are helpful and that you feel comfortable sharing your experiences with us all. Lets help each other 🙂

Thank you all for taking the time to stop by my site. Much love ❤ and raw power 😉

Jess