DETROIT – Eating fruits and vegetables is essential for our health, but it can be a challenge to eat them up before they go bad.
Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to storing produce. For example, fruits like plums, peaches and nectarines are best kept in a paper bag on the counter until they’re ripe and then moved to a fridge if not eaten right away. Citrus can go into the fridge immediately.
But it’s not always necessary to buy fresh to eat healthy.
“I’ve actually recommended to a lot of my patients to start thinking about getting things in frozen,” said registered dietitian Kristin Kirkpatrick. “And I think there’s a little bit of shame, might be the best word, about like, ‘Oh, I really want to have a beautiful cup of berries. Frozen can’t be as good as fresh, right?’ You know, it really depends on the season. Frozen foods are frozen at peak ripeness, so you get that same nutrient density.”
She said it’s important to consider the typical shelf life. Bananas, berries and asparagus tend to go bad quickly, while apples, oranges and sweet potatoes can last much longer.
How you store them can matter too. Bananas shouldn’t be in the same bowl as other fruits because they emit a gas that can make everything ripen faster.
“The other thing that leads to fruits and vegetables going bad is going to be moisture. So, we think about this when we’re thinking about things like berries for example, you get some strawberries and all of a sudden, you’ve got this one that’s starting to mold, it’s starting to get fuzzy -- that’s created by moisture,” Kirkpatrick said. “So, when we have that batch of berries that has mold or fuzziness, really unless it’s just half the batch, if it’s just one or two, just remove those, or remove any of the ones that have even slight amounts because that will still emit spores. The rest of them are going to be perfectly fine.”
She also suggests not putting your fruits and vegetables in the bottom drawers of the fridge, where they’re more likely to be forgotten. Instead, keep them up high and in clear containers, so you remember to eat them fresh.
The American Heart Association has a guide on the best way to store produce. It can be read here.