Preparation
There’s nothing better than bringing home a bounty of fresh produce from the farmers’ market, grocery store, or even getting a good haul from your own garden or local CSA. And there’s nothing worse than finding the lettuce has wilted in your crisper before you’ve had a change to use it or discovering squashed herbs crushed at the bottom of the drawer. Luckily, there are some really great reusable products out there that are much more environmentally friendly than storing produce in paper towels and plastic bags. What’s more, some will even help extend the shelf life of your food.
When storing any heads of lettuce, leafy greens, or tender leafy herbs such as cilantro and parsley, we recommend trimming them and washing/drying in a salad spinner before transferring to any of these bins or bags right when you get home from the store. This will give your produce an even longer life, and your fresh ingredients will most likely get used more quickly if this extra step is out of the way before you’d like to use it. If you choose a fabric bag, keeping a spray bottle of water on hand for misting the bag every day or two—this keeps things neater and preserves the produce better than trying to drench the whole bag under the sink daily.
Read on to learn why these are our top picks and you’ll want to use them to extend the life of your leafy greens, root vegetables, squash, herbs, and more.
Best for Refrigerator Storage: OXO Good Grips GreenSaver Produce KeeperLongest Lasting Option: Ambrosia Produce Storage BagsBest For Storage and Organizing: Vejibags Fresh Vegetable Storage BagsBest for Extending the Life of Produce: The Swag Cotton Extended Storage Produce BagsBest for Produce Shopping: EcoBags Cotton Mesh BagsBest Budget Option: The Original Debbie Meyer Green Bags
