Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I find the OP's question to be...mind-boggling...in almost every respect.
Does he REALLY not know of the existence of "greens" other than celery and lettuce?
Also, I don't know where he buys his celery and his lettuce, but neither of these vegetable items "spoil quickly" in my refrigerator. The lettuce is used up within a few days, and never has a chance to "spoil".
The celery might sit in my vegetable drawer for a couple of weeks--in ever-diminishing quantity--before it is used-up, but the celery also never "spoils" within that 2 week period.
I have the following suggestions for the OP:
Start shopping for your "greens" at a market where the vegetables are not on the verge of rotting when you buy them.
Make a concerted effort to use them at a faster rate than you are currently doing.
Familiarize yourself with all of the vegetables--both fresh and frozen--that are available.
actually I have had celery that lasts a month or so if kept covered in a plastic zip lock. It may not be as fresh as the day I bought it, but it is still usable.
This isn't the first time you've posted about the "hassle" of storing food without it spoiling. If this is happening routinely to you, you're either buying food that is nearly past its prime, or you're buying more than you can reasonably be expected to get through. With fresh produce, buying it as you need it, and avoiding buying more than you need is key. If you don't get through something the way you thought you would, be creative in using what's left up in other recipes. Don't try to keep it forever.
This isn't the first time you've posted about the "hassle" of storing food without it spoiling. If this is happening routinely to you, you're either buying food that is nearly past its prime
I have a friend who "saves money" by buying his vegetables from a market where they are extremely cheap, but the reason that they are so cheap is that they are beginning to rot. He asked me a question similar to the OP's question regarding celery when he wanted to know, "How can I keep celery for more than a few days without it getting brown & slimy?". My response was to advise him to start buying his produce from a market that prides itself on quality, rather than on having the lowest possible price. He responded by saying that he prefers to save a few cents, rather than looking for good-quality produce.
This same guy buys the drastically-reduced "we have to sell it today or we will have to throw it out" meat from the supermarket, for the same reasons--to save a few cents. Then, he frequently complains about terrible gastric distress several hours after eating his semi-rotted vegetables and his over-aged, high bacterial content meat. The result is that his medical bills and prescription costs are many times what he "saves" by buying old, cheap vegetables and meat. And, the most tragic part of the entire situation is that he could well afford to buy decent-quality food.
When I tell him, "I don't think that I could afford to save that much money on my food purchases", the true meaning of what I said seems to sail right over his head.
I know I need my greens but I don't like either celery or lettuce. The fact that they spoil so quickly in the frig for one things. I know they can be preserved but I don't like the hassle of all that. What about spinach?
If you don't like celery and lettuce, eat something besides them.
I used to find lettuce a pain in the rear to clean and prepare until I bought my knock off salad shooter. It was on clearance for $2.50 so I decided to give it a try. I think the real thing would work better, but this sames me a lot of time and paper towels. I put my lettuce, spinach, or what ever in it, spin it, and then let it sit on a kitchen towel to keep my counter top dry. No more wet lettuce or other greens for my salad. To store it, I put it in a baggie with a folded paper towel. It's clean and ready to use when I need it.
Celery lasts longer if you wrap it in aluminum foil. Take it out of whatever wrapping it came in from the store. Don't wash it. Wrap it completely in aluminum foil. Remove a stalk or two as needed. Wash the stalks as needed.
I se spinach in salads, stir fry and soup. I have a wilted spinach salad I make by heating Italian dressing and cooked bacon in the microwave. The heat wilts the spinach and keeps it from being so textured. My local grocery store has a chopped kale salad they sell in the deli. The kale is chopped really small and coated in some sort of dressing. I like kale in Zuppa Toscana soup. You add the kale at the end so it wilts a bit, but still adds texture. I'm not as big a fan of it raw. If you simply don't like fresh greens, then maybe you need to experiment until you can find a way to make them more palpable.
I'm not sure if you count cabbage as a green. It's good sauteed in butter or olive oil. You can eat it as cole slaw. Or it's great in stir fry.
Someone else mentioned cilantro. I've been experimenting with it lately. It adds a lot of taste to eggs. We like it in Chicken, cilantro, and lime soup.
I know I need my greens but I don't like either celery or lettuce. The fact that they spoil so quickly in the frig for one things. I know they can be preserved but I don't like the hassle of all that. What about spinach?
I have this issue, too. DO TRY THOSE GREEN PLASTIC CONTAINERS AND BAGS that are made to keep things fresher longer. They really do work.
They have DIFFERENT nutrients, but these ARE green:
Spinach. Keeps longer than lettuce.
Green beans
Those higher cost, better tasting green beans (forget what they're called....snap peas or snap beans?)
Cucumbers (these don't last long in the fridge, though)
Iceberg lettuce lasts longer than spring lettuce, butter lettuce, and the kinds of lettuce you find in lettuce mixes in bags. Put iceberg lettuce (take out the core) in green bags for freshness, and it'll last a couple of weeks or longer.
Celery doesn't count as a "green," really. It has almost no nutrients. It's mainly about fiber, and the crispy freshness of it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
