It seems everyone I know is trying to ‘eat better’ with more fresh fruits and veggies. We are all also trying to reduce our food waste, but with new fruits and veggies to experiment with and changing schedules, it can sometimes be hard to keep everything alive and ready to eat.

Of course, your appliances can do a lot of the work by being set to the right temperatures and taking advantage of all the drawers, doors, bells and whistles, but we have a few other handy ways for you to help keep fruits and veggies around longer so they can be enjoyed and not wasted.

3 Innovative Ways to Optimize Food Storage in a Refrigerator

1) Washed N’ Ready

For veggies like carrot sticks and celery that you want to grab‘n go, washing them, cutting them, and placing them in a container with a bit of water keeps them fresh longer and more likely for you grab (since you know they are clean and ready to munch on).

When fresh summer berries come into season I like to buy them by the bushel, but I know there will always be some mouldy mushy ones going out in the bin a few days later. To avoid this, whatever doesn’t get eaten that very first day home gets chopped and ready for fruit salad, or into a freezer bag for a quick pancake topping.

Useful Guide to Freezing Your Fruits and Vegetables

2) Store Properly

When it comes to our fruits and veggies, how and where we store them is just as important as WHO we store them with. In some cases that means storing them separately (here is a handy guide to help).

Did you know apples kept with potatoes helps keep potatoes fresher longer? But kept with bananas both the apples and bananas ripen even faster? There are lots of other great food hacks for storing fruits and veggies here.

Another great tip I learned recently was to wrap celery in tin foil. I know! But it works, I tried it. Reader’s Digest has this and 40 other crazy uses for aluminum foil.

3) Get Preserving!

The best way to ensure you keep your fruits and veggies is by preserving them in all their seasonal bounty. Canadian preserving sensations Well Preserved offer up hundreds of inspired recipes to help you start (and fall in love) with the art of preserving and reducing your food waste.

Looking for some tips on how to store your cheese best? We’ve got those here: Tips for Cheese Storage in Your Fridge.

Isabelle, Your Appliance Expert