Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Rubbermaid but all opinions expressed here are mine.

How to keep vegetables fresh longer

I was just about to serve dinner. The salmon was baked to perfection. The aroma resembled a fancy restaurant. It was going to be the date night we deserve. The table was set not too formal but not informal enough that he would confuse this with an average meal which should not be hard since most of our meals of late consisted of eating at the soccer field on the run.

I was just about to dump the $6 bag of fancy salad; you know the ones with the beautiful greens in the bowl when I noticed something disturbing,

I found that bag as I was envisioning our meal at the supermarket two days ago. I checked the date just like you look at the milk. I threw it in my cart as my child dangled precariously from the cart after his third warning that this was in fact not a skateboard and we had a job to do, and it wasn’t to produce a movie with stunts. You have had those trips where you aren’t sure how everyone made it out of the store in one piece and how you were able to breathe deeply so you could handle the chaos.

If the shopping trip wasn’t disturbing enough now, I am at the table ready to knock my husband off his feet my husband, and I see a corner of slime on the lettuce that resembles a pile of seaweed that was just washed ashore after a fierce storm. It is clumped together and smells like the diaper bin when you didn’t change it for the day.

I begin to pick through to find any leaves that may have survived so I can assemble a salad to compliment my baked salmon. I need enough greens to layer on the award winning in my home mango dressing with hints of citrus. It is a labor of love that will remind my husband of the times we used to eat at our favorite tapas restaurant before balancing the social calendar of three children.

I found a few but settled on calling my husband to pick up greens. I was heartbroken and out $6 well maybe $5.50 with my limited record option. It was at that point that I vowed to never leave my vegetables in the bag they came in.

I needed to find the best way to keep vegetables fresh, so I did.

 

That is how I stumbled upon the Rubbermaid line.

Rubbermaid FreshWorks Produce Saver is an innovative food storage container line that uses patented FreshVent technology keeps produce fresher up to 80% longer than traditional produce packaging. It is the best solution to extending the life of your favorite fruits and vegetables. All you need to do is move the produce directly into the containers from its original packaging. For best results, do not wash, cut or slice the fresh produce before being placed in the FreshWorks containers and refrigerating.

 

You can see in my pictures from one week ago how fresh my lettuce stayed.

1 week 3 days old greens. Yes they are 10 days old!

Mango Salad Dressing Recipe

This is my mango salad dressing recipe that you can lovingly create on your “fresh longer” greens.

I created it in honor of National Salad Month.

Ingredients:
1 cup of fresh mango
1/2 cup of orange juice
2 TBS of Olive Oil
1/4 tsp of pepper
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 cups of pine nuts

You will need to combine all of the ingredients above. Then you blend. This dressing will stay for two weeks in the refrigerator. It is also great served on fish!

Serve this dressing on those fresh greens topped with pine nuts and asiago cheese. (golden raisins are a great add) I didn’t put them on because my kids weren’t interested.

You can find Rubbermaid FreshWorks Produce Saver at Rubbermaid.com or at Amazon. These are available in three different sizes to fit a variety of produce needs.

Also, check out my Ideas for Eating Healthy On the Go using Rubbermaid Brilliance. We look forward to seeing what you will create using FreshWorks during  National Salad Month.  National Salad Month is one of my favorite months because it encourages people to eat healthier.