Fresh Vegetables

It's a well-known fact at this point in America that there is a direct correlation between being broke and being over-weight.  The bigger your debt, the bigger your waistline, it seems.

There are many reasons for this, stress playing a big role, but looking at the food options available when you're broke, it's really not all that surprising to me.

It was near the end of my debt payoff and my passing into an "unbroke" state that I started making a conscious effort to eat "healthy."  For me, that meant less processed foods, more vegetables.

I hated it.

Every fiber of my frugal, long-broke soul hated buying a food item, and throwing half of it away when it went bad long before I could eat it all.  Doritos never went bad and got thrown away, and they were cheaper, too, than fruits and vegetables.  More than that, I hated bringing home my purchase, and throwing much of it away before I had even begun!

Buy asparagus, and step one in preparation is to cut off the bottoms and throw them away!
Buy a grapefruit, peel away the outside.  Make a hat for your cat, maybe, but don't plan on eating it.  You don't even know how thick that rind is until you've brought it home.

And you buy these things BY THE POUND!

I still don't like that I have to throw away food before I get to eat any, but I have put some research in to how to keep fresh foods edible for as long as I can.

For example, certain vegetables don't play nice with each other!  Bananas, apples, potatoes, onions ~ they all need to stay separate from everything else

Fresh basil:  In a mug of water, on the counter like cut flowers.  Changing the water regularly, I had one bunch last me four months (sprouting new leaves).

• Mushrooms:  Store these in an air tight container to significantly increase their storage life.
• Lettuce:  Heads last longer then torn/cut lettuces.  Take them out of the plastic bag and wrap them in a few paper towels or in a paper bag to help them last.
• Radishes:  These are much less expensive if you buy them with the tops on, but, as I learned the hard way, if you store them with the tops, they go bad super-fast, so when you get home, chop off the greens and toss them.
• Celery:  Wrap the stalks in aluminum foil and they will last for weeks.
• Apples:  Wrap them in newspapers, store them in a dark, cool closet or basement.  I bought a bushel while traveling in October and was still making pies at Christmas without a problem.
• Asparagus: Stand them up in an inch of water will give you a few weeks to use it.