17 Easy Hacks For Fresher Food

The secret to fresher food? Dedicating a few extra minutes to prepping and storing your groceries.

We partnered with Fresh & Easy, a new kind of market, to bring you 17 of the best hacks we’ve seen for keeping your favorite foods fresh. Put them to use and you’ll start mistaking your kitchen for your local farmer’s market. Minus that weird guy with the guitar.

• 1
  Refrigerate Cut Avocados With Cut Onions
  

  Lisa Lin
  Avocados are creamy, delicious and nutritious but you don’t always need the entire thing at once. To keep your avocado halves green, refrigerate them in a container with a cut onion.
• 2
  Soak Sliced Apples In Ginger Ale
  

  Michelle Sybert
  Apples are the perfect healthy snack. Keep them from oxidizing by soaking slices in ginger ale for 10 minutes.
• 3
  Wash Berries In Vinegar
  

  Live Simply
  How do you get your berries to last longer? It’s all about how you wash them. Try out this vinegar bath to keep your blackberries, strawberries and blueberries fresher than ever.
• 4
  Store Mushrooms In A Paper Bag
  

  Shelley Shepard
  Instead of refrigerating mushrooms in the plastic container they came in, store them in a brown paper bag to keep them firm and dry.
• 5
  Freeze And Preserve Fresh Herbs In Olive Oil
  

  Jessie Cross
  You may be used to freezing vegetables and fruit to keep them fresh but did you know freezing basil, chives and rosemary works wonders too? Put herbs in an ice cube tray filled with olive oil or melted butter before freezing and you’ll be able to enjoy flavorful meals more often.
• 6
  Store Onions, Garlic And Shallots In A Paper Bag With Holes
  

  Monica Matheny
  Putting onions, garlic and shallots in punched paper bags keeps these flavorful veggies firm and fresh.
• 7
  Store Cookies With A Slice Of Bread
  

  Fresh & Easy
  A slice of bread keeps those irresistible cookies you bought from the store tasting freshly baked for days.
• 8
  Separate Lettuce With Paper Towels
  

  Andrea Dekker
  Layer leaves with paper towels to enjoy crisp, seasonal salads all week long.
• 9
  Wrap Celery In Foil
  

  Mary Younkin
  Covered in aluminum foil, unwashed celery stays crisp and ready-to-use in soups, salads or as a snack for up to five weeks.
• 10
  Pack Prepared Salads In Mason Jars
  

  Julia Mirabella
  Planning lunch for the busy week ahead? Storing prepared salads in mason jars keeps them fresh in your fridge for 4-5 days.
• 11
  Peel, Cut And Freeze Ginger
  

  Katie Kimball of Kitchen Stewardship
  When you first buy ginger root, peel and cut it into slices or chunks and place in the freezer...and then say hello to homemade ginger ale, ginger tea and carrot-ginger soup for many months to come.
• 12
  Refrigerate Nuts And Seeds
  

  Rachel's Nourishing Kitchen
  You might think the refrigerator is the last place to store nuts and seeds, but storing your almonds, walnuts and sunflower seeds in containers in a cool climate will actually keep them good--longer.
• 13
  Store Potatoes With An Apple
  

  Jihyun David
  Turns out the “apple a day” motto keeps your spuds in good health, too. Store potatoes with an apple to keep them fresh.
• 14
  Put Asparagus In Water Under A Plastic Bag
  

  Alejandra Ramos
  Asparagus stays fresh uncooked for about three days but this super-easy trick using a glass jar, water and a plastic bag keeps your veggies crisp for a full week.
• 15
  Give Eggs The Eggs-Water Test
  

  Fresh & Easy
  Try this simple trick to see which eggs are old and which are ready for the frying pan.
• 16
  Freeze Lemons And Limes In Ice Cubes
  

  Emily Justice
  A cool way to keep lemons and limes for later use? Cut and freeze them in muffin pans so you can enjoy a tall glass of refreshing water all the time.
• 17
  Spray Fruit And Veggies With A DIY Wash
  

  Lilly Childers of Listotic.com
  Keep fruit and veggies fresh and clean with this DIY wash made of water, lemon juice and baking soda.

For more kitchen hacks, visit Fresh & Easy's Pinterest page.