Weight loss and swim times

Originally posted by Swimmer Bill I used to have the same problem -- especially with lettuce. I would get home from the market, put it in the crisper drawer and forget about it. Two weeks later the drawer would contain a pool of brown, rotten lettuce soup. YUK! Most of the time, my fridge looks like nobody lives here. I go to the market almost every day and find the freshest, most beautiful things I can get my hands on. With lettuce and greens, I wash and spin them dry, then put them in a Ziploc bag before they go into the fridge. This way, I'm ready to just pull them out and fix a meal without going through the whole process of washing, etc. You can probably figure out a way to shop once a week and still have fresh things on hand. There are a lot of vegetables that keep for a week or longer, although I prefer to consume them within a day or two of purchasing them. If you clean your veggies and do a little prep before putting things away in the fridge, it really helps. Also, if you store these things within view, you will not forget about them as easily. So anyway, I go to the market every day, if possible. I stay on the perimeter of the market, where all the fresh produce, fruits and vegetables, meats, dairy can be found. There is very little processed, packaged, or canned food in my home -- but there are some staples around (jars of roasted red peppers, canned tuna, dry pasta, frozen chicken breasts, frozen homemade pizza dough, etc.). So, if I don't have time to get to the market, I can whip up a healthy meal with what I've got on hand. And, I swim much faster when I'm eating better!! ;) How's that for staying on topic? I grow a large vegetable garden. Most things are best picked and eaten quickly. Often, while still standing in the garden! We try to let things stay on the plant as long as possible - they stay fresher that way. A really ripe tomato, still warm from the sun, just picked from the vine.......wow. One thing I have learned is that many veggies dry out in the fridge. Like you Bill, I pick the lettuce and clean it right away. While it is damp, I lay it out flat on paper towels. I will have multiple layers of towels, lettuce, towels, lettuce, etc. Then I roll the whole thing up - paper towels and lettuce together. Put it in ziploc or tupperware - whatever. The towels keep the lettuce from being soaking wet, but there is enough dampness in the bag to keep the lettuce from drying out. I can keep lettuce for two weeks without it going bad. This works best for leafy types of lettuce (black seeded simpson, red oak leaf, green leaf, escarole, etc.) but will work for romaine too. It doesn't do as well for iceberg - but I don't eat much iceberg anyway. It is too bland. This also works well for fresh asparagus, zuchinni and even peppers.

Originally posted by Swimmer Bill I used to have the same problem -- especially with lettuce. I would get home from the market, put it in the crisper drawer and forget about it. Two weeks later the drawer would contain a pool of brown, rotten lettuce soup. YUK! Most of the time, my fridge looks like nobody lives here. I go to the market almost every day and find the freshest, most beautiful things I can get my hands on. With lettuce and greens, I wash and spin them dry, then put them in a Ziploc bag before they go into the fridge. This way, I'm ready to just pull them out and fix a meal without going through the whole process of washing, etc. You can probably figure out a way to shop once a week and still have fresh things on hand. There are a lot of vegetables that keep for a week or longer, although I prefer to consume them within a day or two of purchasing them. If you clean your veggies and do a little prep before putting things away in the fridge, it really helps. Also, if you store these things within view, you will not forget about them as easily. So anyway, I go to the market every day, if possible. I stay on the perimeter of the market, where all the fresh produce, fruits and vegetables, meats, dairy can be found. There is very little processed, packaged, or canned food in my home -- but there are some staples around (jars of roasted red peppers, canned tuna, dry pasta, frozen chicken breasts, frozen homemade pizza dough, etc.). So, if I don't have time to get to the market, I can whip up a healthy meal with what I've got on hand. And, I swim much faster when I'm eating better!! ;) How's that for staying on topic? I grow a large vegetable garden. Most things are best picked and eaten quickly. Often, while still standing in the garden! We try to let things stay on the plant as long as possible - they stay fresher that way. A really ripe tomato, still warm from the sun, just picked from the vine.......wow. One thing I have learned is that many veggies dry out in the fridge. Like you Bill, I pick the lettuce and clean it right away. While it is damp, I lay it out flat on paper towels. I will have multiple layers of towels, lettuce, towels, lettuce, etc. Then I roll the whole thing up - paper towels and lettuce together. Put it in ziploc or tupperware - whatever. The towels keep the lettuce from being soaking wet, but there is enough dampness in the bag to keep the lettuce from drying out. I can keep lettuce for two weeks without it going bad. This works best for leafy types of lettuce (black seeded simpson, red oak leaf, green leaf, escarole, etc.) but will work for romaine too. It doesn't do as well for iceberg - but I don't eat much iceberg anyway. It is too bland. This also works well for fresh asparagus, zuchinni and even peppers.