Summer Salads: Keep your Lettuce Fresher for Longer!

Now that summer is in full bloom, families will be turning to salads as their meal of choice when the temperature gets too hot to cook. But oftentimes, as soon as you go to reach for your favorite green leafy vegetable you realize that it has gone bad too soon.

Use these helpful tips to keep your lettuce fresher for a longer period of time and you'll be enjoying your salads all summer long:

First of all, it's important to purchase the freshest lettuce that you can to ensure that it lasts as long possible. Look for crisp leaves that are free of browning edges and rust spots. Check out your local farmer's market to browse the freshest fruits and vegetables around.

According to Stellaskitchen.com if you buy iceberg lettuce wrap it in a moist paper towel as soon as you get home and place it in a plastic bag before storing it in the refrigerator.

In regards to leafy lettuce greens like romaine, red leaf or green leaf lettuce, you can follow the same process. However, it is better to remove leafy greens from their plastic bag and pat the leaves dry with a paper towel before storing them if they are wet from the produce sprayer at the store. Squeeze the water out from the paper towel and wrap the lettuce up. Place the wrapped head of lettuce back in the bag and in the produce drawer.

Utilize containers that have special holes for specific vegetables (Tupperware's Fridgesmart is a great one for lettuce!)

Utilize air-tight plastic bags to store your lettuce in instead of the plastic bags you purchase the head in at the store.

Try to avoid bagged lettuce as it has already been preserved and is well on its way to spoiling.

Avoid metal pans to store your lettuce; this also speeds up the spoiling process.

Utilize your refrigerator's crisper as it truly does help to keep vegetables, like lettuce, crisper and therefore fresher.

Make sure to store your lettuce in your produce drawer with plenty of breathing room. Leaves can be easily bruised if you have lots of other veggies crammed in with the lettuce.

Here's another tip from Stellaskitchen.com regarding storing leftover salad- lay a damp paper towel over the top of the salad and cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tight fitting lid.

By following these simple tips you'll be able to enjoy fresh, light summer salads all season long without having to worry about your leafy greens being soggy or brown.