Hi everyone,

What a great web site and community!

I'm thinking about going all raw, and already have my pets (dogs and parrots) on all raw. But before I start I still have questions...

How do you keep your raw foods neatly organized and handy in your fridge? Got tips? Got photos you can share?

Also, my fridge freezes my veggies unless I keep them in the crisper. The fridge seems fine -- it's probably operator error. No sense buying a whole lot of veggies and fruits and having them ruined. Any tips for me, please?

A hanging basket is nice for fruits, and as for the fridge I keep celery and green leafies in clear plastic bags so that we can easily see what's inside. Haven't found a more eco-friendly way of doing it if we're not going to be eating things quickly, but I do recycle the plastic bags. I'm sure some sort of air-seal system would be great for keeping things fresh and organized in the fridge, but I don't have one so don't know much about them! I'm also not sure if they would somehow keep foods from being frozen...

We also have large glass bowls with snap-on lids for keeping prepared foods in. They're easily stackable and keep things looking pretty. Mason jars are handy for homemade dressings, too.

I attempted a pic of my fridge, but my camera phone just doesn't always cut it. Ah, well.

Have fun figuring out what works for you, Oceanna!

I have a very large plastic container with a tight fitting lid I keep my greens for juicing in. I clean them well, place papertowels on bottom and top of veggies like celery, carrots, spinach, beets and parsley.

I freeze fresh berries to use in smoothies, since I like cold smoothies. I freeze grapes and bananas too. I use fresh mango and banana, or other fruits when making smoothies. I juiced grapefruits today, which I keep in my veggie crisper. All my salad makings are in the crisper also.

I have large bowls all over my kitchen which hold fresh fruits, nuts, seeds, coconut and dates. To keep the fruit flies at bay I place a clean dish towel over the fruit bowls. Bulk nuts are stored in my fridge, as are apples and oranges.

Like you, I also fed my dog raw food before I started. He's still on raw and is 8 years old and has never had any health problems..very fit and healthy!

Love,
Prism

I usually just re-wrap my fruits in whatever bags they came from the grocery in. So my refrigerator is full of grocery bags (plastic). Saves on dish-washing! I'll pull the stuff out of bags....cut it up......toss what I don't eat back in the bag and tie it closed. After a couple of meals...the bag is empty...and I'll toss it.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

i have a flavor seal system that is great for extending the life of fresh veggies. i use the gallon size bags so that i may use multiple times. they are superb for freezing berries and the like because there is absolutely no freeze burn. this allows me to buy bigger quantities and save me money because buying bulk is cheaper and i used to work at a produce mart that will sell cases and half cases of produce to me....

Wow, thanks for the quick answers, and great to meet you all!

Hi Meleakua,

Don't those hanging baskets attract fruit flies? Or does washing everything in something special keep that from happening? It does sound like such a pretty solution for storing fruits, and kind of homey/friendly. Fruit flies do get to be a problem sometimes with parrots -- I've learned to go after them with my little shop vac with the hose and that helps, but I swear the little varmints must be born preggers.

I reuse plastic bags when I can too, and love the zipper type. But if I put paper towels around my greens, then I can't see through the bags. Oh well.

Thanks for trying on the picture! I hope some folks will post pics. I think it would be interesting and give us all some good ideas.

Hi Prism,

The large plastic container sounds like a good idea. Sort of like a shoebox size?

Leafy greens aren't safe anywhere in my fridge except in the crisper. Otherwise they freeze. Does anyone else have that problem?

I like your idea of the towels to keep the fruit flies away. I did try that on my sprout jar and it made the sprouts at the bottom mold, eeew. I won't do that again.

I keep nuts in the bottom fridge drawer -- anything else in there freezes. I'm with you on the frozen berries. I also chop up fresh pineapple and it freezes very well. I don't like canned pineapple nearly as well.


I wish I'd had my dogs on all raw longer. I've had them on sometimes-raw. The two older ones, 12, and 13, now this minute both have cancer! One has skin cancer, and I think I'm getting her cured up with Cansema. The other has breast cancer and I'm not sure if I can save her. My fave master herbalist told me to feed them 75% veggies and 25% meat, only turkey or chicken. Organic if I can, and toss in an apple or pear when I make up a big batch. And they're getting a ton of herbal supplements now. Wish me luck! And if anyone here has cured their dogs of cancer I would love to know how.

Hi Davidzanemason,

I had to laugh when reading your post. Your fridge sounds a lot like mine. In the crisper I keep most fruits/veggies, and they're in their original baggies and grocery bag. So I just grab a few handles and hoist the whole bunch of bags out.

Extra bags that won't fit go higher in the fridge, and get pushed behind things and I forget what I have. You're probably better behaved than me that way. It'll probably be easier when I'm going through it faster.

Hi Brokenbrooke,

You mean like a Daisy Seal-a-Meal? I have one and hardly ever use it. Seems I recall the refill bags being a bit expensive, plus I've had to struggle to get the seal on it before. You must keep yours right on the counter to be handy?

Oceanna: Try turning the thermostat down on your fridge. Also, the more that is in your fridge the more efficiently the fridge will cool. If you are operating on small amounts of refrigerated food, then it is often necessary to adjust the thermostat to keep things from freezing up.

khale

Oceanna: I agree with Khale. Your fridge may be set to too low a temperature. I sometimes have trouble with things getting freezer-burned in the fridge too, but it only happens when I over-stuff the fridge enough to block airflow from the cold air vent.

The other problem that the fridge poses for my veggies is the dehydration action of the fridge which is the standard way modern fridges prevent frost. It can really wilt veggies quickly if they aren't protected. A crisper can prevent that by creating a separate air zone which won't be dehydrated, but not everything fits in there, and mine is broken anyway (the drawer glider is broken so the drawer sits on the shelf an inch lower than it should) and has no seal. To keep veggies safe, I've found that a damp (not wet!) towel works wonders. In the crisper I put a dry towel under all the veggies to prevent standing water, and a damp towel across the top of the veggies. As long as the towel is not too wet and I re-dampen it when it needs it, this keeps my veggies fresh very well. Things which might wilt but don't fit in the crisper need to be stored in something. Anything with a seal will work, but for large and awkward things like bunches of greens I often wrap a damp towel around the bunch instead of using a solid container. Like the damp towel over the crisper it needs to be re-dampened every day or two, so I strive to move that type of thing into the crisper as soon as I can.

As Meleakua pointed out, glass containers are great because they allow you to see the food well. The very best way too keep your food from going bad is to remember that you have it!

The plastic container is twice the size of a shoe box and it might help to keep your greens from freezing also. I never knew you could freeze pineapple! I'm going go have to try that.

The tips people are sharing are great..thanks for asking!

Love,
Prism

i cant th;ink of anything that cant be frozen really ...

when i have spinich or kale or even lettuces that are about to go and i cant get to eat them in time i blend them up into a green mix and freeze them in ice cube trays for my green smoothies

i also love having frozen grape cubes or frozen mandarin wedges for my sun tea ... mmm

i hate wasting food

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

These are some great ideas. I have a very large house full of people. * people live here. I have been thinking of getting another fridgerator for my vegis. I had to put my mellons and other fruit in the fridg because the fruit fly's were getting on them. A fruit fly lives only 24 hours but they lay eggs on our fruit. I think that is gross so I try to keep that under control. Right now my fridg is crammed with stuff because I went to the sat. market and stocked up for the week. I got these tupperware crispers at a yard sale they have a piece that lays in the bottom that has holes and keeps the produse from sitting on any moisture. I put my tomatoes in that and also had another one that I put my peaches and necterines in. I did'nt put the lid on and placed it in the fridge. I crammed the greens in the crispers and left the lettuce in the bags and stuffed it somewhere the corn is still in a bag I bought it in. My fridge is packed so full. I will have to freeze some of the salsa I made and there is the other stuff everybody else eats. I think I will have to get another fridge.

I saw this thing on organizing a fridge that said to take out the upper shelve and put a springed curtain rod, you know kind of like the ones for a shower curtain but smaller to fit the fridge. Then you can have some air vented bags and hang the vegis on the hanger. It was said to keep the vegis more fresh and visable. I also talked to the produce guy this weekend about how to keep my spinach and he said to place the root end in some shallow water and it will keep it fresh for a week. I can't do that because my fridge is so full.

Khale and Francis...on fridge freezing foods...

One of you said to turn the fridge down, and the other said to turn the fridge up. lol!

I just turned it up yesterday, as I think that makes the fan work more, which keeps the coldest air from settling at the bottom? IS there a fan in there? You can tell I'm no mechanical genius.

I've had this problem from time to time with other fridges too, which is why I think the fridge itself is in good working order.

Funny about it being full -- it is pretty full right now. But it often is. I've got 8 animals and me all taking up food space there.

Jodi...

Thanks so much for sharing your tips about freezing cubes of veggies and fruits for smoothies! That's a great way to save money by not wasting a thing. I'm with you... I hate to waste food. Now I need to look for my old ice cube trays. They have to be *somewhere*.

Yes on freezing pineapple. I cut it in little chunks, then put it in a zipper baggie and lay it so the chunks aren't touching (much) until it's frozen through. Makes it easy to get just the amount you want out.

I do the same with berries in the summer, as they're expensive to buy frozen in the winter and if you don't grow them yourself, well, who knows where they've been or what's been sprayed on them?

most of the small fruit stuff or even stuff i cut into chunks i just spread them on a cookie sheet for a couple of hours in the freezer untill theyre hardening then bag em so that they dont stick and i then i dont end up having to dethaw a 4 cup chunk of blueberries or something lol

this works great andyou dont need to keep them exposed for too long before the *juice* in them hardens which makes them not stick

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2007 12:08AM by Jgunn.

Pampam,

What an interesting idea about hanging vented bags in the fridge! I wouldn't have thought of that in a kazillion years.

I have to admit my fridge and freezer are both usually a jumbled up mess and it's hard to find things. I would *not* win best housekeeping award for my fridge/freezer. That's why I asked...looking for ideas to do better.



Everyone,

Thanks so much for all the tips about the crispers. I'll need to get some. Seems to me that what would be neat would be crisper boxes that are pretty narrow side-to-side, but are as deep as the fridge shelves, and that will stack... with a slot in the front where we can stick a little label of what's in there. We should make our first million inventing those!


frances Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The very best way too keep your food from going
> bad is to remember that you have it!


Yep! That's the problem, since the fridge shelves are so deep. Stuff drifts to the back and gets lost. Then it turns into a grow-it-yourself penecillin kit. lol!

Re-crisping

Anything like celery or a head of lettuce, romaine, etc. that is starting to wilt can be perked up for an additional couple of days by slicing a thin section off the bottom and setting the whole thing upright in water in the fridge. Reminds me of how we used to turn white carnations blue or green by putting food coloring in the water.

My fridge pretty much looks like David Mason's. I do the exact same thing. Now my freezer looks cool I'll take a picture another day when I have a full stock. I ave an abundance of quart size containers from the soups i use to consume from the Chinese restaurants. I buy a bunch of fruit and put them in the containers and freeze em, the strawberries i cut the top, chop up the bananas, chop tghe pineapple chunks, papaya chunks, even watermelon chunks andything i can get i throw in a jar and freeze it. Then when i make a smoothie I dont have to add ice and it comes thick and creamy. Its also great when mixing with vegetables that aren't frozen.
I hate to waste food too I try to use everything, I'm glad I found a recipe for the pulp from making almond and cashew milk, I even use the carrot and celery pulp from juicing to make dressings and marinades.

Oceanna,
Honestly, I do have a few fruit flies hanging around the kitchen!! I would assume that as long as you don't let the fruit 'go too far south' you should be okay, moving them into the fridge once they are super ripe. I can never seem to keep up with that, though!

I have a very primitive system for bringing some semblance of order to my vegies and fruits. I have a fairly small refrigerator, so I have three clementine crates that I use to separate some of my produce. Two are for fruit on the middle shelf; one is for greens on the bottom shelf. The rest of the produce goes in ziplocks and biodregadable bags. My vegetable bins are stocked top to bottom with pacakges of organic carrots for a juice fast.

My husband's 'stuff' -- ground turkey, chicken, eggs... is on the top shelf. (To his credit, he eats a lot of raw food too-- he's a really healthy guy.)

I got some very speckled, slightly over-ripe bananas today to add to my banana 'collection,' so tonight I'll chop them up into little pieces (for smoothies) and put them in containers in the freezer.

This is a really interesting thread. I love reading everyone's ideas and especially how you all use food up. Thanks so much for sharing your tips.

Kwan, I can see the good of the clementine crates -- as they make it like having drawers. That way you can easily access what's in the back, and you can also stack things higher. Seems there's a lot of dead space in most fridges. I could see doing the same thing with a plastic storage bin, sans lid. When it comes to plastic storage bins I finally wised up. I'll take measurements and write them down before I leave the house, then stick a dressmaker's tape measure in my purse. When I started doing that I *finally* got storage bins that actually fit wherever I want to put them.

Meleakua, try the hose on your vacuum for the fruit flies. It sucks 'em right out of the air and I guess they get damaged in the process because they don't fly back out. I have parrots, so it's really hard to avoid getting fruit flies as I slice and dice for them every morning, so there is always fruit sitting out every day. The vacuum works great on pantry moths, too, if anyone ever gets those.

Nowheyjose, you're making my mouth water! I went to my favorite fruit stand today and came home with a huge haul. While I was making the dogs' and birds' supper I couldn't resist, so I stood right there and ate my dinner -- a little of this, a little of that, all fresh raw (except for cooked yam). Yummm! I love the way you think of great ways to use up all your food.

i just put it in there
that's all

then take it out
then eat it

I just moved out of a place with 6-7 folks sharing 1 fridge

in it I kept a few heads of lettuce and occasionally some grapes or half a mellon

I kept all my fruits rotating in brown bags in my closet. RIPE=eaten. haha

I also live in a city, so walking out and getting stuff isn't a big issue...and I find helpful for eating when truly hungry..what I want/need etc...or simply getting great deals/opportunities that present themselves.


i'm also a big 'grocery-bag in liu (sp?) of plate' person.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2007 12:53AM by anaken.

oceanna---
haven't been on in a bit (my boy had a severe leg injury so i've beenat the hospital too much), but i have a foodsaver,yes the bags are a bit pricey, we haven't bought bags in soo long b/c we reuse with same food. i find that they work very well especially freezing fruit for the winter! i have a special place on the counter that in no why interers with the rest of counter space. just kinda worked out that way...i have had to clean the sealerpart but afterwards it works fine.
i wish i could see pics of everyones fridge.. mine is barren right now but i hope to post a visual soon. anyone else game?