• Store vegetable and fruits in separate crispers in the refrigerator to protect them from bruising and to help control moisture.
• Practice smart vegetable storage
• Monitor vegetable condition and use before they’re past prime. Add to soup or stir fry, roast, or steam and serve at the next meal or cool quickly and freeze in airtight container for a future meal.
• Create a ready-for-soup container. Label a freezer bag and add chopped broccoli stems, cauliflower core, leftover onion, green pepper, mushrooms, or cooked vegetables as available. Add them to canned, frozen, or homemade soup.

How to Tell if Your Fruits and Vegetables Have Gone Bad 

Crunchy Cabbage Salad

- more recipes -

• Spend Smart basics: Vegetables - English (pdf) | Spanish (pdf) 
• 30 Ways in 30 Days to Stretch Your Fruit and Vegetable Budget (pdf)
• Tips on using vegetables
• MyPyramid - Inside the Pyramid - Vegetable Group
• Video - How to tell if your fruits and vegetables have gone bad
• Video - How to properly wash your produce
• Video - How to properly store your food in the fridge
• Fresh vegetable guide (pdf)
• Seasonal chart for fresh fruits and vegetables (pdf)
• Fruits and Veggies - Try for More (pdf)
• Freezing fruits and vegetables (pdf)