Disclosure: KitchenAid Canada provided me with a Produce Preserver kit and a grocery gift card so I could stock up on fresh produce and have compensated me for writing this post but all opinions are my own.
Let’s chat a little bit about food waste. And in particular, produce. How many of you knew that forty-five percent of Canadians frequently throw away lettuce? I am part of that group although I have been trying to be better about using up my wilting greens, like in soups… And how many of you frequently throw away brown bananas? You might remember from my post about using up bananas on their last legs to make banana bread that according to a recent study commissioned by the KitchenAid brand* the average Canadian spends around $40.80 per week on fresh produce but will throw out close to 10% of these purchases – that’s a lot of uneaten fruits and vegetables going to waste each year.
And what about the other produce that Canadians throw out frequently? Would you be surprised to know that alongside lettuce, tomatoes, bananas, grapes and celery are the items at the top of the “Most Frequently Thrown Away” list in Canadian households? Probably not (if you are being honest!). But what a lot of Canadians don’t realise is that they are unwittingly shortening the lifespan of their produce by not storing it correctly. Produce like apples and green onions emit ethylene gas (which speeds up the ripening process) and they should be stored separately from other produce like spinach and yams which are sensitive to ethylene gas. Who knew? Not thirty-nine per cent of respondents in the KitchenAid Fresh Facts survey.
If you’re not lucky enough to own one of the select KitchenAid® refrigerators which offer the Preserva® Food Care System, I’m pleased to tell you that the KitchenAid Produce Preserver Kit (now available in Canada) will do an excellent job of helping keep your produce fresher longer.
The Preserver Kit ($16.99 for a starter kit) is a small cartridge that attaches to any refrigerator crisper which will absorb the ethylene so produce stays fresher up to 4 days longer – over the past few months of experimenting, I have definitely noticed my produce staying fresher for much longer. I’ve been trying to store the ethylene-producing and ethylene-sensitive produce apart (here’s a chart which explains the difference) AND my fridge has separate humidity controls in each of the crisper bins (fruit and vegetables with skins should be stored in a low humidity crisper and fresh, leafy vegetables in a high humidity crisper) so I am sure this is all helping my produce last longer. The Produce Preserver refill kits retail at $11.99 – for when your Keep Fresh pack needs replacing (approximately every six months but the indicator will tell you when – mine has lasted longer than six months). I’ve been very impressed with my kit overall although there are still items I find myself scrambling to use before they go bad.
Like when I found myself with a recent glut of red peppers… And when life presents you with too many peppers, I say roast them and make a soup!
Roasted red pepper soup
A simple roasted red pepper soup.
Ingredients
- 3 red peppers, roasted
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 litre vegetable or chicken broth
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
- Roast the red peppers:
- Preheat the oven to 425˚F for about 45 minutes, turning the peppers every 10 minutes so that they roast/ blacken evenly all around.
- When the peppers are roasted, remove them from the oven, place then in a covered container so that steam forms and the pepper skins slide easily off (you can leave them until they are cool enough to handle or even refrigerate overnight).
- Remove the pepper skins and seeds and chop the peppers roughly.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes until the onion is translucent and soft.
- Add the peppers and cook a few more minutes, stirring to coat the peppers well with the onion mixture.
- Add the broth, increase the heat and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat, cover and cook for about 15 minutes until all the vegetables are very soft.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Use an immersion blender to purée the soup.
- If you like a thicker soup, you can add a dollop of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt to each bowl.
A KitchenAid Produce Preserver giveaway!
KitchenAid Canada is offering one lucky eat. live. travel. write. reader (in Canada) the chance to win a KitchenAid Produce Preserver Starter Kit and a $50 grocery gift card to spend on fresh produce!
How to enter:
There are 2 ways to enter (maximum of two entries per person for the duration of the contest).
1. Leave a comment on this post telling me the produce you always find yourself scrambling to use up.
2. Tweet the following message: Enter to win a #ProducePreserver from @KitchenAid_CA + a $50 gift card on @eatlivtravwrite ! Details: http://bit.ly/1Cmc9BC
then come back to leave a second comment letting me know you did.
Eligibility and contest rules:
– Open to Canadian readers only.
– No purchase of any product necessary for entry.
– Winner will be chosen randomly (using www.random.org) from all qualified entries on Wednesday October 1st 2014 after 6pm EST.
– Winner will be notified via email Thursday October 2nd 2014.
________
Congrats Rebby who won my Second Cup Canada giveaway – I’ve sent you an email!
avocados, I like them , I buy them a lot, and sometimes they get ripe at the same time, so is time to do something , usually masive amounts of guacamole . any other ideas, ???
I tweet Enter to win a #ProducePreserver from @KitchenAid_CA + a $50 gift card on @eatlivtravwrite ! Details: http://bit.ly/1Cmc9BC thanks
Lettuce. We eat a lot of salad and I’d wish it would last longer so I don’t have to stop in the store every couple days.
I’ve tweeted: https://twitter.com/NewfieChic/status/515111057392951296
This week there was red, orange, yellow peppers, mushrooms and sweet onions……….. This then became a Chilly :). And delish it was!
Usually its potatoes but with the chillier weather coming this will work out fine to make “Beef Stew”.
We are ALWAYS scrambling to use up the Green Onion! I find it goes SO fast!!
Thanks!
https://twitter.com/blessedta/status/515120418957824000
Avocado
I never seem to use up all my celery before it fully wilts.
Completed both steps!
https://twitter.com/lorinmario/status/515129895048204288
I always find it hard using up all my cilantro. They sell it in such a huge bunch and never use all of it.
I think, for the most part, I throw away salad stuff — lettuce, red peppers, celery, sometimes mushrooms. Always makes me unhappy to throw away food. 🙁 Looks like a great product.
tweeted @kathyrun
I always scramble to use up lettuce… as the only person who eats it in the household it’s hard to go through a full head of romaine before it goes bad.
i just tweeted: Enter to win a #ProducePreserver from @KitchenAid_CA + a $50 gift card on @eatlivtravwrite ! Details: http://bit.ly/1Cmc9BC 🙂
i just tweeted: Enter to win a #ProducePreserver from @KitchenAid_CA + a $50 gift card on @eatlivtravwrite ! Details: http://bit.ly/1Cmc9BC
I can never use up lettuce or fresh herbs fast enough. I hate wasting and throwing out food, so I’d love to win this product 🙂
@canucklehead74 Enter to win a #ProducePreserver from @KitchenAid_CA + a $50 gift card on @eatlivtravwrite ! Details: http://bit.ly/1Cmc9BC
I tweeted @charlalotta
I usually struggle to use up lettuce for some reason. Could really use this product!
I have tweeted the link under @PrairiePearl on Twitter.
I tweeted: https://twitter.com/verycutekitties/status/515161228302635008
i find that I am always needing to use up lettuce as well
i have tweeted https://twitter.com/Loributler5/status/515165741910597632
I find that broccoli doesn’t get used up fast enough in my household and then it starts to turn a yellowish colour.
Tweet~ http://twitter.com/glogirl3/status/515196288682700800
I always have a hard time using up the avacado I buy. I buy it when they’re still hard, and then all of a sudden they’re soft and need to be used up that day, and the next day they’re bad.
My tweet https://twitter.com/anzhie_luv/status/515223583618920448
I’m never able to use up my lettuce and peppers before they start going bad.
Celery. My husband buys it and I don’t always remember to cook with it since I didn’t grow up eating it.
Celery & lettuce.
I tweeted https://twitter.com/carollushka/status/515280851027128320
I’m always scrambling to use up cucumbers before they become mushy
tweeted
https://twitter.com/edmontonjb/status/515287039319617537
I am always using up my romaine lettuce before it goes bad
https://twitter.com/neutkidz/status/515287945499402240
Always trying to use up celery or green peppers.
thanks
flower_child_23(at)Hotmail(dot)com
tweet
https://twitter.com/flower_child_23/status/515289090636656640
Lettuce! I am the only one that eats it,so always trying to get it gone before it goes bad.
I tweeted also
https://twitter.com/ksceviour/status/515311348813922305
Avacado
There are so many things, but spinach and green peppers always go bad first!
Tweeted! https://twitter.com/RebTheCatSitter/status/515369215722020864
With 6 of us all striving to eat a rainbow a day my fridge is packed to the rafters with produce. I think soft fruits are the things I waste most.
https://twitter.com/MushypeaJane/status/515501402811297792 tweeted @MushypeaJane
I’m really bad at eating bananas up.
https://twitter.com/Nicolthepickle/status/515561303297904640 tweeted
Lettuce and cucumbers seem to go off quickly, could really use a KitchenAid produce preserver
depends on the week (whether the kids have had a high fruit craving week or not) but common ones for us are tomatoes, strawberries, broccoli and cucumber 🙂
https://twitter.com/mommy2fiveboys/status/515627199165382656
tweeted 🙂
thanks for the chance!!
I would have to say avocado:)
I tweeted. Thanks:)
I tweeted!
Avacados, tomatoes and any herb i’ve ever picked up. I know there are so many uses but i always find myself in a pickle so to speak. For me making soup out of any veggies on there way out always works out pretty well.
also i tweeted: https://twitter.com/aly3360/status/516051059278897152
I would have to say Lettuce and Celery
Tweeted @ https://twitter.com/apham17/status/516426905436684289
Lettuce!
Mine is the leafy vegetables.
I shop once a month, so it is hard to use up everything before it goes bad.
The leafy vegetables seem to go bad the fastest.
LETTUCE! I love salad but am never using up all my lettuce. constant pain.
tweeted ! https://twitter.com/missplewes/status/516655140846469121
Celery! It seems I’m only one who likes eating it. Always buy more than needed and have to find ways to keep it fresh.
I tweeted
I find that red peppers and cucumber go off very fast in my fridge, I sure would love them to last a little longer. : )
Tweeted! : )
I find that cucumbers go bad quickly in my fridge
Tomatoes and spinach are always last to get eaten.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/Butterfly_012/status/517189929122533376
@butterfly_012
celery if I purchase the whole thing rather than buy just sticks