Buying Greens for the Week

[mishelly58]

I'm not sure about anybody else but when I go to the stores near me to by Gizmo his greens (collard and mustard mostly) they have them bunched and they are kinda big bunches. I was wondering if anybody else runs into this and how they save the greens from going bad before the week is up. I don't mind going to the store to buy more but having to have to throw them a way does.

So does anybody have any suggestions?

Thanks a bunch :wink:

Michele

 

[tbelanger]

Well I know when we buy ours, we go to Pick'n'Save (which is gross, I hate ours, but the collards and squash aren't bad) and they sell by weight even though they are bundled in large amounts, so my b/f and I just pick up pieces of it that we want, or remove parts from different bundles. Can't really do that with squash, so we just pick little ones, which aren't too hard to find. I would ask or figure out if they sell by weight to, in which case I would imagine it would be fine to do something similar - halving the bunch, etc. I toatlly know what you mean about throwing stuff out, it drives me nuts! The collards are typically really great about lasting, they're usually very fresh and robust and they even last longer than a week for us often. Good luck, hope that helps!

 

[peera]

Vaccu-seal bags. It can seem like an investment, but I've had collards in the fridge for almost 3 weeks now and they're fresh as ever. Either that or you can learn to like collard greens and eat them yourself before they hit that point.

 

[h0ndap0w3r]

i wash them and set them on the counter to dry for a lil while, or you can actually dry with them a towel. I put them in the fridge in a bag with some paper towels and they generally last quite a while, over a week if they were dry when i put them in. I've also started to chop a weeks worth of veggies, dry those out sufficiently, then put them in a tupperware container with some paper towels to line the bottom with a lid with a few holes punched in it. . .it seems to work out this way.

if all else fails you can feed the scraps to the crickets or other buggies.

 

[NegativeCreep]

The greens here are only $1 a bundle, although a bundle is way too much right now. I assume when Blazey reaches adulthood, she will go through two bundles a week, mixed with other stuff, of course!

But, right now, I have found a way to make a bundle last a week.
When I bring it home from the grocery store, it's wet from being sprayed all day, so I spread them all out on a kitchen towel. I pull out any bad leafs (these put of excess 'ripening' gasses) and let them all dry well. Sometimes, I will pat them a little to help. The dryer the better. Once they are all dry, I roll them up in another dry kitchen towel. This keeps the moisture down. I store them in the crisper, which is not quite as cold, I think. During the week, I unroll the towel to remove what I need. I also take out anymore leaves that have gone too far.. It seems to work good for me. It sounds like a lot of work, but its really not..

I, also, feed stems and extra leaves (which I have plenty) to the crix.

 

[DragonoftheMountain]

i totally know wat u mean bout the big bunches thing, i get my stuff at grandmart where it is cheaper for more but unfortunately, since my lizard man is on strike with greens right now, most of his greens go to waste. thankfully tho, i have two guinea pigs that eat the same veggie stuff that rainier will eat, but even then my greens go bad sometimes rgh. so i tend to buy less greens even tho i would rather buy more of a variety to see if rainier likes something so i can feed that to him. maybe i will start halving the bunches i get, like another poster suggested, so i can get more products for my money. and i definitely know that if i have extras my guinea pigs will love em too. :lol:

~DOTM

 

[beardie parents]

This is the reason that we only buy the greens for our girls that we like, also. We eat the same greens that our girls do so they don't go to waste. It's o.k. for humans to eat collard greens, bok choy, mustard greens and even romain lettuce. The three of these make great salads when mixed together, wether for humans or lizards.

 

[NegativeCreep]

This is the reason that we only buy the greens for our girls that we like, also. We eat the same greens that our girls do so they don't go to waste. It's o.k. for humans to eat collard greens, bok choy, mustard greens and even romain lettuce. The three of these make great salads when mixed together, wether for humans or lizards.

I love colard/mustard/turnip greens! They are great cooked up with a little bit of hot sauce, too!
Too bad the SO won't touch them!

 

[apbgv]

Get a tortoise they will go through the greens

 

[therese30]

A guinea pig sound pretty fun. I'm not into the greens. The boys never let me watch them eat the greens they think that they are sooo sneeky. I walk outta the room and they start in.

 

[portuviejo]

i prefer squash and endive TBH just because they last a lot longer in the fridge and are easier on the wallet

 

[h0ndap0w3r]

i split my greens with my girlfriend and her sulcata. . . saves a bit of money and things dont go to waste.