I do some. Lettuce and cucumbers I only do a bit at a time because they seem to spoil faster once cut up/prepped.

I will say that when I do prep ahead we tend to eat a lot more salads and fresh veggies.

Linda

I try to. I try to schedule grocery/farmers' market trips for times when I'll be able to prep when I get home.

Like Linda, I find that I eat more veggies when they are prepped ahead of time. I reach for them when I want a snack, which I usually don't do if I have to prep.

~Amanda

Yes, Linda and Amanda, I'm finding that to be true as well. Not only that, the lettuce crisps in the fridge, and salads or that little bit of green for a sandwich turns delightful. DH made stir fried rice for breakfast over the weekend, which was easy because most of the work was done. The best part is that we're eating our produce, instead of letting it get past its prime. I feel a little silly not figuring this out until now, but better late than never!

What's a lock and lock container?

Connie, here's a good explanation of Lock and Lock. I can get some at the local grocery store. For my larger, divided containers or those with handles, I get them from QVC. I'm a long-time ''no plastics'' kind of girl, and resisted plastic for years. I guess I'm entering a particular ''time of life'' since menopause has me silently screaming (or not so silently!) when my dh is in the kitchen wrestling with the glass dishes. My life is Much Quieter and thereby more stress free these days!

The amazing part is that these containers actually work; since they're easy to open/close and I have arthritis in my fingers, I know; and they absolutely Do Not Leak. I've started packing lunches in them, and storing most things in them. I'm still not a fan of plastic, but I'll make an exception in this case. I don't microwave in them, but recently bought some glass and lock containers so I could send some microwavable dishes to work with dh.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lock and Lock

Thanks. I haven't heard of lock and lock. I'll be on the lookout for these and for some glass and lock.

I'm all for a "Much Quieter" and stress free lifestyle!!

I've never prepped my veggies more than a day in advance. I do enjoyed having it done ahead though. It makes cooking even more pleasant and stressless. I put mine in Rubbermaid or a Lock and Lock type of container. I've not seen that particular brand. The ones I did buy I found at Costco and the down side was they came with sizes I would probably never use.

I do a little bit of prepping, and it is true that you eat more and waste less if you do prep. Sometimes I have no energy to cook, so if something is prepped I am much more apt to eat it.
Sherry

DH brought a pizza home tonight, and we had some veggie munchies (with dip) to go with it. It's nice when take out and ''dip into'' are so easy...

Even though so many grocery stores spray water over their vegetables on a regular basis, little gets absorbed. So, when I buy produce, anything with a "stem" gets the "stem" trimmed and put into a sink of water for a couple of hours. It's like trimming the stems of your roses before putting them in the vase...they can't make use of the water if the end of their stems are sealed off and dry.

Lettuces, celery, broccoli, herbs, greens...all get trimmed a bit and soaked. Then they're washed and drip or spun dried before storing them in the fridge.

I find the vegetables last much longer this way.

I don't generally precut veggies though. I'm pretty fast with a knife, and veggies that are cut into pieces tend to spoil faster than those left whole.

I do that also from time to time and I find it motivates me to put together a dish.

Or I'll prep veggies in the morning for the dinner meal, before I clean up the kitchen, I'll even brown ground meat with onions a day ahead of time, just so the skillet and spatula are washed and out of the way.

Any step done ahead of time cuts down also on the post dinner cleanup; I'm all for that.

What an excellent idea. I have never pre-prepped veggies before, but after reading this thread I will certainly give it a try.

Thanks!

I don't prep vegetables in advance. Except for maybe potatoes. I will sometimes cut them up for french fries and soak them in cold water in the fridge. But for me vegetables are the easiest part of putting together dinner. When I get home from work I get dinner started. If I'm grilling then while the grill heats I get vegetables ready. Potatoes are easy to peel, and it only takes a minute to snap the ends off of green beans or cut up broccoli or cauliflower, etc.. As much as I love corn, the one job I hate is shucking it, so that is Moe's job. He does it outside.

I haven't tried the Lock and Lock's but I have these wonderful vegetable storage containers that Brenda gave me in one of our swaps. They are made by Tupperware and are called Fridge Smart. Different vegetables/fruit require different storage conditions. They have little tabs on the sides that allow for air flow when needed. I tested them with green beans last winter. I bought a large quantity of perfect green beans (hard to find in the winter) and I stored them in one of these containers and they looked and tasted just as good after two weeks as they did when I put them in.

Ann

Clair, I have ONE of those Lock and Lock containers, it's exactly the right size for a loaf of bread and it just sits on my counter so I'm not using countless plastic bags to put my homemade bread in.

I do wash lettuce when I bring it home from the garden because it's usually dirty and I don't want to put it into the fridge that way. Normally I let it dry on the counter on a towel but Elery just bought a salad spinner on sale for $4.99, so this weekend I'll give that a try.

Other than that I don't prep anything until I use it, it seems to keep longer if I don't. I do use those "green bags" that Beverly sent me, then I wash them and use them again. They work really well for herbs like cilantro.

I do like some of Tupperware's products, although no one around here has "parties" anymore, LOL. I really like the Pyrex containers with the plastic lids, I have several of those. The lids eventually crack, though.

Annie